When All Things Work for the Glory of God

July 4, 2017

Students at His Mercy School

First thing.... Happy 4th of July America!

Today was an amazing day!  We held our second (of this trip) medical clinic at His Mercy School for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the village of Kikubo (first clinic day here). This school is a special place and has a piece of my heart. To see it now and think about when we first visited it in 2008, seems impossible. But as we are learning in our book Unstoppable..... impossible is God's starting point.

I cannot believe how amazing the school looks and the wonderful things the staff are doing educating the children of the community, as well as sharing the love of Christ. This very rural community has a heavy population who believe in witchcraft. The school has become one of the best performing schools in the region! How is that possible? Only by the grace of God!

We started this morning with team devotions after breakfast. This has become a great time of fellowship and encouragement for the team. We share some thoughts from our book to center us for the day and then share God moments we have experienced. Have I mentioned how amazing my friend Greg Gibson is? I love leading with him.

We then headed to the school driving through the Ugandan country side. We arrived and began to set up the flow of the clinic. There were already people waiting, as there always are. We greeted the teachers and children before we hit the ground running with setup. We were ready to go, but we had to wait on Dr. Moses to arrive with additional medicines. Mike was once again the triage and crowd control guru. The school had already begun a list of names to see the doctors with numbers for us to follow in order. At

one point the list had 300 names on it! I worried we would once again be in chaos, working to stay ahead of the flow of people. The team met in Edwards office to pray for the day and clinic to go smoothly plus, for God to get the glory.

Dr. Moses arrived and we got started.  Things were a little crazy at first, but Mike (he is truly a rock star) and his local teammates got into a rhythm. We began to have a steady flow of patients to the doctor, then to the pharmacy and prayer room. Something strange happened - the

pharmacy stayed on top of the scripts. We had a room for them to set up with six people filling various scripts. Usually even with a team like this the pharmacy gets backed up. But not today.  The team was in a groove and doing an amazing job. Sarah, Leigh, Angela, and Kariel had a great set up; they were a well-oiled machine. These ladies are amazing! Always organized, looking to improve, never wanting to stop helping people. Love their hearts to serve! Carly was in the prayer room and spent time with the kids. Katie, Angela and Carly were right in the middle with children in between their clinic duties. Such a great sight to see the team interact and love!

Then a politician showed up. Sometimes politicians frustrate me. It is something I have always struggled with in Uganda. They can be demanding and usually want to cut their group of twenty family and

friends in front of people. I have to truly rely on God to work through this! Dr. Moses told us, however, he had invited the Minister of Parliament representing Mayuge,  Julie Zabwe Mukoda to the clinic. This lady meets in Kampala with the other MP's to help set the course of the country! (How did we get here? This makes the 3rd politician I have met who has direct ties to the president in my 10 years. Impossible!) We met with her and her staff. Moses and Edward updated them on how the school and partnership started back in 2007 including what the school as doing now. She was incredible.  Very humble and caring. Truly appreciative of what was happening. What a great lady. She thanked us for caring for her people and pledged her support to the school and partnership in the years ahead of her term. She has only recently been elected (about a year ago). I was blown away by her. Very sharp and impressive but as I mentioned so caring and excited. Edward gave her a tour of the school and then she visited with the adults waiting for the doctors, as well as with the children. She was so warm and encouraging to everyone. You could truly see her concern for her people. It was an honor to visit with her. She gave me her card and said she and I would stay in touch. Maybe a visit to parliament is in my future?

I had been away from the flow of the clinic for a bit so I was anxious to check in and see how far things had gotten backed up in the pharmacy and where I could plug in to help. And you know what? I saw a team doing all they could. Things were running smoother than any clinic I

Waiting Room

have ever been a part of. It was incredible! The pharmacy had a back log but nothing crazy like normal. The people were seeing the doctor and moving through the clinic flow we had set up. Everyone said things were going great, it was a constant busy but nothing they could not handle. Mike and his team had a system in place. People were moving through. The pharmacy had a system and things were continuous. The interpreters were taking scripts, helping people to the prayer room and then the waiting area. The interpreters were also taking filled scripts and calling people up to explain their meds. Katie was cleaning and dressing wounds. Greg was everywhere filling in to help where needed. It was amazing! I stepped in and helped and we continued to flow. 

For today, 316 people saw the doctor with over 1,000 scripts filled and 35 seeing the dentist.  We are also already set up for tomorrow’s first grouping to be seen when they arrive.

All I can say is what a team and what a God. Our team has been talking about being ready to serve and how we only offer what small part we can. God takes it, multiplies it and does great things. Today was a witness to that. Only our God could make today go like it did. Only our God could take our small crumbs of service and multiply it like the loaves and fishes, helping all those people see a doctor; plus, leave being prepared for the next day! Thank you, Lord!

We ask for your continued prayers. The enemy will not be happy about today and we cannot pat ourselves on the back thinking we have this down. Tomorrow will bring its challenges and frustrations. We need to be prayed up by our church family at home. Thank you for your part in the work and expressions of love happening in Uganda!

Towards the end of the day, as things were wrapping up, the children broke out the drums, skirts/sashes and began to dance. Of course, Katie, Carly, Greg, and I had to join in. We danced away with the children. Let's say that the kids are way better than us but from the sound of the laughter we brought a lot of joy to them! It is a little intimidating to jump in and dance when asked but there is only one place on earth that can get me to dance like that. Uganda is it. It's a special place. 

Kariel and I got to see our sponsored kids/family. Viola ran to hug Kariel in the pharmacy when she got there. Mama Jessica picked Kariel

up off the ground and hugged her. Reagan and Mercy both could not stay away from me as I walked through the grounds during the clinic. We love this little family. Kariel started sponsoring Viola when she was in the 5th grade (about 5 years ago). We now sponsor Viola’s brother and sister.

Sponsorship is such a huge blessing. For a small monthly donation, a child and their family are blessed with school fees covered, medicine, supplies, etc. My family and I have been child sponsors for many years and have seen first hand the blessing to a child. You many never set foot in Africa or another country, but you can still have a huge impact for the Lord through child sponsorship. Please pray about it and see where God leads you. If you are interested in sponsoring a child from His Mercy School or Pastor Edward’s church you can go to www.helponenow.org . All the children at this site from Uganda are cared for by Pastor Edward. It is truly an opportunity to take your loaf and fish to be multiplied for His glory.

The children all got together and waved goodbye.  They told us to come back tomorrow. Which we will! I love this school and these children. It is a holy place for me and my family.

The team has showered and are asleep as I finish this blog. Kariel, Angela, and I had a milkshake at the hotel before bed which was a nice cold treat. It is hard to believe the team only has a few more days to go in country. We plan to serve to the fullest and soak up all we can with our brothers and sisters. Keep on praying for us as we can truly feel it!

Good night till tomorrow.

Chris