The Journey

I can't believe it has been over a month since I got back from Uganda. Even so, I still reflect back on the trip nearly every day and God continues to cause me to grow from it. I officially left for Uganda on June 4, after spending the weekend in Orlando with one of my team members. It was a long flight but I was really excited. We had a day layover in Amsterdam, so we went to a cheese farm and the Anne Frank museum. The cheese was scrumtrulescent and the Anne Frank museum was quite moving. Here are a couple photos from Amsterdam:

This is Grand Central Station (where Ocean's Twelve was filmed)

Windmill seen on the way to the cheese farm.

The outside of Anne Frank's house (pictures inside are not allowed).

When we got to Uganda, we had to do a lot of traveling but met lots of great people along the way. We took care of some horses, spayed/neutered and vaccinated dogs and cats for rabies, and vaccinated chickens for Newcastle's disease. We wore skirts out of respect for our hosts, since they value modesty greatly. They really only had to go to your knee, but mine all went past my ankles. It actually wasn't that hot wearing a skirt, which was a plus. The sun was hot so we stayed in the shade during the day. At night it cooled down quite a bit, so it was comfortable to sleep. On Sunday we went to church, which was such a blessing. The people were so welcoming and honored us as their guests. Afterwards, we spent some time with the younger people in the church (they were around 18 or 19 years old) and had lunch. The young women were so sweet and kept passing us notes that said "let's be friends and pray for each other". Here are just a few pictures of Uganda (I will post them all on Facebook when I figure out how to do it).

A roadside fruit stand where we bought some very delicious pineapple, guavas, mangos, tangerines, bananas, passion fruit, and sugar cane.

The mighty Nile River! We were fortunate enough to go white water rafting on this powerhouse of God's creation.

A miracle occured and I actually hit a jugular vein! I had to have it documented :).

The little church in Namalu where we had a lovely service. It lasted almost three hours but it didn't seem that long.

Here I am with two new friends hanging out after church (as you can see, both are already married with kids).

I was assigned to vaccinate poultry in this village. We just had to put a drop of the vaccine in any mucous membrane (i.e. mouth, eye). The lady in the back has a bunch of chickens in a bucket on her head. It made me hungry for KFC.

Some breathtaking scenery....

More breathtaking scenery; seriously every picture was worthy of being on a postcard.

It was a busy trip and I really didn't have a whole lot of time during it to reflect on things. I tried to journal every night, but I did the most pondering upon return. I prayed before I left that God would reveal Himself to me in new ways, and He went above and beyond my request. I was filled with unspeakable joy each time I met a Ugandan believer. It was amazing to me to see another person who is very different from me yet loves the same Jesus that I do. All barriers-- be they race, language, class, whatever--were instantly rubble in the face of our common bond in Christ. It made me excited to see all these other brothers and sisters and imagine how we would all be in heaven together one day. Meeting and fellowshiping with these fellow believers made heaven feel a little closer. Something I wasn't expecting God to teach me was that I didn't feel sorry for these people. Yes, there was poverty and great need but there was also contentment and generosity. These people have little but they work hard and are proud of what they have. We were honored as guests everywhere we went; we ate first, sat at the head table, meat was served to us, and we were greeted warmly by everyone. The people didn't seem to feel awkward at all to serve "rich Americans". They gave us their best and God received the glory. I didn't come back hating myself and feeling the need to sell everything and move into a cardboard box like I thought I might. On this trip, God further directed me to focus on eternity instead of this life by realizing that what you have or don't have on earth is insignificant. Cleaning up your earthly life by getting rid of everything isn't going to bring you closer to eternity. I'm in no way bowing down to materialism, but I think anti-materialism can be an avenue that Satan uses to deceive people because it still causes the focus to be on material possessions. What I came away with is to commit all that I have to God and put it to use for His glory, no matter what I possess and what it looks like in the eyes of the world. The parable of the talents in Matt 25:14-30 is a reminder to cultivate and grow the gifts the Lord gives us and that we have a responsibility to do so. I could really go on for hours about what the Lord is doing in my life since this trip, but it's getting kinda late. To sum up the trip, I love Uganda and I am CONVINCED that I belong to a very big, powerful God!