Matatu = an old Toyota minivan that doubles as an African taxi and holds at least 20 people. (And maybe a few chickens if you are lucky!)
Last Monday I set out on a little journey from the city of Gulu to the city of Lira. They are maybe 100 km apart and I was planning on it being an hour or so journey. Haha-oh Africa, how I love thee and the bumpy roads!
I was leaving Child Voice International where I had been ministering with team Hepzipah for the week and headed towards team Libre and team Karis. The original plan was that one of the guys from Lira would ride up and pick me up and we would return back to Lira the same day, but because of my awesome skills in making new friends I found myself on the Matatu with Reverend Nelson.
“The Rev”, as we called him, was serving in Gulu as the Chaplain for Child Voice, but he was originally from Lira and had family there. We worked together at the clinic one day taking vitals and over a cup of tea he agreed to escort me to Lira himself. He felt I would be much safer with a local!
Somehow in passing I mentioned that I would like to meet the Rev’s family and I found myself with his entire extended family. More on that story in a minute!
We left the Child Voice base at 9 am and arrived in Lira at approximately 6 pm. Oh the joys of traveling African-style. The Matatus must be full before they will start their journeys, so we found ourselves sitting on the Matatu baking in the sun for 2.5 hours waiting for more passengers. Halfway through the wait we found mendozis (African doughnuts) and warm cokes, so that redeemed part of the wait! Once we reached max capacity off we went! (insert comment here about the “African funk” that accompanies 20+ Ugandans crammed in a minivan. If you have been in Africa you know exactly what I am talking about! It just adds to the experience!)
The Rev and I secured the 2 front seats in the van, so that was a major bonus in not being too squished, but definitely warm as I continued to burn my legs on the HOT engine just below me. We sped along past cows, huts, chickens, bikes, and more pot holes than I can count. The 100km journey took just over 2 hours and we safely arrived!
Sometimes I forget that these kinds of traveling experiences are not really “normal” and they are worth noting. To me, it was just another day on the Race and not particularly exciting. My parents called halfway through the trip and as I was giving them some details it dawned on me that it was rather comical. I say all this to paint a picture of the physical circumstances of the trip, but I really want to address the spiritual shift as we headed south.
Both Gulu and Lira are considered to be Northern Uganda and were heavily impacted by the war in this country and were equally ravaged by the rebels. Lira has seen a few more years of peace and is further in the reconstruction process both physically in the town and emotionally in the hearts of people.
My week in Gulu was spent in a fair amount of intentional worship and intercession and I felt prepared for the spiritual heaviness. The women at Child Voice suffered a fair amount of demonic attack and we were warned not to be alarmed if we heard screams in the night or had oppression ourselves. The spiritual climate of the area carried dark spirits and we lived near a site of a massacre that killed many. Add to that worship of witchdoctors and it is just a recipe for heaviness. We combated the darkness with light and prayed daily over our tents, huts, teammates, etc. Overall, for me it was a time of being aware of the climate and fighting through it.
As I traveled south to Lira I could literally feel the spiritual pounds being shed. There was a tangible shift in the spirit the further south we traveled. As we bumped along it appeared even the countence of my traveling companions changed. It seems all of us had been feeling the heaviness of Gulu.
During my time there I honestly didn’t even realize how heavy it had been. It is like acclimating to different climates. Once you have been living in a place for a while the heaviness is imperceptible. This made me think through a few things:
**I was much more burdened for the teammates I had left in Gulu. I left 13 people I love up there and I found myself crying out for them with a heavy burden. The Lord really pressed on me how important it was to war in the heavenlies for them. I was able to share with the Lira teams what I had experienced and how we could better pray for the Gulu teams.
**I wonder if the Lord shielded me from some of the heaviness of the area because of his grace. I believe that if He had allowed me to feel the full weight of the place while I was there it would have been too much to bear. Each day He gave me just enough to carry for that day and His mercies were truly new every morning. So many times we read those scriptures but have trouble putting application to them and I can certainly say I lived out Lamentations 3:22-23:
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.”
Thank you Lord, that you covered me and protected me in Gulu. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning. Thank you for protecting my teammates and revealing yourself to all of us in new ways.
The 30 lbs I lost on the 100 km journey were significant in so many ways, but most of all in revealing yet again how much my Father loves me.
