I had one of the coolest moments earlier this week when the Watoto Children’s Choir was at our church!  After Tuesday night’s concert, my family hosted several of the Ugandan choir members for the night.  I was showing them photos from my 2005 trip to Uganda with Watoto, when they all reacted to the above photo on the left, specifically the boy wearing the yellow shirt.  “That’s Joseph! That’s Joseph!”  They had my attention so I asked how they knew him; they answered that he is in the choir with them!  I was stunned!  I brought the photo in the next morning to show to the choir director, Sam Kimera, and he immediately called Joseph over to me!  We took the photo on the right, and I gave him a copy of the 2005 photo.

It was particularly exciting to me because he’s actually one of the boys I shared about to the concert audience when I was introducing the love offering we were going to take for the choir.  I spoke of the hopelessness I saw in the streets of Uganda, and the contrast it was to arrive at a Watoto village for the first time and see the joy and hope and promise of a better future.  I shared about how some young boys came running out and started climbing all over me and wrestling with me – he was one of them!

I love how things have come full circle; six years ago my church went to minister to him in Uganda.  This week, he came to minister at my church!