Game Day for 200 children

After an emotionally intense day yesterday at the Namatala village, today was filled with extravagant joy and laughter! After beginning the day with our usual worship and devotional time at the hotel, we loaded up the crates full of equipment on top of the vans, piled in and traveled the 30minute journey to Lulwanda. The trip is never boring as there are so many incredible sights to see along the way. So many people walking and riding bicycles and motorcycles carrying an amazing assortment of things with them. We’ve seen animals, furniture, food and other treasures all piled on their heads or tied on their vehicles.

We began the day at the Children’s Home worshiping the Lord with the children as their friends from the neighboring village slowly trickled in. Each Lulwanda child has been paired with a child from the surrounding village in a program called The Good Neighbor Program (TGN). This program was created in attempt to keep the LCH kids in touch with their local culture and avoid becoming a sub culture unto themselves. It also serves a means for outreach to bless the poor villagers with some of the blessing that God has poured out on Lulwanda.

While the TGN children ate their breakfast, Kelley Kerr improvised a rousing sing-along with the LCH kids, while some made last minute preparations for the events and activities of game day. Two hours of fun and excitement under Pic’s excellent leadership and the blazing Uganda sun with jump ropes, parachutes, catch the monkey’s tail, bean bag toss, and “flip your lid” made everyone very hungry for lunch! The staff had as much fun as the children did and joined in every activity. The laughter and giggles truly filled our hearts with joy.

Lunch was served to about 200 kids, 58 visitors (us plus a visiting team of 36 from Rocky Mt Bible Church in Colorado), and 30 staff members. After lunch, the children blessed us with a sampling of their singing, dancing, a skit, and scripture recitation. Many of us shed tears of joy and we know God was smiling at His precious children. The children at Lulwanda absolutely love to sing and make up dances; they could do it all day long. After the presentation was complete Kelley, Connie, Cheryl, Cathy and Heidi joined in with the children to continue dancing, and we have video to prove it! Gifts paid for by the generous support of many of you were distributed to the TGN children as they departed. Each child received a bag with 3 mosquito nets and a prayer blanket in a nylon drawstring backpack to take home.

By the end of the day, our team was exhausted, sunburned, and yet still full of joy. It was a blessing to see how God is working in the lives of these children. They are so full of love for Him. Some even broke into spontaneous prayers of thanksgiving when they were handed their gifts. Over 100 more mosquito nets were distributed to the children and the staff of Lulwanda before we departed to head back to the hotel.

We thank God for your prayers. The Lord has kept us safe and based on the debriefing sessions we hold each evening in our large group and small groups, He is revealing Himself to us in amazing ways. Some of our team members are a little sick with headaches and some intestinal problems. We ask that you pray for them to heal quickly and that the rest of us will remain healthy.

God bless you our wonderful prayer partners!!
Pic and Cathy
For the Team!