Uganda Update #5

1/15/09 1:00pm (PST) / 1/16/09 midnight (Uganda)
Sorry it has been so long… In addition to not really having access to
internet for a few days, the days have been so exhausting that I just
can't bring myself to write at the end of the day. Good news…I've
slept through the last few nights…I got 9 full hours last night!
…which is good as I've come down with a cold and am hoping not to hang
on to it for too long! I feel great, other than being a little tired
and gunk flooding out of my face! But really, despite the cold, the
last few days have been incredible…and just in the nick of time, as
(for the first time in my life) I was beginning to struggle with a bit
of homesickness. God has been faithful though to draw me into some
amazing things here that have helped me, at least in the midst of
them, to forget how far I am from home and the ones I love. So, let's
see if I can recap for you… (Warning: This is probably going to be
long! Try reading it in a couple doses!! ;)

Tuesday… Staff Prayer/Worship, City-Wide Lunch Hour Prayer, & Prison Ministry
Each weekday morning, the staff at FOG begin their workday at 8am for
prayer and worship in the mission house. They spend about an hour in
worship, study, and prayer before they make announcements and hit
their ministry posts/offices for the day. It's pretty awesome to
see/hear and to be a part of. It is awesome to see the sincerity and
the passion in the worship and prayer. It is also clear that this
time brings a special unity to the team here at FOG. Although I don't
look forward to 8am (especially with as tired as I've been), I do look
forward to this time with the staff each morning.

Although we had several plans for the morning, transportation Uganda
style left us sitting and waiting…and waiting and sitting…and sitting
and waiting…until finally it was lunch time. We ate and headed to our
next scheduled activity…about an hour late and in make-shift
transportation…

Our next stop was Lunch Hour Prayer. Each day, 12:30-2pm is set aside
for prayer and worship. FOG has been able to rent a facility in the
center of town as their House of Prayer. All churches and all
believers in the community are invited to the House of Prayer, both to
participate and to lead. We found out today that there are over 200
churches in Gulu, and each of these churches has, at least in some
way, been involved in the House of Prayer. Different people
facilitate Lunch Hour Prayer each day, and believers from throughout
the town join together. It's an awesome thing.

I expected to go simply to observe, take notes, and perhaps take a few
pictures and some video. Instead, my world was rocked a bit. Instead
of being able to just hide in one of the seats, we were asked to join
hands with a person near us and share what has kept us from giving God
complete control in our lives. Gee…let's be sure to start light
before we hit the major heart issues, huh!? I guess not. They're
about getting to the real stuff and being real with each
other…refreshing, but slightly terrifying (sad coming from a Sandalite
where our church's vision is to be real with ourselves, others, and
God). Nonetheless, it rattled me a bit…in a good way…and as I was
shaken, God was able to reveal some cool stuff to me as we all shared
and then prayed our own prayers in unison.

We rushed straight from Lunch Hour Prayer to Prison Ministry at the
Central Prison. I was a little nervous…not because it was a prison,
but because we had been warned that we would be asked to share a
sermon or testimony when we visited the prisons…AHHH!!! We were
divided, one group going to the men's quarters (about 200 men) and the
other group to the women's quarters (29 women…and their
babies…interesting, huh?) Riss, Happiness, and I went to the were
assigned to the women's quarters.

I quickly requested/suggested/demanded? that Riss be the one that
share. Turns out, we all shared! Before we spoke though, we were
blessed to join the women in worship. Man, Africans know how to
worship! We're in prison, and they were just jammin'! Drum bangin',
maraca shakin', gospel singin', harmonies…the works. There was one
girl toward the front… I couldn't focus on much else. Her worship
was so sincere, so passionate…there wasn't a sole in the place but
her…just she and God. It was pretty incredible to watch. As they
worshiped, I couldn't help but watch the guards. Were they believers
too? I couldn't tell. They looked cold and distant, yet
occasionally, I would catch a couple of them singing along, and
sometimes even clapping and grooving just a bit.

We then shared some words of encouragement with them. It was
difficult because I felt encouraged by them. So I encouraged them in
that! I wanted so badly to know more about each individual woman,
but, being a prison, just hanging out is not really an option. Simon,
who had taken us, also asked the women if they had any testimonies of
what God had done in their lives. As the women shared, I was blessed
by their joy and their faith. One woman's had just come out of the
hospital and her husband had just committed suicide only days before,
yet she was praising God. That is a faith I know I should have, yet I
struggle to understand it.

Before we left, Simon asked that anyone who needed prayer come to the
front so we could pray over them. AHHH again…prayer!? Over
strangers!? Prayer is not my forte. But what does one do in this
situation? Pray, of course!

As a few women came forward, I realized what a joy it would be to
touch them and hear just a small piece of their heart, their story.
One by one, I put my hand on their shoulders, asked their names, and
asked how I could pray. It was amazing to be able to pour my love on
them, and to pray God's heart over them. The last woman I prayed for
was the one whose husband had just died. What an honor. As I prayed
for these women, I feel like my heart grew, like some of the layers of
hardness that I have let form finally began to be stripped, and I was
able to pray with more faith than I have had for some time. God had
just shown me the day before that I needed to spend more time in
prayer for others, and here, without my help (or my consent!) He gave
me the opportunity to be obedient to that. I freaked out at first,
but was so blessed by it. And I truly did feel honored to be able to
lay my hands on these women and hug them.

As we left the women, one of the guards came with us. While we toured
some of the new facilities, I was able to talk with this guard, Rose.
She was one of the initiators of the prison ministry. She has been
working as a prison guard for 29 years and had a burden for the
prisoners to be ministered to and to know Christ. As a result of her
conviction, her husband began working with FOG in prison ministry. A
year ago, he was in a fatal accident. Still, she walks in faith. She
fully believes that God has her exactly where He wants her. She
shared that God has taught her much through this position – Just as He
has made her a literal guard, she feels called to be a spiritual guard
– a guardian of the souls of the women in the prison. She feels it is
her duty to keep on watch over the women and do all she can to point
them to Christ. Wow! After wondering about the hearts of the guards,
it was amazing to talk with Rose and see hers. Pray for Rose as she
continues ministering to the women there. This culture is very
difficult for women. Although none of them were saved when they came
to the prison, and all of them are now, many of them backslide when
they go back into the community because of the struggles of life.
Pray for their foundations being built within the prison walls, and
for strength as they leave the safety of those walls.

OK…it is almost 1am, and I need to sleep! I hope to send this in the
morning when I wake up…and I hope to spend more time tomorrow writing
about the last couple days. Thanks so much for reading!! I know
these updates are long, but so many of you press on until the end.
Thank you for your support and encouragement. Please continue to pray
for our team and those I am sharing about. Just so you know what you
have to look forward to… Wednesday, we headed to another camp to
observe a Portable Bible School with a couple hundred students, rode
with a chicken, and did another Bible distribution…where I became one
of the locals and was hooting and hollering with the ladies, and
Thursday, we interviewed a handful of the FOG staff and visited the
House of Hope children's home where Blair killed a chicken and the
children's worship rocked our world. Tomorrow, more staff interviews,
another possible Bible distribution, a soccer match, and who knows
what else… Saturday, REST! Ya right…I'm sure our day will become
magically filled with "restful" activities! Ha! Thanks again for
reading.

Much love!
Jenelle