Some Peace Stories from Dr. Val and CLIDE: (A photo of each story can represent the story to be clicked on)

 

1. 1.       Personal Impact of the Karamoja Conflict.

 The Karamojong are a cattle-based culture and cattle rustling has been a common tradition for generations. The Karamojong have been a dominant, powerful tribe, protecting their people and their lifestyle. Traditionally, stealing of cattle was done on a lower level under the guidance of village elders, specifically to replace herds that had died from drought or epidemics or were stolen.  Bows and arrows and spears were the main weapons and rarely did anyone get killed.  Over the years they became armed with AK47s and began violent, aggressive campaign of cattle rustling in the region. In the 1970’s, young men gained access to AK-47’s following the overthrow of Obote. With such fire power, the youth could now bypass the village elders and raid neighboring villages on their own, often seeking animals for dowry and prestige.   When I arrived to the area in 1996, it was common to have bands of 100 or more armed warriors coming through small villages, stealing animals at gunpoint and killing anyone who got in the way. Lying in my hut at night, I would hear machine gunfire in the nearby village, and soon return gunfire, then women calling out in alarm to warn nearby, neighboring villages, who would then pick up the alarm and call out to the next until all villages were mobilized to come help with those who were being raided.  Eventually, the gunfire would die down, then the wailing would begin.  Those who lost their loved ones in the fighting would cry out in agony, pleading with others in the village to avenge their family member.  

 

I was driving my truck back from the kraals, where the cattle gather during the dry season, carrying a load of people from the livestock training that we had been conducting, as well as large bags of maize and other food stuffs for friends and families in our villages.  We were in the remote bushlands of Karamoja, moving down a slight incline while I was talking with the fellow in the passenger’s seat.  Suddenly, his face turned ashen and his eyes widened in shock.  He grabbed at the passenger’s door and shouted, “Stop, STOP!” I was confused and started to slow down, distracted momentarily from the road. Then I saw him.  A man with a machine gun stood erect in the middle of the road, his gun leveled at our vehicle.  Aiming directly for my face. Slamming on the brakes, the pickup skidded on the gravel, sliding at an angle towards the armed warrior.  Fear gripped all of us and everyone in the vehicle began shouting. The man behind me, fearing the worst, began shouting out a confession to God, repenting of his sins and misdeeds, begging for God to forgive him. (We learned a lot about each other during those moments!) As our pickup skidded to a stop, I was mesmerized on the armed warrior just 20 feet in front of us. The man behind me shouted again, this time, “Reverse, reverse!  They’re coming from all around!” Glancing out the side window, to see 10 more armed men rising from the tall grass coming towards us.  Our hearts racing, the cries and wails of fear of everyone in the vehicle was terrifying.  I quickly prayed a prayer of desperation, and felt that God was telling me to listen to the fellow in the back seat, so I tried to cram the vehicle into reverse, being so nervous that the gears ground loudly in our ears.  Finally after an unbearable struggle with the gear lever, while guns are approaching my side window, it slipped into reverse and I stepped on the gas pedal.  Because we were sideways in the road, the vehicle immediately went toward the ditch.  Trying to correct it, we swerved to the other side of the road, tipping the vehicle up on it’s left side wheels and throwing everyone against the side.  Swerving back again to the center, amazingly, God helped me to straighten the tires out and I stepped on the gas.  Only, reverse gear is not very fast!  The armed warriors realized that we were going to get away and began firing at us, “Bam, Bam, BAM-BAM!” The machine gun fire deafened us and sent surges of fear and adrenaline through our bodies. Dozens of rounds were fired and I could hear the people riding behind in the bed of the truck screaming! Fortunately, God kept me on the road and soon we were reversing up a small hill. Our armed pursuers were still firing, but quickly got tired on the hill, and stopped running after us.  We made it to the top, and quickly turned around and drove to safely at the army barracks down the road.  Getting out, we all burst into cries of praise and relief, recognizing that we had survived a deadly attack.  No one had been injured or killed, and not a single bullet hole was in the vehicle!  We went back and rested, then heard the next day that another vehicle had later been ambushed, and the warriors had killed the driver and looted all of the belongings of the people inside.  We knew that it had been God that had rescued us from sure death. 

