I admit that life for me just seems to have gotten in the way of my good intentions. Good life, I might add.. one of abundance and comfort and quite a contrast to my dear Acholli friends here. The contrast is striking ....and once again my heart is broken by such obvious disparity and how easily and quickly I have forgotten. I am excited and looking forward to being married to Michelle in June, and plans and dreams and busy schedules have replaced conviction and commitment to advocacy. I struggle with distraction ...and tend to justify myself as young, inexperienced and not really equipped to make a difference anyway. Through His prompting and providing however, I am here once again, and I hear God's voice all over again encouraging me to a more sustained relationship with this endearing community. I can't escape the call. How and what I'm supposed to do with "the call" is not clear but I know that whatever it is, it can only be directed by God himself because although my attempt at commitment, and zeal for the moment is genuine, I am sorely limited by my human boundaries and capabilities.  Thankfully, life is a journey and it's not over. I'm learning that the building of accountability, discipline, commitment and faithfulness in my life, are works in progress and that I am not disqualified because I've not been consistent.

 

So, here I am again writing to you, attempting to bridge the chasm that separates the "have and the have nots", the West from the third world, the privileged from the oppressed. As a matter of interest ...It has not gone unnoticed by myself and my coworkers here that the unleashing of the controversial viral feed of the Invisible Children short film entitled "Kony 2012" has coincided with our presence here in the very area that was the site of such terror and attrocities by Joseph Kony and the LRA. We have been showing many groups of people from the district this half hour film and recording the reactions and discussions that have resulted from the viewing. We have had some incredible replies and look forward to sharing them with you in a video once we get them all compiled upon returning to Canada. I believe that you will find the information to be encouraging and enlightening. Please stay posted for future updates as I return home on March 25th and will be able to update the website then. At the moment internet access is restricted and my days are filled with a multitude of activities.

 

Terry Chemij, my former companion/coworker in Pader back in 2010, and I have been running around town meeting with old friends and returning to our beloved villages in the district to greet them and share the word of God. The song "He Loves Us" by John Mark MacMillan seems to cross existing language barriers as God has given me numerous opportunities to share it with many as well as the specific message of Gods fierce and intense love for His children. Terry and I teamed up to communicate this message at a prison in Patongo and saw 56 men give their hearts to Christ. Praise Him! 

 

I also had the sheer privilege of joining my old soccer team on the pitch everyday at 5 pm as they welcomed me back with open arms.  The first game I joined them for was a rough one for me as I waddled around the field coughing excessively. I felt as though I had inhaled an ounce of dust with every deep breath. I should not have expected anything different however, as it was the peak of the dry season! If you want a good test to see if you really are in as good a shape as you proclaim… play a 2 hour soccer game in 40 deg C weather with a bunch of East Africans. Yipes!  This is where the rubber meets the road.

 

One of the main reasons for our trip over was to help our good friends Mike & Marianne Botting from Bayview Glen Church get settled into the district of Pader. This beautiful newly wed couple had felt the call of God on their life to spend 2 years in the remote North Ugandan district serving the Acholi people through Emmanuel International. After spending just over one month in the district these two were conversing in full sentences with the Acholi tribe in their local language! In total, I’ve spent just over 6 months in Pader during the past 2 years and I haven’t come close to speaking a full sentence in Luo let alone an extended greeting. Terry and I were baffled! God has gifted them for this situation and we are so thankful to have this ongoing connection with the our friends in the district through Mike and Marianne. Please take some time to view this short clip to learn more about E.I’s presence in North Uganda and the role that they are taking through the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) curriculum.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi2d8J6cIHc 

 

I have now arrived home safely (Terry has returned to Darfur where he is serving with FAR - Fellowship for African Relief for another 6 months) and have had some time to catch up with writing and evaluating the short but meaningful trip. It was all about reconnecting and relationship building.  We were able to organized a number of meetings with local reverends, pastors, politicians and leaders of organizations with whom Terry and I had built relationships with back in 2010 so that the Bottings could get acquainted with more local leaders. We passed on information and knowledge to them of friends,communities and situations that were helpful highlights from Terry's (and my) 2010 watch. We also visited the schools in our district and put into place a Pen Pal program with a sister school in Toronto. I noticed the obvious absence of adolescent girls in school and my heart was stirred once again regarding the challenge that they face with hygiene issues (read previous blog entitled "Project, Feb 12" for more information)

 

The soccer teams are still going strong and we were able to set up another tournament for the area which will be taking place unfortunately in my absense. Thankyou especially to Mikki, Saleem and Margaurite and friends who contributed to the pile of soccer gear that I was able to bring over with me. This is something that is/was really appreciated and helps myself and Emmanual International reach out to the men & woman of the district through the most popular sport in the continent. This sports platform is also one of my favourite ways to share life and God's love with young men who need to know God has a plan and purpose for their lives. I was also able to borrow Mike's guitar and sing about God's love every where we went. Singing and soccer are wonderful platforms exceeding cultural and language barriers, for me to share the Good News. 

