I’ve been home from Kenya for a few weeks now. It has been quite the whirlwind around the office, our team came back, a team from the Colorado Springs office arrived, and volunteers for another trip out of our office (with Janet) arrived. Most have returned to the States after their project trips in Mbale, Uganda, and Masaka, Uganda.
The Kenya trip was incredible! Though each project trip has been different, and exciting, l’d say this one was my favorite so far. Miracle House has a beautiful vision for their 10 acre piece of land, and the first few days we jumped right into the design of the master plan.
The vision includes a children’s home, school, vocational centre, dining hall, staff housing, guest housing, a chapel, and agricultural plots, for sustaining the occupants and also for practical training in farming. This will take a lot of time to make it a reality, but the ministry plans to start the first Children’s Home this year, and get the children moved in as soon as possible.
Our team was lead by Brad, and Jaclyn, Travis, and I came from the office. Four volunteers joined us from the states: Jason, Casey, Roger, and Elisa. The founders of Miracle House, Dan and Deanna, joined us, as well as Andy and Pastor Sammy.
We were staying at a very nice guest house, and every day we would have breakfast in the dining hall as a team. One morning after breakfast, when we getting ready to start the work day, we realized that sometime between Jaclyn and I going down late to breakfast, and Brad leaving early, we’d been robbed.
Our rooms were locked, but each door had a skeleton key, so it was very easy to pick. We had actually seen the thieves the night before-they had checked in around 9, stayed the night, knew when we were going to breakfast, and took the opportunity to break into three different rooms, and walked out the front gate with 3 laptops, our office projector, an ipod, wallet, my cell phone, and about $800 cash.
Jaclyn and I were lucky enough to have our ipods, passports, and wallets hidden away in my suitcase, but both of our laptops, my phone, and about $25 I had in Kenyan shillings in my purse were stolen.
We also had the office travel printer in my room, and the case was open, but nothing was missing, and my camera was moved from the top of my suitcase to a bed by the door, which makes me think they had been spooked and ran without taking it. I am very grateful for that.
Brad and a few of the other guys went out to look for the thieves, thinking they couldn’t have gone far in such a short amount of time, but they were probably already on a taxi to Nairobi.
We still had a few laptops left, so after a prayer meeting, we buckled down, figured out who could do what without a computer, and really started working hard. It was so good to see the team bond and come together even though such an awful thing had happened.
Later that day we were able to go out as a team to the project site, and met, ate lunch, and played with some of the orphans we were designing for. That definitely took my mind off losing a silly little laptop; God is so good at showing the big picture when we need it most.
Even though a bad thing happened, I am still glad I went on the trip. I had so much fun with all of the team members, I wished they could have all come back to work in the Kampala office! We managed to get what was needed done, despite having to share computer time. And, just for the record, I’m completely fine. I find myself laughing at all the crazy things that I’ve experienced.
Keep praying for me, that I would use my time here wisely, to draw closer to God, and to learn more about myself. And pray for our office, that we would stay safe, productive, and focused on the Lord. Thank you so much for thinking of us here, your prayers and thoughts mean the world to us!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Interns are Here!
Last Wednesday, the new set of interns finally arrived! Kyle, David, Jaclyn, Travis, and Peter will be in the office here in Kampala, and Danny, TJ, Jack, and Jang Won will be in Jinja. The night before they came I was so worried that I would oversleep (it’s a bit of a trend) and miss picking them up from the airport, my anxiety woke me up every hour. I did get up on time, and I could empathize, on a small scale, with their jet-lag!
On the way back from the airport, we stopped at an eMi project site, Music for Life. Steve Hoyt, the construction manager and eMi staff, led us on a tour through the site. The project is a primary school for the African Children’s Choir. (I think they sang at Kearney E-Free, small world!)
The rest of the week was orientation: cultural discussion, touring town, getting familiar with the Kansanga neighborhood, and office orientation. We also had a ‘service day’ when we dropped off the Jinja guys. We helped Phil Greene, who just came on staff with eMi this summer, and is working as the construction manager for a project called Mto Moyoni, a retreat and counseling center. We dug foundation trenches, and bent rebar and stirrups for concrete columns (doing both without machines). It was a lot of work, and I was sore for quite a few days after, but I really enjoyed doing it.
This week Jaclyn, Brad, and I have been preparing for the upcoming trip, the boys surveyed a site for a small in-house project, and Janet, the Bergs, and Travis, went to Kapchorwa, following up on a water project done by eMi in February 2008. Paul will be working on this for his 10 month stay.
