A Village Journey

After weeks of praying for rain, the skies opened up for two solid nights in a row and provided lots of rain for the soil. It was previously planned that I would join a Development Group - FIDA - on a "short" journey to the village. So we had no idea that our safari out to Morungatuny would result in so much fun. We had to detour off of the main road, which was under construction, and take a busy back road. Well, the tracks were super muddy and we got stuck once as we tried to go around two stuck semis. I had to climb out of the truck, and in a way I didn't mind because I was squished in the backseat with three other people. As soon as our vehicle was free and past the big trucks, we were able to hop back in and continue on our journey. (But not before I lost both flipflops in the mud... my feet were covered in dirt. I tried to get as much mud off in the grass before getting back in the truck.)

Our two vehicles, with 12 people, arrived in Morungatuny shortly before 11AM and my friend Moses lead me to some water where he helped me to wash my feet. Very humbling!

I found a remote outhouse to take a "short call" and then explored the school grounds while the meeting hall was being set up under a large mango tree.

The day's objective - to meet with the CAAF (Children Affected by Armed Forces) kids and families, to see the work that is being done in that community, and to educate some Sri Lankan leaders (who joined us on the road trip) so that they can learn how to reach out to the kids who are currently being affected by war.

Greetings and introductions were made, the national anthem was sung, and then the children put on a wonderful drama for us, to depict how life was before, during, and after being captured by the LRA.

Once upon a time, there were normal families working in the villages. The children helped to work in the gardens and the girls helped prepare the meals.

Parents had tried to tell their children stories of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) attacking homes and kidnapping children during the night, but the children found it hard to believe. Life was so peaceful. Until one night, the rebel group came and took the children from their homes.

War broke out. Guns fired. Children were beaten. The girls were asked to do undescribable things. The Ugandan army was called in to help retrieve the children. While the soldiers were looking for the rebel group, the children were learning how to be soldiers, and were maturing up in years in a matter of hours and weeks.

The soldiers were able to retrieve many of the children and teens, and some were able to escape on their own as well. Upon returning home, these precious little ones were angry, confused, hurt, "spoiled", scared and lost.

Along came FIDA, a Christian development agency, who met with the families, and in this community alone, adopted 69 CAAF kids into their program. FIDA members sat with these kids to hear their stories, counsel them, and see how they can help them to make life more peaceful.
(Occasionally a LRA informant would be one of the children sitting in the circle - so the war took a long time to recover from.)

I sat in the front row and watched this amazing drama unfold. The community members often laughed at the children's dramatizations - as guns fired and smoke bombs were thrown, but my heart was torn. I couldn't imagine what these children had actually gone through. I thought, in one way, it was good that these children were able to share their past so freely, but I also had a feeling it was too light-hearted and that these children still carry a lot of pain.

I was able to talk to the group... to share my greetings from International Teams, but to also say "Thank you" to the actors... for teaching me more of their story. I tried to speak encouraging words, and promised to be a support to FIDA as they continued to be a support to this group. I also prayed that God would be their strength.

Can you imagine these guys three to five years ago, with real guns in their hands?

At 3pm the program ended and I was able to spend an hour in the village. Lawrence, my friend on the left, introduced me to some of the guys and they shared even more of their stories with me. One young man in particular spoke on behalf of his friends. He showed me the scar on his wrist where the LRA had tried to cut off his hand. He also said that a bullet was taken out of his back.

These young men also shared with me a wish list:

Blankets

Shoes
Clothes (they said that they borrowed clothes to look smart for today's presentation, otherwise they look shabby)

Bibles

They also want to go to vocational school and go on a safari - a trip - to see more of Uganda.

That same spokesperson wanted to recite a poem for me, but half way through he got kind of stuck. But with a smile on my face I said, "that poem is found in the Bible, yes?" He nodded. I said, "do you know where?" and when I pulled my Bible out of my bag, his eyes lit up and he turned to Matthew 5. He, a 15 year old man, was delighted to finish the Beatitudes with ease. Then he asked me to pray a blessing over them. My privilege... to once again present these men to the King of kings.

On the way home we stopped in another town where we stopped to see the mass graves of LRA victims. Each plot has 4 to 11 bodies in them... some unknown, some known. A somber moment.

I chose to sit in the trunk of the truck with Moses on the way home... it was a lot more spacious. :) But it created a lot of curious look because Muzungus should usually take the seat of honour - in the front. Are you kidding me? Moses and I had much laughter as we bounced around in the back, holding down a few crates of soda. As we pulled back into Soroti at 6:30pm we stopped in a local restaurant to eat beans and rice and then I was dropped off at my gate almost an hour later.