The Embrace (Michael Okwakol)

Big stories begin with the writing of a single letter. That is how the story of Embrace Uganda is being written with a single visit to Uganda by a single family, the Hamps, to adopt a single girl, Jane, who was in the care of a single lady called Faith Kunihira whereby a single Family, the Okwakols, helped with simple logistics and a temporary home for Jane and the Hamps. This story is a few chapters now. Another chapter is one that was written the month of June 2008 when Embrace Uganda really embraced Uganda with a big big brotherly bear hug.

A team of 45 people young people, a pastor and parents from Trinity Academy in Raleigh NC arrived and not only made history as one of the largest group of Wasungu (white people) to live in a village for two weeks, but have touched many lives by showing love in action. There was no doubt that the gospel was preached without words. The touch of Christ was felt by those who had never received any. The many children of this village were the celebrities and for that God must had had all smiles all day long. How else could have the many young children seen Christ in action except through His people? I believe that there two things which make God smile all day long. One is when little children are taken care of in His name and when one exercises faith in Him to do that which is foolishness to the world but glory to him.

Since I have been back I have realized that Africa has been a recipient of gospel talking missions for too long. Today the people are trying to hear the message but poverty, hunger and disease are screaming too loud to hear anything else including the gospel. The needs and life challenges in Africa do not need only gospel talking missions but also gospel touching missions. The touch of God can only be realized when men and women of God will take a step to put compassion into action by getting their hands out of their pockets and touch someone in Jesus’ name. This is what Embrace Uganda team did for the many children in Uganda last June.

Growing up in Koreng, my village, the best that happened to me was when I got a blanket! I never had owned a blanket till I was 12 and never owned a mattress till I was 15yrs. The blanket was my mattress and my cover. Can you even imagine that day how sound those children in Koreng village must have slept the day they got a blanket from Embrace Uganda!! I know some you can’t imagine, that is okay.

Then there are the children at Agape children’s village walking to school with a shoe or as you call it a croc and having extra clothes for use at home. By the way many who support children homes think all the children need is food and school fees and worse still is that they think the children never grow older and thus needing extra clothing etc.

I salute the Trinity Academy leadership, the parents of the young people who came, the MIGHTY young people who were not afraid to come to Africa, GRRRRRRRRR, the lions will eat you, hahahahaha, Wake Forest Baptist, Embrace Uganda leadership and Webmaster for this historic and holy and honoring visit to Uganda. You made our day or days!! Lean back, take a Rest, Reflect, and hey wipe away those tears, Rejoice and Return soon. We love you all.

Michael Okwakol

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WEST COAST UGANDA MISSION TEAM EMBARKS (Trevor Murphy)

WEST COAST UGANDA MISSION TEAM:
1800 POUNDS OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, SOCCER BALLS AND LIBRARY BOOKS

The next Embrace Uganda Team embarks Saturday, August 2, 2008! The diverse talents of the 14 team members include medical, pastoral, dental, creative, educational and professional experience. All share a desire to serve.

The team will serve in both the Ugandan capital of Kampala and the small village of Kaihura. The pastoral team is participating in a conference at the capital to help pastors develop their discipleship and teaching skills. The focus of the other team members will be in Kaihura, conducting medical and dental clinics, vocational activities, Vacation Bible School and staging a performance (conceived in America and worked out on the spot) about the Holy Spirit.

Through the help of many generous partners at home, the team is providing funds and labor to build several structures in Kaihura, including a brick house, an extension to the orphans’ home that accommodates more children and a tin-and-earth house for the orphans’ caretakers.

The team is also bringing 50 soccer balls and several hundred Ziploc bags of school supplies, notebooks and games along with notes and photos from donors. These will go to the schoolchildren and orphans cared for by Agape Baptist Church in Kampala, as well as to many schoolchildren in Kaihura.

The story of the orphanage and the people who run it, as well as memories of the mission will be the subject of a documentary made possible through the generous loan of a camera and equipment from one team member’s employer.

