uganda

As the red dirt stains on my feet begin to fade and I slowly get used to fast-paced life back in the States, I am finally finding time to process my trip and blog about it. The most common request since I have been back is "Tell me about Uganda." I have been so tempted just to answer, "Well, it is a small country in eastern Africa...." because there is no way to capture the experience in just a few sentences. The trip was nothing like I expected. Maybe I should start there. My expectations were high, as you might have guessed from my previous blogging. I wanted to be in love with every moment of the experience, to feel like I was truly connected to my passion and heart and to be absolutely enamored with Africa. Was that how I felt all of the time? No. Some of the time? Yes. In reality, living at an orphanage in Uganda for 2 weeks was a huge adjustment. Not only did I have to get used to my "toilet" being a hole in the ground and my "shower" being a bucket and a cup, I was surrounded by 70 kids almost 24-7 with very little privacy or alone time. Talk about incarnation ministry. I was homesick, I was physically sick, I had both ups and downs, discouragements and absolutely joyous moments, but all in all, God taught me so much and then commissioned me to come back and share it with all of you.

I'm going to be honest, putting the experience into words is going to be tough and I think that is why I have waited so long to do it. All in all, I came away with a sense of how truly blessed I am and how much I take that for granted at times. To see children who eat at most 2 meals a day (sometimes none depending on monetary support) be so joyous and in love with life was truly a wake up call. However, the fact that I am much more blessed monetarily than most, no all, of those people I came in contact with in Uganda was also a huge source of isolation for me. Being a "Mzungu" (white person) was not easy. Though it made me (and the other Westerners that were there to volunteer at the same time as me) very recognizable, it also made us targets not only for begging but also bitterness. While it was difficult to have so many people asking for money that you knew you couldn't help, it was even more difficult to realize the perceptions people had about us just because of the color of our skin. Even those that we grew the closest to told us that they believed that we inherently thought we were better than them and more deserving of blessings in life because of where we were from. It was nice to have a totally honest conversation like that and break down some of the misconceptions but disheartening to know that they existed in the first place.

I don't mean to dwell on the negative, just want to give a transparent picture of what I experienced. So time for some of the highlights of the trip:

• I got to float along in the NILE River and see it's source in Uganda....amazing!
• I got to learn one of my favorite songs ("I Surrender All") in Lugandan (the local language in Mafubira)
• Seeing the amazing reliance on prayer, especially in regards to healthcare, and tangibly seeing those prayers answered....For example, one of the girls at the orphanage, Eron, got VERY sick (with typhoid AND malaria) and had to be taken to the hospital...When the other kids found out, they immediately went to the church at the orphanage and began praying, even though it was probably 9 or 10pm. I don't know exactly how long they prayed because I was at the hospital but they definitely prayed without ceasing and God answered and brought Eron home safely after only a brief hospital stay.
• The AWESOME worship. Church lasted 4 hours each Sunday but it didn't feel like it because we were up dancing and singing and absolutely praising God with all that we had....and loving every minute of it!
• And last, but not least by any means -- the amazing amazing people that I met. From those with a heart to run this ministry, to all the awesome kids, to the volunteers that were there with me, God truly surrounded me with people with His heart and my experience wouldn't have been the same without them.

Lastly, I just wanted to share a few verses that God put on my heart during and upon reflecting on the trip:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
-- This is one of STAO's mission verses and completely embodies their calling and the calling that all of us have in one way or another.

"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?" James 2:5
--I was so reminded of this verse every time I went to church and saw the heart of worship of all the people around me. They couldn't have been more rich in faith and I think it is because of their complete reliance on God as provider that sometimes our STUFF gets in the way of.

Sorry this is so long. Think I'll post a whole separate blog with more pics and videos. Otherwise, if there is anything specific you want to know about the trip or the situation in Uganda, please please don't hesitate to ask because I would LOVE to share anything I know or have experienced with you. Grace and peace :)