Uganda Recap: Day Five

Today we visited Pastor Timothy's village on the shores of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile River. On our drive in to his village, we passed by very primitive huts against a beautiful backdrop of crops and mountains. When we arrived, we got the privilege to listen to Pastor Timothy tell his story.

(That will be the next post. It's fascinating; you won't want to miss it!)

When the adult teaching began, we brought the children outside and began to sing songs with them. Matt and I tried to teach them a song that we learned at the YMCA called "Little Red Wagon". The older kids picked up on this call and repeat song much better than the younger ones, but the language barrier still proved to be a hindrance.

Pastor Edward and Robyn leading a song

Patti playing with the kids

Pastor Timothy also let us try sugar cane. After us rookies tried to bite into our pieces, he told us that we were just supposed to suck on it to get the liquid out. I wouldn't say it was great, but it wasn't bad either. Think watered down sugar water. When you're done with your piece, just throw it on the ground.

Trying sugar cane. (Pastor Timothy is the big guy holding the plate!)

Once the children were split up into groups, Pastor Timothy took Matt, our friend Tom, and me around the village. He walked us down their dirt road to the shores of the lake. While walking, we stopped in front of a house with a gazillion little fish laying out in the sun on a net. They were being dried out to be used as food. This village relies on the fish from the lake, otherwise there is no food. Unlike the other villages we went to, this one wasn't surrounded by fields of crops. Along the way, we caught the attention of three young children. One girl in particular was giddy with excitement. I'll never forget her. While she danced circles around us, she screeched, "Mzungu, mzungu!!" and then she would giggle in delight. Her and her two little friends stayed close by while Pastor Timothy showed us around. They went from holding our hands to kissing our hands to laughing with us. At the shore we saw many fishermen tending to their boats (which looked more like larger versions of our canoes). One even asked if we wanted to go for a short ride. We declined. =)

Little silver fish drying out

Shores of Lake Victoria

Village on the edge of the lake

This was the little girl who was overly excited to see us. "Mzungu, mzungu!!"

Back at the top of his village, Pastor Timothy took us over to meet his mother, a 96 year old woman who wore a beautiful orange African outfit. We were able to pray with her and then get a photo together. This was a blessing to see because the average life span in Uganda is around 45 years old. And here she was, more than double that.

Pastor Timothy's Mom with some of our team

The well in their village. A well with a bucket system once stood here. After a fatal accident,
the village knew they needed to fill it in and replace it with one of these.

Pastor Timothy's house

I got a chance to walk around and take pictures of the kids and mingle with them, rather than have to lead a group of children in the stories and games. It was a very welcomed break.

After lunch, Matt, Tom and I headed off to a prison. While I wasn't really nervous, I wasn't really sure what to expect. When you hear the word "prison" you would probably immediately think about the prisons here. Prisons in Uganda are nothing like they are here. We pulled up to a fenced in lot with a few buildings. By fenced in, I mean it looked like a farming fence that we might use here. Yes, there was barb wire on it, but if someone got a good running start and could jump, I was pretty certain they might be able to clear it. There were approximately 50 people at this prison. Mostly men. Two women. And a few wardens, most of whom were women. We saw no weapons anywhere. The door that we walked through was short, and even I had to duck my head. The weather was cool and damp; there was a bit of "eeriness" to the air. Tom presented the Gospel and Matt interjected with some Scripture to encourage them. Overall, 14 people accepted Christ that afternoon including three Muslims. Tom was feeling a bit discouraged because more didn't accept, but we found out that many were already believers. We had to remind ourselves that the Lord rejoices even when one person is saved. I was supposed to share my testimony, but we ran out of time. We were very late in arriving due to a late start and a long drive and it was necessary for us to return to the village. Before we left, we passed the warden a box of Bibles and some toiletries. One of the saddest things I saw on this trip was how the prisoners had to line up to receive their items like toothpaste, a toothbrush and soap. While in line, they had to squat down and stay in that position as they made their way through the line, almost like an act of submission to the warden who was passing things out. To me, it looked like they were treated like animals. (Trust me, I'm not sympathizing with them because they have obviously committed crimes to land themselves in prison. I'm just stating the fact that they are still humans.)

We learned today that Pastor Timothy's village has no food and his Pastors have no Bibles. We learned that if there is someone with a Bible, he might rip it up into sections so that it can be shared among the group. That's how hungry these people are for the Truth. And then there's us, with three, four, five or who knows how many Bibles sitting on our bookshelves, collecting dust. Because we don't have to depend on someone else to give us a Bible. We aren't desperate for the Word. We take for granted that we can purchase a Bible anywhere that sells books. We can read it on our computers. If that doesn't stop you in your tracks, then I don't know what will. I think I can speak for those of us who learned that truth that we were all completely humbled and convicted. We also learned that the Pastors who come with us each day to help and to translate don't have food either. When a Pastor is able to go out and buy food, he might come back to his village and see someone else who is in need. He ends up giving his food away and teaches his children the value of fasting. He teaches them the truth that God is still good even when they are in need. The village doesn't support the Pastor, but the Pastor supports the village. We learned that Pastor Charles' family doesn't have food while his children are in school. It's either or for them.

Pastor Timothy has planted many churches, some as far as Kenya and Tanzania. But he cannot get to these churches. The cost? $150 for one week of food and lodging. God, please give him the means to travel to these people and lead them in Your way.

A very humbling day.

After dinner, I was finally able to talk to my parents on the phone for a few minutes. Uganda is seven hours ahead which makes for a hard time to connect with our loved ones back home. When we're getting up in the morning, our families are going to bed. When we're returning from a village and preparing for dinner, our families are heading out to work. But, by day five, we were finally able to connect! (We also figured out how to get consistent hot water in our shower today too!)

Countdown to orphanage: two days!