Center Day

Every Saturday at Kacungwa is called “Center Day”.  It is a day when all of the children come to the school and church for worship, bible teaching, mentoring and fun activities.  Because school is still out for the winter break – December and January – there are not as many children as there will be in just another week.  But still, there were several hundred children at the grounds. 

The first order of business when we arrived was to complete the assembly of the portable basketball hoop that we started last night.  This drew immediate attention from the children and adults alike as they have been so excited to see the first ever basketball come to Kacungwa.  Ken, Dalton, Pastor Sylver, Dickens (CDP Director) and Joshua (our driver) all pitched in to help complete the final setup.  Once it stood in it’s temporary place, a crowd gathered quickly.

One thing to remember about Africa is that their schedules aren’t like ours.  When we set a schedule for an event such as this, we tend to stick to it no matter what.  Here in Uganda, I think schedules tend to be more like suggestions that may or may not be followed.  That was the case today for sure.  We were given a well laid out schedule of what we were going to be doing, who was going to  do what and we were all set for that. 

Then Ken, looking up at the hoop and the huge crowd surrounding it, ran on to the bus, grabbed a basketball and proceeded to ignite a fire of laughter, play and fun as the people in Kacungwa experienced basketball for the first time.  Remember that not only is Soccer (futbol here in Uganda) the national sport that everybody plays, but basketball is completely unknown other than what might have been seen on TV or heard of through a network of friends.  So, when basketballs actually hit their hands, it was fun to see both the adults and children try to figure out exactly how to shoot the ball through the basket 10’ tall.

Some of the shorter kids didn’t have a hope of getting the ball clear up to the rim, so I gave a few of them a big of a boost…

While we were on the court playing, the rest of the team was talking with the others standing around watching!

It was hard to leave the court behind, but our hosts had prepared breakfast for us and we went to eat with all of our sponsored children.  This is something new that was truly a blessing for us and the children.  In the past, we were mostly isolated from the children during meals and other activities, but now the children are invited in to eat with us – a real treat for them as well!  One of my sponsored children, Joel, is just a little guy (Kindergarten age) and I swear that he ate a bigger quantity of food than he was big.

After we ate, we were able to go and serve the children their morning meal – a cup of thin porridge and a roll.  Children lined up so patiently, each holding a cup.  When they got to the table, we filled their cup and gave them a roll.  I remember talking with Michelle, who I was serving alongside, and looking at the LONG line of children, told her I could see why the disciples would have been confused and concerned about ho exactly to feed 5000+ people with just a few small loaves and a couple of fish.  We were discussing this when it looked like we were running out of rolls for the children, but fortunately, more were delivered – just not in the same miraculous way that Jesus did.

After breakfast was completed, we went into the church building for a time of worship, prayer and a message by Pastor Ken.  Ken gave a great message to the children about how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to others using five fingers – representing Grace, Man (sinful & fallen), God (making a way to restore the relationship), Jesus (paid the price for our sin through his death) and finally living in Faith.

Following this message, the children were divided up in classes by age group and we all paired up and went to share with them.  Ken and I were able to talk with the teenagers – we shared our testimonies and encouraged them to take what they had just learned from Pastor Ken and apply it in their calling as Ambassadors for God in their village.

 

The rest of the day was spent teaching a basketball clinic in the church building because it had rained HARD during lunch and just taking time to hang out with the children and staff.

One thing I learned from my discussions with many of the key staff both at the school and the Child Development Project office is that things for the children, families, school, church and the whole village are so much better off than they were even a few years ago.  Children are fed better, learning more and are generally healthier, but more than that, the impact of the church and the gospel of Jesus Christ have begun to make truly transformative changes in the village.  There are many Muslims coming to faith in Jesus and proclaiming Him as their savior.  I learned that my sponsored son, Shafiki, comes from a Muslim family and through the school, project and the amazing people of the church, his father has accepted Jesus Christ as has Shafiki’s entire family.

I also met a security guard for the campus (wearing the red shirt below).  He was a Muslim who, since coming to work at Kacungwa, has accepted Jesus as his Savior.  He shared his testimony with me and I was blessed to be able to pray for him with several other men there to find sufficient income or a sponsor for his children who were with him.  It is moments like these that God has sent us into this small village.

The final couple hours of the day were spent just hanging out with the children.  You could tell where the team members were at because there was a crowd of children gathered.  We told jokes, sang songs, danced (well, I didn’t – that’s for sure) and talked.  Several people on the team were able to visit their children’s homes and we’ll get talk about that later.  For now, let me leave you with a few of the faces of the children here.

God blessed us!