Thoughts from Reg

Thanks, Reg, for these inspiring words:

My heart breaks for the people of Uganda as well as Africa. It seems as if the grip of poverty can never be broken. Corruption is rife and pervades every segment of life on this continent. What was truly amazing was the amount of JOY and HOPE and a profound dependence on God that is sometimes lacking in the western world as materialistically the west is pretty well off. Survival mode is evident. The strategic planning aspects of the Ugandan people are somewhat lacking and this is strength of the Come Let’s Dance ministry and the western “lets get it done” attitude. Of course, God is at the helm and as Proverbs 16:9 says ” In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” It’s fun to watch who God brings to help His beloved and in the process He teaches those who teach even more than they give of their knowledge. The prison we visited in Uganda was a real eye opener as compared to the prisons I work in here in South Africa. The inmates had no issued uniforms, shoes and some went without food as the soup pots were not large enough to make soup for the numbers of prisoners. The prison was what I imagined an old west prison to be…brick and iron gates, dirt courtyard, no activities to pass the time, just work detail. Yet there was such a hope when the inmates began to sing praises and listened to our message of Jesus’ Love and our coming to visit! I got to witness Pastor Phillip’s first time to speak to prisoners as this was a calling God had given him and he had not yet had an opportunity to go to the prisons. Pastor Phillip had been wrongly accused as a youth and arrested when he knew no one and release seemed impossible as no one would believe him. God intervened and orchestrated his release. That experience had given him an understanding of the fear, helplessness and loneliness that prisoners face whether properly accused or not and I got to see how God used Pastor Phillip to really connect with the inmates and to give hope and love to those guys! The other really impactful experience was the school dedication on the island on Lake Victoria. Children HAPPY about school??? YOU BET!!!Here the kids were SO PROUD of their ‘new” school and writing books and pencils! What a joy to see first hand how a donation will change the lives of these kids and at least give them a chance to better themselves and they knew Good had provided! Those teachers were so dedicated and just pour love and dedication into their work and they too were so happy to have that facility.