Apwoyo! (That is hello in Acholi, and it also means thank you.)
I thought I should do another update. My time here is quickly dwindling, unfortunately. I only have four more weeks left here in Kitgum and then I will be on a plane back to the states. I'm sad it is so soon!
I just returned to Kitgum on Sunday after traveling with a team from Solid Rock for two weeks. I took the bus down to Kampala on the 25th of June and met up with the team at the airport. It was quite the journey. It took about 8 hours on the bus to get to Kampala and by the end of it, I was ready to be done! I was so excited to see the team though when they finally came. I was able to have a short visit with Amy who flew in with the team. Originally Amy and I were supposed to be partnering together in Gulu, but the Lord had other plans as I am now in Kitgum and she is serving in a village northwest of Gulu in an orphanage. It was still really great to catch up with her though.
The team hit the ground running. All day every day we were going to different secondary schools (equivalent to our high schools) spreading the gospel and inviting the students to the Jesus Festival on Saturday. It was really awesome to see so many students turn their lives over to the Lord! Now we just need to pray that the seeds that were planted will be tilled and nourished in good soil. The Solid Rock team partnered with a team of college students from Gaba Community Church in Kampala and some gospel musicians who traveled with us. It was great to see everyone again! A lot of the university students who were on the Gaba team I had met last year when we did a retreat for them! So it was really great to reconnect and catch up with them all!
One day we were heading to go to a school and Bruce Heath, one of our leaders recognized the area we were in where he had done some work previously. He and his wife sponsor a child at Watoto village and so Bruce asked if he could hop off and go see him, I jumped at the opportunity as well. So Bruce and I left the team and jumped on some bota botas (motorcycle taxis - don't kill me dad!) to Watoto. The time there was nice. I enjoyed Bruce the most just seeing the overflowing joy from his heart as he reunited with his boy, Michael, and learning their story. Watoto is a children's home for all ages of kids who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. I got to meet Momma Janet, one of the house mothers and visit with her about the location. It was really great.
Saturday we had the Jesus Festival. Imagine hundreds and hundreds of high school students coming to hear about Jesus! I am generally hesitant about big crusade sorta things, especially here in Uganda, but it was really cool to see such a solid message and response. The day was full of gospel artists, dance crews, and lots of rain. Which unfortunately slowed down the program, but that is how it works here.
Sunday we went to church and said goodbye to all of our Kampala friends and then began the long journey back up North. We stopped in Karuma, which is where Murchison Falls Game Park is located and suffered by doing both a drive safari and a boat safari. We saw hyenas and leopards and elephants and water buffalo and all sorts of deer. However, no lions this year. But, for 10 leopards in the entire park, and us seeing two, that was pretty awesome...and for only 22 hyenas, and us seeing two - that also was pretty awesome.
We got to Arua and again began evangelizing in the schools. Solid Rock is helping plant a church in Arua through Gaba Community Church. We helped do outreach there last year when I came as well. Pastor JP is the one who is heading the church plant, and it was such a blessing to be able to see the land the the plans for the church! All week we were busy! It is amazing the difference in the culture from Northern Uganda to Central. I guess it wouldn't be much different than going from rural Oregon to Portland... Arua is heavily Muslim populated, so although we didn't here the screeching prayers at 5am this year, you could see how heavy the influence was in the schools. Why I was in Arua, I met up with this man named Geoffrey. I met his mom and his sisters in Kitgum when I was doing a visit. It is awesome to see how the Lord plans things out and connects things when you never even would have thought about it! Geoffrey has an amazing heart for children's ministry and will probably help JP with the children's ministry once they get more of a solid congregation! How awesome! Geoffrey was also a huge blessing in helping me get back to Kitgum. There is no direct bus from Arua to Kitgum, so what I was going to have to do is get dropped off in Karuma and wait on the side of the road for a bus (with all my stuff!), and that wasn't even a sure thing... but Geoffrey knew a friend who was going to go to Gulu in the morning, and connected me with him. So Sunday I said goodbye to my sweet team and skipped church so that I could catch my ride. I chuckled to myself as the three grown men I rode with listened to Mariah Carey and Celine Dion majority of the way to Gulu. It was an eventful trip. :)
I was so elated to get home when I finally arrived. Kitgum undoubtedly had become home, and the Lord has blessed me with an incredible family I'm blessed to do ministry with. Although I was happy to join the team, I'm glad to be back!
Sorry for the long post - I'm still not sure if anyone even reads this or what bloggin is all about - but there you have it! :)
Grace and Peace my friends!
