First day in Uganda: Riley... It's long but good!!

        Well, to say we started our trip off with a bang would be quite the understatement. It feels as if we have been here for so long, yet it has only been two days! The Lord has been so good to this team. I cannot even fathom what is in store for these next two weeks. I am so overwhelmed with joy and enthusiasm!  Speaking of enthusiasm, yesterday we were blessed enough to experience our first African church service at Jireh. Never have I witnessed, or even imagined, so much energy and exuberance for the Lord. The body of Christ has never been more evident and obvious in one place. My heart weeps for the communities and nations of this world who are deprived of the elation and complete satisfaction these people have in Christ Jesus. What a humbling experience!          I praise God for blessing me with a spirit of flexibility. He is definitely testing my faith and trust in HIS plan for this trip. Saturday night we met to discuss the plans (haha! Africa? Plans? what am I saying?) for church sunday morning. Pastor Benjamin spoke with our team for an hour or so and explained what was going to be happening during the service. Little did we know, God had a rather different plan (surprise surprise!).         While Harrisons adventure was taking place, the rest of our team was dancing like it was 1999 and praising our Lord as if we all had just won the lottery. Boy, I cannot even begin to describe what happened in the beautiful dustbowl of a church. So much clapping and jumping and shouting and laughing and crying and praising! And plenty of sweating. Africa is one place where I can show my sweaty armpits in all their glory and be completely unashamed (haha).  I am going to back track for a second. The night before church I became ill. So much so that I would get sick and nearly vomit every time I tried to write out my testimony. I have no doubt that this was God's way of showing me why I never should have grown anxious over speaking that next day. So, to add fuel to the fire, He turned my nervous belly ache into a full blown stomach hurricane. As I alluded to earlier, I was unable to prepare my speech that night. Interestingly, I woke up a 5:30 A.M. Sunday morning (without an alarm) feeling like a new person, full of energy and excitement for church. Isn't it so crazy how God works sometimes? If anyone knows me, they know all too well that, for one, I am no morning person, and secondly, I would (typically) rather eat my own foot than give a public speech. However, sunday morning was different. The time when I would be called up to talk could not seem to come soon enough!  You see, what I realized upon reflecting back on that whole scenario was that a few key things stood out, and all carried the same theme - "me". Benjamin told us WE would have as much time to speak as WE wanted. I prepared a speech that contained all the things that I felt needed to covered. I planned for the amount of time that I felt was necessary. And I worried as the things I thought were right were stripped from me in a matter of seconds. God never forgets. He never fails. And he never disappoints. I will say it once more. He NEVER forgets. He NEVER fails. He NEVER disappoints. However. quite the contrary can be said about myself. I certainly forget. I had not just forgotten my words, but I had forgotten the gospel. I forgot that I don't need this, that and the other to say what the Lord asks of me. And most of all, I forgot that I am not in control, and all I can do is fail by putting my faith in my own plan. In doing so, I surely disappointed. Something I long to avoid at ALL cost. I had disappointed myself. I had disappointed God. But then I remembered something. I remembered that I am not saved by my successes and failures or how well I do in front of all of those people. I am saved by one thing - the blood of Jesus Christ. And I remembered that that blood was poured out for me, personally - individually. That only leads me to worship. Not because I felt relief, but because I felt the weight of my sin, and simultaneously felt the grace given to me by God. I might forget, fail, and disappoint, but that is ok. God holds no grudges, and I know in my heart that all I am is a vessel by which his word is to be poured out over this place. So, I stand humbled, in complete awe of my God and total disgust of myself. And I cannot be happier with that. My God is a god that never fails to rock my world. I cannot wait to see what He has planned for the next two weeks!