Hey there friends! 

I hope you're summer has been a blessed and enjoyable one so far. I have totally settled back into the rhythm of life in the burbs, and although my time is taken up with work, soccer, fun, friends and summer, my mind is still deeply entrenched in the northern Uganda district of Pader.  Terry, my friend and colleague is still faithfully carrying out his commitment to the people there and keeps me in the loop with what is happening. I wanted to keep you informed as well, as you have been such a faithful and integral part of this journey to bring relief and hope and God's love to these unique and wonderful people.

As you know, Pader is a relatively large district made up of a handful of different townships. The Pader-township where I was stationed with Terry this past winter/spring is home to thousands of people of the Achioli tribe. Virtually every family in this township was effected in some way or another by the 23 year long LRA insurgency that ceased only in the past 4 years. As i have previously mentioned, immediate relief NGO's have pulled out and have left a void that is hard to fill by some of the smaller, long-term CBO's (community based organizations). When God placed a desire on our hearts to pray for a medical team to come to this area of Uganda, it was because the needs and cries for help were echoing through the countryside.

In our township alone there is only one doctor for thousands of families. Due to corruption and lack of governmental support the national nurses have desisted their medical campaigns due to lack of pay leaving very little to no medical professionals in the township. We in the west, often complain about Canada's Health Care system and some of us have reason to... however, reality is, a good majority of our population lives no more than a half hours drive from a hospital, medical clinic or doctor to meet most of our regular or emergency medical needs. My friends and family in Northern Uganda (our neighbours), are dying daily of preventable diseases like diarrhea, malaria and malnutrition. In this past month alone I have been continually receiving emails from Terry that break my heart and refuse to let me forget that God wants my/our hands and feet to deliver His love and assistance.  As the wet season is in full swing, the damp climate is a breeding ground for mosquitos carrying the deadly malaria virus. This epidemic has recently taken the lives of dozens of children in the Pader township.

I am writing to present you all with a few more extensive details on my upcoming trip with a medical team back to beautiful Pader, N. Uganda. This endeavour from the very beginning has been nothing short of a beautiful orchestration by God Himself. It is incredibly humbling to witness God divinely intervening and providing practical help where there is such a desperate need. The great need being lack of medical resources and preventative health education, the practical help being a well-trained and compassionate doctor and two nurses. M.D. Kenneth Liew alongside two registered nurses May Tao & Joyce Tulloch and myself will be heading back to Pader on the 4th of September to stage a medical clinic as well as train the local people in preventative health care.

For the past two months the four of us with the help of a committee of volunteers from our church have been networking with various pharmaceutical companies in hopes to acquire the desired medical resources for this excursion into the heart of Northern Uganda. The amount of favour we have found with these companies has been almost hard to comprehend as a human being. Pharmaceutical companies that have surplus that for various reasons they aren't able to sell or distribute here, are most willing to pass items on to us for the purpose of helping those in need. We are extrememly grateful and confident that God has prepared this mission on HIs terms and for His Glory. He is capable to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine... and He has! 

The dream is to provide a sustainable clinic that would be managed by trained locals and funded and resourced by people such as you and I to provide ongoing care for the poor and most vulnerable of the area. We believe that this is just the start of many trips and an opportunity for many people to become involved in both the going and the sending process. We hope to encourage transformation and sustainability in this community.

I am still an emissary of Emmanuel International and have an ongoing account with them for fund raising and accountablility. They are delighted to also have the support of Bayview Glen Church through Ken, May and Joyce who will be the initial  team to start the medical ball rolling. (The soccer ball is also continuing to roll and more gear will accompany me for my friends and teams there). Terry is working on the ground to prepare for our arrival and God is taking care of the details. We certainly need prayer regarding bringing our load through customs and for proper authorization for practicing medicine in the north without repercussion. Any money that we are able to raise above our base expenses will purchase hygiene and medical supplies in Kampala that will hopefully be more then sufficient for the immediate mission and will provide a supply/resource centre for future care. There is no frivilous use of donations for our personal needs and when I personally travel outside of Uganda I use my own resources and not money from Emmanuel or Bayview Glen church. We seek to be accountable in all areas and are grateful for all your giving and prayers. We are simply mobilizing an army of caring people to make a difference in this region that God has called us to. Thank you for standing with me in prayer and support throughout this journey. I really can't thank you enough. 

I love you all, 

Curtis

I've only been gone for 5 months, yet it seems almost like a lifetime of adventures. From dancing with the Acholi tribe to Good Friday in Rwanda, rafting/swimming down the vicious Nile River to playing soccer under the setting African sun; slaughtering a goat against my will to motor-biking under the immaculate starry Ugandan night sky; rafting past wild hippos and crocodiles at Murchison Falls to leading outdoor worship for church congregations in Pader. I sense that in many ways it is just beginning.  

