Team Liora arrived in Rukungiri, Uganda early on Friday morning following two 8-hour flights and an 8-hour drive from the airport to our house. We first met our host, Enoch, at the airport. He had hired a driver and a policeman to drive us through the night. When we arrived at the house, we were happily surprised to find two American girls, Amanda and Allie, also living here! Amanda has been here since March working to start up a nonprofit called Unified in Missions. They have been so great about answering our millions of questions and helping us to feel comfortable here!

 

We are definitely getting spoiled this month. The five of us are sharing a room, but we each have our own mosquito-net covered bed. We also have a toilet, a shower, and electricity! And a puppy named Simba!

 

Friday was a rest day. We slept off our jet lag and then Amanda and Allie gave us a tour of the town in Amanda’s van (its name is Noah). We went to the market, the bank, the internet cafe, and out to dinner. Most of us ordered chicken broth, rice, and sweet potato, then mixed it together to make a delicious soup. We also had chapati, which is sort of like flour tortillas. The bill for all five of us to eat was under $4!

 

On Saturday, we went to meet the teen moms and kids at Cherished Life Ministries. This is the ministry Enoch started to meet the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of teen moms, who are often cast out by their families in this society. There were about 8 moms there with their kids, who ranged in age from 2 months – 4 years. Amanda brought little plastic animals and bubbles for the kids to play with. The moms didn’t speak much English, so it was a little difficult to really connect to them during our visit. However, Jen did do a devotion with everyone, translated by Enoch’s 22-year-old son Seth. We are currently brainstorming ideas for activities we can do next Saturday that will allow us to connect with the women better.

 

Another memorable experience from Saturday was walking to Sena supermarket with Alexa and buying food. During the 15 minute walk to the supermarket (which is basically a general store), lots of people (especially kids) would yell, “Muzungus!” (which is their word for white people), or “Hi! How are you?” It was like being a celebrity! Paying our bill was also an experience, as we had to count out 161,000 shillings (about $47).

 

Jen and I made pasta with tomato sauce for supper, helped by our new friend John. They don’t have a stove or an oven here, so he taught us how to use to charcoal stoves outside to prepare the food.

 

Today we took Seth back to University in Kabale, which was about a 2 hour drive. There was some stunning scenery along the way and we got some great pictures!

 

On the way home, Amanda got a call from her friend Ema, who sells food at the market. He invited us over to see his new (one and a half month old) baby. After a somewhat harrowing drive we arrived at his house and met his girlfriend and the baby, whose name is Samantha. All of us had the opportunity to hold her. Then Ema brought out his Bible, which was a gift to him given by a girl who was once here for a Passport trip (so cool!). Amanda read some passages of Scripture, and then we all prayed for the family.

 

It seems like God is already showing us that sometimes spontaneous, unplanned ministry is the best ministry. We’re excited to continue working with Cherished Life, as well as some other ministries Enoch has paired us with, but we’re also being open to other opportunities that God gives to us. My favorite parts of the trip so far have been starting friendships with the people here and just doing everyday life with my team.

 

Coming up this week:

Rugarama Health Centre

CBTC – Salon

CBTC – Weaving

Chilli Children

Cherished Life Ministries

Whatever God has planned for us!

 

Stay tuned! It’s going to be a great month!

 

Love,

Debbie

 

PS My laptop battery is dying and there’s nowhere to plug it in in the internet cafe, so I will try to post pics here later…also check my Facebook page, trying to upload some there!