Beauty in Suffering

It's hard to know what is important to write about, since there’s so much. So here I go..
First of all, I got to lead my first person to Christ two nights ago. I was sitting among our neighbors under only the bright light of the moon, with little Lukwia (a precious, spunky 5-year old boy) in my arms. A man sitting among us read a poster we had made with some verses in Acholi and said to me, "I want to be born again. I am a drunk." So we talked about how Jesus can come into his heart and make him a new man, and he can start his new life with Jesus now. We prayed together for this to happen. Then I told him his kids need him to be a good dad, and God can teach him how to be that. It is a common place here for men to sit around and get drunk while the women do everything. All the farming and digging and cooking, all the child-rearing, everything. The men need to be discipled. Though here there are nonprofits on every corner, there is a huge need for discipleship in general. Many pastors barely know the Bible and tell their congregations off-the-wall, false things. Pray that the Truth of God abounds.
Yesterday we went into Tegot, the area all of ECM’s ministry here is focused. The area has been hit hard by the LRA. We went into a hut and encouraged the mothers of ECM’s sponsored children, told testimonies, and read the Word. One woman told how one night when the LRA raided her village, she started praying fervently to the Lord. They missed only her hut. Many of them told how their suffering brought them to the Lord. These are important things for us to realize. Still no healings. I prayed for a woman whose feet had been maimed by a land mine. That happens a lot here. After we prayed, she told me she is blessed by ECM coming to teach her and her children about Jesus since she cannot reach a church to “offer her prayers.”
The kids are wonderful and hilarious. I am trying hard to get them to call me Ellie rather than munu or mzungu. They’re just so amazed to have contact with a white person. We have been teaching them the Word through short Bible lessons, skits, and singing songs. We’re trying to help the staff learn how to teach in a way where the kids really understand, rather than just repeat things, a method standard in Ugandan education. I also did first aid for the first time today. The kids had some pretty nasty sores, but they should heal really well with the help of some washing, hydrogen peroxide, Neosporin, and bandages. Apparently people here respond to medicine very well since they have it so sparingly. Their immune systems are amazing too.
It’s also really interesting to be around people who don’t hug. They are affectionate people, but they show it through holding hands. I’m learning Acholi steadily. The people are so delighted and surprised at my desire to learn their language. I guess I’ll have to come back, because I can’t use the language anywhere except northern Uganda and southern Sudan. Haha!
I don’t feel like I’m doing a lot here. The Ugandan staff, fortunately, would probably fare well without us. Everything has to be translated anyway. However, I’m learning about doing small things with great love, and glorifying God with everything I do.
That’s all for now. Feel free to ask me any questions. :-)