It’s crazy to think month 4 is coming to an end. Our time in Uganda has gone by slowly yet quickly. It’s a weird feeling.
The first two weeks of Uganda were challenging. It started off with malaria, homesickness, and ministry that was very different from Asia. In Asia we had ministries each month that we had quite a bit of downtime every day. Jumping into Africa we were getting up at 6:30 every morning and then ministry from 10-4 just about every day. It was exhausting and we weren’t used to the type of ministry we were doing. Door to door evangelism was a challenge for me. It was all new to me and I didn’t know how to approach the situation. I had an attitude of “I just need to get through this month and it will all be ok.” Halfway through the month I knew I needed to change that attitude.
One Saturday a few of my teammates and I went to a worship night at Doors ministries. This ministry was started by two women from America who have a heart for boys living on the street. They started this home in which they provide schooling, housing, discipleship and reconciliation with families for boys living on the streets. Every Saturday night they have a worship night and they extended the invitation to us so we took that opportunity to worship and be filled up with American worship songs. (Side note: the way Africans do worship is something that I am not used to. Worship is my favorite part of a church service and it is when I get filled up the most. I hadn’t been getting my fill that I needed. I’m not saying African worship is wrong…it’s just something I am not used to nor accustomed to.) With that being said, we went to this worship night and it was one of my favorite nights in Uganda. We sang worship songs and got to rest in God’s presence. I was so encouraged by the stories I heard about how God had provided for this ministry and how much they trusted in Him and knew he would provide. One girl, Ashley, really encouraged me that night. We got to talk for a while and afterwards she came up to me and said that she felt that God just wanted me to know that He is well-pleased with me and I don’t need to compare the way I do ministry to anyone else’s because I am doing just fine. It was something I needed to hear and after that night I decided that my attitude needed to change and I needed to look at this month as a month in which I get to grow in my relationship with Christ and I get to talk about him and tell people about his love.
So on Monday, Megan challenged me to come back from door to door ministry and tell her who God placed on my heart that day. So we began walking and ended up at a salon. We got stuck there for a while because of rain but I was perfectly fine with that. I met three young girls…Precious, Suah, and Shania. Precious was Catholic and the other two were Muslim. I got to share Jesus’ love with them and tell them how great God is and that he loves them. They each asked me to pray for them and afterwards Precious slipped me a 1000 schilling coin. In USD it is worth about 30 cents but that is quite a bit of money here in Uganda especially for a little child. I wish I could say that Suah and Shania decided to follow Jesus that day but I strongly believe that one day they will. These girls just wanted to be loved and I was able to show them that love. Precious even drew me a map and invited me to her house. Unfortunately she lived a bit farther away and I wasn’t able to visit but I will definitely remember those three little girls.
Tuesday I asked God the same question: Who am I supposed to meet today? He led me to Rachel. Rachel had been a Christian when she lived out in the countryside. When she came to live in the city she fell away from God and never really tried to find him again. I was able to share with her that Jesus still loves her and is always waiting with open arms. He will take her back any and every day. We talked a little bit longer and then she decided she wanted to recommit her life to Christ. As tears formed in her eyes and I held her hands and prayed with her she continued to squeeze my hands tighter and tighter. I could tell she was desiring that relationship with Jesus and that she knew something was missing. She had a huge smile on her face afterwards and you could see Jesus had entered back into her life.
Those are just two of the many stories we have from Uganda. It’s amazing how a shift in your attitude can change each day. Asking God every day to reveal to you who he wants you to meet is a challenge but it is so rewarding. Try it.
Love,
Andrea
P.S. We head to Rwanda on the 4th! Prayers would be much appreciated.