 

Terry and I spent the last couple of days meeting and praying with friends and families in the district while catching up on a year and a half of life that had passed us by so swiftly. Just as speedily our time in Pader came to a close and before we knew it we were dodging potholes on the ten hour drive back to Kampala with the Bottings. Terry and I promised Mike & Marianne that we would do everything to support their ministry in Pader over the next 2 years on the home front. When Terry gets back in September we are hoping to begin organizing a fund-raiser with friends and family to continue support the work that God is clearly doing in Northern Uganda. Stay tuned for a youtube clip with the Acholi response to "KONY 2012" and hopefully some more short 'musings' as i will try to trek through the busyness of life and into a more contemplative blog mode every so often. We'll see if life slows down or speeds up as I embark on a new adventure in marriage with my beautiful best friend, Michelle Broemser. Very very excited! 

 

I love you all, 

 

Curt 

 

 

Hey!  

 

Wow, It's about time I got on the internet. Just our luck that we have two weeks without any access whatsoever. Kind of frustrating, but now I can finally send an update! 

 

Greetings to all of you who are praying and concerned for the teams well-being! We are all strong and healthy thanks to the Lord. A couple of us have some stomach issues but nothing debilitating thankfully. 

 

Yikes... so much to update you on. 

 

We have been insanely busy in holistic ministry in the last two weeks. We have hit 6 villages in 7 days staging medical clinics, preventative health care training, soap distribution and evangelism. We have abandoned our initial quest to stage a clinic here on the compound because there is now adequate medical care at the local clinic. God has called us deep into the heart of the bush to the most remote IDP (internally displaced peoples) camps where medical access is only a dream of the people. 

 

The needs are great and overwhelming at times. The other day dr. Ken diagnosed a 2 week old baby girl with meningitis and gave it only 24 hours to live if she wasn't hospitalized. She was not suckling and her skin was withering fast. We prayed for the baby and family, gave them some money for transport and sent them on their way to the closest medical clinic in Kalongo. We don't know yet if she pulled through. 

 

Each village has been a unique experience. After a somewhat chaotic first attempt we have a very organized mobile clinic now! We have seen some people with some of the most heart-wrenching medical situations and cases. Virtually every child has ringworm's. We've treated a number of cases of Malaria but Ken is cautious when diagnosing because almost every parent assumes their child's flu is malaria. Prior to the soap distribution May has been teaching in proper hand washing and stresses to the community that a majority of the diseases and sicknesses we've treated in this village can be prevented by simply taking time to wash your hands before and after you eat. 

 

One of the highlights of the trip so far was the day we pulled into a school grounds to do a clinic for the nearby village. Hundreds and hundreds of children flocked our vehicle in hopes to get to better see and possibly touch the foreigners! May Tao out of the blue confidently climbed up on the hood of the car, stood as tall as her short figure possibly could, and shouted out the gospel message at the top of her lungs! haha About a hundred of these kids decided to make first time decisions to follow Christ and it was incredible. 

 

Joyce is confidently holding down the wound station which is hectic at times. Terry and I have been her proteges and working side by side her asking one question after the next. We all spend most of our time trying to shoo the flies away from the wounds. If we talk while doing wound care we usually end up with a fly our two in our mouths. It's insane. Joyce has also creamed us in travel scrabble on numerous occasions. She is THE scrabble queen!  

 

Yesterday we had the privilege of traveling about an hour to Patongo. E.I. was first established in the north in Patongo until the rebels burned down the compound and church and we relocated in the Pader Town. We staged a clinic for about 150 inmates in Patongos prison. These 150 inmates live in the tightest quarters i have ever seen. Diseases are spreading rampantly. Our time there was cut short because of mandatory programs but we treated as many inmates as we could before leaving.

 

We have another full week of clinics ahead of us and hours each day traveling ridiculous roads to our remote destinations. It's exciting and tiresome at times but we know why we are here and God is using us in big ways. It's very humbling. I will try and post pictures on my site as soon as possible, but the internet here is so scarce and spotty. We've been without electricity for about a week now. There's apparently a problem with the main source in Jinja.  

 

Ok, I must be going as I need to get on the bike and head back into the field to join the team. 

 

If you could pray for continued health and strength and that the rain would continue to hold up each day we do the clinics. It has been our #1 hindrance thus far. We have so many cool stories to tell when we get home. There have been hundreds of people throughout the last two weeks of ministry who have made first time commitments for Christ! Pray for each of their lives as many will continue to receive discipleship training through E.I.

 

I love you all, 

 

Curtis