The Jesus Video

I have heard stories over the years of the ways that the Jesus film is used in so many languages around the world. Now was my chance to experience it.

First, we went to Bukolongo, where about 300 sugar cane workers live, many with their families. They come from all over Uganda looking for work; therefore, we showed the film in Swahili, which is a common trade language in this region of Africa. So we did the whole "rural Africa video" thing.

Crammed in the back of our well-worn truck were a generator, 3 benches to hold a sound system, speakers and stands, projector, Video player and DVD player - along with 30 youth and adults from GSF, all standing for lack of space. On arrival, we hung two white sheets on the side of the truck, hooked up the sound system and powered up the generator as there is no electricity in this village. We had a quick prayer meeting that the lightning in the distance would not bring rain on the field where we were setting up the movie. (We only had a few drops!)

Of more than 300 who watched the film on the life of Christ, over 100 responded to the gospel invitation at the end. Praise God!

The next Sunday we went to another local village, Buvonia, and set up in the middle of the trading center there. There were at least 400 people watching the film in Luganda (the local tribal language here) this time. A handful responded to the gospel and local pastors will follow up with these folks in both locations.

Our truck wouldn't start following the film in Buvonia. It was after 10 p.m. and the possibilities for malfunction were so numerous that we didn't know where to begin. After calling one of our drivers from GSF, the kids decided they could attempt to push the truck and I would pop the clutch to get started. After turning around to the road, we made several attempts, both forward and backwards, as the level space was short for attempting such a maneuver. Nothing. After sending a text message to Amy and the other missionaries asking for prayer, and before the driver arrived, we tried to crank the vehicle one more time at 10:30 p.m. It started!

Describing this truck will take a whole blog post itself, so I may have to come back to that. Needless to say, we were grateful to make it back to GSF safe and sound.

Praise God for His work through our weaknesses!