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Posted December 10
In the early morning around 5:00am the rain came… they seem to come every day at some point but only stay for a while. The rain can be very powerful. I heard the lightening and thunder and I thought of Charles Owart sitting out under the bush in front of my house guarding the camp. I couldn’t sleep thinking of him sitting in the rain. I got up and unlocked the kitchen walked out and asked him to please come sit in the kitchen if the rains came. He at first said no, no, it wasn’t a problem but he finally said OK. I heard him come running in when the rains came on stronger. I worried about all the temptations that the items in the kitchen might present but I relaxed about it and hoped that my good wishes would be well received. They were.
I didn’t go back to sleep but it was a nice thought and a comfort given that I was preaching later in the day to have such a long morning ahead of me. I stayed in bed as long as I could and prayed for my family, for Covenant Fellowship, for the missionaries and children here. When I got up and walked outside an amazing sight was awaiting me. The sunrise was spectacular. Great clouds in the distance had a rainbow in their midst and as I watched a second rainbow appeared. Who would have guessed that this place could be so incredibly beautiful!
The Lord blessed and after some breakfast and some study I was able to take a nap before church! I’m almost certain that this is a first for me on a morning when I was to preach. I wasn’t sure if they would want me to play guitar so I carried it along and again all the young boys came out to greet Mr. Steadman and to go to church. At first this seemed like a wonderful thing… however, when we got to the church I discovered it was going to be difficult to manage the great collection of boys that I brought with me. Instead of waiting for their Aunties or brothers and sisters they all sat with me. Imagine being in church with 15 3 to 4 year old boys all wanting to sit in your lap, play with your watch, unzip your zippers, and ask you questions during an hour of praise and worship… it was nearly chaotic. I kept thinking of the verses where Jesus said to let the little children come unto him and I did my best to focus on the praise portion of the morning and keep my cool and my patience. I didn’t get much focused thought time… talk about serving others rather than thinking of your self! Bob introduced me and we fumbled briefly with the podium which I needed for my notes. My preparation served the Lord well, I think… without having thought through the short sentences and taking out the colloquialisms it would have been a tough sermon given that everything had to be translated into Ugandan. It was also good that I thought about the translation time as I planned the sermon… Bob said I had about 45 minutes and it was just about that. So here is the tremendous part… I did my best and sat down truly thankful to have had the opportunity to preach. The church pastor got up and repeated every major point of my sermon and said that this was all a clear call for the lost to come to Jesus… What are you seeking? Will you follow Jesus? He is calling you to Come and to See Him. He gave an alter call and at first I thought this would simply be a standard practice piece of the end of the teaching time and just like at home the meeting would end quietly. To my surprise, and to my utter blessing from God, a middle aged man from the village came forward with tears streaming down his face… the pastor prayed with him and they tell me that he came to know the Lord… this was his first day at the church and he heard the Gospel and came forward. While the pastor was praying for him, another village woman with a baby in her arms also came forward and the pastor prayed with her as well. I was sitting there trying to hold back my own tears but it was impossible. The pastor ended the service and came over and thanked me for the message. He told me that there is a saying in Africa that missionaries bring good food, but I had brought something far greater for these souls to feed on. He embraced me and gave me a huge hug and told me that the Lord had really blessed them with my teaching. I walked back to the guest house in complete amazement at what the Lord had done. Why am I amazed? Where is my faith?
After a Sunday afternoon rest, I began thinking of creative ways to bless the kids. I picked out a couple of pictures of the boys from 5B at King Fisher and printed them in color then went down and invited them back up here to see a slide show of the pictures from the trip that day. While I was down there I checked in on Phillip of Agape house. Carolyn had mentioned the day before that he didn’t feel well earlier and given his AIDS there was no telling what might happen. I went in to find him laying listless on the couch. Peruth came in a couple of times to rub him down with water on his back and chest. He lay there moaning and I was so troubled. I was the only Mzungu (white person) at GSF for the afternoon until Claudia and Kerie returned from Kampala. I told the kids that I would be right back and I came up to the guest house and retrieved my guitar and the children’s books from Caldwell Kindergarten. I need to let Mrs. Ellis know what good use they were put to. I read to the kids and Phillip lay there moaning while one of the older girls occasionally bathed him down with a wet rag. While I read I prayed. I wanted to lay hands on him but, honestly, I was just afraid. It is amazing how many times I have been confronted with fear since arriving here… Satan uses fear in such a powerful way. By the time I stopped playing guitar and singing Phillip had stopped fussing and was sitting up on the couch. It was so incredible to see my prayers being answered before my eyes. I continued to sing until I could no longer see the pages in front of me because it was getting dark outside. The time had passed so quickly. One of the girls got up and turned on a light in the house so I could continue playing. About 30 more minutes passed and I heard the car arrive with Claudia and Kerie. They had received a call from Peruth while they were in Kampala telling them that Phillip was sick. They came in and rushed him off to the clinic. Despite the reprieve in his fever they think he has malaria. Kerie said tonight that she is concerned that this could be the end of his life. They will take him to the hospital in Jinja tomorrow depending on his fever.
I came back to the room and the power went out. I’ve been sitting here typing in the dark. The light of a candle and my laptop were the only lights that allowed me to see the BIG bat that flew into my room. I ducked and tried to spot it with my flashlight. I can only hope that it found the door and left the same way it came in. Just another day in Africa.
Blessings to you ~ Steadman
Steadman Harrison
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