Tuesday morning, we returned to Emmanuel Baptist Church to for a full morning of training, hands-on review, and Q and A. On our way into the camp, we saw James, a South Sudanese farmer and member of Emmanuel Church on the path near his home. James is also a representative from this sector of the camp. He was on his way to inform the Camp Commander’s office that a young, seven year old boy had gotten lost at approximately 8:00 pm the night before and was still missing in the bush. This camp is located in dense Ugandan bush country. The child’s parents searched for the child all night, with no success. When we arrived at Emmanuel, Sosthen confirmed that the family attended Emmanuel and the family lived about half a kilometer from the church. Before opening our training session, we started with a period of prayer for the missing child.
We started our training with heavy hearts, but were soon interrupted by the entrance of several church members and the mother carrying her lost boy. He had told his mother that he had been running and hiding from people “chasing” him all night. He was exhausted and likely dehydrated. But, he was safe in his mother’s arms. We gathered around the boy and mother and listened as this church sang praises and gave thanks to God.
After training and tea, Sosthen threw his bag in our 4WD Toyota Superwagon. We met David Taylor on the highway in Kiryandongo and made the almost three hour drive to Pakwach. The drive through north central Uganda and the Murchison Falls National Reserve was spectacular. We arrived at the African Safari Lodge, in the park and on the banks of the White Nile River, at 5:00 pm. At 5:45, a herd of elephants wandered by our hotel. They were large, close, and magnificent.
After a fish dinner in the outdoor dinning room, we turned into our thatched-roof huts for the evening. Tomorrow, we will be on to Arua and the Rhino Refugee Camp.
Jon Ozmint
EDEN in Africa 