Dear Friends and Family,
Hello from Uganda! I’ve been wanting to write and tell you about an amazing experience I was so blessed to be part of the other day while I’ve been staying in Gulu, Northern Uganda.
This past holiday season, my home church in San Jose, CA, WestGate church took part in Advent Conspiracy and generously gave money for water projects around the world. Like many of you, I’ve given money for these kinds of global projects before. Maybe it’s a check in the offering bucket at church or a credit card donation online – you do it as a means of obeying God and serving the less fortunate around the world – but (if you’re anything like me), it seems far away and disconnected from the eventual and actual solutions that will happen in some distant country. So, I’m writing to you now, hoping I’ll be able to help draw you into the reality of what a check can really mean.
I was blown away to hear that WestGate wanted to send part of the money they gave for Advent Conspiracy to Uganda for a well project in coordination with my organization, Hope Alive!. The details get confusing, but show just how cool it is to be a part of the body of Christ – WestGate gave money to Living Water International for a well project in Uganda that could benefit the children of Hope Alive!. In Gulu, so many wells were broken or neglected during the civil war, leaving communities without clean water sources, even up to today. So, I worked with Life Giving Water (a Ugandan-based company that does the actual contracting work) to locate wells in that needed rehabilitation and were located in communities in which many of our Hope Alive! children live.
At the beginning of this week I had the awesome experience of going to the community dedications with Life Giving Water for the first two wells that have been rehabilitated through WestGate Church.
We drove for about 20 minutes down dirt walking paths in “the bush,” then walked still deeper down another small path. I can’t explain why, but the sight immediately brought tears to my eyes – through an opening in the tall dry grasses, a group of about 30 people had gathered around the well in the blazing hot sun. I had to stop to take in the moment – something that seems small and disconnected – like writing a check – meant so much to these people.
We were greeted warmly with handshakes, hugs and smiles. We held a small dedication time with the people for their newly-working well. Though I should have expected it, I was unprepared when they asked me to speak to the people. However, it was a holy moment for me, and God certainly gave me the words. “We met for the first time today, but we are all family,” I told them. I told them about my church family in California, in America. I told this community about how much they are loved and prayed for and how this church in America loves God, and that is why they sent money to fix their well.
This one particular well is in the area of Koro where there are about 120 households (equaling about 600 people)who will now have a working water source again. Their well had been broken for about a year. During that time, people would either have to walk for miles to the nearest well or many families dug holes in the nearby swamp and used the dirty water instead.
Peter, the director of Life Giving Water in Gulu, told me that as they repaired the well, they also shared the gospel with the community. He told me that everyone who came to the dedication that day had accepted Jesus. So I prayed for them that day this prayer and I hope you will continue to pray for the people of Koro and the other communities these working wells will impact:: “Father, we pray that every time these people use this water that it will give them life and good health that they will be reminded that You are our Living Water and You have given us life.”
Life Giving Water is in the process of rehabilitating other wells that impact other communities like Koro. This project is special to me in so many ways. It means so much because we are intentionally locating wells in communities where the children and staff of Hope Alive! are concentrated. It is such a tangible way to impact their lives. This was an amazing way to feel connected my church family – almost like I was the one who got to hand-deliver a gift from California all the way to Uganda! Above all though, it was truly an awe- inspiring experience of being a part of God’s global church – no matter that we represented four different organizations/groups. We came together as God’s people to love on God’s people. Nothing beats that. I’m quite sure this is just a small taste of what heaven will be like as we worship God together.
under His Grace,
kacie
**you can look at more photos the well dedications at this link::
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40685408@N06/sets/72157626237407362/
