Shakira

Last fall I introduced you to a friend of ours, her name is Shakira. Her story is one of the kind you read in books and it has yet to reach the climax I believe! Shakira was orphaned young, sent from relative to friend to relative, struggling to get an education, let alone to be loved and wanted. As a teenager she ended up on the streets & without her consent, trapped in prostitution. She was able to escape that life, but now found herself stranded in a Kampala slum with another burden to bear: she was HIV+. At this point, she also found herself in a relationship that actually brought some life back to her – a man who wanted to care for her and be with her. They began attending the local church, taking Christ as their Hope and vowing to remain faithful to each other.* Upon further testing, Shakira was now found to be HIV-, and has tested so ever since…a testimony she praises the Lord for daily even still! The two built a humble life together, and within 4 years had 2 small children, Ema & Esther. Her husband, Joseph, had a consistent job working in construction. Quite an upswing in Shakira’s life!

Then, tragedy hits again. Joseph falls from a roof, injuring his head, at work & is now in the local hospital, Mulago, and the family has no provision. Soon, Shakira finds herself locked out of her house after not making the rent payment – which is where James, our friend who works alongside the Thread of Life sewing shop by recruiting ladies from the slum, found her – alone, despairing, in the rain, without a home for herself & two small children!

Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up…sounds like a movie scene, and yet for this young mother, it was real and vicious and hopeless. James asked her what was wrong & she spilled her story to him. CLD was able to help Shakira in the beginning to pay her rent and not go without food. With time, as we came to know her more and realize how brilliant and strong this woman was, CLD supported her in buying a plot of land and building a house there in the slum. She was then able to live in one room and rent two others out, creating an income for herself. Eventually Joseph came home, but not without some health issues that hung on. He was unable to hold down a job, to provide for his family.

Now, I wasn’t around during this time, so I can’t say that I’ve got all the details exact or timing correct. But sometime after this, Shakira approaches the guys at CLD with a proposal for a business. This proposal was for a chicken business – a chicken coop with hens laying eggs to sell or broiler chickens to sell for meat. Having worked with chickens when she was young, she already held a lot of knowledge and also knew of a class she could take to help her prepare to care for the chicks and run this business. The goal was to create enough profit that the business would eventually fund the micro-loans that CLD was beginning to offer to some women in the slum!

*photo by Jeff Guerrero

The plan was brilliant and so fund-raising began to purchase some land and build a house and coop outside of the city for Shakira and her family to move to. This past fall, the family moved out of the slum to their new home in Namusera – a gorgeous plot overlooking a valley of pastureland! In January, Shakira began with her first round of chickens, 250. She tirelessly cared for them & by March they were ready to be sold. She had some potential buyers from around the area come to look at the chickens and found a few that wanted to purchase all the chickens the next day. Then, the misfortune struck again: deep in the night, thieves came and stole 100 of the chickens! It seems this had happened before in the neighborhood, so we found out after the fact. This was a definite low-point, but after the drama of getting the story straight and clearing Shakira of any wrong-doing, we continued on and she was able to sell the remaining chickens by Easter. Now Shakira is excited to start with a new wave of chicks and has been researching many new ideas for lowering costs, increasing quality of the chickens and providing a more steady income.

The story is full of Hope, but I only wish you could actually sit and talk with this woman! She has become a friend to me, someone whom I find encouragement and inspiration through every time we talk. Around every bend there is a new challenge to face for Shakira: her husband doesn’t want to anything to do with living in the village and working with chickens, there are school fees, empty stomachs, rags for clothing, etc. Her life isn’t magically perfect. Yet she perseveres, ever with her heart focused on her faithful God. In just six months she has created such a community of friends around her in this new village. When I visit her there, everyone who passes greet her with smiles, friends bring by gifts of food or herbs to her. Her compassionate spirit and patient resolve draw people to her. She has huge hopes for the future, always thinking about how they can create more business so that she can help the other women in the slum out of their poverty! This woman with a dark and disheveled past, speaking now with authority, confidence, and conviction is 26 years old!

I share Shakira’s (abridged) story with you to honor her and to honor our faithful God who truly lifts the oppressed to places of glory. You could also pray with me for Shakira & her family. She is expecting baby #3 this summer and is glowing with anticipation. Her husband comes and goes, but does not do any work to help with the business, nor does he bring anything home to provide for the family.

