Uganda (Random Thoughts)

 

 

Welcome to the land of the mosquitoes. Their blood and guts are splattered across my wall in chaotic artistry. Actually, most of the blood is probably mine, judging from the bumps and scabs that decorate my body. You might be thinking to yourself, “Yeah, I hate mosquitoes. I can relate to you, Aaron,” but you would be wrong. No one can relate to me. If you and I sat together in a room full of mosquitoes, you would be shocked. I have tested this theory through careful observation. I have watched with extreme scrutiny as the flying nuisances curiously buzz around someone else, and I have watched with literal incredulity as they invariably decide to leave that person’s presence to travel halfway across the room to land on me, instead. These other people aren’t even paying attention. The mosquitoes could easily feast on one of my friends, and I would happily watch it happen, but no-they customarily refuse to be wise about the matter. They would rather take a last supper on my foot before I exterminate their foolish lives than have a free meal on one of my unsuspecting teammates. Senseless bugs.

 

 

Speaking of senseless, someone decided to cover up a 14 ft. deep manhole with rocks, thinking the rocks would prevent people from falling in. All the rocks did, however, was camouflage the manhole opening, and as I was carrying my 50 lb. backpack, I stepped on what I thought was merely an unassuming pile of rocks. The rocks insidiously caved in under the weight of my super buff muscles and into the Kenyan manhole I went (I’m okay, mom. I got out. Minor scarring. No infections).

 

 

I have the very unique experience of being a US resident briefly living in Africa during the beginning of the Obama Era (O.E.) in US/World history. It is pure insanity. There are Obama calendars, Obama cereals, Obama restaurants, shirts, portraits, menu items, shoes, ties, fruit baskets, and necklaces. People who can’t even speak English will still cheer “Obama!” as I walk past. Obama is the first thing every African brings up in any conversation. “What do you think of Obama?” “Did you vote for Obama?” “Do you know Obama?” It is humorous sometimes, and other times a little worrisome. It really seems as if people are replacing their faith in God with their faith in Obama. Some really believe he will fix all their problems.

 

And problems here are unfortunately many. Respect for human rights in Uganda has been advanced significantly since the mid-1980’s, but there are still many concerns which have led some of the people I have met here to tell me they believe Uganda is the most sinful nation in the world. Conflict in the northern parts of the country continues to generate reports of unspeakable abuses by both the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan army. There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced persons. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst security organizations. I hear stories of pure evil taking the form of underground child sacrifices done by traditional witch doctors. In the newspaper I read two disturbing stories. The first story, about spousal abuse, reported that 70% of women in Uganda believe it is fully justifiable for men to physically beat their wives. The second story described a truly diabolical trend on the rise, wherein Christian pastors promise to pay for education for the children of the church. The parents, with utmost trust in their pastors and love for their children, send their kids away to be schooled, but the pastors sell the children into slavery… or worse, and the parents never again see them.

So what do we do? We must move in the opposite spirit. Where there is suffering, we pray to bring healing. Where there is sorrow, we pray to bring joy. Where there is anger, we pray to bring love. The majority of our ministry here is relational discipleship. We have partnered with Bugolobi Church of the Resurrection, a local Anglican church with a rock solid faith. We spend a lot of time ministering to, and with, the youth (12-24). We partner with members of the church and evangelize the local communities door-to-door. Each home presents a fresh and distinctive opportunity. In each place, my main desire is simply to love the people. This looks different to everyone. I feel as if I could write a full blog about each experience. In one home, God had me fall in love with a three-year old girl named Blessed. She played with my hair and bracelets and clung to me with tiny clenched hands. In another, the Spirit led me to confront false religion with my only weapon, the Word of God, and to proclaim the divinity of Jesus. At another home, I hoped to inspire a man and his wife by sharing that the Bible can be their guide for everything-that it will be the lamp under their feet and a light to guide them, that it will teach them how to be a good husband or wife and how to be good parents, et cetera, and as soon as I finished, they opened up with a million questions and struggles, and we spent several hours pouring over scripture in a sort of marriage counseling Bible study session. And finally, in many others, God had me simply love on the people by blessing them, praying for them, listening to their struggles, and sharing my own. It’s very easy to fall in love with the people of Uganda-time and time again they opened their doors and welcomed me in as one of their own. There is much hurt in this place, but God’s grace is abounding. It will be hard leaving.