July 15

July 15

Well, I haven't done a great job of keeping up with this blog since we have been here in Kabale, mostly because we have been so busy and things have been a bit intense. I will try here in this entry to communicate a few of the things we have been up to since being here in Kabale.

After and excruciatingly long 10 hour ride in a bus from Kampala to Kabale, we arrived at the place we would call home for the next two weeks. The compound used to be a orphanage run by Kabale PAG (Penecostal Assemblies of God) but is now just the home of Pastor Moses and his wife Stella and three orphan boys. The boys have been adopted in a way by Moses and Stella. The place isn't huge, only three small rooms and a sitting area. There is an African kitchen outback (if you don't know what that is, we'll have pictures of the place eventually), there are two pit flush toilets (pit toilets which flush in a way when water is dumped down them), and a shower room where bucket showers can be taken privately. We have all adapted to living here by now, but it was a shock to some of the North Americans when we first arrived. Even some of the Kampala kids have never spent much time in a place where there is no toilet.

Over the course of the first couple days, we met all the leaders of the church and their community development project. There is Bishop James (head of the church), Pastor James (who we're spending much time with), Pastor Vincent (a pastor of one of their district churches and the director of the community development), and Maureen (HIV coordinator) and Sharon (PAPE coordinator). They have been excellent hosts, showing us the way that God has been working amongst them and how community development works.

On Saturday, we visited Edson's house in the morning, cleaning around and inside of his house. Edson is 15 years old, HIV positive, and an orphan. His parents died from the disease, and he had been living with his grandmother. However, his grandmother became ill, and his aunt came from Kampala and took his grandmother back with her, leaving Edson to die. People with HIV are still highly discriminated against, so it is not unusual to just leave those with HIV alone to die. People still think that they can get HIV by shaking hands with someone or sharing items with them. Edson is just one example of millions who have similar stories here in Uganda.

Saturday afternoon we traveled to a secondary school, which experienced a fire in June. The boys' dormitory was burned down, and the students lost all of their belongings. We visited the dormitory first, witnessing what a miracle it was that 200 boys got out of the burning building safely without any serious injuries. I personally was overcome with a sense of injustice, reflecting on the vast resources we truly have in education in the U.S. After our time at the dormitory, we visited the new school being built and visited the boys who are now housed there. We shared in song, prayer, and words of encouragement—followed by a rousing game of football (soccer).

Saturday was also special because it was Nate's birthday, and I am happy to announce that I figured out a way to pull off a party this time around. Lydia and Pastor James helped me find a place to get a cake and a present of flowers and new dress pants. Then the students all chipped in and bought Nate a new dress shirt to go with his pants. We surprised him with the cake and presents and shared in a time of laughter and encouragement. It was truly a good day.

Sunday we went to church at Kabale PAG, joining in the worship services and helping with the Sunday School hour, and in the evening we were invited to Bishop James's house for dinner. Truly these people know how to be hospitable, another thing I need to learn better from them. Bishop James put together quite a feast and told us stories late into the evening.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were days of work in the field. Monday we helped mud a church (quite a messy ordeal), Tuesday we helped clean two different wells, and today we visited and cleaned for patients with HIV/AIDS. All three were intense and exhausting experiences, and we have so many stories to share from those times.

However, let me just tell you about one of the patients we visited today. They were the last of three patients, and it was a couple with one child (one on the way). Both the parents and the child are HIV positive and are struggling to get by. The problem isn't that they don't have the access to resources. The problem is that the husband (who probably infected the wife in the first place) has a drinking problem. We asked the couple at the end if they had any prayer requests and the wife responded by saying she wants us to pray for her husband's drinking problem. It took great courage for her to say that as she may be beaten for it, and the look on her face when she said it broke my heart.

I left that home and asked Pastor James how he doesn't get very angry in those situations. He responded that he may have said a few words to the man had we not been there, and he said he gets so angry at the men sometimes for being so irresponsible. Truly, there are so many injustices in this world, and often it is the weak who suffer the most. Not only is this women suffering but their child is suffering as well. Soon there will be another child brought into this world with HIV.

My battery is running low, so I can't say too much more. However, please keep the students in your prayers as they will be doing home stays for the next three days. It will be an intense but moving experience for them all. We miss you all and love you lots!