In the midst of a few steps forward and, seemingly, a hundred steps back some days, Shakira’s smile and faith are reminders of why I’m here – of what God is doing among his people! Thanks for being part of this with me, and with Shakira!

* Marriage in this culture is very different than ours. A traditional or church wedding both carry huge burdens of finances as bride price and huge parties are expected by both families. Thus, many couples find themselves committed to each other for a number of years before even being able to ‘officially’ wed.

Mercy Childcare Ministries

Check out Mercy kids house new website - its so cool! These are the kids that inspire every project Come, Let's Dance does!! 

www.mercychildcare.org

Latest updates!!

Happy Spring everyone! Though there really isn't a 'spring' season here in Uganda. Currently it seems the rainy & dry seasons are confused, they keep fighting back and forth - one week is very rainy and cool, the next is terribly hot & dry! I hope wherever you might be you have some new flowers to admire and the Hope of New Life as well.

Here in Nansana, Uganda, we're gearing up for the busy summer season of volunteers coming. I'm currently the only American here at CLD as the others are preparing to come in May to kick off the summer. But I'm not alone, of course, all our Ugandan leaders and friends are busy moving along the projects and working hard with spring cleaning. There are always too many stories I'd love to share with you, but not enough time or space to write them up. This month I just want to share some brief stories of our Ugandan leaders here, who I am blessed to know both professionally as leaders and personally as friends. They are amazing people, striving for huge dreams and allowing me to be part of celebrating what could come with them.

Julius is a phenomenal entrepreneur and businessman with a heart for helping people. He's the Warden at our Children's Home, which as I understand it, means he's the guardian of the children staying there and the social worker over their 'cases'. At the end of March I went for a weekend with him to his village in the southwest of Uganda, a region called Mbarara. We drove around the gorgeous hills of his family's land, visiting many towns along the way, for Julius is contesting (or campaigning) for the next election to be a Member of Parliament! He was speaking to people about who he is, what are his hopes and plans for new bills to be passed that will help out their area. He was warmly welcomed by most people, his family is very large and well-known in his sub-county. It was really exciting to see and be part of Julius, only around 25 years old, speak with such passion and care to his people. Though he knows his chances are slim to be an MP next year, he says he should start now in getting his name & face out there in hopes of future involvement. He really sees such a need to help his community, and I know his heart is genuine. We even visited his brother's small hotel, where Julius stayed from age 8 through secondary school. Here he began his first business from his room, selling drinks and small snacks to local people. This then flourished and became the restaurant and hotel that they have now! He is a sharp man who is going to go far. Let's pray for him to truly keep the humility of heart the Lord has blessed him with - I wish you could meet this man, his smile and laughter are truly unforgettable!

Florence is a beautiful woman of God with a deep passion for encouraging and empowering women. She is an intregral leader here at CLD. When we have American volunteers in, she helps us host them and brings so much knowledge about the issues facing families here. She has been counseling and mentoring our kids, women from Katanga slum and is beginning to talk also with our ladies at the Thread of Life sewing shop. Recently while hosting some potential donors, she met and impressed one of the higher American officials from the US Embassy here. He was so impressed that he is recommending her for a highly esteemed leadership program in Washington DC, which brings together emerging leaders from all over the world to interact about leadership, learning from different cultures and worldviews. I've been able to work with Florence on her application and am thrilled at her excitement as well as amazed by her story and passion. Though this program may not work out (we're praying hard that it does, what an amazing opportunity!), Florence has been tremendously encouraged and is well on her way to being a key influential leader in this community and eventually to Uganda.

Ben is our Finance/Office Manager here at CLD - you may remember some stories of him from past updates and blog posts. He graduated from Makerere University officially in December with his degree in Finance. He is a joy to work with, so committed and integrous. He not only works full time for CLD, but is a pastor at Light the World Church and a partner in Jubeso, Inc. AND he's 24 years old! This past Friday, I came home to our 'conference room' full of beautifully wrapped baskets filled with fruit, tea, vegetables, etc. and 2 huge bunches of matoke (plantains). It seems that on Saturday, Ben was going to meet the family of the woman he is hopeful to marry! When I asked him about her, he was just beaming, so excited and nervous all at once. This would be the first of two Introductions that is tradtional and would determine if this family would accept his offer of marriage. Well, it went VERY well, which I could tell when I walked into church on Sunday morning to Ben leading worship & then giving a powerful message, blessing God. On Monday he came with many pictures to show us - what a joy to share in his excitement!!!

