Life in Lira, Uganda

Greetings Americans, life in Lira has been very interesting and impacting so far. I would like to share with you a few people that me and my team have met and a little bit about them. I would first like to share with you about Pastor Johnson and his wife Betty. They are our contacts here in Lira. They are some of the sweetest and most kind people I have ever met and they actually celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary last night! Their love for God and their neighbors around them is incredible! They lead Victory Outreach Church here and have multiple ministries that serve a ton of people and the city of Lira. I will explain more about them I’m sure in my future blogs : )

Another person I’ve met in my short time here is a little boy by the name of Manuel. He lives here at the Alpha Resort Hotel which is where Pastor Johnson’s family home is and where we are staying as well. Manuel is in the care of Pastor Johnson’s family because of his circumstances and he doesn’t speak very much english but our relationship is building quickly. I have taught a few things to him like “the fist bump” and the game of “rock, paper, scissors”. He is just a fun loving kid who has a million dollar smile. He loves soccer and is very athletic. But, I am definitely most impacted by his joy because he doesn’t have the best circumstances. So he has just been great to be around whenever I miss home or I am feeling down about something. He’s just great.

Thirdly is someone I met just yesterday. His name is Nelson and he was a child soldier in the LRA. If you don’t know what that is, visit www.invisiblechildren.com to find out more about what that is. Anyways, the story of his escape is truly inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. He escaped from the LRA just before they were getting ready to kill him. His journey after that initial escape was even crazier. Here it is in the most condensed form possible.

So, when Nelson was abducted he was 16. He was held by the LRA for 2 years and 9 months. The night he was abducted the LRA also abducted 7 of Nelsons friends, and only 2 of them were still alive at the point of his escape. His best friend was killed on the first day they were abducted because of his attempt to escape. The LRA cut his body up and put it on a stick to example what would happen to those who tried to escape. The night of Nelsons escape the LRA was planning to kill him. They fed him his “last meal” then went off to fish. At that point Nelson made his escape on 4 days without food or water. He ran and ran and even hid in trees as his captors walked underneath him in hiding multiple times. After coming out of hiding he made his way to a mountain where he stayed for a bit. Then, after a few more encounters and various dangerous scenarios, he met a woman who took him to an army station where they relocated him to Gulu, Uganda which is about 100km from Lira. There they made a radio announcement which Nelsons mother heard. That is where she reunited with Nelson almost 3 years after his abduction. Nelson was forced to kill and was beaten and tortured but all the while kept faith in God that he would return and be free. 

Now, Nelson is in school and is aspiring to finish. He has 3 more years before he can enter University, but he lacks funds to do so. Nelson is the oldest child of 8 and aspires to be a pilot. He is an incredible person and has inspired me greatly. My team is still trying to plan how exactly we can help our friend but we ask that you be praying for wisdom and creativity regarding this matter. I hope that this story has touched you and that you would share it as well in order to raise awareness about this ongoing issue. Nelson has been back for 6 years and what he went through is still happening to many innocent people in Africa. Thank you for reading. Hope everyone is well! God Bless!

Jordan Scott