Light The World Church

You may remember back in December I shared a post about the all-night Worship Night that Joy spoke at here in Kampala, Uganda. That massive, God-honoring event is a ministry of the Light The World Church in Nansana, just on the North side of Kampala.

It was a privilege for our family to attend Light the World Church the Sunday following the Worship Night event. We were there for several services from about 9:00 am to 2 or 3 PM on Sunday afternoon. In fact, they were still going strong when we finally had to leave. They have multiple, packed services in both English and Luganda. We were truly blessed to worship with these dear folks.

Most of the congregation had been at the Worship Night, and therefore most had heard Joy share there. Well, they asked her to share again for a few minutes in the Sunday Services. It was the Mercy Child Care Ministry Sunday, and with Joy's heart and love for children, it seemed appropriate that she share an encouraging word, from the Word, especially geared towards moms, and those caring for orphans. 

Jesse Reeves, from TX, brought the message. And just like he did on Worship Night, he really brought it! Now, if we can just get him to move over here, with his family, full-time as a pastor--that would be awesome! Jesse, if you're reading this (which I'm sure you have better things to do than read my blog, but just in case...) consider this another sign that you should move here. :-)

Jesse has been here several years in a row, and the Lord has really used him to challenge and bless the congregation. After the message, they prayed over him, for him, and for his family and ministry.

I mentioned it was Mercy Child Care Ministry Sunday. That's another one of the ministries of the Light the World Church. They have a huge ministry focused on orphans and street children. It's really inspiring and encouraging to see what they are doing, and the difference it is making. Here's Joy with a bunch the kids in between services. The little guy in the front wearing the red, sleeveless sweater--that's our foster son, Gift. He has cerebral palsy and is deaf. He is learning some sign language, but also communicates clearly through his huge, contagious smiles and bubbly personality.

Speaking of street children--the lead Pastor, Wilson Bugembe, is himself a former street child. That's him in the bright blue, way down in the front.

His story is an amazing example of God's grace and redemption. He is very well known throughout Uganda, and East Africa--having an incredible singing voice, a great stage presence, and being formerly on track to fame and riches as a singer. Instead, he became a full-time Pastor. Don't get me wrong, he's actually still very famous, and he still sings--but mostly in church. And being a former street kid himself, he has a HUGE heart for kids, and a passion to see ministry to the orphans and street kids, in particular. He leads by example. In fact, the last I heard he has twenty some orphan kids living with him right now! Anyway, we really appreciated getting to know Wilson during the Worship Night week, meeting many of "his kids", having dinner at his home with a bunch of other great folks involved in Worship Night, and being in his church on Sunday. It's so encouraging to see how he's using the talents God gave him to bless others and glorify the King! 

Here he is hanging out with our foster son, Gift.

This is random, but I thought it was pretty cool--literally. Several hours into the church services, a young girl came in and stood directly in front of us, enjoying an ice-cream cone. They were apparently selling them at a little snack shop outside. Who needs air-conditioning, even in a packed, hot, church, when you can simply enjoy an ice cream cone, right? Imagine how much money your church could save on the cooling bill by switching from AC to IC (Ice Cream). :-)