EMI Day of Prayer

So this past week EMI took a day out of the week for a Day of Prayer. It was so great and also super challenging. We studied Habakkuk during devotionals this week, and then took a further look into others in the bible who are examples of "striving" in prayer. The scriptures are loaded with examples of intense prayers! (Moses interceding for his people, Daniel crying out for the exiled Israelites, Jesus in the garden, any/all of the prophets...) It encourages me to be earnest and active in my prayers. I often think of prayer as a calm or passive activity. But it is not!

James 5:16b, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James does not describe a boring or calm prayer life...

So we studied a few passages, and prayed...and then we went out into our community to actively participate and pray! Just down the street from our nice, gated apartment complex is a neighborhood without gates or paved roads. I have been running through these streets a bit, buy some groceries from a nice lady (Katherine) there, and have also visited a primary school once to read stories to the kids. It's not a slum...but it is a much poorer community than I'm used to seeing.

One of the main thoroughfares through the area is a large pipeline across a swamp. Next to the pipeline is King of Kings Primary School. This school, run by a sweet woman named Florence, is not what you would expect to call a school. It is four "rooms" of boarded up walls and metal sheet roofing with a meager fence. I have visited this school before, and it is precious to see the kiddos (ages 3-7ish)! On our day of prayer, we put in some prayerful labor to help raise one of the classroom floor levels. It has had flooding issues (being in a swamp), so hopefully after raising the floor level this week about 6" things should stay a bit more dry!

The EMI office split into teams, so after lunch my team handed off the hard labor while we went around the community a bit to get to know the area and pray for people. It was great and it was heart-breaking. I'm not sure how else I can explain. Most homes have little or no power. No running water. In fact, they get their water from a nearby pipe that we tested. Not clean water. Thankfully most know to boil it before trying to drink it. I saw 3 dead dogs being dragged up the street. Kids were cheering because apparently they were the mean neighborhood dogs. We met with a local pastor and he explained that the community's greatest need was improved sanitation. But it was the children's smiles that were infectious. One child caught my eye on the walk... she was crippled and maybe 5 years old. She was playing in the dirt, just dragging her legs along. Oh, how I wanted to give her everything she would have in the states. Like a wheelchair! Or medical services that could probably fix her weak legs. Others tagged along with us the whole way. Godfrey was walking with us for a while before I even realized he was the son of an EMI guard! Godfrey later took me back to his home, where I said hello to his father, Patrick, and mother, Grace. Then Godfrey and his friends came back with us to Florence's school as we finished up the work. It was a whirlwind of a day.

Long story short: I now feel like I can strive in prayer for my own community here in Kampala. And I can't wait for heaven- when earthly suffering shall cease.

SForbes