The Last Day
It’s Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. and I’m at the Gulu Cluster offices using the computer before we head south for the 6 hour drive to Entebbe.
On Saturday I attended a child sponsorship party that they hold once a year. The sponsored children, parents, siblings and friends are invited. They met at a school and the younger children played some games and it was great to see them play and laugh. The older sponsored children hand out under the large shade tree where everyone has gathered and talk. After a while, the young children are called back to the tree and the cake cutting. They have two cakes which to my mind are awfully small for the probably 200 children and some adults. But before they cut the cake, a number of them want to sing for me. So as I sit behind the table that holds the cakes, there are a group of about 15 children who sing several songs, some in English and some in Luo. Next are three girls who sing several songs to me. Lastly, a group of about 10 children sing a couple of songs. Then I and several other people are honored to make the first cut of the cake. The first few pieces are big and given to the five or so honored guests. I was thinking that there isn't enough cake anyway, and the large pieces we were given reduces the amount. So I broke my piece and gave a piece each to two young children sitting near me. This is probably the only time in a year they will receive cake. The woman who cuts the remainder of the cake cuts it into bite size pieces, not much bigger than the size of bread we cut for communion. The cake is then distributed to the children and adults--a communion of cake. On Sunday I went to Bobi subcounty and worshiped in the New Life Christian Center. It was in a traditional building with the grass roof. There was no electricity in the building and it is packed. There must have been 120 or more people in it and I was surprise by how cool it was with so many bodies in this packed place. When I arrive they (surprise) asked me to preach. Fortunately, since I was suspecting that they would do this, I had spent a few minutes in the guest house before I left trying to put some thoughts together. Mind you, we are not talking about a 5 to 10 minute homily, we're talking at least a 30 minute sermon. The service went for just under 3 hours and I think my sermon went, by God's grace for about 30-35 minutes. Boy do they know how to worship. I loved the music and singing. There were no hymnals. The only instruments were percussion. The singing must have lasted 35 to 40 minutes at one stretch. The service didn't seem long to be honest. Afterward, they wanted me to talk with some of the church youth (late teens and early 20s). This age group has enormous problems here. Because of the war many had to drop out of school and can't afford to go back. The unemployment rate is high, and they really struggle with hopelessness. It is really kind of sobering to hear their stories and their struggles. I kept struggling inside of myself as to what to say. I didn't want to give them a cheery little story that didn't take seriously the magnitude of their problems. I trust that God gave me the grace to give them encouragement without false hope. On Monday, I met with a group of youth at a church in the subcounty of Koro with the same issues as those I met with on Sunday. Again, I heard heartbreaking stories from youth who feel as though they have no hope. I then met with local pastors who shared their challenges with me. It is so hard to know what to say. Most of the churches don't have any land and struggle to find a place to worship; the pastors don't get paid--they have to scratch out a living and then do their important work without salary; there are very little resources for the widows and orphans; they don't have bibles for parishioners; they don't have any reference works for themselves; there are long distances to travel with no good means to to travel, etc. Overwhelming need. I then headed to the St. Thomas More School. I was excited as we drove up. This is the third year I have been here and it felt familiar. I could hear the chorus practicing for my arrival. Todo Alex, the headmaster greeted me and the first thing that we did was to take a tour of the girl's dormitory. It is the nicest building in the whole area. All of the girls followed us as we walked to it and then walked through it. I am so thrilled that we have paid for this dorm. The girls look genuinely happy about it. They still need bunkbeds for it: the girls are sleeping on mattresses on the floor right now. But it is clean and bright and probably the nicest building these girls have slept in. Alex told me the number of girls have increased, although they are still noticeably much less than the boys. We also toured the new building they had to construct for the ovens that we have purchased for them. This building is complete, and they are awaiting the arrival of the ovens. What an improvement! We walked by the old kitchen which was just as smoky and tiny and dingy as it was last year. But by God's grace, the cooks will no longer have to work in those conditions shortly. Then I met with the student body and heard the chorus sing three songs. The headmaster spoke, Anthony, the World Vision staff worker who accompanied me spoke, and then I spoke to them. My message: work hard in school. Education is so important, not only for boys, but especially for girls. I told them that the buildings we have paid for are all for the purpose that they would learn, that they would be diligent students, and succeed in their studies. I wished that I could have spent more time hanging with the students, but my schedule was tight and I had to visit the two children that Beth and I sponsor, Brenda and Eric. I visited them and found Brenda in much better circumstances than she and her family were in last year and that cheered me greatly. I found Eric and his mother to be doing reasonably well. They don't seem quite as poor as Brenda and her mother. It's a powerful experience to visit the chldren that you sponsor. I keep thinking about Richard Stearn's statement in A Hole in Our Gospel that when poverty becomes personal, it changes our attitude. I want to thank everyone for your prayers. It has been an incredible experience for me. I have learned so much about the culture, the suffering the war has caused, and the challenges that this part of Uganda faces. I am so impressed with the commitment and faith of the World Vision staff here. It has been an great privilege to be here and I thank God for His goodness and faithfulness.
