“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
We love Easter at Amazima Ministries because we know the death and resurrection of Jesus is the reason why we are here! Young, old, boys, girls, mothers, fathers, students, and teachers: we are all united by our need for a Savior. Weighed down by the wages of sin and left to our own fate, we know what we deserve. During the Easter holiday, we gather together to share the good news, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!”
At the end of the school week, in celebration of this unbelievable gift, we invited all of our scholarship students and their families to join us at our land in Buziika. We ate a meal together, worshiped, prayed and shared the good news. We concluded the evening with The Jesus Film, in Luganda, the local language. The event was a success with 308 students and 210 guardians in attendance.
Over at The Amazima School, we continued our tradition of washing the feet of our first-year students. This ceremony is modeled after the events in John 13 when Jesus washes the disciples’ feet:
“He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.””
John 13:4-7
In a culture where children are “seen and not heard” the act of an esteemed adult washing their feet is unheard of. During this ceremony, the staff and teachers of the school washed our students’ feet. It is not uncommon to see students weeping, overcome with emotion by the idea that they are loved this much. This event was beautifully symbolic of the way our Savior loves us!
After the feet-washing ceremony, the students gathered with their family mentors on the verandas of their home for a meal together. The evening concluded in the chapel, and the students worshiped together.
On Sunday, our students gathered together once more to celebrate the resurrection. Together our students took communion, remembering the great sacrifice Jesus made to give us the ultimate gift, eternal life and a relationship with Him.
As we think about what took place this Easter, we thank God for you. You are the reason that we are able to share this beautiful message of reconciliation through the blood of Jesus.