So I kept looking and stumbled upon Believer's World Outreach which has a trip this summer to Uganda. I had read about Uganda in another book called "Children of Hope" by Vernon Brewer and had been blown away by the atrocities committed against its people and children during the civil war against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The book said this "Since 1987, the Lord's Resistance Army has wreaked havoc on the civilian population in northern Uganda. Their purported goal is to create a state based on the Ten Commandments, but most of their activities center around looting villages. Tens of thousands of children have been abducted and used as soldiers or sex slaves, while thousands of civilians have been killed and more than a million displaced. The government has been unable to subdue the LRA which often uses neighboring Sudan to launch attacks." The book also tells of Grace, an 11 year old little girl whose hut was attacked by the LRA. Her father was killed and her mother severely beaten. Then they turned their fury on Grace. "They dragged the frightened girl out of the hut and hit her over and over again, telling her they would kill her if she did not do as she was told. The rebels forced her to carry a weapon and ammunition for their army. She was raped and soon became pregnant by one of the soldiers. Grace had a baby when she was only 12 years old. She was just a child herself! Then Grace was forced to watch while soldiers shot and killed her baby." Grace finally escaped and returned home only to find that her mother had gone insane. She was left alone with no one to care for her.
Where was I when all of this was going on? How did I not know? More than 25,000 children ages 7 to 17 have been abducted from towns and camps since the war started in 1986. 25,000 CHILDREN. If one child gets abducted in America, we send out Amber Alerts and the whole country gets involved in looking out for that one precious life. But 25,000, well, that's a number that most of us can't begin to comprehend.
Uganda has a population of 28.8 million. 1 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. 110,000 children are living with AIDS. 85% of the population lives on under $1 a day.
I asked Lillian from Believer's World Outreach (BWO), could they use an extra nurse on their trip to Uganda this summer and was given a resounding "YES!" There were 2 different trips listed on their website and she told me about 2 additional trips that had yet to be posted. One of the trips was a two-week trip to Midigo and Kampala (the country's capitol). She said that this trip would be more "roughing it" than other trips, as Midigo is a very rural village way up in the "bush". We would be working in the local "hospital" (don't think of Vanderbilt here, we're talking about a hospital made of concrete bricks that serves maybe 10 people) and would help many AIDS patients in the community. In addition to that we would have the opportunity to evangelize in the local schools, as 95% of the population is Muslim.
It took me by surprise, but this last fact is what sealed it for me. My heart leapt. The opportunity to witness to those living in darkness and minister to their physical needs as well. The opportunity is perfect.
Oh, and to those that think I've lost my mind ... the LRA has since weakened and has relocated to the Congo. The trip will be safe. The thing that scares me the most is the food!
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