I've been home for a couple weeks now and it is strange. I have experienced culture shock in the past but never like this. (From isolated, impoverished, rural Africa to fast food, air conditioning, busy schedules, decisions, choices, abundance etc.) My time in Europe however, was a welcome buffer to lessen the ferocity of the inevitable impact of returning to my own country and family. Although I felt very much "at home" with all of the family and friends I visited in Germany, I knew it wasn't my final destination. Ich bin jetzt zu hause! 

While stationed in Northern Uganda for those 4.5 months God has taught me a lot about Himself and who I am in Him. I did not hear an audible voice telling me what to do or where to go next like Moses in the desert and although I had some wildly peculiar dreams due to my malaria meds, i don't think there were any Ezekiel or Daniel moments necessarily. The message however, that I heard repeatedly from Him to the depths of my heart throughout my time in Africa was a word that was clear and precise pressing me towards a lifelong, life style commitment that I know I can never run away from. This my friends is a call to love. I am to love because He first loved me. I strongly believe that we as Christians exist for the benefit of others. I believe that this call to be Christ like is not a quest to adopt some pious pose or to sustain some inner serenity that we protect and don't allow others to disturb. It is a call to love without hesitation and to get our hands dirty in the interests of others. The action on every page of the Gospels is that of Jesus doing things for the benefit of others and feeding them with His love, His joy, His patience, and His goodness. 

I fully understand the biblical concept of those who "send" and those who "are sent" in terms of missions but personally, I don't like where this conversation has taken the western church and how it's polarized the two parties. We so often give money to justify our own apathy or appease our own consciences for not being personally involved. I am most certainly guilty of this! It's much easier to give money and walk away then meet the real heart needs of a homeless man or woman on the streets of Toronto. Wouldn't we much rather not get invested in the lives of an ex-con or an alcoholic because it would bring discomfort and suffering to our own? I wonder what this world would look like if Christians regardless of calling, social status or income truly gave of themselves in the name of love or in the name of God who is love. I wonder what the church would look like if we truly embraced the downtrodden and invited them and all of their complications into our own lives? Perhaps we would come to realize that we are no different and just as stained and in need of grace as they. What would this world look like if Christians spent less time and effort trying to obtain personal comfort and ensure security and began to love dangerously. As those who truly call themselves "Christ followers" not one of us is exempted from this call to love. The question for me/us is, what exactly does this look like? 

Throughout the last 4 years or so God has been taking me on a unique journey. He has illuminated my path and has called me to be His reflection in some dark places. Through working in a food bank in the Regent Park area of Toronto and meeting hundreds of low income families and individuals, to working at Yonge St. Mission with the vulnerable youth and seniors; and getting to know and love those I now call family living on the streets of Toronto through Sanctuary Ministries, to living and working among the Acholi people in Pader, northern Uganda and seeing first hand the effects of war, killing and poverty on the already vulnerable youth and families. I feel as though I have seen and experienced a lot even at my young age of 23. I have no doubt that this has been divinely directed and designated preparation for my future. 

Constantly being surrounded with people for whom survival is the number one priority, whether on the streets of Toronto or in Africa, has forced me to ask myself the questions: What is life really all about and what is my purpose in it? What are the things in my life that have eternal value and what are the things that are only temporary? I think of my friends in northern Uganda who have so little in terms of wealth and knowledge and yet possess such a rich sense of urgency in the way they live and love as statistics tell them they will probably not live to see their 41st birthday. 

We here in Canada have an abundance of opportunities, wealth and knowledge yet so many of us are squandering our lives away in our pursuit of security and comfort. Could these things be the ball and chain that hinder us from fully being God's hands and feet in our own circles and globally? Could it be that our failure to love our neighbour is ultimately our failure to love God?

I am now understanding that as an unashamed follower of Jesus Christ who died that I might live forever free, I am called to walk humbly with Christ, set captives free, and to serve those whom "they" have classified as unworthy, unwanted, or uncivilized (the least, the last and the lost). In other words to love others in His name. The journey has just begun and I know that many of you have caught the same vision. Your giving and praying have enabled me to pursue this life defining adventure and I am eternally grateful. Team work is the essence of Christian living/mission and I assure you His name is being lifted high in Northern Uganda. In fact hundred's of people have responded to the message of the gospel through your love and caring and many more are eagerly awaiting the medical team that is preparing to depart in September to care for the sick and vulnerable (as medicine is very expensive and difficult to obtain in that region.) 

Malaria is the scourge of the rainy season and many of the young and susceptible have died since I left in May. Mosquito nets and Malaria meds would make a huge difference. Perhaps you might consider continuing to partner with me and the team to pray that the shipment of medical supplies would get there safely and that we would pack enough of what is needed to meet the many needs that we will find on the ground. Also, that we would have the funds to cover the expense as well. Please consider my personal musings as simply a gentle challenge to make yourself available in some way to be an extension of Christ's love to a hurting world (if you aren't already doing so). Thank you all for your encouragement and faithfulness. Together we have made a difference and we've only just begun... 

I love you all, 

Curtis