Sporadic Blogging, and other some updates

Hey everybody, I just wanted to fill you in on what's going on so far.

Eastwood-New Life Presbyeterian vs Kagadi Peoples Secondary School Football (Soccer) Match
We had our soccer match yesterday, and after a strong first half showing, we ended up with a draw, leaving Eastwood's record at 1-0-2 (1 win, 0 losses, 2 draws). I played sweeper in the first half, Austin was in the No. 5 slot (which made him midfield in the back a little, or the center fullback forward of the sweeper). Spencer played on the flank with Daniel Phillips, and Soren played in the striker position. The crowd errupted in laughter at so many of our attempts to kick the ball and then missed. I did however block a shot on goal after the goalie was pulled out. The Ugandans liked that as well.

A typical day in Kagadi looks like this:

7:30 am - breakfast in the tiki hut dining hall which usually consists of pineapple, boiled eggs, instant coffee or hot tea, sliced bread (not like American bread), and butter and sugar.
8:30 am - devotional at New Life Presbyterian Church
9:00 am - a teaching/training time by an Eastwood team member, the rest of the other team members will procede to either: door-to-door or shop-to-shop evangelism
1:00 pm - lunch at the tiki hut dining hall that usually has some of the following: rice, beans, chipotte (like a flour tortilla), some kind of indiscernable meat or chicken, matoki (like a potato version of a bland banana), more pineapple, bottled water or glass bottle sodas (they include "coke" and "pepsi" and Fanta, Stoney - which is a ginger ale on steroids - and Mirinda; Mirinda tastes like a tootsie roll actually, and Steph Coppock LOVES it).
2:00 pm - evangelism again
6:00 pm - evangelism event at the church
8:30 pm - dinner
9:30 pm - team devotional
10:15 pm - closing meeting
10:30 pm - go to hut to sleep

Teaching times have been phenomenal with Matt Phillips teaching on Sexual Purity and JR teaching on Familes and the Role of the Father According to the Bible. During these teaching times there is about a 30 minute talk given (you have to multiply that number by 2 since there's also a translator), and then a Question and Answer section that can last for 2-3 hours. I don't think Matt Phillips was really prepared for the sheer number of questions.

The Ugandans ask some pretty interesting questions, all based on real examples. Here are a few:

If a man with three wives becomes a believer, what should he do with his wives? Divorce them all, divorce all but one, and if all but one how do you pick which one to keep? (All the wives were not believers.)

If a woman leaves her husband, has children with another man, but refuses to grant a divorce to her husband - what can the husband do?

What is the process for approaching a brother or sister who is in sin? And what do you do if an elder is spreading gossip about a discipline problem?

We visited the HIV/Aids ward of the Kagadi Hospital yesterday, and a school for children with special needs. The school told us they had just run out of money to feed the children. They told us that with 60 special needs students and almost 600 total students, it only costs $1500 a month to keep the school running with food and salaries for 14 teachers. We did buy them 100 kilograms of poshe (a kind of flour for porridge) and we're traveling to Mambaale to buy them beans.

Beth, at the HIV/Aids ward, your daughter gave her testimony and just started weeping in the middle of it. I couldn't see her because I was backed in a room off the main waiting room, but I almost started crying, too, I don't know why. Alex gave her testimony as well, and she ended up crying throughout her testimony as well. Matt Phillips later told me that as Mary Grace gave her testimony and started crying, she made several ladies in the waiting room start crying as well. It was a sweet moment. ALSO, everywhere it go it seems, people keep asking me: "Where is Beth?" HAHAHA. You could come here and run for office of the mayor I think. If they have one. I don't really know.

I did the teaching time today on the Importance of Viewing the Beauty of Christ. After all, if you don't desire Christ above all things, then you have not been converted by the gospel. I have to ask myself this everyday, do I desire Christ more than anything else? Would I accept going to heaven if it had all the foods I loved, all the friends I liked, all the natural beauties I loved, yet without all the sickness and disease and death and sin, would I take this heaven if it did not have Christ in it? If I answer this in the affirmative, that yes I would take this heaven without Jesus Christ, then I have no idea what heaven really is, and what is really there, and what it is really about; that all of the blessings, all the joys, all the rewards, all the miracles, they all point to one thing: the Glory of God and beholding the Lord Jesus Christ eye-to-eye. And so as you can tell, I may have made it more complicated than it needed to be, especially since when it comes to translating, simple is best. Oh well. They at least got two great talks from Matt Phillips and JR Owen.

Anyway, this is long, and I should be going. I apologize for the sporadic blogging, and the lack of pictures. I hope when we get back, our post-Uganda trip presentation with satiate all your inquiries and curiosities.

"Grace be to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible."
Matt Wolfe