Greetings from Uganda 
If you read my previous blog, you know that this month my team is working with teen moms making paper beads, in the hopes that this will empower the women to use this trade to make a profit for their family. My team was really excited about this opportunity to connect with these women. And we’ve had some good moments. But honestly, it’s been harder than expected. Let me tell you why…
Crafting with teen moms. Sounds kind of ideal, right? Like you sit in a living room, all sipping your tea, sharing stories and cuddling babies, right? Well, we do sit in a living room and we do have tea a lot of the time, but this ministry has been pretty challenging for my team.
For one, we don’t share a common language. So, if there’s no one there to interpret, sometimes it’s a lot of silence, which can be discouraging. Usually, I want so badly to ask them how they’re doing, share with them about my life, and swap stories. But usually I can’t. Usually my team and I want to mingle with them and laugh with them. But usually we can’t. After the first week of ministry with the women, my team was discouraged. We did our best to make the most of it, we still shared a devotion with the women with the help of our host, but I think our expectations of what time with the women would be like was just very different than reality.
So we made a decision. Despite our frustrations, despite whether or not we enjoyed sitting and making beads, despite what the women thought of us, we were going to love them. And we were going to find a way to show them we did.
So yesterday, my team planned a mini-Beauty for Ashes retreat for these women. Beauty for Ashes is an Adventures in Missions program that seeks to empower women to experience God’s restoration and hope through storytelling and community. None of us had ever hosted a Beauty for Ashes retreat, but we had the material, so we thought, “Let’s try it.”
So yesterday we poured love out on these girls. We talked about how we view God and how our perspective of how He views us is so important. We shared a story that was relevant to their culture about a girl who saw herself as worth nothing, but worth 100 cows in the eyes of a King who wanted to marry her. We played musical chairs (surprisingly fun), washed their feet, and pampered them by doing their nails. We ate chocolate, cookies, and drank tea.
But what was the best part of yesterday? It was when two of the girls heard the gospel and accepted Jesus for the first time.
My mind was blown. But it shouldn’t have been really. I wasn’t sure how yesterday would go. We had tried to build relationships with these girls, but it felt like we were failing. I questioned if they even liked us, honestly. But it was our job to be obedient. It was our job to love them. So we tried our best. We gave what little we had of ourselves and said “Yes” to God. And He showed up. Like He always does.
Sometimes ministry is really hard. That’s just the reality. Sometimes it’s really fun, and feels natural, and you connect easily with the people. But really, a lot of times it’s not like that. Sometimes it’s digging holes and uprooting banana trees in 100 degree heat. Sometimes it’s trying to start a conversation with someone who stares back at you blankly. And yet, we trek on. We keep pressing into awkward conversations. We smile when our host asks us to paint another wall, dig another hole, cut down another tree. We knock on another door, we walk another mile. Not because it’s always fun. But because we trust that our efforts are not in vain. That it is worth it. That God takes our mustard seed and does far more with it than the eye can see.
So here are some pictures from yesterday. 🙂
<3 Marisa
