Hello family and friends!
I know it has been awhile since I have written! A LOT has happen in the last month and I will not be able to share all that I desire to share! I have been overwhelmed at God’s provision and goodness these last few weeks. He has shown up and shown off for all of us on many occasions!
The newness this year holds is that the teams do not have ministry contacts. They don’t have somebody/an organization telling them what to do and how to do it each day. They have God to do that.
At the end of January the teams were told that they had 8 days on their own to go out and seek ministry as a lifestyle. I went with one of the teams as they began to explore all that God had for them in Uganda. From getting a free ride to a hostel on the other side of the town, to having the hostel drop their price for us exactly to our budget without us even asking, to receiving meals and food for free, to meeting a doctor at a coffee shop that set us up to work with a near by hospital… GOD showed up big time!!
That week God taught us to rest in Him, that He is our provider, and that ministry really is a lifestyle if we go out each day intentionally hearing His direction and seeking out people. We were able to clean rooms at the hospital, learn how to cook local dishes, and just shared life with the staff there for the week. We made friends at the local street market, shared Jesus with the managers of our hostel, encourage other believers in Christ, and prayed over those who were sick.
After the week on their own in Uganda, all four teams came together for a short debrief. It was great to hear all the team’s stories and to see similar themes God was teaching each team. God was teaching them that they were not looking for a ‘ministry’ per say (like an orphanage, school, or church) to work with but that they were looking for people; for conversations about God on the streets, for praying healing over the lady sitting next to you on the bus, for a chance to give shoes to a lady at the market that didn’t have any. Another theme each team shared was that God was using the people around them to bless the teams as much as the teams blessed others. Our teams were blown away by how warm and welcoming of the Ugandan people were to us. God had doors open left and right and people let us into their homes, gave us their food, and allowed us to do life with them. We felt beyond blessed to be able to meet as many people as we did.
Enjoy some photos!
They dressed us in scrubs at the hospital so we could see and pray over the surgery room. At first I got scared that they were taking us to see an actual surgery!
This is Evelyn. She sold beautiful clothes and jewelry at our hostel. We got to fellowship with her every night that week.
This is Maria. She sells matuge at the local market. She’s showing off her new shoes she got from one of the teammates.
This is the team with Katie and Anton, the managers at our hostel. They invited us over for dinner for a typical South African braai (aka BBQ).
Also at debrief, I was able to celebrate my 27th birthday with the entire squad! I was surprised with a traditional Ugandan dress and a handcrafted birthday tiara! 😀
This is Joseph who runs a non-profit in Kampala. We ran into him in two parts of Kampala (God works like that). We got to pray over him as he runs a program that helps get kids off of the streets of Kampala.
After debrief we headed to Rwanda! I will write again soon about Rwanda. Stay tuned! 😀
