Spirit Roar in Uganda.

Eight miles to the north of our little Ugandan village of Rackoko is the home village of the infamous Joseph Kony.
 
Every family in Rackoko has been effected by the war with the rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA.
 
I met one man, named Patrick and he told me that one night he got word that the rebels were coming. He told his family that they needed to run. They all started running into the bush when Patrick realized that he had left his baby girl inside the house. He ran back to get her and as he was about to leave, the rebels stopped him. The rebels pushed a young woman at him and told him to have her take care of his baby. The rebels took him and they started marching, and ordering that Patrick tell them where to go. He was new to the village and didn’t know where they were asking to go. They were about to kill him because the rebels thought he was lying when one of the rebels asked him who he was. When he replied, Patrick Purtele, the rebel recognized him as a friend of his father. Patrick had taken this rebel’s father in in a time of great need. Because of Patrick’s kindness previously, the rebel spared him his life.

 
Patrick’s son was also abducted by the rebels, and was order to carry crates of beer as the rebels marched. When the rebels realized that the boy was too tall, and would be easily spotted by the Army, they let him go.
 
Other members of Patrick’s family, weren’t so lucky. Some people have managed to escape and come back to tell all they’ve seen. Word on the street is, Patrick’s nephew is Joseph Kony’s number one bodyguard, and is with him, doing the same thing in the Congo that they did in Uganda.
 
The fighting only recently stopped about 5 years ago, but the remembrance of devastation remains.
 
In an effort to smoke out the rebels, the Ugandan army burned all the lush greenery and forests. With bare fields, bumpy dirt roads, and small brick huts, when our team arrived, hope looked meek.
 
In order to help protect the people from the rebels the Ugandan army moved everyone into Internal Displaced Persons camps. When the fighting was over and people were free to return home, fighting broke out over land ownership. Since all the landmarks such as trees, homes, and other marks were destroyed, there was no way to tell who owned what land.
 
Bitterness between families is still causing conflict.
 
Our contact this month is a young guy from the capital city of Kampala which is 7 hours south. With his passion for the Lord and soccer intertwining, Godwin uses soccer evangelism to build bridges of peace and plant seeds of hope in this devastated community.

 
Our work this month was just to bring light to the community, and message of hope from the Lord.
 
You would see our team outside with 50+ children at a time singing various children’s songs. Dancing, acting silly, playing. I had a signature dance move, and almost everyday I would hear a child that I’d never seen before, calling my name and asking me to do, “zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom.” If we meet in person, I’d be more than happy to show it to you.

Questions I asking myself this month…

Hope, when you don’t have it, what do you have?
Joy, when it’s gone, how do you get it?
Peace, when it’s a foreign concept, how do you adjust to having it?
 
The Lord has big plans for this small village. Lives are being transformed by the gospel. Rackoko has come a long way, but there is still so far to go.
 
If you are interested in partnering with Godwin’s ministries, by either financially supporting the ministry, or coming out to Uganda to help coach soccer, contact me and I’ll put you through to him.