Bukeeka Church

Sunday was a day to spend with the church. We joined with the Bukeeka church of their morning worship with Ken and Bruce each bringing a message of the Gospel to the people. The African worship experience is more expressive than it is in North America. The people sing with heart, soul, and body. Harmonies spring up spontaneously and there is a freedom that just different from most North American churches.

Bukeeka church has a dirt floor that is about as hard as concrete. The congregation has added on to the church from two years ago so it now seats about 500 in plastic lawn chairs. They now have sheet aluminum walls to keep some of the wind and rain out. But the aluminum also keeps some of the heat in, so there is a trade-off; better at protecting from the weather, worse as keeping it cool. They have also recently built an office for Pastor Robert so he can have a place to work when he is there. His home is about15 miles away and the roads make the journey take longer than it does in America.

We had lunch at Fountain of Hope School a short drive up the road from the church. The meal was excellent! Rice, beans, and beef cooked in tasty juices. I asked what to call the dish and was told: “Rice, beans, and beef.” The perfect descriptor.

After lunch we travelled about 10 miles, the last several miles on dirt roads and a dirt trail that took us down to the Nile River. There, a service of baptism was held for about 75 people. It was fascinating to stand by the Nile, watching people being washed of their sins, listening to the people lift their voices in song to God in a language I don’t understand, knowing the Gospel is at work in ways and in among cultures I don’t understand very well, but also knowing God’s Holy Spirit works through Word and Sacrament to build and strengthen his Church.