Week 3 ACHERU

Rehab Room Before

After we painted 

The Source of the Nile

 Debbie and I After Swimming in the Nile 

This was our last full week at ACHERU (Afaayo Children’s Health Education and Rehabilitation Unit). Next week we will be in Gulu (Northern Uganda), then we will be back at ACHERU for less than a week, the last week and a half we will be in the bush teaching vacation Bible school. There were many memorable moments this week including Canada day (We have one Canadian on our team), the fourth of July, and deep spiritual moments with the people who live and work here.  On Monday we celebrated Canada day by waking up Rory (our only Canadian) by singing Canada’s national anthem and making flags out of construction paper. We insisted on carrying Rory around for most of the day on our shoulders (like the queen) and gave Canada stickers to the staff.

Then Thursday was the fourth of July. Aaron and I made burgers and pasta salad for the rest of the team (the most American meal we had the food for) for dinner. We taught the men that live here how to play baseball with a bat carved out of a tree branch and a ball of duck tape. It was a huge hit! We played for almost two hours and by the end, the strong Ugandan men were hitting the ball over the house and out the road. Our team lost by 1 run L We finished the night with a big bang literally. We did not have access to fireworks and so we improvised by filling plastic bottles with vinegar and baking soda and throwing them hard into the house to make them explode. We scared Johnson (the physiotherapist) and Charles (the clinician) so much that they came running up to our house (they live down the road) to make sure we weren’t being attacked.

The more that I’ve been here, the more God has opened my eyes to the spiritual need here and in other parts of Africa. Many people here claim to be “born again,” but have no idea how to put their faith into practice or what being a Christian really means. Rory and I gave a sermon last Sunday on the importance of our life changing after we meet Christ. A Ugandan man came to us with tears in his eyes and confessed that although he was a Christian, he had struggled for years and years with a pornography addiction. We prayed for him and encouraged him to keep seeking the Lord in all that he does and to get good accountability from others.

Our team has collectively been reading the Live Dead Journal during our time here. It had a quote that really struck my heart and I pray that it changes the way that you think about missions.

“If every Christian is already considered a missionary, then all can stay put where they are, and nobody needs to get up and go anywhere to preach the gospel…But if our only concern is to witness where we are, how will people in unevangelized areas ever hear the gospel? The present uneven distribution of Christians and opportunities to hear the gospel of Christ will continue on unchanged.” C. Gordon Olson

Harriet’s Story

Harriet is a seven year old girl who lives at ACHERU. When she first arrived at the center she could not stand up straight because she had tuberculosis of the spine. Right now Harriet runs, jumps and plays like a normal child. After much rehab and treatment Harriet’s back is corrected and she will live a normal life. Unfortunately no one in her family wants her. She came to ACHERU with her grandmother. Her grandmother ran away and left Harriet here. The center tries contacting members of her family, but nobody is willing to come and bring Harriet home. And so she remains at the center alone with an aching heart. 

Continue to Pray for girls like Harriet and the other children at the center