The first team left us yesterday. I'm left with the other leaders for two days relaxation and reflection before the second team gets out. We had a fantastic two weeks exceeding all of our expectations. It may be a drop in the ocean but in this little community what they acheived was very evident. A river.
We are working at a little remote school in Jandira an hour outside Kampala. We're building accomadation for the teachers, and have also run a clinic, held a kid's club and 'coached' sport. Already relationships have been built with teachers and kids and it's not going to be easy to leave these wonderful people at the end of the month. In the meantime we are trying to figure out how we can set up something permenant and sustainable between our church and this community. I don't want to be part of another 'hit-and-run' team.
I have tried not to process too much of what I have seen here so far. Africa throws so much at you on every level. I feel that if I go too deep into my thoughts I won't find the way back to the surface. And anyway there is nothing from my own background that I can relate what we see here. There is no reference point.
Two experiences that stand out are:
1. A spontaneous dancing/limbo session as the kids poured out of the kids club on the first day. Grant and I asked the drummers to set up outside and soon we had a hundred odd kids conga dancing behind us and 'limboing' under a skipping rope. This has become a daily occurrence. The rhythm of their drums, joyful laughter, and hope in their eyes was a moment of epiphany. To have the same kids reach out and pray for us was another.
2. The last day of the clinic when Joy (our medic) was informed by one of the teachers that the full row of children she was about to treat (the kids who were dancing above) were HIV+ and have never received the drugs that could save their lives.
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