—–This is WILLIAM BOSTWICK blogging with Lindsay’s username—–
This is my first blog so far! I have had such an incredible learning experience with the Lord ever since we arrived in this country. The first week in Uganda we were in a rural village called Kwappa. There was no electricity, no roads, no running water, no anything really. It was just a farming community spread out over the rolling green hills of Uganda, where people eat what they grow in their front yards, and live in mud/straw huts. And this is where our ministry began. Each morning we would wake up to tea prepared by our hosts, and then hike up to a few miles to a nearby church or school to do children’s ministry. We sang the kids songs about father Abraham, reenacted stories of David & Goliath, Noah, and The Walls of Jericho, and of course… taught them how to play duck duck goose. The children absolutely loved it. For many, we were the first white people (muzungo’s) they had ever seen. Around 1pm we would finish with the children, and then that is when our door to door (hut to hut) ministry began. We split into groups of 2, and walked off with translators for 2-5 hours through the community.
This is the point when I found out that we were UPS delivery men for Jesus. Nothing more, nothing less. You see, there is a massive spirit of religion over the people in Uganda. A lot of the Catholics think protestants are going to hell, and a lot of the protestants think Catholics are going to hell. This becomes a HUGE problem when your translator is protestant, and the people you are talking to are Catholics. We found out immediately that if we didn’t completely trust the Holy Spirit to give us every word to speak, the conversations would quickly turn into an battle of religions.
So before we went to each hut, I began asking God “What do you have for the people who live here?”. And it was so awesome, because He would answer us! Sometimes we would hear the word “peace”, so we would talk to them about anxiety and how God promises to provide for us. Other times God would hear “funny”, so we would talk to them about how God is a happy Father who loves to laugh, who is not mad at His children since there is no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus. Each place we went to, God handed us a “package” and we delivered it to His children, whether they were believers or not. It no longer became about preaching a message they have heard every Sunday in their churches, but instead we became UPS men for Jesus, handing them exactly what God intended to give them that afternoon. And it was AMAZING to see what happens when someone opens a “package” from the Lord. Chains were broken, eyes were opened, veils were lifted, hearts were softened, and the true and tangible love of Jesus was made known. It was made known to the Protestants, the Catholics, the people involved in witchcraft, the Muslims, and the unbelievers.
It had nothing to do with us… we’re just the delivery men. God sends the package because He knows what we need, He knows what will speak to our hearts, and what will make us smile. All He asks for is someone to trust Him and deliver the packages to those whom He loves. It has been such a blessing to be a part of God’s beauty for the people of Uganda.
Please keep our team in prayer as we leave tonight for our journey to Kenya. Pray for travel mercies and protection, good health, and soft and open hearts so we can continue to be shaped by our Potter. Thank you!