Trevor Murphy

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Days of Significance… (Dirk Hamp)

They have passed. Since coming home from Uganda, I have struggled to figure out why I am here, in this place.

I think back and believe that one of the most important things that I have done, personally and professionally, this entire year, was to purchase, to load and to deliver mosquito nets to the children in Kaihura, on behalf of Embrace Uganda. I would like to go back to that local shopping district in Kampala and do it again and again, to provide nets for more and more children.

It made a significant difference, and it was mine to do.

No other amount of time or money was better spent this year. While working in the clinics in Uganda, I mostly saw children sick with malaria. It is the leading cause of illness in Kaihura and the single most common reason why children miss school due to illness. Prevention through nets is cheap and easy.

These days, here in the US, as a community pediatrician, I spend time having to convince families to vaccinate their children according to schedule against preventable diseases, and many argue and refuse.

I listen to teenagers who don’t care about their education and scuff at their parents’ efforts trying to encourage them to do well in school. I am asked to medicate them to help them do better in school. I am unable to say the things that need to be said about discipline and motivation without drawing fierce expressions of disapproval from frustrated parents. Meanwhile, these very children are overindulged with every amenity and gadget available to this culture, beginning at a very young age.

In Uganda, we saw children who are begging for help, holding our hands, or asking us in scribbled notes for financial help for them to be able to continue in school past seventh grade, to be able to learn a skill, or to go to college. Not having a pencil or a note book can keep a primary school student out of school. The equivalent of an Ipod can send a child to secondary school for a semester, including room and board.

I understand the principles upon which this, our, nation was founded, and I realize I can say and write these things because of the freedom, and the education, granted to me in this country. But I wonder if we are not wasting our time and resources, if we cannot return to the next generation of this nation a sense of appreciation and gratefulness for the blessings that we have been given. Meanwhile, wouldn’t we accomplish more giving to those who really want our help?

I am encouraged by the youth on our team to Uganda this past June, and by the support that we were able to receive to take resources with us to the children of Uganda. These are signs of hope, and some of these youth may go on to do world-changing things because of how they were impacted by what they saw in Africa.

Will I be able to find peace of mind simply by remaining here and continuing on in the way things were? Will I look back one day, knowing that I did the best to live a life full of days of significance? Did I make a difference?

”God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”

Often quoted, often true and important to remember;  but often, we dwell on the things that we think we cannot change, having decided in our own “wisdom”.

After Uganda, I believe that for many of us in this part of the world, that there are more things that we can change rather than things that we cannot change, and that it takes not only courage, but also willingness.

May we be good listeners as God will continue to share His wisdom with us.

Dirk Hamp

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Summer Reading, and Listening. . . About Africa (Steve West)

I suppose when you have had an experience like we have had in Uganda — a memorable, maybe even life-changing experience — it then seems as if everywhere you look you are reminded of that experience. That’s been true for me. As I’ve been catching up on my reading (and listening) since I’ve returned, I’ve been struck by the number of articles I have read (and even music I have listened to) that have reminded me of Uganda and its people.

One of the best sources for Africa coverage from a Christian perspective is World Magazine, a bi-weekly magazine that looks at the world and culture from a Christian perspective. I’ve subscribed for years but did not realize the depth of on-site coverage they provided on Africa. In the cover story from their May 31/ June 7 issue, “Ethiopia’s New Flowers,” the author addresses some of the promising ministry being done by Christians in that country while also documenting the abject poverty and governmental corruption that reigns. In the July 12/19 issue, three articles are of interest. First, in “Home is Where the Start Is,” there is a profile of the struggles in Sudan and the type of mission work being done there. Then, most moving to me was the anonymous letter from a pastor in Zimbabwe talking about the dire situation there and asking for prayer. It concludes like this: “And pray for God’s righteous judgment to come, for God to lift His powerful hand, for evil to be crushed, for those that dig a pit to fall into it, and those that spread a net to be caught up in it, that God will be seen to defend the defenseless and father the fatherless. Please pray that God will hear, and that God will act. And that suffering will cease.” Wow. (Because World’s online access is limited, you can access my scan of the letter here . Finally, in that same issue there is an article about a young filmmaker’s documentary, entitled As We Forgive, on the remarkable but painful reconciliation efforts in Rwanda.

