Month nine has begun. I could have had a baby in the time that I have been out of the US.
After what was once again an absurdly long time in a bus (24 hours), my team and another finally arrived in Lira, a town a few hours from Kampala. The night we arrived I was still unsure what we would be doing for ministry. Our first day we connected with a big group of people from Texas who were part of a discipleship school with a church called Antioch. They had spent around 10 days evangelizing in Lira and were prepared to pass the torch onto us.
There were three days of overlap between the time that we got to Lira and the Waco team left. Each morning we gathered together and worshiped before heading out in small groups to interact and evangelize to the natives through a 12 story approach. The energy and enthusiasm our new friends had was contagious, and through their overflow and encouragement we felt ourselves becoming revitalized. Nine months is a long time to be on the field and we had become tired, without even knowing it.
So, with our passion restored and our hearts full of the joy and love that the Texas team poured into us, we felt rejuvenated. With a few from my team and a few from the Texas team, we compiled a small group and set out to share about our faith. We came to a small group of huts where a few of us shared with the women in the village and a few of us played with the children. Naturally, I was drawn to the children. Afterwards we went to pray for a friend who had become ill with malaria. We prayed healing over her and were delighted when she claimed the healing and her strength was restored. Where she had been able only to sleep before, she went running and jumping down the street post-prayer!
After saying goodbye to our wonderful new Texan friends, we went to Atin Africa, a home for street kids. The Home was started by a woman from Canada and a Ugandan man. The kids are taken in off the street for about three months and then are transitioned back into their homes if that is the best place for them. Social workers interact with the kids over the three months that they are at Atin, and help dictate the best place for them to go.
The home is beautiful and has somewhere around 20 boys right now. They have pet rabbits, dogs and monkeys (which we loved playing with!). I became fast friends with Bryan, a 15 year old who tricked me into playing volleyball (not my gift). I also got to become friends with Robert, a 13 year old who loves to dance, be goofy and take pictures. Unfortunately, we got to know the boys at the end of their cycle, so we will not be able to continue visiting and befriending them.
Our group was also able to help with VBS, where we got to dress little girls in pillowcase dresses from the US. The girls were ecstatic to receive the beautiful, frilly gowns! We also have been going around, meeting and forming relationships with the Lira natives. It has been challenging and exhilarating to be welcomed into the small 'hut' homes of our now friends.
Needless to say, I love Uganda. Africa is by far my favorite continent that I have been to. This month is full of random tasks and opportunities, making for a far from boring experience. I am continually grateful for the opportunity to be on this crazy adventure.
