After church on Koro Farm in Gulu.
Uganda is a beautiful land full of beautiful people who are in the middle of restoring communities. We have been able to see this taking place in Kampala (in Nairobi as well) and especially in Gulu. 3 years ago when we worked on the farm the Chapel was still a pile of bricks knee high. Yesterday (Sunday) we sat in the completed Chapel of the New Foundations Church on the farm with a packed house and a lot of singing and dancing. Roxanne and Jenny led worship and had the entire congregation yelling/singing. Jeremiah followed with a sermon on Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the wall and the community and how the story of Gulu parallels that story in many ways. Christine Adams and Alison Glasco shared parts of their story with the congregation and I couldn’t have been more proud of their willingness to encourage the church body in this way.
Following church we went to a local village SOI is strongly connected to: Lajwatek. We worked in this village on our last trip in 2010. At that time the people responsible for the work being done in the village were women. There were no men, at least none that were sober. Three years later the village is thriving with a day care, men who serve in leadership and strong women still leading the way. It was both a wonderful experience for us and necessary for them to see us back, to grow the relationship, to see the progress.
Women welcoming us at the village Lajwatek.
We finished the day with our last “match” and a lot of laughter. We met the SOI staff out at the farm to play with them, to fellowship and to encourage their work. Some of the staff joined us for dinner as we celebrated Dan’s birthday in true Westmont Women’s Soccer fashion: with song and dance. Each class made up a song and dance for Dan with incredible pun’s like: “You don’t wear the Ribbens construction shirt, it wears you,” or, “Gifts don’t come in packages, they come in Ribbens.” This produced the kind of laughter that comes deep from the gut and causes your face to cramp. I don’t know if the SOI staff watching thought we were crazy but they got a laugh as well!
Last match against SOI staff on the farm.
This morning we began the trek back down to Kampala with a layover at the Parra Lodge for a Safari. We spent the first afternoon on a game drive where we were able to see water buffalo, warthogs, antelope, MANY giraffe’s and A LION!
Tuesday morning we began with a 2 hour boat ride on the Nile seeing many crocodile, hippo’s and even an Elephant. We finished with a hike up to beautiful Murchison Falls and the longest bus ride ever! (you can ask the girl’s about this, the sauna bus and the tic-flies).
As I finish writing this blog post (which I began on Sunday ? ) it is now Wednesday and we wait in the Entebbe airport in Uganda. The girls are journaling, laughing, buying chocolate they haven’t had in a few weeks and hopefully beginning the process of reflection. Cat Adams, our group leader, led us through a wonderful debriefing this morning suggesting we begin formulating our response to the question we know many of you will ask, “how was your trip?” She encouraged us to have a 1 minute response, a 5 minute response and a 30 minute response. As I question the girls on some of their highlights here is a preview of the different responses:
Top 10 (mind you, this is an initial stab at it)
1. The Prison Game
2. The many clinics we ran (specifically with the women)
3. Home visits in the villages
4. Practicing with the Good News Team
5. Nairobi clinic (200 kids, 20 balls, playing on a marshland) as well as the school
6. Hearing Testimonies (both within the team and outside of it)
7. Koro Farm in Gulu (especially the villages they are connected with and their welcome of song and dance)
8. The different AND powerful worship in all of the cities
9. Eating a Rolex (and grasshopper)
10. The “Bash” (ask a team member about that)
1. The Prison Game
2. The many clinics we ran (specifically with the women)
3. Home visits in the villages
4. Practicing with the Good News Team
5. Nairobi clinic (200 kids, 20 balls, playing on a marshland) as well as the school
6. Hearing Testimonies (both within the team and outside of it)
7. Koro Farm in Gulu (especially the villages they are connected with and their welcome of song and dance)
8. The different AND powerful worship in all of the cities
9. Eating a Rolex (and grasshopper)
10. The “Bash” (ask a team member about that)
Nailing down a top 10 is difficult and the list will change as people enter different levels of reflection. At the very least, in case you never get a chance to chat with a team member, know this was an incredible trip. We are very proud of the girls- their energy, their joy, their willingness to jump in and share, their success in all of the games we played, their love for each other and everyone we came into contact with. They represent Westmont and Westmont Women’s Soccer well.
Praise God for the ways in which we learned, we grew and we engaged with each other and those around us. We are incredibly grateful for Robert Katende, Sam Lutalo and Wilfred the bus driver from Sports Outreach who took care of us and shared their lives with us during our time in Uganda.
Until next time (hopefully 2016)…thanks for coming along this journey with us.
Blessings,
Kristi Kiely
Kristi Kiely
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