Faith and Worship

If I had to describe this mission trip in one word it would have to be “amazing.”  Not only have we seen the healing power of God through all of the work done in the clinics, but God has been gracious enough to allow us the opportunity to see his goodness and grace through interactions with Ugandans outside of clinic as well.  Everyday, we get to experience small and large miracles, and we very often see active answers to prayers.  I would like to share one of the many stories of encouragement that we have experienced so far, and please do not doubt that there are many more stories like this one that many people on this trip could share.

Every day as we arrive to the clinic location, whether it be St. Matthew’s church, the Kinyara Sugar Plantation, or the town of Bweyale, there are a multitude of people who want and need to be seen by a medical professional, and each day, not only do we have medical teams, but also a dedicated evangelism team on site. Last week, I had the opportunity to be on the evangelism team.  Early that morning, our coordinator approached the team and pointed out that the line of patients waiting for care extended far beyond the capacity of the clinic to see that day.  She asked if we would go out into the line and tell those people (who had been waiting for many hours for us to arrive) that they would not be seen that day, but that we could pray with them if they would like.  Four 3-person teams (including 2 students and 1 translator) went out to the line and spoke with the people, explaining our unhappiness that they could not be seen that day, but also offering them the opportunity to be prayed over.  As one of the groups, Addie, John (our translator), and myself went out into the middle portion of the line, and I asked John to tell the people why we were there and that we wanted to pray for them.  The first group we approached numbered approximately 30 people who were very willing to be prayed over.

As I raised my voice and asked the Lord to listen to our prayers and heal these people with their various afflictions, I felt this amazing, indescribable feeling of love for these people, and a knowledge that God was listening to our corporate supplications.  As we asked if people wanted individual prayers, we received an overwhelming response.  People lined up to tell us their medical problems with the faith that God would heal them.  It was so refreshing and humbling to see the mighty faith that these people had in their God.  One young man, dressing in a blue collared shirt with a small silver cross hanging around his neck, told us that he had been afflicted by “fits” for many years and often, he would feel very weak and lose consciousness during these fits.  As we prayed together, and I laid my hand on his shoulders, I knew that this man had great faith and love for our God.  He thanked us after the prayer, and we moved on to pray for others.

Several hours later, under the evangelism tent outside, we had several native Ugandan instruments and a prayer team leading an impromptu worship service.  There was absolutely joyous singing, dancing, and praising the Lord.  As I was caught up the the feeling that the Holy Spirit was a tangible presence in the tent, I noticed who the amateur worship dance leader was… it was the same man in the blue shirt and with the silver cross who had complained of fits and weakness.  He was dancing and singing praise to the Almighty God with unabashed joy.  His fruits of the spirit didn’t end there either.  Although he didn’t speak any English, later that day, he helped me explain the gospel (through the help of multi-colored beaded gospel bracelets) to a group of Ugandan youth.  It was such a meaningful experience.

This is but one of the many amazing stories that have happened here in the last 2 weeks.  As we get continuous reminders that God is the Ultimate Healer, I know that He is alive and working here, and it has been the most tremendous blessing to me to be here experiencing it day-by-day.

Valerie Kirkland