Gulu; June 14

Gulu is a town in Northern Uganda which has been terrorized for many years by the "Lord's Resistance Army," which is lead by Joseph Kony, a rebel leader intent on overthrowing the Ugandan government. You may have seen the film "Invisible Children" which documents the plight of the children in this area. Thousands of children have been abducted into the LRA where they either become brainwashed desensitized killers or are used as the means of desentizing the other children to death and violence. It is a terrible evil.
Because of the fear of the rebels, many people fled to IDP camps (Internally Displaced Camps). These consist of little grass huts govering acres and acres of land. Even here though, the children have not been safe, and so thousands of children used to walk miles into the center of town every night to sleep in hospitals and others places, until about 6 months ago.
It was not in the plans for this summer to visit this region, but for at least the last six months there has been peace in the region. The LRA has fled either into the Sudan or the Congo. So, when Dave Eby recieved an invitation to come up and support the opening of church in this place, he collected some information from various reports and locals, and determined that it was safe to go.
So we went! Sorry to those in my family who I didn't tell about this one - thought it might be better to let you know how it went once I got back - so you could sleep!

Journal, 6/14
Tonight we took part in an evangelistic crusade in Gulu near the IDP's where a church is being established. What sights! Thatched huts, singing, dancing, malnurished children, preaching, testimonies (My dear friend Mitchell Moore gave his).
-Struck by the hollow eyes of the IDP camp children. Their is much more sorrow evident with these children than even with those in the slums of Kampala.