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 camethe 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 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.
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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