Wow. The lord has been so gracious in transitioning my team and I into our first month of ministry here in Rukungiri. It has wrecked my random collected expectations of what Africa would be like. First of all, Ugandans are incredibly nice and welcoming. They’ve made Team Liora feel right at home. As our host Enoch always tell us, ” You are most welcome here, your home away from home”.
In less than a week being here has made me feel like this is the place where I’m supposed to be in this moment. I’m at peace at where I am. I may be doing life in a different country and have my routines changed by a great amount but it makes me look at Uganda and the people of this country and think, we are not so different. And I think that’s one of the first things that people are not able to get past when they transition into a different lifestyle especially in a different country. We may think wow this is so different and crazy and I can’t believe I’m in Africa ( which don’t get me wrong I do say at times) but even though I got placed into a different culture, a different people, even a different altitude. I have not been in a state of culture shock. We are not much different. We live and do life but it’s just done differently. I’ve been able to enjoy the beauty in that and what the Lord has been showing me in Uganda so far. I may be called “Muzungu” ( = white person ) from afar and occasionally giggled at. But I can carry a conversation with Ugandans and talk about our hopes and dreams. I’m able to find a common ground between to different worlds. And English is spoken throughout the area so that makes connections with Africans a lot easier.
Overall, I’m very excited for this month. Our host is wonderful and we have a full and busy schedule set out for us. We have already worked with teen moms and their children this past week. Our goal is to build relationships and teach them about Jesus and how much he loves them. The language barrier is slightly difficult with the teen moms but we are finding ways to be creative and find a connection!
Just today my team and I visited the local hospital and prayed for patients in all the buildings. We visited women that just had their baby a day ago and women that were about to give labor in a few hours. We prayed for ulcers to be healed and for Malaria symptoms to subside. Bad headaches to go away and people that were struggling with diabetes. Many of the new mothers had a lot of pain from their recent delivery. It was incredible to see how great they still looked and how much strength they had from just having a child in the past 24 hours. Many patients were wanting prayer and they were glad that we came by their bed. It was truly a beautiful moment being able to talk to them. We will be visiting them about once a week for our stay here in Rukungiri.
The rest of the week holds a lot for us! Each weekday at 8:30 am we have bible study at the chapel and tomorrow our team will actually be leading a study in 2 Chronicles. We will be working with another group of women who are taking classes such as weaving, beading, crocheting, and knitting. We will be learning these skills alongside them and spending a good amount of time with them as well. This week we are also visiting Chilli Children, which are orphans 18 and younger who have different types of disabilities.
It’s only Tuesday and we have a lot in store for our first official week of ministry! Please be praying for my team and I as we connect with these different ministries and begin to build relationships. We are so excited to be here! The friends we have already made are incredible. I will try and update on photos when I have better connection (:
Here a few fun things about Uganda from what I’ve experienced thus far…
-Saying hi to anyone that passes your way is so fun! I typically say “Agandi!” Which means, Hi how are you?! And they usually shout, Muzungu! How are you? I’m fine!
– Speed bumps. Large, small, wide, four in a row and every few feet. They are everywhere.
– LOVE the African Swahili music played on the radio. It has a nice island vibe to it and the occasional Western music is funny to hear especially when Nicki Minaj comes on the radio.
– Weather is gorgeous and I haven’t sweated like crazy just yet
– The power goes out at random times here in Africa so my updates may not be timely
– Little babies get freaked out when they see us because it’s their first time seeing a Muzungu
– oh! We have a house puppy (: his name is Simba and he has really big ears!
– forgot to mention that we were surprised with two American girls that are living in the same house as us!! They have helped out A LOT! They also have their own missions organization. Look up their hashtags! #UnifiedInMission #straightfromthevillage
– Ugandan Shillings (which is their currency) is counted by the thousands. As treasure I’m already getting all messed up with these numbers!
–> our wifi connection isn’t the best at the moment but I will keep you all updated as much as I can! If you’d like to talk to me personally, email me at [email protected]
