Friday was a travel day. We were in the vans about 6 hours + a lunch stop traveling north to Gulu. When we arrived, we first checked in at our lodge, JoJo’s Palace, and then headed to Sande’s home for dinner. I must dedicate some time to sharing JoJo’s Palace with you. As Jim stated our last evening in Gulu, “It’s hard to believe JoJo’s is like home.” This “Palace” provided us individual beds, mosquito netting, and a bathroom we didn’t have to leave our room for. This is a really nice thing when lodging here. In the past we have needed to walk to a shared pit toilet at the hotel and “cup shower.” Most of us didn’t have hot water, but we did have running water. Many of us had to plan out our one flush of the day, but we had toilets capable of flushing. Some of us didn’t have a fan, but we did have a howling dog at a neighboring business that kept us up all night. We enjoyed playing euchre in the lobby area where we also ate breakfast each morning. One room -won’t be named- was prepared with some safe sex materials, which made for some good jokes the remainder of the weekend. But in all seriousness, we did learn this is a movement the government started in order to help the spreading of AIDS. These materials are provided at all hotels and can be accessed free even from the side of the road. Detour into some other observations of this nature - I always look for the PSAs posted while here. On past trips I have seen ads for AIDS prevention and education, ads advocating to stop spousal abuse, and this time seeing ads for watching children’s consumption of products (think watch out for those Tide pods). We have also seen ads for some “Safe Bodas” which have apps similar to Uber - you can know who is picking you up and each driver has an identification number so issues can be reported. These bodas also have to follow the traffic laws. This is an attempt to create safer driving conditions for everyone on the road. No matter what it’s called, I still beg to differ that there can be such a thing as a safe boda!
Back to the trip agenda. Saturday morning we had breakfast at JoJo’s. Moses snuck out each morning and brought us back some treats in addition to the breakfast provided at the hotel. He brought us chapati - Emily did save us a few pieces - mendazes (he wasn’t pleased with ones made at the lodge), some rolls, and cookies! He takes such good care of us. We then had time to go across the street to a huge market. This taught us the lesson of never listen to Tim - who suggested that we didn’t need to bring much money with us. We really enjoyed the market and were able to find some things we haven’t seen at the markets in Kampala. There were many shops filled with beautiful fabric items. Fortunately we are a group willing to share and there was much brokering happening throughout both the village and safari trips. We had lunch again at Sande’s. His family was so hospitable to us. The meals they served us were all traditional, giving us a variety of options. The team has definitely been well fed!
Our main event was the Jja Jja house dedication. This dedication was special for several reasons. The location, Gulu, is special. Kelsey is currently living there and considers this home. It is extremely meaningful to visit Sande’s home as well. You read their names in the blog, you hear their names spoken in our stories. Moses and Sande. These two men have become like family to many of us. Yes, they drive us, but they are so much more than our guides. They live with us, take care of us, get us treats, help us communicate, protect us, allow us to feel in a constant state of safety, and so much more! For Sande to invite us to his home and share that with us was really special. The Jja Jja house itself is extremely special for our group as it was purchased and given by the Stiers family in memory of Elaine. Elaine has been a driving force in our Uganda teams. At the dedication Kelsey shared how her love for Africa, for Uganda came from her very first trip with the Park Place team in 2010 that her grandparents paid for her to come. Before we left for Gulu, Kelsey shared with us how she wasn’t able to be at Elaine’s funeral and how this dedication will hopefully bring closure to her. Greg shared at the dedication as well. He used the visual of a hug to represent how big God’s love is. When we hug one person it looks like this: arms wrapped around in a complete circle. When we hug two people it looks like this: arms wrapped around but unable to close. When we hug many people it looks like this: arms wrapped, opened even wider. When we love Uganda it looks like this: arms straight out to the sides with cupped hands. When God loves us all it looks like this: the formation of the cross. We are limited in our sight, but God can see all. He can hold us in one hand and Uganda in the other. He can hold this Jja Jja in one hand and Elaine in the other. It was very emotional for the Stiers family and the group as a whole. Both houses we dedicated in Gulu are named the Elaine Stiers House. The Jja Jja that received the first house was actually Sande’s Jja Jja, and as Kelsey has been accepted into Sande’s family, also her Jja Jja. Jja Jja Labwolo Filda (73 years old) gave her previous home and land for the church and school to be built in town. She was staying at Sande’s home, but was very far from the land she owned. The Jja Jja program is working to keep the older generations from losing the family land. The trip from Sande’s to her land was about an hour into the bush, a very difficult drive. In order for her to produce crop and income from her land she would have to travel back and forth. It was an honor to be a part of this gathering and gift. We finished the evening back at Sande’s house for dinner and singing worship songs with Annette.
