Layatas...

Thursday, December 10, 2009

I feel like I do not write as much as I used to. I moved the computer to the living room so I am sitting up and getting eaten by bugs….as if that is an excuse.

I feel like three days go into one but then I also feel that the day should just start.

Simon again showed Charles around Gulu…it was nice. We went to some places I had not seen so I appreciated the tour. It is so cool to see how much pride and love he has for this town.

We arrived at Tegot to witness the beginning of something great – THE LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION!! Men were there knocking down the plaster and preparing the room for renovation. It was super cool to see… One not so fun thing was realizing that the walls were poorly constructed so the plaster on the outside of the room were falling off when it was getting pounded out. A little extra expense was incurred but the LORD will provide for this – most confident!

We finally went to Akello Sharon’s home for her visit. It was nice day to sit outside under a yat (tree) and meet and greet the family. She has two little sisters, Mercy and Nancy, and a little brother, Okot. The little boy stole my heart. He would play with my hand, lean on me and eventually played with my hair. He HAD to hold my hand when we walked to see the water hole. I just loved the kid!!
Sharon is one of our older students. She is in P5 and is 14 years old. Definitely a hard kid to crack….but I think she is getting there. She would copy my movements and see if I noticed. She was smiling too which is always nice to see. I think Sharon thinks I am weird and trying to figure out if I am the cool weird or just the weird weird…Haha..let’s let her figure it out. Her mother is an amazing woman of God and totally has faith in Him. It was cool – after we were done with the normal visitation, Charles, our National Director, asked if we ever share the word with families at this time. He then shared some scripture and shared the Gospel with Sharon’s uncle. We found out that he is not saved and is very open to the Gospel but just needs more information. So we really explained it to him. He wants to know more and be guided to understanding better. You could just see his face soaking in the information and wanting to really know more. I could almost see this small, frail, older man get “Fatter” before my eyes- as if his beaten bodied soul (he was attacked and seriously injured by rebels years ago) was getting the proper treatment – finally. Pato made a really good connection with him and is excited to follow up and build on this relationship. It is exciting to see all of us wanting to pour into the adults of our children. That’s where we can make some progress…families need to change!!!

We were able to accomplish a lot today. Meetings, viewings and just talking through things that need to be done was very productive. Spending time in the village was my favorite though. Simon showed Charles around what used to be Tegot IDP Camp and now just village. He was able to see why Simon, Mary, Pato, Sarah, Melissa and I love these children and parents so much. I was so happy to see Mama Laker (though Laker wasn’t all that excited…what a moody little 7 year old!! Ha. She is so cute) that I ran to her to give her a hug and she ran at me…it was funny. I wish we could talk more…she is so cool. I was able to ask her where she went for prayers (church) just to make sure she is plugged in somewhere after she accepted Christ a few weeks ago. PG she attends a bible believing church in the village – I will have to visit sometime. Anyways, I was able to share with her that when Simon told me she accepted Christ I was so elated that I started crying tears of joy! She smiled and then left for a bit with Laker. When she returned, Laker had this HUGE bag of layatas (potatoes) on her head. I was then told that I needed to do the same…so I took the bag and placed it on my head. Let me say, that I can walk with a bag of layatas!!! I walked around the market for a bit….of course I got stared at and laughed at…but some agreed that I am Acholi now! Haha Anyways, I was blessed and humbled to receive the large bag of layatas. Of course I am going to share…maybe I will try my hand at cooking for the group.




I was able to meet up with a friend I met through Sarah and Melissa, Jill. She really is an encouraging women of God and has such passion for Him and His purpose for her that it just blesses the socks off of me. We talked a lot, ate some ice cream and just fellowshipped at Larem (to which I have not been to in two weeks – SORRY Maggie, Walter and Alice!!) I am so excited to see what God will do in her life. She is one of those rare people who knows what God wants her to do and now is waiting patiently on Him to show her how to go about it. That just refreshes any soul! So many people know God but not what their purpose is, what they were created for….whether it be because they don’t know Him, know how to hear Him or even have taken the time to truly seek Him, people miss out on life when they don’t know what they were created for. Once He shares with you what you were created for, it is the fun part to wait for Him to show you how He will make it happen. Man, that makes me giggle!! I love it!!

I am tired. I am blessed. I am amazed. Most of all, I can’t believe this is my life. Wow. I love my job. A lot of hard work will be coming soon but I think I can manage. Doing a lot of work after hours at home – WITH THE BUGS FLYING IN MY FACE! Oh boy.

Some prayer requests please:

Melissa and Sarah are very sick back home – most likely Malaria. Pray for healing and rest

Preparation, construction, and renovation of the library

Quick building of the homes for the resettlement project

Families to come to Christ for real healing

Health and peace over Tegot

Direction and wisdom on how to handle programming.