Last Sunday, I referred to an incident in Northern Uganda, a place Richard Stearns calls “the darkest place on the planet” that he has visited. Here is an abbreviated account of what he experienced there:
One day, Margaret, six months pregnant, was gardening with her friends. A group of boy soldiers – led by an adult commander – attacked Margaret’s friends and hacked them to death with machetes. The commander noticed Margaret was pregnant, so he chose not to kill her because he thought it would bring bad luck. Instead he told the boy soldiers to cut off her nose, ears, and lips, which they did.
Remarkably, she survived, and three months later gave birth to her son James. Margaret and James were brought to World Vision’s Child of War Center, where she received counseling and support to deal with her trauma and disfigurement.
Months after her son’s birth, Margaret saw the commander who ordered her mutilation come to the same rehabilitation center. Margaret was afraid for her life and also wanted to kill him. World Vision staff worked with this man to get him to confess to what he did. They also worked with Margaret to help her anxiety and explore the possibility of forgiveness. Weeks later the man asked Margaret to forgive him, and Margaret reached deeply to the source of all forgiveness – Jesus – and forgave.
This week I read about a group of children in Uganda who are shining into dark places and providing a witness for Christ. Chuck Colson tells about it:
“The children are members of the Mwamba Children's Choir of Uganda. Tragically, AIDS has taken the life of one or both of their parents. They grew up in an orphanage begun in 1998 by a Ugandan pastor. This pastor felt called to do something about the number of children being orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.
“Sadly, the pastor died a few years ago, putting the future of the orphanage in jeopardy. His son, Daniel Mugerwa, and Daniel's younger brother, were scarcely out of high school; they had no idea how they could keep the orphanage going. But as Daniel told my colleague Stephen Reed, a family friend who attended his father's funeral heard the orphans singing a tribute to their late founder.
"’If you can get more people to hear these children's voices,’ the friend said, ’that could help save the orphanage.’
“So that's what Daniel did. As Stephen Reed writes in the HuntingtonNews.net, the brightly-dressed children sing ‘with a sound and a beat that grabs the audience.’ The choreography comes directly out of Ugandan culture. In a song titled ‘You Are Everything,’ the children sing:
"’You are everything to me/ My soul rejoices in you/ Your goodness, mercy and joy / All the world's so in love with you!’
“The song expresses their joy for God's mercy in their lives: Mercy in the form of loving adults to care for them now that their own parents are gone. Unlike many American children's choirs, these kids don't have to be reminded to smile as they sing: Their faces and bodies are bursting with joy.
“Their music is indeed helping keep the orphanage open. The choir is currently touring the United States. They have made two CDs of their songs, and are about to release a third.”
These “children of Uganda have so much less” than we do “and they've endured great loss-and yet their lives are a musical praise to God for His blessings.”
Where there is darkness, where the holes in our world are deep, the love of Christ can still shine bright and often does. I hope the story of Mwamba Children’s Choir will encourage you to let your love for Christ shine bright in this Christmas season.
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