True African Experience

This weekend Joann took me Mubende which is about two hours away from Rafiki. We took Susan a local pastor up there to distribute free Christian books to the pastors. I got to experience a true African experience. After we met the pastor in the town he took us out to his church and we went down this “road” (I truly thought we would get stuck in the gigantic pot holes) and he said here is the church. I looked and the church was a barely standing boarded up building with no windows and no flooring. So we parked and were swarmed with about 60 children all wanting to touch us because we were white and the special visitors that they had been waiting for. We entered to a full church of standing Africans clapping for us as we made our way up to the front. There were about 6 pastors from different churches and they brought with them Sunday school teachers and elders from their church. As we were told we had to stand in front of the group and introduce ourselves so Susan started then Joann and last I stood and said my name and how long I had been in Uganda. We then for the next hour took the children outside and Susan taught them a song in English and Spanish. I also went up and taught for 5 minutes about who Jesus is and what he did for us as she translated for those who did not know English. Then we went back into the church where two of the primary schools came to sing and dance for us. They sang asking their parents to provide for them so that they could go to school. They asked them to stop child labor and to love them instead of leaving them at home all the time. All the children just wanted to touch us because we were white and so they crowded around. I think they also probably thought we were going to be giving them something (which was hard not to do). They were so happy and grateful that we were there and they just kept thanking us and asking us to return. Then the pastor of the church talked as well as the district council man (mayor). After about 3 and half hours Susan finally got to talk which was the whole reason we were there. So after 6 hours of being there they sent us on our way with two live chickens and two big stocks of Mutoke (Ugandan staple food) this was our thank your present for coming. A definite experience