No history books, just painted rocks

While waiting in Kumi (nearby town) for a police report for the car that Bill and his friends totalled, we stole off down the road to check out a recent heritage site: Nyero Painted Rocks. Apparently they are thousands of years old, but no one is quite sure. We had a local take us through the 3 different sites. It's too bad that these sites are not being preserved as well as they could be, as one site was semi destroyed when the LRA camped out in this area and another one is being slowly washed away by the rain. The locales here continue to celebrate their heritage and took great pride in telling us the varied meanings of each painting.

Painting #1
Inside the cave where painting #1 is... this is where LRA rebels would come to camp when they were in the area.

Tim and Jo with our tour guide... a 70 year old Ugandan who was featured in the book "The Eye of the Storm", if anyone has heard of it...

Painting #2: a high stone wall

These are the paintings that are being slowly washed away by rain

No need for dryers here in this warm climate

The boulders are the mountains here

Painting #3: Inside a cave

View from inside the cave

What happens when you breed a cactus with a tree?

Overall, a good visit.





While waiting in Kumi (nearby town) for a police report for the car that Bill and his friends totalled, we stole off down the road to check out a recent heritage site: Nyero Painted Rocks. Apparently they are thousands of years old, but no one is quite sure. We had a local take us through the 3 different sites. It's too bad that these sites are not being preserved as well as they could be, as one site was semi destroyed when the LRA camped out in this area and another one is being slowly washed away by the rain. The locales here continue to celebrate their heritage and took great pride in telling us the varied meanings of each painting...

Pastor Profiles soon to follow

Since I have arrived in Soroti and have been thinking about how best to prepare for my teaching and discipleship, I have been more and more convicted of my need to first learn what the situation really is like here. I want to know what I am getting myself into- in regards to what the true needs, questions, concerns, joys, struggles are of the people here. So part of my focus has been to meet and get to know the local pastors.

Recently I had the idea- why don’t I record interviews with several pastors, and use that as a way to discern the landscape here. So what will soon follow are the fruit of my various interviews I have done. They are recorded conversations between the pastor and I, in which I have asked about their testimony, their call the pastorate, and what the life and ministry of a Pastor in Soroti is like. They really have their thumb on the pulse here.

These are resources not only for me, but also, I hope, blessings to you- insight into the joys and struggles here, prayer requests, etc. They really have much wisdom and passion to be shared.

Please read on and if you would like an audio copy of an the interview email me.

~peace be with you,
Josiah

A Surprise Meeting and New Friends

Coming back from town after a rather frustrating experience, I had 3 people in my living room waiting for me. They were local artists wanting to know what I was planning on doing to develop art in Soroti. So I spent the afternoon talking with them, learning their stories and their dreams. All three are very talented… Robert is an African batik painter and Saul and Judith create crafts out of homemade magazine beads.

These magazine beads are an interesting phenomenon in Uganda—you can find them most anywhere. The process of making them began in Kampala, in a section of town populated by refugees. Boredom reigned and they spent most of their days brewing beer. A Korean woman visited and taught them how to make these homemade beads. And it caught on… from beer to beads!

These artists, Robert, Saul and Judith want to develop their art but they have no market among the Ugandans. Their market exists primarily among visitors.

So here we are… please pray for us as we encourage these artists in their giftings, equip these artists to spread the gospel through their art and empower them by developing a sustainable income.

Watching Robert paint an African batik

Beads made from magazine strips. These were hand crafted by my new friend Saul

The beads phenomenon... these are huge everywhere in Uganda

Bill’s Car: Back axle drops out on the way to Soroti

This past week, we anticipated meeting International Teams worker Bill Fitch who was travelling here to Soroti with two Kenyan pastors, Francis and Henry. Their purpose here was to set up “Listen to Learn”- a ministry that provides resources for pastors. They had all the equipment needed and we were looking forward to their arrival… a place was awaiting them.

Little did we know that it would be a miracle to actually meet Bill, Francis and Henry. On the stretch between Kumi and Soroti, the back axle broke. This sent them spinning twice in the air until they crashed into a tree. We got a call about the accident and Tim went to pick them up. Once they arrived, we welcomed the bruised men and tried our best to clean them up as we pondered what to do. The x-ray technician at the local hospital had already left for the day and we were unsure about the damages done to the men’s bodies, especially Bill’s hand, arm and neck. He had definitely broken his hand in several places and had severe bruising behind his ears, which possibly meant internal bleeding or a fractured skull.

We were thankful to have a visiting nurse in our midst… Jennifer, a skilled nurse used to working in the late night ER. She created a makeshift cast for Bill and warned us of the severity of his bruising. Kampala was a 6 hour trip and fairly dangerous to travel to at night.

So we prayed.

It’s difficult to express how intense this evening was. We sensed there was a great spiritual struggle. Almost everything for the Listen to Learn ministry was destroyed in the wreck, yet all three men walked out with fairly minor injuries. In a chaotic situation, the atmosphere of the room was calm as each man smiled and considered each other’s need and took time to get to know us. While we could have been spent our hours panicking, we swapped stories and prayed.

God was present… it was a miracle that they survived the wreck and all woke up in the morning feeling better. They took Bill to Kampala, found out that he had broken his hand in 5 places and that the only damage to his head found by the doctors was from a stroke he had had years previous.

This whole situation spoke to us of the measures Satan will go to attack us, yet the supreme protection God places around His people.

Sights of Soroti

Driving into Soroti. Yellow building is the internet cafe, where we post all our blogs!

Entering IDP (Internally Displaced People's Camp) in Soroti... less than a thousand people remaining

IDP market. Here they are selling "fat ladies". Not quite sure what they are...

Refugee child that followed us around all morning. Even the little ones carry children on their backs. It is likely that the mother has died and she has taken on the role. When she placed the baby elsewhere, she climbed on my lap... seemed like she needed a little loving as well.

Always a crowd of young children following the Mzungu's (white people)

Soroti Rock... not allowed to be climbed but...

we did anyways and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise!

Soroti waking up to the early morning... our view while we prayed for the city

Sunset near where we are staying.

Sugar cane!

Fabric Land at the village market... just down the road from Soroti

First days in Uganda: Visiting Kampala... the capital

Sights of the city

What happens when you build a jump on a main road?

Buying plants on the side of the road... we now have a papyrus plant!

Safety lesson #1: No ropes

Being persuaded by an instrument dealer... we almost bought it but since he could not tune it properly, we decided against it

Back To(wards) My Home: Stories of Moving on From Displacement Camps in Northern Uganda

Please click on the picture to open a PDF. document that sheds light on the many journeys into and out of the Internally Displaced People Camps (IDPs) in Northern Uganda, as well as giving vivid snapshots of life in the camps. Highly educational.