Muzungu!: Ministry of Security

I mentioned in my previous post that the Light of the Lord Global Missions team was assigned to play an intimate role in the Love Kampala Festival organized by the Luis Palau Alliance Ministries based out of Portland, Oregon. Luis Palau Alliance Ministries performs festivals all over the world every year, and when we discovered that they were coming to Kampala, we knew we had to find a way to get involved.

On July 11, 2010, during the championship match of the World Cup, al-Qaida linked Somali group - al-Shebaab - launched suicide bombing attacks on two locations in Kampala being occupied by World Cup fans. 79 people were killed, including one American. Now, with the country on high alert and just two months later, a festival expecting 100,000 Christians and high profile names was coming to town.

When we were connected to the LKF team via a wild set of “circumstances,” security was the furthest thing from our minds. As an organization, we just wanted to volunteer and help the LKF team put on a spectacular event for our adopted country. We were ready to be trash collectors if that’s what was asked of us. As it’s been detailed on my early blog post’s and our website, LOLGMU was founded in the sands of Iraq. Our leaders come from various military and law enforcement backgrounds, having risked their lives protecting U.S. military installations as part of their prior service.

When the LKF team learned of our collected expertise, they shared their security concerns with us and asked us if we could volunteer to alleviate these concerns. In Isaiah 6:8, the Bible reads, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” So, in a quick turn of events, we had two highly decorated U.S. Marines performing threat and vulnerability risk assessments, coordinating the festival’s security apparatus with local police, counter-terrorism, and military units, and creating emergency contingency plans. My team and I were assigned to provide personal protection for the VIP’s for the week leading up to the event and the event itself.

While the threat was real and the work was serious, the opportunities and experiences that were presented to us as a result of our volunteer efforts was unbelievable. We got to attend many high profile functions, make new networks of friends and partners, witness the behind-the-scenes efforts of a major festival and concert, and hang out with international sport and music stars like Nicole Mullen, Papa San, and Andrew Palau. The weekend long festival turned out to be a huge success which thankfully included no incidents.

I will close by saying that every member of the Love Kampala Festival team and guests that we encountered was a joy and pleasure to work for. Andrew and Wendy Palau and their close team surrounding them are all amazing people. The Luis Palau Alliance is an exceptional ministry and I wish them great success in the future. Thank you for allowing Light of the Lord Global Missions to share in the experience.

***UPDATE - Great summation of festival and the critical role we played here: http://andrew.palau.org/news/detail/love_kampala_festival_press_release_25

Headline: “Security Concerns Fail to Dampen Enthusiasm for Love Kampala Festival with Andrew Palau"