Watoto came to Westside

Wow!  I throw out exciting words and exclamation points way too much.  I understand that.  It's a part of me.  I'm up and down and all over.  I've come to embrace it and I like that about me.  However, this "WOW!" is different.

Wow!  The last 45 hours have been incredible.  Mindy and I have been wanting to go back to Uganda for quite a while.  Not just the two of us, but the entire family.  That's a lot of money and it's not a high priority in our budget right now.  In all honesty, there's a good chance that our entire family will never go back to Uganda...together.

But Uganda came rushing back to us this weekend through the incredible ministry of Watoto.  Choir #68 came to our precious Westside Christian Church yesterday and put on two incredible shows.  We had over 300 people come that Sunday morning and everyone left with spirits raised, smiling and crying.  And, hopefully, in awe of the amazing redemptive work of God.

This all began for me three months ago when I was casually praying to God and asking Him to give us some excitement at our church.  Lame prayer.  I know.  Everything is going great at our church.  Super great.  But I wanted something different.  The adoption process changed my family so much that I wanted the people that I love here at Westside to be able to share in it.  It's hard to explain, but there's something about meeting an orphan that changes your life.  When you come face to face with a child that has faced this world without the protection of parents, you have to make a decision to care and change your life or to let your heart shrink, walk away, and care only for yourself.

God graciously gave us all an opportunity to care and change.

Like I said, I was praying for something exciting.  So God led me to wander.  I thought about what I would love to do.  I wanted to go back to Uganda.  When I was last in Uganda I got to stay with Wayne & Tarah Thomas and their family.  They are on staff with Watoto.  (I think Wayne's a pretty big deal, but he wouldn't tell you that.)  From there I got to hear what amazing work was going on in central Africa.  And I don't mean amazing like "these fish tacos are amazing."  I mean amazing as "how can anything possible heal what has happened and care for all the people who have been broken?"  Well, God is in Watoto and God is using people who are willing to care about others and listen to Him to do some things that are impossible.

So selfishly, I got on the Watoto website to see where they were touring.  I hoped it was driving distance, so our family could go "back to Uganda" for at least an hour or so.  I was shocked that they were going to be in Sarasota (just south of Bradenton) in January!!!!  Shocked.  I already planned our family trip and then I though, "Uh....what if....no...well...would they....come to....Westside?"  So I emailed and they said yes they will come and yes they will do two shows.  Two shows?  How could we possibly get enough people to justify their time here?  Well, we did!!!!!

Saturday night I left the house early because I was too excited to stay home.  They said they were getting here at 6pm so I got to the church about 5pm.  Our host families showed up and we all sat around nervous.  It was great.  There were 9 host families that had no idea what to expect.  I knew that it would be incredible for them, but they didn't know that yet!  The bus pulled up and I hugged the first dude I saw.

Over the next hour the team from Watoto turned our stage into their stage.  Talk about efficient...and polite!

But I didn't really care about any of that.  I just wanted to see the beautiful children.  Oh my goodness.  They were beautiful.  I was transported back to Uganda and I didn't want to leave.  We were blessed with having one auntie (lady) and two girls spend the night with us in our home.  I wish they could have stayed another night.

Sunday morning came and I got to the office about 5:30am.  I just knew that we would have a bunch of people show up for this.  I knew it because it was bigger than me.  It was bigger than any of us.  It was a work of God.  I've found out that I'm happiest when I'm lost in the work of God, be that through Westside Christian Church, in my family, serving on a board, meeting with someone new, volunteering at Jessie P. Miller, or...well...or anywhere that I see God at work.  (How do I tell people this?  Right?)

I came in to the office for no reason.  I had nothing to do until 7:30.  I was just too excited.  I prayed.  I paced.  I surfed the net.  I'm not even sure what I did.  I sat in anticipation knowing that God was moving.

He moved.

From 9 - noon, Sunday January 4th, I cried.  I didn't cry because I missed Uganda.  I didn't cry because the children were so beautiful.  I didn't cry because a reporter from the paper was here.  Here's the article.  I cried, constantly, because God's love is overwhelming.  Overwhelming and unexplainable.  God's kingdom is worldwide.  God is redeeming what we have broken.

I was crying because I knew that this worship service, right here at Westside, was just a small taste of the joy and beauty that I will be a part of in Heaven for all eternity.  Oh my goodness.

I don't claim to be anything special.  I read way too much of my sermons.  I am an attention craving loser who should never be in the paper (I will never stop talking about that).  I am self-centered and when I'm tired I wish I could just shut down my own precious children.  I eat too much.  I am constantly tempted to lie to make people like me.  I take too much of my self-worth from my perceived success or failure at work or how I dress or who I know.  But, you know what?  I don't care.  I've come to the place in my life where I know that I am broken.  I work hard to be better.  I am getting better.  I will continue to get wiser, more patient, more loving, and become a better person.  I know that.  I only become better because I am overwhelmed by the love of God.

Unending, undying love.

God led us to adopt for several reasons.  I'm not going to go into them all right now.  Here's just one reason.  God led us to adopt because He had to teach me to understand His love for every single person.  The Bible explains that when I was fatherless, He adopted me into His family.  No matter what, God loves me.  No matter what.  I will always be His son, just like Silas will always be my son.  There is no way that I could quit loving Silas.  Just like God will never stop loving me.

Silas didn't have to earn my love.  I don't have to earn God's love.

I will always forgive Silas.  God will always forgive me.

I want to give Silas what's best for him.  God does give me what's best for me.

Thank you Watoto for coming to us.  Thank you for sharing something that means to much to me with a church that means so much to me.  God you are amazing.

What an incredible day and a half!  It's been great talking to Bradenton-nites about Watoto, Uganda, adoption, God, and church.  It's fun to be involved in something so spectacular and moving.  It's fun to be a part of a church where God is at work.  It's wonderful to be a part of God's kingdom and see His work half-way around the world.

I'm spent.