“He’s Got The Wind And The Rain….”

It was a quick one-night trip to the Midwestern Scripture Union Region this last Friday and Saturday.  Leaving behind the super heavy Kampala traffic due to the closing of the first term of school, we headed west and soon were enjoying the lush green country side on a not-so-bad road interrupted with significant speed bumps each time we approached and left a town. Upon arrival in Hoima, we got directions to the Scripture Union Office… “after some speed bumps, you’ll see the sign.” But before we saw the sign, we saw Innocent, the Scripture Union Regional Administrator, and he pointed us to their modest office which was very recently given to them.

After we toured the office compound, Innocent took us to a nearby school, “Feel At Home Nursery & Kindergarten” which served as both the venue for Friday night and Saturday morning meetings as well as our overnight accommodations. There we found our friend, Grace, the Regional Coordinator busy in the kitchen preparing the meal for the 30 church leaders invited that evening for vision casting about teaching godly Values in Schools.  As the dinner hour approached, the wind suddenly picked up and brought a torrential downpour. We were rather disappointed, especially for Grace’s sake, since even moderate rain often hinders people’s attendance. Laura found herself singing "He's God the Wind and the Rain in His Hands" to one of the church leaders who arrived ahead of the rain...it seemed like a new song to him.  Little did we know that Grace had gone upstairs and was pouring out her heart to her Heavenly Father Who assured her all would be fine.

When the skies cleared a few minutes later, in came the people.  In the end only three of the invited did not make it, and none of their reasons were related to the weather. The 2 hour meeting went well as people were introduced, the new-to-them program was explained, and testimonies of its impact were shared by both children and teachers. The delicious Ugandan meal was enjoyed by all as people talked with each other before heading home.

Once the last guest had left and we had picked up our visuals, Ruth and I went to the upstairs room where we would spend the night, quite tired but grateful for the opportunity to serve in this region. Then in came Grace (who was staying two rooms down from us) and proceeded to talk non-stop for well over an hour, relating her amazing testimony, which included several miracles, of how about three years ago God called her to work in this region. It hasn’t been an easy journey…but she ended her story by saying that the just completed meeting was yet another miracle. She sensed God assuring her that the ministry was turning a corner because not even the hard rain had managed to keep away those church leaders. It was with full hearts that we praised God together and prayed that indeed what God started that night would continue for His glory. What a vivid reminder that even the winds and the rains are no challenge to God as all things are indeed in His hands!