I thought I should do another update. My time here is quickly dwindling, unfortunately. I only have four more weeks left here in Kitgum and then I will be on a plane back to the states. I'm sad it is so soon!
I just returned to Kitgum on Sunday after traveling with a team from Solid Rock for two weeks. I took the bus down to Kampala on the 25th of June and met up with the team at the airport. It was quite the journey. It took about 8 hours on the bus to get to Kampala and by the end of it, I was ready to be done! I was so excited to see the team though when they finally came. I was able to have a short visit with Amy who flew in with the team. Originally Amy and I were supposed to be partnering together in Gulu, but the Lord had other plans as I am now in Kitgum and she is serving in a village northwest of Gulu in an orphanage. It was still really great to catch up with her though.
The team hit the ground running. All day every day we were going to different secondary schools (equivalent to our high schools) spreading the gospel and inviting the students to the Jesus Festival on Saturday. It was really awesome to see so many students turn their lives over to the Lord! Now we just need to pray that the seeds that were planted will be tilled and nourished in good soil. The Solid Rock team partnered with a team of college students from Gaba Community Church in Kampala and some gospel musicians who traveled with us. It was great to see everyone again! A lot of the university students who were on the Gaba team I had met last year when we did a retreat for them! So it was really great to reconnect and catch up with them all!
One day we were heading to go to a school and Bruce Heath, one of our leaders recognized the area we were in where he had done some work previously. He and his wife sponsor a child at Watoto village and so Bruce asked if he could hop off and go see him, I jumped at the opportunity as well. So Bruce and I left the team and jumped on some bota botas (motorcycle taxis - don't kill me dad!) to Watoto. The time there was nice. I enjoyed Bruce the most just seeing the overflowing joy from his heart as he reunited with his boy, Michael, and learning their story. Watoto is a children's home for all ages of kids who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. I got to meet Momma Janet, one of the house mothers and visit with her about the location. It was really great.
Saturday we had the Jesus Festival. Imagine hundreds and hundreds of high school students coming to hear about Jesus! I am generally hesitant about big crusade sorta things, especially here in Uganda, but it was really cool to see such a solid message and response. The day was full of gospel artists, dance crews, and lots of rain. Which unfortunately slowed down the program, but that is how it works here.
Sunday we went to church and said goodbye to all of our Kampala friends and then began the long journey back up North. We stopped in Karuma, which is where Murchison Falls Game Park is located and suffered by doing both a drive safari and a boat safari. We saw hyenas and leopards and elephants and water buffalo and all sorts of deer. However, no lions this year. But, for 10 leopards in the entire park, and us seeing two, that was pretty awesome...and for only 22 hyenas, and us seeing two - that also was pretty awesome.
We got to Arua and again began evangelizing in the schools. Solid Rock is helping plant a church in Arua through Gaba Community Church. We helped do outreach there last year when I came as well. Pastor JP is the one who is heading the church plant, and it was such a blessing to be able to see the land the the plans for the church! All week we were busy! It is amazing the difference in the culture from Northern Uganda to Central. I guess it wouldn't be much different than going from rural Oregon to Portland... Arua is heavily Muslim populated, so although we didn't here the screeching prayers at 5am this year, you could see how heavy the influence was in the schools. Why I was in Arua, I met up with this man named Geoffrey. I met his mom and his sisters in Kitgum when I was doing a visit. It is awesome to see how the Lord plans things out and connects things when you never even would have thought about it! Geoffrey has an amazing heart for children's ministry and will probably help JP with the children's ministry once they get more of a solid congregation! How awesome! Geoffrey was also a huge blessing in helping me get back to Kitgum. There is no direct bus from Arua to Kitgum, so what I was going to have to do is get dropped off in Karuma and wait on the side of the road for a bus (with all my stuff!), and that wasn't even a sure thing... but Geoffrey knew a friend who was going to go to Gulu in the morning, and connected me with him. So Sunday I said goodbye to my sweet team and skipped church so that I could catch my ride. I chuckled to myself as the three grown men I rode with listened to Mariah Carey and Celine Dion majority of the way to Gulu. It was an eventful trip. :)
I was so elated to get home when I finally arrived. Kitgum undoubtedly had become home, and the Lord has blessed me with an incredible family I'm blessed to do ministry with. Although I was happy to join the team, I'm glad to be back!
Sorry for the long post - I'm still not sure if anyone even reads this or what bloggin is all about - but there you have it! :)
Grace and Peace my friends!
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