 

I went and talked to the people in those villages later, to learn anything I could about my attackers. Perhaps they were angry at me, or I had done something wrong.  If they were out to kill me, perhaps it was time to leave Karamoja…  I discovered however, that they thought I was another person.  They let me know that they know that I am the vet doctor who has been helping them with their animals and they really wanted me to stay.  The problem was that my vehicle looked like everyone else’s vehicle.  They then asked me to mark it in some way, so that they could easily know it was me.  From that week on, I installed a set of huge cow horns on the vehicle, to indicate that I was a vet doctor. God helped us to have a good strategy, and they stopped shooting at me on the roads.

 

1. 2.      Calling of Dr. Val and CLIDE to Peace Making.

 I’m a vet doctor and a missionary. I don’t like fighting. I love the Lord with all my heart and soul.  But what could I do to bring peace to such a violent tribe, against hundreds of armed warriors?  As a female, how could I have a voice into their lives?  Then God brought a revelation to myself and some of the local church leaders. The people throughout the region trusted me, because I was their vet. All of the warriors around knew me and respected me.  I had a voice into their lives. We saw an opportunity to step into the peace field. We saw that the community leaders needed to be trained in Peace Building, and then go out and restore people to a place of wholeness and joy, and help them to see the fruit of living a peaceful life.  Using Ken Sande’s book, “The PeaceMaker”, we modified his lessons to fit the local situation, adjusting it from talking about interpersonal conflict between Christians, to instead addressing Intertribal conflict between warring parties:

 

4 Principles of Biblical Conflict Resolution in the Karamoja Context (adapted from Ken Sande)

1. Start with Me and God (Glorify God) – 1Cor. 10:31 Biblical peacemaking is motivated and directed by a desire to please and honor God
2. Speak Truth, Seek Justice (Get the log out of your eye) – Matt 7:5 peacemaking requires admitting our own attitudes, faults, failures and responsibilities. Do what is Right, before pointing out what others have done Wrong.
3. Love Mercy and Forgiveness (Gently Restore) Gal 16:1.  Peacemaking requires constructive confrontation – confronting in a gracious yet firm manner
4. End with Us and God (Go and be Reconciled) Matt 5:24 – peacemaking involves a commitment to restoring damaged relationship and developing agreements that are just and satisfactory to everyone involved.

 

 

 

Key decision makers were brought in from both sub-tribes for a week-long training in peace building and reconciliation in September 2007.    Four international facilitators (the “Grey Hairs”) from the US came in to assist with the training with CLIDE and the Church of Uganda, using the concepts from the “PeaceMaker” book.  During this training, action points were developed by the people, which included the desire to establish a joint resettlement in the no-man’s land between the two sub-tribes, directly in the center of the raiding corridor next to Mt. Napak.  This resettlement would serve several purposes.  First, it would provide access to the huge stretches of fertile land which can be cultivated to provide food security to the region.  Secondly, it brings the two previously warring communities near to one another, so that they can interact, communicate together and develop relationships of mutual trust and interdependency.  Thirdly, the presence of settlements in this location would effectively block the raiders from passing through the primary raiding corridor which follows the base of Mt. Napak.  The newly trained peace builders who attended the workshop were then sent back to their communities to “be fruitful and multiply”!  They were tasked with sharing the message of peace and reconciliation with their neighbors and community leaders, communicate the resolutions that had been drawn, and to discuss with them the options for the future..

 

1. 3.       The First Peace Prayer Meeting

 

As the new peace builders took the message of reconciliation to their various communities, we all began to organize for a joint peace dialogue, reconciliation and resettlement programme.  Within two months, they had spread the Good News of Peace into all of the surrounding communities who then committed themselves to forgiving their former enemies and moving towards restoring broken relationships.  

 

 

 

In November 2007, CLIDE and Church of Uganda: Karamoja Diocese organized the first joint peace dialogue with the two warring sub-tribes in Nabwal (the Pian and the Bokora).  It was 11am and only the Bokora had showed up. The Pian had not yet come, and we were worried, as it could easily be a trap for us.  I assessed the situation: we were 15 miles from the nearest town, and only had 6 army men with 5 machine guns and 1 grenade launcher to protect us. At least 500 Bokora tribesmen had gathered.  If the Pian were to launch a surprise attack on us now, springing out of the bush with their guns, we would have no way out.  I was the only white person there.  We went under a tree to pray.  During the prayer, a loud, unexpected noise could be heard in the east, “WhooOOOOOOOoooo.  WhooooOOOOOOOOOoooo.”  I thought to myself, “AHHHH, they are attacking!” and quickly ran for cover under a spiny bush.  By the time I looked up though, all the others from the prayer meeting were running in the other direction, towards to sound.  Sheepishly, I crawled out from my hiding place then rushed after them.  Getting to the rise of the hill, there we could see them, hundreds and hundreds of Pian, coming towards us, but in PEACE. They had wanted to announce their arrival so that they did not startle us and cause confusion.  The Bokora were so excited to see them that they began jumping up and down, singing and dancing.  Some even lifted the others up in the air, they were so excited!!  Everyone was so happy to be together, meeting under the trees, talking and dancing, that we couldn’t even have any peace discussions that day.  By the end of the day, amazingly, over 2,500 people had arrived, walking more than 15 miles to the site, through territory that was previously uninhabitable.  For three days we stayed in the bush, talking of reconciliation and restoration of relationships, without any disagreement or conflict arising. At the end, the people unanimously decided to establish a joint peace resettlement site at that location, living and farming and working together as one. 

 

 

 

1. 4.       Growth of the Peace Villages:  2^nd Stage

 

Following this successful pilot project, CLIDE and COU then organized to replicate the peace resettlement strategy in another sites, namely Nakayot, to the NE of Mt. Napak.  Funding was secured through a government of Uganda initiative, funded by European Union (NUREP).   Mobilization and sensitization began in July 2008.  The Nakayot resettlement started as Nabwal had begun, with initial community sensitization and training through community dialogues on peace building and reconciliation.  After both sets of communities resolved that they were willing to forgive one another and come together in peace, the resettlement site was prepared and the people were brought for a joint peace dialogue on that site, Nakayot.  On the 9^th of November, 2008, over 1000 people converged at Nakayot, walking for over 20km each direction for the joint peace dialogue.  After 3 days together, they resolved to forgive each other, form a peace council and jointly resettle together in that area.  Within days, the entire region was demarcated and people began organizing for their new lives together.   Now, six years later, the families from these two peace communities (Nabwal and Nakayot) have extended to live throughout the region, farming and raising cattle and living in unity.  Today there are over 22,000 people from Pian and Bokora living there together in harmony and peace.

 

 

 

1. 5.       Some Hate Peace:

 

Murder of our Man of Peace.  Paul Apalopan was our main peace builder.  He was the Bokora leader who traveled with us to Pian to invite the Pian to join with us in peace.  The Pian had said, if Apalopan does not come to invite us, we cannot come, as we don’t trust any other person.  Apalopan opened the door to peace in the region; but he was murdered for it.  It was a Thursday afternoon, about 3 pm and Apalopan was coming from a peace meeting, going back to his home in the peace villages, where about 4,000 people were living in peace.  Raiding warriors, who were opposed to the peace were lurking in the tall grass along the road.  The captured him at gun point and forced him to raid with them throughout the night.  At 4am they were returning from a night of terrorizing village, with their herd of stolen animals.  As they reached Apalopan’s home, they forced him to kneel on the ground, put their AK 47 up to his head, and fired 3 rounds.  His family heard the shots, and knowing that he had not come home that night, the feared the worst.  As daylight came, they went out to the road, and found Apalopan there.  They called me to pick the body, and deliver it to the church for burial.  Devastated, I drove quickly to the location, loaded the body and went to meet the pastor, who was also one of our main peace builders.  We talked and prayed and cried, not believing what was happening.  The peace was destroyed, and the communities were arming up, getting ready to revenge the killing of their elder.  The pastor and I prayed again, and God touched our hearts with a plan.  He wanted us follow the footprints of the killers; to track them to their homes and to them to turn to Him and stop the raiding.  We were terrified, but we knew God was speaking to us. 

 

I left the body with the pastor and went to the road where we had recovered the body.  The footprints of the killers could be clearly seen, together with the hoofprints of the stolen cows.  I had 2 trackers with me, so we set off tracking their footprints across the scrubland bush.  One step at a time, we tracked the armed killers, knowing at any time they could turn around and set an ambush for us, but also knowing that God was with us.  20 km later, we came to the Pian camp, where the killers lived.  It was getting dark, so we sheltered at an army barracks for the night. Early in the morning we spoke to the army commanders and explained the situation.  The army keeps the cattle of the community overnight to protect them from raiding, so we asked them to keep them inside the kraal or a few hours, so that the community members would come and talk with us.  They soon came and we shared with them about the death of our friend.  They were also heart broken, as they had been longing for peace and Apalopan had become the Man of Peace who had brought them all together.  We told them that the peace had been shattered. We would have to send everyone from the peace villages back to their homes if the raiding was going to begin again like this.  The Pian by that time had about 2,500 people living in the peace villages, so they did not want to lose that opportunity to farm and live in the fertile land of Mt. Napak.  We told them that they had to choose what to do. Help us, or close the peace villages. They went under a nearby tree to talk.  Several of them began shouting and arguing with each other.  Finally, they seemed to come to a conclusion.  They came back to us and agreed to help us find the killer. 

