From Jonny

(We are actually home now but I wrote the below post in London.)

We are now at Heathrow-London Airport and moments away from getting on our flight back to Chicago. To all you who are family members, friends, prayer and financial supporters of our students, I want to tell you that you ought to be very proud of them! Each student gave it their all by the grace of God. They made this the best short-term trip I have ever been on. They showed so much love and respect to those we went to partner with in Uganda. They honored their families. They honored Calvary Memorial Church. Most of all they honored and glorified our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With every memory I have of this trip, I have nothing but tears of joy for each and every one of them.

We had a great debriefing time during our last night in Uganda. I ask you all to join me in continuing to disciple these students over then next many months. I encourage you to ask a student out to lunch or dinner. See how they are processing their trip. Ask them what they liked about Uganda. Ask them what they struggled with in Uganda. Ask them about the sights and smells of the poverty in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. Ask the ladies about meeting with women of hope who were former prostitutes. Ask the ladies what it was like to weep with those who weep. Ask our students where they think our churches in the Chicagoland can learn from the church of Christ in Uganda. If you do the above you will be blessed and they will be challenged.

By the kindness and grace of God, we will return to Oak Park tonight. We are all so excited to see our families! Christine, Isaac, Noah, and Lily, I absolutely cannot wait to see you all! I love you and miss you! As we return, I quote what Ryan Bowman said at our debrief, “We cannot un-see what we saw.” We saw horrible poverty, but we also saw Pastor Nelson of Grace Fellowship. Pastor Nelson planted a church in the heart of one of Kampala’s slums. Amidst the God-ignoring, human-devaluing atrocities that occur in the slums, God is doing a great work of redemption through Grace Fellowship and A Perfect Injustice. God is at work in Kampala’s slums.

Our students cared for one child who was used by adults for gambling. They would bet how much alcohol he could consume, after which they gave him to a local prostitute. Our students loved children without parents, with abusive parents, with AIDS, etc. We come back with heavy hearts. We come back figuring how not to just settle back into life as usual. We want to continue to be radical messengers of the gospel of Christ in Oak Park. Please pray for us!

Peace,

Pastor Jonathan

From Ruth

Eight women piled into a taxi van with two of our friends from A Perfect Injustice.  We pulled up to a small house with a winding path to a downstairs room. There we found a group of twelve Ugandan women making crafts to make a healthy living other than prostitution of the slum they were living in. At first it seemed a little awkward since we do not speak Lugandan but the silence was easily broken by laughter and smiles.

Gaga Gina (grandma Gina) a woman from Arizona, started the introductions as Auntie Josephine translated in Lugandan. Each woman went around the table and shared their story. One woman told us that she was found in dump looking for trash to eat for her and her children. Desperation and starvation was apart of almost everyone’s story. Gaga Gina then asked if anyone from our team would like to share. A few of us shared our testimonies and how we were also in a desperate place in life or we had experienced a loss.

The atmosphere in the room was so beautiful. Women coming together and sharing their stories and how Jesus brought them hope. It is easy to say “Jesus saved us” or “We were in need” but you could feel each other’s pain in the room and how much hope there is for the future.

After our time of testimonies our team was able to look through some of the jewelry the women make to support their children at home. They were so grateful for us coming that they even gave a few headbands, necklaces, and bracelets to some of the girls.

Hope and love filled the room as we left. In a matter of a few hours we had bonded and made new friends. We hope to continue to interact with them, pray for them, and help them practically by selling their jewelry.

 

The Worst Place I’ve Been on Earth…Kisenyi Slum

Many of the street boys that API works with come from the worst slum in Kampala–Kisenyi. The below pictures are from Kisenyi. These pictures are also the place Andy explain below.

The beginning of Kisenyi

In that bottle is a rag that soaks up gas fumes. They nice and inhale those fumes to get high. Many of them use that so that do not feel the cold nights.

Where the street boys call home...

 

 

 

From Andy

A river of garbage flows through the dirt road underneath our feet…  Street vendors on both sides sell marijuana and other drugs to anyone who can pay…. A naked child no more than four years old walks in front of us dragging a jug full of brown water behind him… A man holding advertisements for prostitutes shoves one in my face and says, “Which one do you like?” … The smell from burning piles of trash on the side of the road makes me cough and gag…. This is but a picture of what me and the other guys on the Uganda team experienced today when we walked through Kisenyi: the largest and worst slum in Kampala.

Immediately following our walk through the slum I remember a certain feeling of disgust. Surprisingly I was not disgusted at all the things I had just seen and smelled.  I was disgusted at the fact that in two days I will be back home in America living in my two-story, air conditioned house, with plenty of food and clean water to drink, while these kids have no idea when there next meal will be or where they will sleep each night.  I was literally sickened at how rich and spoiled I am; seeing what I saw today makes me want to help. It makes me want to stay in Uganda and keep going back to the slum until all the kids are saved from the drugs and terrible poverty that they experience everyday.  But I cant (don’t worry mom and dad). We leave for home tomorrow and all I can do at this very moment is pray.  I invite everyone who reads this to pray with me, pray for the seven major slums and the 10,000 street children that live in Kampala alone, pray for the wonderful ministry that API runs that reach’s out to hundreds of these street kids each day.  Lastly pray for everyone on the Uganda team, pray that God would break our hearts for these kids and that we would want to go back and help them in whatever way we can.

