Dance, Dance, Dance!

Greetings! Another day in the books, and only a few remain. It's hard to believe that our time in Gulu is coming to a close. We've already had so many blessings and look forward to what the Lord has in store in our last days.

Thursday (yesterday) consisted of a mini-tourist trip to Baker's Fort. Though the van ride there and back was a bit much (a very bumpy, slow 25 km each way), it was a time where we could soak in the surroundings, enjoy the beauty, and learn more about the history of this culture. One of the only remaining markings on the rocks other than the ones made by axes (where slaves had their heads cut off because they were regarded worthless) was a cross deeply embedded and highly visible right near the place where the slaves were killed. It was a great time to be out in nature but also a saddening realization of the depravity of man.

After Baker's Fort and a few Power Bars for lunch, we split into 2 groups at a local jail: one with only men and the other with juvenilles. Both times were very meaningful for different reasons. In the session with the adult male prisoners (about 75 men), our team member Allison overcame a fear that had been expressed earlier in the morning during devotion by speaking her testimony to the inmates. This just gives you a taste of what God is doing in and through our team here in Gulu. Regan was able to pray with three men who accepted Christ for the first time. Meanwhile, in the juvenille prison, the group was much smaller (9 boys, ranging from ages 12 - 17). After a brief time of sharing testimony and a story from the Bible, we were challenged to a game of futbol by the boys. Though we were defeated 4-2, we sensed the time was very meaningful in a couple of ways. First, the young boys didn't have much there... only a bed. No school materials, no chairs, etc. Just by being a physical presence and enjoying life with them, their faces lit up and maybe just for a moment their lives seemed better than their surroundings. Secondly, our team continued to grow in light of our team consisting of 7 ladies and 2 men, none of which would claim to be soccer players. There were a few Sports Center worthy highlights, including some incredible saves by Katie G, an assist by Emily to Eric who headed in a goal, and lots of shrieking as the ball came near to us. In other news, Rusty avoided disentary by putting our new found O.R.S. (a homemade fluid replinisher) knowledge into practice. He's back to normal today.

We ended our day fittingly in worship with Gabrielle's church. We danced (literally) before the Lord, surrounded by children doing the same. The sounds of worship could be heard althroughout the village and the time flew by. If you can imagine the craziest wedding reception you've ever been apart of, this exceeded it. Randy brought a great message and we shared some of our songs with them, since they'd been sharing their songs with us. Can't wait to share the pictures!

We'd continue to cherish your prayers for us as we battle fatigue and prepare for our conference tomorrow (Saturday) with the local church leaders.

Blessings,
Regan, Eric, & the midtown gulu team