Annual Conference

 

I have no idea where to begin! Our church and sister churches (ten congregations in all, spread out around the Teso region of Uganda) had our annual conference. These 3-4 days are filled with sermons, praise, being together and evangelism.

It always brings awe when I see a church full of people praying to God, dropping to their knees and raising their hands. I'll admit, I've sometimes wondered how genuine and deep-reaching these moments are; but then God turns my attention inward, asking me to focus on my dedication to Him.

God has fully equipped Emalai to be a helper! Throughout the entire conference Emalai was either aiding in the kitchen, holding someone's baby, running errands or listening to the sermons like a mature adult.

One of the pastors said we should have rice at all the meals next year, because it takes intense muscle work to mingle 60 kilograms worth of posho flour! (posho is a white, stiff starch made from dried and ground cassava)

Teacher Sam always has a smile on his face! God has used him as a teacher at the local primary school before sending him for a Bible school in a nearby town. Teacher Sam is motivated for Christ and His work among the youth.

Each memory impressing

a moment in time on my

brain, something remembered

but not present reality

Cooking for all the conference attendees is a constant job. For example, the beans must be sorted through to take out all the bad ones, then cleaned, boiled, and made to soup with tomatoes and onions. Don't forget- the fire must be made with dried wood.

Makai loved hanging out in the kitchen.

The evening of the first day of conference, a small group of us went to the trading center with simple invitations for Journey to Jesus- the first ever nativity in Obule. Folks giggled at the idea, but warmly received the invitations.

Afterwards, we joined the rest of the group at a futbol (soccer) game played between the young men of various districts in our church.

Baby Lydia Faith was born in July (see blog post about it!) and she is adored by everyone. She loves to jump, watch chickens, and jabber (her jabbering sounds pretty identical to her crying).

Luke played goalie for Obule's team.

love

stoops

low

lifts

up

embraces

with

arms

ready

for my

bounce

The game ended with a shoot-out. Obule won because Luka saved a goal.

Not only did the players celebrate enthusiastically, some of the boys' moms really got into it :)

At home, we tried to get our little projector working to show a film at church. After pointing it at the ceiling (the whitest surface in our house) for a while, we still couldn't figure it out and decided it would be a film-free conference this year.

Emalai and I walking to church the next day

Reflection, a tiny snapshot of reality

a leaf swirling down from mighty tree

dropping before one who has not looked

to gaze upon the glory under which he stood

A Freedom in Christ leader and a young man from our church took turns teaching children.

Makai doing tricks on the orange tree

Commenting on the tomato cutting. Note, Makai's musketeer costume got too hot :)

His word

a fire burning

bright all

consuming

leaving a

new creation

Roasted cassava for a snack that the cooks enjoyed between meals

The cooking crew! From right to left: Teacher Isaac, Michael, Pastor Milton, Teacher Sam, Samson, Rhoda, Grace (who entertained them but didn't do a lot of cooking) and Carolynn.

Going to bring dishes from the neighbor's house.

A typical line of children waiting for food- very squeezed together!

"Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God."

"Taste and see that the Lord is good."

Makai came back for a piece of beef one too many times. But how can you say no to that cute face?

Lunch: rice and beans

It took a hot minute for some of us youth to sort out 60 kilograms of rice and pick out the rocks.

Sweet Giftie! She truly lives up to her name and blesses everyone around her. I love to watch the precious children living around us grow up, making me wonder in awe at how wonderfully the Lord crafted them together. A reminder of the immeasurable value He places on every human life.

The theme of the conference was the believer's new name in Christ. At the end of each of his sermons, Dad had the congregation get into groups, look up verses and find our new names in Christ. I share them with you bellow- who you are now that you are a child of God!

In Christ you, as a Christian, are...

Treasured (Deut. 7:6)

Beautiful (Ps. 149:4)

Protected (Ps. 91:14)

Forgiven (Ps. 103:3)

Delight (Ps. 147:11)

Known (Ps. 139:1)

Precious (Is. 43:4)

Clean (Jn. 15:3)

Christ's Friend (Jn. 15:15)

Heir (Rom. 8:17)

God's Child (Rom. 8:15-16)

Established (Rom. 16:25)

Unashamed (Rom. 10:11)

Free from Condemnation (Rom. 8:1)

Pure (1 Cor. 6:11)

Enriched (2 Cor. 8:9)

Chosen (Eph. 1:4)

Adopted (Eph 1:5)

Planned (Eph. 1:11-12)

God's Work of Art (Eph. 2:10)

Welcomed (Eph. 3:12)

Complete/Full (Col. 2:10)

Beloved (Col. 3:12)

Provided For (1 Tim. 6:17)

Gifted (2 Tim. 1:6)

Holy (Heb. 10:10)

Presentable (Heb. 10:22)

Helped (Heb. 13:6)

Safe (1 Jn. 5:18)

Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7)

God has certainly given me a wonderful, beautiful, brave Mom! She's honest about her struggles on the African mission field: she hates the intense heat, misses hot showers, has to plan every meal in advance to ensure we have everything we need to make it (everything homemade), learning a new language is hard for her, and she misses the social life of west Michigan. Yet in all this, Mom has surrendered to God. How beautifully He's honored such an act of faith! Mom participates with a whole heart in the long, hot, sometimes boring days of conference with a smile, love for everyone, and wise words to counsel the leaders. My mom's perseverance in following God's will even when it's hard inspires and encourages me!