One of my most surprising discoveries, however, is the rap music of Emmanuel Jal. Get this: I just turned 50 and discovered a rap artist whose music I not only like but love. Jal is one of the lost boys of Sudan, a former AK-47 wielding child soldier who was rescued from horrific circumstances, discipled in Christ by a ministry to street kids in Nairobi, and who now is testifying in song. His album, Warchild, is amazing. I review his record here. For a taste of what I mean, listen to his “Many Rivers to Cross” here .

In the July/August Relevant Magazine (“Fame, Money, and Actually Making a Difference,” Cameron Strang talk about his trip to Kenya, where he was part of a team that traveled with Rick Warren (author of The Purpose Driven Life) who has devoted his life and money to work in Africa, most notably in what’s called the P.E.A.C.E. plan, a holistic approach to building sustainable change in Africa. And finally, ByFaith Magazine has “Aids in Africa: What Does the Christian Faith Require?,” which dispels some myths surrounding the spread of aids and the impacted populations and challenges Christians to be on the forefront of ministry.

Reading all this, listening to Jal’s testimony, and remembering what difficulties our friends in Uganda face can make me tend to despair. But these stories and songs are suffused with hope as well as trouble. These words from Ransom Fellowship’s Denis Haack also encouraged me this week:

We live in a deeply troubled world. Following Christ means walking into that trouble, and that is always troubling. Always troubling, that is, except for a quiet confidence that the safest, most ultimately fulfilling, shalom-infused place to be in this troubled world is to be in Christ. And that is to be fully at peace, always troubled; quietly confident, slightly on edge; in the dust of death, fully alive. It’s the intersection of fallen humanity and divine grace.

Even if reading about Africa brings troubled thoughts, it also makes me remember, and that prompts me to pray. For that, it’s worth it. Let’s not forget. Read about it. Listen to its songs. But don’t forget.

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The Gift of Fear (Steve West)

Last Sunday I was in the church parking lot explaining to a friend just a little about our trip to Uganda. One of the things I told her was that my biggest concern as I was considering going was the occurrence of some major medical event which, if it occurred, might be the end of me or a member of my family. Knowing that her husband had suffered a heart attack, I used that as an example, concluding that if I had suffered a heart attack in Kaihura, Uganda, I likely would not have lived. But then I said something to her that I’m just beginning to absorb the truth of — I said “But can you think of a better place to die?” And can you? To die while serving God, while in the middle of his will, among a community of believers that love me, among friends, among family — is there a better place to die?

Of course I didn’t die. I also didn’t even think about such things while I was in Uganda. I don’t go around thinking about morbid things. But I did think about it before I went and, being over 40, am quite aware in general of my mortality in a way I was not aware when I was a teenager or in my Twenties. It was a verse of Scripture that for the life of me I cannot now remember or find that gave me assurance about going to Uganda. It was like Jesus saying : “I will be with you always, even to the ends of the earth,” only He said it to me.

Jesus admonishes us to not be afraid. And yet that’s not an easy command (if it is a command). I remember fearing things in childhood that I do not fear now, and I have had fears creep in now that I never entertained in childhood. As a child, I feared the darkness. I remember flying up the steps from the basement, certain that some dark shape behind me was just about to grab me. I ran past the bank of windows in the hallway, certain that some bogeyman was peering in the windows. They said of me — such imagination!” Then at one point, my insistence that there were creatures in the dark became tiresome. I was moved to a cot in my parent’s room so everyone could get some rest. I know that they tried many things I cannot now remember in order to help me before resorting to this, but it came to that in the end. I lay awake watching my Dad sleep. I lay awake long after everyone had gone to sleep.

