I just returned last night from my first trip to Africa. I had always dreamed of going, and this was an amazing opportunity. TENORE (www.singtenore.com) is a group I have been singing with for the last 10 months or so...They do work with Watoto (www.watoto.com) - You have to check it out! AMAZING WORK!
So, the group was asked to go and see the work first hand, so they could better tell the story of Watoto. I had the privilege of going along...
The story I am coming home with is different than I thought I would. I have been to poor countries before, in fact, I just returned a few weeks ago from Ecuador. I have seen poverty and I had an idea of what I would be seeing. So the poverty did not surprise me, and the conditions did not surprise me...NOW HUGE STORKS FLYING ALL OVER THE CITY...that surprised me! (LOL)
What caught me off guard a little was the people...in fact, they caught me off guard a lot. I have never seen JOY like the joy I saw on the faces of the people of Uganda. The poverty, the lack, the going without, the hardship, the loss...all of this did not fade away the Hope and Joy that came from the vast majority of people I came into contact with while I was there. The story of the people is amazing. What they endure, and have endured is beyond comprehension...but the story is not nearly as gripping, as their RESPONSE!!!!
I watched about 15,000 people line up and gather for church in 6 separate services in Kampala Uganda. These people started Saturday night, and again at 7:30am Sunday morning and went to nearly 4:30 Sunday afternoon...6 Services...PACKED!! Hot and sweaty...and AMAZING!!! I had the honor of standing in the front row as we were singing in every service. I had a close up view of the worship team, the band and the choir...God gave me a vision. He showed me what Heaven will be like. I felt Him say to me...get use to this...This is my choir!!! I saw God elevating the people of Africa...the ones that have been treated so poorly here on earth...the people who have had to endure SO much...the nations and the continent that has seen so much pain...God wants to use them to bring the nations together to WORSHIP HIM!!
I don't leave feeling sorry for them...I also don't leave feeling like I helped them at all...I leave there feeling as thought my life has been forever altered...The people of Africa, specifically Kampala, Uganda have left a permanent mark on my life...THANK YOU for showing me where true HOPE and JOY comes from...The Creator of all sent His son to be a game changer...JESUS CHRIST is their HOPE & JOY!!
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