The Acholi Quarter is one of many slums in Kampala. This is an area where the Acholi people of Northern Uganda have come to take refuge from the war. I had been to this area in June 2009 with a missions team but this time was different.
I was with a few friends from Canada that had come to minister in Uganda. We decided that Acholi Quarter would be area that they would like to go and minister. As we walked into the slum area I met the Grandmother of one of the children in the home I am staying at. She greeted us with a genuine smile and a strong handshake. By her side I saw a boy about 2 years old. On his head there were many bandages. He had a hairnet over top of his bandages to keep them secure. As I bent down to this young child I could feel his pain. I asked the Grandmother what had happen. It was translated to me that while someone was boiling water to drink he had fallen into the hot charcoal. I could feel the pain and suffering of this little one. I held him close and prayed for healing.
We continued on deeper into the community. We came upon a mud bricked building that was a bar. We saw a few men and women sitting in a circle drinking some local brew (homemade alcohol). One of the men, feeling bold came outside the hut and and introduced himself as Philip. He encouraged us to come in and have a drink with them. We respectfully declined and moved on only to find three more men sitting on a bench enjoying more local brew. They too encouraged us to have a drink with them. Again, we declined.
As we moved further into Acholi Quarter we began to have a following. Children began to surround us and followed our every move. These children with their dirty faces, runny noses, torn clothing, broken sandals or no shoes at all greeted us warmly and with joy. Their big smiles brought both joy and pain to my heart. We sang with them, tickled, played simple games, and attempted to understand their language when they spoke to us. I could feel the deep love the Lord had for these little ones. Tears came to my eyes but none fell.
We walked even deeper into the slum surrounded by the children. Men and women greeted us with gentle smiles. We came upon a quarry area. Here we saw women and children with hammers in hand pounding large rocks to create smaller rocks. They looked tired and worn. I wondered where the men were. I felt a burden upon me. The Lord was burdened for these ones and he was allowing me to experience it with Him. These were His women and children and He was broken for them. A deep love and sadness came upon me.
We continued through the area and I prayed and asked the Lord to tell me why I felt so burdened in this community. It was His deep love for the orphan, the widow and the poor. His heart is burdened for these ones. I knew then that the Lord was asking me to minister to these ones - because the Kingdom belongs to them.
Again I prayed. I asked the Lord to speak to me through a child to confirm His calling me into ministry in the Acholi Quarter. As we began to make our way out of the slum a small child not more than 3 years came running behind us sobbing. Most of the children had now turned back and returned to their homes but this small one had continued to follow us on her own. I had not spent anytime with this child or spoken to her at all during our time in the Quarter. A friend bent down and tried to calm her down. She would not stop crying. Her name was Abu. We had someone translate and ask her why she was crying. She turned and pointed at me and in her own language said, "I want to be with her. I need to stay with her." Something broke inside of me as I heard these words. I knew this was the Lord speaking to me through this small child. I knelt down and picked her up. She immediately calmed down. As I looked at her face I could see the Lord. This little one was His. With her tear streaked face, runny nose and dirty over sized sweatshirt I could feel the Lord's deep, unfathomable love for her. I knew in that moment that the Lord was asking me to care for her and others within this community. With tearful eyes I looked her in the eye and told her that I loved her and that I would comeback. I knelt down and placed her back on her feet and she left.
"Listen my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" James 2:5