In the end, it’s impossible not to feel fear at times, not to realize that bad things can happen or that life won’t necessarily be a holiday tomorrow, or the next day, even if it is today. But I’ve come to a new understanding of these gentle admonitions to not be afraid, and the call to go to Uganda helped me. Fear is also a gift of God or, at least, something used by God. Author Jo Kadlecek says that in addition to warning us of danger and keeping us safe, “fear was also meant to push us overboard — arms flailing, legs kicking, eyes stinging — so that we could be, have to be, rescued.” Saved, she means. Saved by a story, the story, by the One who we can trust to be with us in our fear and uphold us. That doesn’t mean I’m not afraid at times, but it does mean I don’t live in fear, am not debilitated by fear, when I leap into Jesus’ arms, when I rest on him alone. I move my bed into his room. I lie awake looking at the placid calm of His rest, while storms rage around him and phantoms move in the dark, keeping my eyes on Him when everything around me may look mighty scary. I rest in Him alone.

One day, though I don’t remember when, I got up from my cot in my parents room and looked at that dark pane of glass in my room and opened the door and stared into the abyss of the basement, and then I got in my bed again. I didn’t live in fear any more.

And a few weeks ago I got on a plane with my family and went to a remote village in Uganda where people get sick and die of things they would not die of here. I may just do it again. And though I am unlikely to die there, I can’t think of a better place to die, can you?

Steve West

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July ’08 Mission Trip Newsletter is available (Thorsten)

Please read the July ’08 Mission Trip Newsletter available on the Embrace Uganda web site.

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“My heart was left in Uganda” (Kelsey McCauley)

After arriving in the village, I can remember there being a rush of people who greeted us, along with the advance team. It was a powerful welcome with hugs, singing, and dancing from the people of the village. They were so excited to see us and to become our friends. They are really amazing people. They carried our bags on their heads, and took them all the way up the path to Faith’s house. They were always trying to help us; they would carry our bags, wash our clothes, make our beds, prepare our baths (which were splash baths in basins), make sure we eat before them (even though they would sometimes receive only one meal a day), and they were always cleaning. I learned that if someone is sick there, you would not know it, because they continue to work with a smile on their face, and still ask to help you with everything!

Something else that I realized was that they did everything one day at a time, they didn’t live in the future. They had a poster in the girls school (Dorkus) which said “time is time, after time is no time, before time is no time, time is time”. Every day was a day of survival, they cooked all their meals, made their clothes, washed their clothes, and took care of each other. However, you did not see people walking around in a rush to get somewhere, checking their watches (which they didn’t have anyways); they didn’t need to. I hate when I’m so caught up in the routine of life in America…going to school, going to work, practicing soccer or volleyball, meetings…and the list goes on, but I feel like we are always doing something and not leaving enough time for God. It is so peaceful there, every morning and night and all throughout the day the people are praising God. I realized they have such a grateful spirit for everything, even though they have so little. They have so much love in their hearts and such beautiful spirits.

I loved playing with the kids at the Home Again Orphanage. They loved spending time with us, playing games, blowing bubbles, doing puzzles, playing football and volleyball, and swinging on the swings. It was amazing to see the young children taking care of the even smaller children. I fell in love with these kids, they loved to just sit and laugh with me…or sometimes at me when teaching me a new word in Rotoro (Ugandan dialect). Most of the kids there only ate one meal a day, but they were always happy and having fun with each other. They were real treasures.

I became so close with the people there. I grew really close with the girls at Dorkus. They became my sisters. One of the days while I was there, I was cooking with Margaret who is the main person who cooks. We were laughing and having fun. Then, Pastor Arthur came in and we started talking. H e called me his American daughter. It was a great feeling to be cared for that much. They really did become my family. It was a very hard goodbye, especially when my friends at Dorkus were telling me not to cry…and then I saw them waving goodbye from the bus and could see that they were crying too. They really want us to come back. With all my heart I desire to as well. My heart was left in Uganda.

