Uganda Trip Update 11-16-10

With each day that we spend here it only becomes harder and harder to describe everything that we are seeing and experiencing. It’s difficult to see such a beautiful people and culture in so much poverty.

The team went on some home visitations earlier today. The conditions that many of these families live in is heart wrenching. These families share a small house composed of brick and mud. Two small huts outside of the home are used as their kitchens and showers. As the villagers began to see us approach, they came out of their humble homes to greet us. Some of them invited us inside, though it was hard to fit more than 3 or 4 people in the home at a time. And even 3 or 4 people felt a bit overwhelming. The children from the area were so excited to see us coming as well!

The children we saw today were those that are unable to go to school. These kids were very obviously ill. Their eyes and noses draining, their skin with lesions and infected with scabies, their bellies distended, and their bare feet dirty, with cuts and more infections. Many of these kids have no parents at all, and are left to fend for themselves. Children of 6 or 7 take care of their infant siblings. They live in their huts alone, while their parents are either away in hospitals, or lie sick at home, usually with AIDS. There were many without any clothing at all, walking through the village and chasing us around laughing, without a single piece of clothing on. The children who did have clothing might as well have not had any. They wore tiny pieces of what used to be clothing, but now would be considered a rag.

We felt overcome by what we saw, and their need for love became so apparent that our team could not help hugging these children. It was as though we didn’t have a choice. We brought out suitcases full of clothing and toys and began dressing the children. They took off their rags and replaced them with new shirts, pants and beautiful dresses. Some even received shoes! But each one kept their rags. We were told that if they showed up back home with their old “clothing” missing, many of the children would be beaten by their parents for having lost it. This broke our hearts. But seeing the kids walk away with new outfits, new toys, candy and joyous expressions gave us hope.

We shared the Gospel with many of the villagers who gathered around to see what the Muzungu were up to. We attracted many people. Some of the children were even a little bit intimidated by us because we were the first white skinned people they had ever seen. We prayed at every home and many people were touched. They thanked us repeatedly as the women would kneel out of gratefulness and respect.

Please pray for these families. Many of them are unsaved and their beliefs rely more on the witch doctors in the village than anything else. As we shared with them about Jesus, several listened intently, but unfortunately no decisions were made. They were kind and welcomed us openly. They were grateful and they took the time to listen and hear about Jesus. But after years and years, generations and generations of believing in false gods, the only thing that will save these people is plenty of faith and prayers. We pray eagerly and faithfully that God would tear down the walls that so many generations of emptiness and evil have built up. But despite these walls, there is a sense of hope that is undeniable. There is much work to be done.

The men from the team spent the first half of the day doing construction work. They visited some homes where wooden doors and windows have been destroyed by termites and other insects. As they tore down the old remains, swarms of many different insects made their way out. They finished by replacing the wooden doors and windows, with metal ones. We were able to complete all the work at these homes that was asked of us, and again we left happy as the families we served were so grateful.

During the afternoon, two members of our team, Ron and Priscilla, visited some of the local hospitals with a local PA named Micheal, and an American intern named John. Our hearts went out even further to the Ugandan people as we saw the conditions that they were being treated in. The wards consisted of just one small room with about five people lying around. This is where they would spend their time at the hospital, cramped up in tiny rooms either on mats or on the floor. The clinic’s lab was a small, dirty and dark room with just one microscope on a cluttered wooden table. Tubes were randomly labeled and put in boxes, or thrown on the table. The government hospital was no better. It was much larger but still very congested. There are many cases of tuberculosis due to the high population of patients with AIDS. There is a building for those with tuberculosis, a building for the psychiatric ward, one for surgical cases, etc. We were able to walk through an orthopedic ward. One large room with one bed after another after another, as the patients would lie in bed with their casts and their wounds. Some had beds, others were given mats so they could lie on the floor between beds. There might’ve been about 30 or 40 patients in this room alone. Some weakly smiled and lifted their hands to wave at us as we walked by. As we left the ward, we found ourselves looking at more patients. These were getting ready to go into surgery at any moment. They waited on old gurneys, outside in the sun, waiting for their turn to be brought inside. And even the privately owned, newer hospitals were primitive and dirty.

The people of Uganda are a people that are sadly very familiar with pain and difficulty. This is a country where the poverty is overwhelming, where even a scrape on the knee could potentially be deadly. There is much darkness, but most importantly there is light. When we arrived back into the village, we were once again reminded by the Christians here that despite the pain and hurt, there is so much joy and hope in their knowing about the love that God offers us. They worship so joyfully and they sing and they dance, and they talk about Jesus with huge and encouraging smiles on their faces. There is so much pain, and yet the Christians of Uganda are filled with joy. They are an example and an encouragement. Continue to pray faithfully for them and the work they are trying to achieve. Once our team leaves, they will continue with this responsibility. And as mentioned earlier, there is much work to be done.