Day 2: Gulu
After a good night’s sleep, I left for the WV offices at 7:45 a.m. and led devotions beginning at 8 a.m. I shared about the Psalms and taught them how to sing verses 7-12 of Psalm 19. I wan’t sure if it would work or be a complete flop, but they picked up the tune quickly.
I visited the child, Brenda, that Beth and I sponsor in Koro-Bobi. She lives pretty far in the bush. In March when I visited her we drove about as far as we could and then walked on foot paths for about a mile to reach her house. Today we took a different route but drove on these footpaths in a four-wheel vehicle. We arrived at her house around 11:00 a.m. It is always exciting to visit the sponsored child and the family. Since this was my third visit, there isn't the formality and tentativeness that there is at the first visit. Brenda came right up to me and walked me to her home. Her mother, two sisters, 3 nephews and nieces, her father, and a little later her 30 y.o. brother were all there. During the visit a neighbor also came over. We had gifts for Brenda, her mother, and her siblings, nephews and nieces which I gave to them. I had also purchased wheat, rice, sugar, salt, cookies, cooking oil, kerosene, and soap (for washing clothes) at the market on the way there. It was exciting to see how well they were doing in comparison to the first time we visited in March of 2009. On that first visit they were living in and IDP and there home was to be razed the day of our visit. However, because of our visit, they had the demolition postponed. The father had abandoned the family and they had nowhere to go. The mother was very depressed at that visit. Beth and I gave a gift of $300 after that visit, and WV was able to build a home for them on her ancestral land. For Christmas we had WV purchase a goat for them. Today I saw how industrious the mother had been. They had several different fields, one planted with yams, another with beans, and another partially cleared field with sim sim, a popular seasoning plant (I think) in Uganda. As a gift to Beth and me, Brenda's mother gave us a large sack of groundnuts (peanuts), so they also have those planted in a field. It was heartwarming to see how prosperous they are now compared to 2009. Afterward, I took my driver, Joseph, and the two WV staff who accompanied me--Michael and Samuel--to lunch at the Boma Hotel, a place that I have frequently eaten during my trips to Gulu. It took a long time to order, be served, and eat, so I finally returned to my guest house around 4 p.m. Stacy graciously let me use her laptop again and even brought over a dish of delicious cut up pineapple. Stacy rocks! Tomorrow I am devoting most of the day to the St. Thomas More School. It is unclear everything that is going to happen, but it looks as though I will spend at least four hours there. I will see the girls dorm again where they have done some upgrades and procured bunks for the girls. I will see the energy efficient ovens that we purchased, and the progress of the examination building which I understand should be completed by the end of the month. I plan on taking a lot of pictures so that you can see the fruits of your generosity. At 5 p.m. I am scheduled to visit the other child that Beth and I sponsor, Eric. I look forward to sharing with you my experiences with you tomorrow and hope I will have access to a computer tomorrow evening.