Holy Spirit You are Welcome Here

Holy Spirit by Katie and Bryan Torwalt is a song that I used to play a lot as a worship leader at my church and one that I regularly listen to on the bumpy bus ride to Watoto church every morning.  I just love it sooooo much!
 

Holy Spirit you are welcome here. 

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. 

Your glory God is what our hearts long for

 To be overcome by your presence Lord.

On Thursday, my team headed out to Ebenezer Christian High School to teach a lesson on trust.  We have heard a lot about how incredible this high school is from our classmates that have already taught there.  Once we arrived, we were lead on a narrow path between two brick buildings to a classroom filled with many children in uniforms and tattered shoes.  This classroom is an extension off the other school buildings and is made of iron sheets and wooden boards with a dirt floor.  The students sat on wooden benches and there was a single chalkboard with a podium at the front.  No bright colored displays, no smartboards, no power-points, no textbooks, and resources, just a sitting area for children to listen to their teachers and write in their notebooks.

As we entered, the students lead us in praise and worship songs.  The Holy Spirit presence was so thick as we sang along with these kids, clapping our hands along with the djembe drums.  Words cannot describe how beautiful it sounded and looked as the students sang to the top of their lungs with arms stretched wide and eyes closed in that classroom.   After praise and worship, we split the students into two groups as two of my team members preached on trust.  Below is a picture of my friend Emmanuel teaching the students at Ebenezer.  He did an incredible job!

As I have mentioned before, our home is situated between other very nice fenced in homes with a slum just down the street.   The contrast is very real between rich and poor.  Every day, as we travel past the slum, the children will smile, wave, run after the bus, hold our hands as we walk to the grocery store, call our names by our gate, or lately jump out of the bushes to surprise us.  One time they even ran into our yard after our bus entered the gate and screamed and did cartwheels until our gatekeeper yelled at them.  That moment was priceless!  It was as if their life mission of infiltrating our home finally came true.  

Some of my housemates have gone out to play with them in the streets a few times.  A few of us have decided to make a consistent meeting time with the kids by having a mini Sunday school with them once a week.  This Sunday, Jess, Natalie, Jack, Callie, and I walked out of our gate to find the little munchkins.  We saw a group of 5 kids about 100 meters down the road and Jack signaled for them to come over.  Word spread like wildfire and soon we were swarmed with 30 to 40 children varying in ages of 1 to 13.  They taught us games… actually that is a lie, they started to play games and we tried to figure them out as they went along shouting and squealing in Luganda!  We taught the kids a song, and then got them to re-enact the story of Daniel in the lion’s den.  The Holy Spirit was ever present as we sang, danced, and laughed with our neighbour friends.  Many of the parents curiously came out to watch as we played with the kids.  One mother even thanked us for teaching her kids even when in reality those kids were teaching us.  They taught us how to be accepting and including of all, how to love your neighbour, and how to have so much joy and fun with so little.  Those kids are incredible!!  Before we were escorted back to our home by this vivacious little mob, we joined hands in a circle and prayed in the dimly lit evening. 

Holy Spirit you are welcome to play with adorable babies at Bulrushes Baby Home with me.  Come flood the Suubi track meet when I encourage the competitors while my skin is getting torched.  Fill the atmosphere, as I play a donkey in a reenactment of Jesus coming to Jerusalem by donkey in a Sunday school lesson about Palm Sunday.  Your glory God is what my heart longs for to be overcome by your presence Lord.

Peace and love