My first month of the World Race is in the books! I can’t believe one month has already gone by. It’s been a really great start to our year! I haven’t posted as many updates as I would have liked so I will tell you a little bit about what my month in Uganda looked like.
We stayed in the town of Lira with the pastor of the church we worked with: Charles Mukwhana, his wife Maureen, and their son Grace. They were more than good to us! The girls stayed in the house with the family. John and I stayed out in the church where there was a bedroom set up. We each had our own beds, so no tenting quite yet. Maureen was an incredible cook, and we always ate well wether she prepared local food or some American style dishes. They worked super hard for us, and I’m very grateful for that!
Our ministry this month took us all over the place. Within the first week we had shared testimonies, worshipped, and preached at a prison, a school, their church, and what they call crusades. Crusades were our main ministry for the month. Crusades were essentially crazy church services. Charles would find a site to hold a crusade for the week and then we would do around three nights in a row of preaching and dancing (lots and lots of dancing). The Muzungos (white people, us) would share testimonies, preach, play music, and just enjoy the crusade from there.
To get people to show up to the crusades we did door-to-door evangelism in the mornings prior to each crusade. This was my favorite part of ministry in Uganda. It was here we really got to dig into people lives and meet them where they were at. Typically, I only made it to two or three households just because we would end up talking for so long, which was great! I heard some amazing stories from people and their lives in Uganda (if you don’t know Uganda’s history you should really look at all they’ve been through). I know our time there made postive ripples in the fabric of eternity and that seeds were sown there.
My first month with my team has been wonderful too. One of my big fears is that my team wouldn’t mesh on the World Race. It has been the complete opposite. I couldn’t imagine a group of quirkier, weirder people, but we have a lot fun and aren’t afraid to dive deep either. I’m thankful this month for them; all they’ve done for me and each other.
Aside from that, tons of other things happened. Of course we played with tons of African babies, who were very curious about their white visitors. I got to travel to the larger city of Mbale and enjoy life there for a day. We met other Muzungos from both Germany and the States each doing their own great things here in Uganda. Some of my team even ended up at a producers studio and helping record a song.
Uganda has been really good to us, and I’m sad to say goodbye to the amazing people who took us in and were our community. I’m so glad, though, that it was our first month and the tone that it has set for our team. Rwanda here we come!
**FUNDRAISING Update!**
I’m still about $4,000 short of what I need to raise for the World Race. I have until the end of December to raise the money or I risk being sent home. If you’re interested in being a blessing to me and to the people I meet please consider donating on the side of this page!
