Jesus!

“When did you take Jesus as your Savior?” asks Rev George Wan Tian Soo from Singapore one morning while we were waiting at the hotel for our ride.

I found myself dancing around an answer. Here sat a retired Methodist preacher who believes WHOLE HEARTEDLY in the rapture and that the current earthquakes are a sign of the second coming of Christ. What do I say?

My time in Uganda overlapped with Rev. George and Brother Leong Po Lye. I went to the Evangelist church, revival meetings, faith healings and heard a whole lot of prayer and Bible-speak during my two weeks there.

In 1984, Brother Leong now in his 70’s, received Jesus as his Lord and Savior after being miraculously healed from liver cancer. He believes he can heal AIDS and if so, he is going to be mighty busy.

It was all very interesting to once again be in a country where the major religion, Christianity, is intertwined with the culture. These faith-filled people celebrate the Lord on Sundays with rockin’ song and the rest of the week with prayer meetings and reverence for everyday miracles. Their lives are in the hands of God as they seek to do his work on earth. This trust in Jesus is touching and I found myself travelling back in time when I too found refuge in church and Sunday services.

I was brought up as an Episcopalian. I loved wearing the choir robes, singing hymns and took comfort in prayer. As a girl, however, I saw no outlet to serve God. I could not become a priest or a nun in my religion. I ponder, if I had been a boy would I have followed this yearning?

When Rev. George asked me whether I had taken Jesus as my Savior, I told him about my early childhood fascination with a higher power and my love of Jesus the man. I didn’t tell him about my teenage years when hormones and the pursuit of boys took the place of prayerful reverence for the Lord.

In northern New Mexico, on every Good Friday that I could, I walked with fellow pilgrims to the little church in Chimayo where miracles and healing take place. Sometimes I walked in silence; sometimes I talked with people along the way. “Why do you walk? “ I queried. “Jesus, died for our sins, this is the least I can do on a Good Friday,” many replied.

It is this deep faith that I felt in Uganda. Most knew that there was a power greater than themselves that was moving through their lives. Many turned their life over to Jesus fully knowing they will be led by the grace of God. This was radical trust in motion. Was this not a theme for my own pilgrimage?