A few volunteers are flying into Uganda today, and we will meet a few others in Kenya. We leave tomorrow early, 4 AM, and will go by bus to Nakuru, which will take about 10 hours. We will be designing an orphanage, for a ministry called Miracle House, which currently has two day schools in Kenya. They have 55 children attending the schools, but all of them are living in slums. The ministry wants to move the children to full time care at the new center in Nakuru. Pray for safety, community, and understanding between our team and the ministry. It is going to be a great trip!
On the way back from the airport, we stopped at an eMi project site, Music for Life. Steve Hoyt, the construction manager and eMi staff, led us on a tour through the site. The project is a primary school for the African Children’s Choir. (I think they sang at Kearney E-Free, small world!)
The rest of the week was orientation: cultural discussion, touring town, getting familiar with the Kansanga neighborhood, and office orientation. We also had a ‘service day’ when we dropped off the Jinja guys. We helped Phil Greene, who just came on staff with eMi this summer, and is working as the construction manager for a project called Mto Moyoni, a retreat and counseling center. We dug foundation trenches, and bent rebar and stirrups for concrete columns (doing both without machines). It was a lot of work, and I was sore for quite a few days after, but I really enjoyed doing it.
This week Jaclyn, Brad, and I have been preparing for the upcoming trip, the boys surveyed a site for a small in-house project, and Janet, the Bergs, and Travis, went to Kapchorwa, following up on a water project done by eMi in February 2008. Paul will be working on this for his 10 month stay.
A few volunteers are flying into Uganda today, and we will meet a few others in Kenya. We leave tomorrow early, 4 AM, and will go by bus to Nakuru, which will take about 10 hours. We will be designing an orphanage, for a ministry called Miracle House, which currently has two day schools in Kenya. They have 55 children attending the schools, but all of them are living in slums. The ministry wants to move the children to full time care at the new center in Nakuru. Pray for safety, community, and understanding between our team and the ministry. It is going to be a great trip!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
End of Summer...
I hope everyone is enjoying their last bit of summer break, it’s strange for me to not be getting ready for school, but the interns are coming in two weeks, so I’ve got the same “new semester” feeling. We are keeping busy at the office coordinating orientation week, housing, and office preparation.
Just a few updates/stories about the past few weeks:
The first weekend I was back, we had a bit of a scare at the office. I woke up Saturday night to our dog, Benny, barking right outside my window. I was hearing some other strange noises as well, and suddenly I heard our guard, Patrick, yelling for someone to call Stephen (the head of security).
To make a long story short, two men had jumped our eight foot high wall into the compound and were checking to see if doors and windows were locked on the house and office.
Patrick confronted them and fought with them for a half hour. Eventually they were scared off when he wounded one of them in the head. Patrick was actually stabbed through his wrist with a screwdriver, but thankfully can still use his hand and fingers, and he is on the path toward full recovery.
Stephen came with the police, who patrolled the area, but they never found the thieves. It was a very frightening experience, but what makes us really uneasy is that thieves tried to break in less than a month ago (probably the same ones). Luckily they were scared off by the guard before anything got out of hand. We now have two guards at night, and more barbed wire around the top of our compound wall.
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us, and please continue to pray especially for safety at the office!
On a lighter note, last Thursday I was asked by our cook, Janet, to bake a cake for her little girl, Faith, on her first birthday. I love our local staff…and baking…and children, so I definitely couldn’t pass this opportunity up!
I was invited to deliver it after work, and also to be the official birthday party photographer. So I’ve posted some pictures of Janet, baby Faith, and the rest of the family. (Stella is actually Janet's sister in-law, so she stopped by the party as well).
I really enjoy visiting the Ugandan staff. It’s been great having the opportunity to get to know some locals through work, being able to interact with them daily. This summer I had the opportunity to visit the homes of our house cleaners, Stella and Monica, as well as Janet’s place. I’m so happy to have such wonderful Ugandan friends!
This week things will start to pick up around the office. I’m getting ready to move out of the eMi house/office; when I decided I would stay until December, I knew I wanted a housing change- for a bit more privacy, and also just for some change.
Also, Liz, a former eMi volunteer (and housemate) from last year, is coming for a visit! She has been working in the Sudan for a few months. Next week, a new civil engineer, Paul Berg, and his wife, Karen, will join the eMi East Africa team.
The Fall interns will be at orientation in Colorado Springs next week, and arrive here August 26th. I am very excited to meet them all and start the new semester!
