Today was pretty awesome in the spiritual sense but difficult to see people so destitute. We went to Pastor Andrew's Church. The Full Gospel Church of Jinja. Pastor Andrew ministers to children in the Karamajong tribe as well as to their families and mostly their mothers. The Karamajong is the least of the least in Uganda or at least Jinja and the surrounding areas. It is a community of mostly widows or divorced mothers that are trying to care for their children by themselves. They are very, very poor. They grieve the loss of a spouse by death or divorce and the loss of the bread winner in the family. Several tribes do not appreciate women and cast them out of their tribe when their husband dies. If their husband left them money or land, often times it is stolen away from the mother and her children. The only place to go is to the slums where they band together in their own society. Unfortunately, they have very little resources, education and sometimes hope. Pastor Andrew has a heart for these mothers and their children. He wants to bring each child “home”. Andrew grew up in his uncle's home where he saw the love poured out into his cousins but was always treated as an outcast. He longed to be home like when he was young and being loved by his own parents. There are so many children that are orphans but much more that are just plain unloved by the single parent that cares for them or the other relatives that they live with. They are seen as a burden and an extra mouth to feed and extra school tuition to pay for. In Africa if you do not have shoes and a uniform you cannot attend school (in addition to the fees for school...minimal as they are compared to our school fees).
Pastor gave us an introduction to his ministry and how he hopes to bring life to these women. He wants the children to remain in the home and have a full ministry with the whole family being restored. He is helping the women learn vocations such as weaving and jewlery making to support themselves.
Our team of 22 broke up into 3 different teams. Jacky, Dorothy and one other sweet girl led us to these villages. We were thankful to be in smaller groups and to have interpreters. We never split up for safety reasons but Samuel assured us we would be fine and when to meet back on the bus.
My group got out of the bus and walked behind some corn stalks to this really dirty village of super small dwellings. We walked to the back of the village, smiling, holding kids in our hands, passing out silly bands and equipped with a new money making idea for the ladies. We knew that some of them already made bead necklaces and did some weaving. We brought a lot of different thread for them to learn how to make necklaces. We had some instructions but were mostly just showing them how to do it since they did not speak English. Jacky was a great interpretter. They women had already settled us all under a tree with benches and they showed their guests the royal treatment. They were so excited that we came to visit them. In their culture, when a Muzungu (white person) visits you or goes into your home it is a great honor. I can understand how they were astonished that people from across the globe would come visit them but their own city will not.
We all sat down and Jacky told us that they wanted us to preach to them. We weren't prepared to preach but they were sitting all around us waiting. Jenny spoke about being a single mom and the difficulties that she has overcome through Christ to get her where she is today. I wanted to speak as well. I was really overwhelmed and humbled to be able to “preach” to them. God definitely gave me the words to say. In John 15:16 it says, “You did not choose me but I chose you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last”. Many of the deaths around here are by disease, mostly AIDS. I was able to tell them that my father died of disease as well and my mom was supported by the government. She worked hard, took night classes to learn a skill and then went to work. God took care of us. We attended school, played sports and went to University (what they call college). Regardless of how far apart we live, we are one by God's spirit. We have gone through similar things although my conditions in America are much different than here. I told them that we could give them money and provisions but those things wear out. The only fruit that lasts is God's word and that is the only source of life, joy, hope and peace. In verse 17 it says, “If the world hates you, remember that it first hated me”. It was so awesome to be able to look in the eyes of the poorest of the poor and tell them they are loved by their Father. He created each one with purpose and that he does not make mistakes. He is their only hope, not us and not money. If I lived in Uganda, I would have grown up in this community and that really hit me hard to think about as I looked around. The homes are made of mud, sticks, plastic tarps for roofs, holes in the ground for toilets. The kids have no shoes, barely any clothes and the ones they have are so tattered. There was 15 year olds boys there that cannot attend school because they do not have shoes. They wanted to learn how to do the craft we were teaching the women just so they could learn something. They are so eager to learn and they pick up on things so much quicker! A sweet lady named Marion caught on so quickly. She was probably 65 or 70. She worked on that bracelet and immedietly wanted to give it to me. She made it for me she said. She was so proud of it. Her face shined. They wanted to know when we would be coming back. That is so hard. You can't say that you are coming back, even though I want to. I am glad to know that Visiting Orphans will send other teams there. Their faces just radiate. They want to give you all that they have and walk you back and see you off and know about you, ask you questions about your family. One sweet mother named Annette had the exact ages of my kids and I was so encouraged to know that her older two were in school that day. Pastor Samuel is doing such a great workd at his church, with the children and attempting to send them all to school as well as ministering to the mothers. If the mothers can learn vocations, they will not delve into the sex trade or cause their daughters to go down the same road. It really is changing lives.
Our tour guide Jacky took us to her mothers house whose name is Ann. Ann volunteered to make her backyard into a bakery. This is another way these widows earn money is by cooking and selling their goods. Finding a market is always difficult. I would love to take their items and try to market them here. This is something I am going to talk to Kirk about and pray about. When you see the jewelry, and you know that you are directly supporting these women to survive, I am sure you would see it to be a very worthy cause!
After that we had a fun time shopping in Jinga and using their internet cafe. We went back to the hotel for some dinner (we had pizza for the first time and it was amazing!). They have very little sweets here. I miss chocolate and pizza and a few other things. I have drank a great amount of water (all bottled of course). I will be thankful to drink out of the sink again! We brush our teeth with bottled water as well. We had a nice time sharing as the 3 groups shared about all of our different experiences. Our reminder as Christians here or elsewhere is that WE are not the answer. We need to point people to Christ. We will always fail others and let them down. We can never fail if we just keep pointing up. The hard pressed want help. They want a Savior. Too often they feel like it is going to come from Americans. We have gotten a lot of those types of questions....how do I trust in God in these conditions? Can you just stay and minister to my kids? When will you be back? What are you going to do for us when you get back? The real answer is that we don't have the answer. “Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your might and with all your strength. In all your ways acknowledge him and HE will direct your path”. You want to give them answers but HE is the only answer and we need to trust that he will take it from there.
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