Day 6 - Praise the Lord! - July 11

Yesterday was a crazy good day! Since we had seen the Woolies, life was good. We woke up and got showered to go to church. I love Watoto church! It’s gotten even better than before, except that they covered up the beautiful sunset mural with some ugly blue curtains. I’m not a fan. My favorite part of worshiping the Lord in Uganda is being surrounded by completely different people on the opposite side of the world but still knowing that God is God and he is the same here as he is back in Minnesota. I wonder how amazing it will be in heaven to sing songs and lift voices in praise with the entire world. It’s going to be an amazing thing. They really like Hillsong music at Watoto Church. At least two of the songs were from the most Hillsong United CD that I used to listen to almost every morning. One of the first songs is sung by Chris Tomlin called Sing Sing Sing……Some of the lyrics say:
“You are the one we’re living for…Sing and make music with the heavens
…grateful that you hear us when we shout your praise, lift high the name of Jesus”
It’s so true that we can lift our voices joyously to worship a God that loves us SO much. How amazing that he hears us when we pray and when we worship. He wants us to come to him with our requests and thank him for being there for us. He’s not a God that requires us to perform certain actions in order to make us good enough to be saved. He sent Jesus to die for our sins so we can have a direct connection to him.

The sermons have gotten more directed every year. I feel like the first time we were there, the pastor just spoke the same words over and over for almost two hours and by the first hour, he didn’t really say anything new. This time, he still spoke for at least an hour, but he broke it up with some worship and prayer and was more direct in what he said. This sermon was on 2 Corinthians 11 along with some other verses about being the bride of Christ. It’s really a beautiful concept to think about the way God wants us to have our relationship with him. Verse 1-2 say “I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” Weddings used to be much different. A man would request to marry a woman and if she said yes, he would leave and go back to his parents home to prepare a room for them. Once he was finished, he would return to collect his bride and take here there. The bride did not know if it would be a month or a year, and he could come at any time, even in the middle of the night. In order to be prepared she had to live every day as though he were coming and needed to be devoted to him, even though he was miles away and didn’t see what she was doing each day. First off, I really appreciate this idea of marriage and romance. It’s something we don’t always see these days with relationships in general. How amazing is it that woman commits to one many and doesn’t know when he will return, but she loves him enough to wait for the time he will come back and announce himself again….and the man goes back to prepare for the coming of his wife. To me there seems to be a lot of romance in that type of waiting. (I might just be a hopeless romantic). It’s the same way with the Lord. We don’t know when he will be returning, but we must live our lives in expectation that he could come any time. If today were the day that Jesus showed up, would I be able to tell him that I have lived my life completely for him and that I have not put anything else ahead of him? It’s sobering to think of how many times that I let my selfish ambitions go ahead of what He wants me to do.

One final thought. The pastor described his wedding day and his most nervous moment being as he walked from his best man across the stage to meet his wife. He then said that thing that made his wife more beautiful than any other person that day was not the clothes and make-up, but the anticipation and expectation that something amazing was about to happen as she walked down the aisle. What would life be like if we lived with anticipation and expectation that God is going to move and he is going to do great things?
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Oh yeah, another song that really hit me is one that Lincoln Brewster had on the radio a couple of years ago. The words really struck me, especially for the people here….there are often very weak in their physical bodies, but God strengthens them as they trust.

Everlasting God
Strength Will Rise as we WAIT upon the Lord
Our God, you reign forever
Our Hope, our strong deliverer
You are the everlasting God
You do not faint
You won’t grow weary
You’re the Defender of the Weak
You Comfort those in need
You lift us up on Wings like Eagles

After church we walked across the street to one of the markets and bought some random crafts. Poor Angella always has to put up with our shopping. She’s such a trooper. We walked a couple of miles to get to Nando’s downtown. It’s like a foodcourt area with 4 or 5 different choices. It’s a pretty popular place for Ugandans to go. Usually, if you ask a cab to go to any of the other restaurants near there they have no clue, but if you mention Nandos, they know exactly what you are talking about.

After dinner, we came back home and I’m going to take a nap. Walking in the heat really wears you out! I’ve decided to walk into Angellas house in town to meet up and go back to Watoto church to watch the World Cup Final! It’s just like when the Vineyard had a big party to watch the Super Bowl. It’s amazing that a church can celebrate not only their faith but the exciting moments in life.