Uganda 2014
I had the privilege of going on a mission trip to Uganda from 29 August till 7 September this year. This is just a snippet of how the trip went. Hope you enjoy reading it.
The
Road is long, with many a winding turn ...
Even though its an old song, the start reminds me of the
journey to Uganda . . . long...very long and often very
windy and bumpy. Leaving home at 6:15 am on Friday
morning, we finally arrived at our destination at
4:30am on Saturday morning, exhausted. Our flying time was only a
total of 5 hours :) it took us 7 hours to drive the 235 km / 146
miles [give or take] home. Its a long journey. Traveling back is just
as bad. We drove 8 hrs, I had a migraine and motion sickness not a
fun trip – and then spent 12 hours sitting in an airport before we
got our flights home. The journey there is not for the faint hearted,
traffic and drivers are an adventure in and of itself, and are guaranteed to increase your prayer life and it is exhausting BUT IT
IS MORE THAN WORTH IT!!!!
First
Stop...Mbale.
We stayed with Pastor Paul and Rose, and their family. What an amazing family. Despite arriving in the early hours of the morning, Rose was awake and had tea set up and waiting for us. Their hospitality amazed me. We also had the luxury of running water [cold], a “western”
toilet and electricity. We were fed and treated like kings and queens.
The house is situated in a village just outside of Mbale town. Surrounded by lush fields and banana plantations. Its so green here, its truly breathtaking. And no matter where you go, you can always catch a glimpse of Mount Elgon.
We are in Eastern Uganda. We made a trip
into
town on the Saturday to get some supplies. On our way home the car broke down and we walked through the village under a blanket of stars, back to our house. It was a peaceful day of just settling in and finding our feet, and preparing for Sunday.
Roll on Sunday
We were all asked to prepare a 45 min sermon, and to remember that we were working with a translator, so we must include that in our time limit. It was such an awesome experience because God not only gave me a word to share but also a prophetic word for a woman who would be in the congregation. So Sunday dawned and I was more than eager to get going. But as we got in
the car to head out, praying the car would get us there, I found out that the church hosting me hadnt confirmed if they wanted me yet or not.
A moment of confusion followed. I knew I had heard
God, but now the doors didnt seem open. But all I could do
was leave it in God's hands. And let Him work out the
details. The car did break down again at the first church.
[we were all being dropped at different churches].
And we nearly had to catch local transport to the
next church. Local transport is called a Borda-Borda and is
a motorbike. Thankfully another vehicle arrived and managed to take us to the next church. My church
at this stage still hadnt confirmed. It was almost 11am, and churches
all started at 9am. I learnt a lot about “African Time.” so I
made peace with the fact I wasnt preaching, and was going to stay at
this church where our leader was preaching. They decided they had
space for 2 preachers, because they had announced it would be an all
day seminar instead of regular church. Then they asked could I preach
first and stretch my sermon from 45 minutes to 2 HOURS!
GULP!
But by the grace of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I
managed to stretch it out for 2 hours and shared the prophetic word
and prayed with people. It was a truly awesome experience. We met as
a team for lunch, the food there is amazing! And then back to our
church for the leader to preach the afternoon session. We left there
just after 6. and made the trek back home where it was dinner and
bed, we were exhausted.
Buwasungwi
I am not sure if I spelt that correctly or can pronounce it correctly but then I dont feel so bad, some of the locals even struggled to pronounce it. But from Monday till Thursday evening we moved to this village. Very rural, 10 kms from the Kenyan border. But so beautiful. There was no running water. An outhouse with a hole in
the floor, and a pig grunting outside the door. And two solar powered lights for electricity. We had wonderful woman who served us dilligently and with joyful hearts.
They were there from 5 am, fetching water and making fires to heat water for
us, or cook for us and clean up after us. They are true gems, true
servants. The people here are so humble and so willing to serve. Even coming
into a church people will run and offer to carry your bags etc. its a
humbling experience and I learnt a lot from them and their servant hearts.
We all taught in a conference that was hosted for this region. So
each day we each got an hour to preach. Our theme was focussed on Jesus
building the church, and on the importance of local church. We would be ready
to leave by 9:30. walk the half hour to the church. [unless it rained,
then we were fortunate to get a lift]. Have worship and two sessions. Go back
to the house for lunch, then back up the hill for the afternoon
sessions. We
would finish around 6pm. Get home, have tea, which was always set up and waiting for us. Eat at about 9:00 and then sleep, exhausted.
Before repeating the process. Bucket showers were the order of the day.
Moquito repellant our constant companion. Mosquito nets over the beds, and I even got to share a mattress. The kids were beautiful
and always knocking on our doors. A chant of “Mzungu” - which means “white person” followed us where ever we went. It was an awesome experience. I jokingly said, “I Am born
and bred African, but now I have truly
experienced Africa.”
We take so much for granted in our “western” culture. These people appear to have so much less than we do, but yet they were happier than most I know. It was a good life lesson. Again
I was grateful for how God spoke so clearly to all of us and gave us the ability to share his
word. All our words seemed interwoven and to flow one from the other,
even though we never discussed amongst ourselves what we were going
to preach on. It truly was an annointed time, one I will cherish
forever.
The weather was warm but muggy. And it did rain quite a
bit. Often, even when it wasnt raining it felt like we were
living in a cloud. For me it was the perfect temperatures. We
drove home thursday night in a storm, along mud roads,
with the wheels skidding which was quite an adventure. Never a
dull moment, that's for sure.
Back To Mbale.
Thursday night we slept back in Mbale. We woke up to no electricity
on Friday, and soon ran out of running water as well. But the week in
the village had prepared us, and we all handled it well. We made our
way back into town on friday, bought coffee. [Ugandan coffee is
amazing!], went to pray on the land Pastor Paul has bought and has
plans to develop for God's glory. And met another Pastor, Peter. Had
a wonderful afternoon tea with him and his wife in their church. It
was a bit difficult to talk at times because the rain was pouring
down and the church had a tin roof. But it was worth the visit,
meeting these amazing people.
Home Again
We left Mbale at 10:30 Saturday morning and
arrived at Durban airport at 1:20 pm Sunday.
Tired, dirty but happy. It was a great experience.
I am so grateful to whoever it was who felt in
God to sponsor me. I felt God restored and did
more in my life than I possibly saw him do
through me. I am eternally grateful. Please keep
praying for me, I still am not sure WHAT my
next steps are. But I know I am settling back in
South Africa. I am considering going on the a
short trip to Lesotho in Oct. but am not sure yet.
Thanks for your prayers and support.
