Shall We Gather at the River??

I am finding it hard to write about Kent and all his experiences. Being blessed to stay at home and school the girls, I don't have the opportunity to experience all the awesome things that are going on in and around our city. So Kent experiences, then he tells me what he can, then I in turn tell you.... I know that some of the power has to get lost in the process. Water downed. But I will do my best.So a few weeks ago Kent gave a man a ride "home". He was on crutches and it was raining, and when Kent asked him how far he had to go, he responded 15km. That is about 9 miles for all you Americans. Nine miles, in the rain, on crutches. Typical I'm sure, but heart wrenching all the same, when they are standing right in front of you. So Kent takes him "home" to his "village". I am "quoting" here because, his home is a hut in the middle of know where, and his village is the group of 8-10 huts that surround it.

Ever heard any one use the term "bush" like a bush doctor or in the bush, well this village is definitely in the bush. Like in the middle of no where, driving down foot paths, kinda bush.

Long story short.... which doesn't help the diluting process I know, but anyway. This guy and several from his village gave their lives to Jesus, and they got baptized! I can't remember the details, but there were 11 total, 8 adults and 3 kids.

Walking to the river. This is in the "bush" remember?

Dennis had the honor of doing the dunking.... we want to work ourselves out of a job, so to speak, so the earlier the better, right?!?

Andrew, who arrived only a few days before the baptisms, took all these pictures for Kent. There were a few cultural adjustments that he had to make. One being the fact that the women remove their shirts to keep them clean. That came as a shock to young Andrew! But he handled it well, realizing that it was the culture, and it wasn't bothering anyone else, so why should it bother him. There is nothing like jumpin in with both feet.

Kent, the silent observer. Keep in mind that all the talking being done is in Acholi.

What do you do when you can't dunk some one backwards because of leg issues???

Dunk them forward of course. It is actually kinda interesting.... most Ugandans do not like the water, they are afraid of it. There were several of the people that Dennis had to splash to get them wet, because they wouldn't go further into the water.

Kent and Dennis go back to this village every week. They have had a few obstacles, but on the whole, it is a growing church. There have been several people from surrounding "villages" that have asked that they come and share the good news in their village as well. And we are using that invitation to train the believers from village #1 to go themselves. It has been AWESOME!