The first Sunday in Uganda Pastor Steve asked me to preach at Kampala Church. I normally would feel very nervous to preach, and I would be unsettled in my preparation feeling that I should do more to prepare. One thing God has taught me about preaching in Uganda is to make sure to let him lead me … and not to over prepare.
I asked the Lord to put on my heart what he wanted me to teach on, and He pretty quickly revealed the concept of waiting for the Lord and His timing. The more I learned about the lockdown in Uganda the more I understand the struggles between our 2 cultures are pretty similar. It’s been a long period of time that the country has been locked down, and many are wanting everything to return to normal. However, while I was there 2 pastors that Pastor Steve knew died of COVID-19. Both pastors had also refused to follow the safety guidelines for their churches.
So to respond to this, I preached on the story of Abram and Sari, from Genesis 15-17. God had promised Abram that Sari would bear children, but they decided to have Abram bear them a son through the servant girl Hager instead. I talked about the temptation we have to take matters into our own hands when we don’t see God working as quickly as we would like Him to. As we drove to church that morning, I had total peace about teaching, and not once did I feel nervous or anxious. This was a total blessing from the Lord and a reminder of His presence.
Afterwards, Pastor Steve called me back up. A mother had brought her baby up to be dedicated to the Lord and he wanted me to pray over them both. I was totally blessed to be able to pray for this sweet little baby (Jillah) and her mother (Rose), pictured below.
