AFRICA JOURNAL: Uganda is "Heaven on Earth"

03 June 2011

Singers and orphans celebrate at the Parental Care Ministries school in Mbarara, Uganda, on Sunday. Nearly 400 people attended the four-hour service full of music, singing and celebration.
                                    Photo By Patrick Butler/Resonate News

“There was never a Sunday Service like this,” was the sentiment echoed by Parental Care Ministries team members after four hours of celebration, praise and testimony at an outdoor gathering place.

The sticks-and-bedsheets shelter was put together all day Saturday by church members. The construction was reminiscent of the “brush arbor” shelters of Texas history when available materials were used to facilitate shade for spiritual seekers. But the colors included with streamers from the sheet-lined roof — the blue, pink and yellow sheets — flapping in the breeze in the background gave a satisfying and nearly surreal sensation of opulence found in more well-to-do churches.

In fact, there was no sense of deprivation, no sorrow for the lack of stained-glass structures with big-screen stimulation. The church — the Christians at the Parental Care Ministries School in Mbarara, Uganda — provided all the stimulation a body could want with what they had — open and unabashed hearts to God in all they spoke, sang and said.

There was never a Sunday Service like this. Choir after choir made up of students, adults, mixed or gender selective made their presentations, and the sound was beautiful. Time flew by as joy, worship, praise and messages rebounded off the sheets and into the hearts of the team members.

Most significantly, the Texas team shared with the congregation how they had learned from them what true worship, devotion, love, acceptance and faith was from their African counterparts.

“They have almost nothing, but they really have the spiritual part down,” said 16-year-old Bailey Barret.

“It’s exactly the opposite in America,” said Hannah Gill, in response.

From the mouth of American teenagers in candid conversation comes the realization that we have much to learn from Africa. So much in fact, that our concept of true spirituality may have to be overhauled to catch up with what some Ugandans already know, if we want to keep our children in church. The teens of the team expressed regret they had to go back to America and leave the expression of “real faith” behind, after four hours of a church service. This does not bode well when we Americans consider our approach to the next generation of believers to take the torch in our country, said group speaker Rocky Gill to the Ugandan congregation.

"You may be wanting to live in America where a lot of people have a different lifestyle," he said. "You look at us and think we are good. If you had a choice to live in the U.S.A. or Uganda, what would you choose? Before you decide, let me tell you that I call Uganda "Heaven on earth" because what you are doing is following the greatest commandment of Jesus. You are loving God and loving each other. The Christians in my country don't do that very well. We are sick and have many sins. Do not wish for what we have. We wish for what you have. God is here. You are seeing Him every day."

Patrick Butler is the executive editor of Resonate News. He has been visiting Parental Care Ministries School in Mbarara, Uganda.