Kony 2012

I have been following Invisible Children for many years

I have been to Uganda twice over the past 2 years

I have personally visited Invisible Children's headquarters in Gulu, Uganda

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but I am no authority

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Invisible Children were the first to bring Uganda and Kony to my attention - they have excelled in raising awareness as we have all witnessed by now

they have been highly praised and highly criticized

but instead of giving my money and time to and through Invisible Children, I have personally chosen to devote them to and through Watoto - as I was taken by their approach to changing Uganda

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I have seen first hand the effects Kony has had on that country

I have stood on the same ground from where he abducted children...and much worse

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my Ugandan friends have lived through a horrible war and yet rise up

I have seen them and they have seen me

I cannot save them but I can stand beside them

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invisible children, watoto, charity water, one, (red), etc....need to be held accountable for their actions

...and so does Kony

I for one, will not just sit by and criticize, ambivalent and jaded

I will stand up for my friends who have lived and suffered at the hands of Joseph Kony

the problem with guilt

I recently returned from a trip to Uganda. I attempted to maintain a blog while I was there to bring people on the journey with us: http://www.fbcwatotoproject.blogspot.com/

after being home for 3 weeks, I am coming to terms with life for me now.
I must tell you - I am not an amazing person. I have no dillusions of grandeur.
I am humbled beyond words.

there are those who think that it was a vacation. there are those who think 'short-term' missions is ineffective.
what they don't know is that most everyone who went paid their own way from their own pocket and that the money raised went straight to the classrooms and Watoto.
they don't know the faces of the lives that were touched and will continue to be touched through the 'short' time we spent there.
they don't know the sustainable ministry of Watoto and how even something as simple as the classrooms that were built will continue to give children a hope in life.

I was honoured to serve alongside selfless people who gave of themselves, their money, their time to serve. they sacrificed much to go.

while in Uganda and upon returning home, there was and is this low-level guilt below the surface of my mind.
I have so much.
I could have just as easily been born an orphan in Uganda instead of into a family in Canada.

but the problem with guilt is this - it atrophies the soul. it may indicate that there is something wrong or something that needs to be changed. but guilt quickly turns into self-pity/ self-loathing/ ambivalence/ and eventually numbness.

I don't want to become numb. I want to be continually broken. I want to be continually raw and new.

I want to move from guilt to thanksgiving. from atrophy to action.

I am blessed. but not for me - I am blessed to be a blessing.
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a dear friend thought I'd enjoy this. she knows me well.
I hope you enjoy it too: