Isaac Wootton: Seeds Planted

On the way to Karamoja    “I was sure that the seeds I and the others had planted were going to be watered and grow” Prologue What follows are excerpts from my diary written in the field during a nine day missionary journey into the remote north eastern district of Karamoja, Uganda. Some comments have been added after-the-fact to clarify or elaborate as fitting. Isaac Wootton 18th June 2009 I am now in Karamoja. The moment I stepped off the bus, into the hot dry heat of a late afternoon, my body dripping with sweat, head still dazed by the bright and intense sun I became fully convinced. I spread my arms to the heavens, and stepped up onto my tippy toes to stretch out my body wore out from the seemingly endless bumpy ride. I took in a deep breath, just in time to catch the last of the dust cloud that had followed our bus and enveloped our camp. I was excited, but anxious at the same time – what ministries would we be involved in? How was God going to move? Was I ready for what lie ahead? Team from Fort Portal I was leading a team of nine from our town in Fort Portal in western Uganda. My curious crew consisted of four of our full time School of Ministry students, and four church members – two of which were only teenagers. Half of them had never been on the eastern dry side of the Nile, and some had never even left a 10 mile radius of their jungle green birth town. For their wonder filled eyes, we had just stepped on the moon. On the bus, my team had joined a mission group of 19 from Calvary Chapel Kampala, which had joined another team of around 40 people, mostly pastors, from all over Uganda heading to likely the most remote part of Uganda, Kotido district in the Northern East  area of Karamoja. Our overstuffed bus load was the windup crew of a month long outreach extravaganza spearheaded and organized by Ugandan national ministry. Partnering with another ministry meant a lot less logistical considerations for me, however it did leave me somewhat in the dark concerning the details of how we would be ministering. Hence the anxiety over what lie ahead. Already I could see the tiredness all over the faces of my team brought on by the two day body wrenching trip. Could they handle this? Could they handle what was ahead? We were barely off the bus when I was scuffled to our camp living quarters for our week long stay – a concrete floor in a room used for housing diesel fuel. Oh, the wondrous smell of petrol, body odor, dust, and the nearby overflowing pit latrines made the ground under the neighboring trees seem a lot more inviting – if it wasn’t for all those pesky thorn bushes. No sooner had we dumped our bags off our shoulders, that we were bombarded with a wealth of instructions we would need for the days ahead, all in a new dialect of English, by a tall man with a funny hat pointing here and there. “Here’z da kitchen… dere are devotionz promptly at six turdy somewherz here… watch for da landmines dere and dere… ha ha ha ha” and so forth. Having grown up in Israel, my eyes became saucers at the mention of landmines. I was not the only one who seemed concerned. A few days later, after tip-toeing around all over, I was informed that landmines meant fresh cow or human dung piles. Oh… a slight misunderstanding and a great sigh of relief.     22th June 2009 Nokodokodoi Village After three long days of non-stop ministry, most of which has been follow-up to previous evangelistic activity, my team has proved its effectiveness and time and again shown its willingness to serve. As such we were given the privilege of leading a village ministry and were assigned the village of Nokodokodoi – Yes it is quite a mouthful to say. A mere 30 min back jarring drive across the semi-arid desert, across dry creek beds, past small acacia groves put us quite literally into the patriarchal days of Abraham. We had been given the task of sharing the good news of Christ, and then equipped for showing the Jesus Film.  As we piled out of the back of the Landcruiser we were all struck a little, in a half-state of shock. I look at my team mates and could see the same in them. It was like stepping into a different time or age. The old men were gathering under a large spreading tree, proud looks on their brazen faces, hardened by the sun and wind, bright hats brandishing feathers and other decorations. I thought “how are we going to approach them?” I smiled, the universal greeting, then in reply I saw the most precious sight, huge grins and genuine smiles mirroring back. A glow of faces filled with wonder at us – as much as we were them. I was quite pleased to meet the pastor who had planted a church nearby not long before. A hearty handshake brought me back to the 21st century. He was to be our translator for the time of teaching. After setting up equipment, amidst a sea of inquisitive kids, and laughing women, we began to sing – proceeding our time of sharing the Word. The young men who assembled seemed to like the tunes blaring from the speakers and began jumping in unison. Higher and higher they jumped, thumping the ground with their sticks and genuinely enjoying the music. When the time of teaching began the first mention of Jesus let to a purposeful ad deliberate exodus by any young warrior that had unexpectedly joined the assembly. Surprisingly the older men remained. A short introduction to sin, salvation, the Love of God and basics found in John 3 (through strong usage of the wilderness illustration of Jesus as the serpent on the pole) led the way to securing their attention and open hearts to the upcoming film. As the sun set on the horizon, wind howling around us, people once again began to gather around the projector screen (and 18mm “old-school” film machine).An alter call brought about a dozen men and slightly greater number of women and children into a call of repentance and public confession of faith – of course led by the local pastor. Then an introduction to the film gave reason why we were there; not to entertain, but to share and explain about Jesus. It was a brilliant moonless night, sitting in the dusty dirt, under a star filled sky, mesmerized by the crowd of now over 500 gathered all around the flickering screen. Jesus was coming to this village. He was received well and late that night as we packed our gear to leave the village I was sure that the seeds I and the others had planted were going to be watered and grow. The local pastor, John, a man from that district who had been called to go the village, was filled with a sweet spirit and right heart. Through our conversations I was sure he was going to disciple and follow-up on both those that had confessed Christ, and those who had been exposed to Christ. 25th June 2009 They seemed friendly After eight quite tiring but very fruitful days, as I prepare to leave Karamoja exhausted and totally wore out, I leave a changed man. I am proud of my team – now a battle seasoned group of faithful and hardworking individuals that I have come to love even more dearly. This was another important step in their training and growth. I am also profoundly grateful to have met people that will forever remain in my hearts; many of whom I will not likely meet again this side of heaven. I sigh as I pray “Lord, I see the needs are still very great, so why have you not sent more laborers into the harvest.   Postlogue Coming to Jesus How about you? Will you be willing to be a laborer sent into the harvest? Most of the members on the team I led have been saved less than 3 years. One of which only received Christ a few months ago. They were still willing to sacrifice, give it all, share what they had (if only a genuine testimony), serve fully, and love completely. So again I ask… How about you?   You can find a video clip of the Karamoja trip on the link below: http://www.teachbibletruth.com/video/MissionKaramoja.wmv http://www.teachbibletruth.com/photo/gallery_2009-7/index.html (pictures)