I have a backyard!!

Friday, November 13, 2009

I am sitting in the dark, under MY mosquito net, in MY bed, with MY sheets freshly washed and dried in MY backyard.

I am home. Phew.

This week has been very educational, enjoyable, frustrating and trying all tied together. Every day this week I just crashed and did not feel like writing. Well, I also knew that if I did type anything it might not always the most uplifting thing. Granted, I don’t need this to be uplifting, but I definitely don’t need it to be a drag. I do however, want to be honest EVERY time I write and be completely transparent…sometimes it is better to be quiet for awhile and wait to speak…and I chose that.

First, let me just reiterate how much I feel Gulu is home to me – how much I truly love it with my heart. Driving down to Kampala just in itself set me in a not so pleasant mindset. It seemed the closer and closer I got there I just felt so blah. I didn’t even enjoy the scenery. The people just don’t tug at me and the city definitely doesn’t get me. People don’t wave, smile or say hello. BUT Gulu….oh boy, as I was driving closer to Gulu I felt more excited and peaceful. I waved and was waved to, smiled at and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery - I felt great. Seeing sights that I knew as we got closer made me drive a bit faster! Then when we got into the city, I just sighed and felt relieved. All the tension and blahness no longer existed and I felt like I was back to myself. I was home. That made me smile.

The training I went to was for the whole team of Uganda. So that meant Gayaza, Kamocha and Gulu all in the same place – whoot hoot!! I do have to say we have a great group of people…everyone loves the LORD and the children – in that order. ;) Our training was on human trafficking and child slavery done by Lorella. Wow. Unreal. This stuff happens people…like everyday in places like Uganda. People are tricked, deceived and stolen to serve as slaves to others from Norway to the U.S. to other African countries. For things such as housemaids to sex slaves/prostitutes to street children/beggars to soldiers and everything in between – even restaurant and resort workers!! It definitely opened my eyes. I at first didn’t think I would really be interested in serving in a ministry like that but was excited about the information I would get regardless. When we had the training I realized I was actually serving EXACTLY in that ministry with the children who were at one point child soldiers or child brides (sex slaves) as well as the children who are targeted for witchcraft. AGH! For real.

The information was awesome and I am intrigued to do more research specifically on the prostitutes who are in slave bondage and their children as well as street children. I don’t know necessarily if it is the ministry I feel called to but I do know ECM is interested in this area and would like to assist in research so people who are definitely called to this type of ministry can seek an opportunity with ECM.

On the way home and today while driving around Gulu, Lorella and I talked a lot about direction, ministry and ideas. I was not completely sure how much they wanted me to move forward being an interim director but after talking to Lorella and Charles they both want me to lay a foundation for the ministry prior to bringing someone on. That excites me to have that freedom. Lots of ideas! My number one priority for awhile will be to build up the sponsorship program so it can become the model sponsorship program for ECM – and possibly other organizations. ;)