Dec. 20 – God held back the rain today - Kitugum Prison

  

Ministry Partners,

Well, things are going much differently than what we have been planning for.

Last night the music on my side of the hall in the hotel, where we are was so loud that Alfred had me moved across the hall to the side he and Aaron are in; it was much quieter I must say. Hotels like the one we are in are quite interesting. This is a very expensive hotel but they have two sections, the very expensive section for travelers and locals who have money and then they have the section we are in, for locals without money. Alfred rented our rooms as a local at a very reasonable price. We get to eat in the same restaurant and get the same wonderful comped breakfast as the wealthy patrons.  This morning we were blessed with another wonderful buffet breakfast.

This tree’s bark is used for making traditional clothing and wrapping deceased bodies for burial.

Then we were off for a 1 hr. 45min. drive to today’s prison, but there is definitely something wrong with the van as it died going down the road and there were a couple of other issues but we arrived at almost 11am. The O.C. spoke with Alfred yesterday about our visit but was not there when we arrived so Alfred spoke with the Deputy O.C. who said the O.C. was “coming”. I learned a long time ago that that statement does have a large variety of meanings. The Deputy was concerned about rain since the men would be outside and then there was the issue of bringing the 32 women and babies in, so we waited. Finally, at 12 noon, the O.C. arrived and we were allowed to go inside.

It was an answer to prayer that God held back the rain today. Then the inmates were able to pick up all the drying cassava that was on tarps on the ground. Cassava, is a starchy root vegetable and is a major source of carbohydrates.

I noticed a tree with a most interesting trunk at the edge of the parking area at the prison and Aaron explained about it. He said the bark can be used for a number of thing like making traditional clothing and wrapping deceased bodies for burial but that the trunk of this tree had not been well cared for..

The one very large tree provided shade for most of the 876 men in the open center area in front of me while a smaller tree provided shade for the 30 women seated to my right. The O.C. and Deputy sat behind me to my left with Alfred and Aaron.  A VERY tall inmate translated directly into Acholi for me and he did a good job.  We were able to complete the entire crusade in 2 hours. It was such a joy to hear them praying to ask Jesus to be their Savior and then praying to forgive someone else or themselves. They finished by apologizing to each other, what a wonderful sight to watch shake hands and say, “I’m sorry” to another inmate they had argued with or had a fight with. When I asked them what their heart felt like after the apology exercise they responded with peaceful, happy, good. I told them they now know how to live lives of peace and not turmoil, even in this prison.  

When we finished I was able to give each women a scarf and each child a crochet cap.

The drive back to Gulu seemed longer than going to the prison because I dozed off as Alfred drove, arriving at 4pm. The guys then left me at the hotel and went back to the shop where they had been before to find out what the remaining issues are and get those fixed.

It is now almost 6:30pm and the guys are still not back from the garage so I will get this posted.

Please continue to pray for the prisoners, the team and that God would intervene on our behalf, defeating Satan’s attacks on us.

That none would be lost,

Arlene