Sunday we worshipped at the Church of God in Gulu. Fun fact - Moses says that Gulu means heaven in the central Ugandan languages. During our time in Gulu, we started dropping like flies and ended up with 4 on the Cipro. Carma wasn’t feeling well and was unable to join us for the day’s festivities. Laura did her best to lead the group in our music offerings. However, the church sang our first selected song and in picking a different last second choice, she started us too low. Fortunately, the group members are real pros and were not phased when she switched keys in the middle of the first verse. Sue shared a beautiful testimony and Emily preached again. The group is constantly amazed at the gift of speaking Emily has shared here. Emily would say that she didn’t know that was a talent she had before this trip. How wonderful to be a part in helping her to discover and grow such a gift. Sande shared his testimony - with many church services attended, Sande has never spoken. He shared, “Where the church stands now was my Jja Jja’s home. Now it belongs to God. Yesterday, the Lord has given my Jja Jja a home.” Sande thanks Park Place and the Stiers for being the vessel through which God has given this gift. An area leader, Pastor Alfred, shared a testimony of healing he experienced when he had an ulcer. He also prayed for Colleen’s healing. I asked the group for adjectives to describe this prayer. Here are the contributions: spirited, serious, intense, fiery, spirit filled, angry? I’m going to stick with fiery- a powerful prayer. These prayers of healing continue to show us how loved and missed she is. “You are everywhere, hear the cries of your children...I pray and believe your healing hand will reach Colleen. Father you are better than earthly fathers. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Father.”
Service was followed by a “quick” lunch at Sande’s in order to be at the second Jja Jja house dedication by 2:00… Our quick lunch had us at the Jja Jja house at 3:45, but no worries because they still weren’t ready and asked us to wait by the vans for a few minutes. Even so Michaela walked away with brown arms after running into some wet paint. The Jja Jja, Aketch Rofina, is 80 years old. She had 5 children but 4 have died and 1 is imprisoned in Sudan. She has 7 grandchildren she cares for. We were able to walk to her current home to see where she has been living. The home was a mud hut with a thatched roof. Very small for the number of people living there. They also were trying to cook inside, with two different fires going. The new home dedicated will provide much needed space and a safer environment for all living there. We also gifted both Jja Jjas with a bio-light stove. These stoves have a cast iron center that are supposed to be more efficient. They have a heat to electricity adapter that powers a USB port which is able to support a light or charge a phone. There is also a fan which is supposed to help there to be less smoke generated. Something special about this dedication was the traditional Gulu dance performed by the children. It is hard to describe, but worth asking one of us to see the videos when we get back.
Denise and Jim were able to visit with their sponsor child, Denis. When their picture was taken, he initiated putting his arms around both of them. This was a special moment. Angie observed Jim and Denis sitting in the same position, picking up their drinks simultaneously, and taking a drink identically. Another great story of how important sponsorship is and how impactful it can be in a child’s life.
At the conclusion of our evening, we ate a last meal in Sande’s home. What a task to feed a group of our size so many times. We are so thankful to his family members that were so hospitable to us. More than once Sande (and other members of his family) said, “Remember your seat, because this is your seat when you return.” This is why we come. To continue building on the relationships we have begun in years past.
Thank you for your prayers as we were away from our home base!
Uganda Team 2018
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