"Mukama Asimwe" friends or "Praise the Lord" (in Nyankore)!
We had a lovely time with our dear friends Emmy and Sarah and their precious family!
The Lord has been so gracious to allow our family this opportunity to experience first hand His mighty work through his humble servants in Mbarara Uganda. Every church we went to the Pastor would say "You are most highly welcome"! This was an understatement to be sure - they treated us like royalty - hanging on our every word and giving us gifts (pineapple, watermelon, and a real live chicken) that they could not afford to give! We were very humbled by their generosity and thankful hearts!
Bailey and Libby were super troopers for Jesus! Bailey was so helpful and loving toward everyone - always graciously loving on the children with a big smile! She seemed even more beautiful in Africa because she really let her light shine for all to see! Libby enjoyed getting up in front of the churches to share her testimony of how the Lord led her to tell her mom to go to Africa last Feb. 2007 through a Christmas card she wrote in school! The churches would erupt in praise! It was really good for her to see how happy she made these Africans because of her obedience to Jesus!
Leaving Uganda was difficult to say the least because we were leaving a huge part of our hearts with our dear friends. It was quiet on the way to the airport because they were heavy. When we did arrive for our morning departure we were floored to see an old Pastor named Pastor Peace waiting to greet us! This precious pastor (whom we had never met) in his suit and tie (probably only one) had caught a motorbike ride from his remote village just to shake our hands and see us for 5 mins! Then Pastor Emmy himself circled outside the glass of the terminal just to see us one last time. The last gesture of our love in Christ for each other was to put our hands on the glass together and then walk the lonely terminal to the plane. There really aren't any words for the love we were shown on this whole trip.
I wanted to share something I found interesting about this week. The whole time we were there we kept hearing or seeing the word pearl. It was on the back of buses and even in our conversation with the Governor of Mbarara. I mentioned to the Governor that I felt impressed by the Lord that Uganda was the heart of Africa and the people were precious like jewels. He replied with a sparkle in his eyes, "Winston Churchhill himself referred to Uganda as the Black Pearl"! As I read my Bible now I see these people all over its pages because of their love and suffering for the Lord. Matthew 13:45-46 says: " Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!" Pearls are made in the oyster shell when a tiny piece of sand gets trapped in the shell and the animal secretes a substance to cover the sand that is causing its irritation and suffering. Suffering produces something beautiful and valuable! Our family got a big surprise for our Spring Break - we spent the whole time in a Tiffany's store of fine pearls! These people are extremely valuable.
Jesus will always wear pearls.
I pray we will always say "Yes Lord" so we can enter those pearly gates with our heads up.
Much love to you all,
Monica
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