Sunday in Kokombo

Hi everyone. Today was another amazing day. We went to church out in Kokombo and Pastor Wilson started by telling us the service would end by 1 pm. We started at 10 and to my amazement we actually finished before then. For those of you who have worshipped in Uganda the singing goes on forever. It is such sweet music. Glenn was able to share his worship as well. His music continues to bring joy to so many and today was no exception. The kids just poured into the church all sitting on the ground one right smack next to the other.

As we got there I saw a young girl holding a baby. I immediately asked if I could hold her and she handed me this bundle of joy - one and a half weeks! I could feel her little breaths. It was such a great moment. I kept her close until I began to feel a little wetness seep through and then I handed her off to Liz. At one point Liz, Jaimie and Emily were all sitting on the ledge of the church all holding babies. It was beautiful. These kids who have so little have so much love. They just grab onto your hands and do NOT want to let go. They go where you go. You start with one and before you know it you have a whole chain of kids. 

After church we were served a wonderful lunch. One little boy, probably three, followed us in. I asked if we could feed him and of course were told yes, I fixed him a plate filled to the brim and he just sat there and ate and ate and ate. By the end of lunch his little belly was full! It was such fun watching him eat. He ate every single bite on his plate. I think if I had filled it up again he would have eaten that as well. After lunch we went on the Lee Bowers tour up the mountain. I kept using the photography excuse to stop. Such pretty scenery deserves to be captured. Besides I was so far behind the team that they couldn't hear me gasping for air. But alas I made it. And it was worth it. At the top I asked one of the gaggle of kids who followed us up to take a picture of the team. My goodness, she did an awesome job! On the way down we stopped and met a Muslim man who we shared with. We gave him a t-shirt and I asked if I could take his picture. Next thing we see is this old woman running up and she starts dancing. We gave her an empty cloth bag and she dropped to her knees and kissed Judy's feet. The man then told us that the land in that area belonged to his family and if we ever wanted to build he would give us the land to do so because he wanted us to be his neighbors. Think about that. We gave him a t-shirt and he offered us his land! I was just blown away. At that point Jaimie suggested that we come back up the mountain and give them both a mercy bag. So as we approached the church, Jaimie, Glenn, Josh and Liz proceeded back up the mountain. Much to their surprise the man was no longer there but a young lady was willing to lead them to him. And so they followed past one village and then past another. Just as they were about to give up and turn around they found him. He was so thankful. For those of you who know Jaimie this will not surprise you. This was suppose to be a quick trip up the mountain so we kept the kids from Kokombo with us. However as they started walking up the hill kids started randomly following. Jaimie stated "Jaimie, Jaimie, Jaimie", followed by "Josh is Weird, Josh is Weird, Josh is Weird". Meanwhile Josh is suggesting "Jesus loves me" but Jaimie is Jaimie so you get what you get. Then every so often unexpectedly she would turn around and go "boo" and all the kids would scream. Wish I'd been there. She is wonderful with kids and has her own weird way of connecting!!!

Meanwhile back at Kokombo we decided this would be a good time to hand out the t-shirts we had taken and some of the hats that some of the women from Riverside had made. Now here is the shocking part...not really! We had exactly the number of t-shirts, hats and scarfs for everyone there to get one. No one went home empty handed! How cool is that. We then took a picture of all of the kids and there was one little boy completely naked except for the hat on his head and his little green shoes. Oh, so cute! (he did have a t-shirt too, just opted not to wear it! 

The day was awesome! We didn't deliver the Mercy bags to Kokombo. We were too busy doing what we felt we were being called to do. But it was a great day. Seems each day gets a little better than the day before and I'm not quite sure how that is possible. The team is great. Such wonderful hearts for the kids. They get it. They get that the reason for the trip is to share and to love. And they are all passing with 100%. Wish they were all staying for the month!!!

Its getting late and I am very tired. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. I miss you all but wouldn't trade this experience with these people for anything.

 

Love you.  Sue

 

 

Here are some pictures:

 

Our group at the top of the hill of the Lee Bowers tour:

 

 

Here's a picture of Jackie and me. She is the lady that UTOL team one helped. She was dancing in the church this morning and is so beautiful inside and out: