Under Attack

In the last week, unoccupied buildings on the mission have been broken into three times, on three different nights. One time we can write off as desperation (rising food prices, school fees due). Two, we began to wonder about security issues, lack of consequences. Three tells us we are under attack. The first time was the night of the Super Bowl, which here was on from 2am- 6am in our time zone. We set our alarms and about half the team slept over on our floor, so when our lights went on and we began to cheer in the middle of the night we suspect that the thieves at the former Gray home got spooked. The next morning we discovered that a couple of mattresses and sheets and spoons were gone . . . but electronic equipment piled by the door had been abandoned. The second time was an outbuilding (also at the former Gray house) from which we could not detect any missing items. But last night was a doozy. Someone pried open the lock on the Masso garage and stole one of our BundiNutrition outreach motorcycles (value ~$4000). This is the machine which Baguma Charles rides hither and yon, doing trainings, making home visits, teaching, encouraging, delivering food supplies, making reports. 

They also broke into four other offices around the mission including the BundiNutrition office, our WHM worker tool store, our Deaf School classroom, and the Translation Office.  I just felt sick at the prospect that the Lubwisi Translation computer might have been taken or damaged. 

Thankfully, that computer was taken home by Charles Musinguzi, our translator, so no Lubwisi  bible translation files were lost.  My next action...verify that they are backing up those bible translation computer files in a secure site!

So Scott will spend half his day making a police report, and we will file notices with the organization (EGPAF) which funded the purchase of the motorcycle, and we will scramble to find other means of transport, and we will hire three night watchmen, something we haven't done in a long time. And we will pray, and ask you to do the same, that the "God of the Angel Armies" will send a few troops our way. As an act of mercy as well as justice: women with AIDS and hungry children are going to suffer the consequences of this last break-in, and the consequences will eventually catch up with the thieves.