THE VILLAGE CHURCH
By Danny McDowell
In my travels in central and eastern Uganda I have had the opportunity to
visit and even to stay in a number of villages and to get a close up view of village
life. I was disturbed by the poverty at hand and equally impressed by the
WEALTH as well. One does not really see the wealth until you have actually
spent some time observing the daily routines of village life, ie the gathering of
fire wood, the digging of the cassava root, the carrying of water, the gathering
of rain water in fifty gallon barrels. This is a part of village WEALTH.
Then there are the chickens roaming about every village, the goats, swine,
and cattle. There are plots of land being worked with primitive tools; women
stooped ninety degrees at the waist and chopping at the soil to prepare for
planting. Everywhere there is food in the midst of what would seem to be
poverty to the muzungu [white man] who travels through.
One village saint I visited in 2011, was prepared for our arrival with a
significant gathering of friends and family. As we pulled slowly onto the
property, there went up the shrill trills of the village woman who owned the
land. She began to jump and dance at the first sight of our arrival. As nearby
neighbors heard the commotion they began to gather at her home. Then came
the baskets of beans, peanuts, corn, chickens and a goat----all gifts to her
honored guest from America. There she stood in her ragged dress and bare feet
and her face decorated with a smile lovelier than anything that Max Factor
could add. Such joy and happiness that is rare in America. It reminds me of the
words of Jesus when he spoke of "wells of living water spring up into everlasting
life".
At some point the woman escorted us about her property and showed us the
graves of her husband and other departed family members. She showed us a
circular spot of grass where her mud hut had once stood but collapsed soon
after her current house was constructed. Imagine, an old woman and five
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children sleeping in a dilapidated mud structure where the harsh tropical rain
fell through the thatch roof at night-----and one day the Lord looked down and
said "ENOUGH" and caused a local man to feel pity in his heart and build her a
brick house. In the midst of desperate poverty, the Lord can step into a situation
and SPEAK "wealth" into the life of a poor saint.
As I sat by a fire near the home of a village elder in 2009------the sun was
setting-----it suddenly occurred to me that "wealth" can be measured in ways
that I had not spent much time thinking about. Recently I have been thinking
about SURVIVAL during the Great Tribulation. I have been thinking about how it
is that these poor village people survive decade after decade. I thought about
how much laughter I have heard from the throats of people dressed in rags. I
asked a friend----"why are these people so happy". He replied simply----"they
are happy people". There is something beyond material wealth that cannot be
explained but can be observed.
I am convinced that the poor of this world will suddenly appear to be rich.
When Great Tribulation comes to the world, these poor people will continue to
dig the earth, gather the Cassava root, collect water in their rain barrels, gather
in their homes and yes, even gather under the protection of a mango tree to
sing praises to their God.
Meanwhile; back in Kampala, terror and chaos reign. Pastor Kayanja's "church
has been vandalized and all the seating has been looted. The copper wiring has
been stripped from within the walls and traded for food. People gather into the
grand sanctuary seeking shelter from the hot sun and a place to sleep. Kayanja
is nowhere to be found because he was a principle proponent of "dominion
theology" and had convinced the people that the "Church" would grow and
grow and take dominion of the earth. Now he [Kayanja] is a wanted man. Now
he will be lynched by the same mobs that once adored him.
Then there will be all those desperate people who were seduced by the lie of
a "pre-tribulation rapture". "Why not take the Mark of the Beast?" How bad can
it be since there obviously "IS NO GOD?" Preachers are being hunted like
animals.
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Automobiles and motor bikes are a thing of the past since there is no fuel or
oil except for the most privileged of the agents of Antichrist. Bicycles have been
cast into heaps because replacement tires and parts are nonexistent. The night
is filled with screams and terror as lawlessness spreads like eboli.
Meanwhile, back in the village, a woman digs for the cassava root, peanuts
are dug from the ground and a child chases a chicken to be eaten at supper.
Village watchmen are alert as they guard against marauders from the city who
come seeking food and stealing anything that can be used as barter. The village
pastor is treated with great respect because, in the face of great persecution
and mal-treatment, he persevered in the spreading of God's Word and warning
the Church about the terrible times to come. He has been like a ROCK in the face
of scorn and ridicule as the African Church had been corrupted by the heretics of
the American "prosperity gospel". The "fool" is now regarded as a "Prophet"
and he is offered food and water wherever he goes.
Is this what will happen? I cannot know for sure, but it sounds CRAZY
ENOUGH to be God's plan.
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