I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post! I tried the other day, but the internet was too slow. We are in Kigali, Rwanda at the moment, about to head back to Entebbe, Uganda for our final debrief before leaving the country on Thursday. It's been a whirlwind trip to this stunningly beautiful country—14 hours of driving each way for a 40-hour visit—but it was so worth it! I hope to get a chance to tell you about it at some point, but for now I wanted to catch you up on the past week.
This is a post I wrote on June 19th. (Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! :)
It’s been a full week! We had a fabulous time at Murchison Falls National Park, and I’m excited for the chance to fill you in on our adventures.
But first: Some of you may have heard news of LRA activity on the Sudan/Uganda border earlier in the week, and I wanted to let you know we are absolutely safe. We were already in Gulu when the attacks occurred and have continued moving south throughout the week. It seems that it was a small band of LRA soldiers who carried out two small attacks. They did not actually cross the border into Uganda and the rest of the LRA troops are still in the Central African Republic.
If you would like to pray, here are some specific requests: One LRA commander was captured during the attack—please pray that he will give up any critical information he knows. Please also pray that this will prove to be an isolated incident and not representative of a larger LRA strategy to move back to northern Uganda. Finally, please keep our friends at CVI in your prayers—for safety, protection, and for God’s perfect peace to reign over the girls and the CVI staff.
Thanks!
Now for what we’ve been up to: Tuesday was our final day in the IDP camps. We met first with a Survivors Club of former child soldiers who shared their experiences with us—from their abduction as children, to their years in the bush being forced to fight, to the long process of reintegration into society, to the current reality of life in the IDP camps. Their stories were eye-opening and extremely moving—we were so grateful for their willingness to share with us! Here’s a shot of Tom and Nancy with some of the group members:
They also taught a few brave “mzungus” to dance:
In the “afternoon,” we hosted an open-air worship service in the Cho-Pe Camp. As we have learned, however, time is elastic here. Things like rain, finicky generators, and a thousand other factors we don’t always understand frequently take the schedule and throw out the window—a good growth edge for task-oriented Americans! By evening the event was finally underway and it was a great way to wrap up this chapter of our project. Here are some pictures:
On Wednesday we headed to Murchison Falls National Park where we enjoyed some recreational time with our friends from FOCUS. Highlights included a boat-ride down the Nile, an early-morning game drive, and some spectacular views from the top of the falls. Here are some of the creatures we’ve marveled at. (Please keep in mind that I don’t have a crazy telephoto lens or anything on my camera—just a regular zoom. We really were this close!)
While at Murchison, we also spent some time lending closure to our partnership with FOCUS—praying together, blessing each other, and attempting to distill what we’ve learned from one another over the past ten days. From my perspective, working with FOCUS has been one of the most fruitful and beautiful aspects of the entire project. It is obvious that God has used each fellowship’s culture to speak into the other, helping us see ourselves and Jesus more clearly. Despite—or, in some cases, because of—the inevitable challenges we faced along the way, God has knit our hearts together in a remarkable way. We have come to love these brothers and sisters so deeply and we will miss them! Here are a couple of group shots by Murchison Falls:
So that’s the update! It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of the project! Please pray that God will continue to speak to us and lead us during our debriefing in Entebbe as we prepare for reentry to the US.
I will not likely get a chance to post again until we are home, but I look forward to communicating the final chapter at that point. Thanks again for your prayers and for continuing to travel with us in spirit. We love you!
But first: Some of you may have heard news of LRA activity on the Sudan/Uganda border earlier in the week, and I wanted to let you know we are absolutely safe. We were already in Gulu when the attacks occurred and have continued moving south throughout the week. It seems that it was a small band of LRA soldiers who carried out two small attacks. They did not actually cross the border into Uganda and the rest of the LRA troops are still in the Central African Republic.
If you would like to pray, here are some specific requests: One LRA commander was captured during the attack—please pray that he will give up any critical information he knows. Please also pray that this will prove to be an isolated incident and not representative of a larger LRA strategy to move back to northern Uganda. Finally, please keep our friends at CVI in your prayers—for safety, protection, and for God’s perfect peace to reign over the girls and the CVI staff.
Thanks!
Now for what we’ve been up to: Tuesday was our final day in the IDP camps. We met first with a Survivors Club of former child soldiers who shared their experiences with us—from their abduction as children, to their years in the bush being forced to fight, to the long process of reintegration into society, to the current reality of life in the IDP camps. Their stories were eye-opening and extremely moving—we were so grateful for their willingness to share with us! Here’s a shot of Tom and Nancy with some of the group members:
They also taught a few brave “mzungus” to dance:
In the “afternoon,” we hosted an open-air worship service in the Cho-Pe Camp. As we have learned, however, time is elastic here. Things like rain, finicky generators, and a thousand other factors we don’t always understand frequently take the schedule and throw out the window—a good growth edge for task-oriented Americans! By evening the event was finally underway and it was a great way to wrap up this chapter of our project. Here are some pictures:
On Wednesday we headed to Murchison Falls National Park where we enjoyed some recreational time with our friends from FOCUS. Highlights included a boat-ride down the Nile, an early-morning game drive, and some spectacular views from the top of the falls. Here are some of the creatures we’ve marveled at. (Please keep in mind that I don’t have a crazy telephoto lens or anything on my camera—just a regular zoom. We really were this close!)
While at Murchison, we also spent some time lending closure to our partnership with FOCUS—praying together, blessing each other, and attempting to distill what we’ve learned from one another over the past ten days. From my perspective, working with FOCUS has been one of the most fruitful and beautiful aspects of the entire project. It is obvious that God has used each fellowship’s culture to speak into the other, helping us see ourselves and Jesus more clearly. Despite—or, in some cases, because of—the inevitable challenges we faced along the way, God has knit our hearts together in a remarkable way. We have come to love these brothers and sisters so deeply and we will miss them! Here are a couple of group shots by Murchison Falls:
FOCUS/InterVarsity Staff...
...and Students:
...and Students:
So that’s the update! It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of the project! Please pray that God will continue to speak to us and lead us during our debriefing in Entebbe as we prepare for reentry to the US.
I will not likely get a chance to post again until we are home, but I look forward to communicating the final chapter at that point. Thanks again for your prayers and for continuing to travel with us in spirit. We love you!
1 comment:
Yeah! So happy to get the post!
Beautiful and amazing....
We're still praying,
Love from the Bertolaccini's
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