Monday, April 21, 2008
On a sweeter note...
Jolene and I love to bake together. We experiment and improvise and have a blast doing it. Well now Wes has joined in. His mother will be proud! I just wanted to give you all a little peek into how we spent our Sunday (yesterday) afternoon. I wish you all could enjoy the cinnamon rolls with us. All of us, American and Ugandan alike, are enjoying them today. Come visit soon!!!
Shaunessy
"Long Live GRI!"
Barrio in this local language means 'Land of Giraffes.' Oh how I wish that every time we drove into this beautiful village we would experience giraffes crossing the dirt road, but not anymore. The elderly people in the village say they can remember when giraffes and many wild animals lived in that area, but now do to farming they are no longer in that area. Okay so that was a side note.
Barrio camp/village is an amazing place. This was my first time to visit an HIV Vulnerable Group there since returning from America. I was brought to tears as we approached the church where we meet and our vehicle was swarmed with people singing. It was one of the warmest welcomes I have ever received in my life! First of all, my heart leaps every single day when I hear Ugandans praising the Lord in thier local language and dancing like there is no tomorrow! But in this instance these people seemingly have no reason to dance and sing. They are HIV positive and have been given a death sentence. Yet, they love to praise Jesus. Their hope is truly in heaven! We have 260 men, women and children registered with our HIV program in Barrio. WHOA! And each month more people are getting tested and joining.
The chairman, pictured above, of this group in Barrio got up to do his incredibly formal welcoming speech and started it by saying "long live GRI." The people all hollared and cheered. Thank you for supporting our work here! It is reaching those people who are hurting and desperately needing the hope of Jesus Christ!
After many formal introductions it was my turn to speak, as the guest of honor. Once again my eyes filled with tears as we talked about having courage to press on. We discussed Joshua 1:9. God commands us to be strong and of good courage because he will never leave us. As the group contemplated this verse many said they could press on courageously, knowing their promises for heaven. We laughed and praised God as we talked about having new bodies, free from disease in heaven. What amazing promises God has given us!!
I then was able to give out 4 blankets to babies born in the past few months. We prayed for the babies.
I love these groups and believe so strongly in what God is doing through GRI here in Uganda! Please keep praying and giving!
Much love,
Shaunessy
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Drama Unfolds
This is a picture of girls who have graduated the Priceless program in Onoro Primary School. They are in the middle of a drama competition, which is part of the follow-up program being managed by our Priceless Director, Jolene. We want to reinforce what they have learned in the Priceless program as well as evaluate their level of knowledge. Events like this draw a large
crowd, so it also becomes a great learning experience for other students as well as the many parents, teachers, and community members present. This particular event had nearly 300 people in attendance at one point.
In this particular act, the girls are portraying a scene at a bar where a boy is pushing a girl to come home with him. Later on in the play, she agreed, but then found her life became much more complicated as a result. She contracted HIV from her encounter and was dealt with harshly by her parents. She eventually died in the play. Even though it is portrayed in the form of an entertaining drama, it is a grave matter and one that is important enough to hammer on again and again. In this setting, it allows the girls to get creative. They are judged by Priceless teachers on their content and how much of the Priceless curriculum they incorporate into each drama. At the end, each participant receives a small gift of pencils and notebooks for school, and the school received Bibles and a small netball in the name of the winning team.
We also share scriptures with the crowd and teach them the underlying reason for this program...that God values us enough to send His Son to die so that we could have new life in Him! Because of the priceless value we have in Christ, our right response is to love and respect our bodies.
The events are a fun, rich time for all. I pray the truths portrayed in the dramas stick with people in a way that words alone cannot.
-Wes
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