Today we finally went to church with our friends Robert and Joy.  They have two children, Godwin (3) and Emmanuel (4 months).   We met them pretty quickly after we moved here and have wanted to worship with them, but the time was not right till now.  Robert has been working on our boy's quarters (guest house) since we moved here.  Steve has formed a great relationship with him and they talk a lot about how we need to use Biblical principles in our work.  He is a wonderful Christian man and we have become quite close to him. We are praying that God will continue the relationship so we can work alongside him to encourage other local business men in practicing Biblical principles in the work place.
Anyway, we went to church with them and it was a good service. It still amazes me how different worship is here. It is good, but so different. We did sing the song, This is the day, but it was sung in a completely different way.
After church we went to their house for lunch. He was so excited to serve us Ugandan food. We have had him eat with us many times and now it was his turn to serve us. The smile on his face was priceless. There was so much food on the table though that we could not finish it all. I think Joy made every Ugandan dish because he wanted us to taste it all. He kept saying, "Keep eating!! This is all for you! I know how much was in these dishes, so I know how much you have eaten!"  It was so funny!  I really did get very satisfied, but I could not eat anymore.
They then wanted to show us their plot of land.  They have purchased land and are trying to save up so they can build a house. It is a beautiful plot of land and we hope to visit it often and share many times of fellowship there. They are very interested in having a class on Biblical family planning. What does God say about the number of children we should have and how do we plan our families according to godly principles.  They really want to do the class at their land because they think there will be many people interested.  It is so fun for me to imagine being on their land and serving our friends in this way. Our team mate Jennifer is a nurse and is willing to teach the class!  We are so grateful and look forward to that time. Please pray that we can get it organized and that many will come so we can share the love of Jesus.
We then brought them back to where they stay and we headed home. It was a great day!

This is our friend Robert eating a bran muffin for the first time.

When we arrived home one of our neighborhood friends, Joshua, was at the gate and wanted to talk to me. He sent the boys away and shared with me that his father got chased from his job. His mother sent him to ask for help. So many questions go through my mind. How do we help?  What is the most effective way to help? Why is there so much sadness here, but yet so much joy?  O Lord, you are the provider!  Please give us wisdom in times of trouble!
I prayed with Joshua and I will talk to  him again this week.  It is so hard to see this sweet boy struggling. He had tears running down his cheeks and I just told him that God loves him even in the hard times. We pray that his father will get a job!  His parents drink alcohol to forget their troubles.  So much pain in this young boys life. I think how hard it is to ask people for things and I think of so many children here struggling every day for food and having to ask others for things all the time. Please join me in prayer for this young boy and pray for us as we pray about the best way to minister to him. We trust God for His guidance and direction.