Monday, October 12, 2009

Additional Prayer Requests...

Hello friends,
A couple of additional prayer requests - after Melissa and I both emailed our supporters that we were all better, Melissa began feeling bad again. We are fairly sure it is Malaria again so she has already begun taking the medicine. Please pray for her! It is so frustrating to be kept from the kids and from ministry, especially as we near the end of our time here. I am feeling fine, but I appreciate prayers for knowing how to best take care of Melissa and how to help her feel better.
If Melissa is better, we are supposed to travel down to Kampala this Thursday after class in order to get our visas renewed. We plan to go to immigration early Friday morning, and expect to be gone until the next Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how quickly they process our visas. Please pray for a safe journey and that all would go smoothly at immigration.
Thank you!
Sarah

Saturday, October 10, 2009

GuluWalk Oct 24th

Hi Friends,
I don't know if you are familiar with GuluWalk, but it is an organization/annual event that raises awareness for the situation here in Northern Uganda. It began as a response to the war that occurred here over the last 23 years. Unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to participate, but this year I am very excited to be participating in GuluWalk IN Gulu.

In addition to raising awareness, this year GuluWalk is raising money to build a youth cultural centre in Gulu. I think that this is an important endeavor for a number of reasons. The youth here have been affected in many ways by the war. Neighboring tribes often look down on the Acholi people because of the war that occurred here, even though it was not their fault. Having a place that honors their culture will restore a sense of cultural pride. Having a place that encourages the arts, justice, and ultimately peace will have a great impact on the youth and everyone in the community. The youth here are daily faced with opportunities to make bad decisions or to fall into activities that can destroy their future. Having a place that provides good alternatives to these things is very important, and it is an area that is greatly lacking in Gulu.

GuluWalk is happening on Saturday, October 24th, in many cities around the world. You can check the website at
http://guluwalk.com/get-involved/cities/ if you are interested in getting involved. If you are unable to get involved yourself, but you want to help, feel free to look below at my request for support. You can support me in my walk for Gulu by buying a brick (or several) to help build the new cultural centre.

Thank you for taking the time to read, and for your interest in my work and Northern Uganda.
With love,
Sarah




Subject: Support me and buy a brick!


On Saturday, October 24, I am walking for the children of northern Uganda - - and I need your help.

Along with being a walker, I'm also a 'builder'. I'm selling bricks on my personal page that will go towards building a Youth Cultural Centre in northern Uganda.

The centre will include a theatre, a training centre and will be a central hub of activity in town that will promote locally led approaches to arts, culture, justice and ultimately peace.

In the midst of the country's 23-year conflict, it is the children of northern Uganda that have suffered most. This year GuluWalk is dedicated to providing a future for these youth.

I am walking for these children and to fundraise in support of the Gulu Youth Cultural Centre. Help me be a 'builder'. Donate a brick (or two).

Click on the link below to sponsor me now:

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2378802

Thank you in advance for your support!

-Sarah
Dear Friends,


Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers…thankfully, Melissa and I are almost back to 100% after our Malaria. We both continue to fight with a lack of energy, but that is normal and it seems to be getting a little better each day. Prayer requests will be included below in italics. : )
Being here has the potential to be very discouraging. It is easy to feel helpless, and to wonder if your being here is doing any good at all. At the same time, being here results in some very sweet moments. Basically, at least in my experiences here so far, there are many high moments and many low moments, with few in-between moments. As you can imagine, this can be very exhausting. I am thankful for the strength God gives and the reminders He gives me of my constant need for dependence on Him. I am thankful for the way He calls us to Himself and promises rest to those who answer that call.
When you pray for Melissa and I please remember these things…that He would fill us with humility and a willingness to depend on Him. That He would give us rest, and constantly fill us with His love for the children we work with and every person we meet throughout our time here.

A high moment:
On Wednesdays, Melissa and I have been volunteering for another organization separate from Every Child Ministries. It is called Zion Project, founded by Sarita Hartz (http://www.ZionProject.org). They have a home for several Acholi women who were formerly abducted, and their children. They also have a home for 10 young Congolese girls. Their mothers are prostitutes but did not want their daughters to grow up in that lifestyle, so they gave them to Zion Project. We tutor the children from both homes. On Wednesday, we stayed a little longer at the Congolese house after our class. Mama Miriam, the house mother for the Congolese girls, led us in worship and a time of prayer. Afterwards, she led the children to lay hands on Melissa and then on me and pray for us. As their prayers were in Kiswahili, I didn’t understand more than a couple of words…but I think it was one of the sweetest experiences I have ever had. Hearing them pour out their hearts to the Lord on mine and Melissa’s behalf was such a blessing to both of us.
Please pray for Sarita, her staff, and the women and children of Zion Project. The Acholi women are preparing to graduate from the program and move out on their own with new vocational skills. Sarita is busy helping them find homes and jobs, as well as schools for the Congolese girls to attend.


In other news…
I am thankful that Melissa is here for many reasons, but one of them is that she initiates many fun experiences that I would otherwise miss out on (Beanut Soup, for example). This time it meant trying a Jackfruit. These fruits are larger and heavier than a small baby, and they are prickly so when Melissa carried it across town to our house, it left her arms looking like she had carried a porcupine across town. Thankfully our friend Kosmas was around to help us cut it…
before you do so, you have to cover your hands with cooking oil because of the sticky white sap (think Elmer’s glue) that comes out of the skin…(armor?) of the fruit. When you get it open, the inside is divided into sections. It is very sweet and the taste reminded me of a cross between grapes and bubble gum.

I am also pleased to announce that we are slowly picking up bits of the Luo language. I passed a man on the road the other day and was surprised that I carried on an entire conversation with him. He greeted me, asked me how I was, and where I was going. I knew how to answer these questions, but what surprised me was that I understood him when he asked me. I have also learned how to say “Please talk slower,” so hopefully I will be able to comprehend more of what the children try to tell me.

The future…
Just this past week it hit us that we are only a month and a half away from our departure date. Gulu and the Acholi people have been on my heart for the last several years and I think it is going to be very painful to leave this place. I am willing to go wherever God sends me, and at this point I honestly have no idea if I am to come back here, remain home, or go somewhere else. Please pray with me as I seek His guidance and His will on this matter.

Thank you for reading.
With love,
Sarah