Reflection for October 2025
Trip to Uganda
Whack! Another unavoidable pothole! At least we hadn’t hit one of the motorcycle taxis (boda boda), which recklessly weave between traffic and pedestrians, sometimes with 3 pillion passengers and no hint of a helmet! Exhaust fumes mingle with the enticing smell of wood-fires frying ‘rolex’ (a pancake wrapped in wafer thin omelette). It’s a sensory overload, but a little question enters my mind again. ‘Why are we here? What could we possibly achieve?’
The school Jason founded is lovely; a paradise of beauty and purpose – a welcome change from the chaos of the streets. This International school nurtures children of many cultures and colours. The lush vegetation, African palms, purple bougainvillea and green grass thrives between the tree house, basketball courts, and colourful classrooms. ‘What could we bring to this?’
Praising and leading the worship each assembly, flanked by a drummer and keyboardist, both 5 yrs old (! @*!), was inspiring and humbling. On the 5th and last day of the Spiritual Emphasis week, I had been speaking about Naaman, the military commander with leprosy – a man of great position & wealth, who was asked to do something so simple, & yet nearly impossible, – to wash 7 times in the muddy Jordan river. Any 5-year-old could do that – and yet few adults would sacrifice their pride, and sense of self-worth, to do it. We then invited those teenagers to do something so simple, and yet perhaps the most difficult thing…to stand up if they suffered from anxiety and wanted God’s touch (many stood). Or to stand if they wanted healing from God (1/3rd stood). Or to stand if they wanted Jesus to come into their lives for the first time ever (10 of the 120 stood). Then each was invited to write something on a Post-it note, roll it up, and insert it into one of 120 holes drilled into a wooden cross (an idea Kate had done before). What they wrote was not shared with anybody in Uganda, but we’re sharing it in England. Bring 1 thing you want to say, or give to, or ask… to the cross.
In 1989 my whole life had been changed when I was their age, and at boarding school in neighbouring Kenya. “You may believe God exists, but have you ever asked Him to come into your life and become your Lord and Saviour?”, asked the missionary speaker that night. I was in Uganda now because of that original encounter with God, which saw my life re-orientated to live for Him. So, what could Kate and I bring to the children in this blessed school? Well, we spoke about God, sang about God, answered questions about God and created a prayer space for these children to encounter, or re-encounter this same God.
It’s not the size of a spark that determines how great a fire can become. In a country where everything seems to grow prolifically, may the seeds we had the privilege to plant, watered by your prayers, change the course of some lives in Uganda…. forever.
John Mark