Special Feature A little Goes A Long Way by Chris Eidse Chris Eidse is Connections Pastor at Waterlife Church in Lenoir, NC. Chris is married to Rebecca and has 2 daughters, Hailey and Cassidy. He spent 10 years ministering in the inner city of Winnipeg, Canada, and 10 years pastoring African-American churches in NC before joining the Waterlife team in 2014. Chris loves to spend time with his family and being outdoors, preferably doing something adventurous. In a big world with overwhelming problems, it’s good to be reminded that a little can go a long way and small things can make a big difference. This biblical concept came to life as I helped lead a small team from our church in North Carolina to serve near Kampala, Uganda, in the summer of 2019.
facility for years and was in the process of constructing our first building. The village church had been meeting under a tree for almost the same amount of time. Their church took “portable” to another level! We were honored to be at the first church service in their new building.
Serving in Uganda was a rich experience! The culture and atmosphere were pure Africa. It was everything I had hoped for. We drove down dusty and bumpy country roads and navigated through dense and noisy urban streets. All around us were kids playing soccer, bustling markets, small jungle villages, and smiling and welcoming people.
Half of our team spent most of the week finishing the stucco and then painting the interior of the church. This was hard and slow work. Everything was mixed by hand and applied with trowels. The construction techniques needed were hard to learn, but our expert African tradesmen patiently taught us what we needed to know and put up with our imperfect results. The stucco and paint were completed just in time.
Our team partnered with PUR International and 2 of our church members who had spent 3 years in Uganda through this mission agency. Our task was typical of the many short-term mission trips that I had led in the past. We connected with children, we helped run medical clinics, and we helped with building projects. The aspect of this trip that had the biggest impact on me was based around our Sunday morning church service. The church was in a small village in the middle of the jungle. Our daily drive involved bumping down rough roads and navigating through sugarcane fields as we drove an hour east of Kampala. Our church team from Lenoir, NC, shared some unique connections with this village church. We had both been “portable churches” for many years. Our church (Waterlife) met in a rented
The Sunday morning service did not disappoint! It was everything that I had anticipated. It was vibrant, festive, and filled with energy and life. Women wore their traditional African attire, tons of kids actively took part, and there were plenty of bongo drums, dancing, and shouting. While we didn’t stay for the entire service, after 4 hours we had to take a break. The most significant part of the service for me happened when our team, along with the church elders, cut the ribbon for their new church and lead the parade in and down the aisle. We were honored to be able to lead because our church funded the majority of the project. Our previous Christmas generosity offering covered almost everything. It blew me away that for just a few thousand dollars we could fund an entire church building project.
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