Imagine the branches of a tree - as the branches and twigs get further and further away from the trunk, they get smaller and smaller. Similar with roads going out of Kampala and away from the few 'major' routes. We discovered this on Monday night when we joined Sam Tsapwe, a former MAF worker who now almost single-handedly runs Jesus Film Ministries. Sam is a gentle man of God, but with a big heart for outreach in the remote areas. Showing Christian films on a big projector screen is novel and a great way of getting people to hear the Gospel message.
So off we set in his ageing Landrover heading north to a village about 40km away - or 2 hours.
The roads in Kampala vary from fairly good to the smaller bumpy dirt tracks with emormous potholes. On the roads are an ecclectic mix of taxis, mopeds, people and otehr vehicles, all declaring their right of way at the same time!
While the main roads are not too bad, but head off that the roads are seldom paved and get narrow and narrower, and can quickly develop large potholes with the combination of use and stormy weether. By the time we reached the village of Bugabo, it was like an overgrown narrow bridleway.
We collected a pastor, called Steve, on the way who has established many churches in his area. He helped and showed the way. So that was 7 people and lots of equipment in the vehicle!
When we got there, Sam was calling out to every home we passsed, 'Filimo! Fimimo!' Soon after we arrived in a clearing near a new church, children started running towards us. By the time the big projector screen was set up, a crowd of 100-200 people gathered.
This was Sam's 2nd time in the village, and this time he showed a film centred around the character of Mary Magdalene. This was shown in English and translated throughout by Sam in his mic. The kids particularly love watching these films and listening to the Chrstian music at the beginning, dancing away.
The weather was good - a growing orange moon rising behind the screen was quite something - though an isolated gust blew over the screen at one point!
Several adults reiterated Sam's prayer at the end of the service. Pray for the church to continue to grow in Bugabo, and particularly for Sam's ministry - it only takes something as small as a faulty cable for the film to be in jeopardy, so pray for the small details!
So another early night - or then again, maybe not!
