8-01-10
Sunday…. We started off the morning wondering where Pastor Wilson was, if all was well, etc. We reminded each other that we were on “Africa Time”. Wilson arrived at about 10:45am to fetch us. It was nice to have a slow morning where we could get some rest. Church was in full session when we arrived; you could hear the singing from the road as we arrived to the service. Wilson prepared special seats for us at the front. Not long after we arrived we learned that “Sunday school” was just finishing. It was when we arrived that the church service “officially” began. Dancing, dancing, dancing…it is how “we” worship while we are in Uganda. There was a ton of joy in the service as the people sang and danced. The kids did a special song and dance during the offering time. Some of students from the God is Good School go to the church (or were there yesterday to be with us). A few of the students were unrecognizable without being in a school uniform. Several of them received haircuts over the weekend.
A few days ago Pastor Wilson asked if someone in our group could preach in the Sunday service. As a team we decided to combine our efforts so that the church could hear from more of us. I preached on the “burning bush” text from Exodus 3. “You have to look and notice where God is working.“ It was so much fun to get to preach. I've preached with a translator before. I had to keep reminding myself to not talk over Pastor Wilson. Trevor then continued with “once we notice we need to partner with God”. Trevor shared from the David and Goliath text; David did his part by taking as many stones as he could. Grant then added, “it may be difficult to follow God’s voice when he calls us.” He shared how God called his whole family to move to Kansas City this year so he could begin seminary. It was really fun for the whole group to share. The church really appreciated hearing for our 3 voices too.
After church Grant drove us to Pastor Wilson’s home. He is becoming a pro at Uganda driving. Watch out Uganda! We ate lunch and then Pastor Wilson showed us his new sewing machines. This is exciting because these sewing machines will be income generating for Wilson’s family and the school. There is a lady in the village who is contracting with Wilson to use the machines. The students at the God is Good school will now be able to save money on buying uniforms. Hopefully now there will be a true “uniform” dress.
From Wilson’s home we went off to a very special event. A friend and mentor of Wilson’s invited all of us to a Dowry ceremony or “introduction”. Grace ironed and prepared beautiful Ugandan outfits for the girls. She dressed Julene and Carrie right before we left Wilson’s home. The dresses were beautiful!! When we arrived at the ceremony the girls got looks of appreciation and surprise. The group was escorted to the front where we had couches awaiting us. It was a wonderful experience to be able to witness such a unique aspect of the Ugandan culture. Wilson had informed us that these ceremonies can go on for hours so our plan was to watch for a time and then slip out. It was obvious that this was not going to happen once we were put in the front row. However, our involvement did not end there. About half way through the ceremony they introduced distinguished guests of which we were now a part. Julene and Carrie were introduced as the father of the bride’s “daughters from America” and he commented on their dress. Trevor was also introduced and they pointed out that Carrie and Trevor were married. They were given quite a round of applause. Then Grant was introduced as the director of a GAP, a large company in America. Not sure where they got the large company part. We sat and watched the remainder of the ceremony and once they were done with the cake did Wilson say it was probably okay if we left. The people were still down by the cake so Grant asked Wilson to wait until they were done so that we did not draw attention away from them while leaving. It was a good thing that we didn’t leave because just a minute later, Grant was invited to come and give a speech to the 500 people that were there! Wilson came down as Grant’s interpreter. On the way down Wilson suggested that he begin by apologizing for not being in the traditional attire, which of course he did. Grant commented on how beautiful the ceremony was and thanked the father for the wonderful opportunity he gave our group to witness this piece of Ugandan culture. Grant finished by saying “Thank you, Sir” in Luganda which the crowd seemed to appreciate (with giggles). By Ugandan standards, it probably was not long enough to be considered an actual speech, but Wilson said it was good and brought much honor to the father. Wilson now jokes that Grant is Ugandan since he has driven in Kampala, ridden on a boda-boda, and has given a speech at a dowryJ All in all, we were there for 3 hours. Though we were glad for the experience, we were also glad when Wilson suggested that we not stay for dinner.
