When I was fifteen my life was wrecked by a simple youtube video. It was a trailer for the Invisible Children documentary about child soldiers in Uganda. After that my life was forever changed. There was a war going on in Uganda and now a war going on in my own heart. My young eyes had been opened to a world of hurt that most of the world was completely unaware of. Seven years later many things have changed but my heart has continued to feel the burden of the injustice going on here.
This past year there was an uproar over Invisible Children's newest video, Kony 2012. (If you want to hear my opinion on this, feel free to ask. another conversation for another time). Many people argued that the war is no longer in Uganda and the information that IC provided wasn't accurate. When it comes down to it, the LRA may not be active here anymore but the aftermath of what they left behind is still very present. Uganda is still recovering. The war within these people is not over. At home I've read many stories and seen many videos about the people who have been affected by the war. No matter how heart wrenching these stories are, nothing compares to meeting victims face to face.
Sandra is only 9 years old. When she was a baby the rebels set fire to her home. She was rescued but her leg was severly burned. Now she is finally receiving treatment but there is only so much they can do for her foot that is badly mutilated. Her life will never been fully normal.
Judith is only 16. She was abducted by the LRA when she was 11 and her parents were killed. She was forced to carry heavy loads until her leg was fractured. One of the hospital workers believes she has an evil spirit in her because she often wakes up screaming and possessed.
There is Meg whose husband was killed in the crossfire between the rebels and the government soldiers. She has been a widow for 13 years. When I asked her about the violence she has seen from the rebels her eyes welled up in tears and she couldn't find the words to speak. All I could do was hold her hand and pray for her.
And there is Dennis who is 26. He is the "house papa" at Atin Afrika (the street kid ministry we work with). He was abducted at the age of 12 and forced to kill his uncle. He couldn't even share with us what he had done because of how awful it was and how guilty he felt. He told us that every day he asks God for forgiveness for the things he has done. I can see that he is a changed man. He loves the boys at Atin as if they were his own and has sacrificed to be a model and father figure to them. Yet the things from his past still grip him and haunt him. He is Catholic and not born again. He hasn't found the freedom that Christ brings. And this is what my heart breaks for even more. Pray for him. We have a short time left here and I hope we can be a light to his life so he can begin to heal.
These are just some of the people I have met. We can debate all day long whether or not Kony is still alive or whether the war still exists.
But I can tell you this: the results of this tragic mess is still very real. These people are still hurting. There are still fresh wounds that need healing, hearts that need love and souls that need freedom.
When I was fifteen my life was wrecked by a simple youtube video…
…and God continues to wreck my life as I live amongst the pain and tragedy this war has brought.
