Foreign Assignment

My friend, and former volunteer at Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission, Jonelle, sent this report from Northern Uganda:

They say the average person swallows 7 spiders during their lifetime - but I never believed it - until now. I sleep under a mosquito net at night and when I wake there are about 10 dead bugs of different types on my net, another 10 dead or half-dead bugs on the floor, and a spider has made a home and maybe already caught something in his web on my ceiling. Why did God create bugs, and why should they die in my room? I don’t know. But as I listen to them buzzing around in the night, I’m thankful for my mosquito net! :)

In spite of the spiders, scorpions and rats I’ve seen here, I’m glad to be here because I’m much, much more concerned about the people here, who were forced off their land into this IDP camp because of the brutality of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Relative peace has returned to the region, so it’s time for them to leave the camp and go home. But what kind of life will they have?

Imagine, what if God had allowed our spirits to be born in a village in North Uganda? How would we deal with being forced off our land, our possessions stolen, no job, no money for school fees or medicine, numerous deaths in the family from sickness and senseless violence…? Then how would we respond if a “rich” white lady comes to teach us to wash our hands and gives the family a half bar of soap? Would we praise or curse? I don’t know. But this I know – each of us have countless reasons to thank God every day!

In His service in North Uganda, Patongo IDP camp,
Jonelle