Beginnings of the Kingdom to Come

Day Two on the Ground (May 25) --

At our debriefing after the end of the day, one of our teammates, Bob, described the day as a glimpse into the beginnings of the "kingdom to come" here on Earth. Bob explained that the scriptures tell us of the kingdom that will come when Christ reigns and we derive from our interpretation of the scripture of God's will for us as far as our behavior towards one another. Bob explained that the Word tells us that's how the kingdom come will be. It's even in the Lord's prayer, which was Christ's response when the people asked "how should we pray?" (thy kingdom come, thy will be done). How awesome is it that if you want to be a part of God's kingdom, you don't have to wait until you die! Bob explained that the keys to the kingdom of God are more behavioural and obedience based than simply a rite of passage of going to Heaven. We're all so excited that in this trip already, on the second day on the ground, we've gotten a taste of what is to come in the kingdom to come referenced in the scriptures. On one hand, it's a shame that we had to come this far to experience that, but Praise God that we have experienced it! That may just be a part of God's divine plan!

We want to share with you our experiences from the day and how we've seen first hand the beginnings of the kingdom to come. Our first trip today was to a Ugandan supermarket where we picked up mosquito nets (and some ice-cold sodas - something most of us are really missing from back home!). We then made our trek to Bweya Village to visit the Air Field View Primary Day & Boarding School, ran by Melinda Hayes from Kernersville (a team member from a previous ekissa trip who decided to move to Uganda for a few months to serve as a preschool nanny). This is where most of the team was introduced to the Ugandan "squatter" toilet (and when I say "toilet" I mean hole in the ground!). We visited the classrooms in the school and the children sang a beautiful Ugandan song for our team. Many of the children there are children who were formally at Mercy Home, and we were able to spend time with some of the children sponsored by folks in America, like Rowland, Marvin & Eddie.

We then parked the vans in Bweya Village and set out for an adventure on foot. For several hours and several miles, we walked along the dirt roads in small groups, stopping at people's homes and visiting with them. Many of them invited us into their homes, made of clay brick-type structures without electricity or running water, and just enjoyed talking with them. The Ugandan people are by far the most inviting, approachable, welcoming, and hospitable people many of us have ever met. Even though these people live in a way that most of us cannot imagine or would ever want to imagine living, the people in no way have any sense of entitlement and they truly feel that the few things they do have is a blessing. The culture is such that when you approach their yard (because they are usually sitting out in their yards during the day, washing clothes by hand in a basin without a washboard, taking care of children), they welcome you by literally rolling out a welcome mat for you to sit on and talk with them. In America, we're inconvenienced by people who drop by without calling first or who stay too long when we've got something else to do or somewhere to go. The people were so incredibly thrilled that we had come to visit them; they wanted to show us so many things, like how to cook bananas and a picture of one of women who danced for Queen Elizabeth when she visited their village. One family even gave us jackfruit as a thanksgiving for our visit with them. In Uganda, they take responsibility for each other, including letting the neighbor's children spend all day playing in their yard. It was such a blessing to pray with them to the same amazing and loving God - all the way around the world and in a situation so very different from our own. With all of the obvious differences we have with these people, it's amazing that we also share a common belief in Christ.

We were invited to walk into most of the people's homes and none of the homes had mosquito nets over the beds. It was such a blessing to be able to give the people the mosquito nets that we had all raised money to purchase. Thank you to all of you who donated money for nets - you have no idea what a blessing those were to the people of Bweya Village. Those nets are truly "life" for them. Our goal of visiting with the people of Bweya was to build relationships with them so when the church plant happens, we will feel comfortable with them and likewise. As one of our teammates, Kirsten, said, she feels like while we were there the people of Bweya were able to give us a new perspective on the verse, "Love your neighbor as yourself." They showed us the love of Christ by their actions and in turn we were able to do the same.

Our last jaunt for the day was back to the Entebbe airport to pick up luggage that had come in on a later flight - 9 of our 11 missing bags were there! Most of our checked bags were filled with supplies, so we will look forward to giving those out in the orphanages we visit, the people we meet in the villages, and the medical clinic.

If day one was the orientation to the people, the culture, and the country of Uganda, then day two was the day where we really started to get down to the business of our trip. Day three we plan to spend the day at Mercy Home.

It's amazing how even though we were the ones who came to bless the people of Bweya, we were the ones who also ended up receiving the blessings. Praise the Lord!