 

We went to the location where we had last seen the tracks, and began tracking again, this time Bokora and Pian joining hand in hand to build peace and break away from conflict.  Still unarmed, we tracked the killers up to the entrance of the fence of the village.  We could not enter, as it would be too dangerous, so we waited there.  For 2 days I lay on the dirt in front of the village, pleading with the people for peace, crying with them over the needless death of so many good people.  By the second day, they started to bring young me out for us to interview.  We talked to about a dozen, when suddenly appeared a different looking group.  They were all clean and dressed up, trying to hide the fact that they had been running through the thorny bush all night, driving the stolen animals to their home.  My tracker asked for the young men’s shoes (made of tires) and flipped them over.  There were the identical marks of the foot prints that we had followed through the bush for 20 km!  This was one of the killers.  What could we do now? We were inside the “enemy camp” and had identified the killer of our friend Apalopan.  We asked the elders of the village, “this is one of the killers, what can we do now?”  They went to consult at the tree, then came back slowly.  One of them in the lead, came over and looked straight at me and said, “Go ahead and do what you need to do.” He then turned around and left.  This was the father of the young man.  Knowing that his son would probably face the firing squad, he turned him over to us.  He was going to allow his oldest son to be killed, in order for peace to prevail.  The community member then tied the young man up and put him in my truck and we drove off with him, as fast as we could, in case they changed their mind.  We took him to the army barracks, where they interrogated him and he confessed and identified two accomplices who were also arrested.  After that time, we had several years of peace, as this stood as a great lesson to the raiders, that even your own father will give you up for peace.  God did a miracle that day and restored us all to harmony.

 

1. 6.       Fruit of Peace

 

Pastor Louse is attacked. The Peace villages offer a place of refuge for those who want to leave fighting and enter into peaceful coexistence.  We work with the new, local churches to establish Strongholds of Peace and encourage Evangelism and Discipleship. Pastor Louse (Nabwal church) and Pastor Lobuu (Nakayot church) are the main church leaders in the area. Within weeks of being posted to the peace communities, Pastor Louse and his wife were ambushed on the way, as they traveled on their bicycles down the pathway from the peace villages to the town. Three men with guns threw them to the ground and ransacked their belongings. They then got on the Pastor’s bicycles and rode away. The third thug grabbed Pastor Louse’s bag, which contained his Bible, his money, his ID and his priestly garments, and ran off with it. For a month, he and his wife sat in fear in the town, afraid to go back to the peace villages.  Their lives were at risk.  Their children could become orphans.  What was God saying?  Prayer and fasting.  Weeping and wailing.  Pleading and groaning.  Finally, surrender and calm.  Peace and contentment.  They were in God’s hands and only there can God provide and protect.  They made the commitment to follow God and they were going to follow through, wherever He led them.  They were for Him and He was for them.  Who could be against them?  We are now beginning to build a small house of prayer for the believers in this village, together with a parsonage for Pastor Louse.  They still need fencing to improve their security and protect the church from those who want to persecute them.

 

 

 

Pastor Lobuu perseveres. Formerly a cult pastor, Pastor Lobuu turned to the truth about 6 years ago, leaving the twisted cult behind, but rescuing several of his flock from their grasp as he went.  In the same way, he endured threats against himself and his flock, and stood firm against armed raiders and thieves.  Determined to spread the gospel to the uttermost parts of the region, he walks for hours through dangerous terrain, traveling in every direction, meeting each day of the week with a different fellowship group.   Each group has sprouted up from our evangelistic efforts over the last 5 years, and he does the follow up and discipling. 

 

 

 

From raising up Warriors to promoting Wisdom and Peace.  Elder Nyinyi was the “Father of Warriors” and raised many young men that terrorized the villages around Mt. Napak.  One day, we came to visit his village, carrying our Peace Manual, our Evangicubes and our Bibles.  After several hours of discussions with the villagers, several key elders and warriors came forward and knelt on the ground before us.  “We don’t want hatred any more. We don’t want death any more.  We don’t want to hide anymore.  We want to live in truth, to be free men, unashamed of our lives.  We need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to transform us. Help us.” On his knees that day, Elder Nyinyi surrendered his history and his heart into the hands of Jesus, repenting of the sins of his people, and turning himself over to God.  He has now become a Faithful Elder in the new Peace church in Duol, leading his sons and friends away from evil, towards the truth.

