I want to start out by telling you what a “higher end” motel is like in Kitgum. It is beautiful as you drive up. The grounds are well kept and the staff are wonderful. Our rooms were missing shower doors, plaster off the walls, windows would not close and the screens were missing. Some with different expectations were taken by surprise. Most of the team were aware of the struggles in larger communities too. For me, Stephanie, it did not matter. Here is why:
We traveled to Palabek for outreach. Opopo, the leader of the village forewarned us that his people were starving. In preparation for the travel we picked up beans, sim sim, cooking oil and sugar. Our thought was we could gift the food to them in hopes that it would give hope for the future crops. Part of the outreach already planned was Seeds of Hope. They are seeds for different vegetables generously donated by great people such as those reading this blog. Along with a drip irrigation system gifted to Palabek the seeds should be sprouting and bringing new hope soon! We also did our Malaria outreach program with the gift of mosquito nets following. Toward the end of our visit Opopo apologized that they did not welcome us with song and dance. The reason, a child 3 years of age had been missing for 24 hours. Through their tears they were still welcoming us with smiles and hugs. I could not even imagine the amount of sorrow they were dealing with and still they welcomed us with open arms! When was the last time you were able to face poverty with little or no food, illness, and grief and were still able to welcome strangers with an open heart and open arms?? I have met the strongest people in the world over the last 2 weeks!
Following Palabek we traveled to Awal. Awal has a story all its own. One of the team members, Bosco, was adopted out of Awal. We had to traverse a very wet muddy road but thanks to Peter and Noka we made it safely! On arrival villagers from all over were bringing small wooden chairs for us to sit in. No matter how many times I see it I will never get used to people giving me their chair to sit in front of them while they sit on the ground. It is a tremendous show of gratitude from them so I would never dream of denying it however, I wish I could sit with them. One of my favorite sayings is “do not walk in front of me I may not follow, do not walk behind me for I may not lead, but walk beside me….” I would like to be beside them. While I may not physically be beside them my heart and prayers will always be!
From all of the villages I have visited I have learned 2 amazing things: 1. The faith of the people of Uganda is the strongest I have seen anywhere! 2. The Ugandan villagers are incredibly happy even though they are facing many, many tough challenges. God truly is great!
The team took a day off and visited Murchison Falls Park.
There were baboons everywhere near the ferry crossing. Before getting into the tour boat the baboon jumped right up into the van and took some of the food and trash and ran out so fast that nobody was able to get them back. The ferry to take us from the North shore to the South shore was not working. Thankfully the place we ordered lunch from figured out a way to get it to us and the boat tour company came over to the north shore to pick us up. We took the tour and saw many species of birds. We also saw the spot where Ernest Hemmingway survived a plane crash! The falls were amazing and beautiful! So powerful! Since the ferry was not running when we left we could not do the hike to the top of the falls because we could not guarantee we had transport back. It was still beautiful! On the river trip we also saw many hippos and crocodiles! Upon arrival back to the crossing the ferry was still not running. Our drivers chose to stay with their vehicles and the boat tour company was gracious enough to let us grab our luggage and take us across for no extra charge! Thankfully our drivers were able to make it across before bed time! We had dinner and went to bed for an early rise. Leigh and Martha got to see Gloria, the resident hippo while waiting for dinner. We hired a guide and were able to see lions this morning before leaving the park! We have a whole list of animals we were able to see! We also got to see the baboons steal someone else’s stuff this morning before leaving!
We have 2 more nights here at the farm. There is so much more we would like to get accomplished before leaving but will do what we can in the time we have left!
- Steph Bond
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