In Kesese today, right after morning glory at 6:30, our team of five and about 10 of the Leadership Development Students set off on an adventure! We took a ride, just down the road from where our camp, to see if we could find some animals in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. God really blessed us! We saw gazelle , Ugandan cobb, wart hogs, water buffalo and hippos. The most awesome thing though was a huge bull elephant. He put on a show for us, extending up full length with his trunk to rip down a big branch and then proceeded to eat it. It was amazing!!!
We then went to dedicate a water project which was constructed by Compassion International, to service 3000 people. The dancing, the celebrating, the singing and the sharing about how this project will impact lives was incredible!!! The drums, a HUGE xylophone made out of wood, the colors and the joy of the dancing was so strong. I was waiting for the roof to blow off!
Another cool thing that happened today was that Cathy found out that one of the girls here who is studyng law (Cathy is a lawyer and a law professor) needs a sponsor. Cathy immediately said she would sponsor her. I can't wait to see how it goes when Cathy is able to tell her tomorrow that she will be doing that. Sponsors mean the world to these students. I have watched tears roll down the faces of these dynamic young leaders, who have made the great journey out of poverty, as they express their appreciation for their sponsors. Cathy has made an incredible investment.
At the last crusade tonight, 30 adults, 14 youth and a number of children accepted Christ. It has been an amazing time with these students. We have captured some of their stories on video and will send them out when we get back.
Tomorrow, we visit some of the Child Development Centers in this area and have the closing ceremony at camp. So much has been accomplished.
I have not been able to contact Keri and the gang in Rukingiri tonight but I know they were doing a work project all day today. They were working with people from the local church to build a structure that will have 3 rooms. One will serve as a kitchen, one a store room and the other will be a bathing room. I am sure they are tired tonight. I can't wait to reconnect with them on Sunday.
Please keep on praying for our emotional, spiritual and physical strength as we continue giving, serving and doing all we can to show and share God's love here in Uganda.
In His strength,
Ian
