Rainy Daze

The rains seemed to have officially arrived as every afternoon we are assaulted by a heavy down pour. Im praying that it continues for the sake of my garden and the hungry bellies in Karamoja.
Below are some pictures i snapped about a month ago. They were taken while registering households in the mountainous region of Tapac. These days office work has had me too busy to escape into the field.

Karamoja Drive By

A couple of weeks ago we went to Karamoja for some needs assessment. Before leaving we heard all the rumors (some true, some not) from Ugandans such as, "oh that place is so very hot", "you should fear the Karamojong, the are very dangerous" and "don't look at their cattle."
Traditionally, every aspect of Karamojong life has revolved around their cattle. It is common knowledge among the Karamojong that all the cattle in the world belong to them and therefore they are entitled to anyones cattle. Frequently violence flares up as cattle raiders steal cattle from neigboring Karamojong and even ethnic groups beyond.
During one of our needs assessment, we asked what development projects would work well in Karamoja. One man stated that we should "start a piggery, because people can't run with pigs"

Construction has started!

I was able to visit Melisha's house on Friday and was so excited to see that construction had already begun. The builders were almost finished with the walls and were planning on putting the roof up over the weekend.

A Widow's Story

I met Melisha for the first time today as we visited her in the slums of Kampala. Upon arrival, I stared across a sea of mud at a small structure which lay in ruins. I squished-squashed through the mud, and soon found her curious face peeking around the rubble. Melisha welcomed us with a warm smile, and immediately began to tell us her life story. She tells about how her daughter had started building the house they are living in, but passed away from AIDS before it reached completion. Since her death, Melisha and her three orphaned grandchildren have been living in the half completed 6ft by 6ft room. A dirty sheet with holes acts as a door, and looking up I see the corrugated tin roof stretching only over half the room. I am able to stare straight into her house and see that last night’s rain has turned her dirt floor into a muddy mess. To make matters worse, there is no bed, so she and the kids have to roll their bedding out on top of the wet ground. Because Melisha's husband passed away, she tries to take odd jobs such as digging in people’s gardens and washing their laundry to generate income. However, this barely provides enough money for one meal a day and certainly not enough to pay the children's school fees. Melisha informs us that both she and her six year old grandson Charles have tested positive for HIV. The story could end here and probably in a lot of cases does, but as we drove off in our comfortable SUV, to our warm dry home I was reminded of the verses in James which state “what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do.” So many times I feel completely paralyzed and incapable of helping the needs I see around, but here was an opportunity where I could act and make a difference. I could show the love of Christ in a real tangible way. Driving away I looked back through Melisha’s “front door” and saw her on her knees thanking God for our visit.

Kristi and I have decided to repair Melisha's house, if you would like more information, contact me at rucovdm@hotmail.com or Kristi at torik83@yahoo.com

Melisha and her six year old grand-son, Charles. They both have tested HIV positive.
Damali (our co-worker) and Melisha sitting in the "doorway" of the home

The road leading to Melisha's home

Telling Melisha about the new widow's support group SP hopes to start

Mount Zion, Rainy Crusades and Endless Horizons

The last few weeks have been eventful as we have seen the ministry team battle the rainy season for rights to show the Jesus film outdoors, watched three little boys paddle away on a glass lake into infinity, and cotton clouds cover hilltop churches. I experienced a three orientation on proposal writing in Kampala and a three day disorientation as my body and mind struggled to settle back into an urban groove. Italian Gelato, a speedy internet and paved streets can sometimes be a tough adjustment.

A pastor who received ministry training in his living room with his family

Kids dancing in the rain on a stage during a rain delay at a Jesus film showing

Pastors training attended by over 80 ministers and church leaders
Preaching at a crusade
Hiding out during the rain intermission
3 boys taking a swim in Lake George
Pastor Robert taking notes
Curious little boy in our doorway
Child attending a crusade
HDR of the sunset in Ibanda

Local church where we held a training workshop

Random Picture Posting

Had some extra time today so thought I would post some pictures that had not previously made it on here. This upcoming week we will be in the village of Mabaale where we will be working with the MET (mobilize, equip and train) team AKA HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

You are welcome Mr. Luke and Madam Carol

So this is how we are greeted everywhere we go. For some reason the R in Ruco always becomes an L and the rest is just up to personal preference. Kristi inevitably becomes either Christine or Carol, which I guess Carol works since its her mother's name. I have no problem with this however, since I am often unable to catch their names either. We have been very busy the last few weeks as you can probably notice in our posting drought. We did have an awesome opportunity to go to Queen Elizabeth national park a few weekends ago and it was wonderful.