Sunday…. We started off the morning wondering where Pastor Wilson was, if all was well, etc. We reminded each other that we were on “Africa Time”. Wilson arrived at about 10:45am to fetch us. It was nice to have a slow morning where we could get some rest. Church was in full session when we arrived; you could hear the singing from the road as we arrived to the service. Wilson prepared special seats for us at the front. Not long after we arrived we learned that “Sunday school” was just finishing. It was when we arrived that the church service “officially” began. Dancing, dancing, dancing…it is how “we” worship while we are in Uganda. There was a ton of joy in the service as the people sang and danced. The kids did a special song and dance during the offering time. Some of students from the God is Good School go to the church (or were there yesterday to be with us). A few of the students were unrecognizable without being in a school uniform. Several of them received haircuts over the weekend.
A few days ago Pastor Wilson asked if someone in our group could preach in the Sunday service. As a team we decided to combine our efforts so that the church could hear from more of us. I preached on the “burning bush” text from Exodus 3. “You have to look and notice where God is working.“ It was so much fun to get to preach. I've preached with a translator before. I had to keep reminding myself to not talk over Pastor Wilson. Trevor then continued with “once we notice we need to partner with God”. Trevor shared from the David and Goliath text; David did his part by taking as many stones as he could. Grant then added, “it may be difficult to follow God’s voice when he calls us.” He shared how God called his whole family to move to Kansas City this year so he could begin seminary. It was really fun for the whole group to share. The church really appreciated hearing for our 3 voices too.
After church Grant drove us to Pastor Wilson’s home. He is becoming a pro at Uganda driving. Watch out Uganda! We ate lunch and then Pastor Wilson showed us his new sewing machines. This is exciting because these sewing machines will be income generating for Wilson’s family and the school. There is a lady in the village who is contracting with Wilson to use the machines. The students at the God is Good school will now be able to save money on buying uniforms. Hopefully now there will be a true “uniform” dress.
From Wilson’s home we went off to a very special event. A friend and mentor of Wilson’s invited all of us to a Dowry ceremony or “introduction”. Grace ironed and prepared beautiful Ugandan outfits for the girls. She dressed Julene and Carrie right before we left Wilson’s home. The dresses were beautiful!! When we arrived at the ceremony the girls got looks of appreciation and surprise. The group was escorted to the front where we had couches awaiting us. It was a wonderful experience to be able to witness such a unique aspect of the Ugandan culture. Wilson had informed us that these ceremonies can go on for hours so our plan was to watch for a time and then slip out. It was obvious that this was not going to happen once we were put in the front row. However, our involvement did not end there. About half way through the ceremony they introduced distinguished guests of which we were now a part. Julene and Carrie were introduced as the father of the bride’s “daughters from America” and he commented on their dress. Trevor was also introduced and they pointed out that Carrie and Trevor were married. They were given quite a round of applause. Then Grant was introduced as the director of a GAP, a large company in America. Not sure where they got the large company part. We sat and watched the remainder of the ceremony and once they were done with the cake did Wilson say it was probably okay if we left. The people were still down by the cake so Grant asked Wilson to wait until they were done so that we did not draw attention away from them while leaving. It was a good thing that we didn’t leave because just a minute later, Grant was invited to come and give a speech to the 500 people that were there! Wilson came down as Grant’s interpreter. On the way down Wilson suggested that he begin by apologizing for not being in the traditional attire, which of course he did. Grant commented on how beautiful the ceremony was and thanked the father for the wonderful opportunity he gave our group to witness this piece of Ugandan culture. Grant finished by saying “Thank you, Sir” in Luganda which the crowd seemed to appreciate (with giggles). By Ugandan standards, it probably was not long enough to be considered an actual speech, but Wilson said it was good and brought much honor to the father. Wilson now jokes that Grant is Ugandan since he has driven in Kampala, ridden on a boda-boda, and has given a speech at a dowryJ All in all, we were there for 3 hours. Though we were glad for the experience, we were also glad when Wilson suggested that we not stay for dinner.
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