Month one of the World Race. Where do I begin?
Let me start by telling you that before the race, I traveled outside of the U.S. once in my life. I went to Juarez, Mexico for three days, which is not that far from my where I live. So traveling all the way across the world for the first time was major culture shock for me.
Especially because this is Africa.
They say you can never really be ready for Africa. We spent a total of 17 hours on a plane, and then my team spent another 9 hours crammed in a van with all our luggage to get to our ministry site. It was a long journey to get here.
Once we arrived, I got malaria after 24 hours of being in Uganda. I was treated by a local clinic and they took such good care of me. I am fully recovered now and I thank God that he has protected me and healed me.
I didn’t really know what to expect when I got to Africa. I was excited, eager, and ready for anything as we arrived here.
Everything is different here. We stick out so much and everyone stares at us because we have different color skin. All the kids follow us and like to touch our skin and our hair because we are so different. One of my team mates has made multiple African babies cry because they have never seen white people before. The kids like to point and call out to us “monu,” which means white person. The culture is completely different than America, but I have loved learning all about their culture here.
We have done a lot of different ministry this month – door to door evangelism, school missions, prison ministry, and crusades.
Door to door evangelism is very effective in Africa. The people here welcome you in their homes and sit with you to talk. They are eager to hear the message that we have traveled thousands and thousands of mile to tell them. They are thirsty for the Gospel here. We have seen many people come to Jesus as we have done door to door evangelism.
We have also had several crusades – which is an outdoor gathering where we worship, preach, and pray for people. One of my favorite things about Africa is the way they worship – they love to dance and shout for Jesus. Dancing and worshiping with the kids has filled my heart with so my joy. The Father’s love is so tangible in the beautiful children here.
I have also had the opportunity to share my testimony and preach at some of the crusades. I’m thankful that I get this opportunity here in Africa.
My favorite thing about Uganda is by far the people. The community is rich and I have enjoyed every moment of getting to know the people here. We have been welcomed with loving arms and treated like royalty. I can’t express how loved I have felt since the moment I got here. I am so thankful that the Lord brought me here.
These people are some of the poorest, yet richest people I have ever met.
They love so hard and deep, and they inspire me to love more selflessly.
Me and my team by the Nile River. (From left to right: John, Andrea, Mardie, Me, Logan, Shannon, and Alex)