Praises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, in the last email I sent, I mentioned how my financial support was a great need, at $1500 still. The Lord provided miraculously for me, over and above what I would have ever imagined. Some old friends of mine who are heading to the mission field themselves (with their 3 kids and baby on the way) generously donated the balance of what I needed to cover my support here. WOW! Praise the Lord, that was mind-blowing and soul-deep encouragement for me!! THANK YOU ALL for your generosity and care in helping to provide for this ministry, and my calling!

We have Piglets!!!!!!! I know that seems a funny praise, but it truly is!!! We've had 2 deliveries in the last month - one pig at our Farm had 8 piglets and one pig at the Kaliro community piggery had 12!! These cute little ones have been longed for by many over the past 6 months as their presence speaks Hope and Life to those caring for them and to benefit from them in the future! It is growth and sustainability for our leaders here. Praise God!

Internet access for Mark in DR Congo & his holiday! They finally have a connection at his base that allows us to have more consistent communication with each other, which is making this time apart so much easier than before!! He just returned to DRC after a holiday with me, which was much needed and enjoyable for both of us. Only 6 more weeks for both of us before heading to the UK and then to the US.

Prayers:
~ Strong finish here with work and friends at CLD
~ Vision and strength as the CLD team moves into the busy summer season of hosting volunteers and moving our projects further forward

~ Focus for me on the relationships I truly need to be investing in our community here

~ Greater understanding and appreciation of cultural differences and similarities, to extend grace & peace as well as receive them!

~ Humility to serve, day after day after day

~ Continued strengthening of my body to fight illness and be back to normal

~ Mark and I as we deal with the long-distance relationship and preparations for the wedding/marriage!

Thanks again for your love and care for me and CLD!

Jennie

Amazing pictures!

Hey all, check out the amazing pictures from our friend Charlie!

http://charlieshoemaker.blogspot.com/2010/03/come-lets-dance.html

*Snaps*

Alex, Mike, Simon & I - good lookin' crew, don't you think?

My friend Rose & her son Jovan - so good to reconnect with them!

Christine - she cooks and cleans for us, but even more than that she's a friend!

Sula, on the far left, works in our compound and has requested that I come to visit his family for months now. This past week we went for lunch & had a lovely time!

Sophia seems to be a natural photographer! Look at that pose...

My beautiful friend, Linda & my little friend, Stesha

Oh, Diana!! She's a riot!

Baby Jonah!

better late than never???

Whew!!! I can’t believe its actually been about 2 months since I’ve updated this blog! So sorry to anyone who may be interested in reading about my life out there. (I think/hope there’s a few out there???)

I officially arrived back in Uganda on February 9^th, and since then I’ve found it really difficult to sit down and summarize what’s been going on or how I am here… I use the excuse that I’ve been ‘busy’, as we all do. And there has been quite a bit of moving and shaking going on since I arrived: Mark was here for the first week I got back, so we spent a lot of time together, celebrated my birthday, and actually did a bit of wedding planning TOGETHER (as in, physically we were in the same room, discussing the wedding!) – what a concept, eh? Following his departure was a few weeks of hosting volunteers, play-time at the Kid’s Home, a brief trip to Rwanda to deliver some school supplies, hosting a medical clinic relief day in Katanga slum, and many, many meetings! Add to that a huge dose of reconnecting with old friends and meeting some new ones, and here I am 5 weeks later!

Once you’ve missed so many great blog-worthy stories and pictures, its difficult to know where to begin! My tendency is to want to back track and start with Christmas, giving you the play-by-play of life…but I don’t really have time for that. So you may hear highlights here and there, but for now I’ll begin with now.

I sat down this morning to make my “Spring Priority List” so I could have all in one place and feel accomplished when things begin to be checked off. It seems to be significantly longer than I expected!!! Well, at least I won’t be bored at all over the next 10 weeks! Some highlights are:

- Renewing our NGO status

- Getting our guesthouse spiffed up!

