There is truth in the adage, “it takes a village.”
And . . . there is power in the village.

This morning as the bus rounded the corner to Pakwatch the bus became stuck. (Pakwatch is a satellite campus – for lack of a better word – for Acres of Hope). Because of the heavy rains, the bus tires had a hard time getting traction on the road. Pastor Geoffrey described the roads as “Ugandan snow.”

The front left tire went into large muddy ditch and there was no moving forward or back.

Before the West team could get off the bus and start pushing, the village men came to help.

They pushed, nothing happened.

Some of the West team joined in and helped. Still nothing.

It wasn’t until everyone pitched in that the bus moved. Laura Marino and Leanne Rose joked that it was their brut strength that caused it to finally move (they were the last two to join in).

Actually – the joke was – why SHOULD Laura and Leanne join in? If you don’t know them, they won’t be joining the Women’s Bodybuilding Competition upon their arrival back in the USA.

But . . . the reality was no matter how hard the group pushed or what the bus driver tried, the bus did not move until the entire team joined in to help. It took a village.

Great things happen when people work together.

That was proven again this afternoon. Pastor Geoffrey arrived at the church so excited.

Since we met him five years ago we’ve known that the plot of land next to Acres of Hope was not available, someone not affiliated with Geoffrey in any way privately owned the land.

Today Geoffrey had a vet visit Acres of Hope to artificially inseminate the cow so that they can sell the cattle for revenue.

When the vet was driving to the stall, without Geoffrey’s knowledge, he drove on the neighboring plot. It left ruts in the grass.

The owner was livid, sought Geoffrey out this afternoon, and in Geoffrey’s words, “He was hot.”

Geoffrey did not know the vet would drive on the land, so it wasn’t intentional, but the consequences remained the same.

As the landowner shared with Geoffrey his frustration, his son entered into the conversation. Heard his father criticize Geoffrey, and then changed the entire direction.

“Dad, this is so much bigger than a feud over land. This impacts so much more than you and me. I’m your firstborn, so ultimately the land will be mine. Why don’t you just give it to Acres of Hope? Who knows – our family, my children, or my children’s children may need it someday.”

Geoffrey said he just stood there, shocked. Never did he think this would be an option. When he approached the man years ago about the plot, the lowest the man would sell it for was $40,000,000 shillings (Forty million shillings is around $12,500 for ½ an acre).

After the son said that, the man looked at Geoffrey and said, “I will sell you the land for $263,500 shillings . . . if you will sell it now.” ($8000 US dollars)

Geoffrey explained he was getting ready to go to the USA and would be gone for a month. That he would be in prayer over the offer and would discuss when he returned home.

Interesting – the man’s son was willing to give it away. He didn’t have any assurance he would not need the land for future personal use. He simply knew the vision that was being achieved was something that had a reach so broad, he wanted to be a part of it.

Today is a day that we’ve all watched how a village comes together to make a difference in the world.

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