James 2:17 says that "Faith without Action is dead!" Operation ARK is all about putting our faith into action by blessing our local community through Acts of Random Kindness!
It's also about UNITY and we were very excited this year to link up with youth from 6 other local churches here in Nyendo. In total over 115 youth attended over the course of the week as we hit the streets of Nyendo to show the Love of Jesus through meeting people's practical needs. It was a real triumph to see so many youth getting stuck in and willing to get their hands dirty and it's awesome to see how this vision has grown from the small beginnings of 15 River of Life Church Youth in 2008!
This year we focussed mainly on an area called Kakyafu which literally translates as "Rubbish." It's quite a fitting name, being one of the most notorious slums of Nyendo.
But together, this week we have managed to make a real impact, cleaning the streets, painting people's houses, digging and cleaning out wells, and giving boxes of food and other essentials to those most in need. we have now decided that it should be re-named Okuyonja which means "Clean!"
Many were blessed, some became Christians, and many were challenged about their perceptions of Christians. One woman couldn't beliveve it when we didn't want any money for the box of food we gave her and commented "Wow - you guys are really showing a true Christianity!"
One Muslim man said "Hmm.....this is a real challenge for us Muslims, I wish we would do more practical things to bless our community!"
my favorite quote of the week comes from a 7 year old child however who ran to his mother saying "look what these people are doing, I think it shows that everyone should get saved!"
We have been so blessed by the efforts of our youth and are looking forward to Operation A.R.K growing in the future! It goes to show that actions really do speak louder than words!
