Should be another great trip.  Be on the lookout here for more posts.  Hoping to keep the updates coming as the week goes along…all depending on internet access.

The Story of Buloba Community Church from Josh Agerton on Vimeo.

I’ve just gotten settled into a 8 ½ hour flight from Entebbe to Amsterdam and I’m flooded with thoughts about the last 10 days.  So here goes a few snapshots from my memory:

• The family whose home I visited that had very little to eat.  The 6 year old son was so lethargic from not eating.  They had been on school break, thus he was not getting the cup of hot porridge he usually got at school.
• How the people of Buloba Community Church received us the first day…you would have thought the President arrived.  An awesome drum reception.
• Walking around the church building by myself pondering the overwhelming complexity of poverty, disease and education in Uganda.
• The dude walking around downtown Kampala with a huge live turkey across his shoulders.  This was hilarious.  Could not get camera out fast enough.  (TIA)
• Meeting Mariam, the little girl our family sponsors and seeing with my own eyes how God is changing her life with our small gift.  Also loved playing with her…she’s a little rascal.
• Kneeling on the ground and holding the rough hands of two women who were talking to Jesus for the first time, asking him to come and live inside of them.
• Hearing Amanda on the bungee platform say, “I don’t even do roller coasters” and the dude strapping up her ankles replying, “Roller Coaster’s are @#$%ing dangerous.   Bungee jumping is perfectly safe.”
• Being overjoyed standing in the ARM (African Renewal Ministry) office in Buloba looking at the long list of children who are sponsored by people from Cornerstone Church.
• Seeing the beautiful faces of Buloba Community church (many with tears) as we drove off this afternoon.
• Watching out team say goodbye to our dear friends in Buloba.  I was especially torn by watching Jordan saying goodbye to Remie, the little boy we had all come to love that  especially captured Jordan’s heart.  Jordan took off the watch on his wrist that Remie had been playing with all week and gave it to him.

So many more visions of this week.  But all of them merge into one idea.  One word that has been with me since we first arrived.  Redemption.  This is what Christ is doing in this world…in Auburn…in your town…in Buloba, Uganda…and maybe even in your life.

The words of Isaiah speak well to the redemption that our Jesus is up to:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.  Isaiah 61:1-3

Jesus Christ.  He is the only hope for overcoming the brokenness of this world.  The only hope.  He is alive and on the move, many times in ways we don’t fully see.  But this last week it seemed like the covers were being pulled back a bit and God allowed me to catch a small glimpse.  He’s in a little 8 year old girl singing her heart out to Jesus.  He’s in the beautiful smile of a little boy who has lost his parents and is now living with grandparents.  He’s in the heart of a girl who pulls out her school uniform to try on for me, so happy that someone believes in her.  He’s in college students who have given their life away to Christ and who desire to be his co-redeemers.  He’s in the simple acts of kindness that flow from hearts full of his Spirit.  It’s been a good time for me personally.  A much needed break from my normal routine.  Thank you Jesus.

I’m going to miss the people I have come to love in the last 10 days.  I’m hopeful it’s not the last time I see them.  But now I’m turning my heart towards the 4 people I will see tomorrow.  Leslie, Benjamin, Liza and Grace. I have missed them dearly (By the way, got news from Leslie just before getting on the plane that Liza pee peed in the potty today!!!)  Can’t wait to see these most important people in my life.

So that’s it for now.  I’m sure I’ll share more about these last days in Uganda as this all unfolds in my heart.  But for now I’m going to vege out and watch movies on the plane for the next 7 or so hours.  (I’ll post this when I get to Amsterdam.)

TIA…signing out.

We heard that word a lot today.  It was our time to go do a little sight-seeing and take a break from our work in Buloba.  So we headed over to Jinja, about 1.5 hours east of Kampala to check out the Nile River.  We went to the source of the Nile River, saw some monitor lizards and monkeys, checked out some huge waterfalls and had an awesome lunch at a bed n’ breakfast (some much needed American food).  But the highlight of the day was the bungee jumping.

We ended up at this cool place overlooking the Nile River with a pier hanging over that looked like a huge beer bottle.  Everybody went for it except for Andi and myself, the only non-college folks on the trip.   Jordan, Morgan, Amanda, Lauren and Catherine all took a dive from 127 feet above the Nile River, most of them going in waste deep, head first into the water.  Andi filmed it all from the look-out spot and I was the coach on the platform…some needed coaching much more than others.  (I had told Leslie I wouldn’t bungee jump and just was too cheap to spend the money.)

They had a special going where you could pay for the 2nd jump at ½ price, then get the 3rd for free.  Morgan and Lauren took them up on it and went three times.  We ended up being there like 2 hours.  It was so much fun watching them, but like many times on the trip, I was feeling like the old Dad again. It was so fun just to be around them all and watch from the platform.  I know…sound’s like something my Dad would have said.

