Kitgum highlights

We have just completed one of the most gratifying weeks since we have been in Uganda.  A few weeks back, while in Gulu, we met a new friend named Kent Forester.  We were introduced to him by Todd Vinson, our friend from Chandler, OK.  Through talking with Kent, and sharing a dinner with he and his family, we made a plan to take on this Kitgum project this week.  Kent is associated with Antioch Church in Waco, Tx and has been in Uganda for a couple of years now.  One of the priorities of Antioch, and Kent, is to disciple people in the faith.  This strikes close to home with us as we feel that discipleship is very much needed in Uganda, as well as the US.  Kent has been pouring into a man named Patrick, who is originally from Kitgum.  Patrick and some US young people have been spending one week each month in Kitgum, discipling other new believers.  The numbers of people in small groups in Kitgum have grown to the point that they have started to meet corporately on Sundays and they are launching a church.  The Due Unto Others role this week was to provide a medical clinic to draw the community into the compound where the church will meet.  We, along with the rest of the team, were trying to give the people of Kitgum an awareness of Who Christ is and the opportunity to become fully devoted followers of Christ, through this church plant.  Antioch wanted to use this introduction, to so many people in Kitgum, as the vehicle that could help them find leaders and new converts to get the church off the ground. 

There is a group of 8 college graduates from the US that are in Uganda for 8 months.  They have been working with Kent in Gulu, and in other small areas like Kitgum.  Because they have spent a lot of time in Kitgum, in the past 7 months, they know the place pretty well.   They helped us pull off the clinic this week.  It was a pleasure to get to know them and get a feel for their passion for Christ.  Each morning, they meet at 9:00 am for worship and a short devotional, trying to allow God to fill them before they go out to pour out themselves to others.

We saw about 480 patients over the 4 days of clinics.  The local people would show up early to get in line to be seen.  On our last day, people had even camped out over night to make sure that they had a place in line the next morning.  We exhausted many of the meds that we had brought and had to make a run to the local pharmacy to restock on some things.  Kent and his team staffed registration and the prayer room.  They encouraged many people and saw multiple salvations through the week.  Everyone was invited to join the new church for prayer and worship next week.  Kent’s team also prepared beans and rice for our patients each day.  This was a blessing and was well received.  Our family (including David) took care of the pharmacy, we did some dish washing and played with the children.  We also got to act as ambulance, as we took a lady with a back injury to get an x-ray in town.  I was joined by Julius, a local physician, on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

On Wednesday night, many of the team came over to our hotel to eat left over beans and rice from the day’s clinic.  As they were preparing to leave, we got the pleasure of witnessing something that most western visitors don’t get to see.  The ants that form the huge ant hills here came out to mate.  They fly with large white wings and swarm out to find a mate, then burrow into the ground and start a colony and live for 20 years (seems like a long time for an insect).  This happens for one day, twice per year.  The ants are like manna from heaven as the people love to eat them.  So we made this video while having “ant ball” fights, many others came with brooms to scoop them up by the bucketful. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-S0hbBSqbE

We asked kindly and the staff at the hotel made us some enswa. 

This is ground ants that they eat with posho.  I am told that the better way to eat them is fried, but we did not get the chance.  All of us but Jayne gave it a taste.  No one got sick, no one thought that they were good, and I would need to be a whole lot more hungry, than I am now, to eat them again.

I’d like to tell you about a couple of new friends that I met this week and how Due Unto Others has helped or might help them in the days to come.  The first of these is Magret (this is the common spelling here).  She is a 34 year old lady that caught my eye with an impressive goiter (enlarged thyroid gland in the neck).  She told me that she has known of this problem for 9 years, since she was seen by a mission group before.  She has never had blood work or had any work up towards surgery, because of the cost.  Having an enlarged thyroid is not only a cosmetic or functional issue, it usually causes an over production of thyroid hormone, which in turn can cause multiple adverse effects in the body.  When I first saw her, I felt like God was telling me that this was one of our “starfish”.  I questioned this in my mind because she did not fit the mold of the other “starfish” that we have recognized on our beach so far.  She is an adult, lives 7 hours from Kampala, and we really have no prior connection to her or her family.  Nonetheless, I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me to make her “our business”.  I asked her for her phone number and told her that I would do some investigating into what resources were available in Kitgum to help her.  She had been told before that she would have to travel to Gulu to have a surgery and this was part of the problem for her.  As I mentioned before, I was joined this week by Dr. Julius on 3 afternoons.  Shortly after Magret left my station, I remembered that Julius was a “general practitioner”, but his interest is in surgery, and this is where he spends most of his time.  When he arrived that afternoon, I brought Magret’s situation up to him, to get his input.  I was excited to know that he does thyroidectomies at his hospital in Kitgum.  We are working with Patrick (the local person that is going to be the pastor of the new church) to have them contact Magret and pray and love her through this process.  If Magret is a suitable candidate, and Dr. Julius does the surgery, It looks like we can get her taken care of for under 200,000 shillings!!!!  That is $80 in the US.  Can you imagine that God had this lady in our clinic and then had a surgeon that can fix her problem sitting next to me this week?  I have left those shillings with Kent Forester to follow through this “care program” over the weeks to come.  If any of you feel the Holy Spirit telling you to make Magret “your business” also, this is another specific area of need that you could help with.  (Email me if you want more information DueUnto@gmail.com)

My second new friend is named Isaac.  He is a 10 year old boy with HIV since birth.  He was brought in by his grandmother (I am assuming his mother is dead from HIV).  He caught my eye because he was wearing a lime green, pin-striped suit coat with shorts and football (soccer) cleats.  This little guy brought me more joy than anything else this week.  I hate to do this to you, but I am going to save his story for another blog.  There is a video that goes with his story and I want to get it ready first……stay tuned.

I have written this blog on our 7-8 hour journey back from Kitgum to Kampala.  We stopped for about an hour in Gulu to empty and fill our tanks and to drop by and say hello to Sister Rosemary.  Then we traveled to Mulago Hospital in Kampala to visit Jamil. 

He seems to be doing well.  When we went in to his room he was asleep.  He woke up and greeted us.  I asked him if there is anything that he needed and he said something to drink.  So we got him up and walked down to the canteen.  We got him some juice and soda.  We sat in the canteen and visited for a while.  His family is hopeful that he will be able to go home from the hospital by Sunday. 

Thanks for your support.

Jay