I spent a month in Uganda and got back about a month ago. I leaned a lot about not only the culture but myself as well. Now, I imagine that my regular readers are wondering what happened because I quit posting. Here's the thing; when I last wrote I was still prepping for the trip while going to school, so that didn't leave me with a lot of time to post about anything. And then July 6th came. I won't walk you through everything, but I will try to sum up the trip in a few paragraphs here so y'all don't have to read so much 😉.
When I first left my house it was a very early Thursday morning, I was nervous and scared because I was about to fly to a state I'd never been to, to meet 9 other people for the first time that I would spend the next 3.5 weeks with in a country I had never been to and knew almost nothing about. I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that this was where God wanted and he wouldn't have brought me to that point if it weren't for the best. The next day after I arrived in NYC, we flew to Dubai (13 hours) and then to Entebbe (4 hours) where we would meet our hosts Fredie and Stella for the next few weeks. When we landed I realized that I was going to be okay because these people weren't so bad after-all and we were all seeming to get along just fine. Despite the fact that none of us were morning people! (I mean out of 10 of us 0 were morning people!).
Our first week was spent working with Missionaries of the Poor (MOP). They are an organization that began in Jamaica. In Uganda they have two homes, a boys home and girls home. Each home houses children with special needs who were abandoned by their families. They also house children who have parents who have died or don't want to raise kids. In essence, each child was homeless at one point or another and these wonderful brothers and sisters have taken them into this home and cared for them. But unfortunately these children only get the basic care they need; clothes and diapers changed, a meal for lunch, and their teeth brushed they really don't have much. And because these kids have mental disabilities they are unable to communicate so you have to treat them like they are babies. Seeing these boys and girls that are struggling have so much happiness really melted my heart. I, along with a lot of the members of my mission team got very close to a couple of the girls and boys. Seeing how happy they were even though they don't have much really made me realize that we're fortunate to live and have the care we need. It also reminded me of God's love, because all a lot of these kids want/need is to be loved, to know someone cares.
Our second week was spent serving and working at different parishes down in Mitukula, Masaka and Kampala. When we were in Mitukula that was the week where every single day a person had to stay behind because they were ill. But don't worry no body got terribly sick! From the amount of medical knowledge I have, I believe it to be because of exhaustion that everyone was sick. Anyways that Monday we went to a parish and got to dance and sing with the children. Tuesday we went to two more villages. This was the day I met little Esther. Esther was sick. She was sick enough to the point she had an IV in her arm. However, I didn't realize it until she was taken away from a family member to go back to the clinic they had. As they took her away her eyes welled up with tears and she started crying and holding her arms out towards me. It hurt to see her so upset, but I let it go. A few hours later, as a group we decided to climb up a hill, little did I know this was going to be a struggle. But we did it. When I got to the top of the hill I turned around and guess who was standing there?! YES! Esther! She had found me again! That's when I thought to myself "if she didn't have parents and I had money I would take this little girl home with me" All she wanted was to be loved and cared for. And so a 3 year old taught me the value of love and hugs. How we are all precious in God's image! The rest of the week we spent at other villages near Mitukula, we also got to serve and do ministry at a prison. That was scary but also super cool and powerful because GOD'S NOT DEAD!
The third week we got to go on a safari and see real live animals that were not in the zoo!!! That's pretty explanatory though, so I wont go into too much detail.
Anyways, God really worked in my life and if you want to know more feel free to send me a message with your questions. I would LOVE to talk more about my trip to Uganda. Thank you and God bless!
When I first left my house it was a very early Thursday morning, I was nervous and scared because I was about to fly to a state I'd never been to, to meet 9 other people for the first time that I would spend the next 3.5 weeks with in a country I had never been to and knew almost nothing about. I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that this was where God wanted and he wouldn't have brought me to that point if it weren't for the best. The next day after I arrived in NYC, we flew to Dubai (13 hours) and then to Entebbe (4 hours) where we would meet our hosts Fredie and Stella for the next few weeks. When we landed I realized that I was going to be okay because these people weren't so bad after-all and we were all seeming to get along just fine. Despite the fact that none of us were morning people! (I mean out of 10 of us 0 were morning people!).
Our first week was spent working with Missionaries of the Poor (MOP). They are an organization that began in Jamaica. In Uganda they have two homes, a boys home and girls home. Each home houses children with special needs who were abandoned by their families. They also house children who have parents who have died or don't want to raise kids. In essence, each child was homeless at one point or another and these wonderful brothers and sisters have taken them into this home and cared for them. But unfortunately these children only get the basic care they need; clothes and diapers changed, a meal for lunch, and their teeth brushed they really don't have much. And because these kids have mental disabilities they are unable to communicate so you have to treat them like they are babies. Seeing these boys and girls that are struggling have so much happiness really melted my heart. I, along with a lot of the members of my mission team got very close to a couple of the girls and boys. Seeing how happy they were even though they don't have much really made me realize that we're fortunate to live and have the care we need. It also reminded me of God's love, because all a lot of these kids want/need is to be loved, to know someone cares.
Our second week was spent serving and working at different parishes down in Mitukula, Masaka and Kampala. When we were in Mitukula that was the week where every single day a person had to stay behind because they were ill. But don't worry no body got terribly sick! From the amount of medical knowledge I have, I believe it to be because of exhaustion that everyone was sick. Anyways that Monday we went to a parish and got to dance and sing with the children. Tuesday we went to two more villages. This was the day I met little Esther. Esther was sick. She was sick enough to the point she had an IV in her arm. However, I didn't realize it until she was taken away from a family member to go back to the clinic they had. As they took her away her eyes welled up with tears and she started crying and holding her arms out towards me. It hurt to see her so upset, but I let it go. A few hours later, as a group we decided to climb up a hill, little did I know this was going to be a struggle. But we did it. When I got to the top of the hill I turned around and guess who was standing there?! YES! Esther! She had found me again! That's when I thought to myself "if she didn't have parents and I had money I would take this little girl home with me" All she wanted was to be loved and cared for. And so a 3 year old taught me the value of love and hugs. How we are all precious in God's image! The rest of the week we spent at other villages near Mitukula, we also got to serve and do ministry at a prison. That was scary but also super cool and powerful because GOD'S NOT DEAD! The third week we got to go on a safari and see real live animals that were not in the zoo!!! That's pretty explanatory though, so I wont go into too much detail.
Anyways, God really worked in my life and if you want to know more feel free to send me a message with your questions. I would LOVE to talk more about my trip to Uganda. Thank you and God bless!
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