Kelsey McCauley

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“Joy Through Pain” (Paige)

I thought it would be easier coming back this time because I knew what to expect. I was wrong – it is twice as hard – almost unbearable.

Last year, I had experienced the emotions of coming home to the excess and waste of the United States. I knew people would listen politely as we shared our stories but leave shaking their heads and whispering. As I try to get back to everyday life I often find myself in tears and it feels hard to breathe.

But through the tears I have a grateful heart . . .

• Grateful that my husband and children have God in the center of their lives and that they have hearts for God’s people.
• Grateful that an incredible team of people sacrificed to go to Uganda to serve unselfishly.
• Grateful for the beautiful people of Uganda who hosted and loved us like family.
• Grateful that the team was able to finish the vocational school and provide a beautiful place for 80 girls to live including new beds, mattresses and blankets.
• Grateful for mornings in Uganda when at 4:30 am songs of praise filled the air as the young people got ready to start their day.
• Grateful that thanks to generous donations of books – Kaihura has the beginnings of two libraries – the first in the entire district!
• Grateful that Andrew, Stephen and Ida (children in the community) who were hospitalized while we were there are recovering.
• Grateful for the hundreds of people who prayed, contributed, volunteered, and collected supplies.
• Grateful that while our team was in Uganda that a donor provided funding to buy a solar panel providing light for the vocational school.
• Grateful for the hugs from Joyce, Lucy, Robert, Enoch, Andrew, Stella, Victor, Daniel, Moses, Annet, Edgar, Joshua, Juliette and the 100+ other children at the Home Again Orphanage and the Dorcus Vocational School.
• Grateful that another donor provided funding to build a kitchen structure for the school.
• Grateful for Faith, Eva, Margaret, Patrick, Arthur, Michael, Cossy, Hannington and the many, many others who work every day to provide opportunities for the children of Uganda.
• Grateful for that God touched the hearts of our team and we were changed forever.
• Grateful that we were able to go to the place where Jane’s mother, father and sister are buried and allow healing and forgiveness to take place.
• Grateful for Trinity Academy, Wake Forest Baptist Church, Growing Child Pediatrics, Crossroads Fellowship and Wake Forest Rolesville Key Club for their support.
• Grateful for the incredible worship we experienced at Agape Baptist Church and Kaihura Full Gospel Church.
• Grateful that God allowed us to provide a fun Community Day for over 800 people – where children played games, were provided school supplies and received rice and meat to eat (which usually only happens on Christmas).
• Grateful for the overflowing love we experienced in Uganda. Love for your neighbor . . . love for those in need. I watched a 2 year old child, when given a piece of candy, turn and give it to a smaller child. I watched children 7 or 8 years old taking care of 3 or 4 youngers siblings – without complaint – while their mothers worked. I met many, many widows who had taken in 8 – 10 orphans when barely getting by on their own. I met a beautiful single woman named Eva who lives with and cares for 45 children and does so with a grateful and loving heart. Love for others before self . . . it is so refreshing.
• Grateful that before we left to come back our team was already talking about next year!
• Grateful for the absolutely incredible faith our Uganda friends model every moment of every day.

We are very blessed in America. However, as a nation we have lost some of what our forefathers intended. In the meantime, the discrepancies between developed countries and third world countries are magnifying. It is about our responsibilities in God’s kingdom which does not have geographical boundaries. It is not about giving up everything, it is about sharing the extreme excess. The US spends over $2 billion a year each Christmas . . . at the same time 1.1 billion people don’t have clean drinking water (that is 1 out of every 6 people in the world).

So, my heart is hurting . . . God is keeping the pain fresh and raw . . . and I am praying that God will use that pain to continue to show me how to use the gifts he has given me to make a difference in His world. And, also that God will teach me how to truly live life as His servant – for His glory.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24

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“Today’s Blog” (Emma)

Going to Uganda was the biggest culture shock of my life.

Coming back, after being gone a month, was even more so.