Here’s the two best pics of the day…Morgan then Lauren.

It was a good day to be together, have some fun time and just talk about  what all we were experiencing on the trip.  A good day to decompress.

“Mizungooo!”  I think this is especially fun to yell this out the window of the van at other white folks that I see (which is not very often).

Also took a break today to visit the old run-off well that was used before the new bore well was put in last fall with the help of Cornerstone.  It’s become a usual thing for each team together to understand the importance of the new well.  We all took a 5 gallon jerry can down to the well and hauled them back it…a good ½ mile, up hill, and partly through the bush.  It was a serious chore.  Felt like I was on “Survivor” or something.  But we all made it back up.  Most of the kids in the community were doing this at least twice a day, every day.  So much that it was affecting them from growing taller.  It really makes you appreciate the water that comes out when you just turn the faucet.  Jordan said, “I’ll never leave the water running when I brush my teeth again.”  The new well (clean water, close to the church and community) continues to make a huge impact on life in Buloba.

Last night we had an authentic Ugandan feast over at Pastor Eva’s house in Kampala.   We all got there around 6pm and visited with Pastor Eva in the living room for a while.  Then we went out back and found where the real party was…where about 12 folks from the church were doing all of the cooking.

We ended up hanging out with the cooks in what was like a narrow alley behind her home.  They couldn’t believe that we wanted to hang out there with them (in what is known as the servant’s area) instead of on the fancy front porch.  But it was so fun.  At one time I counted 5 fire pots going…cooking rice, beans, steamed vegetables, a fish stew, grilled chicken, fried potatoes and tons of other stuff I can’t name…all with no hot-pad holders.  Brother Godfrey let me help him a bit with grilling the goat (a delicacy in Uganda), but he did the turning of the meat on the grill (with no grilling tools…his own hands).

It was so much fun.  We stayed back there for almost two hours sharing stories with each other and just hanging amongst all the smoke.  They insisted not to let us help them so we just stayed close and kept them entertained with our crazy American stories and differences in our cultures.  Watching them in this place I understood the great sense of community they had as they worked together.  I asked them what time they arrived to start cooking and they said 2pm.  Everyone had a part in the dinner.  And they all shared their lives together as they washed pots, peeled potatoes and kept the fire pots going.   It wasn’t till about 8:30 when all 23 of us stood around a huge table full of food to pray and dig in.  It was a blast.  Amazing that we have found a sense of community and belonging in just a few short days with these people.  We finished off the night with a huge birthday cake for Lauren who turned 19 yesterday.  It was maybe the best thing I put in my mouth all week (I had leftovers of it for lunch today.)  We didn’t get home ‘till about 11:30…we partied hard and were all kinda dragging when we showed up to do the glasses deal this morning.  These folks understood and practiced the meaning of St. Benedicts Rule #53:  “Let all guests that come be received like Christ.”

Tomorrow we’re taking a break and having a day as tourists.  We are heading out at 6am for a 2-hour drive over to Jinja to check out the source of the Nile River.  The college crew is all going to bungee jump over the Nile.  Or at least that’s what they are saying now.  We’ll see when we get there.  We’re also going to have a little lunch at a fancy bed n’ breakfast overlooking the Nile.  Then back to Kampala in the late afternoon to shop at the market.  Should be a good day together.

In the midst of the poverty and struggle of the people here in Uganda we are seeing the face of Jesus…in the people we are serving and in each other.  These days have been stretching and eye opening for all of us spiritually.  I’m so encouraged to be with such an incredible group of young people on this trip…Andi and I are the only non-college folks.  These are kingdom minded people that are going to change the world.

Be sure to check out Andi’s blog.  She’s got more stories and also a good picture gallery as well.

Then in the afternoon we transformed a classroom into “The Buloba Community Church Vision Center.” Patrick (our Ugandan host) and I were the receptionists. Amanda, Pastor Isaac, David (translator) and Lauren were the eye examiners. Andi, Catherine and Morgan were the folks who filled prescriptions (got the glasses out of the right bag and handed them to people). Amos (translator) and Jordan worked the optical care center (telling folks how to wash and not scratch them). It was so neat to see their faces light up when they put on the glasses. There were some very sophisticated Africans walking out of there. You could tell it made them feel very special. We ended up giving out 41 pairs of reading glasses, and we have plenty more. So that’s what we will mainly be doing for the next 2 days.

Our team is really having a great time together. It has been an interesting lesson for me in building community. Our conversations have gone from distant and cordial to talking about experiences using the outhouse… all over the ears of our translator friends who think we are some crazy Americans. But we have become great friends with these folks, especially David and Amos who have been our hosts on the many trips before (if you’ve been on a trip to Uganda you know how much we all love these guys.)
So on the way home today our conversation turned towards my great farmers tan. That lead to the topic of “Red-necks” which is very hard to explain to a Ugandan. That led to Amos listening to “A Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams, Jr. on my iPod. Then I had to explain about half of that song to him. Anyway, we are all loving being together and sharing our cultures. Tonight we are going to watch “The Last King of Scotland”…the story about the Ugandan Dictator, Amin. I saw this last time I was here. Sure it will be eye opening for our team. It’s very different to watch that movie in the city and with the people where it took place.