- Many, many manuals to gather info for our Fall Internship program

- Working with Solomon on more projects at the Thread of Life shop

Not on my list, but in my mind, is the priority to keep posting on here. My goal is once a week from now on – so keep me accountable to that!!

Love from Uganda!

joy and pain walk hand in hand

Here's an update from my friends Josh, Tiff & Nate from Uganda today. As I prepare to head back in 10 days, I am reminded of the daily doses of joy and pain awaiting me...

"joy and pain walk hand in hand"

We have stories from the last month here with Come Let's Dance that have drastically impacted our lives, stories that will rest in our minds forever, experiences that we have yet to process, but yesterday was a day that opened my eyes to the inevitable connection between joy and pain.

Today (January 27th) we started the day as usual, breakfast together and time to talk about the day. There was 8 of us so we decided to split into two groups of 4. The first group went to Thread of Life (TOL), our sew shop project that helps destitute women with training so they can have a skill to provide for their families. Currently they are making all of the school uniforms for the kids house, Solomon (the shop manager) asked if we could come over and help sew buttons. The other group decided to go visit people at Mulago hospital in the Children's Cancer Ward, the same place we had gone on Christmas day.

We arrived at Mulago around noon, the doctors were still doing there rounds so we promised to stay out of their way so they could get work done. We spread out, all taking time to meet different children, some of which were smiling because of the visitors others were laying in bed with blank stares across their face. One boy had a tumor on his jaw the size of a volleyball, we learned that 2 weeks prior he had no sign of sickness. Another child we recognized from Christmas, he sat in the same bed crying in the same way he had on Christmas day, his mother said they had been there for two months. His mother told us they failed to find money for the treatment, "He needed six treatments and they were 22,000 schillings each ($11USD)." One woman, Mama Daniel, had been in the hospital for 3 weeks with Stomach Cancer, her 2 boys Kenneth (10) and Daniel (4) were staying with neighbors because they have no family in Kampala. She is afraid that she will pass away soon but the doctors haven't given her a clear answer so she in not sure what to do with her boys. They won't be attending school this year because her sickness has taken all of their money and they have nothing left to pay school fees. She told us all of this through her hunger pains because she had nothing to buy food for the day.

After many conversations and prayers with some of the patients I heard a loud weeping coming from two beds away, slowly I made my way to the bed to see a girl named Solanche shaking and foaming from the mouth, the mother could not handle watching and left the room while a relative called for the nurses. There was a cold silence in the room as everyone tried not to stare but could notice the looks of helplessness even in the eyes of the doctors. As the seconds rushed by, the mood shifted, fewer eyes focused on Solanche and more eyes began to bow in prayer. The doctors tried switching her I.V., for 5 minutes nothing was working. Finally she stopped, I looked at her but she laid there still, her arms that were once shaking now rested limp. As her eyes rolled back I thought to myself, "Is she dead, is that really it, just like that? No effort, no heart monitors, no CPR?" I wanted to do something pick her up, yell her name...do something. Understanding my absolute lack of knowledge in anything medical I did the first thing that came to my mind, I went outside to console the mother. As she stood there gasping, trying to catch her breath I stood there like an idiot saying the same old cliche, "It's going to be okay." I had no idea if it would be okay, I didn't even know if she understood me, but I thought that maybe it could help. After a few minutes I left her and went back inside, as I approached the bed I heard a terrible noise, it sounded like a gurgled hissing. To my surprise it was Solanche, she was now laying back breathing again, not easily but she was breathing. As she laid there panting I could see that the doctor had left, the sister had gone outside to tell the mother that she was still alive, there was one woman standing by her side. Mike (one of the other volunteers here at CLD) and I asked the woman if we could pray for her, the woman agreed and we prayed. And we prayed, and we prayed, and prayed some more. As I prayed I continuously thought about all the times Jesus had healed people, I remembered the disciples healing people, I desperately pleaded with God to give me the faith to bring comfort to this girl. Earlier we learned that 2 days before this same girl had been at home cooking with her mother, and here she was laying in a hospital bed in severe pain, I asked God to let her cook again. After 30 minutes, the nurses had returned to adjust her 3 I.V.s and check her heart rate. We stepped back and watched helplessly, wondering what kind of suffering this girl was experiencing. As the family gathered around we moved out of the way to let them have time with their daughter. They hired a man to come and take pictures of them with the girl fearing that she would soon be gone. It is about a 15 minute walk from Mulago Hospital to Thread of Life, during the walk Mike and I exchanged thoughts on the situation, and I wondered what is the mother going through? What does it feel like to watch you daughter in that situation?

