I’m somewhere in Uganda,
MONTH 11!
and I’m loving it.
Three teams are here partnering with an organization from the UK called Lightforce International. It has been a lot of hard work, and also a lot of fun.
The organization is self sustaining through agriculture, and it’s community based. They farm and raise livestock to run a primary school and board children. These children live with us on the compound where we are staying.
Our ministry includes: manual labor, organizing supplies, teaching in the school, and community outreach. Our host gives us the option to do whatever we want for the day (except teaching has to stay pretty consistent). Therefore I’ve been doing a lot of manual labor and community outreach.
Here’s a look into a regular ministry day:
I wake up at 6am. Me and some others go for a run and get back around 7am. I read my bible for 30 minutes, then we have breakfast at 7:30am. Usually it’s hard boiled eggs, some kind of bread with butter and jam, and coffee. Right after breakfast we start work. Our host will name off a couple options, and we volunteer for jobs we want. At the get-go I was labeled as the “pyro” so I’ve been mostly in charge of the fire where we burn all of the “rubbish.” Other days were spent digging holes, cleaning out a giant warehouse, moving things, cleaning things, etc. We work until 1pm, and have a one hour lunch break. For lunch we eat different dishes that usually include beans, cabbage, eggplant, pumpkin, and rice. We start back up at 2pm and get off at 5pm. Right after work I take my bucket shower in the dark with roaches, and then we have dinner at 6pm. Dinner and lunch are usually the same except for dinner they give us meat, beef or goat. Around 7-7:30pm we have team time, and then I go to bed.
These are full work days, but I must say I’m very thankful for it. I feel like we are being a big help, we have been productive, and I’ve been having a really good time here.
On the days when I have done community outreach, we do A LOT of walking. Our friend Michael leads us to different homes. We basically see if they have anything they need help with (planting/harvesting) otherwise we ask if they need prayer. We have prayed for a couple different people with sickness, and we have helped plant and harvest peanuts. I enjoy going out into the community. A lot of people speak English here, and really love the extra help we offer.
It’s hard to believe this is my last ministry on the world race. We only have about 16 days until we head off to final debrief. Therefore, we are given extra time here to process the race as a whole and prepare our hearts for home. There’s a lot of mixed emotions, but lets just say (even though I love Uganda) I really can’t wait to come home!!
See you soon America!
