:)

Hello everyone,
I wanted to give some more personal details about my trip thus far since my last update was rather business-like. The short term trip is over...last weekend we went back down to Kampala. Monday we told the team goodbye and then Monday through Wednesday we worked on running errands and getting our visas extended. Melissa’s church had a team in Kampala and so she met up with them Thursday and Friday, but I came on back to Gulu on Thursday. Mariam and I took care of some basic shopping for our home and worked on getting the house set up, and then Melissa joined us on Saturday.

It was kind of difficult when I was trying to decide whether or not to go with ECM because they require you to do the short term trip before allowing you to stay longer with their organization, and I had really wanted to just dive right into an internship without having a “short term” trip to start off with. I have to say, though, that I am really thankful for having come here initially with a team of such amazing, committed people. Everyone jumped right in and made working with the team just a blessing. Please pray for them as they are back home in the states, missing the children they built relationships with and trying to figure out how to communicate the things they’ve seen. It was also nice to have the opportunity to build relationships with the Ugandan staff in a team atmosphere. If you would like to pray for them they are Mariam, Simon, Joseph, Patrick, Mary, David.

An average day for our team consisted of leaving the hotel around 9:30 to get to Tegotatoo IDP camp around 10:00. The first few days when we drove up to the camp, the women who were cooking the children’s lunch would begin singing and clapping and greet us as we parked the van. The children would also run to the van ,but they kind of kept their distance behind the women, and only some of them were really excited to see us. Gradually though, each day, it seemed like there were more smiles on their faces and their excitement at our arrival grew. By the end of the two weeks, as soon as we were close enough for them to see the dust flying up behind the van, we would hear yelling and cheering and almost every single child had a huge grin on their face as they met us. What an encouragement, that maybe God was using us to bless them as much as He was using them to bless us. After we got there we would play with the children for half an hour or so and then begin the lesson with a welcome and song time. The translators had taught us some children’s worship songs in Acholi, and the children were amused at our attempts to lead songs in their language. For the program we met under the camp’s little thatch roof church. Each team member was responsible for a different part of the program each day, so that left each of us time to sit in with the kids and participate with them in the singing, etc. During each lesson, we would give an invitation and each day, several children would stand up to indicate their desire to accept Christ. A couple of times throughout the two weeks an adult, who had just stopped by to listen or bring their child, would pull one of the team aside and tell them that they want to be saved. With the children, of course, we had to be cautious because many of them were very young and possibly misunderstood the invitation or what they were doing, although we tried to be clear. But there were also many who I believe sincerely accepted Christ for the first time and truly desire to know Him and follow Him.
After the lesson and Bible verse, we would divide up into four “small groups” of about 50 children each. I was partnered with Brooke, and it seemed our group often ended up with like 60 children. If you’ve never watched a game of Duck Duck Goose (Otudu, Otudu, Gweno!!!) with 60 kids…you should! For small groups we would either play games or review vocabulary words from the lesson. Brooke had also brought a couple of children’s story books, and as soon as we finished reading one they would ask to please read another. These children that we were working with were anywhere from a few months old to thirteen or fourteen (although the majority were probably 4-10). Out of the 200 children, probably half of them are old enough to be in school, but are not, for various reasons. Many of them are on a waiting list with ECM, and as soon as they get a sponsor, they can begin attending school. As we saw with the story books and vocab words, they are eager and ready to soak up anything they can possibly learn.
After small groups it would be time to line up for lunch, which consisted of rice and beans, rice and cabbage, or rice and a small piece of beef, depending on the day. The school children would also join us on their lunch break. They would go back to school and then our afternoons would be divided up into two groups - four of our team members ran a first aid/wound clinic, while the rest of us visited with the mothers and babies or played with the children who did not need to be treated. During this time I often ended up with a smaller group of children who really loved to sing. The Acholi culture is a very musical culture. There are two girls named Winny and Sharon (probably around 8 years old) that I spent a lot of time with, and they would spontaneously begin worship songs while all the other children followed in, loudly clapping and often dancing. Around 3:00 or so it would be time to pack up and head back to town. Working with the children in the camps is very draining and tiring, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. (Although somehow it is an encouragement and a blessing at the same time that it is so draining). Although we could catch glimpses of their circumstance, by their appearance and behaviors, we really saw only a tiny part of their life and experiences in the camps. We saw empty Vodka packets lying all over the ground. The children are often violent, or at best rough with each other. Many of the women believe that their children are mistakes, and often don’t refrain from letting those children know it. Life in the camps is far from easy, so although N. Uganda is fairly peaceful, life is still difficult and no where near being back to normal for many people.

In the evenings when we got back to the hotel we would have a short team meeting and eat dinner, leaving a little time to relax and prepare for the next day.

On one of our last days in the camp, the school children got out early and joined our program for the afternoon. We talked with them for a little while and then they sang and danced for us. The songs were ones that they have learned for the music festival (which was also the reason they were out of school). The music festival is a huge event in Uganda where school children perform and compete against each other. I mentioned before that the Acholi culture is very musical. I was thrilled to be here and see them performing their songs. I am familiar with the music festival because of the movie War Dance. It tells the story of several children in the IDP camps and follows their school as they prepare for and then compete in the music festival. I highly recommend the movie because it really does an excellent job of portraying not only the devastation and sufferings that have resulted from the war, but also the hope and the resilience that the children possess. It would also give you a really clear picture of the place where I am working and what life is like here for many people.

Well, today is mine and Melissa’s second day of actually going to work with the ECM staff in the office. We have been preparing our tutoring program for Today and Thursday of this week (with children in the 1st three grades, from Tegotatoo camp). Please pray for us as we seek God’s guidance in what to teach and how to minister to these children. Thanks!


-Sarah