For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. – Matthew 18:20

Upon moving here to Kampala, one of our first priorities was to search for a new church family to plug into.  We thought this would be a fairly easy endeavor, but as we all seem to learn, things tend to be more difficult in practice than in theory.  We joined several other eMi families at their respective churches, including Kampala International Church, a Presbyterian Church, Calvary Chapel Downtown, Calvary Chapel Kololo and Watoto Church, formerly Kampala Pentecostal Church.

We kept going back to Kampala International Church, partly due to it being within walking distance.  We decided to join a newcomers’ lunch to find out more and meet some other folks.  The pastor was at the lunch, talking to both Heather and I.  The next week, he called to meet with me about serving the church as the interim treasurer.  But, I’m an architect.  I also enjoy some graphic design.  Did I mention that I’m not an accountant?  But we really need someone to step in as treasurer.  Let me pray about it.  Sometimes God makes reassignments.  Mary: peasant girl to the mother of Christ; David: shepherd to king; Peter: fisherman to lead the first church; Joseph: baby brother to Egyptian prince.  Now I’m not expecting to become a Ugandan prince, but sometimes God is glorified and His power shown through our weakness.

Kampala International Church is a multi-nations church with about a 60/40 Mzungu to Ugandan ratio.  There are Brits, Dutch, Americans, Ugandans, Kenyans, Congolese and Sudanese.  KIC was started by a small group of families after the Idi Amin regime fell.  It has since grown into a medium sized church with a satellite congregation.  Every six weeks or so, the congregation meets in four zones of the city, meeting in gardens, enjoying smaller groups and often having food to promote fellowship.  Our neighborhood zone meets in a bar which is a fairly quiet place on a Sunday morning.  Some of the bar staff are being reached.  How many of us can say they have had church in a bar?

Heather was asked to serve with one of the several rotating praise bands.  Some use full drum sets, bass guitars and a keyboard, while others, like the one Heather has joined, use an acoustic guitar, keyboard and human voices.  She had been struggling for a while since we moved here to find her place and calling, but I think she has definitely started to find her niche.

Heather has also been enlisted into service at KIC, helping with the tea and coffee ministry.  After morning services, tea and coffee is served to the adults and fruit juice to the kids for a fellowship time to get to know each other a little more.  Having helped out with the dish washing on ocassion, I can say that the tea and coffee ministry entails a good bit of work.  Aside from maybe a retail store, I don’t think I have ever seen that many cups in one place.

Another way I have begun serving at KIC is in the way of graphic design, an opportunity that only opened up after I was willing to serve in the capacity of treasurer.  I redesigned the Sunday bulletins (see above) and an advertisement for a local Kampala magazine (below).  We feel fortunate to have found such a great community of believers while we call Kampala home.