This is Elizabeth, signing on from the World Vision Uganda Gulu Cluster office.
After our adventurous ride from Kampala, we arrived in Gulu town just in time for lunch. Before heading over to Boma Hotel to enjoy some authentic African cuisine, we dropped at our bags at the hotel we are staying at, Hotel Roma. Our rooms here are complete with closets, hot water, and mosquito nets (don't worry mom, even though some of the others are "too cool" for the mosquito nets, I am fighting the peer pressure). Our lunch consisted of rice, boiled potatoes, boiled sweet potatoes, a green spinachy-looking dish, vegetable curry, chicken, and (I think) beef. We were also required to eat boar intestines. I could barely choke them down, but wanting to be culturally sensitive...just teasing! The food is served buffet style and a variety of sodas are offered as beverages.
At lunch we were able to meet many of the World Vision staff members that work at the three Area Development Projects (ADPs) that we are visiting. The introductions here are very formal and individuals are often encouraged to share a short word.
Between lunch and dinner, we were given time to catch up on rest, journaling, and lesson prep. Weary from jet lag, most of us crashed.
Dinner consisted of rice, spaghetti noodles, meat, a peanut sauce, a potato chip-like potato, and a brown bread called millet. Needless to say, the low-carb diet craze has not hit Africa and any illusions of losing weight while we are here have been dispelled. Pastor Arthur joined us for dinner and explained to us a little about the spiritual conditions in Uganda. He told us that there is still a lot of fear-based ancestral worship and even child sacrifice. Christianity is often nominal or pragmatic, but rarely is there deep conviction. Arthur also told us that many of the young people who go to college in the city don't want to return to rural areas to live and serve. As people leave the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, they are returning to villages without any spiritual guidance.
I have to run. Blessings from beautiful Uganda!
p.s. Love and miss you mom and dad!!
Elizabeth- feeling in your element and right at home in the swarms of kids?
ReplyDeletePraying lots from the ol' cubicle...I don't know how many times I've counted ahead the eight hours to figure what time it is there and imagine what you could be up to!
I'm super exited to follow the trip from this blog! Great posts so far- I'm looking forward to hearing what God is doing in and through your team in the days ahead and to learn about Uganda along the way!