Just a few updates/stories about the past few weeks:
The first weekend I was back, we had a bit of a scare at the office. I woke up Saturday night to our dog, Benny, barking right outside my window. I was hearing some other strange noises as well, and suddenly I heard our guard, Patrick, yelling for someone to call Stephen (the head of security).
To make a long story short, two men had jumped our eight foot high wall into the compound and were checking to see if doors and windows were locked on the house and office.
Patrick confronted them and fought with them for a half hour. Eventually they were scared off when he wounded one of them in the head. Patrick was actually stabbed through his wrist with a screwdriver, but thankfully can still use his hand and fingers, and he is on the path toward full recovery.
Stephen came with the police, who patrolled the area, but they never found the thieves. It was a very frightening experience, but what makes us really uneasy is that thieves tried to break in less than a month ago (probably the same ones). Luckily they were scared off by the guard before anything got out of hand. We now have two guards at night, and more barbed wire around the top of our compound wall.
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us, and please continue to pray especially for safety at the office!
On a lighter note, last Thursday I was asked by our cook, Janet, to bake a cake for her little girl, Faith, on her first birthday. I love our local staff…and baking…and children, so I definitely couldn’t pass this opportunity up!
I was invited to deliver it after work, and also to be the official birthday party photographer. So I’ve posted some pictures of Janet, baby Faith, and the rest of the family. (Stella is actually Janet's sister in-law, so she stopped by the party as well).
I really enjoy visiting the Ugandan staff. It’s been great having the opportunity to get to know some locals through work, being able to interact with them daily. This summer I had the opportunity to visit the homes of our house cleaners, Stella and Monica, as well as Janet’s place. I’m so happy to have such wonderful Ugandan friends!
This week things will start to pick up around the office. I’m getting ready to move out of the eMi house/office; when I decided I would stay until December, I knew I wanted a housing change- for a bit more privacy, and also just for some change.
Also, Liz, a former eMi volunteer (and housemate) from last year, is coming for a visit! She has been working in the Sudan for a few months. Next week, a new civil engineer, Paul Berg, and his wife, Karen, will join the eMi East Africa team.
The Fall interns will be at orientation in Colorado Springs next week, and arrive here August 26th. I am very excited to meet them all and start the new semester!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Stickin' Around
As some of you already know, I have been offered a position at Engineering Ministries East Africa as the Staff Architect and Intern Coordinator. I am happy to tell you that I have accepted and have officially signed-on as a long-term volunteer for eMi EA.
I have just returned to Uganda after a two-week visit to Switzerland, if you want to check out my adventures, have a look at Nick's blog: http://niftynickt.wordpress.com/
I will stay in Uganda through the end of December. In September, I will go to Kenya for the first time, on another project trip to help design an orphanage and ministry training center in a town called Nakuru. A project description can be found here: http://www.emiworld.org/cpn.html
Though I already have several commitments for financial support, I am still in need. If you feel led to give, email me at jeckloff@gmail.com, and I can let you know how to make a donation!
I would greatly appreciate prayer support as well- I know so many of you are praying for me already, and I can’t thank you enough!
I am very much looking forward to more time here in Africa, I am so blessed to be able to work with such a great ministry! As always, feel free to email me with any questions about me or eMi. Hope you read the new post below about my visit to a Compassion child!
I have just returned to Uganda after a two-week visit to Switzerland, if you want to check out my adventures, have a look at Nick's blog: http://niftynickt.wordpress.com/
I will stay in Uganda through the end of December. In September, I will go to Kenya for the first time, on another project trip to help design an orphanage and ministry training center in a town called Nakuru. A project description can be found here: http://www.emiworld.org/cpn.html
Though I already have several commitments for financial support, I am still in need. If you feel led to give, email me at jeckloff@gmail.com, and I can let you know how to make a donation!
I would greatly appreciate prayer support as well- I know so many of you are praying for me already, and I can’t thank you enough!
I am very much looking forward to more time here in Africa, I am so blessed to be able to work with such a great ministry! As always, feel free to email me with any questions about me or eMi. Hope you read the new post below about my visit to a Compassion child!
Nasser
The first weekend in July, I had the opportunity to visit a child my sister, Emily, and I sponsor through Compassion International. We have both sponsored children through Compassion before, and she suggested finding a child specifically in Uganda just so I could visit. So, we signed up to sponsor a six-year-old boy, Nasser Kirunda (pronounced, Chee-roonda), and I started making arrangements to visit. Nasser lives on the outskirts of a town called Iganga. (I had actually I spent a week and a half there last year on a project trip with eMi.)
