Oaks of Righteousness

(Written June 7)

Before plunging deep into Gulu, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on one of the most significant elements of our week with Come Let’s Dance (CLD). Each of the teams was privileged to work under the leadership of one or two Ugandan men and women who have given their lives to ministry in Kampala and are connected in some way to CLD—some work with orphans, some pastor churches, some organize outreaches in the slums week after week. We were amazed, inspired, and challenged by them—and many of us formed deep bonds of friendship with them in just one week.

Here are some photos of just a few of them:

Yeona with Wilfred, Florence and Julius.

Tina with Julius and Wilfred.

Greg and David.

Julius and me.

Our entire group with the CLD leaders.

To hear their stories—of how God rescued them from the streets, called them to himself, and has led them into ministries that are impacting literally thousands of people, you might assume they’ve had years and years of experience—and yet most of them are only in their young 20s!

To tell some of their stories, I enlisted Greg’s help. This is what he had to say:

“One young man who led us is named David, pictured here:


David grew up as an orphan whose parents were killed by AIDS. He lived on the streets with malaria for several years. He was ‘adopted’ by a couple who ran a secondary school. In this school, David met Jesus. A few years later, God gave David dreams of becoming a film-maker. Even though many of his peers scoffed, God made a way. Shane, of CLD, who happened to be an American film producer before coming to Uganda, helped David to make his first short film. Though it didn’t win any award in Uganda, they entered it anyway in a pan-Africa film festival and it won first place. David then spent a summer in the US at an elite private high school and this summer he is going to Calvin College in Michigan on a full-ride scholarship. He has resided for the past two years in the Kids Home (where some of us worked this week), taking care of the children. David has inspired many of his fellow Ugandans, both in his church, and in the Katonga slums to not be afraid to have dreams and to partner with God in seeing them come true. We were moved as he challenged Ugandans not to miss the opportunities God was placing before them right now. David’s life is a profound challenge to all of us as American college students and twenty-somethings—because many of us do not have any idea what we’re doing with our lives, even though God has given us a great deal of resources and opportunities. We realized that in America, it is possible to become mediocre and comfortable, and to give ourselves to small dreams instead of the Kingdom of God.

Another young man is Phillip, pictured to the right of Florence and Julius:


At age twenty-four, Phillip pastors a church of well over a thousand (maybe two or three thousand). Phillip became a Christian when the Prime Minister of Uganda, a Christian man, took him in and sent him to secondary school. He has powerful evangelistic gifts and has led most of his best friends to faith in Jesus. One of these friends is a famous gospel singer; another heads up the Kids Home. As Sarah and I got to pray with Phillip before we left, we were awed by the sense of calling on this man’s life. At age twenty-four, he is doing more than most us would ever accomplish in an entire lifetime. Phillip’s great grandfather was one of the leaders of the first East African revival which broke out in the early 20th Century in Kampala. Phillip is praying that God would use him and others like him to instigate a second revival that would sweep East Africa and the whole world.”

There are many others we could talk about, and I wish we had the time, but this gives you just a little glimpse of what God is doing to raise up a new generation of young leaders in Uganda, despite all odds. We are overwhelmed by God’s power and in awe of the mighty “oaks of righteousness” he is planting in the nation. Please continue to pray for them, and for others like them!