The Whisperings of a Traveler's Heart: Land.

While in Gulu we crammed the leaders of the church and our team in a van and drove out to a village about Twoish bumpy hours away.

It was pretty full on. The village we were at has started a co-op with about 40 farming families. Most of them lived in IDP camps during the war for around 10-15 years. Which was such a living hell that never ended. These camps ... I can't even begin to describe the conditions and stories. These farmers and village survived. So when they were send back to their land with a machete and hoe, they had 10-15 years of growth on their land. Let's also add in that they have three seasons. Oh and also in this particular village during the war was J. Kony's main base camp and training ground for the kidnapped child soldiers, where girls would be raped and taken as wives, baptism was where you would be peed on by kony. You can imagine the blood sacrifices and other demonic events that took place on this land and to these precious Ugandan people.

An amazing woman started this farming co op to help these starving farmers once it was safe to go back to their village.

A church and school now stands where the training camp used to be. That was where we had our programs.

We had an program for the women of the church. Word spread like a wild fire and we had so many more woman come than what was expected.

The atmosphere was very different and much harder. I can't even imagine what it would have been like without the prayers of our team and intercessors. Seriously. Anyone that had ever been to Africa knows that the spiritual side is very much in your face here. Good or dark.

We taught, of course there was dancing and shouts, we decided to do a fire tunnel again before lunch. Since their were women from the village that came, there were a lot more non Jesus lovers in the mix. We had one of the leaders from the church during the fire tunnel at the beginning of the line asking each woman if they were Christians. If they weren't by the time they were touched by the second person they had asked Jesus into their hearts. Heh heh. Yes. #geterdone
Also had the same situations where whatever was in them rascals or señor Holy Spirit would come out. This time the woman with rascals couldn't even make it up to the front of the line. They would just start manifesting thrashing around. I wasn't able to sit down and listen to all of their stories of Freedom, one woman was one of the brides of Kony that was delivered that day. There was another one that took a little longer and I found it really interesting that even though we had lunch being served at that time and these people were really hungry, a lot of them stayed around including a group of kids. I was told they were waiting to see freedom take place. I liked how even the kids were being around this kind of stuff early on learning and growing from it.

This cutie had no idea a service was going on right behind her

We had another program handing out the hygiene kits again. We sent out all the men and boys from the program outside and had all the school girls and more Mommas in the place. It was so funny to watch the curious men peaking thru the cracks and windows trying to figure out what the girls were getting. Again, it was just so touching to watch again how much Jesus cares for us. Not just about the heart stuff about the practical side too. Here was over 75 women back in the states that sewed and put together these kits so girls wouldn't end up dropping out of school. It's said that if girls would be educated there would be an end to poverty (national geographic ). Watching their faces as they giggled and blushed as they were taught how to use them and then feeling the excitement as the kits were handed out. I ll just have to post a video when I get back.

We also handed out mercy bags of food and supplies. These people were hungry. They survive on only $340/year....

I think that day had three special memories that I will never forget.

The first one was the ground/closed door ceremony. Our combined team and the church dedicated the land back to Jesus. They closed the doors that had been opened to the stinkin Mc stinker enemy and

opened the doors to The Lord. To see the unity of all of us and to see the faces as their eyes told of the pain of their past has no words in this world. To watch again these people rise up and overcome so many years of hell they endured, now stand back on that land and give it to Jesus was just out of this world. It was just leg numbingly (is that even a word?) surreal to see how señor holy Spirit had been working out a plan for this day for a long while) one of our team members had a key made up of Africa that had hope on it. first there was this prophetic act of opening a door and then it was buried into the land and the pastor of the church also wrote out scripture on paper and buried it next to the key. An alter made up of the blessing of bricks ( they were given a brick maker machine thingy which was such a blessing- it used to take a few months making bricks using that hive thingy they do and now it takes just a few days) over the buried treasure. I watched as this powerhouse of an intercessor women who watched her husband get cut up into pieces pray blessing and proclaimed The Lords goodness and favor over this land. Come.On.

The second one was the tractor. For two years all this co op could farm was only five acres/farmer because they did it with hoes and their hands. That was with three seasons too! That amazing woman from the states got this crazy donation and was able to purchase a tractor for the farmers in the co op to use. She has been discipling them for years and has such a strong relationship with them. They set up someone that would be a supervisor, someone that would train them all and while we were there they got this tractor hauled up there. From five acres, they now will be able to open up so much more land that they will be getting around four times more than what they were getting per year. They kept saying, this is going to break the back of the enemy and get them out of poverty. Watching these men's faces as the tractor rolled up to them was a sight that has played over and over in my mind. This tractor means food for their family. It means sending their kids to school. It means helping their neighbors when they are hungry, it means being able to give more to the church. It means that they don't have to abuse their bodies anymore working the harsh land, hungry and thirsty, but unable to stop because their families would die. This tractor is another step towards them supporting themselves and becoming everything that our Father had intended for them. They prayed and dedicated the tractor to The Lord. I can't wait to hear back in just one year what has happened.

The third one was the fire. There are always these fires everywhere. I m not sure if they are fires that were stared to burn land on purpose and they just got out of control or what but while we were driving home, we stopped and watched this gut wrenching scene play out. Here in some village after all this celebration and victory we had, watched this out of control fire burning up not only this good land but also it was coming towards their houses and burning up these buildings. The fire was taller than the trees when we saw it and the wind was blowing it so fast over land. Of course, as any Christian would do, started to pray against it and call down wind/rain. Watching them as they tried to stomp out part of the fire that was moving towards their houses using branches because there was no water around, watching the kids crying and you could just see terror in their faces as their homes were in trouble and burning was so heart breaking. I had no words of prayer after a while. My tears were my words. It's so unbelievable. How many times must they be put back in order to take more steps forward. That's why their prayers are so powerful. That is all they have at times. That's all they stand on and that is enough. That is how they overcome trial after trial. You know, that fire died down to a point where they could fight back. I think that was the closest experience I have witnessed where the Weather was moved by a command. I still would have preferred that a cloud would appear just over this blazing fire and it would only rain just over the fire. That would have made for a great sign to preach after but it didn't. We drove off...but I will never forget these overcomers.