Elvis is alive and living in Northern Uganda

Last summer when the church hosted the World Vision AIDS Experience, Lorna and I committed to sponsor two World Vision children, one in Mozambique and one in North Uganda. Elvis is 8 years old and lives in a very rural area outside of the city of Gulu on a small piece of land owned by her family. Oh, and Elvis is a girl! We have found out that Elvis is not a common name here in Uganda, for a boy or a girl (for that matter, where in the world, outside of La Vegas, is Elvis a common name?! I have to tell you though, our Elvis is the most gentle and sweet 8 year old you'll ever meet.

She and her family spent many years in an internal displacement camp in North Uganda due to the horrible rebel movement that has terrorized this part of the world for 20 years. The family has just recently moved back to the family farm and they are trying to rebuild their lives. The good news is that their little plot of land is like a garden of Eden, with lush vegetation that provides fruits and vegetables for the whole family.

Meeting Elvis was a bit "awkward". I'm not sure they have a lot of white folks come to their home and Elvis was, not unexpectedly, a bit shy. We exchanged greetings, heard from her uncle who's the head of the family, meet her mother and siblings and came to understand that her father had died sometime in the last year. I brought Elvis a few gifts from Lorna and me and she seemed to particularly like the lavender flip flops. As we parted, I promised to write her more frequently and I plan on keeping that promise. In the mean time, because Elvis is a sponsored child, she will have access to school, health care and other services which World Vision and Cherry Hills will be providing in this area in future years. May the Lord bless Elvis and her family! Gene