A Day in the Village of Igluibi

The Lord really blessed the conference we put on today! It was supposed to be a "youth conference," but it turned out that pretty much the whole church ended up coming as well as some random villagers, so we kind of last-minute "adjusted" our teachings for all ages. The location of the conference was a village called Igluibi about 80 miles outside of Jinja. There is a Calvary in this village that is a church plant from the one we are working with, but it is basically a tiny building with a dirt floor and holes in the ceiling. The entire village was EXTREMELY poor. We are talking dirt roads, mud huts, very unsanitary water sources, and naked children running around. It was so humbling to be there, everyone was fascinated with our cameras and other technology.

We taught the Word, preached the gospel, and spent the afternoon playing soccer with the villagers (which was very popular). I have never experienced the Lord's presence quite like I did when I was worshiping and dancing with all the bare-footed children with tattered clothes. God's heart is exploding for these people! I know you have heard this before, but we are so wealthy and blessed in Corvallis. There were so many children hanging all over us, many with big bellies from malnutrition--Ryan was telling us that many of them only get one meal a day, which is usually a sweet potato that their parents give them at mid-day. The craziest part was that the children seemed so happy! They were so poor and dirty looking, but their smiles SHINED. They laughed and played like any other child in the world, as if they were completely unaware of the fact that they are dirty and poor. I felt ashamed of my culture and the greedy incontent lifestyles of America that I can get so easily sucked into.

Overall it was a shocking but amazing day, the Lord used us to be the living hands and feet of Jesus to the village and I felt like I was given such a greater insight into God's heart for the poor. As we were eating dinner tonight and recapping the day, it hit me that THIS IS HOW MOST OF THE WORLD LIVES--in poverty. When Jesus says that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, I cannot help but wonder how we wealthy Americans factor into this concept. Lord, help us to invest our abundance of wealth and resources into Your kingdom and not take any of it for granted!!!

--Ian