More pictures

Here are a few more pictures of some of what I've been up to this past week. The first one is me in the IDP camp with some of the children that followed us around.
Today after church we went for lunch in a little indian restaurant (reminded me so much of home for those of you who've been to...haha I can't actually remember the name of the east indian restaurant we always go to in Burnaby!) Anyways this is a picture of me and Tim, a British short term Jenga volunteer, with Emma, a very lively ugandan girl who has been adopted by an Australian couple. They are leaving to go back to Australia next week so I will miss them.
The last picture is of us wading in a stream up in Sipi Falls, which was very very cold! Me, Tim, Jayne and Jonathan (another short term British volunteer with Jenga who is actually leaving on tuesday and will be missed).

Pabo IDP camp

I just returned from my trip to Gulu, which is a 7 hour drive from Mbale and in northern Uganda. We visited an IDP camp, called Pabo, with 43 thousand people. Very sad. There used to 64000 but some have gone home now because it has officially been declared safe for them to do so. It is the largest camp in the area. Many people still remain, mainly because they are scared that it isn't really safe, but also because they have been there for 11 years and it is not a simple thing to move back home where there is nothing left.
Gulu is also the place where the children used to come from miles around into the town to sleep at night--used to be about 15,000 children walking into town each night from the villages and sleep anywhere they could, because it is safer there. The LRA would raid villages at night and kidnap the children to be child soldiers. One of the workers with the ministry that we visited was a soldier with the LRA for 5 years. He was captured when the LRA raided his village when he was 14 and then worked his way to quite high up in the army. After being with them for 5 years, he was shot and left at a hospital to recover, and then left and went to a World Vision rehabilitation Centre in Gulu. I can't even imagine what he has been through...he didn't give me many details as he told the story and I didn't press him.
We also met a pastor of a church in the IDP camp who was captured by the LRA, which is quite unusual because normally they just capture the children and kill all of the adults. The only time the keep adults (or so I've been told) is when they have a specific purpose, such as carrying a load, so he knew that he had to escape or he would be killed. He managed to run away and escape at night and is now pastoring a church in the IDP camp.
The camp looked a lot different than I expected, it was more like a village with its own little shops, and even some schools and a health centre provided by the government. The only difference was that none of the people own any land, all the huts are built squashed together, almost on top of each other, on dirt ground. There are children, mostly naked or barely clothed at all, running around all over the place. Many of them are carrying babies on their backs, even though they only look like they are about 5 years old themselves. One little girl was struggling to hold a baby and was going to put her down on the ground so I reached down to help her and she grabbed the baby and ran away. Vinnie, on of the Ugandan Jenga workers who speaks their language (he speaks 20 languages--and that's only counting the ones he's actually fluent in!!) went after the girl and tried to talk to her but she ran from him also. The children live in fear. Their whole lives they have known nothing but living in fear. The LRA used to come and raid the camps, and although they have military protection, the military would hide because they are scared of the LRA, because the LRA would usually target the military first to get them out of the way so they could raid the camp.

Anyway now the situation does look more hopeful, the LRA has not raided this camp since 2004 I believe, and as I said, the people are slowly starting to return to their homes.

Me with Merab, a nurse I work with at the hospice, at my birthday dinner.

Swimming in the nile

This is a picture of me just after I'd climbed up out of the nile from swimming in it!

Stories on the spiritual side

I thought I would share with you some of what has been happening in my life spiritually while being in Africa. God’s been speaking to me a lot about staying in his arms, all the time. The conference I was at, they talked about being at the cross, and how THAT is how no matter what happens to us, we can be safe, because he is protecting us. No matter what people do to us or what happens in our lives, we are safe there and can respond in love and not be hurt. I like to think of it as being in Jesus’ arms, though. In his embrace, with his arms wrapped around me, nothing can harm me. But coming to the cross is that aspect of laying down whatever it is that it burdening me and letting go of it—because if I hold on to it, God can not work. So that is my cry for me and you--that we may learn to constantly stay in his arms and be safe, so that no matter what happens, his arms are around me. but so often i find my self running out of his arms and trying to do things in my own strength without even realizing it! So it is indeed a journey.

God told me a few days ago that my job is to stay in His arms at all times—that’s all I need to focus on, and He will take care of the rest. But that is so much easier said than done. I find so often that without even realizing it, I have run off out of His arms to fix some problem or do something that is my own desire, not His. Obedience is what goes hand in hand with staying in His arms. I recently read an amazing book about a Muslim lady from India who became a Christian (which is very applicable to here, because there are many, many muslims here—all of Mooni is muslim.) Anyhow, in her book, she talks about staying in the glory of God at all times, in His presence constantly, and how when she had realized that God’s glory was not with her anymore, she could always trace it back to disobedience—somewhere, she had had a prompting to do something or not do something and she had not obeyed. She would repent and immediately God’s glory and presence would return to her, filling her with joy and peace, no matter her circumstance. So I think that is the secret of praying constantly, and being in the vine—Jesus says he is the vine and we are the branches, and if we remain in him then he will remain in us and we will bear much fruit. I am discovering how to remain in him constantly. It’s really hard. I mess up all the time. So often I feel the slightest nudge, just seems like a suggestion, not a loud, strong voice, of what I should do, and often for the smallest things that seem to make no difference, and I am used to just making my own decisions in small matters and asking God for direction on big decisions. But he is challenging me to look to him for everything. For example, when I go for a run, he directs me in which way to run. This morning, he told me to turn off the road and into the fields. I started to, but it seemed so crazy—running through little tiny paths in a corn field! I started to, then decided it was nuts and turned around. But again I had a sense that I should, so I turned back and did. I ended up finding a river and it was very beautiful, but beyond that I was not aware of any drastic purpose in it. However, that doesn’t matter—what matters is that I am obeying God.

When I was younger, I used to wonder how exactly I knew if God was speaking to me. I used to struggle with wondering if it was just my own thoughts, and how I knew. But I have found that the more I listen and obey, even if I am not sure—I just step out in faith and trust that even if I am wrong, God will honor me because He sees my heart is to obey—the clearer that voice gets and the more I can recognize when it is God. In a book I read recently, I really love the way the author put it: have you ever felt a nudge to tell someone about God or pray with some one? Well, listen to that, do it, and as you do, nudges will get stronger and clearer. If you ignore it, God does not force us, and I think maybe even he will become quieter, because he does not force himself on us—he waits to see if we want him to and want to listen to him.

Well those are some of the things I have been learning while being here. I hope that encourages some of you. I miss you all, I love you, and I pray for you. I pray psalm 23 over you: that God will give you your every need, guide you into a place of rest, no matter what your circumstances, that you will have no fear no matter what comes your way, because God is your comfort. That he will bless you in the presence of your enemies and that would be a witness to them and they would see Him! That you would be annointed, and overflowing out into every person you meet, that goodness and mercy would be with you always, and mostly that you would dwell in His presence continuously, forever.
I love hearing from you, and if you have anything you would like me to pray for you about, don't hesitate to email!

Mountain village health clinics

This morning I went for a run and decided to veer off the road into the fields near my house. I followed small paths through fields of maize (similar to corn) and other various vegetation, getting stares and strange looks from all the people working in the fields. I’m sure they thought I was absolutely nuts. They’re probably right… I ended up on the bank of a small river/large stream ( I couldn’t decide which) that I hadn’t even known existed, almost in our backyard. It was absolutely beautiful. Mbale is so lush and green, it’s amazing. I’ve taken lots of pictures that I am looking forward to sharing with you all when I come home.
This afternoon Cindy, (dutch doctor I lived with for my first few weeks here), Aaron (Ugandan Jenga staff) and I drove up into the villages in the foothills of Mount Elgon, close to Mooni where we are planning on building the health clinic, to visit two government run health centres to learn about how the centres are run in the mountain villages, what services are needed, and what are provided. Again, I was absolutely amazed at how beautifully lush and green it is. The first health centre we visited was what they call a “Level Two Health Centre”, which means that it only does immunizations and very basic health care, such as prescribing malaria medication. The staff member there, who was a vaccinator, was thrilled to have us visit; they consider it a big honor to have Mzungu (non-African) visitors. All the children in the villages ran alongside the truck, laughing and shouting “Mzungu! Mzungu!” The primary function of this clinic is immunizations, because the staff are qualified a quite a low level.
The second health centre we visited was a Level 3 Health Centre, which had a delivery section for labour and delivery and was much better staffed, with a midwife, a diploma nurse, a clinical officer (similar to a doctor, but with less education—they are only in school for 3 years, compared to a Registered nurse, which is in school for 4 years. Often the Registered Nurses are better than the clinical officers.)

Both health clinics were very well organized in their documentation of patients’ conditions, I was impressed. There are only two health clinics serving about 15,000 people (at least), many of whom have to walk for hours to access a clinic. When talking with the midwife, we were told that they struggle with many of the same problems that we do with our healthcare system in Canada—understaffed and not enough money.

Mooni is on the other side of the mountain from these two clinics, and there are no clinics on this side of the mountain. The government has decided at this point to not build any new clinics until they are able to run their existing ones better, so there continues to be a great need.

The picture is of me, Jayne, the physiotherapist volunteering with Jenga, (one of the girls I live with), and Darlene, the daughter of Grace and Vinney, a Ugandan couple who work with Jenga and live in Mooni. Vinnie is a pastor and they are a big outtreach in Mooni as a christian family in a muslim area.

More of this week

Yesterday we had our second official meeting with the Jenga people who will be on the committee for the health clinic. It was exciting to plan more of what we’re going to do, and see the vision unfold. Like I said before, I am in charge of the survey, which is the first part of the plan. We are going to conduct a survey of Mooni, asking about health status and what the people do when they are ill; living conditions; diet; income; and many other things to give us a more complete picture of the lives the people of Mooni live and what their needs are. Jenga has already done a similar survey in Namatala, the slum area in Mbale, so I have been writing a survey for Mooni based on the previous one.

Today we spent the day in Tororo, a small town about 30 minutes outside of Mbale, where we participated in a day prayer and worship, simultaneously with 1 million people in China and 35,000 people in America. When I arrived, I was asked to lead worship, which was a bit of a surprise. I had expected to maybe assist with the singing, but it ended up being just me playing piano and singing for at least an hour and a half, which was exciting but stretching for me because I didn’t know what songs the people knew, and their style of singing is so different than ours.

By the way, thank you so much to everyone who has been emailing me, my profound apologies if I have not had the chance to reply, I’m having a lot of trouble with my email while I’m here. I am going to switch back to my hotmail account again because outlook will not work with my telus account, so if you are sending me emails, please send them to gazingupward@hotmail.com. Sorry for the confusion, and even if I don’t have a chance to reply to your emails, they are always such an encouragement and I love hearing from you all!

My life this week (well, some of it...)

(Note: I wrote this blog on Thursday, but due to extensive computer problems, was unable to post it until now, saturday night).

Yesterday I was working at Joy, doing daily rounds with Jan and Dinah, one of the nurses, when I realized that the bed that had been occupied by Geoffrey the entire time I’ve been at Joy (the 18 year old boy with bone cancer that had progressed into his lungs) was now occupied by an older woman. I asked her what happened to Geoffrey, already knowing the answer. Death is all around you here; everyone has lost a close family members, it’s a part of life. Dinah told me that Geoffrey died on Saturday night. He asked for his Father and his Aunt to come see him, and told them that it was his time him to go home and to let him go because he was going to see his Father. A little while later, he died peacefully.

Today I spent the day at CRO: Child Restoration Outreach, which is an NGO (non government organization) that works with the street children in Mbale. Joshua, a guy I met while at the conference in Jinja, has spent the last two months volunteering with CRO, so he invited me to come and visit them. In the morning, we walked through the town looking for street kids and we collected 8, which is more then they normally do—usually it’s closer to 3 or 4. There are other street children in Mbale but they are not interested in coming because they want to stay where they can possibly find some work and earn a little bit of money, or because they are not interested in getting off the street.

We brought the 8 kids back to the CRO building where they were fed breakfast. Then, we interviewed the new children we had collected that day. The first little boy was 13, although he looked much younger, I would have guessed 8. He had left home 6 years earlier because his stepmother was abusing him and had told him he had to leave to find a job and pay for his own school fees. He ended up in Mbale staying with his cousin, finding odd jobs where he could to earn a little bit of money. His cousin sells Chapatis (an African flat bread similar to a pita but fried) on the street to make money and buys food for him but does not make enough for school fees or clothes for him. He told us that he wants to go to school and become a doctor so he can help people. Following the interview, Peter, the CRO worker who had interviewed the boy with me, told me that they would most likely enroll the boy in their rehabilitation program, where street children spend a year, and following successful completion of the program, CRO pays for the school fees and uniforms for the children all the way through university, if the child desires to go that far.
At lunch time, all the CRO children who were in school came to the office for lunch and devotions. There were about 150 children all together, it was so neat to see how many lives are being changed through this program—all of these children would have no future if it was not for CRO working with them.

For the moments when I feel faint...

Just returned from Kampala, I went there for a few days with a friend I met here, Joshua. It's about a 4 hour drive, and as I was driving back, i put my ipod on and was listening to worship music. One song by Reliant K really struck me--because there is so much hardship and pain here, and no easy answers.

For the Moments When I feel Faint

Am I at the point
Of no improvement?
What of the death
I still dwell in?
I try to excel
But I feel no movement
Can I be free
Of this unreleasable sin?

Never underestimate my Jesus
You're telling me that there's no hope
I'm telling you you're wrong
Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong.

I throw up my hands
Oh the impossibilities
Frustrated and tired
Where do I
Go from here?
Now I'm searching for
The confidence I've lost so willingly
Overcoming these obstacles
Is overcoming my fears

Never underestimate my Jesus
You're telling me that there's no hope
I'm telling you you're wrong
Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong

Gather my insufficiences and
Place them in your hands
Place them in your hands
Place them in your hands

Never underestimate my Jesus
You're telling me that there's no hope
I'm telling you you're wrong
Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong.


When the world around you crumbles, He will be strong for you. You don't need to be strong, you don't need all of the answers. All I can do is offer myself, with all my insufficiencies, to Him, and let Him guide me to work for Him and allow Him to work through me. Look to Him to be strong for you, He is all you need.