Jacob, the center’s director, actually grew up participating in another Compassion program, saw need in his home area, and decided to establish a new center in Iganga. He picked me up from Kampala and was my host for the day. The center was started in October, and because it was so new, I was actually the first sponsor to visit a child there!
We arrived at the center, and before I met Nasser, I had to sign some paperwork, meet the rest of the staff, and meet Nasser’s mother. Nasser came in and sat down by me at the desk, but was so shy, he looked at the ground the whole time- it was adorable! I asked him a few questions through the translator, but his mother ended up answering most of them because he was too shy to talk. There was a pastor in town that was also involved with the children’s center, and we walked to his house for a wonderful breakfast prepared by his wife. Afterwards, we went to the school Nasser attends (he is still in Nursery school), and he and his classmates sang a song for me.
We then piled in a car and drove to the outside of town to visit Nasser’s home. He lives in a two-room mud hut, with 7 other siblings and both of his parents. Surrounding the home were other mud huts, some the homes of relatives, including his grandparents, and some just the homes of neighbors. Everyone came out to greet me, but just Jacob, Nasser, his mother, and I went into the hut, where I gave out some gifts. His favorite were two small matchbox cars, I saw him smile for the first time when he played with them. Nasser’s younger sister had malaria, and actually had just vomited outside the house, so he let her hold a teddy bear I had given him to make her feel better. It was so sweet- I was very touched!
When I had finished greeting everyone and had taken some pictures, we went back to the pastor’s place for lunch and a quick tour of a construction site for a new office for the center. Then, the visit was over, I said my goodbyes, and headed back to Kampala.
I was very pleased to find Compassion had almost nothing to do with the program in Iganga (and I assume elsewhere in the world). The center was started and run by Ugandans, and Compassion basically only helps them get the sponsors from the States for the children. Everything else is completely separate, the center gets no money from Compassion for facilities, business, salaries, ect- they raise it all themselves. Agreeing with this may seem harsh, but after living here for some time, it is very clear to me that the best way Uganda (and Africa) can be improved, is when the local peoples step up and help each other.
So, my work at eMi may contradict this, but I am not saying that every Western ministry or aid organization should get up and leave. For example, construction of buildings- anywhere in the world- is so specialized that it needs the attention of qualified professionals. I feel like every other week there is a story in the newspaper about a collapsed building, or a fire in a school that killed students because they could not get out. Yes, Africans need to be able to build for themselves, but most importantly they need to build safely. EMI plays a huge part in this aspect of building, and I think it is still an area where Western knowledge is very useful. As an organization, we need to be open to learning from the people here, but there are also things they can still learn from us. I hope you understand…
Anyway, I was very happy Jacob took the initiative to start the program in Iganga, and hope you will pray for him and all the children at the center. I can’t remember the number, but I’m sure there were over 200 children in the program, not every one with sponsors yet, but he told me that he and the staff sit down and pray for each sponsor once a week. The whole time I was there, the staff just kept telling me how grateful they were to all the sponsors, knowing we do not have to do it. It was very humbling, knowing I could honestly afford to give more, but they were so appreciative of what had been given. This program is truly a light in the dark, and a blessing to everyone in the community, I know God will do great things through it!
Jacob, the center’s director, actually grew up participating in another Compassion program, saw need in his home area, and decided to establish a new center in Iganga. He picked me up from Kampala and was my host for the day. The center was started in October, and because it was so new, I was actually the first sponsor to visit a child there!
We arrived at the center, and before I met Nasser, I had to sign some paperwork, meet the rest of the staff, and meet Nasser’s mother. Nasser came in and sat down by me at the desk, but was so shy, he looked at the ground the whole time- it was adorable! I asked him a few questions through the translator, but his mother ended up answering most of them because he was too shy to talk. There was a pastor in town that was also involved with the children’s center, and we walked to his house for a wonderful breakfast prepared by his wife. Afterwards, we went to the school Nasser attends (he is still in Nursery school), and he and his classmates sang a song for me.
We then piled in a car and drove to the outside of town to visit Nasser’s home. He lives in a two-room mud hut, with 7 other siblings and both of his parents. Surrounding the home were other mud huts, some the homes of relatives, including his grandparents, and some just the homes of neighbors. Everyone came out to greet me, but just Jacob, Nasser, his mother, and I went into the hut, where I gave out some gifts. His favorite were two small matchbox cars, I saw him smile for the first time when he played with them. Nasser’s younger sister had malaria, and actually had just vomited outside the house, so he let her hold a teddy bear I had given him to make her feel better. It was so sweet- I was very touched!
