Have you ever started something and for some reason that you had finished it when in fact you were not even close to being done??

Well...that's sort of what happened with this blog! :/ BUT I AM BACK!! And I will finish my updates!















May 21, 2010

Lisa led the devotional this morning on prayer and it fit perfectly for the day. We drove about 2 hours through green fields, trees and mountains. The landscape was breathtaking. We arrived at the Baduda Landslide camp and hundreds of people, mostly children, came running out to our bus. There are over 5000 people staying at the camp. Each family was given one tent. It doesn't matter whether the family consisted of 2 people or 20 they stayed in this one tent. They had "bathrooms" that were just closed off sections of the camp. They were not provided with food. Most cooked their food in fire pits they created outside of their tents.







We split up into 5 groups and went out to different parts of the camp. I had never in my life seen anything like this camp. The people had nothing yet they were still so welcoming. The kids were adorable as usual and clung onto us the entire day. I remember telling Lisa that God was the only thing stopping me from just breaking down and crying. I was praying the entire time for strength which He provided. Lisa said it perfectly when she said it was like watching a disaster movie. You never imagine that survivor camps are really like this.











I met a former child soldier today who is now 19 years old. He ran away to the Kenyan mountains to avoid the rebels. He remembered his parents telling him that Kenya was a safe place. He lived in Kenya for years by himself until he heard it was safe to come home. He is now studying at a college in Uganda. He was such a nice young man. He wanted to know all about America and kept saying how nice Americans are. He said that many people from different countries have come to Baduda to help with the landslide but you can always pick out the Americans. First, he said that the women have big calf muscles! HAHAHAHA :]!! Second, he said that Americans are willing to pick up and play with the children. He said they are never afraid to get their hands dirty and to interact with the Ugandans. Sadly, I was surprised to hear such great reviews because often I feel that Americans are really self-absorbed but I'm glad that he has seen the positive side.







Lisa talked to a woman who saved a child that had been left alone at the market when the land slide occurred. I just could not believe how kind and gracious all the people at the camp were. We brought in $1000 worth of flour and barely nicked the surface of need. We did feel all of the 16 survivor families. Through everything that these people had been through many of them just requested prayer. This was remarkable to me because I feel like Americans would want physical items; clothing, money, etc. I really don't know what else to write. It was a mind-blowing day and definitely eye-opening. Tomorrow we are going to the orphanage and saying good-bye to Tororo! :[