All too soon, but eager to arrive, we were on our way back to Kasese to meet with the AmahaWe Uganda team and stay with our friends who run the AWU operations across the District. The local team do great work with women’s’ cooperative groups, street kids and some vocational training in the Rwenzori mountains between Kasese and the Congo border at Bwera.
We called Benjamin and asked where we should meet him. ‘We’re behind the Virina Gardens Hotel’ he said ‘We’ll meet you there.‘
Knowing that Ben could never resist the opportunity for us to buy him a soda, I assumed someone had set up a coffee shop of some sort and he wanted us to try it, although I couldn’t remember anything being there previously.
We were a bit taken aback when we pulled up...
The team were getting stuck into day 1 of a 5-day mission they were part of for the Kasese community. Day 1 was focused on the Youth Group and John (as usual) was on the microphone (as usual) , centre-stage (as usual) with members of one of the 5 gospel choirs they had organised to attend (this one brought in from Congo).
A brilliant atmosphere and clearly as much fun for the attendees as for our team up on the stage (the stage itself built from salvaged timber by our team of Street Boys).
There were well over 2,000 people attending the Youth-themed day 1.
Day 2 would be aimed at young couples; Day 3 for professional people (teachers, business people etc); 4 for married couples; 5 for the whole community.
Each day was at least as well attended as the first.
There’s no doubt the crowd enjoyed themselves. They loved the choirs, danced with the bands, paid attention to the sermons, participated in the evangelising and the prayers. The highlight in my mind though was the short, simple drama staged by our AWU Executive team.
The parable of the Lion, the Rabbit & the Elephant.
Kids here LOVE parables and LOVE drama. They sat open-mouthed and wide-eyed in silence as it began.
Jethro, the leader of our Youth activities, told the parable…
…Benjamin, the Executive Director of AmahaWe Uganda was the elephant (see him in his incredibly realistic ‘elephant-hide’ costume waving his trunk above his head).
When the rabbit climbed on his back and tried to eat him (no one told them you can’t eat an elephant all in one go) the kids loved it.
Forget the dozens of choirs, sermons, bands, etc. over the 5-day mission. In my opinion, without doubt the AWU Parable generated best crowd reaction of the day…
