After a long journey, a team of our brothers and sisters in Christ - men, women and children from West Texas - have arrived in the east Africa nation of Uganda for Christian mission. The 2009 Uganda Mission Team from First Presbyterian Church of Midland will be sending back regular reports from Uganda, along with photos.
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Our devotional by Karen Winkler this morning was based on chapter 15 entitled “Community” and it was a fitting chapter to study on the day we would have the first worship service at the new church in Sironko.
It was truly unbelievable--the sight of all the people as we approached the church. As we arrived, the church was already filled with the new congregation. We joined them in their opening ceremonies of prayer and song before breaking up into men’s, women’s, and children’s, Sunday school. There were at least 100 men in the class that Jeff led under a tent by the church. He taught on the gifts that God gives each one of us and challenged the men to find their gift that will help build the community of faith and help assist Pastor Dennis in ministering to the needs of the congregation as it grows. Cynthia and Robin led over 200 women in their class. They taught on the importance of prayer in the new believer. The young adults and children of our team taught over 300 children songs, prayers and stories from the Bible. They were delightful.
After Sunday school, the people gathered back in the church to a packed house, overflowing to the aisles where they had placed mats on the floor for the children to sit. It was so full that by the time we made our way back to the church, there was “no room in the inn”. So we enjoyed the wonderful service from outside until the Muzungu Choir (that’s us) was called to the stage. We sang a rousing rendition of “Lord I Lift Your Name On High” and by the third time through the keyboard joined in and we sounded pretty good.
Jerry preached on Ephesians 1:18 – 23 encouraging the congregation to become a part of the body of Christ. We enjoyed the beautiful sound of Ugandan prayers, lifted up the Lord with passion and joy. Pastor Morris gave a passionate and powerful sermon on the importance of being a community of faith. He charged Pastor Dennis with having Bible-centered authority over the church and the importance of leading a faithful congregation. Because of the size of the crowd, the children were again escorted out to continue with Bible stories and songs while they continued with the dedication of the church and the installation of Pastor Dennis. It was so sweet to see Pastor Dennis’ family present for such an important moment. When it was all said and done, we worshiped and sang with or new friends for about 4 ½ hours. IT WAS GREAT!
We enjoyed one more delicious meal by our cooks – Christopher and James and made our way back to Mbale. It was bitter sweet leaving our new brothers and sisters in Christ but it was so rewarding to leave such a vibrant and happy congregation.
We arrived back at Mt. Elgon and began preparing for the Pastor’s Dinner. This is one of our favorites events of the week because it is the time we share Holy Communion with our Ugandan family. It is like getting a ‘peek’ of heaven – all of us gathered around the table sharing the Lord’s Supper and praising God. We then share a meal, share some laughter and share a few tears during the evening. As the pastor’s and their family leave, we gave each of the pastors’ new Bibles to take back to their churches. What a blessing they have been to us this week – walking side by side with us translating and spreading the gospel to the countryside. We could not do this without them. Please keep them in your prayers
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Our devotional by Karen Winkler this morning was based on chapter 15 entitled “Community” and it was a fitting chapter to study on the day we would have the first worship service at the new church in Sironko.
It was truly unbelievable--the sight of all the people as we approached the church. As we arrived, the church was already filled with the new congregation. We joined them in their opening ceremonies of prayer and song before breaking up into men’s, women’s, and children’s, Sunday school. There were at least 100 men in the class that Jeff led under a tent by the church. He taught on the gifts that God gives each one of us and challenged the men to find their gift that will help build the community of faith and help assist Pastor Dennis in ministering to the needs of the congregation as it grows. Cynthia and Robin led over 200 women in their class. They taught on the importance of prayer in the new believer. The young adults and children of our team taught over 300 children songs, prayers and stories from the Bible. They were delightful.
After Sunday school, the people gathered back in the church to a packed house, overflowing to the aisles where they had placed mats on the floor for the children to sit. It was so full that by the time we made our way back to the church, there was “no room in the inn”. So we enjoyed the wonderful service from outside until the Muzungu Choir (that’s us) was called to the stage. We sang a rousing rendition of “Lord I Lift Your Name On High” and by the third time through the keyboard joined in and we sounded pretty good.
Jerry preached on Ephesians 1:18 – 23 encouraging the congregation to become a part of the body of Christ. We enjoyed the beautiful sound of Ugandan prayers, lifted up the Lord with passion and joy. Pastor Morris gave a passionate and powerful sermon on the importance of being a community of faith. He charged Pastor Dennis with having Bible-centered authority over the church and the importance of leading a faithful congregation. Because of the size of the crowd, the children were again escorted out to continue with Bible stories and songs while they continued with the dedication of the church and the installation of Pastor Dennis. It was so sweet to see Pastor Dennis’ family present for such an important moment. When it was all said and done, we worshiped and sang with or new friends for about 4 ½ hours. IT WAS GREAT!
We enjoyed one more delicious meal by our cooks – Christopher and James and made our way back to Mbale. It was bitter sweet leaving our new brothers and sisters in Christ but it was so rewarding to leave such a vibrant and happy congregation.
We arrived back at Mt. Elgon and began preparing for the Pastor’s Dinner. This is one of our favorites events of the week because it is the time we share Holy Communion with our Ugandan family. It is like getting a ‘peek’ of heaven – all of us gathered around the table sharing the Lord’s Supper and praising God. We then share a meal, share some laughter and share a few tears during the evening. As the pastor’s and their family leave, we gave each of the pastors’ new Bibles to take back to their churches. What a blessing they have been to us this week – walking side by side with us translating and spreading the gospel to the countryside. We could not do this without them. Please keep them in your prayers
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