As we arrived to TOL we saw smiling faces, the whole time everyone had been happily sewing buttons. In the sewing room 10 Ugandan women, some that had at one time been prostitutes, now sat on sewing machines working on the uniforms as their healthy children ran around playing at their feet. They are getting paid per uniform and will use the money to buy food and medicine for their children. The uniforms they are working on are for the kids at Mercy Childcare who 6 years ago had no hope of ever going to school. As Solomon instructed them on the importance of the quality of the uniforms I saw a 22 year old man completely in his element, leading people with love, providing for them a way of life. In the other room there were 4 Americans in their early 20's, 4 people who at one time were completely self-centered and oblivious to the reality of life across the world. These people sat there joyfully sewing buttons, joyfully understanding the process, joyfully working with Ugandans to bring hope to this small part of the world. On the taxi ride home I thought about why that girl had not been healed, I thought about all the answers that have been fed to me about suffering in the world, and then I realized that while I had seen pain that day I had seen even more joy. I realized that we don't have to feel joyful about Solanche's pain, but that we do have to continue to work our butts off to bring hope to people - to ourselves. I realized that because of TOL many women will have the opportunity to treat their sick children and to raise up out of poverty. I realized that all those children who are now attending school will grow up to be doctors and leaders that will bring more healing to this place. I realized that there is a generation of people refusing to live only for themselves, refusing to be lazy, refusing to quit, and always willing to learn from mistakes.

As I finish this blog it is now the end of January 28th, I wish I could say that today was easier, but it wasn't. We returned to Mulago for a quick visit, as I glanced across the room I saw that Solanche was still there, alive but in pain. I stopped to say hello to Mama Daniel, she said it had been a rough day and that they had lost many lives, I turned to see which beds were empty but that they had already been filled up with new faces. These days aren't easy but we refuse to quit, we refuse to forget that joy and pain walk hand in hand.

Love you all...

My most recent update...

I have an email group that I send updates to every month, mostly to have some prayer support behind what I'm up to as I believe deeply in that need! I thought I would share this with everyone as the year begins to give you all in blog-land an understanding of what's next for me.

My role with Come, Let's Dance is as a volunteer, so I do request financial support if anyone feels inclined. Please understand that I know there are many other people and organizations worth supporting right now in the world, especially in Haiti, and I highly encourage you to look into those opportunities! I believe in supporting one another to create a better world, and right now I'm one of those heading out in hopes of doing that - and I need your support, there's no way around that. I do look forward to another season when I can be on the giving end as well financially, but until then, thanks for your thoughts, your time and your support.

Happy New Year!!!

2010 seemed a long way off about 20 years ago…and here we are. Have you looked back to a decade ago, 2000, and reminisced about the journey you’ve been on since then? I find such comfort in looking back over the years, noticing the ebb and flow of joys and sorrows. I realize that I now have called Denver ‘home’ for 8 years, am blessed by an amazing community of friends and family around the world, have traveled near and far, and feel more deeply at peace and at rest in my own skin than ever in my life. To find myself here, now, gives me great hope in the coming years as well.

Looking ahead, I have much to be thankful for and look forward to! At the top of my list is my fiancé, Mark Cloherty! Yes, I’m engaged – we’re hoping to have the wedding in Denver at the end of July/beginning of August. I met Mark this past June through Medair while I was in Uganda. He is working with Medair in DR Congo right now. Mark is from Manchester, UK, where we hope to land for a while after the wedding, waiting to see where God might lead us next. It’s been an exciting journey already experiencing God’s grace and hand in bringing us together over the past few months. We feel tremendously blessed and happy, excited for our future together!

In February, I’m headed back to Uganda to work a few more months with Come, Let’s Dance. As I said in previous updates, I feel the relationships and projects I’ve invested in have much more potential, I don’t think its time to say goodbye just yet! My project from the fall of writing and compiling manuals has only just begun as we are trying to begin an internship program in fall of 2010. Thread of Life continues to be looking for a permanent location and there is the ever-present need of a sustainable market within Uganda. I believe the empowerment of these women is a huge need that I desire to keep supporting. I’ll also be helping to host volunteer groups as they come and go, experiencing Uganda and learning what CLD is all about.

