I Will Lift Him Higher

Today was a good day. I love this place. I love these people. I love spending time with my son, my sister and my parents. I love it that there's no snow and I love having someone just drive us around all day wherever we want to go. But what I really enjoyed was getting to know the people and the places I've been hearing about from my mother since this project began.

We started at the farm, in the schoolhouse.  Suzan & Tonny have started a "fellowship" group which meets in the schoolhouse at the farm. It began as a way to teach the farm workers and their families about Jesus. But it has grown to include the surrounding villages. They meet  on Saturday mornings. They sing, they pray, they hear the Word, they give testimonies and they welcome people into the family of God. The pastor from the Watoto church in Gulu comes to preach, when he can. Otherwise, people fill in. Today, it was the pastor's wife.

Tonny's sister, Nancy leads worship. Their instruments are a water jug and two handmade shakers and their voices... oh their voices. The drums would start the beat, the shakers would add their "shake" and Nancy would start the song. Then everone would join with voices, hands, and bodies. I couldn't understand all the words, but one phrase was very clear, "I will lift Him higher." It was always preceded by something like: in my home, I will lift Him higher. In my work, I will lift Him higher. In my travels, I will lift Him higher. I fell in love with these people and was reminded just how big my God is.

Next we walked down to the building site where my dad, Brody, Tonny, Ted and a few others were working on setting posts and leveling the building site. My heart burst with all sorts of emotions at the  sight of my son working along side my father in Uganda! And Brody was all smiles, even in the hot sun.

Then it was on to the Karin Clinic that my mother adores. She thinks of the women that work there as her daughters and has left her mark in the supply room as well as on the walls. My niece has also left her mark there in the form of an awesome mural on the outside wall with the verse "Let the little children come to me." We emptied our suitcases of all the supplies we brought with us and got the grand tour of this small, but efficient clinic. There was a little girl and an even littler boy there receiving IV medication for severe cases of Malaria. Fortunately, I had two suckers in my bag just for them!! So precious...

Later in the evening, while we were waiting for our meal, I went for a short walk with my mom down the street outside our gated hotel. (Yes, Dad, we went outside the gates, Mom said it was ok!) She asked me what has surprised me most about Uganda. My answer? I'm surprised at just how alike we as people really are. We may have different skin color, different customs, and we may live thousands of miles apart, but we're all searching for something in this life and we all have something to give in this life. We smile for the same reasons and we cry for the same reasons. Poverty has the same effect on people and families in Uganda, as it does in America and all over the world. It strips them of hope and sometimes of their dignity. And we all deserve to know the hope and dignity that only Jesus offers. That's why I'm in Uganda right now... because my parents felt called to bring hope to a hurting people. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for following the path God laid out for you even when you had no idea where it would lead. You are indeed, lifting Him higher.