Welcome to our seventh blog!
Today James and Rob will be sharing their thoughts on Firefest Uganda.
It was an early start, breakfast at 6:30! By 7:30 we were in the vehicles on the way to PDN (Pastors Discipleship Network) for day one of Firefest. We sang praises to God and devoted the day to Him until 9am when it was time to enter the tent which was beginning to fill with pastors from around Uganda, a fitting location for Firefest which began as the Southport Methodist Holiness Convention...in a tent!!
Rob was up first (number one of five talks!) who focused on being 'Kingdom Community'. We were intrigued by the translation 'Obwakabaka' which is Lugandan for 'Kingdom community'. He encouraged us to take inspiration from Acts 2 and be in communion with God and one another. Next up was Anne, who gave a powerful talk focused on identity in Christ, incorporating her testimony of being 13 years cancer free! The spirit was certainly moving and many of the congregation responded, agreeing to leave all the 'stuff' of life behind and re-align with God. Third was Rose Mugabe, a wonderful woman of God and friend of Neal's for many years (and now friend of the team!). Rose gave us a challenge of making following God the priority rather than the other roles in our life (whether that be a mother, preacher, teacher etc...). Next came Neal with a vibrant delivery which included him throwing himself across the stage! He encouraged us to worship the God of miracles. He presented the sketch involving two chairs to demonstrate that man and God were once united in the Garden of Eden but separated by the sin of man, however, Jesus came as a bridge between man and God so that they could be together again. Then there were just 10 mins left for Peter (Rose's husband) as the day had been running on 'African time' where everything happens at least an hour later than expected! But Peter actually lasted 45 minutes! It was an energetic reminder about self doubt and how doubt leads to letting the devil in and ruins our relationship with Jesus.
Between some of the talks Vicky did some worship leading and was joined (much to her surprise) by the Ugandan worship team (drums, saxophones, keyboard and two electric guitars). It was great that we could all worship together.
Mum also did a wonderful testimony about how she was healed 12 weeks ago which really showed God's power at work.
We're very tired and also very excited for day two of Firefest!
Rob's account
What a privilege it has been to launch Firefest International in partnership with PDN. We were thrilled to have over 300 Pastors and Youth Leaders sharing with us, only to be told that 2-300 were turned away! The worship and the teaching has been exceptional and the affirmation of the whole team has been wonderful. Our hosts and all of the delegates were so gracious, appreciative and receptive that it would be hard to refuse the invitation to return.
On a personal level, it was an added bonus that I had the privilege of meeting our sponsor child George, with Godfrey who runs the project that George attends. As 16 year old George threw his arms around me, my heart melted and I found the moment very moving! It is hard to put into words what this moment meant and to have George hear me preaching in his country and even laughing at my corny jokes was just great.
Today has been an amazing climax to our time at Firefest, with highlights such as dancing with African youngsters as part of a final celebration, which no doubt members of my family would refer to as 'Dad dancing'. However T.I.A. (This Is Africa) and our dancing was well received and felt in keeping with the whole celebration. The event closed with Rev Peter Mugabe talking of martyrs who had died nearby when British missionaries came to share their faith. He then prayed for God's protection upon the whole team as we stood at the front with the whole gathering reaching out their arms in prayer. As he prayed for our nation, many of the team (myself included) were moved to tears. We were then thanked personally by brothers and sisters in Christ who were keen to welcome us at some point in the future.
We then made our way to the hotel, only to find that a wedding band are in full swing! Some of our number are concerned about how much sleep we will have! However, we will be leaving early for Watoto Church which we are all looking forward to.
Sarah and Jo will be sharing their personal experience in our next blog. Thank you all for your prayerful support.
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| Neal's prayed for ahead of preaching |
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| The Ugandan worship team |
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