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Bringing Peace to Warring Tribes Wow, what an amazing thing the Lord is doing!! After decades of fighting, raiding and killing one another, the warring tribes of Karamoja, Northern Uganda are at last coming together peacefully! the Lord has opened the way for them to surrender to each other, give up their machine guns, and forgive each other, starting a new life as one people. Here is how the Amazing, incredible events unfolded! God is good! After 3 months of prayer with in their various villages with the warring communities, they agreed to come together to meet and talk, in the land that had been their main battleground, 12 miles from either tribe. This Joint Peace Meeting was delayed for one month while we established some security in the area, which only whetted the appetite of the people for peace. I traveled to the center of the battleground, Nabwal, on Thursday to prepare the place for the meeting. The road was extremely overgrown, and rains and muddy roads limited my movements; the darkness began to descend on us as we traveled, so we didn't make it the whole way, but slept in an abandoned Primary School for the night. Traveling early the next morning, we arrived in Nabwal and were met by 50 army men who pledged to protect us in the dangerous environment, and about 40 local people who had come early for the meeting. Many others were on there way, we were told. The 40 were busy cutting grass to set up a couple local shelters. Six foot tall grass and brush covered the whole place. We located 4 large trees and designated them our meeting site and began to clear away the brush and grass. We pitched our 5 tents for staff and the and scouted out the area. A good borehole exists there with cool clean water. We organized the cooking area and set up camp. About 11 am, we heard a distant blow of a trumpet towards the Southwest. By this time, about 150 Bokora had arrived. As a single file line of 200 tall, proud, Pian emerged in formation from the bush, we could hear the excitement rising in the people as their former enemies tread on the common ground for the first time in decades. Elders arrived first, with the strongest older warriors behind them, followed by younger warriors, followed by women, and finally another group of warriors in the end. Having walked for 20+ kilometers, we could tell they were tired, but also excited to be welcomed into the land of their former enemies. Embracing one another, they began to share the stories of the past when they had once lived together in harmony as one people. Over the next hours hundreds more poured into the isolated bushland, all traveling 15-20 kilometers on foot, motivated with the longing of their hearts for peace. Within 3 hours later, I found already 1065 had registered. We began the cooking as the people continued to set up temporary grass shelters all around the encampment. Four 20 gallon pots of beans and posho were soon consumed, and the reunion party began!! Dancing, singing, beating of drums, leaping in the air at the joy of experiencing a glimpse of grace and mercy in their lives. Arrival day ended at about 1am when the fires smoldered down a bit and singing voices trailed off to rest on dried cow skins with their new friends. By early the next morning, hundreds more were arriving. It became obvious the food could never make it through the day, so we sent for more posho and prayed that the 2 bulls and 1 1/2 sacks of beans that were remaining could somehow be enough for the growing throng. By the time the Bishop of Karamoja arrived about 10 am, the numbers had risen to 2013 people!!! The trees were abuzz with energy and anticipation as we sat down in a huge circle under the trees. With a termite mound as our podium, we began sharing with them about the Godly Approach to Peace Building, then invited various people in the group to come and bring their ideas to the forum. One by one, elders, warriors, and women came forward with arms open for unity, openness, honesty, grace, forgiveness and commitment to one another. The pastors shared from their hearts as well, letting the people understand the desire of the Lord to bless them and restore their land, to lead them in peace and justice. It was so well received, we were all in shock at the atmosphere of love, joy and unity that everyone shared together. The evening again was punctuated with the sounds of drums and harps and excited singing as over 1000 people joined together in leaping and singing to the Lord under the million-star sky! Back in our tents, we prayed together in tears, seeing the hand of the Lord at work so evidently, and His love pouring out to the people. The final day was Sunday. Sixty of us awoke at 4 am for early morning prayers for transformation of the land and for cleansing of the sins of this corridor. We went from fireplace to fireplace praying for each family. A few men surrounded each fire, discussing the issues of the weekend, building their dreams for the place. Some joined in our prayers, while others bowed down in appreciation for the blessings of the Bishop and the other Christians. Prepared morning porridge for 2085 people. They were all organized and orderly in their feeding, with 30 sections of people designated to come one by one with their bowls or buckets for food for their group. Church service started after breakfast with the Peace Choirs singing of the pain of war and the hope of peace. Opportunities of testimonies of those who had given up fighting and turned to agriculture sparked people's interest, as they gazed out to the fertile No-Man's Land valley which stretched across towards Pian. For many years, no one could dare to farm the area, as thieves and rustlers controlled the dense bush. Now, with the dream becoming reality: settling and farming the 6,000 acres of land, the people's spirits were raised and Hope merged with Opportunity. The army commander of the region also stood up in the church service and pledged himself and his contingent to maintaining security to the area. He encouraged them to bring more people to settle, and even to bring their animals, as they would protect them. The former settlers were then encouraged to come back soon to their previous lands so that the new settlers would know which areas were free for them to settle. The communities also dedicated a huge stretch of land for the church to begin their ministry and building. Another huge area was designated for a trading center and the Naryamiryam village. A Peace Center may be established on the border to welcome people from one side to the other. They also gave a huge piece of land to us, to set up an office, home and agricultural center to train the people. After church, we had more singing and dancing, and the huge gathering departed. Now, 2 months later, over 3000 homes have gone up in the former battlefield, the No-Man's Land where all people feared to go. 37 villages have been organized by these people. We plan to help them with agriculture in the upcoming months, and begin a church shortly. Please pray for continued peace and reconciliation. 
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