Village Outreach #1: Iguluibi

Last August it became time to be a part of something God has been laying on my heart for a while to travel around Uganda doing outreaches/youth conferences with the youth in different villages to encourage the students in their walks and share the Gospel with those who don’t know him yet. This school holiday we are planning on going to 3 different villages and doing two day long conferences with the theme based around 1 Timothy 4:12 and encouraging them to be examples and not be afraid to be different in living a life that pleases God.

Today we finished at our first location in the village of Iguluibi. And I must say it was an awesome success! God seriously answered every last prayer for this event and I’m still in shock as to just how much his hand was on this event.

We took around 20 students each day and we packed a coaster bus to get us all there. I loved being able to be on that bus hearing the conversations and laughter, and today was even better because we rocked some serious dance party action both going there and coming back.


The conference consisted of five teachings, activities and games to drive home the message of the conference, and food. Over all we had around 50ish youth come who were in our “target age”. But we had a lot of kids coming in and out who seemed to understand what was being taught as well so that was cool. Honestly, the biggest thing I loved was how the older boys actually 1) came to the conference and 2) engaged in it and really participated in the activities and small group times. That in and of itself made it all worth it.

One of my most favorite things about serving with my youth is watching them mature and gain a passion for serving Him. Many of my students amazed me through this event with their servant’s heart and desire to pour into others. And I can honestly say that the love I have for the students who comprise my worship/student leadership team (and of course all my students, but hopefully you know what I mean) can overwhelm me. They all have such maturity in their walks and serve with such humility and wisdom that blow my mind pretty much every time I’m around them.



Along with being blown away by my students, I just have to say that I had the privilege to serve alongside two of the best guys I know throughout this event. Ricky and Davis are amazing guys with such a passion to see youth know God that I’m humbled to serve with them as they both work so hard but also play hard and do an exceptional job at helping me maintain my sanity in the midst of sometimes chaotic situations. These are true brothers and I’m just so excited that we still have a couple more events to go where I can continue laughing and serving with them in the capacity we have been for the past two days.

I praise God for this opportunity and for all of the answered prayers. He really did blow my mind at how He worked! To Him be all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise.

Paint+20 youth group students = one wild and crazy event

About two months ago I met with some of my students to come up with ideas of how to serve in the community. We talked about wanting to do something at the children's hospital here in Jinja. Luckily enough we have an awesome lady named Janet who goes to our church who who works in the pharmacy there. She told us one big way we could serve them was by re-painting some of the areas making it look brighter and more kid friendly. I thought that was going to be an easy enough task... it actually turned out to be a lot bigger ordeal than originally planned.

A friend of mine, Davis who's an artist and actually knows what he's doing when it comes to painting kind of took the lead on this event as we got all the supplies together and made the plan of how we would pull this task off. On Saturday morning about 20 of my students came, we piled in vehicles and headed to the hospital. The first major task was to clean and sand everything to get it ready to paint.

Then we got started re-painting both the check in area and one of the wards the kids stay in. The check in area went fairly smoothly, the ward was another story as we had to figure out how to best deal with the kids who were there. We had some awesome help though because along with our students we had Jim and Joye helping out and they did an amazing job and were a huge blessing.


We finally wrapped things up for the day by around 3 and then it was time to do youth group. By then, I was honestly running on fumes (energy, not paint).

Sunday, we got together at 2 and headed back to paint pictures and get the entry area painting. The kids did a great job in their various creative displays and it was a lot of fun just getting to see them work. We also painted the walls in the check in area with different pictures, it was really a lot of fun!





In the midst of all that madness I ran over to see my friend, Kenna, as she was all dressed up for a formal event for some of the missionary kids. I couldn't help but share this picture because really it couldn't be a bigger contrast between the two of us. I think you can tell just how crazy things got for us in painting.



It really was such a privilege to serve along my students in this capacity. It was chaotic and stressful at times but really amazing to see them take time to do something for someone else. Some of them really amazed me with their work ethic and desire to serve. It was just more confirmation that I just really love what I get to be a part of here.

Storm clouds

That saying "the calm before the storm", has been my life for the last couple of weeks. After the work at "Works" was finished, I had a lot more down time than I'm used to. I have streamlined my teachings so my study time needed is a lot less than it used to be. At first I wanted to start looking for new projects but knew that soon the calm would give way, and now I'm seeing that happen.

Starting this past Saturday we thought we would have a killer time for the Easter weekend. We began with watching the Passion and having communion. Our church had almost the whole youth group watching with tears in their eyes as they recognized what Christ did for them and His love for them. After the movie, we had a time of communion and one kid came back to give his life to Christ, it was pretty awesome! Then we headed out to the area of Works to do a youth outreach. It was a beautiful evening and it was definitely a time where it was all God. I had a great team helping me out, including some of my student leaders, and a lot of people heard about how God loved them and calls them to follow Him with all they have.

