Rural Church Visit
By Maddie Sinnaeve
It would be a terrible mistake to write about our visit to the Nakasongola church and village without talking about the drive there. We, all interns, leaders, and cooperatives, were loaded into a massive bus. The destination was a few hours away from our starting location, and very few of us, including the driver, had ever been there. The roads were very undeveloped, and it took some work to get our large bus to the church. At one point, we needed to pull over for the driver to check something, and it just so happened to be near a school. So we all got out and performed special numbers (songs and dances) for the students. It was such a joy-filled perfect time. As our songs wrapped up, the bus driver was ready to go, so we said goodbye and continued on our journey.
The single trade road was so bumpy and eroded in parts that it was quite the ride. Finally, we arrived at the village. It was a few houses in a row, smaller than anywhere else I had seen, which I didn’t think was possible. We walked back through the houses into a church. I sat up on the stage with some of the interns, and the service started.
The people never stopped smiling and participating in what we had prepared for them. Mr. Ownby gave a really powerful sermon, and there was a beautiful time of prayer to end it. After the service the congregation prepared a really lavish meal for us: matooke, fish, ground nuts, rice, greens, fruit. They all watched us eat and enjoy the food. It was really impactful because they gave us so much even when they didn’t have much to give. Honestly, it was hard for me to accept it. But I think that it was beautiful to allow them to serve us and show me God’s love.