My financial support for September through December was above and beyond what I had hoped for! Thank you all for your prayers and contributions. When I left Uganda, $1200 of my surplus support was made available to be used on our projects in January, when donations are often low. What a huge praise!!!

Would you pray with me over these needs?
~ I’ve recently been diagnosed with Mono. :( Though I’ve already dealt with the majority of the symptoms, I’m very tired most days and need to spend this time in Denver resting and hopefully getting healthy! Pray for healing and that I would truly rest this weary body.
~ Mark and I are planning our wedding from afar and apart from one another. Please pray for the communication we have available to sustain us and that even from afar we will continue to be prepared for our coming marriage.
~ Mark is working in a fairly insecure area in DR Congo. Currently there have been a few attacks by the rebel group, the LRA, which continues to wreak havoc and displace many people in that area. Pray for safety and protection over Mark, the Medair team, and especially those most vulnerable: the Congolese who are suffering from trauma and fear in their own land. If you’d like to learn more about Mark’s work there and the situation, you can visit his blog: www.markcloherty.blogspot.com
~ Over the next month I need to begin raising $3500 in financial support for my next 4 months in Uganda. Please pray with me for this provision during tough economic times. I am looking for contributions of $25 per month, such as an auto-giving commitment, from February through May, as well as one-time donations. If you feel you would like to commit to this or know someone who may be interested, please see the specific information below.

Thanks for your continued support!

Look forward to hearing from you,
Jennie

Three easy ways to financially support Jennie’s service with Come, Let’s Dance:

• For tax-deductible donations, please make checks payable to “Come, Let’s Dance”, with Jennie Otte in the memo and send to: (email jennie for the specific address, thanks!)
• For auto-withdrawal, email jennie for the form and instructions.
• For NON-tax-deductible contributions through paypal, click on the “Donate” button on the right of this screen.

Ben's village in Kaliro - redemption and restoration

Another update from Julie - a dear friend who has been with CLD for 3 years now, serving and serving and loving and serving. I admire and love her much!!!

Hello!

I see a crowd of people, a flock of faces. To Him every face is a child, every face has a name… and every child has a story.

‘Stories’ have endings - the resolve at the end makes the story worth following even though it may have been hard to get through. Being here in Uganda it’s hard to know which story to tell, which one I’m a part of and if I’ll ever get to bear witness to the resolve at the end.

I will never forget the one minute this man entered my story … I always describe traffic here as real-life video game, no rules and ‘every name for himself’. I thought I was having a hard time crossing the really busy intersection, until this man rolled up next to the crowd of us waiting to run across the road. He was in a wheelchair and he had no legs from the thigh down, but worse, he had no wrists and no hands – yet somehow he managed to use his nubs to push the wheels around.

Funny how many thoughts run through my mind – everything from “I can’t think of anything worse” to “Well, at least he has a wheelchair! Most people I see with no legs only dream of wheelchairs”.,, When one side of the traffic cleared everyone ran to the middle of the road, and so did I. It wasn’t until he managed to get half way, frantically pushing with no hands on his wheels, did I come up behind him and weave him through the rest of the traffic, thinking ‘with all these people around, I can’t believe no one helped him!’ But I was talking to myself. This guy never expected it anyways … he was pleasantly surprised and gave me a huge smile, “Thank You Madam!” Then he went on his way and my mind was whirling because I realized that he’s used to being forgotten and I helped confirmed that for the first half of our one minute interaction.

I don’t know his name or the ending to his story but moments after I walked away I met up with Solomon and I’m reminded of the names and stories I do know the endings of. It’s been a few weeks since I wrote to share about what Solomon is up against with the Thread Of Life sewing ministry – but these days Good overcomes evil and Solomon is peacefully fulfilling lots of orders with the ladies in a new shop! (only temporary until we raise the rest of the money to buy permanent land.)

Since Come, Let’s Dance started just over 3 years ago we’re just now having the privilege of sharing stories about coming full circle, about what happens when you believe in something you can’t see and commit to it… in the children’s lives and even better in the lives of their leaders.

