Thursday, April 19
A more leisurely morning after a busy Wednesday. By the way, although our schedule may seem quite full, I am finding it wonderfully refreshing and producing in me great energy and joy. We go to bed tired but full of delight.
We might call this day, "Principalities and Powers." We met the most powerful man in the Church of Uganda (and one of the most influential people in the World Anglican Communion's current controversy over homosexuality). We witnessed the growing challenge of Islam in central Africa. And we witnessed the power of the gospel among the poorest of the people.
We traveled to the heart of Kampala - the national capital - to visit with The Most Reverend Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda. He was a most gracious host and a keen observer of the times we all live in. Lauren was included in this historic visit. He had many kind words for her. After visiting about the kind of ministry partnership he hopes to have, he encouraged the local Words of Hope Uganda team to concentrate on the north. "There is a window for the gospel right now. The government has a peace agreement with the Lord's Resistence Army." And then these words: "The government has a disarmament program, but it is the gospel that will truly disarm them." Praise be to God!
On our way through the city we also saw a huge and beautiful Mosque. It was clearly the most visible building in downtown. There are mosques popping in in many places, and we see not a few women wearing Muslim coverings - a sign that Islam is interacting more in places it has not historically been. Even in the evening crusade - in a small village, a Muslim man listened from the edge of the crowd.
The evening saw Lauren and I traveling with Rev. Baraka to a small village up the absolutely craziest road we have ever been on - if you can call it a road. We had to go inside because of rain, and the place was packed. There was no praise band or instruments - only a little canned music over a generator-powered p.a. system. Titus broke out a few favorite choruses and then I preached a short message. Titus took up the alter call in a fervent passion. I knew almost nothing of what was going on. No one outside of Titus spoke English, but it seemed the Lord was at work in beautiful ways. It was a poor place, but the people were eager to hear the gospel and celebrate Jesus. Many unchurched residents were also in attendance.
We are learning so much about the world we live in. We see the beauty of God in everyone we meet, along with the seeming injustice that permeates our world. In a discussion of Visas, Lauren was surprised to learn that we can travel almost anywhere in the world (as US citizens), but the people we are with have an incredibly hard time getting to visit the US for a short time. It costs $100 US to apply for a Visa, and if you don't get the Visa, you don't get your money back.
