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Posted December 16
Well, it has been 3 days since I last emailed or spoke to my family by phone. I really am concerned that they will worry about me… especially Mom. I’ve tried multiple times to connect by cell but either the electrical storm, the power outage, or the weak signal has kept the cell phones from working out here at the Land. I’m hopeful that one of the missionaries will return soon and I can use a phone to give Alyssa a call and perhaps Mom as well.
Despite the lack of contact with the outside world it has been a wonderful day. I woke early and had a good breakfast. Coffee is such a treat for me here in the mornings. I love the process of boiling water and making that perfect cup with sugar and milk. I had a good time reading Micah and I’m thinking of a sermon for CF for when I return.
I did see some of the other full time missionaries later in the day. The other Mzungu missionaries had been to Jinja and then Kampala… it would have been nice to know but not that big a deal in retrospect. I think they sort of forget I’m here honestly. I met Peter first thing at his office and we were able to get the formulas completed to calculate his tax information for all the employees. I added Christian music and a Bible to his computer and he said, “Thank you Mr. Steadman, you have brought the Lord into this office and it is such a good thing.” I met with Patrick, one of the teachers and helped make the PC in the staff room a working machine with Office software and speakers. I spent most of my day working on the older computers and networking the new computers together – it worked! I’m hopeful that the power won’t be a problem in that room. The kids now stand all around the door and beg me to let them come in. I hate to keep them out but they cover the room up standing 3 deep at each machine when I give them the OK. I’ve done a pretty good job of teaching basic computer skills and getting the kids to take turns. Now when they see me coming in the morning I have kids begging me to let them have the 1st computer, I have the second another one will yell, they argue over who has the 3rd and the 4th. The teens came in after their driving lessons today and I showed them how to burn CDs and how to get information off of one of the other computers via the network. They were so impressed and kept saying ‘Good job, well done, thank you so much”. They invited me to come to Thursday night Devotional Time at 6:00 and I came to an incredible worship service. I said that I would be there.
On my way back to get cleaned up I was called from the house on the hill and I went up to meet James and Marilyn Bumgardner – James is 80 years old and his wife is the nurse for GSF. They have been here 3 years and just returned from furlough. They were great company and he really seemed to like talking Theology with me. I was warmly invited to come back here and bring my family – James said they needed me to teach these kids the Bible.
After a little rest and clean up I headed back to the Thursday night service. The leader was a teen named, Alice, who seems so full of joy and security in her salvation. She keeps the singing going without pause for up to 45 minutes with charismatic prayer breaks where everyone is praying at the same time and the drums continue softly in the background. Then the drums swell and she begins leading another song. They had a testimony time and to my surprise and pleasure about 15 kids stood up to thank God in different ways for the computers, for my visit, for the computers, for me working on the computers, and for the computers… ha!
I was the only Mzungu at the service – something I’m more and more comfortable with… I began wondering if they would ask me to speak. As I learned some of their songs and sang the familiar ones the Lord helped me with a clear tie between my Sunday sermon and a message for this Thursday night crowd. As I imagined, they asked if I would teach them from the Bible. It was cool to have not had this planned and an honor to be asked back since most of them were there on Sunday morning. I asked who all had been there Sunday and got a nearly unanimous show of hands. I explained that I was talking to them as my brothers and sisters in Christ… as fellow disciples of Jesus and that we needed to look to the example of Jesus to know how he would have us live. We walked through the passage where John washes the disciples feet and Paul’s words in Philippians 2 which I feel are hidden inside me now after several years of study. It was so easy to apply these words to their setting to their circumstances and it was a blessing to hear a man pray thanking God for each of the lessons that he had learned from that time in the Word.
Chad carried my Bible back for me and held my other hand. I must tell Steven Jobes what a sweet and solid young Christian boy Chad is. My heart is really broken for him. Chad wants a family so badly and asks me constantly how many more days I will be here, will I leave the pictures of my family, will I ever come back here? Henry and Phillip begged me to come read a story to them so I went up and found the last of the stories I have yet to read to them and headed down to Agape House. They sat at my feet with wide eyes as I read a book called the ‘Crippled Lamb’. Talk about a tough one to read to a group of kids with AIDS. It is all about how Jesus loves the different kids, the kids with challenges in life, and how they are special to him and have a purpose. I was crushed just reading it to them.
When I got home, Claudia and Kerrie had returned from their latest trip to get Christmas gifts for the kids. She came up and as I was about to ask for the phone, she said – Bob called, you need to call home – your Dad emailed Bob to see if you were OK. I knew they were worried – I could feel it. So I called and got Alyssa on the phone. She had Ethan in her arms and I could here his voice – so sweet even though he was fussy. I told her I could stay here for a very long time if I just had my family with me. The house is now formally on the market (no lookers yet it as it sounded), the car is being fixed (Alyssa was rear-ended and had to deal with a car full of kids and getting a van, insurance, police reports, and getting a van). The reality of the world at home seems so different right now. It will be difficult going back but I know the Lord has a plan for our family.
Blessings to you ~ Steadman
Steadman Harrison
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