Aloysius had a dream and burden for his country of Uganda and specifically his city of Katwae. Katwae is the poorest city within the poorest country within the poorest continent in the world. It’s a garbage dump where no one ever gets out. Often the enormity of a problem can paralyze but Aloysius simply kept praying for change and went about his business.
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. — Mark 16:1-4
The women’s hearts wanted to care for Jesus and beautify his body but well into their journey they realized that there was a boulder in their way yet they kept going. I’m a planner and I would have stopped to figure out how to move the rock. And in doing so I probably would have stopped continuing on my the mission because I would have been thinking through solutions in my own strength. Fortunately for me, they just carried the spices and kept going allowing God to work out the obstacle His way.
Aloysius hosted a sports & games community event to connect with youth in his village offering a variety of sports clinics and a “strange” game called chess. He was introduced to chess when he was in the States and it struck him on how he thought it depicted the Ugandan life of survival. At this community event, kids weren’t sure what to make of chess but it seemed to speak to a young man named Robert. Robert came daily to play the board game and soon became really good at it. So good that he began teaching it himself to kids in Katwae. One of his students was a girl named Phiona. At 10 years old she naturally took to the strategic board game and became the champion of Uganda, then Africa, and then the world by age 13!
Her notoriety brought a ton of media attention and with that came resources and support to begin helping the community of Katwae. The end result was an answer to prayer but the means were different than Aloysius had prayed. If he had focused on the the size of the problem, his boulder, perhaps there would not be a Phiona the world chess champion today.
But don’t believe me as I’m sure Disney can tell her story better coming to a theater near you this weekend.
You win the game of chess one move at a time. God doesn’t expect you to have it all figured out. You don’t always have to take something A-to-Z. Just trust and obey. Just take the next step. Just carry the spices.
Question |
What are the boulders that you need rolling away?
Isn’t it amazing how much we think we know, how things should be, and how they should work out? Too often we get in the way of what God wants to accomplish in us and through us. We need to listen carefully, trust, and obey.
So true. God is always working and aligning in ways we don’t see. Trusting & obeying are keys in staying the course.