"then that is where I will build my house. to show you my God is mightier than your god."
And that was the beginning of the mission in Banda.
I can't help but feel a little afraid as the generator turns off and the compound goes completely dark. There are many unfamiliar sounds of jungle birds, insects, night timers outside my window. Maybe even under my bed. But they are not what I fear the most. We are in LRA territory. (The Lord's Resistance Army is a deadly and famous rebel group across Uganda, Sudan, DRC) Attacks can happen at any time. The most recent was on a road into Banda - just a couple days ago. A truck load of jerry cans for a hygiene kit distribution was held as an NGO vehicle ahead of them was attacked. Our truck had to go back and await a secure escort to continue.
I spent the afternoon walking through the villages - but first we walked through forest. Dense with humidity, thick with brush, trees, mangoes dropping at our feet. We viewed the newly constructed water wells, and an existing spring. We spoke with our staff and members of the community to identify their greatest challenges, their most pressing needs. The answer: water. Access to clean water. Closely following is food, followed by protection & livelihoods. The LRA has taken it all from them. These communities also live with fear.
I watched as women and children (as young as 3 or 4 years of age) carried yellow jerry cans to the spring - first down a slippery steep path. Upon the spring all you see is filthy pools of mud and garbage. Is this what they are drinking? Stepping in closer though the crowd of children, unwashed, barefoot & wearing clothes that are tattered and too big, is a tiny little opening in the rock bed. A spring. There are slow trickles of clean water flowing out. How is this tiny spring suppose to provide enough water for all these people? It doesn't.
I watch as they fill the jerry cans and help one another place them high atop their heads to hike back up the slippery slope and back to their homes in the village.
Churches were born from this house built high upon the hill. Generations have been brought up in its teachings. Our pilot, flying us in and around northern Congo is a third generation of the first missionaries in Banda. As I watched young children, women, even a mentally & physically handicapped young girl (who was being teased mercilessly and pushed around by the other kids), gather their jerry cans of water - I couldn't help to wonder what they thought. Had they heard the teachings of the church? Did they believe or did they turn away as their life was dependent of their survival, their search for water, food and protection? Did they find it in their faith and in the promises God gives us under his grace and protection? I thought of my small nephews, Alex & Hudson, if they lived in this village they too would be at the spring fighting to gather clean water to drink. Assisting one another to place a large heavy jerry can filled with water atop their little heads, crunching down on their growing bodies. Is there justice in this? The Bible is filled with passages and stories of struggles here on this earth. It is also filled with hope and promise. The reality for so many in villages just like Banda is that their lives will be full of struggles. But have they heard the hope? Can they rest in God's peace and promise of provision - if not on this earth, then in eternity with him? Is faith enough to sustain someone who struggles for their basic survival their entire life?
Our mornings start with a time of scripture and prayer as a staff. Often I hear choruses of the church in the background, singing praises to the start of their day. Those who have heard the Good news, they believe. They know God's provision and grace. They are not bitter or scoff at a god who does not bring them water. They praise their God of mercy. They pray for protection. They ask people like us, who walk through their village, to help them with needs such as water and food and protection. They live their lives in faith of a God that is mightier than the evil spirits who reside on the highest point.
Please don't turn your head to those who are thirsty, who need clean water to drink, food to nourish their bodies, protection from rebels who are only out to steal, kill and destroy. These communities are our Christian family. They sing praises to our God. They live through trials and tribulations we cannot even imagine. They trust also in our King of Kings, our Mighty God, our Prince of Peace.
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