 

 

 

Murderer becomes Evangelist:  After receiving his first Bible Asiyo held it up in the air and proclaimed powerfully, “This is my NEW GUN!”  Our new discipleship leader was once a cold blooded killer.  Asiyo had murdered at least 25 men over two decades of armed warfare.  Stealing hundreds of cattle and training other warriors in the art of cattle rustling and murder, he and his AK47s had wreaked havoc around Mt. Napak. On 14^th of February, 2014, Peace Makers came to his village and challenged him.  God touched his heart and freed him from his anger and cleansed him of his desire for revenge and aggression. Asiyo is a member of our Peace Villages, but had been hiding in his holdout, continuing armed raids at night. He finally surrendered to Jesus and asked God to purify his heart and set his path straight. Within days of accepting Christ, he requested to become one of our disciple-makers, as he knew the warriors in the villages would listen to him.  He has been guiding us to the villages where the most notorious warriors stay. When he received his new Bible, he was so excited to be entering into a new battleground, no longer fighting for selfish gain (cows and prestige), but fighting for righteousness with humility. He has been wielding his new weapon well, as each week he goes to several villages, witnessing to what God did in his life and pleading with others to turn from evil, selfishness and futility;  accepting newness, purity and rejuvenation. God can transform hearts of stone and steel.

 

 

 

1. 7.       Extending the Peace. 

 

The Neighboring Tribe in Ngenge:  They feared the Karamojong and always spoke of them with hushed voices and trembling in the throat. These were refugees who had fled the aggression of their volatile neighbors, but were finally gaining courage to try to come back into the former war zone and settle again.  They prayed that they would never had to see another Karamojong again.  Then we showed up.  Our Karamojong driver and our Karamojong friend accompanied us to their villages.  “These must be reformed ones,” They commented to each other. Learning that my husband and I had joined their community, taken Karamojong names and living in their village, they were shocked, afraid and confused.  How could we live with such ruthless people?  How could we manage to trust them? We wanted to share the heart of peace with them.  We met in a broken down shack that had once been a school.  During the raiding, the school had been ransacked and destroyed, broken into rubble. A mud shack had been erected to replace it, but was beginning to fall apart now.  We had a chance to share of peace building, confession, repentance and healing.  By the end of our time with them, they also confessed their hatred and fear, their lack of trust in God’s power.  They forgave us as representatives of the Karamojong, and we forgave them.  Love cast out fear on that day, and peace and joy flowed from the heart of God.  We had carried a peace offering for them.  We had 60 Iron sheets from Karamoja for their dilapidated school.  The Karamojong wanted to donate to their former enemies, the Sabiny, as a love offering to encourage restoration of relationship. Reconciliation brings Freedom and releases those who have been bound by fear and bitterness to a life of joy and renewal.  Following our gift, the community met together and revitalized the school, and a Peace Primary School was established, which welcomed children of their former enemies, the Karamojong, to attend school together with them.  God broke through fear and created a way for receiving healing and wholeness.

 

 The Neighboring Country of Kenya: Turkana.  Skidding down the steep, rocky slopes with its breaks on, the Land Rover lurched and bounced over boulders and fallen trees.  “There is a road here somewhere!” our guide shouted from his viewing place on the roof rack.  100s of meters below, a few tiny shepherds looked up to see what the sound and the dust was about.  No one had attempted that road in years, and here was a strange site to them, a horned vehicle coming from Uganda into Kenya.  They tried to chase the sheep away, but as we got closer, they abandoned the sheep and took off into the bush.  We continued descending down into the villages, but were met with wary eyes and fearful women and children.  We tried to greet them, but most people were nonresponsive.  After some inquiries, we learned of the local leader’s home and pulled up to his hut to introduce ourselves……..

 

 

 

The Neighboring country of Kenya: Marsabit:  With a Borana tribal majority and a Gabra minority, tensions have been growing each year.  Gabra have been trying to increase their numbers for political strength and stability. They want to settle vast, empty areas of Borana land. In the absence of central government control, the Borana militias attack Gabra homesteads and boreholes, trying to drive them out. In order to strengthen their position, the Gabra have now joined with two other minor tribes, the Rendille and the Burjis.  Working within the political systems, they have joined together as a political party, aiming to get political seats in the Parliament and the County government, forming the Regabu constituency. 