When I had finished greeting everyone and had taken some pictures, we went back to the pastor’s place for lunch and a quick tour of a construction site for a new office for the center. Then, the visit was over, I said my goodbyes, and headed back to Kampala.
I was very pleased to find Compassion had almost nothing to do with the program in Iganga (and I assume elsewhere in the world). The center was started and run by Ugandans, and Compassion basically only helps them get the sponsors from the States for the children. Everything else is completely separate, the center gets no money from Compassion for facilities, business, salaries, ect- they raise it all themselves. Agreeing with this may seem harsh, but after living here for some time, it is very clear to me that the best way Uganda (and Africa) can be improved, is when the local peoples step up and help each other.
So, my work at eMi may contradict this, but I am not saying that every Western ministry or aid organization should get up and leave. For example, construction of buildings- anywhere in the world- is so specialized that it needs the attention of qualified professionals. I feel like every other week there is a story in the newspaper about a collapsed building, or a fire in a school that killed students because they could not get out. Yes, Africans need to be able to build for themselves, but most importantly they need to build safely. EMI plays a huge part in this aspect of building, and I think it is still an area where Western knowledge is very useful. As an organization, we need to be open to learning from the people here, but there are also things they can still learn from us. I hope you understand…
Anyway, I was very happy Jacob took the initiative to start the program in Iganga, and hope you will pray for him and all the children at the center. I can’t remember the number, but I’m sure there were over 200 children in the program, not every one with sponsors yet, but he told me that he and the staff sit down and pray for each sponsor once a week. The whole time I was there, the staff just kept telling me how grateful they were to all the sponsors, knowing we do not have to do it. It was very humbling, knowing I could honestly afford to give more, but they were so appreciative of what had been given. This program is truly a light in the dark, and a blessing to everyone in the community, I know God will do great things through it!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Day of Prayer
Today was an eMi EA day of prayer. The entire office took the day off from work to spend time worshiping through music, praying as a group, and praying individually. It was so nice to stop all the busy work and remember where our focus should be.
It was great to have most of the EMI EA family together-joining the 16 from the office in Kampala, the EMI staff and interns from the town of Jinja joined us, The Sauders, the Greens, and Jeremy, and Lindsay, and Rosemary also came from Entebbe. We started out with beautiful acoustic worship with Kenny, a Ugandan who plays guitar in a worship team at a local church, Calvary Chapel. We listened to a sermon by John Piper, had individual quiet time, and then had small group prayer.
A couple prayer requests from my small group I thought I’d pass on:
• Healing for both Janet and Stella, our house help, who are sick with a cold/cough.
• Provision for Stella’s children, the school her husband works at had agreed to let their 4 girls attend for free, but are now saying they must pay school fees (over $500 altogether for the year)
• Homesickness and finding comfort in God as we miss people from home
• Salvation for family members and friends
• Providing the necessary staff for EMI EA, and all offices around the World. Right now there is a great need in each office.
• Transitions back home as our time comes to a close, and wisdom for future decisions
• The Gamble family, who were supposed to leave for the States yesterday, but have to wait at least another month due to a delay in the adoption of their two children, Moses and Miriam
• Wisdom and resolve in an issue at the Entebbe construction site
Thanks!
It was great to have most of the EMI EA family together-joining the 16 from the office in Kampala, the EMI staff and interns from the town of Jinja joined us, The Sauders, the Greens, and Jeremy, and Lindsay, and Rosemary also came from Entebbe. We started out with beautiful acoustic worship with Kenny, a Ugandan who plays guitar in a worship team at a local church, Calvary Chapel. We listened to a sermon by John Piper, had individual quiet time, and then had small group prayer.
A couple prayer requests from my small group I thought I’d pass on:
• Healing for both Janet and Stella, our house help, who are sick with a cold/cough.
• Provision for Stella’s children, the school her husband works at had agreed to let their 4 girls attend for free, but are now saying they must pay school fees (over $500 altogether for the year)
• Homesickness and finding comfort in God as we miss people from home
• Salvation for family members and friends
• Providing the necessary staff for EMI EA, and all offices around the World. Right now there is a great need in each office.
• Transitions back home as our time comes to a close, and wisdom for future decisions
• The Gamble family, who were supposed to leave for the States yesterday, but have to wait at least another month due to a delay in the adoption of their two children, Moses and Miriam
• Wisdom and resolve in an issue at the Entebbe construction site
Thanks!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Pader Project Trip
Hello everyone! I’m back and rested up from a wonderful project trip, full of adventures, learning experiences, and wonderful blessings!
