Uganda was definitely an adventure, but not in the way you would suspect.
Every month we have had a ministry host that would tell us what the need was and how we could fill it. In the past I’ve lead a men’s small group, laid the foundations of a restuarant, fed kids in dump villages, taught English, visited orphans, taught a bible school, went door-to-door, and preached at church. So, you will imagine my shock, and excitement, when we heard that Olive Tree did not have a ministry host. Why no host? We were supposed to have one but our ministry site was dangerously close to the suspected Ebola outbreak. So, our leadership gave us something else to do.
ATL (Ask The Lord).
The idea behind ATL is that you pray every morning and ask God what it is that He wants you to do that day. Every morning, we would get together as a team and pray for guidance. We’d wait to hear if God had anything specific for us that day or not.
We got to pick where we would live and do ministry for the month and we decided on Kampala. We got a air b&b which was fun because it was the first time in months where we had our own space. Normally you’re staying in someone’s house which can be fun but it is nice to have your own space every now and then. I was a fan staying in Kampala because we were near the national mosque and if you know me, you know I love talking to Muslims about Jesus.
So, what did we do all month? Everything and nothing at the same time.
What do I mean?
What do you do when you’re surrounded by five other people all day and night for months on end? Do you think life would get a little irritating and stressful? Second batch of teams is a much different experience than your first team. The first time, The Race is new and exciting. You’re wide eyed and have the whole year ahead of you. But next thing you know, you’re months into this thing. You’ve traveled thousands of miles, had many sleepless nights, a panic attack or two or twenty, no personal time/space, stress from some less than perfect ministry hosts, not the best food, and on top of it you miss home. Now the question is: how do you live with people when you really don’t wanna be with people? Answer: with a lot of work, patience, and some good ol’fun.
Uganda was a sort of a reset month for me and for my team. We all needed time to rest and reflect on all that we have been through and done over these past several months. Though, the beds at the house were solid as a rock.
Of course we got to do “normal ministry” in Uganda. Whether it be going to evangelize in a coffee shop, talk to Muslims at the mosque, go help feed a hundred or so kids at a school, go to church bible studies, talk to every Uber driver about Jesus, or in my case talk to your barber for the month about Christ.
Uganda was just like life back home. We had no schedule, no host telling us what to do, and no one to cook for us. It was amazing! I loved ATL and I cannot wait to do it again in Portugal.