Yesterday, we celebrated Easter with over 200 people coming to celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive!

Then today we set out for an outreach to another local "slummish" area. At 7:30 a friend came and helped me make 45 PB&J sandwiches for our students. After a flat tire and literally our whole youth group of 45 students coming to serve with a visiting youth team, we headed out to the area. It was crazy as we had over 300 kids at our first location and trying to help the kids stay organized while they took part in all the different activities possibly took years off my life. One of which was face painting, and I learned the hard way what happens when you allow your students and your friends to get a hold of paintbrushes and some paint. We took our que from Jesus in His feeding of the 5,000 and got the students in circles of about 10-15 students as we handed out juice and cookies. Afterwards the sugar I think got to them and they were getting a little on the rowdy side, to try and get them away from the vehicles, some of my guys started running to the other side of the field. I will honestly never forget that scene as Richard and Davis (both rather tall) were sprinting and acting crazy with seriously 300 kids following them. We came back to the church for lunch and get ready for the next location. Our next location was smaller and so it went a lot more smoothly. By the end of the day over 500 people heard the Gospel, and I am yet again in awe of both my students and the team of leaders I get to serve alongside and even more in awe of the God we serve answering a whole lot of prayers and allowing us to be a part of what He's wanting to do in the lives of those students.

This is just the beginning. Next Saturday, we're going to have a huge sport's day in the same area for the older kids. So that's going to be another doozy but awesome opportunity. Then the next week the school holiday begins and with that comes more outreaches, but this time to other villages. We will begin with the closer village of Iguluibi for the first two days, then to another area called Bugiri where we'll actually stay the night, and then the next week to an area near Pallisa where again we'll get some nice village accommodations :) And then that will be followed by a youth conference here in Jinja. It will be a rather intense time but I'm so stoked for all that God seems to be bringing about already and doors that have been opening.

Needless to say, the storm that's beginning to rear it's head is a doozy, but it's super exciting and we are in serious need of prayers in these next few weeks as these outreaches take place. First and foremost we ask that He would be our focus and our goal, and that in ALL things we would be walking in His Spirit and glorifying Him.

I love my job!

I know that may sound crazy to some, and like a "no duh" to others. But really... I absolutely LOVE what I get to wake up every morning to go and do. So often I'm quick to complain about the headaches, speed bumps, struggles, but fail to praise Him for the unbelievably awesome calling He has on my life. I echo David when he asks the question, "Who am I?" Who am I to get to live in this beautiful country? Who am I that I get to work with our amazing staff? Who am I that I get to learn from people who have been on the field since before I was in high school? Who am I that I get to hang out with students that amaze and humble me on a daily basis? Who am I that I get to witness the eternity changing work He's doing in and through these students? I'm surrounded by people who love me for who I am, I'm able to do what I love more than anything to do and that's teach and disciple people in their walks with Christ. I get to use my creativity, organizational abilities, and my lack of fear of public speaking, and even my quirkiness for HIs glory in a way I never dreamed possible. The most amazing thing about it is the fact that if I had my "ten year plan" of five years ago, I would be in an office consulting someone on how to run their business more efficiently (which isn't bad by any means). But instead, I get to go through nights without power, but get to see the contrast of the great power of HIs Spirit working in and through those around me. I cry more and experience more heart ache and disappointment than I ever thought possible but then I get to witness students lives changing before my very eyes as they recognize who they are in Christ and it makes all the pain more than worth it. God has taught me more about His sovereignty, grace, mercy, holiness, and love than can ever be learned in any book, and again I must ask the question, "Who am I?"

This wasn't my plan, this wasn't my "dream", but it was His. He did all the work, opened all the doors, and all but shoved me through those doors so His good and perfect plan could take shape. When people ask me how long I plan to be here and I say "indefinitely" they can't quite comprehend why I would say that, but I honestly can't imagine doing anything else in the entire world. All that to say, "I LOVE MY JOB!" and He deserves ALL the honor, glory, and praise for it.

Construction Zone

Whenever short term teams set out they often hear (or should hear) that those endeavors honestly are more for what God wants to do IN them than THROUGH them. Sometimes when you're on the mission field you can sometimes forget that the same principle can still apply to you.

For the past 3 weeks we have been building homes to replace those lost in the fire. It has been one crazy endeavor as we honestly bit off a little more than we originally bargained for. You see, it's not just about going and everyone working together as one happy family kind of Extreme Makeover Home Edition style. There's a lot more stretching (physical, emotional, and spiritual) than one might expect in dealing with a task like this. We didn't know what it would entail, but God did. He knew EXACTLY how he wanted to use this whole thing to teach and stretch all of us involved and to drive some pretty big lessons into some fairly thick skulls (I may or may not be talking about myself).