 

Seeing that we were able to help with the Karamojong conflict, using the Godly Approach to Peace Building, based on Ken Sande’s book, The PeaceMaker, they asked us to come and help them sort out their conflict and work with the pastors to develop a peace strategy.  Three days before we arrived, the Borana militia attacked the peace coordinator’s vehicle as they were driving to mobilize the communities. As they stepped out of their vehicle, they were shoved to the ground. With a gun to his head, they threatening the coordinator with death if he interfered with the local situation and tried to bring the two groups together. They then stole his computer and all his money, then stripped them of their clothing and shoes. The peace team escaped death narrowly, but advised us not to try to drive to the area, but fly instead.  We were happy to avoid the dangerous militia zone, and flew over it instead, as our guides pointed out the various places where ambushes were occurring, or groups of people had been killed.   

 

Twenty church leaders from all of the conflicting tribes were brought together for Peace Building and training in the Godly Approach to Peace Building (modified from Ken Sande’s book, The PeaceMaker).  For 5 days, we all wrestled with fear, anger and distrust, with painful history and wounded pride.  We knew that if peace and reconciliation was to begin, it needed to start in the hearts and minds of God’s people, to begin with Believers, who have the capacity to comprehend faith, love, grace and forgiveness.  If they can grasp the hand of Peace, extended to them from Christ, then they can pass on the gift of Grace and Mercy to one another, then to their communities. Although they were church leaders, the struggle was great.  Tribal tensions had been building for many years, with incidents of violence towards innocent families occurring weekly.  Using role plays, stories, songs and God’s word, we were able to lead them through the steps of the Godly Approach to Peace: 

 

1. Start with Me and God (Glorify God) – 1Cor. 10:31 Biblical peacemaking is motivated and directed by a desire to please and honor God
2. Speak Truth, Seek Justice (Get the log out of your eye) – Matt 7:5 peacemaking requires admitting our own attitudes, faults, failures and responsibilities. Do what is Right, before pointing out what others have done Wrong.
3. Love Mercy and Forgiveness (Gently Restore) Gal 16:1.  Peacemaking requires constructive confrontation – confronting in a gracious yet firm manner
4. End with Us and God (Go and be Reconciled) Matt 5:24 – peacemaking involves a commitment to restoring damaged relationship and developing agreements that are just and satisfactory to everyone involved.

 

 

 

It wasn’t until Day 4 that the walls began to tumble down.  As we spoke of the mercy of God towards each of us, of our own reliance on grace in our daily walk, the pastors and church leaders one by one fell to their knees in repentance.  They saw their only hope of peace was in Christ, and His sacrifice on the cross.  They too were called to sacrifice, and perhaps to suffer and die as well.  They too were the potential sacrificial lamb whom God may need to use to reconcile their people to Himself and to each other.  On the final day, they were then able to make an Action plan to take the first steps towards reaching across the divide of hatred and fear, to trust each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and make commitments to build relationships of Peace.

 

 

 

South Sudan:  Toposa. The Toposa are the brothers to the Karamojong, with the same character and traditions.  They are semi-nomadic and spend their lives herding livestock. When threatened, they protect their cattle ferociously. Cross border conflicts and intertribal raids had been common, but many were pressing to bring peace to the region, and leave fighting.  We were called in to do a CAHW training through the local church but God had a bigger purpose for us. CAHWs were chosen by the communities, based upon their respect in the villages, there wisdom and their character.  We trained them for 2 weeks and treated animals in the surrounding communities.  We had also carried MP3 players with chronological bibles stories in the local language and began sharing with the CAHW leaders about God’s love and purposes for them. In the end, we challenged them to accept Christ and to turn away from violence, fighting and raiding cattle.  After our prayer for them, these strong, powerful men lifted their arms to heaven and pleaded with God to forgive them.  Many became believers on that day, strongly turning from their past and repenting of their lives of hatred and selfishness. We then challenged them to step out and lead their new body of believers (47 members had been saved over the 2 weeks), whoever was strong enough to stand as a leader. As strong, powerful men, none of them wanted to give up the honor of being a leader to another person, so they all wanted to be pastors!  We chose 4 of them and set up 2 new churches, with 2 at each church and began their discipleship process.  Today those 2 churches continue to grow and trust in the Lord, with their shepherds guiding and protecting them, just as they had done for their livestock.