Church work day

Back in the U.S. our family would sometimes participate in a church workday or an outreach service project with other members of our church. Those were always fun times of serving together, but my kids really loved our Ugandan version of a church work day. 

One elderly man in the church has a mud hut that was falling down. It was crumbling in many places. The church leadership felt like it was necessary to do a few things to secure his current living situation and then to pray about a better long-term solution. Since it is the rainy season, we have intense storms often. The wind and rain were basically blowing through his house. 

The church decided to help by providing some poles to better support the structure, and then begin re-packing the mud. Ezra got the job of mixing the mud. 

It was his dream job! You dig up dirt, pour in water and then begin stomping to mix it all up. He told me how much he loves the feeling of the mud squishing through his toes! 

After the mud is mixed it is carried over to where it is going to be applied. Here is a photo of Esther, our nurse at GSF and a visitor carrying the mud. This stuff is heavy! 

Elijah's favorite part of the work is applying the mud. You throw it to make it stick. Yes, our kids were being asked to throw mud! What more could you want in a work day!

I mostly visited with the family, prepared a meal for the workers and the family, and cared for the children. I like to get dirty and work hard with the rest of them, but it was necessary for me to take care of other logistics. I also enjoyed a little bit of time taking photos with the children who are our neighbors. They love to see their own faces on the screen!

We worked for much of the day and I hope that the house is a bit more stable and can keep him dry on these stormy nights. I also am praying that God would use this example of the church caring for the needs of those around to demonstrate the love of God through Jesus. Please continue to pray with us for our neighbors to know God's love through the person of Jesus Christ.