Witch Doctors

So after a day of flying we finally made it to Kampala.  We stayed in a gorgeous hotel with an amazing breakfast.  This morning we started driving to Mbale.  On our way we stopped somewhere to meet up with one of Matt's friends.  He told us to wait for him in this conference that was going on.  We found a bunch of Ugandan men in their dress shirts sitting at fancy tables.  There was no room for us so we went to a side room and ordered lunch.  After awhile Matt's friend came by to say, "hi".  His friend was Bob Goff.  I had never heard of him until working for SafeWorld, but have found out he is awesome.  That's his thing though.  He says you should be awesome, but secretly.  Goff is a lawyer who found a loophole in the Ugandan constitution so that he could get on Uganda's Supreme Court.  He's an American on Uganda's Supreme Court.  It's crazy!!!  He brings over his team and expedites all these cases that have been in limbo for years.  He told us if a dad doesn't like the young man his daughter has been hanging out with then he will accuse the man of assaulting her.  This is a common thing and these young men will just sit in jail for years!  I don't know why he's making things go so much faster, but whatever he's doing is working.  
   Unfortunately child sacrifice has been on the rise in Uganda.  He doesn't know why but people will see witch doctors and ask them for a child's body/blood thinking it will help them grow crops or something.  Before Goff came over no one would try a witch doctor.  They were too scared of them.  Goff said he finally found a scrappy judge to try them.  There was a little boy named Rodrick we saw on the compound today.  He looked about eight.  Evidently a witch doctor cut off his penis.  Rodrick miraculously escaped.  He was found collapsed on the side of the road.  Goff has been given temporary custody of him.  Roderick didn't know it, but Goff is flying him out to the US tonight for surgery.  A plastic surgeon said he could fix Rodrick!
   Goff was able to have the witch doctor tried and sent to jail for life.  This is the first time this has happened.  Oh, and so the conference we were at- those were all witch doctors.  Goff held this nice conference for all the witch doctors in the area to let them know what the laws are.  Once he got them there he made sure they understood that all he needed to know was "when" and "where" and he would put them in jail for life.  Hopefully now the witch doctors know he's the real deal, or if not, other judges start to see that this can be done.
   The most beautiful thing Goff told us today was how he wants to see redemption for people through this.  He visited the witch doctor who mutilated Roderick today in prison.  I mean, how many lawyers do that?  He wanted to see how he was doing (at this 3,000 man prison that was built for 600).  At the end of the conversation they got to talking about Jesus.  Goff said the witch said he wanted what Goff had.  He wanted Jesus to forgive his sins.  Wow.  Let's pray that child sacrifice/mutilation ends in Uganda and that the love of Jesus would change hearts.
   Tonight we are sleeping in Mbale- not Luwero like I said before.  I don't have time to explain all the new stuff going on, exciting as it is, but I will soon.  Because of this "new stuff" we will be in Mbale for the most part, traveling to Luwero some.  Tomorrow we go to a hospital here.  There will be some tough stuff to see.  Blake and Matt visited a hospital back by Luwero the other day. You can read about that on Blake's blog: http://beyondblake.wordpress.com/  and then Matt's blog: http://ethoshift.wordpress.com/ .  Follow along with them too.


Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-Romans 12:21

Matt, Bob, Blake