A Blog by Josh Agerton

TIA (This is Afica)…Again

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by Josh Agerton in Formation, Uganda

Something I learned on my last trip to Uganda was a little phrase…”TIA”. It means “This is Africa”. It’s what you say when you are driving through town and a goat runs in front of you or when you get into a crusty old fishing boat to go across the lake and there are no life jackets. TIA.

Trip is going great so far. We spent the morning at Bethany Village, a community for orphans started out of Gaba Community Church. They have 177 kids living there in homes of about 15 kids each…along with house parents. Each household becomes a family unit, dividing up chores of cooking, working the garden etc. and the kids all go to school there. It’s an amazing place of hope that is changing this world. I love it because it is such a place of redemption. Despair is turned into gladness, sorrow turned into joy. Orphans with nothing transformed into next generation Christian leaders.

We had a good lunch in Kampala then spent the rest of the afternoon in Buloba. The folks there are so grateful for the child sponsorships and support. We’re really beginning to see the affects of our partnership with them. The new church building now has all it’s walls and a roof. The original church building has now been converted to an office and two classrooms. A full time social worker from ARM (African Renewal Ministry) now works out of the office in the church to manage all of the child sponsorship stuff. They are doing an amazing deal with that and I’m so impressed with how organized they all are.

And I finally got to meet Miriam, the little 5 year old that our family is sponsoring. She’s a cute little girl how does not say a lot but loves to hold hands. She calls me her “American Friend” and stayed glued to me the whole time I was there. We are going to celebrate her birthday together tomorrow (turning 5).

Also got to see the new well that was put in last year. We sat around and watched the kids jump up and down on the lever, pumping fresh water out. This is so huge for this community. On my last trip a year ago these same kids were walking ½ mile to get water from a dirty run off drain pipe. So I look at this well now and just see a great act of love. It has been amazing to see both sides of this story. How people at Cornerstone rallied around this cause and then how lives in Buloba are being affected. This has been a kingdom investment. These folks are so grateful to Cornerstone for the support, hence the sign by the well.

We have a great team here and we’re having a lot of fun together…hearing bits of each others stories along the way. More to come in a day or so. Internet connection not so good here…TIA.

Also,  keep an eye out on Andi’s Blog.  She’s making good updates with pictures each day as well.

Tags: Africa, buloba, tia, Uganda