The Starting Line-up:
Project Leader: Janet Strike
Electrical Engineer and Volunteer: Jim and Mary Ann Cathey
Civil Engineer and Volunteer: Joe and Lindsey Knochel:
Architect: Curt Berg III
Mechanical Engineer: Luan Fellman
Interns: Nick Whitney (a fellow K-Stater), Ryan Williams, Allie Hiddinga (my roommate) and me!
For those of you who don’t know, a typical EMI project trip involves a team of staff and interns from a field office and volunteers from the States who embark on a 1-2 week journey with the client to the project site. Our team worked with the Ugandan American Partnership Organization, a ministry planning to build a community center to help transition the people (mainly the Ucholi tribe) from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps back to their original homes and villages.
Uganda has been a fairly stable country lately, especially in comparison to other African countries, but it has seen its fair share of corruption, warfare, and civil unrest. A group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing Northern Uganda since the late 1980’s. Consequently, people have been forced to live in IDP camps for protection. (Some of you may have seen the documentary “Invisible Children”, which illustrates how this group of rebels kidnap young children and force them to become soldiers.)The UAPO project site is located near these camps in hopes to reach these desperate and hurting people.
After a full day of transit, we arrived at our guest house in a town called Pajule. That night and the next day were full of meetings: sharing testimonies of our Christian faith and how we came to EMI, understanding the vision of UAPO, and figuring out the amount of work that needed to get done over the week!
The North is becoming more and more stable, so villages have started to resettle. As this happens, the UAPO hopes to help in providing jobs for the community, especially for the women, who are often left as the soul providers for their children. Men’s and Women’s Vocational Centers will give the skills, tools, and training needed so the people can start to provide for themselves, and eventually rebuild the economy of the area.
The UAPO also wants to provide a small medical clinic for the area, because the nearest hospital is over 14km away. They found out that if only 5 basic medicines were provided, most of the medical needs in the area could be solved, including malaria. In addition to the vocational centers and clinic, there will also be an Educational Center, Meeting Hall/Church, and Staff House for UAPO permanent staff and visiting short term mission teams.
Sunday, we attended Pastor Anthony’s church. The praise and worship session was an unforgettable experience! Joe had a chance to lead a few songs on his guitar, and everything else was done a capella in beautiful harmonies, accompanied with whistling, shouting, clapping, and beating benches for percussion. It always amazes me that two completely different cultures, thousands of miles apart, can still come together under the commonality of their faith and worship the same God together.
Marianne, Lindsey, and Allie led the Sunday school, using the classic felt puppets to tell the story of Moses. They made beaded bracelets to tell the story of Salvation and handed them out to the children. I remember making the same bracelets in AWANA when I was younger!
After church we stayed and played with the kids- I chased them around the church. On our way back to the guest house, we had a parade of singing children following us, and I had at least three children holding on each hand.
Monday was a good work day. The self-proclaimed “A-Team” (Curt, Nick, and I) had a day of Auto CAD, revisions, and rendering. Tuesday I took a break from work and joined ‘the medical team’ that was out in the camps. In middle school I remember thinking about becoming a nurse so I could go and help people in the third world, but very quickly dismissed the idea due to my fear of needles and ridiculously weak stomach. I decided God made me who I am, so I must not be meant to do that kind of work. Still, I found myself cleaning the most awful-looking wounds and scrapes on children’s legs and arms, and kept at it for about two hours straight. I couldn’t believe I got through it- God really does give us strength when we need it!
Someone had donated $200 dollars to buy about 200 pairs of shoes, and many of the volunteers had brought clothing from the states, so Wednesday we went back to the IDP camps in the afternoon for a clothing distribution. We went to one of the three camps, and started to hand out shoes. We had a pretty ordered assembly line, the people walking up and finding what size of shoe they needed, moving to the bus window where we distributed through, and then they would get a mark on their hand to prevent anyone from getting double. The order lasted quite a while longer than I expected, but eventually we were getting low on shoes. The people could tell, tension was building, and we didn’t want to wait around any longer for chaos to break out, so we all piled onto the bus and left.
We still had the clothes, and we all were a bit discouraged to see the reaction of the last camp (though it’s completely understandable), so we decided to try again at a smaller camp. This time, we parked the bus down the road, and had about 6 children come through at a time. Everything went great, we gave away all of the clothes, as well as the rest of the shoes, and most if not all of the children got something. It was a great blessing after the last camp, we felt like we had done something to help the situation and really felt appreciated.
Thursday we left Pajule and headed to Murchison Falls National Park to go on safari for our closing activity. I had been last year with my family, but it was still a great experience. The first day we took a boat ride up river to see the falls, and saw hippos, elephants, cape buffalo, a variety of birds, ‘lion food’, and my favorite, Nile crocodiles! We also saw a lot of baboons, and while we were waiting for the boat, one actually jumped into our bus and stole two bananas we had been saving for a snack! We also saw one take a cracker right out of a lady’s hand, and one that stole a whole box of cookies out of someone’s bag. They mean it when they say ‘don’t feed the wild animals, they’ll learn you have food’.
The next day we went on a game drive, which I went on, but I couldn’t enjoy as much because I was feeling sick. I actually slept most of the time, and woke up to look when I heard everyone ooing and awing over something. We saw lots of elephant and giraffe that day, but sadly no lions this time!
We headed home after lunch on Friday, stopping at the top of Murchison Falls for a quick look., Our team arrived back in Kampala (or ‘Dirty K’, as Curt nicknamed it), late Friday night, we got stuck in traffic, and then our bus overheated just as we came into town. We stayed at the UAPO guesthouse that night, and the next morning, we gave a presentation to the ministry, basically summing up the week of design.
Overall, I really enjoyed the trip; I had fun, got along great with all the team members I worked with, and, as always, loved seeing the people of Uganda. However, now that I’m back, I feel like I didn’t truly grasp the reality of the situation. I just enjoyed being around these people and I enjoyed designing, I didn’t really think about what they have gone through-I think I didn’t want to.
It’s absolutely horrifying when you process what happened here in the North. The fear, the pain, and the brutality of the LRA- it is so overwhelming and the situation is seemingly hopeless. And what can anyone do to stop it? As westerners, we are pretty far removed from it, and we feel so helpless when we hear about this pain. I believe this new community center is a good start for the Ugandan people to get back on their feet, back to a normal life, but it would be absolutely meaningless if it wasn’t for God. There can be no healing, no hope for the future without Him; He is the ultimate source of comfort. If this seems depressing, please know I am just trying to emphasize how important the Lord is to our lives. How desperate we are for Him and how helpless we are without Him.
Just a few verses that came to mind:
II Corinthians 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction…For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Ps 30:11-12
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosened my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, not height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Starting Line-up:
Project Leader: Janet Strike
Electrical Engineer and Volunteer: Jim and Mary Ann Cathey
Civil Engineer and Volunteer: Joe and Lindsey Knochel:
Architect: Curt Berg III
Mechanical Engineer: Luan Fellman
Interns: Nick Whitney (a fellow K-Stater), Ryan Williams, Allie Hiddinga (my roommate) and me!
For those of you who don’t know, a typical EMI project trip involves a team of staff and interns from a field office and volunteers from the States who embark on a 1-2 week journey with the client to the project site. Our team worked with the Ugandan American Partnership Organization, a ministry planning to build a community center to help transition the people (mainly the Ucholi tribe) from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps back to their original homes and villages.
Uganda has been a fairly stable country lately, especially in comparison to other African countries, but it has seen its fair share of corruption, warfare, and civil unrest. A group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing Northern Uganda since the late 1980’s. Consequently, people have been forced to live in IDP camps for protection. (Some of you may have seen the documentary “Invisible Children”, which illustrates how this group of rebels kidnap young children and force them to become soldiers.)The UAPO project site is located near these camps in hopes to reach these desperate and hurting people.
After a full day of transit, we arrived at our guest house in a town called Pajule. That night and the next day were full of meetings: sharing testimonies of our Christian faith and how we came to EMI, understanding the vision of UAPO, and figuring out the amount of work that needed to get done over the week!
The North is becoming more and more stable, so villages have started to resettle. As this happens, the UAPO hopes to help in providing jobs for the community, especially for the women, who are often left as the soul providers for their children. Men’s and Women’s Vocational Centers will give the skills, tools, and training needed so the people can start to provide for themselves, and eventually rebuild the economy of the area.
The UAPO also wants to provide a small medical clinic for the area, because the nearest hospital is over 14km away. They found out that if only 5 basic medicines were provided, most of the medical needs in the area could be solved, including malaria. In addition to the vocational centers and clinic, there will also be an Educational Center, Meeting Hall/Church, and Staff House for UAPO permanent staff and visiting short term mission teams.