“This movie projector is putting my family back together!” Hearing that statement from Ben I had to laugh, but knowing that in all the years I’ve worked with him in our office and managing all of our CLD Projects, I’ve never heard that type of joy and laughter in his voice. So standing in complete darkness under the grass-roofed, dirt floor church he built only a few months ago, I had to ask to hear the whole story of that ridiculous statement. While he talked with this joy that I had never saw before, the movie projector was blaring a “Samson and Delilah” film in the background…

We were in Ben’s village where he grew up as a boy. The very place he swore he would never return to, “when I got to Kampala and started secondary school, I knew that I never wanted anything to do with this place again.” After his father died when he was a boy, all the wives of his father tried to kill him because he was the only boy among all the girls – and as it goes in Uganda, the boys are entitled to inherit all the land and property.

Because his fathers family had never really been favored in that village, after he died his wives and children were chased away until, eventually the place was deserted. Now his family is dispersed in all directions except for the place which was intended for them.

“To see village kids playing on this property gives me such joy!” Now … if you knew Ben you would know that he is a ‘business man’, not really taken by kids... Though most everything he is responsible for in the CLD ministries is ultimately for the Childrens Home, you rarely see him with the kids. But in that moment the joy Ben had in his voice, while watching kids chasing eachother in the front yard, had a big story behind it.

“When I finally came back to see if I could sell the land I had inherited, I was so sad to find it completely deserted!” About a year and a half ago he traveled back to Kaliro for the first time, his intentions were not to reclaim what was rightfully his… but this part of the story I can’t really explain. His father was buried here, this was the place he loved and grew from as a boy, this was his ancestral land… and now it was overgrown, forgotten, and avoided by everyone.

The thing is – Ben doesn’t need that land. He has a new community, big plans and an exciting future in Kampala. In fact, hes just completing a 3 bedroom house on his own plot of land not far from the Childrens Home! After running for his life (literally) as a boy – his solution was to forget his family (that tired to kill him), sell the land (where the villagers hated his family line anyway) and forget. Start a new family and expand in new territories.

There was this confidence and pride now as he said “this movie projector is putting my family back together” because he knew what was right. After coming back with some friends from church, he sensed the brokenness in that entire village, he could feel the darkness. So he rallied a group from Light the World Church and did a week long ‘crusade’ in Kaliro, “my decision to come back was the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”

The place was heavy with witchcraft, and no one was happy to see that he had returned to Kaliro. Like me, you may not understand the reality of a story like this or the intensity – but standing in the middle of nowhere hearing what the (very) recent history was, I couldn’t help but think that there aren’t even movies this powerful! Even among the team he brought out there (all Ugandans), the battle was to much, “if there was any doubt or hesitation about their faith, I told them not to go out on certain nights.”

I’ve learned that “Crusading” in Uganda is the first order of go when you come into a new community of destitution, and in Bens case, before you put a family back together. There can’t be any question of where you stand and what page you’re on. It’s a spiritual battle – they went out everyday, door-to-door introducing themselves and preaching Jesus. But it was so hostile, the witch doctors did everything they could to oppose him. Finally Ben changed the strategy to simply inviting them to come and watch a ‘film’.

Never before had these people seen a movie. Even the witchdoctors couldn’t resist. For a week every night they would gather on Ben’s land and watch “Jesus walking and talking.” They played the same Jesus Film over and over. This changed everything, “seeing Jesus alive, they had to listen and believe.”

Dozen of people gave their lives to Christ but most radically the witchdoctors recognized the evil they were bound by and invited them to come and burn down their shrines and save their souls. So in the night, only the strong in faith followed the most prominent witchdoctors to their territory… and they burned down everything. Hearing Ben recall that night, I knew he couldn’t tell me what it was really like … I know that Africa is a very spiritual place but knowing that he had to tell some to stay behind, I can only imagine was it was like.

