Mountain of Mosquitoes

A couple weeks ago, our church (and sister churches from different villages) went to a remote village called Moruisiru for evengilism and outreach. Moruisiru translates to "Mountain/Rock of Mosquitoes". This time of the year, however, Moruisiru is hot, dry, and dusty. There is very little shade available and almost no clouds in the sky. As if the sunshine isn't hot enough, all of the dead grass is burnt this time of year to allow new growth when the rain comes. Some of my family only went for one of the three nights. It took a two and a half hour car ride of dirt roads to reach a small village. There are very few houses in Moruisiru which makes door-to-door evangelism difficult. Even after walking a long ways to find a house, there will often be no people in sight. We hosted a crusade in front of the church at night. After hours of worship, testemonies from former inmates, and sharing the gospel, two boys around the age of 13 raised their hands to accept Jesus as their Savior. These two boys were only the first of many to raise their hands that night.

The next morning, we walked one mile to a river to do baptisms. There were 37 people who got baptized. One of these was a former prisoner who comes from a family of witchdoctors. He was the first person in his family to accept Jesus and since then, his sister and wife have also given their lives to Jesus. Another individual who was baptized was also a former inmate. He came from a Muslim family that also practiced witchcraft. His father had 12 wives and 105 children. The man who got baptized was the only child to give his life to Jesus. His family (wife and four kids) have been rejected and thrown out of their home because of their commitment to Jesus. Still, this small family is passionate about their Savior and are not ashamed. These are the two men who gave their testemonies in both crusades.

The walk back from the river was so hot and long.

That evening we went to the nearest trading center for another crusade. In Uganda, a church puts up speakers and plays praise and worship music to attract a crowd. Once there is a crowd, the gospel is shared and people are given the opportunity to give their lives to Jesus. The praise was very powerful. Everyone was excited to worship and we all had a great time. However, not many white people go to that village so Lydia and I got some unwanted attention from the drunk men and young men. Thankfully we had dad, Luka, and other village "brothers" to protect us. I feel so bad for the other young ladies that are harrassed and disrespected and have no one to defend them. I get so frustrated with the young men that have no respect for ladies and will harrass them and persuade them to do things they don't want to do. We became such a distraction that we left before the crusade was over.

We got home exhausted, dirty, sunburnt, sweaty, and excited about what God had done in Moruisiru.

Way too much dust this time of year!

This is the Moruisiru church.

Little kids followed us everywhere. At first, they were nervous around us and would reach there hand to touch us and quickly pull it away. Many of them would touch us and look at their hands to see if our color would shed onto them. One little girl touched my arm then smelled her hand. It can get a little frustrating to have no personal space with so many curious kids around. But I just kept reminding myself that we are the first white people to come to this village and they are so excited to see us!

Using old jericans to make a door.

Cows coming home from grazing.

Praise during the crusade the first night.

Sharing the gospel.

The first two boys to receive Jesus as their Savior that night.

Followed by a crowd of little kids.

More praise under the stars.

(What looks like fog in the picture above is actually dust)

Getting drinking water from the borehole the next morning.

During morning devotions and preparing for baptisms, an elderly lady sitting next to the door became restless and scared. Turns out, a large white snake was slithering right outside the door. A couple of people went out to kill it and church proceeded as normal. Ironically, people had been talking about this snake the night before and it was used as a sermon illustration a few moments earlier.

The long line of people walking to the river for baptisms.

The river we did baptisms at.

Walking back to church after baptisms. This is the typical missionary picture, but it was so precious! Our hands were so sweaty and the path was a small foot path (not made for 3 people to walk side by side).