Emotional and Heart-filled Greetings

At every turn and in every country God ambushes and surprises me. In El Salvador, it was the time invested in me through Pastor Miguel. In India, it was the heart tugging and overwhelming sights and even smells of the India Slum. In Vietnam, it was a Father’s eyes and then moms and babies at the Father’s House.

After only one very full day in Rukungiri, Uganda, it has been the very emotional and heart-filled greetings.

Today, I found myself with tears running down my cheeks, as Ugandan women and little preschool children from a Compassion International Child Survival Program center ran with abandon while singing and clapping as they rushed to greet us.

After being in India with Compassion International, I was expecting a greeting, but not at all like this. You can watch it here. The joy, happiness, and smiles, on the faces of these women as they sang and danced, as little toddlers clapped…okay, it wrecked me!

The Child Survival Program (CSP) overseen by Compassion International, the church in this area of Rukungiri AND supported by dollars from our church, The Crossing, is making a substantive difference in the lives of women and children.

While hard to communicate the entire scope of the CSP in a single sentence…the baby training and life skills given to a woman who is about to give birth and the resulting follow up oversight from the CSP staff as the baby is born, then nurtured thru their preschool years, is meticulous, rigorous, and definitive.

The partnership between the Rukungiri Compassion International staff and the North Kigezi Diocese of the Anglican church and The Crossing Church ROCKS!

Women’s lives are being changed! The lives of little ones are being famously nurtured and all this, while unashamedly communicating the powerful message that Jesus reigns, transforms and saves. Yeah God!

Thanks for reading. Please, keep praying, I have a feeling I’m in store for SO much more,

Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing