"Even Though I Was Filthy, He Accepted Me"

So, I (Josh) decided to write a new blog post, not so much to update everyone on what’s going on with the Moody family in Uganda.  (Most know that I do that quite enough on Facebook.)  But really to share one of the most powerful moments (to me, anyway) of our time so far here in Uganda.

It took place on July 4^th.  I know we, as Americans, typically think the rest of the world shuts down and throws a party and cooks out on July 4^th, just like we do.  But the reality is, to the rest of the world, July 4^th is the day after July 3^rd and the day before July 5^th.  Nothing more, nothing less.  So in Uganda, July 4^th is business as usual.  We were doing some ministry related things that morning, and our family had planned some fun activities and a cook out later that afternoon to celebrate the birth of our great country.

That morning, we had to make a home visitation with our Child Development Program (CDP).  The CDP identifies vulnerable children in the community (and there are many).  The children are enrolled in the program in hopes of gaining a sponsor that will help provide the child with adequate food, clothing, medical care, and get them in school.  (For more info on sponsoring a child through the Four Corners CDP program, click here.)  The home visits are basically a welfare check and are done to assess the needs from time to time of these families. 

For this particular visit, we decided to load our entire family (Kim, me, and all six kids) up and go with a few of our social workers to visit a widowed grandmother who was caring for a couple of children enrolled in the program.  Rarely do we take the whole family (for obvious reasons), but this day, we wanted to all be together all day. 

I was driving, and our eight passenger land cruiser was loaded down with about 11 people.  We turned off the main road (if you want to call it that) in our village, and began down a smaller “road”.  We wound through the bush and this road soon turned into no more than a walking path.  I had two wheels on the path and two were making their own way.  I honestly have no idea how our social workers even found this place, but we eventually came to the grandmother’s property deep in the bush. 

When we arrived, we made our way over to the grandmother’s Ot Lum (that is the traditional Acholi housing, grass roof hut).  When we did, we saw her making her way down a narrow path behind the home.  She had been digging in a small garden further in the bush.  She was excited to see us but was a little embarrassed at how dirty she was.  We assured her that it was no problem and everyone began getting out of the vehicle. 

Now, most that know our family, know that our 18 month old Gaines is a barrel of energy.  The boy never stops and he never meets a stranger.  He jumps out of the car and immediately begins looking for something to get into.  Then he saw the grandmother and stopped in his tracks.  She was filthy dirty.  She was dressed in clothes that were tattered and torn.  She was missing nearly all of her teeth.  Gaines just stopped and stared.  Then she throws her arms open and huge smile comes across her face.  She proceeded to say something in Acholi.  My Acholi certainly isn’t great yet, but it was obvious she wanted to hold Gaines.  I thought that this would not end well.  He is going to start crying.  This poor lady will get her feelings hurt or be offended and it would just be bad.  But much to my surprise, he looked at her for a few seconds and then ran into her arms and she scooped him up.  The smile on her face got even bigger then.

She began laughing and spoke some more in Acholi.   One of the ladies that was with us began laughing to, and said “That boy is a true missionary.”  I asked her what the grandmother was saying.  Our friend translated and what the grandmother said stopped me in my tracks.  She said in Acholi, “Even though I was filthy, he accepted me.”  She, of course, was speaking about a blonde haired, blued mzungu (white) baby boy from the United States, but the reason it hit me like a ton of bricks was because THAT. IS. THE. GOSPEL.

Even though I was filthy, He accepted me.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  While we were still sinners…….while we were still in active rebellion against the King of all creation, HE. DIED. FOR. US.  I was filthy and He accepted me.  I didn’t even accept Him.  I wasn’t capable or willing of accepting Him.  He accepted me only because of Christ’s work on the cross.

You see, God didn’t wait for me to “get it together”, because I can’t.  He didn’t wait for me to “be good”, because my heart is wicked and I can’t be good enough.  In His grace, He came to me because I wasn’t capable of coming to Him.  That’s good news.  That’s the Gospel.  Ultimately, that’s why we are here in Uganda in the first place.  Because Christ is great, and so many of the Acholi people don’t know the depths of His greatness. 

I’m thankful for the words that this precious grandmother spoke to my son that day, because they brought me back to a truth that I need to be reminded of on a daily basis.  Even though I was filthy, He accepted me.  If you are a Christ follower and are reading this, my prayer is that those words will drive you to worship.  If you are reading this and are not a Christ follower, my prayer is that those words will drive you to the only One worthy of our worship.

Much love from Africa!
The Moody Tribe