this year pulaski high school started a global awareness club. they picked a subject that they wanted to raise money for. they chose to raise money for a high school in northern uganda among the refugee camps. they picked a goal to raise 10,000 dollars. at one of their fundraisers (dinner, movie, auction) they showed the movie "invisible children." a funny and entertaining 45 minute documentary on the displacement camps in uganda. it was at this dinner they also gave information on a trip they would be taking to washington dc a week later for displace me. displace me was a peaceful rally to grow awareness on what is going on in uganda and try to see results from it.
i took a long shot and asked the lady in charge (jill) if it might be possible that i could go. she knew i was a youth pastor and jumped at the chance. so this past saturday i woke up at 5am to meet at the school to be a part of a group of 60 give or take for displace me. i was somewhat excited about the rally but the opportunity for me to meet more teens was a great chance for outreach. (please pray for the seeds i planted, that i will be able to water and see God grow the seeds)
the trip lasted approximately 42 hrs. when we arrived in dc at 4pm we set up our home for the night. we made a village out of cardboard amongst more home of card board. overall there were about 6,000 in attendance who also slept in their makeshift home. during the evening they showed new videos of what was happening in uganda. they had us write letters to senators, call 5 friends to tell them about what was going on. the most interesting thing for me was how one would eat in a refugee camp. the women would get the water and the men would be the hunters. so they gave us this task. for food the whole time we were there was water and saltine crackers. it was the womens job to bring water. they would have to wait in a line for water but could only grab one water at a time and bring it back to the men until everyone had water. the same thing happened for the guys with saltines. it made it a chore, it was part of their custom.
that night we went to bed in our cardboard cabin as the temperature declined and the humidity increased. i didnt sleep to well and ended up awake more time in the night then i was asleep. my body ached because of the cold and i am not sure if i was drifting in and out of sleep or a coma. i ended up walking around for a while til i warmed up and then would go back to bed. it made it for a long night. i was especially estatic to see the sun rise. i am not saying this to complain but to say i was displaced. i was uncomfortable with my surrounding for those 5-6 hours during the night. that little time of suffering made me really reflect on the refugee camps in uganda realizing that something like this wa happening for the last 21 years. some of these kids that this affected most had never known life without war and without a home.
we followed the night up with a tour of the holocaust museum. obviously another tragedy where countless people suffered. this weekend i was displaced. i was taken for a ride through some horrible images and emotions but lucky for me it was only a weekend. i was able to come home to my nice bed and be grateful for what i had. through suffering we can find a hope and a joy. unfortunately for those in uganda there is not much joy.
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