It's been a while

Hey guys! Dad has gotten on me for being MIA for a while, so I figured it was about time to try and update this thing again. It’s been kind of hard to get on the Internet much lately. Things are generally winding down here—we only have only 2 more weeks of classes, a week of finals, and then we leave for two weeks in Rwanda learning about the East African Revival and the Rwandan genocide. As far as other excuses for not letting you all know what is going on, Internet was down for almost a week, and I’ve had some general computer problems due to the fact that it is nearly impossible to escape Africa without a virus attacking your computer. But anyway… here’s the latest scoop in Mukono:

Two weekends ago was one of the most impacting weekends we have had since we got here. We took a trip to Luweero, a district about 2 hours north of here, to visit some Ugandans who are doing some great ministry, and “Jesus Cares,” a ministry that cares for families affected by HIV/AIDS. It was definitely an incredible weekend.

Early Saturday morning we met Ruth, the daughter of the couple who started the “Jesus Cares” ministry. Together, the couple and their 4 sons and daughters have created a ministry that cares for 6 families who are some of the worst struck with HIV/AIDS. Most of the families are child-headed households, where both parents have been lost to the disease leaving one of their kids, sometimes not even 15 years old, to care for the younger brothers and sisters. In two of the families the mothers are still living, but both women are HIV positive and one is bed ridden. The other mother we had the opportunity to meet. Ruth and her family provide things like milk, eggs, bread, and more to the families, along with counseling for the kids affected and fun VBS-type. This is where we came in…

All day Saturday we got to play with the kids in the 6 families (about 30 kids altogether) and another handful of kids from the neighborhood (probably another 30). While the ministry of “Jesus Cares” was originally intended just for those families affected with HIV/AIDS, they realized that people in the village began looking at the kids who came on Saturdays and seeing them as the “AIDS kids. Sadly, there is a huge stigma associated with being HIV positive. To help solve that problem, the family decided to invite all of the neighborhood kids too.

When we first got there we sang some songs for the kids, and then a few of the girls sang some songs for us too. Just after we divided into four groups (Alpha, Omega, Peace, and Unity) with all of us mixed in. I found myself in the awesome “Unity” group, filled with 25 awesome kids and about 6 of us. Pretty much all day I sat with this beautiful girl on my lap, who loved to pet the hairs on my foreign arms. Sadly, I never actually learned her name… she told me several times, but all I could manage to pronounce and remember was Na________. But while I may have forgotten her name, I will never forget her.

So with our groups, we led some crazy, fun, and goofy competitive games between the four groups. Most of them involved relay-type activities, but my personal favorite was the matooke-peeling race, which I found myself involved in. Haha at least I had some practice at rural homestays! As I kneeled, peeling my 7-ish banana, all of the kids suddenly crowded around me. My hands were shaking, but it was SO funny. They were screaming, cheering, and chanting, and suddenly I realized that some people were saying, “You are Baganda. You are Baganda.” Haha. After being here 3 months and often feeling like I really don’t belong, I don’t think there could have been a more incredible compliment! There were many other awesome competitions involved in the day, and we tried to keep the energy high with our chanting and cheering. It was so much fun. After lunch each of the 4 groups performed a traditional Baganda dance and song that members of our group had taught us earlier. That was definitely interesting.  Let me tell you what… Baganda dancing has lots of hip action involved. It was probably one of the funniest things we had seen. When it all was over, Unity came out victorious, and we congratulated our kids before getting back on the bus to drive back to the guest house. The whole day was great, and I pray that we brought encouragement and joy to them, as much as they did to us.

Something I still am inspired by is the fact that this whole ministry is run by one family. When Ruth came to talk to us before we left to go meet the kids, she explained how she works full-time in Kampala and comes home every weekend to work with her family and the “Jesus Cares” families. The other incredible part: the program, including the support of the 6 families is funded by the members of this one family giving their 10% tithe to the ministry. That to me is amazing! Is that not what the church is all about… in Acts it says that there were no needy among them. What if that were true for the church today? If we all took our offerings to the Lord seriously, could it happen?

Saturday night we said good-bye to the USE students who live on campus, and all of us in IMME went back to the guest house to meet Father Gerald. Father Gerry is an incredible man of God who has more compassion than any other person I have ever met. It was so amazing to hear the things that God is doing in Luweero, and Sunday morning we got to attend mass at one of the congregations in his parish. The service was all in Luganda and pretty much impossible to understand, but it was still incredible. You could see the joy in Father Gerald as he ministered to his people.

Its been quite a while now since coming back from Luweero, and a lot has happened here, but I am realizing now how long this has gotten, so that will have to be saved for another day. Things are definitely winding down, and we are getting incredibly sad at the quickly approaching day when we have to say good-bye to our families. This weekend we’re headed to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Game Reserve for a weekend of camping and a safari, the next weekend is Easter, and the following weekend is our last in Mukono before heading to Rwanda. Crazy!