The “fresh “American air caused me to cringe as my lungs struggled to get accustomed to the thick cigarette smoke & the foul scent of paper factories. I opened my closet door and felt my stomach churn. The clothes I never wear pushed out of the way or the t-shirts that sit on a shelf could clothe the whole vocational school and part of the Home Again children. The amount of shoes I have when most children only had one ragged pair. I struggle with guilt yet I am incredibly humbled by the experience of being in Kaihura. I realize how selfish I was becoming, and I am incredibly thankful for being able to go on such a trip.

It has taken me a week to soak up everything our group experienced and for the question “Did I really just do that?” to be answered. When talking to one of my best friends and trying to tell her everything we went through and pursued as a missions team she said “I’m sure it’s impossible to describe,” and such a statement couldn’t be more accurate. The emotion you encounter in being there is overwhelming yet peace bringing; filled with such sorrow yet joyful.

I left my heart open on our plane trip to Africa and prayed for God to let me understand. After a surprise greeting from two other of my friends upon arriving home, one looked at me and said “you’re glowing, and it’s not just the way the light is hitting you. You carry this glow about you now.” I think it was more thanks to the awakening I was able to receive while being in such a beautiful place

I left a part of my heart in Uganda with all of those incredible children, and I plan on going back as often as I can and as long as God is willing.

Emma

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“What People Said” (Steve West)

Hey, how was your vacation?

Incredible. Difficult.

What’d you do?

We went to Uganda on a missions trip.

That’s nice.

That word “nice,” the epitome of innocuousity (I know, that’s probably not a word, but you know what I mean), should be excised from the English language. Here it likely means “that sounds awful,” or “I’m not interested in hearing about it,” or even “end of conversation because I don’t want you telling me that I should go.” I want to say our trip to Uganda was a lot of things but it wasn’t just nice, but that wouldn’t have been. . . well. . . nice.

How was your trip to Uganda?

Great.

What did you do?

Srape, paint, put in a library, feed 800 people, and play with kids. Lots of kids. We’re hoping we can start an agricultural co-op or something so that they can become more self-sufficient.

They’ll just end up taking each other’s stuff.

No, these people work really hard and really seem honest.

I’m sure they do, but if one gets ahead, that’ll change. They’re always fighting over there.

I was prepared for that kind of conversation. Paige said she was angry for three months after she first came back. And yet it’s still frustrating. I’m well aware that our Ugandan friends are sinners just like us, but I reject the hopeless kind of thinking this person exemplifies, the sense that there’s really no sense helping these people because nothing will change.

Whenever I leave for some significant period of time, and particularly when I come back from often life-changing experiences like our trip to Uganda (I’ve had two or three), I’m reminded again of several things: some people don’t know I ever left, I am not indispensable (that is, nothing fell apart while I was gone), and many people, while polite, are not really interested in hearing about your life-changing experience. Besides, Africa is far, far away and the intense feelings you have cannot easily be communicated. Actually, you may sound a little nutty. I know, because I’ve heard people like me before.

And yet others do care. In my place of work, many of my co-workers read everything on the blog and want me to show pictures and talk about my experience at lunch one day. They may even make Kaihura, Uganda a Christmas project. Then there is the African-American woman who I talked with who, only a minute into the conversation, had tears in her eyes and told me she had always wanted to go to Africa. We can only testify and tell our stories and let God do the rest. He has to open hearts.

The most surprising reaction? That’s easy. Wednesday I’m negotiating a settlement with an attorney, normally a give-and-take process, and surprisingly he accepts my price right away, saying “I’m not going to argue with anyone who’s been in Uganda for two weeks doing what you did.” Now that’s miraculous and undeserved. (And right then I knew I should have started with a higher price! 🙂 )

I don’t have to convince anyone. I don’t need to change the world. We’re all of us storytellers, that’s all, and we can’t help ourselves. It doesn’t matter so much what they said. It matters what we say. Just tell the truth and someone might just surprise you.

Steve West

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