Letting Go

Day 4 (10/3) - Evangelism Day

Tuesday was our second day in country. That morning, Amanda and I checked the schedule and saw something about the Christian Life Evangelism team. We met with the team for our morning worship and devotion after breakfast, then headed over to Christian Life Church. We walked into the Sanctuary and saw about 30-40 people sitting in the chairs, waiting for their day's directions. The leader was speaking in English, but someone was translating in Lugandan. All of the sudden, our team of ten was split into groups of two and paired with a Ugandan Evangelist. I was with Amanda and a very tiny Ugandan woman named Eunice.

As we sat receiving our direction for the day, it began to hit me that we were be sent out into the slums with a very small lady that we could not communicate very well with. Amanda and I looked around at the other groups and saw that each of them had at least one member of the male sex with them, whether it be an American from our team or a Ugandan. We both began having a panic attack and our team could see the look of concern on our faces. Moses, one of our team leaders, came over and offered to switch places with one of us. We looked to Sherry, our teammate that was partnered with him, and saw the concern on her face at the prospect of losing Moses and gaining a girl. Immediately, Amanda and I walked away and prayed. The answer was clear. God was sending us out into a situation that we were literally scared to death of. He was urging us to trust in Him. Trust Him for safety, for courage, and for the words to speak. He was using the situation to teach us something.

Once we were ready to go, we learned that Esther, our Ugandan liaison, would be traveling with us as well. All four of us stepped into the taxi and we were on our way. I prayed the whole way. I prayed for courage. I prayed for peace of mind. I prayed for my fear of the diseases that we would be in contact with to dissipate. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to use me in whatever way possible to reach people for Jesus Christ. After two taxi rides, we reached our destination. Immediately, a sense of peace fell over me and I was no longer myself. With the first group that we approached, Eunice and Esther did all the talking in Lugandan. The women were Muslim and not very interested in what we had to say. We continued on. Amanda went with Eunice and I walked with Esther as she approached people at their homes. She would ask for permission to speak with them, and if they accepted, she would share the gospel with them. Our first stop was a boy about 15 years old that was outside working. Esther asked me if I wanted to share the gospel with him and I immediately asked her to share so I could learn what to do. I have been a Christian for 20 years and not once have I shared the gospel with a stranger. My gift has never been evangelism and quite frankly, the thought of evangelizing has always freaked me out.


Amanda and Eunice.

As I observed Esther, I began to learn what to do -- share a quick testimony and talk about John 3:16. Our next stop was a man named Moses. He was out in front of his housing ironing some clothes when we approached. Esther asked for permission to speak with him, and he accepted. She turned to me and asked me to preach the gospel. Uh wha? Preach? Uh. Okay. I started talking about Jesus and my relationship with Him. I told him about why I was in Uganda. And I shared John 3:16. Whatever he could not understand, Esther would translate. Moses prayed to accept Christ right there in front of his house.

We continued on into a cluster of homes. There we found two women doing laundry and began talking with them. One of the women, Jane, told us about her 4 children that currently had the measles. She had accepted the Lord a month before and asked us to pray for her and her children.





Part of the neighborhood:



The children in Uganda each have jobs. Some collect water for the family, others care for their siblings.



Christian is bed-ridden and Bernah cares for her in this one room home:





This is Phoebe. She lives her with her mother, father, 2 siblings, and one cousin in their one room home. Her father spoke English very well and told us about how he knows the Lord, but has fallen away. Her mother prayed to accept Jesus.



These were the last boys we interacted with that day. They were so full of joy and so excited to see us, yelling "Mzungu, how are you?" like so many other children we encountered.



Esther and I:



At the end of the day, Esther and I had prayed with several people, 4 of which accepted Christ. God is awesome.

Next up - Africa Prayer Mountain Day 1.