gulu: part 2 – get up!

The original purpose of the trip to Gulu was for the Watoto social workers and education team to visit an IDP [Internally Displaced Person] camp and the Laroo [pronounced la-roe] School of War Affected Children. Kate and I came along to get media footage in and around Gulu and to interview former abductees of the LRA.

On Sunday morning, we went to the worship services at KPC Gulu. The Gulu branch was launched in August 2007 and is up to around a thousand members. I really enjoyed meeting the staff, including Pastor Joe and his wife Jackie, who leads the worship team. They have the most adorable baby, who, as you will see below, has a keen interest in eating his greens.

I was feeling a bit ‘off’ that morning – I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, but my spirit felt very unsettled. The team was going to the IDP camp that afternoon and I almost didn’t go. After talking with Kate about it and resting a bit, I decided that I needed to go. I’m so glad that I did. It was a reality that one can only truly experience firsthand–huts the size of an average guest bathroom in the States, women sifting through piles of lentils searching to remove possible infestation, men lazing around with their beers and their radios tuned to BBC news, the swarms of parentless children screaming ‘muzungu!’ hoping for a handout. Despite the negative picture I can paint of this scene, it didn’t feel all that negative. The smiles I gave were returned to me a hundredfold. There was dancing, laughing, praying. A sense of pride could be seen in the eyes of those selling cassava or beads. In a seemingly hopeless situation, there was still hope. There is always hope.

When we returned to the hotel, I showered up and joined the social workers for a devotion time. The scripture we focused on was John 5:1-8, the story of the crippled man at the pool. The man had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus asks him, “Do you want to get well?” Instead of answering the question, the man makes excuses as to why he isn’t well–when the waters of the pool are stirred, there is no one to help him and someone else makes it there first. Jesus replies, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man is cured, picks up his mat and walks.

Now, I’ve heard this story a number of times, but there was nothing else that I needed to hear more at that very moment. I had been complaining a majority of the day about such stupid things. I just wasn’t “feeling” God’s presence. I was absolutely blown away by how God met me during that devotion time. “Get up, Sydney! Stop your whining. Get up and walk, run, move, act, love.” Our time on this earth is so short. Tomorrow is not assured. Get out there and make a difference now. No more excuses. GET UP!

To be continued…

 

~ by sydneyberry on June 28, 2008.