Intensive Trip

One of my favorite things to do here in Uganda is to visit the church plant in Soroti. Why? There's just something about Soroti that has made me fall in love with the people. Perhaps it is the passion that Pastor Julius exudes along with his huge smile, or the hospitality of the pastor's wife and the church members, or that the children know my name and want to spend time with me with nothing else expected.

So, when I found out a team from Mariners was coming, and planning a trip up to Soroti, I knew I had to tag along...plus, I would be able to hang out with people from "back home."

We certainly packed a lot of work into a quick trip. As Pastor Julius addressed the team and announced our schedule on the first afternoon, he referred to it as an "intensive" couple of days. He wasn't kidding!

Day 1: After 5 hours of driving, we arrived at Soroti Hotel for lunch. We then drove over to the church to pack 100 bags of food (posho, beans, and cooking oil). Some of the kids began to gather at the church while we did this, so we took the opportunity to give each of them a polaroid picture of themselves.

Jackson, one of the kids I met my first trip to Soroti, came and asked if I would be in his picture with him. Of course! All the other kids took their picture individually, but Jackson wanted me to be in his. I look forward to seeing him each time I return to Soroti. Here's a pic I took with Jackson and his youngest sister, Grace. The first time I met "Gracie" she wouldn't smile or talk to anyone, yet she was always intently watching or quietly sitting on someones lap. Now, she talks and laughs with me :)


We then left to distribute the bags of food at two different IDP camp locations...The families gathered and listened to the pastors explain who we were and why we were bringing the food. By the time we finished, it was already dark. So, we returned to the hotel for dinner.

Day2: Wednesday morning we visited the new ARM sponsorship office. Then we headed to Amuria county to distribute wheelchairs. I personally had the chance to record three stories of people receiving a wheelchair for the first time. Just from this one gift, their life had hope again. In a society where crippled people are shunned and hidden, we let them know that they are not fogotten...that they are loved by a big God.

After lunch at Pastor Julius' house and a quick training on malaria & mosquito net use, we drove out to the surrounding villages to distribute the nets. I, somehow, ended up in a group with me being the only "mzungu"(white person), which was fine except that it automatically made me the spokesperson of the group! I hate being the center of attention like that!

Each time I've gone out into the villages, I am amazed by the Ugandan people's hospitality. They rush to find chairs/stools for us to sit on as they see us approaching. Each family is grateful for the net that they receive because they understand the reality of death...and malaria is the number one killer in Uganda.
Again, we were out until dark...so back to the hotel for dinner and rest. The heat of the day drained our energy and we were exhausted!

Day 3: Early the next morning we were back on the road to Kampala.