Rise and shine!

The long-awaited mission weekend arrived… very last minute preparations as tents appeared and we set up the sound system with the new equipment, ready for the start at 6pm.  The chapel choir came, the band came, members of staff came, patients came, school kids came… and the rain came!  It poured, and though the tents proved waterproof, there were streams of water rushing along the ground producing a lot of mud and of course there were a lot of electrical cables, microphone leads and connections etc on the ground.  So it was a real challenge to keep things going.  But, all credit to them, the choir just got up and sang enthusiastically; the Bishop and team arrived and joined in and a good time was had by all in spite of it being cold and wet.  The theme for the mission was a verse from the book of Isaiah chapter 60 and verse 1 which says “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you”.  So quite a contrast between the weather and the theme, and yet it all became a bit of a parable as Saturday was brighter and this morning, Sunday, was lovely and bright and warm. 

The lead singer of the music group

The programme included a music group from Mbarara, a city 80 miles away.  The group are often on the radio and seemed very popular.  I think they write their own songs which have a powerful message.  The main lead singer spoke a little of his own life where he had been an alcoholic with many problems but then “the light had come” and turned him around completely.  

A mini-drama had people in stitches especially the youngsters present.

Speakers included a young man from Kabale, a head-mistress of a secondary school, Dr Ian from Kisiizi and the Bishop himself.  I spoke on the Saturday morning with a very good translator called Herbert who really entered into the spirit of whatever I said.  So for example, when describing a memory of patients who had had cataract surgery sitting on a bench and watching the nurse come along the line and put a pair of thick lens glasses on each one [this was the days before we had intra-ocular implants] I remember how they one by one started clapping, singing, dancing with huge joy as they had been resigned to never seeing clearly again and now “the light had come”.  So when I illustrated the scene by clapping and jumping for joy Herbert joined me. 

The programme was full with the introductory evening session on Friday, then from 10am to 10pm Saturday quite a lot of activities, and today from 10 – 2 then lunch.  Thanks again to members of our church in Macclesfield who have helped with the costs of the PA system which coped very well considering the weather.

 Hanna found herself unexpectedly busy with a lot of babies deciding to arrive this weekend.

So we are ready to rest after a full and encouraging time.