One thing I definitely learned about is how our God is so unbelievably patient and forgiving and how insanely much... I am not. Over and over through my quiet times God would lay the smack down on how I wasn't glorifying him in certain ways, namely in my anger when people were found to be dishonest. I'll have to admit the "Irish" (and not the good part) in me reared it's head several times, but I'm hoping I've learned my lesson through it all as I realize that it's not good that they're lying/stealing/etc... but it's also not good for me to allow myself to be provoked to wrath and that I need to love them. One story that really hit me hard was when Jesus ate with the "sinners" and tax collectors. The people living in this area are well-known for being the opposite of anyone you'd want living near you, and a government official even said the people there were lazy and stupid. Recognizing that they are "sinners" and why should I be surprised when they sin? Why should I stop loving them because they have sinned against me, because if God worked that way we'd all be in big trouble!

I also learned things like where to buy bricks, plywood, and roofing materials... and I'll admit that I would have really loved a Lowe's after spending an hour waiting at just the roofing place.





Along with the internal and practical lessons, I also just had an absolute blast working alongside of some pretty amazing people! The Longs, Peterson's, Shalom, Davis, John, and Asimwe along with some other volunteers made it incredibly fun and made the hard stuff bearable. I honestly LOVED working on this project (even though it was hard at times) and am so thankful for the opportunity God gave me to be a part of it!

Women's Day

It's funny how they make a day where women are to be celebrated and served (not going to mention how they don't really celebrate it in America). Uganda is typically a very much "women are meant to cook and have babies" society, but Women's Day is celebrated and the men are actually pretty good sports about cooking for the women in their lives.

Every year, the married guys of our compound come together to cook a huge meal for the women and they allow us single gals to take part in the festivities as well. I love the view of the kitchen of the guys there doing their specific tasks wearing their very stylish aprons.


This year though, there was a new twist. Three of the younger guys who have honestly become like brothers to me (especially over the past couple of weeks) got me dinner. It was pretty hilarious and pretty much amazing as they left at around 3 saying they will be back with the food. I was afraid that we wouldn't be eating until 10 since they were getting such a late start and I honestly wasn't sure if they knew what they were doing. But then come 5:45ish they arrive and ask "where should we eat?" They carried no sauce pans or plates, just their backpacks. As we got the dining hall, they clean off a table and get a huge serving plate and open their backpacks to pull out black plastic bags. Out of one bag comes pork cooked with cabbage that they got from a local restaurant, and then in the other bag there was rice, matooke (like plantains), and posho (kind of like mashed potatoes but more dense) all of which they either bought or scavenged for. Then we all sat down and ate from that one plate and talked and laughed and it was such a fun time with great food and I honestly couldn't stop smiling. I praise God for the "brothers" He's blessed me with both here and in the States - the real ones and the honorary ones. They are truly such blessings!



After that it was then time for the other gathering with the older crew. The guys brought over their pots of food and we all were able to enjoy some sweet fellowship as they served their wives and the other women in their lives (Rodah, Julie, and myself).


It was such a cool day and I just have to say that I love the people I serve alongside!

About Kony....

I am amazed at the recent attention Joseph Kony is getting due to the Kony 2012 campaign, and I thought it was time for me to kind of shed some more light on the situation considering that I am in Uganda.

For over 25 years Kony has been terrorizing the people of Eastern Africa (specifically Northern Uganda and most recently the Congo). I have been in Uganda nearly four years, and five years ago I came on a short-term trip, even by that time Kony had moved on and was no longer in Uganda and hasn't returned since. I'm voicing this because although the Kony 2012 video hints at how Kony is now in other areas, the main emphasis is on Uganda but he's not and I pray that he will never be again.

Several of our staff members dealt with Kony first hand over 20 years ago. One of them who was living in the Gulu area (main center of the conflict) at the time, was with his brother and saw the soldiers coming to his land so he and his brother ran and hid for the day and shortly after that he moved south to the Jinja area. Another guy ran away with his sister lying saying that she was his wife to escape being captured. Another was captured but released by the grace of God after 24 hours. One of our village churches was affected as the rebels came and burned the entire area.

Traveling up North doing outreaches and visiting friends who have churches there, you pass by and even stay in what used to be Internally displaced persons camps. The people are returning to their villages and trying to figure out what "normal" life looks like as many of them have been in the camps for around 20 years.

I agree that Kony needs to be stopped and that he's incredibly evil man and that people should be aware of what he's doing. I think it's great that so many people are wanting to stop him in whatever way they can. I guess I just wanted to give a little insight into what it's like on the Ugandan side of things.