Uganda Week 4

Week four, a week spent at Holy Spirit Fire Church for a youth conference. Our final week in Mbarara was filled with passionate speakers and equally passionate youth. We arrived late the first night with just enough time to attend the final session of the first day of the conference. The speaker was on fire for the Lord. She was full of passion and it spread to everyone in the room. Most students were on their feet and with every powerful word spoken cheers erupted throughout the whole room. From the first night, it was evident that God’s presence was in the building.

Throughout the week, God continued moving powerfully. While we were there to serve, we also had the opportunity to be a part of the conference and learn alongside the youths from the church. The whole second day I was sitting there with my notebook taking notes as fast as I could. I was continually blown away by how much God was teaching me through the people there and their passion for God. One of my favorite takeaways from that day was that God asks us to come to Him broken. You are not required to pull yourself together and be perfect before you can go to Him. Another point was to stop carrying a burden that God already took on Himself. So often we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect and to carry our struggles on our own. We try to fight our own battles when God already won. You are good enough for God because of Jesus. Jesus already took all your burdens onto himself so we can now stand in his victory.

Not only did God teach me so much on the second day of the conference he also opened a door for me to be able to teach. During the conference, I stepped outside to get some fresh air and get a little break from the crowds and ended up being surrounded by little kids in no time. Over time, more and more of the kids who were playing in the field came over. They kept asking for me to tell a story and I could feel God nudging me. He opened a door and left the decision up to me regarding whether I wanted to step out or not. I have never thought I was great at telling stories, so I was hesitant and instead offered to sing a song. One of the little boys ran and got a drum and played along with my singing while the other kids danced. Even after singing them a song, the nudge and conviction was still there and so was the nagging from the children who still wanted to hear a story. God put me there, in that moment, to tell those kids a story. So after much staling, I ended up telling them the story of Joseph and they were all focused and waiting with anticipation of what would happen next until I had finished.

The following day, was another day of learning for me and also being able to serve and build relationships with some of the other youth. One of my team members, Curdin, spoke that day. He spoke a message I think many of us need to be reminded of daily. One of his points was that the enemy will try to lie to you and convince you that you are the only one. How true is that? How often does he convince you that you are the only one stuck in that sin, you are the only one who feels stuck in a pit or have hit a wall in your faith? Shame and guilt are just a few of the enemy’s greatest tools. They keep us from being vulnerable and going to others for help because we think we are alone, but the truth is often when we open up we will see that those around us are in the same place and fighting the same battles. So if you want to find freedom from sin, talk about it! Bring your sin into light, because when it is exposed, sin loses its power.

At the end of the day, Abdul, one of the guys who had been organizing our trip, invited us to his house where we got to meet his lovely family. His wife made us all dinner and sent us off with a powerful prayer.

With travel and a day of rest, this was a shorter week, which meant that the next day was our final day at the conference. While today was the last day it was also the first day that I got to help dish out the lunches. The long lines of hungry people were slightly overwhelming, yet, there was something special about being able to serve people so practically.

At the end of the day, it was time to say goodbye. From the church team we had been working with for a month, to girls I had just met this week, saying goodbye definitely was not easy. I never knew how quickly people could steal your heart. Our team found ourselves in tears saying goodbye to people who may have started as strangers but quickly became friends. Even still, the people of Mbarara will always hold a piece of my heart.

 Thankfully the goodbyes were spread out, as Pastor Willy had invited us to have dinner at his house before leaving. At the end of the night, the Pastor prayed for us and sent us off. With that it was time to say goodbye to Mbarara and head on to Arua.

Powerful Story of the week:

If you read my blogpost from week one you may remember I mentioned, we were given the privilege of being able to speak at a prison. Well, while we were there Madalyn met a teenage boy named Joel who had been wrongly accused and was in prison till he was able to have a court hearing. This gave Madalyn the opportunity to pray for him and for his freedom, not only eternal freedom but also physical freedom. Fast forward to this week, Joel was at the youth conference! Turns out, the day after Madalyn prayed for him, he had his court hearing and was released. He then found Madalyn during the conference and was able to share this testimony with her. He has since been added to the sponsorship program through Holy Spirit Fire Church and now Madalyn is his sponsor which will allow him to finish school!