For those of you that were expecting this post a lot earlier than one month in, sorry to disappoint. There has been a lot happening and quite honestly I have had to digest a lot of the things that I have seen and just think about it in light of Scripture.
I guess it was about a week or two in that I first went out by myself. That morning I decided to go down to the rock quarry- a place where people work busting rocks all day long out in the hot sun. On the way there a guy was walking behind me so I slowed down so that I could meet him. I can't remember his name because at the time I didn't know that they say their last name first, then their first name, and the last name was so difficult to remember that I forgot it very quickly. Anyways, we went down to the rock quarry together and just talked. He wasn't the most fluent English speaker, but I got plenty of things out of that conversation. He is 16 years old and he usually goes down to the rock quarry to work because he can't afford school fees. From what I could gather, he seemed like a pretty cool guy. On the way back to the house I began to ask him about his family. He said that he had a brother, but he was killed by someone- I couldn't understand what he was saying until later in the conversation. I then proceeded to ask about his mother and father. He said they were both killed, and this time I clearly understood what he was saying. All of them were killed by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army a.k.a. Joseph Kony's Army). It made me so sad to hear this, but I know that God has put him in this situation for a reason and that He is in control.
Maybe a week later, Willy and I were walking through the village and we stumbled upon what looked like a big meeting. I asked Willy if he knew what it was, and he said no, but we will find out. So we went up to someone and of course asked "How are you?". Big mistake. Little did we know that what we had stumbled upon was a funeral, and when you are at a funeral it is EXTREMELY inappropriate to ask how anyone is doing because everyone is mourning. It was sad to just stumble upon that, but it was very humbling as well because God was once again showing me that He is in control. But this time it wasn't control over people's situations in life, it was control over what we ran in to out in the field.
Just last week the FCM board was here and Willy and I were taking some of the people on the trip through the village. We ended up at the rock quarry and I went and sat next to a guy named Caesar. He is 20 years old. I then asked if he was married, and he said no, that he was a student. I was wondering what a student was doing down at the rock quarry in the middle of the day instead of in school. He explained to me that he was at the rock quarry working because he couldn't afford school fees, so he took a year off to get some money to go to school. This made me realize how fortunate I am. I got a great education paid for by the government- the sad thing is that all I did was complain about it.
What I have learned through these experiences:
I have said this already, but what I am learning is that God is in control of EVERYTHING. The verse that comes to mind is, of course, Jeremiah 29:11. That is a lot of people's favorite verse, but for some reason I don't think that many people read the text around that verse. What most people don't realize about that verse is that at the time, the Israelites are living as exiles in Babylon. In their mind, God has abandoned them. They have no hope. Then Jeremiah sends this letter from Jerusalem, and in that letter it has Jeremiah 29:11. Now put yourself in the Israelites shoes. What would you be saying after reading this letter? I would think that Jeremiah is crazy, but that isn't the point. The point is that this letter was given to the Israelites when they were at their lowest. They had no reason to believe that God had a plan for them. And somehow when these people seem like they are at their lowest, they know that God has a plan. You remember that guy Caesar? I asked him what he wanted to do when he got out of school. He told me that he prays to God everyday that some job would come his way- he doesn't care what job, just some job. He trusts that once he is done with school that God will provide a job for him, even though he can't even go to school right now because he can't afford it. That my friends, is genuine faith.
I am also learning is to be thankful for everything I have. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances..." The people here are thankful for what they have, and some of them have next to nothing. But I have everything you could ask for- a great family, amazing friends, a roof over my head, food everyday, etc. And sometimes, you know what I do? Complain about it. Just like my education. I have it and it didn't cost me anything, but all I did while getting it was complain about it. But now, seeing that other people are longing to go to school but can't afford it I really appreciate that I got to go to school. But it isn't just school that we take for granted and the Ugandans greatly appreciate. There are multiple things. So appreciate everything that you have.
That isn't all that I have experienced or learned by any means, but these are just a few of the things. I hope to post again before another month flies by.
Camp Hand
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