One continent down. Two to go.
It’s crazy to think that three months have passed living in the same continent and now we are moving on- TO ASIA and beyond! Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia were filled with laughter, lots of the Lord, copious amounts of rice and spaghetti and hard times. Africa was a whirlwind and I can’t believe my time there has come to an end. The Lord was so sweet to me in bringing me back to a place that I love so dearly and had so many great memories from two years ago.
In Uganda, my team and I were working with a ministry, Raising Up Hope Uganda, created by a young 25 year old boisterous man, Patrick. We were in a smaller town thirty minutes outside of the city in a beautiful and spacious house that was being rented out for us. Patrick created RUHU when he was just 16 after living years in the slums. RUHU now consists of a boys and girls orphanage, a community school for children that can’t afford government schools, a safe house for teenage girls from the slums, and slum outreach to boys addicted to airplane gasoline. Everyday we would teach at the community school, and I was with the baby class (equivalent to Kinder). Now I was not thrilled to teach month one after such a rough year teaching but I loved my time with these kids and absolutely fell in deep love with a boy named Jowash. Another part of our ministry was a biweekly program for the slum boys; this was the most challenging part of the month but also my favorite part of the ministry. We would hold hands with boys whose eyes were rolling to the back of their heads, so high off gasoline, but something I learned is these boys deserve love more than anyone and those are the children Jesus would be hanging out with. This was an unforgettable month and it was only our first month. Also, month one I did one of the most adventurous things- bungee jump!
In Rwanda, we were in a tiny town 3 hours outside of the city. This month we worked with a loving and motherly pastor, Fatier, of International Healing Center Ministries. We spent the month teaching children, leading Bible studies and preaching at her church. The scenery around our house was stunning and there wasn’t a day that went by that my breath wasn’t taken away by God’s creation. We lived in Fatier’s house and had a 40 minute oneway walk to ministry, which we made multiple times a day. This was a very restful and growing month with the Lord, as I had to listen intently for His voice to writes sermons. My favorite experience from this month was leading the Bible study with the single and widows and getting to share part of mine and my mom’s testimony with the women; they are so strong and centered on the Lord despite their situations and I felt so connected to them.
Finally, in Ethiopia we were out even further (10 hours) in the village of Yuragalem working with a ministry called Talita Rise Up ( Mark 5:41). We had another young host who established this ministry with his mother in hopes of empowering women, and it has spread to supporting families in the community with food, clothes, and most importantly a safe place for their children to commune. We lived in the house that was used for the Talita Rise Up center but they had just moved to a nicer house; we all slept in mattresses on the floor and it was one big slumber party every night. Everyday we put on the program with the community kids that consisted of art, music, games, and one special Thanksgiving program. There were also 7 babies that lived at the center and the majority of the month was spent holding them, rocking them to sleep, and giving them all the love they have deserved. At the end of the month we put on a program for he women of the community that was called Beauty For Ashes; it was a weekend filled with tears, freedom from shame, and also a little laughter and nail polish. This month we also spent our first major holiday (Thanksgiving) away from our families and with our new families and although it was very different it was so special. Ethiopia was filled with the best coffee and lots of strong relationships and I loved this month dearly.
Africa was so good to me and my team and it will be a time I will never forget. The Lord taught me so much about Himself, His people and creation, and so much about myself. I fell deeper in love with Him these past three months and I am excited for 7 more months of the adventure He is taking me on.
