Last Days

Just thought that I should make one last post before my return home this Saturday. Let me quickly catch you up on what has been happening these last few weeks.

I spent a week in Gulu finishing up the interviews there and saying “goodbye” to the students and staff. My time there was very rich, although busy. I took public transportation to Gulu for the first time as our car was not available that week. It was nice not to have to drive myself, but 6 to 7 hours over pot-holed roads on a rocking bus was a new experience for sure. I had an opportunity to visit with many of the students, especially on Saturday. I enjoyed talking with them and spending time visiting around the camp. The staff in Gulu also gave me a very nice sendoff. Gulu has held a very special place in my heart ever since my first visit there last year. Koro Abili IDP camp (where the project works) has always felt like my second home. It was difficult to say goodbye to the faces and to the land that has become so dear to me. While in Gulu, I also witnessed that many people from the IDP camps (including some of our students and their families) are moving out of the camp and back to their rural villages. Because northern Uganda has been experiencing a tentative peace for some time now, people have finally started to feel somewhat secure again. The LRA rebels have not been active in northern Uganda for almost two years, although they are still alive and well across the borders in other countries. The peace has allowed people to begin growing food again and thus to become self-sustaining. The UN has largely pulled out of the area and now only provides food to the elderly and disabled who cannot grow their own crops. Although many people remain wary with the LRA still at large, it is a drastic improvement in quality of life and well-being for people to finally have the opportunity to return to their own homes. Praise God for that! Pray with me that the peace will hold and that the LRA will sign a permanent peace agreement… or better yet, be disbanded. A sudden reoccurrence of war in the area would shatter not only rebuilt lives, but also the extremely cautious hope that many people have allowed to re-blossom in their hearts. After 20 years of war, people are hesitant to believe that the peace will be lasting. Despite their hesitancy, many have decided to take their chances and return to their homes in hopes of a return to peaceful village life. I pray that this hope will not be disappointed in them.

Last Thursday, my entire Bible study group came over to the house for a sleepover – 9 girls! The sleepover was both their reward for memorizing all the books of the Bible, as well as the grand finale to our Bible study times. First, we went out for pizza at the one and only “mall” in Kampala. Most of the girls had never tasted pizza, but they enjoyed it! After returning to my house, the highlight of the evening seemed to be bathing in our showers. All of the girls live in a “slum” area of Kampala where there are certainly no indoor showers with running water. They LOVED having the opportunity to use a “mzungu” shower or bath tub. We then proceeded to lay out mattresses all over the floor and watch movies until after 3 in the morning. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to have them all come over.

On Saturday, about 15 students from my karate class were surprised with a special ceremony in which they were promoted to yellow belt! (Yellow belt comes after white belt.) They all received special certificates, school patches, and a yellow belt (courtesy of Sensei Ross Hinkle). They were very excited and happy to say the least! They ALL wanted their photo taken with their new yellow belts after the ceremony. Although the karate class will officially end after I leave, many of them plan to continue practicing what they have learned. I hope that if I return to visit in the future, I can continue to teach them more to build upon what they have already learned.

My last week in Kampala has been – and will continue to be – very busy. I am finishing up my interviews with students and staff in Kampala. I am also trying to spend as much time as possible with the students as well as other friends who wish to see me before I leave. (Hopefully somewhere in the next few days I will find time to pack!) My feelings about leaving are mixed at this point. I am excited to come back home, but it is also difficult to fathom leaving behind so many friends, and especially so many children and students that I have come to love. I can only console myself and them with the promise that I will return soon to visit them again.

Please continue to pray with me that my trip back to Florida will go smoothly. I fly out of Uganda on Friday night (Ugandan time). I will have layovers in Amsterdam and Detroit before I make it to Orlando on Saturday afternoon (EST). All in all I will be in transit for about 23 hours. Looking forward to seeing everyone very soon!