That was the beginning of restoring that village. He immediately built the most simple mud hut church in this front yard (the one I was standing in) because “it starts with a church, only through a church can you reach out to people.” Since then, he has brought about 5 teams from CLD out there – each investing in different ways. Jeremy was the first white I think they’ve ever seen! He helped Ben start “Pigs for Hope” which is a micro business that will circulate pigs through the community… only through the church of course : )

Each team that goes out there invests a little more – adding to the pig project, putting a better roof on the church, starting a chicken business, doing medical outreach days (out of the church), hosting prayer breakfasts, and of course projecting movies about Jesus : ) The list goes on, but the importance of everything is the vision behind them – Ben describes all these things as ways of making his presence known.

“We are moving forward” he says with that certain smile that I’ve never seen before we got to his village. That’s quite the thing to say though, here in Uganda there are few examples of ‘moving forward’ … in fact it’s the opposite. Bad gets worse and destitution turns to desolation in places that once thrived. Visitors might only see a cement pig pen or a brick chicken house, but Ben sees a statement that he is back! He is not going anywhere and he’s investing in tomorrow! It was funny because it was so dark that I could only see his wide eyes glowing and big white smile, but I could just tell that he was standing so tall and his stature spoke of a new beginnings to a story that he thought had ended a long time ago.

The part of his story that I had to laugh at was when he told me how near-by ‘clan members’ were chased away by the villagers who now were devoted to Ben. Shortly after Ben and the team left, some guys showed up who were not happy Ben was ‘back’ to reclaim the land and I think everyone was surprised when all of the neighbors rallied to defend Bens territory. The stand-off was a moment in history – simple neighbors opposing the aggressive clan members, Ben had brought the first ever film to that village and whether they bought the whole ‘Jesus’ thing or not, even the drunkards stood because Ben had brought ‘the walking and talking Jesus’ … no one wanted to chance him not returning with another film! I guess film exceeds cultural, tribal, and even religious borders…

This guy Ben is in my story now, you will probably never meet him but his story is one that continues to be an example of ‘moving forward’ as he ‘expands his territory.’ Although I’m a witness to his leadership and growth as our Finance Manager (he’s even tutoring me on accounting in the office) there is something SO great about being able to help yourself, your family, your ancestral territory … he is bringing Truth to a place that had only known lies and the effects of that are rippling through a new community and most importantly his family that is scattered.

We only were able to meet one Auntie and some little cousins, ‘I know you all want to meet my family but they aren’t here… yet.’ See, the more Ben returns to Kaliro and rebuilds the land and relationships, the more often he will receive random phone calls from sisters, nieces/nephews, aunties, and uncles who are slowly coming Home again. Amen.

Come, Lets Dance doesn’t always know what we’re doing, we’re the first to admit it! But there are a few things I’ve become confident of in the last 4 years… coming alongside of Ugandan Leaders whose heart is serve God and his people before any other agenda is a story with more than just ‘resolve’ at the end. Somehow we were able to be a part of building his confidence and his ability to dream bigger and see possibilities in places forgotten.

Even as I send this email Ben is out in Kaliro again, with a whole team from Light The World Church ‘crusading’ for over a week. I love how he loves it. I love how he recognizing what the next steps are, plans ahead, budgets, rallies the people and moves forward …

Love,
Julie

Mercy Childcare Kids' Christmas Party

*most photos, if not all, are taken by Jon Colon*

Christmas was celebrated at the beginning of December for all our kids at Mercy Childcare. They were all home from school & most are spending the holidays with family - immediate or otherwise. Its become a tradition based on generous support to do something extra special for the kids at this time every year.

All 50+ kids spent a day and a half at Aero Beach, on Lake Victoria. Its a beach by Entebbe airport where they have a couple planes that you can walk through, play on. Odd, but fun!





oh yes, and there were two roaming camels...this pic is only of one :) Morgan tried to make friends & got spit on!






Apostle Wilfred, the Director of Mercy Childcare, also took the opportunity to provide baptisms to those kids and even a couple of the house parents who wanted to be baptised. Here is Cliff, before & after! :)



It was a joyful day for all!

Girls Day - I Am Crazy Beautiful!!!

We set aside a whole day for the older girls from the Kids House to come to our place. We did manicures & pedicures, talked about how Crazy Beautiful they each are, and had a ton of fun. Here are some pics from the day!

Florence & I

Linda, me & Peggy

some funky moves...

New Thread of Life Sewing and Craft Shop!!!

lots of beads...

Mark, Cassie & Sarah rockin the aprons!

James...such a stylin' man...