May

The last few weeks have been very busy, often I set a time to write my blog, but it slips past me as more ‘things’ come up.

The Empower Trauma Rehabilitation Program was a success, and we heard beautiful testimonies at the end of it all.

Many of the young women who went through it, spoke of being able to let go of life long bitterness towards certain people in their past.
Some of them were able to extend forgiveness towards people who had hurt and abused them. Many of them forgiving each other for grievances still held over the long years.

One thing that struck me during the program, was realizing how great it is for helping lead people into opening up.

Many of the girls expressed to Agnes and Rachel on the counselling days, that they were telling them things that they had never told anyone else in their lives.
This is not due to the lack of available people for counselling in their new lives. And it is not because Agnes and Rachel are super counselors over anyone else. But the program really helps lead people into the beginning process of opening up, and seeing the benefits of opening up.

Many girls found this part of the program a tremendous release.

Of course, creating a safe environment helps the girls. They know we all take a confidentiality agreement before they share their stories. Some things were made public by the girls, other things they have requested to keep just to the person they have shared with. If this thing they keep private is not a direct threat to the girl or someone else, then we always honor that agreement. There are things they told Agnes that I will not ask or inquire about. To build that trust, it means you need to keep your word and show you are trustworthy. I know many of these girls have felt betrayed in their lives when they have shared things and they have been gossiped about.
So a safe environment has also been a great help.

Agnes and Rachel do a great job together! I hope that Rachel will be able to continue using these skills in her work context at Jinja Christian School in the future.
For us, we are looking at putting together a YSU team that could run Empower. Obviously Agnes and I would lead rather ‘male’ or ‘female’ groups. But we want to run a leaders Empower for a select few individuals who we see as people we can use whenever we need. This would include Farouk, as well as perhaps another man and another woman.

We have also had the team come and visit us this past week. Of course all the tailoring girls were excited, and has practiced their song and their skit for hours on the previous day, in anticipation.

When it came time for the visiting, they were rather unorganized, and even I was confused at what was going on.
This was all put aside though when the girls shared some of their testimonies to the team. Although she is not the only, one in particular spoke about how she was a Muslim before coming to this class, but it was YSU that introduced her to Christ, who she now follows and desires to know more of.
In the end, this makes everything worth it. A changed financial situation is fantastic, and we aim to see people out of poverty. But a changed heart is far more valuable, and for us the end goal and the reason we do what we do.

It was nice to take a step back and see what an impact YSU has had on these girls. It is really a collective achievement. With YSU workers, visitors and supporters all contributing towards the vision.

Other times we can have struggles though, especially when it involves some of the girls we are close to.

One young woman in particular has not been with us in the tailoring class for about a month. Her baby is extremely sick, and we heard close to death. They took her to a dodgy hospital that could not give a diagnosis, so the ex husband (who is now back on the scene, because he found out his former partner is being educated, which means she may be able to make money for him) has demanded she return the child to his village.
We sent an advocate to go and speak to the young woman when we found out. The advocate told us that the child was extremely sick, and they are treating the baby with any herbs they can find, mixed up with witch craft.
We tried to persuade the young woman that she bring the baby back to Wairaka and that we would cover the costs of taking her to a good hospital.
The problem is the ex husband refused, not trusting us one bit, and demanded the child stay in the village (where she is getting no medical care)
The young woman is in quite a bondage to this man. It is very difficult as he is a village man, steeped up in Islam and a mix of local spirituality. So he is very weary of anything that is ‘western’ or ‘modern’.

This is at the cost of the child’s health, and possibly life.

Please pray about the situation, we are still trying to convince the woman to come back so we can offer proper treatment for the child at a hospital.
In the end, you cannot force the will of a person, you can only extend the hand of help, and pray that they reach out.

Farouk and I have been very busy down on the block of land, preparing it for when the team comes in June. We hope that we will have some projects they can work on.
We spend a lot of time going to and from the property, and a big part of our time in organizing work down there.
Although we spend a lot of money on boda boda transport, and are thinking we may need to invest in getting our own motorbike one time, to reduce the costs on transport that we are using.

I continue to do classes for boys. We had a great session the other day when teaching about gender equality. Many of the boys wanted to know a biblical world view on men and women. So it was fun to challenge misguided beliefs. This especially included what does it actually mean to be a leader. Many men here feel that it means, you get to call the shots and boss around others to get what you want. Biblically, a leader is the first to take the brunt of responsibility, whether it financial, emotional, spiritual or physical. It means leading in showing what it looks like to be like Christ.
Or if I can paraphrase C.S Lewis “A true king (or leader) is the first into battle, the last one to retreat, and dresses the most splendid and laughs the most loudest while eating the scantiest of meals when there is famine across the land”

This is a real challenge to many of the boys world view, and I like to challenge people with a method I often see Christ do in the Gospels. By asking them many questions to get them to think.
I could stand back and condemn and tell them “this is how it is really is”. But it is much more rewarding to poke with questions, and get them to start reaching the conclusions on their own.

Our bible study classes have also been a blessing. Recently a young man has come to me explaining that he used to be in the Baha'i faith for a large portion of his life. The religion he comes from is an offshoot of Islam that has many aspects of Eastern philosophy and mysticism in it.
He said that he was one of the main youth leaders that helped convert many to this religion. After a while he fell into a group of young Christians at his school, that he just couldn't seem to convert. In the end they got the better of him and he gave his life to Christ, finding the joy and hope that can be found only in him.
What is fascinating, is he came to me one time, having heard about me from a friend, and basically asked me to teach him everything I know. He feels his calling is to now go back to his old friends and try and reach them.

He is quite deep, and especially loves talking about Christian philosophy and apologetics. He was also blown away when introduced to reformed theology for the first time. The giddy excitement on his face and in his tone is quite contagious. And it is things like this that encourage me and motivate me.

Agnes and I were also blessed to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary in style last Sunday. Thanks to a wonderful couple back in Australia who contributed some money 'to be spent on our marriage', we were able to go away to a place called the haven, on the river Nile.
The food and scenery was amazing, and it was a precious time to unwind, reflect and plan goals for the next year or marriage.

It has been wonderful so far, marriage is a fantastic gift.
It is in no way easy, and often you can find yourself being stretched in ways you could never of imagined, as God sanctifies you in a way that only a marriage can. But it is precious none the less, and I wouldn't trade it in for anything else. We are very blessed in our marriage so far ... trials and all!

Lastly, if you could all pray for my Visa situation. My visa is currently being processed after using an agent to do most of the work for me. It seems pretty good that I will get a visa, but we are hoping for a two year working visa, instead of the one year working visa.

If I only get one year, it may be awkward as I will have to reapply during elections next year, which is really not a stable time in the government and might cause some issues.

Otherwise, I thank you for all the support and love. Your prayers and your financial support are always a blessing, and we cannot do what we do without you.

Much love and God bless.