Sincerely Yours,

Andy Voss

From Joe

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday we traveled to the Kivulu slum to work with the street children. While there we put up a basketball hoop by their church. The conditions in the slum were awful but the church we went to showed promise. While Dave and Greg helped make the concrete for the hoop Andy and I helped organize the boys container where they keep everything for the church. During this time the girls also collected garbage to burn because people complain that the street children make their church dirty and threaten to kick A Perfect Injustice and the children out. After laying the concrete and stabilizing the hoop we went to play soccer with the children.  We played at the nicest field in Kampala, however it was still very slippery but we won 4 to 0. After soccer we went back to the slum to worship and perform our skits at their church. After worship we served the children beans and rice as a snack. The boys we met were very nice and thanked us a lot for the food. Today the Men and Women will split up and go to separate locations. The Men will go to another slum which conditions are worse than the slum we went to yesterday. The women will go to Hope house to hear the stories of former prostitutes and give them support. We hope to be a blessing to them and learn how we could help them. Hope all is well back home look forward to seeing you in a few days.

Sincerely,

Joe Dores

Putting Up the Basketball Hoop

That hole was not easy to dig! We really had to get used to no machinery.

Starting to mix the concrete

Hannah wrote Luke 12:32 on the backboard before we hoisted it.

It's up!

 

 

Life as a Street Boy

We have worked all week with street boys. Street boys are definitely outcasts in Kampala. The community does not like them being around. The first group of street boys were the ones we worked with all new property. There are sixteen of them. They all live in a home and have supporters, through A Perfect Injustice, who fund their schooling, counseling, and room and board. Their home is called Kivulu Home. Another group that we worked with were from Grace House. Grace House houses 50 boys. They do not have all the support that the boys at Kivulu Home have. Well, imagine 50 boys in a small home. Then the last group was the boys we worked with today. They do not have a home to live in. They are currently living on the streets. We went to where they sleep today and put up a basketball hoop (pictures in the next post). Below are a few pictures to give you a glimpse into their lives.

More Pictures

Team picture, with Stephen

Hanging out before bedtime!

Pictures

Child dedications at Watoto Church

We were with a different home for street/slum kids on Sunday. The name of the home was Grace House. We sang with them. We did skits for them. Joan Gibbons taught again. And of course David and Greg did their fire poi (see below).

Joan teaching. She did an awesome job again! She was teaching on the lost sheep in Luke 15.

Greg behind his back

David's turn

From Joan

Hello friends and family,

Today we began our day at the Watoto Church, where it was a blessing to worship with the people of Uganda.  The worship was beautiful, and there were people from Australia, Hong Kong, and America present.  We also witnessed the dedication of 26 infants (25 of whom were orphans.)

After church we went to lunch at Garden City.  This is a food court in a shopping center, where we had the pleasure of eating delicious, multi-ethnic food.  We then went shopping for souvenirs.  This was a real treat, as the variety of crafts were especially beautiful.

At 4:30 (after returning to the cottages to change clothes), we drove to a neighborhood called Kivulu.  We went to Grace House, the home of 50 boys who previously lived on the street.  After arriving at their home, we walked through the ‘hood’ to play soccer.  The poverty we witnessed was heart breaking, and the boys thoroughly enjoyed our time and attention.  It reminded me of the truth of the expression “Children spell love: T-I-M-E.”  The high fives, the hand shakes, and the simple ways we connected with them, ALL meant so much to them.

After the game we walked back to Grace House, where we had an awesome time of worship.  The boys lead first, after which we shared two songs, a skit, and a bible story that I had the pleasure to teach.  I taught the parable of the lost sheep, and I was fortunate to have the help of Jonny and Ryan, who gladly acted as sheep.  Ryan did me the favor of wandering off multiple times so that I could guide him back to the flock with my staff (a big stick).  I was also grateful to David and Andy for acting as wolves, allowing me to use my staff to defend my flock.  The Lord helped me to teach this story twice, which I am grateful for.   I realized that this story so accurately parallels how God is using the missionaries from “A Perfect Injustice” to shepherd these lost boys.  I was reminded once again, of how lost I would be without the love of my Savior.  Following the first presentation of the story, one of the ‘uncles’ (they are the men who work with the boys in the home) said that the boys originally thought I would hurt them with my staff.  He was really happy that the boys learned the opposite, that the staff would ‘help them.’

Before we ate dinner, David and Greg did a POI fire show for the boys.  They loved it, and applauded them enthusiastically.  We then had the pleasure to serve the boys their food.

We are grateful to you for your prayers, and look forward to sharing more stories when we see you.

Joan