All good things come to an end

Well I've been home two days now and the stories and feelings are beginning to arrange themselves. To begin I will say that just as the dust from the Kampala streets will probably be present in my lungs for the rest of my life, the love for Africa will exist in my heart. I don't know entirely when or how I will return but if God calls me back I will surely not resist.

The final week was more of the same type of ministry only better. I put my all into each visit we made, knowing it would be my last chance. Things started out at Remand home, the juvenile detention hall. One of the Americans in the house found the courage to share a really personal message with the children. She talked on sexual immorality and gave her own testimony as compelling support. It was the first time that I've seen the children pay more attention to the sermon than the singing. Afterwards, a few of them came up to share similar testimonies by opening up to levels we had neither expected nor experienced before.

On the third to last day we did some door-to-door evangelism. Unlike in the US, where people partaking in this are often met with rudeness and annoyance, families in Uganda always invite us in and are at least willing to let us pray for them. During the trip, it had been my intention to pick a child who really touched my heart, and to sponsor them when I return to America. The first house we visited was about 10 square meters and home to parents and 7 children! The father who we talked to was a very God-fearing man who worked an honest job but just couldn't afford to support all of his family. He was the cook at the local university but during the summer he lived off the little he earnt during the semester. Of the 7 children, he could only afford to send 5 to school. The other 2 were at home when we visited and though they spoke little english, they followed us around for the rest of the morning to all of the other houses. Many young kids will follow white people asking for money but these girls just held our hands and were content with our presence. Later on that evening, I got a few people together to visit the house again to officially announce that I wanted to sponsor one of the children, Sharon, 6. All of her siblings were home from school and they were all so excited and grateful at the news. We also took information about the youngest child, Valencia, 4. She should be due to start kindergarten next year if the money is provided. It is my intention to find a sponsor for her so if you think you'd like to help, let me know. The money goes towards school fees, school uniform, books, and lunch at school as well as for a mentor from the organization to go and check-up on the child each month.

Another highlight from the final week was the church service on Sunday. A staff member of Empower-A-Child was the pastor of this church which is located in a village about an hour from Kampala. It has only been open for 8 months and already has a congregation of around 100. The village is infamous for its witchcraft and struggles with violence. The service actually meets in the community hall, the same building that the witchdoctors get together in to pray to their spirits. The pastor has been attacked twice since beginning the post. Amazingly, the introduction of the church has brought a new life to the village, a claim that almost everyone seemed to mention. The churchgoers were so intense, the service lasted for 3 1/2 hours and was followed by a community lunch at someone's house. At one point in the service, members of the congregation are welcomed to come forward and testify. One lady from our group ventured up and broke down in tears of joy because she was so taken with the love that filled the air. We all thought that it was our favorite church and to think that it didn't even have its own building says a lot!

My flight was late on Monday evening so I was able to conclude things nicely on my last day. During the course of the month I visited the same babies home around 5 times. Right from the first time I had been fond of one of the boys named Joseph. Each time I would go back and look out for him. He quite literally was the cutest baby I have ever set my eyes on and as a payment for his peeing on me, I madly photographed him. I hope to post those pictures sometime. Monday morning was our final trip to the home and getting to see Joseph one more time before I left was a great way to start the day. I arrived back to the house to my final lunch of rice and beans coupled with a quality conversation with one of the Ugandan volunteers. In the afternoon I packed and washed obsessively while everyone planned for the following week. As was tradition when someone leaves the house to go back home, I was placed at the certain of a circle of people and prayed over before I left. Before praying, people often offer to give encouraging words to the one leaving. I was so blessed by some of the things that were said to me and couldn't thank everyone enough for the time that I spent there. The feeling of unity that we had as a team, the way everyone built eachother up as we are instructed to do so, and the complete inclusion of everyone in the house were all such an inspiration for returning home. I choked out a few words before I got in the van and gave about a bazillion hugs.

I returned home two days ago and the shock that I felt at the culture difference was huge: I went to a restaurant and couldn't bear to leave food on my plate; I saw a building project my dad was about to start and couldn't wait to get stuck in; A random conversation with a group of teenagers reminded me of the things many of us throw our lives away for. I hope the shock slowly disintegrates but I also hope that I don't slip back into the 'good life' that I had before. Uganda has changed my life and I am so grateful for the chance that I was afforded. I thank you all for your prayers and urge you to continue. Each seed that was planted needs to be followed up on and worked on. I have faith that our God will deliver on that front. In the words of the primary kid's favorite song, "God's not dead...NO...He's alive!"

A paining body but TIA

Just a short post here to let out some stress. I don't think I've had this many ailments since I was a baby:

My back aches from sleeping on hard ground,
I pulled a muscle in my shoulder from chopping wood,
My hands are blistered from building the goat shed and digging holes,
My leg is scraped from a sliding tackle in soccer,
My neck is sunburned from forgetting to apply sunscreen,
My face itches from not shaving for the entire trip,
My tongue is sore and sensitive from eating too many acidic fruits,
Finally a new and far worse addition from this morning... We were driving a friend to the airport in a van and the driver didn't see a speed hump going at a pretty fast speed. My friend sitting opposite me wasn't properly on the seat and came flying towards me. Our heads collided and I ended up far worse, with a deep cut right above my right eye. I am heading to the clinic later on tonight but just hoping that it isn't bad enough to need stitches.

