So this weekend I went to Gulu Town with Cara and two of her Ugandan friends. Gulu is in the far north, and was until very recently, totally unsafe. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) lead by Joseph Kony had been fighting civil war against the Gov. for 25 years. At home, I was involved in Invisible Children which worked with kids running from the LRA (85% of Kony's army were child soldiers), and so I was very interested and familiar with Gulu.
The drive up to Gulu was incredible!! Africa is SOOO beautiful. I saw the golden sun setting on the Nile, as jungle vines overflowed into the rapids. I saw grasslands in the blue light of dusk, mist floating like God's own breath. I fed corn and peanuts to baboons along the road, and watched little monkeys groom their babies. The stars lit up the night sky like diamonds, and it was one of the most amazing things I have EVER seen. This land was clearly created by our Father.
Gulu Town is very small, although it is growing and has gained much international attention. There is not much to do there, but the stories we heard were mind blowing. I did not really believe in miracles until I went to Gulu. We drove on roads where just a few years ago, anyone walking on them would be shot and killed by the LRA. The pastor we went moved to Gulu during the war. He believed firmly that God had called him there to die after he preached the message to as many small villages he could. Many times, he was stopped on the roads by the LRA (once they even broke into his home) and they threatened to kill him. Many times, Jesus saved him, and those stories are truly remarkable. He baptized Gov. soldiers in water they feared poisoned, and people came to Christ simply because he had not yet been killed by the LRA. In Gulu we saw many refugee camps, and also heard of much tragedy. But we also saw healing that only God could bring, which was so encouraging.
On Saturday we went to a village called Koach Goma, which was in the Bush!! When you think of Africa, I am sure many people think mud huts and jungle and elephants, but I usually don't. I see Kampala, and slums and development- but that is not how a large part of the country looks. In the bush, people walk for 15 miles to a trading post, which may have a simple store but not much else. They live in mud huts with grass roofs. These people don't have two shillings to rub together. Women don't even wear shirts sometimes- I mean, its REALLY rural (like NatGeo status). It was really cool seeing that, and it made me realize where many of our street kids are coming from.
On Sunday, we went to the pastor's church. It was AMAZING!! Many of the people there had lost SO much, and they were still dancing and singing with all their hearts. They were dancing too- not just kinda, but like fully rocking out (almost NatGeo status too). We prayed and prayed and prayed, over things I never considered (we prayed over some of the Psalms, just like King David did). The best part was that I have absolutely no doubt that God will provide the things we prayed for- my God is good, all the time.
This weekend was so eye opening for me. I got to see a new part of the country, and put into context the places I had read about. Seeing where the LRA was, and meeting the people they terrorized was really important to me; learning how much God is working there and how close He is to those people was an unexpected blessing. Seeing the bush, and realizing how lucky we are here in Kampala, even when things seem hard, put my life into context too. Its always important to count my blessings, but to count them, I need to know how many there are :)
The drive up to Gulu was incredible!! Africa is SOOO beautiful. I saw the golden sun setting on the Nile, as jungle vines overflowed into the rapids. I saw grasslands in the blue light of dusk, mist floating like God's own breath. I fed corn and peanuts to baboons along the road, and watched little monkeys groom their babies. The stars lit up the night sky like diamonds, and it was one of the most amazing things I have EVER seen. This land was clearly created by our Father.
Gulu Town is very small, although it is growing and has gained much international attention. There is not much to do there, but the stories we heard were mind blowing. I did not really believe in miracles until I went to Gulu. We drove on roads where just a few years ago, anyone walking on them would be shot and killed by the LRA. The pastor we went moved to Gulu during the war. He believed firmly that God had called him there to die after he preached the message to as many small villages he could. Many times, he was stopped on the roads by the LRA (once they even broke into his home) and they threatened to kill him. Many times, Jesus saved him, and those stories are truly remarkable. He baptized Gov. soldiers in water they feared poisoned, and people came to Christ simply because he had not yet been killed by the LRA. In Gulu we saw many refugee camps, and also heard of much tragedy. But we also saw healing that only God could bring, which was so encouraging.
On Saturday we went to a village called Koach Goma, which was in the Bush!! When you think of Africa, I am sure many people think mud huts and jungle and elephants, but I usually don't. I see Kampala, and slums and development- but that is not how a large part of the country looks. In the bush, people walk for 15 miles to a trading post, which may have a simple store but not much else. They live in mud huts with grass roofs. These people don't have two shillings to rub together. Women don't even wear shirts sometimes- I mean, its REALLY rural (like NatGeo status). It was really cool seeing that, and it made me realize where many of our street kids are coming from.
On Sunday, we went to the pastor's church. It was AMAZING!! Many of the people there had lost SO much, and they were still dancing and singing with all their hearts. They were dancing too- not just kinda, but like fully rocking out (almost NatGeo status too). We prayed and prayed and prayed, over things I never considered (we prayed over some of the Psalms, just like King David did). The best part was that I have absolutely no doubt that God will provide the things we prayed for- my God is good, all the time.
This weekend was so eye opening for me. I got to see a new part of the country, and put into context the places I had read about. Seeing where the LRA was, and meeting the people they terrorized was really important to me; learning how much God is working there and how close He is to those people was an unexpected blessing. Seeing the bush, and realizing how lucky we are here in Kampala, even when things seem hard, put my life into context too. Its always important to count my blessings, but to count them, I need to know how many there are :)
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