Sunday, we attended Pastor Anthony’s church. The praise and worship session was an unforgettable experience! Joe had a chance to lead a few songs on his guitar, and everything else was done a capella in beautiful harmonies, accompanied with whistling, shouting, clapping, and beating benches for percussion. It always amazes me that two completely different cultures, thousands of miles apart, can still come together under the commonality of their faith and worship the same God together.
Marianne, Lindsey, and Allie led the Sunday school, using the classic felt puppets to tell the story of Moses. They made beaded bracelets to tell the story of Salvation and handed them out to the children. I remember making the same bracelets in AWANA when I was younger!
After church we stayed and played with the kids- I chased them around the church. On our way back to the guest house, we had a parade of singing children following us, and I had at least three children holding on each hand.
Monday was a good work day. The self-proclaimed “A-Team” (Curt, Nick, and I) had a day of Auto CAD, revisions, and rendering. Tuesday I took a break from work and joined ‘the medical team’ that was out in the camps. In middle school I remember thinking about becoming a nurse so I could go and help people in the third world, but very quickly dismissed the idea due to my fear of needles and ridiculously weak stomach. I decided God made me who I am, so I must not be meant to do that kind of work. Still, I found myself cleaning the most awful-looking wounds and scrapes on children’s legs and arms, and kept at it for about two hours straight. I couldn’t believe I got through it- God really does give us strength when we need it!
Someone had donated $200 dollars to buy about 200 pairs of shoes, and many of the volunteers had brought clothing from the states, so Wednesday we went back to the IDP camps in the afternoon for a clothing distribution. We went to one of the three camps, and started to hand out shoes. We had a pretty ordered assembly line, the people walking up and finding what size of shoe they needed, moving to the bus window where we distributed through, and then they would get a mark on their hand to prevent anyone from getting double. The order lasted quite a while longer than I expected, but eventually we were getting low on shoes. The people could tell, tension was building, and we didn’t want to wait around any longer for chaos to break out, so we all piled onto the bus and left.
We still had the clothes, and we all were a bit discouraged to see the reaction of the last camp (though it’s completely understandable), so we decided to try again at a smaller camp. This time, we parked the bus down the road, and had about 6 children come through at a time. Everything went great, we gave away all of the clothes, as well as the rest of the shoes, and most if not all of the children got something. It was a great blessing after the last camp, we felt like we had done something to help the situation and really felt appreciated.
Thursday we left Pajule and headed to Murchison Falls National Park to go on safari for our closing activity. I had been last year with my family, but it was still a great experience. The first day we took a boat ride up river to see the falls, and saw hippos, elephants, cape buffalo, a variety of birds, ‘lion food’, and my favorite, Nile crocodiles! We also saw a lot of baboons, and while we were waiting for the boat, one actually jumped into our bus and stole two bananas we had been saving for a snack! We also saw one take a cracker right out of a lady’s hand, and one that stole a whole box of cookies out of someone’s bag. They mean it when they say ‘don’t feed the wild animals, they’ll learn you have food’.
The next day we went on a game drive, which I went on, but I couldn’t enjoy as much because I was feeling sick. I actually slept most of the time, and woke up to look when I heard everyone ooing and awing over something. We saw lots of elephant and giraffe that day, but sadly no lions this time!
We headed home after lunch on Friday, stopping at the top of Murchison Falls for a quick look., Our team arrived back in Kampala (or ‘Dirty K’, as Curt nicknamed it), late Friday night, we got stuck in traffic, and then our bus overheated just as we came into town. We stayed at the UAPO guesthouse that night, and the next morning, we gave a presentation to the ministry, basically summing up the week of design.
Overall, I really enjoyed the trip; I had fun, got along great with all the team members I worked with, and, as always, loved seeing the people of Uganda. However, now that I’m back, I feel like I didn’t truly grasp the reality of the situation. I just enjoyed being around these people and I enjoyed designing, I didn’t really think about what they have gone through-I think I didn’t want to.
It’s absolutely horrifying when you process what happened here in the North. The fear, the pain, and the brutality of the LRA- it is so overwhelming and the situation is seemingly hopeless. And what can anyone do to stop it? As westerners, we are pretty far removed from it, and we feel so helpless when we hear about this pain. I believe this new community center is a good start for the Ugandan people to get back on their feet, back to a normal life, but it would be absolutely meaningless if it wasn’t for God. There can be no healing, no hope for the future without Him; He is the ultimate source of comfort. If this seems depressing, please know I am just trying to emphasize how important the Lord is to our lives. How desperate we are for Him and how helpless we are without Him.
Just a few verses that came to mind:
II Corinthians 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction…For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Ps 30:11-12
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosened my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, not height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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