Despite all of that, my spirit is far healthier and happier. Amen to that, goodbye for now.

The mission to Luwero

Hi everyone from a computer that is actually working quite nicely for once. It has just occurred to me that I only have a week left in Uganda on a trip that I thought would be very long. I remember the day I first walked on the streets of Kampala and was scared to cross the road. Now just like any Ugandan, I try to push the cars out of the way and run through the traffic to the other side. I remember that first disgusting taste of dry rice and beans. Now my mouth begins to water at the expectation of them. I remember feeling embarrassed to dance when a single person may be watching. Now I have danced solo to samba drums in front of countless campfires. I remember my first trip to a babies home and realizing I didn't know how to hold one. Now I have balanced three little kids on my lap at one time. Finally, I remember doubting whether I was really meant to come to Africa at all. Now I have complete assurance that it was in His will.

The huge batch of stories from the previous 3 weeks continues to grow but I'll pick and choose a few from this last week to share: We left on Wednesday at 3pm for Luwero, a region in Central Uganda. It was 5:30pm by the time we got there and we arrived to find our accommodation to be a primary school. The kids that had finished school at 2pm had all decided to stay late to greet their visitors so we were bombarded as we got out of the vans and continued to be until dark that evening. The girls laid out about 5 mattresses on a classroom floor to create a mega bed and the guys were either in tents or in a house which would better be described as a cubicle. Needless to say the quality of sleep didn't prepare us very well for the upcoming work the next day.

The main project of the mission was to build 4 goat sheds for 4 families in the region. The organization I am here with also sponsor children for their school fees, clothes, food etc. so these families each contained a sponsored child. We had no help from professional builders, only the knowledge of a few Ugandan helpers in each group. I found myself in charge of weaving the sticks on the walls of the hut. We used an extremely strong banana fiber to tie the sticks together to create a lattice in the walls. Each person in our 10 person group was made to work extremely hard and we also enlisted the children from the family to help us with certain chores. When I ran out of banana fibers to tie the walls my friend and I would yell out to the kids in our very butchered Ugandan "ekyayi kyibisi" which meant "wet fibers" and which we pronounced as "chi ichybisi." The kids began to laugh at our bad accents and kept saying the phrase over and over. The next day when we came back to work on the house we were greeted by the youngest child with that exact phrase. After yet one more day of yelling and screaming various phrases we ending up naming their new male goat after the shennigans while his female counterpart was called "benange" meaning "oh my goodness." The mother, grandmother, and 5 children were all so grateful for the shed we had built them and when we officially left and prayed for the family the grandmother began to cry with joy as she continually gave her thanks to God. Apparently this was the norm at the other 3 sites our team had built sheds so I think we really touched the village and hopefully for the right reasons.

On the first night of the trip, a very curious schoolteacher had stayed to watch us arrive. He had a habit of grabbing one of us at a time and taking us aside to have a 'word.' I got my turn just before bed on the first night and was quite humored by the end of the conversation. Isaac, as was his name, had been praying for a white woman to be his wife for the past few years. He has a friend who is the product of racially diverse parents and he thinks that his friend is a beautiful person. The night before we arrived he had a dream about white people and he said that when we did eventually arrive his prayers had been answered. While he greeted us all he noticed that one girl was kind enough to introduce herself to him before he got to her. Immediately Isaac found his heart locked onto hers and for the majority of my conversation with him he was trying to get background on this girl and proclaim his love for her. Needless to say that Isaac's prayers weren't answered quite as he had hoped as we left with a full group including one very freaked out girl who apparently is too nice for her own good!

On the final night of the trip, the boys sleeping outside in tents were awoken at the sound of screaming. This screaming continued through to morning and turned to weeping at around 6am. The others of us woke up to the news that a girl from the village had died in the night from a mysterious cause. News was uncovered later during the day that the girl had been seeing a witchdoctor(one who deals in evil spirits and curses) for a few days previous to her death and had been in perfect health beforehand. I have no right or knowledge to comment on the legitimacy of these rumors or practices but it definitely scared us all. As a sign of respect in the culture we all visited and prayed for the family before we left the region. It was a very solemn occasion, most of the village were there yet there wasn't a noise to be heard.

Overall, the trip was very successful. Each day at the primary school kids stuck around as we played with them, the goat sheds were all received well, and the team morale was good despite the difficulties.

We arrived back to Kampala again on Saturday evening on quite a special day, July 4th. We had planned to go to a party at the US embassy but as normal with things in Uganda, no-one knew what time it was and we ended up missing it. To make amends we bought bags full of marshmallows and roasted them over a fire. The Ugandans are all in love with the US so their voices made the national anthem loud enough to wake our side of town.

Since then things have been quite relaxed although we are about to begin our final week of ministry which is jam-packed once again. I hope I can reconnect with some of the kids I have already met and maybe create a few relationships that would continue as I return home. Thanks for all of your prayers, Tommy