Independence Day for Muslims

In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry for help before him came into his ears.
Psalm 18:6

My morning devotional was Mark chapter 6 and I marveled at the inability of Jesus to perform miracles in Nazareth. Pastor Robert shared with me that ministry was so much more fruitful in the bush, but in Jinja and Kampala he was often met with arrogance and pride. I prayed for a fruitful day for our group.

Friday, the fourth of July started off just as every other day has begun here in Uganda; we determined the night before that with the full schedule ahead it would be imperative that we get on the road no later than 9:00 AM. So we exited the fenced parking of the Keymba Sande Garden Hotel promptly at 9:45 and spent the next 45 minutes in what ultimately turned out to be a wild goose chase looking for ice to cool down our bottled water. At 10:30 AM it was determined that there was not a block of ice to be found in all of Kamuli so we ventured out into the bush to find the tiny village of Bulangira. Pastor Robert apologized as we left the paved road and said we were about to cross some of the worst roads he had ever been on in his life and he had also neglected to have the spare tire repaired after the flat was replaced the day before. His statement was no exaggeration as we averaged 12 miles per hour over the next hour and a half to cover only 30 kilometers. We arrived at the True Worship Center of Bulangira to the singing or a group of teenage girls, there were easily 300 people waiting and cheering our arrival and they sang;

For the visitors here at Bulangira;
We have a very good day to have a look at you;
Let us singy to you;
Let us dancey for you;
We have a very good day to have a look at you.

The church was a brick building 25’X50’ and there were 150 people neatly packed inside and another 150 or more stood at the doors and windows peering in. The Pastor, Steven, was introduced and with his opening remark he said, “I must be in America because I have never seen so many white people in all my life” Everyone agreed that there had not been a time when there were as many as seven white people in this town all at once. 

The conditions inside the church were hot, very humid and a little stuffy but the congregation was positive and the singing and dancing continued in an orderly manner despite the overcrowded conditions. Our sound man and musician Philip never ceases to amaze me; he is self taught and yet he can play any tune on the keyboard by ear after listening to the singer sing the first verse. I preached for about 40 minutes from a message titled “The Judgment Seat of Christ” and the message was well received. Many were thumbing through their bibles and fervently taking notes. John gave a similar message to earlier ones as he informed the congregation of the work at GGI and then he devoted the rest of his time to encouraging the community to love one another and continue in service of their own neighbors.

By the time the services ended we made a plan to divide our group and head out into the community and deliver some blessings to needy families but we needed to move away from the throng at the church and start transferring the food staples into large zip lock bags. That is where the plan changed. The first place we stopped was a compound of a dozen and a half little huts which Pastor Steven informed us belonged to Muslims. When we first arrived, the woman we intended to speak to was not at home and what followed appeared to be some loud angry words from one very vocal Muslim woman. So we moved on deeper into the Muslim area and met another Muslim woman named Sumaya. We told her we were here to share the love of Jesus and wanted to bless her with a few food items and her response was, “you are welcome, we love you” we prayed with her and from that point on there was no more tension. Abdoluah her neighbor (the loud angry woman) even softened her tone and came an knelt next to John and prayed with him. Meanwhile Pastor Robert was speaking to a middle aged Muslim man named Jackson and telling him that it was no coincidence that he was home from working at that hour and these Christians from America were right outside his house He told him this was a very special day and explained the gospel to him and that he should consider it. The next thing you know John was praying with him to receive Christ. Pastor admonished him to remove the charms he was wearing purchased from the witch doctor and he did. Jackson prayed to receive Christ out loud in front of all his Muslim neighbors and his courage emboldened Ruth and Gertrude, both Muslims; to do likewise and pray with us there.

As we had intended this just to be our first stop, it turned out to be our only stop. Pastor Steven was going from hut to hut taking names and planning follow-up discipleship for the new members of his church. We prayed with Margaret and Miriam who received Christ with her newborn son strapped to her back.  And in the very center of the compound we happened upon an elderly gentleman named Anthony who told us that he had been a Christian for 18 years and it then became apparent how this group of Muslims was so open to the gospel. Anthony’s face had the glow of the joy of the lord and we were able to encourage and bless him. As we were moving on to the next hut Anthony’s wife Edith arrived home and requested prayers for her migraine headaches. We prayed with Edith and expected that our time was gone and we should be moving on.

As we moved back toward the vans we found the lady we first intended see was now home so we were able to bless her with a few items of food and as I stood up, Jennifer took me by the arm and asked me to lead her to Christ. So after counseling and explaining, we prayed with her there and she asked Jesus to save her and give her new life. John had been called back to the far end of the housing area to pray with others who were in need and if we were not all so exhausted for the long day I believe we would still be there with the Pastors ministering to all those folks. The Lord is true when he says the fields are white unto harvest therefore pray the Lord of the harvest send more workers.

We climbed back into the vans and bounced our way back over 30 kilometers of the worst roads in Uganda just marveling at God and the work he allowed us to participate in at Bulangira.

Blessings, Miles

Photos: Church members at Bulangira, Ahnika getting hugs from Muslim women after giving them blessing gifts of rice, beans, flour, sugar, and soap, John praying with Jackson to accept Jesus as his Savior