July 22, 2009, Wednesday
Susan and I slept well at Mt. Elgon Hotel in Mbale last night. This morning Susan and I rested after a scrumptious breakfast of fruit, tea, juice, eggs, bread, etc. I had some eggplant and cooked tomatoes too. We left about 11 a.m. for the 1.25 hour drive to the junction of the highway to Kapchorwa and the dirt road to Bulegeni Village. Pastor Francis was supposed to meet us at this junction but he wasn’t there. We called him and he said he was at trading center of Bulegeni. The village was 4 km from the highway and when arrived people and trucks were everywhere. It is market day! Throngs of people and goods lined the dirt road. Large trucks were unloading people, matooke, potatoes, etc. There was a traffic jam. Susan had to back up a couple of times and let big trucks go before we could proceed. I kept my window rolled up because people beg me for money and a drunken man followed alongside the car for awhile asking for money. It was hot in the car because the AC doesn’t work but I would rather be hot than deal with people reaching into the car. The road makes a Y in the center of the village and when Susan asked directions to the church we were directed to the left. I didn’t remember what the pastor looked like and with hundreds of people packed together it would have been impossible to locate him anyway. We drove about a quarter of a mile past the shoppers and trucks and called the pastor again. He said we were on the wrong branch and to come back. We drove close to the mass of people but I had Susan stop and park the car. We called him back and told him to come find us because we weren’t driving through the mob again to find him. We waited and wondered if he would ever come. Finally he found us and rode with us to direct us to his church on the right branch of the road. The church is on the side of the mountain up from the road. At the turn to go up the pastor had posted a sign inviting people to come to the Jesus film today! I didn’t think the car would make it up the steep path, but Susan is an excellent driver and made it up to the church. I was at Bulegeni Baptist Church with the team a couple of weeks ago to dedicate it. It is a small church that had been meeting in a stick shelter before SOK helped them build their permanent structure. The pastor and his wife and lots of small neighborhood children were the only ones there. Since it is market day most people are shopping. The pastor’s wife beat the drums for about 20 minutes to call the people. Then we set up the equipment and played music to call them in. Pastor Philemon from Tubani Baptist Church came on his motorcycle. We had asked him to come to pick up two boxes of the Book of Hope for his church and Pastor Peter’s church that we visited last week. I showed the books to them and explained how I had gotten them. Both pastors were very appreciative for the books. I started teaching about 2 p.m. and was finished by 3 p.m. I taught the Ten Commandments to about 60 people who indicated they were already saved. During the film more people continued to come including about 25 students who were just coming from school.
Susan rested in the car and I sat in the shadows of a mango tree during the film. We have to ignore the children during the film because if we interact with them all the children watching the film will come outside to visit with us. I want them to see the film so interact with them before and after the film for the most part. Behind the church I walked down the side of the mountain for a little way so I could take pictures of the mountains and cliffs across the valley. The views here are so beautiful. I can see plots of corn and matooke planted in the valleys and up part of the slopes until the soil gives way to jagged rocky cliffs. I feel so blessed to be here with these humble people who love Jesus. One of the ladies who came for the teaching and film shared with Pastor, who shared with me that she had never seen a movie of Jesus before and she was so happy to come to see it. My prayer is that all who see the film including the children will be saved and always remember Jesus’ actions and words. Glory what a privilege and honor to bring the Gospel of Jesus via the film to people who probably won’t ever own a Bible. I know they will remember and it will impact the advancement of the Kingdom of God! Pastor Moses from Deliverance Church just over the hill invited me to come to his church. He said all the people in this area need to see the film to encourage them in their faith. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the harvest field. What I’m doing is only a drop in the bucket to what is needed!
When the film was over, we met Pastor Joseph who is the pastor of the church we are visiting tomorrow and he gave Susan directions. Pastor Francis’ wife had prepared us some food but we had to decline since it was already after 5 p.m. and we needed to be back at the hotel before dark. The sun sets about 7 p.m. and it’s very dark by 7:30. It’s about 50 km back to the hotel which is about 30 miles but it takes a little over an hour to travel that distance. There are so many people, bicycles, animals and motorcycles on the roads that we must travel only about 50 km (30 mph) through the villages. On the open roads which are scarce, Susan get it up to about 60 mph at the most. There is a section of the road that close to Mbale Town where there are many potholes and the road has eroded on the shoulders. We dodge people, animals and other vehicles as everyone is crisscrossing and driving on the shoulders to avoid the holes and each other! Susan and I were very hungry when we arrived about 6:45 at the Sunrise Hotel for supper. We ordered bottled water, fried fish and French fries. After drinking water and taking food, we felt much better. Now we are back in our room at Mt. Elgon Hotel for the night.
Thank you, Lord for safety and salvations! Thank you Jesus, for a clean room with indoor plumbing and electricity! God you are so good to us!