Our hearts are being knit with these people in Buloba. We are all falling in love with them and they with us. It will be very hard to say goodbye on Friday.

But also in the service Pastor Isaac tried to get out team up to do a little special music and dance. We were pretty caught off guard and said not this time. Thinking we will have to do some kind of musical dance thing before we leave. I’m working through how we could mix some Chris Tomlin with the electric slide. Any other ideas?

We stayed in Buloba and just hung out around the church the rest of the day. These folks really know how to practice Sabbath and I learned a lot. I was exhausted after the almost 3 hour worship service (on top of the earlier Gaba Church deal).

After a little lunch we all went outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather…a little overcast and breezy. I spent about 3 hours sitting on the porch with Pastor Isaac and Godfrey (the African Renewal Ministry Social Worker in Buloba). We laughed, drank orange Fanta, shared peanut-butter crackers and talked about all kinds of crazy stuff. They taught me about the fruit from every tree we could see and I showed them wonders of the iPhone. We laughed so hard that our stomach hurt and cheeks were sore.

Then we took a stroll down to what they call “The Big Tree” (a huge old beautiful tree…have no clue what kind it was) and then on to the well. Was fun to watch the kids pump fresh water and play around the well. Then back to the church for more lounging around in the grass and playing with kids. It was so relaxing and there were little distractions to take us away from seeing each other and listening to one another. Wondered so many times…why can’t I do this with my family and friends at home? I realized how much we loose in our busyness.

Then around dusk, the church gathered again for us all to watch a film on the life of Paul (projector with a sheet hung on the side of the building.) There’s no direct TV or cable in Buloba so there is a pretty big draw when something like this goes on. A ton of people from the community came…it’s a great evangelism tool for church.

We got home around 10m…had dinner and everyone is crashing to bed around me. I’m feeling kinda old with this group. They were all singing songs in the van on the way home tonight and I knew none of them (never thought the day would come). Also, I’ve become the old guy who gets up early in the morning…everyone else stays in bed until the last minute to eat and get out the door. But it’s been nice to have the place by myself to read and get ready for the day.

This has been a great trip. Really sensing the Lord expanding some places in my heart and I’m wanting to give him more and more. Funny how the sermons in the weeks prior to this trip were preparing me. We were talking about God’s economy and the story Jesus told where a man who found treasure in the field and then hid it and out of his joy sold everything to go and buy the field. I preached on this myself one week and it really did a number on me. Opened me up to a new level of surrender that I’m still working through. So…the Lord is at work in all of us.

Ending again saying that I miss Leslie and the kids. Thinking of you all through the day and have loved sharing your stories with new friends here. Miss you and love you all – Josh.

Trip is going great so far. We spent the morning at Bethany Village, a community for orphans started out of Gaba Community Church. They have 177 kids living there in homes of about 15 kids each…along with house parents. Each household becomes a family unit, dividing up chores of cooking, working the garden etc. and the kids all go to school there. It’s an amazing place of hope that is changing this world. I love it because it is such a place of redemption. Despair is turned into gladness, sorrow turned into joy. Orphans with nothing transformed into next generation Christian leaders.

We had a good lunch in Kampala then spent the rest of the afternoon in Buloba. The folks there are so grateful for the child sponsorships and support. We’re really beginning to see the affects of our partnership with them. The new church building now has all it’s walls and a roof. The original church building has now been converted to an office and two classrooms. A full time social worker from ARM (African Renewal Ministry) now works out of the office in the church to manage all of the child sponsorship stuff. They are doing an amazing deal with that and I’m so impressed with how organized they all are.

And I finally got to meet Miriam, the little 5 year old that our family is sponsoring. She’s a cute little girl how does not say a lot but loves to hold hands. She calls me her “American Friend” and stayed glued to me the whole time I was there. We are going to celebrate her birthday together tomorrow (turning 5).

Also got to see the new well that was put in last year. We sat around and watched the kids jump up and down on the lever, pumping fresh water out. This is so huge for this community. On my last trip a year ago these same kids were walking ½ mile to get water from a dirty run off drain pipe. So I look at this well now and just see a great act of love. It has been amazing to see both sides of this story. How people at Cornerstone rallied around this cause and then how lives in Buloba are being affected. This has been a kingdom investment. These folks are so grateful to Cornerstone for the support, hence the sign by the well.

We have a great team here and we’re having a lot of fun together…hearing bits of each others stories along the way. More to come in a day or so. Internet connection not so good here…TIA.

Also,  keep an eye out on Andi’s Blog.  She’s making good updates with pictures each day as well.