Village Visit

This past week I had the opportunity to travel 9 hours away from the city to help a friend and their ministry serve in the village of Moroto. It was a very long but rewarding week. It took a lot of prayer and discernment to see if I should join them on this journey. At the end of the day, I felt God saying “yes!”. It was such an amazing experience unpacking the reasons behind this yes as each day passed.

Our main focus on this trip was to get to know the community and invite them to a two-day conference we held. This conference was hosted by four different speakers all coming from different countries around the world. It truly was amazing to see God gathering His children from places we may never go, to one place so we could grow and learn together.

Everyday started with street evangelism. We preached, we prayed and we played. There was lots and lots of playing on my end. If you have ever been to a village of any sort, I’m sure you can relate to me when I say it all starts with one kid then turns into more than you can count before you even see it happening. It was so fun to play with all the kids while the others could intentionally devote their time to preaching to their parents. It was truly beautiful. This was one of the ways I saw Gods “yes” shinning. I needed this. I needed to remember what it’s like to have the joy of a child.

The very first day we were in the community we were set back by many delays of the government. In some ways they were trying to protect us since there were recent incidents that made the community unsafe. There were also some ways that weren’t so helpful and displayed the corruptness you can sometimes find in the government officials. With all that to say we had the opportunity to invite them to church. We had some hope they would come but more of an expectation they would not. To our surprise one of them came to the conference on Sunday. He laughed with us, encouraged us and even joined in on some fun we were having with the kids. He came as he was, no uniform and no expectation of power. This was another time I saw Gods “yes” shinning. I needed to remember God uses us everywhere we are not just in the church or at a ministry event.

On that first day, after the many delays, it left us with only one hour to be in the community. We debated if one hour was essentially “worth it”. Thankfully we sided with yes, it is worth it. We divided into two groups and hit the road to find people to talk to and to share Gods love with. Our group landed on the perfect family. We only made it to this one house within the hour time we had. As we started sharing Gods word with the people more and more would gather to listen. By the end of this message, we had almost 30 people listening to what was being taught. At the end we asked if anyone felt God calling them to commit their life to Christ. Every single hand went up. Every single person’s face lit up in joy.

This day I met a girl, a mother of two small kids. She spoke English making our communication flow smoothly. I was able to invite her to the conference. To my surprise I saw her the next day, then the next and the next. She devoted her time to grow and learn more about God. This was another time I saw Gods “yes” shinning. Making and declaring every second “worth it” is what lead more then 30 people to God that day. I needed to remember God can do more through me in on hour then I could do in an entire year by myself.

In the village of Moroto they have the most beautiful mountains. They surround the entire village and reach all the way into the clouds. On one side of the mountains is Uganda and on the other is Kenya. It was so tempting to climb these mountains but the reality (or what I thought was the reality) is I wouldn’t have the time or energy to get up there. However, one early morning and 6 miles later we climbed this beautiful mountain and it was worth every step. As you can tell from my attire and lack of water this was not in the schedule of plans but one step turned into many many steps to the top. This was another time I saw Gods “yes” shinning. I needed to remember God can take even the most unplanned events and turn them into the most restful and beautiful experiences.

I could go on and on where God continued to show me why saying yes to this trip was important. I didn’t walk away with what I was looking for but I walked away with something much more valuable than I even thought I needed. I am thankful for the time I got to pour into this community and the team that I traveled with. Despite the lack of running water and electricity along with the many government obstacles we had to overcome, God used the little and it was enough. God is truly moving in the lives of the people in Moroto. I’m so thankful God not only used me to speak into them but also used them to speak into me.

Please continue to pray, as prayer is a foundational necessity while I’m serving here in Uganda. Pray for my health (physical, mental, spiritual and emotional). Pray for the Moroto village. Pray for the season of transition I am in. Pray for discernment. Pray for comfort and confidence. Pray for my vehicle. Pray for my supporters. Pray for Uganda. Pray for provision. Pray for growth. Pray for my friends and family. Pray for your community. Pray for where God is calling you. Pray for those who committed their lives to God this past week. Pray for the church. Pray as God leads you to pray.

With much love and many blessings,

Lexi Dingman