The Bride of Christ...

As JT is quickly relaying details of the last two days to me, I am frantically writing...but in my mind, I see the bride of Christ. I see her getting ready...preparing and planning for their wedding. Oh, how I long for that day. The church in Africa is longing too....

Divine Grace School currently has over 700 students, but this week, they have invited the community to the school. So, the population swells to over 1000 each day as the team arrives. Today was a day given to the team, full of opportunities to share the love of Christ, and they took full advantage of it!

Just yesterday, Deanna stepped up to share with the crowd. She described how she too is from a tribal people. She spoke of a time when white man came to her tribal ancestors and gave them part of the Gospel. The people believed, but they didn't have the FULL Gospel...only parts. Thus, they were led astray and did not know the truth. But, what was about to be shared was the TRUE GOSPEL in its entirety from the Word of God. The people were able to relate to her and she spoke truth into their lives.

Today, Tyler and Megan A. led the Bible study time. They shared about Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life! Pastor Peter shared that today was the day of salvation for many of them. The harvest field is ripe in Uganda. Over 120 MORE people came to know Christ today!!! Every day, new people have been invited and have accepted the invitation to be a part of God's Kingdom. Unlike in the US, people are called to repentance and confession. They pour out their lives before the community and church. They are carefully walked through the Gospel to make sure they understand the life-long commitment they are making. Lives are being transformed. The pastors there quickly combine new believers with people in the church to start discipleship!

All of the community is gathering each day, and with the generosity of several of you, we have been able to feed them lunch! What a blessing this has been as many of them walk for hours to arrive on the school grounds. Today, they had indicated that they needed to leave after lunch in order to get home. But, still they lingered for over 2 hours because of the impact of Biblical community.

Here's a rundown on all the team members:

Sam is an incredible team member who is having a blast playing with the kids each day. His eyes are being opened to the continent of Africa. He is already picking up on the language!

Tyler has been placed in a position of leadership to preach to the adults each day. He has been leading non-stop and is a rock-solid leader for the team.

Megan A. is loving life in Africa! She has all of the community ready to come tomorrow because they have NEVER seen a girl who can truly play soccer! She will be in the huge soccer game to be held tomorrow at the school!

Lonnie is doing an outstanding job! She is the administrator/coordinator of all the crafts. Without her, the team says they wouldn't stay on task!

Meghan H. is taking hundreds of photos (probably more like thousands)! JT said he can lean on her for anything because she knows him best. She will always do whatever is needed!!

Deanna is sharing with the community each day. JT said he has been like a proud Daddy watching her boldly proclaim her faith!

Brittney is having a following of children each day wherever she goes. All of the kids and adults want her to stay at Divine Grace forever! She is always ready to jump in and do what is needed, and she is the most consistent presence on the team!

Kathleen has grown tremendously this summer! She is seeing the great need to learn from others on the mission field (don't we all wish we realized our need to be teachable at the age of 18). She celebrated her 18th birthday yesterday with a motorcycle ride (keep in mind there are no other vehicles on the roads there!).

Michael fulfills the servant-leadership role constantly. He is the first one to volunteer to do anything and does it with a smile! He has taken a great deal of video footage that will help to promote sponsorships there!

Zippy spent a good deal of yesterday crying...that point that every participant comes to of knowing that you just can't help everyone and the need is overwhelming. But, today she has spent most of the day laughing. It is truly a joy to watch her with children!

Elizabeth has connected with children well. She is always willing to jump in and play with kids or dance with them!

Ryan has come out of his shell completely. The first day, he was paired with Michael, and he was encouraged to step up and share boldly. Well...he has! Ryan is taking every opportunity to share the Gospel message with anyone who will listen!

Meggie loves Africa and knows that God is calling her there! She has a way of loving on kids that meets them right where they are. What a blessing to watch her connect with kids who need it most!

Please pray for the team as they head to the outskirts of Kampala on Saturday. They will be leading a pastor's conference next week. Specifically, JT asked that you pray for the pastors for the "Upland" (referring to the ones from the northern part of Uganda). These pastors come from a volatile part of the land and rarely get any encouragement or support. However, the team has been able to host them at the farm church all week! What a HUGE blessing this is to the pastors as well as the team. There will be a great deal of time for supporting the bride of Christ and walking alongside of them during difficult days.

There have been lots of pictures and video taken, but we cannot upload any of them from Africa! But, we'll keep you posted!!!