Fields of Life

Read Robin's story...Hello Jennifer!

A strange name for a rooster, but hopefully the real ‘Jennifer’ is looking after a rooster called ‘Robin’, who is ‘strutting his stuff’ around the grounds of Truth Primary school in Lira, Northern Uganda. I suppose now would be a good time to explain who Jennifer and Robin actually are...
                                                                                                                                                                                            

My name is Robin Pillar, I am married to Carole and we attend Richhill Methodist Church. In early July ’08 I travelled with twelve others, who started out as travel companions but returned as friends, under the auspice of ‘Fields of Life’. We were divided into two teams, educational and medical and our goals were primarily to advance the work and word of the Lord. The medical team assisted the medical staff in the local health centres and delivered ‘Love for Life’ talks to the school children. The educational team assisted the teaching staff in Truth Primary and Dara Christian High Schools in Lira. My time in Lira was spent assisting Claire in teaching IT classes in Dara Christian High.

 

This was a very special journey for me as it was my first visit to Africa; however it was more than just an opportunity to visit another country. Through ‘Fields of Life’ I sponsor two children who attend Truth Primary school. Betty and Ronald are both seven years old and I hoped to have an opportunity to meet them during my visit. These are the first pictures I received of Betty and Ronald.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I would meet them.

 

Indeed I didn’t know what to expect of Africa, but had decided to trust in the Lord and accept whatever came my way. Nothing on earth could have prepared me for what I saw as we travelled from Kampala to Lira. I have read and listened to people speaking of the poverty in Uganda and Africa in general, but words cannot accurately portray my emotions on seeing this for real. The majority of people I saw had very little materially.

       
In fact most of them had nothing, but one thing I will always remember is their smile.

Children and adults alike beamed from ear to ear and I realised that my brothers and sisters were a lot richer in their lives than we could ever endeavour to be.

 

It was the second week of our trip and I was like a child in a sweet shop, excited with anticipation. The day had come to meet Betty and Ronald. I arrived at Truth Primary School and made my way into the office of the Head Teacher, Jennifer, to see a man accompanied by a little girl who was beginning her first day at school. Jennifer announced ‘Robin this is Betty and her father’.

 

My heart leapt and I can’t describe the emotions that ran through me on actually meeting the little girl in the photograph. They both smiled back at me with huge welcoming smiles and we chatted for a while before it was time for Betty to go to class. It had been an experience and I’d had a rush of feelings that I thought would be difficult to repeat.

 

A little later Jennifer returned to her office with a young boy who I immediately knew was Ronald. Even if she had not told me, I would have identified him from his picture.

Jennifer informed me that the man I had seen in the initial photograph with Ronald was not his father, but his uncle. In 2003 his father had been murdered by members of the rebel group ‘The Lord’s Resistance Army’. Ronald lives at home with his mother, in a village in the bush outside Lira. Ronald has two sisters whom his mother could not afford to care for since the death of their father and they now live with their grandmother in the main town of Lira. As we talked I noticed that Ronald too kept smiling.

 

The next day I was in Dara Christian High when I was told that there was someone outside to see me. I went outside and there stood Jennifer, from Truth Primary, with another lady holding a rooster, a live rooster!

As soon as I appeared, this lady fell to her knees and held the rooster out to me with outstretched arms. Jennifer explained that this was Carol, Ronald’s mother and that this was a gift for me. I had to fight back the tears as I pleaded with her to get off her knees because I was not worthy for her to kneel to.

She explained through Jennifer that this rooster was for me in gratitude for sponsoring Ronald. In my opinion I had done very little. There was me thinking the day before that I had never felt such a degree of different emotions!

As I didn’t think the airline would appreciated me trying to carry a live rooster in my hand luggage, I had to pray quickly and ask for guidance as to how I could resolve this situation without offending anyone. After I explained about not taking livestock on board an aircraft, I asked if I could give the rooster to Truth Primary school as a gift. Carol approved, Jennifer accepted and they both agreed to call it Robin! At that I openly breathed a sigh of relief. Carol invited Jennifer and me to her home, in one of the little villages close to Truth Primary. We walked in the midday sun through the bush and several women and children came out to greet us. Now I understood the meaning of humility, looking at how little they had.

                                                   

 This photograph is of Carol outside her and Ronald’s home. She was so pleased that we came and it was one of those memories that will live with me forever. As for Jennifer, well as I could not bring Robin the rooster home with me, the other team members bought me a ‘replica’ which I named Jennifer.

 

 Sponsors of children supported by ‘Fields of Life’ receive a letter and Christmas card from their child and this is something that I will be looking forward to this year. My wife Carole also sponsors a child called Doreen, who is 6 years old. Carole looks forward eagerly to the Christmas letter and picture from Doreen and finds it exciting to see the progress and improvement in her writing and pictures from year to year.

 

I consider that I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to see and speak to Betty and Ronald. Some sponsors may never get to see their children, but I can confirm first-hand that the donations you make to children in the ‘Fields of Life’ sponsorship programme really do make a difference, not a small difference but a life-changing difference to their young lives. If you don’t already sponsor a child I would encourage you to consider contacting ‘Fields of Life’.

Yours in Christ,

Robin

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