“You are very welcome here” – a phrase I heard over 20 times
in my 10 days in Uganda
Beth Read, one of our very own youth at Furnace, has just returned from spending 10 days in Kampala, Uganda. Here's her story... :)
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| #JesusLoversInUganda |
When we started our trip from Entebbe airport to our hotel,
I could tell this trip was going to change my life forever. The streets were
streaming with poverty but there was joy in the hearts of every person I met.
It was different… and I loved it!
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| The Father's Heart |
By the time we arrived at the centre, it was already day 3. We
spent the first two days travelling and settling into our hotel. The reality of
what I was doing hit me when I set foot on the grounds of Kampala Children’s
centre. The children were all at school when we arrived, so it was silent. The
peace surrounding the centre was clear from the first view and I couldn’t wait
to start working with the children. Our day started with a small tour of the
centre (consisting of many many children attacking us and a long walk up a very
steep hill). When school had finished and the 550 children who did not live at
Kampala children’s centre (KCC) had left, we were asked to “meet the children
in the fathers heart”. The father’s heart was a heart shaped bush that was just
through the gates of the centre, and had no entrance. We had to literally push
our way through. This really spoke to me as I realised there is no direct way
into the father’s heart. When we managed to get through the bush we sat on the
floor and awaited the children. What we didn’t expect was about 20 children
running towards us making a lot of noise. For the next hour or so we played, we
talked and we had our hair twisted and knotted! A great experience (but not so
much fun when I got back later and had to detangle my hair!)
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| Tangle Time! |
Day 4 started with a 7am start, with a supposed 8 am leave
for Prayer Mountain. I say supposed because Patrick, our bus driver, had to
drop 80 children off at school before he came to pick us up and was generally
always late. 8am in Ugandan time seems to mean 9am. Although it was raining,
but still very sticky, spirits were high as we clambered into the bus for a
trip to Prayer Mountain. Due to the rain Patrick could not get the bus very far
up the mountain, hence why we started to trek up the mountain, by foot, in the
pouring rain. But it was worth it!
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| "If Praise can do it, I can do it" - Beth |
Prayer Mountain was set up when Pastor John Mulinde became
sick of the terror caused in the years when Uganda was under control of Iddi
Amin. Pastor John wanted to set up a place of prayer for all nations who were in trouble. Once they had started praying Uganda became a free nation, and they
have been praying ever since.
When we arrived we were stunned by the peace surrounding the
area, and wandered through the forest and fields at the top of the mountains.
In many different area’s there were tents set up so that people could stay
days, months and even years if they wanted or needed too. Pastor Geoffrey
(Pastor John’s assistant) prayed for us and we then set off in the mud back
down the mountain. We were taken up Prayer Mountain by Pastor Julius and his
son Praise who lived in a bush up the mountain for 5 years. We later became
very good friends with these two. It was then time to set off back to KCC to
take a look around the clinic. Which held 3 years of hand written documents
about every disease or illness every child that has ever stepped foot on KCC
grounds has had. This stunned many of us.
Day 5 consisted of an even earlier start, as we were headed
off to our first of three children’s camps. On the 2 hour journey (according to
Patrick it was 45 minutes!) we prayed and spread joy onto the streets of Uganda
by singing VERY loudly through the open windows. The first children’s camp was
to be held in Kapeeka. Kapeeka was a poverty stricken area that was damaged and
wrecked during a civil war in Uganda not long ago. We did not know how many
children were going to be there and what we were going to experience, so we
were very anxious! When we arrived we found over 500 children dancing and
singing in the centre of a small field.
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| Mud, Trees and Just a Few Children... |
It was explained to us that the roads had been repaved just so that we could get down to the little town, and we realised that this camp would be the event of the decade. We spent the day singing, dancing, telling Bible stories and generally having an amazing time in the presence of God. Although, the toilets were not great! First time I've ever gone to the toilet in a hole, with no door, at all, and it stank! (No exaggeration!) One experience that really stood out to me involved a little boy in Kapeeka. Pastor Julius (who came up Prayer Mountain with us) was approached by a mother, and her children, the mother explained that her son, he was about 3, was finding it very painful to walk. Pastor Julius took a look at his feet and found that he had jiggers in his feet. Jiggers are a parasite which lay their eggs and begin to eat away at the flesh. Pastor Julius removed the worms and spoke to the mother. Pastor Julius has taken the little boy into his care (even though he already has 5 children) and has taken him to hospital. This taught me to never under appreciate the small things; shoes could have stopped this from ever happening.
Check back here tomorrow for the other half of Beth's lovely post about her amazing experience in Kampala.
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| Guest post written by Beth Read |