While taking pictures of Dad preaching, this little gal decided she needed a selfie :)

Enthusiastic praise and worship

The kids put on a drama. God (acted by a children's teacher named Elijah) sent out Jesus and the Holy Spirit (depicted by Samson and Grace, respectively) went to a group of children and preached the gospel. This group, now Christians, went to another group of kids who rejected the gospel and chased the preachers away with raised voices and slaps from their shoes. Then the Christians went to another group of kids who received the gospel and were welcomed into God's presence as His children.

So precious and cute to see the kiddos enthusiastically acting their parts, or- in the case of the young children- trailing cluelessly behind the others :)

Friday evening it was time for Obule's first ever live nativity! Because Ateso has no word for nativity, Mom dubbed it Journey to Jesus. She brought along a box full of fabric scraps and dress-up accessories for costumes. Everyone was absolutely enthralled!

The angel choir really got into it! They all wore white and prepared a song. Mom provided them with tinsel halos and white fabric to act as wings.

Dressing up the prophets. I am humbled by the enthusiasm of the actors who willingly and excitedly put on costumes despite the heat.

After the prophets, viewers moved on to three wise men who told them about the star.

The next station was the shepherds who spoke of the angels' message...

And then led viewers to the angel choir!

After the angel choir came the manger scene. We had two siblings named Joseph and Mary (for real, those are their names!) acting the part. Mary's new baby (see my last blog post) was baby Jesus. Mary even put him in the manger for a few minutes.

Journey to Jesus concluded with a visit to the empty cross and empty tomb. Pastor Martin and Godfrey (another pastor's son) presented the gospel message. Y'all, God is so powerful and extremely good! Godfrey is a quiet boy who's often in the background, but he volunteered to share the gospel with hundreds of people!

Crowds staring and pictures being taken from all angles are completely normal here- which only enhanced the Journey to Jesus experience!

Prophets Isaiah, Micah and Jeremiah.

insignificant they were called

living life outside the walls

looked down upon, lowly

destined for life in poverty

yet to them gospel first preached

by angel choirs with heavenly speech

God reversed their narrative with

His grace, His love beyond all width

Makai, back to being a musketeer now turned Roman solider, ran around every station. He loved protecting baby Jesus.

gaze with wonder,

children,

on your Savior,

now hidden

in a bed of straw

lowering

himself for you all

God redeeming Mary's story of single motherhood, unfinished schooling and still living with her parents at 27... He's using her to show His unmatched, unquenchable, unconditional love.

no longer here

no longer dead

disappeared

instead

living within

your heart

harken the din

of praise 

Proud to be shepherds and wise men

Star of wonder

Star of light

Star of royal beauty bright

Westward leading

Still proceeding

Guide us to thy holy light

Note that the star was not the provider of holy light. It pointed to the light of the world!

The welcome committee. They persistently waved people in from the road and welcomed anyone who arrive.

God has given Mom a gift of discernment. He put a live nativity on her heart for several years, then wouldn't let her shake off the idea this year. Thanks for bringing it up, Mom!

Behold our God

seated on His throne

His throne on high

His throne now lowly

Yet Deity still

Come let us adore Him

who came for us

without thought of

His own comfort

bow down, worship

before the King of kings

resting as a baby

in a frail woman's

arms

How gracious is God that He, who has myriads upon myriads of angels and all creation to praise Him, would call weak men to worship His name!

Even with mosquito nets or tablecloths tied around their heads and shoulders, the "angels" worshiped God beautifully.

Makai maybe liked the angels a little too much

This young man bravely came alone from the center. A man from our church patiently led him through the stages of Journey to Jesus.

Things quieted down (hence everyone sitting around in the pictures above) so the decision was spontaneously made to go to the trading center, about a kilometer away.

The angels danced and sang the entire way. Makai did too.

beaten

battered

bonked

broken

but

will not

break

togetherness

Young moms trailing behind the group with their babies tied to their backs.

Upon arriving at the public school's soccer field, our entire group marched around the field to gain (lots of) attention. Then, we set up the nativity on the side of the field. The congregation did an astounding job taking ownership of the drama, going to the center next door to invite spectators and leading newcomers through the stages of the nativity.

Luka provided his large flashlight, so the wise men set it in a bush, pointed at the star.

Mom gave the head angel, Margret, a Christmas light "necklace"

The final day, Saturday, we had baptisms and communion. It was decided that due to rain during the night, the baptismal would be filled from the rain tank rather than having youth fetch water from the borehole.

The little boys were more than happy to climb up the tank and stick a pipe inside.

Through a series of pipes of various materials connected by tying them together with rubber strips, a long pipe was constructed to bring water from the rain tank to the baptismal across the compound.

The connections burst open twice. Makai and I got all wet from standing too close (including everything in my bag which I spread out to dry in the hot sun).

The rest of the kids watched Elijah, a children's teacher at our church, wash the baptismal.

More excitement = more kiddos

Hearing/feeling the water pass through the pipe

There was no lack of help when the pipes needed to be drained afterwards.

Baptisms

No avoiding the hot sun. Homemade shade brought from putting a handkerchief or blanket over your head.

This is Lucy and her oldest daughter, Faith. Lucy's husband is gone every day. Lucy has to garden, clean the house, do chores and keep up with house repair by herself. Yet she always gives you a smile when you greet her. Her two girls, Faith and Canna, play happily and are always together. Please pray for these sweet daughters of the King.

Makai started a well-watched swimming party once baptisms were done.

Trying to get the drain open

Thank you for reading this long blog and appreciating a program happening half way across the world!