After an evening rainstorm in the Go Vap District of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, my team caught a taxi to meet the rest of our squad at the airport. We excitedly greeted everyone and waited for our midnight flight across the world. After a quick 7 hour flight (anything less than 10 hours is quick to us now!), we landed in Dubai for a layover before our second and final flight to Uganda. Later that afternoon, we touched ground in the gorgeous country of Uganda- complete with that beautiful red dirt I’ve heard of many times. We boarded three buses with all of our packs and headed to the town of Jinja for a few days of Debrief, arriving at our home for the week well after dark.
The week in Jinja was spent resting, relaxing in the sun at the neighboring hotel’s pool, spending time with Jesus on our hotel’s deck overlooking the Nile River, having one-on-one meetings with squad leaders, coaches, and mentor, a team meeting, and even a talent show. The highlight for a majority of the squad’s week was Friday when we went white water rafting in the NILE! What?! Now, I’ve been white water rafting in Colorado…in the summer when the water is low.. but this was a whole new ball game. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t scared, and there was definitely a moment when our raft flipped, waves kept crashing over us (cue “You Make Me Brave”), and finding the surface was a challenge.. but it was awesome! It has been one of the biggest and scariest and most awesome adventures yet, and I’m so glad I did it!
The next morning, Saturday, the squad packed our bags and headed into Kampala to meet our ministry hosts for the month. We were picked up by Pastor Joseph, who works with Ambassadors of Life Church, and he took us to our home for the month.
Now, truth time. Coming to Africa hasn’t been keeping me up at night with excitement. I was honestly dreading it a little. I think I’d seen and heard about people living in scary places, sweating to death every day, weird food, etc., and it totally turned me off. But as always, God flipped my expectations upside down and provided more for our team than we could ever imagine. Pastor Joseph brought us to his home to stay for the month. Guys, we are living in a HOUSE. With his family- a beautiful, loving wife whom we have already started calling “Mama B”, his children, and other family members. I am currently sitting on a COUCH, facing the DINING ROOM TABLE. This is absolutely unheard of. They tell us almost daily how blessed they feel to have us here, when in reality, they are being a great blessing to us! I can’t wait to share pictures of our Ugandan family! There are also quite a few children living around here that we’ve gotten to play with, start loving, and have dance parties with! One morning, I was able to sit on the front porch with two little boys and they discovered the art of selfies on my computer- it was hilarious. Another morning, our team went out with the intention of praying over the neighborhood with some of our friends from the church, and we found ourselves in a downpour. After finding shelter in a school, we quickly transitioned into singing worship songs with our friends, praising God in the middle of the storm. This is my life right now. God can do extraordinary things, guys.
As I mentioned earlier, we are with Ambassadors of Life Church, and our ministry this month is to walk around the area to share the gospel with people. Each day brings new conversations and adventures. We are split up into pairs and then sent with a couple church members to translate. Just in this past week, I’ve gotten to speak with new believers, people who have heard of Jesus but are still seeking knowledge, and people who practice the Islamic faith. I’ve gotten to pray over a Muslim lady who had many questions about Christianity, a woman with an incurable disease, a three-day old baby and her mother, and several new believers. I’ve even gotten to see a handful of people choose to follow Christ and then come to church the following Sunday!
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d walk up to complete strangers and very quickly into a conversation, ask them if they knew about Jesus and His love. And here I am! Times like this, I know that our Lord has a sense of humor. At times like this, it also confirms that he definitely doesn’t call the equipped, but he equips the called. I know that I don’t have all the answers, but I have full confidence that the Spirit inside of me gives me the words to say.
I’m excited to see what else God has in store for our team this month! Please continue to pray for us- pray that we seek Him more than ever before, that we are bold and courageous in our actions, that we never stop listening and following His plan. Please pray for our host family and for the people of Kampala that we interact with. Please pray for our health and safety.
I’m staying away from internet as much as possible this month as it can be quite the distraction. I want to dive into our ministry and our Ugandan family rather than sitting in front of my computer or phone all the time. However, whenever I do log on, I’d love to read up on what you’re doing at home and how I can pray for you!
xo, Caitlin
As you know by now, I’m FULLY FUNDED!!! Praise God!
However, two of my teammates, Ashley and Asia, are still needing to meet this past deadline. Adventures in Missions has given them a grace period to have funds come in, but they really need your help! Please pray for them and for their funds to come in. If you had wanted to donate to my Race and missed the opportunity before I was funded, send the money their way!! These women NEED to be here. I can’t imagine them going home. God has way too much for them to accomplish in these next 7ish months.
You can support them by clicking on their pictures on the left side of my blog and click one of the many “Support Me!” links!
Thanks!!
