We daily have the privilege of seeing how God is working through the lives of the ministries and missionaries we support. Last year members of our congregation participated in mission trips to other countries and here in the United States. Volunteers embody Christian love in action as they bring their diverse talents to mission programs, projects, and institutions, local outreach ministries, and emergency response and recovery work around the world.
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2008 -- A team of 12 from Central UMC and friends began a journey that would take us around the world and after 28 hours of travel land us in the heart of the Continent of Africa at Entebbe Airport in the country of Uganda. We did not know it was a journey that would change our lives.
There on the mountainside we found the site on which had been carved the beginnings of a small orphanage and children village. It was pouring down rain and the red clay sucked our boots into its grip. The Ugandan construction workers who would become our teachers, our partners and companions on this amazing journey, were waiting to get started. They would quickly teach us how to scoop mortar with a trowel, place it along the row, keep the level-line clear and how to lay the brick at the appropriate spacing. After we were given the okay that the row was level we would fill in the joints and move to the next row. We were amazed that first day in that we were able to raise the exterior walls by 4 rows. Resting every 2 hours we would gather in a shaded shelter to eat freshly sliced pineapple and a sandwich and as much water as we could drink while the Ugandan workers were fed native food and rested also. Everyday, children would wander onto the site in hopes we might have some candy for them and once again looking into their eyes we were dreaming of the children who would one day run and play there, housed in this home #8.
With every brick we laid it now seemed we could begin to hear the voices of the children playing in their rooms, laughing in that yard, and praying round that yet invisible table there in the heart of the home. Faceless, nameless children and their mother would one day live here and their voices would echo from these bricks. As one of the women said, “with every brick we laid, I prayed for these children, our children”. And then it was finished. All the hard work, all the sore muscles, all the long hours had culminated in that moment when the foreman called out-WE ARE FINISHED!
On the last day we gathered again for the last time to dedicate Home #8 to the Glory of God, the memory of Grace VanSciver, and to name it “Grace House” as we place the plaque above the door. It was an emotional moment for us as the Ugandan construction workers joined us inside the walls. Placing our hands on the walls, we dedicated their home.
