Struggles and Joys of Living in Uganda

        Most days are really hard for me. I wake up tired and I go to bed even more exhausted. Each day is a struggle just to get through. Sometimes, I just can’t handle seeing another hungry child but that isn’t something that I can choose to avoid. There are days when I don’t want to laugh or smile because the pain I feel goes so deep. I’ve never been okay with how things are in Uganda or the world really. Every day, I am surrounded by great need and almost always there is nothing I can do about it. That simple fact is what makes each day a little harder. I came to the end of myself a long time ago and now the only thing that keeps me going is the strength of the Lord. I know that this is exactly where I belong, so I won't leave. The truth is, it's because of all of the hard things and struggles that I know I am meant to be here. I don't plan to walk away when no one else can. ;

 So, I forget about yesterday. I stop thinking about tomorrow. Instead, I simply focus on what God has given me today. I hate what I see but I find comfort in knowing that so does God and that He has had a plan in place since the beginning. And while leaning on Him I somehow find a way to open my heart again and reach out in love to those around me. Maybe I won’t be able to do anything against poverty, hunger, disease, pain, death, loneliness, or suffering, but I can walk alongside those who are already fighting these things and maybe I can bring them a little hope. God didn’t call me to Africa to change it, just to love people and humble myself to a place of understanding. So, while it can be very hard to see and feel success in the work I am doing, I know that I am serving my Lord each day and that is enough. 

                I want to tell you a story; a true one. I want to give you a glimpse into my life here and what I see and face each day. This is a story that isn’t finished yet, in fact I only became a part in this story on Friday. It’s a story about one of the families in the village, and a family that the Lord immediately laid on my heart. It was our last day in Zirobwe and we had planned to do some evangelism. To me evangelism simply means that you listen to people, that you open yourself up and are honest with them, that you try to encourage them where they are at, and try and meet any needs that they might have. This last part I feel is really important, because unless you show someone’s Christ’s love and meet their physical needs how can they understand His love and have their spiritual needs filled. I also believe that God brings us to certain people for a reason and He has given us everything we need to bless that person. 

Fred and Sarah

       On Friday we split into small groups and went out and tried to encourage people.  We were eagerly welcomed at the first house by a grandmother and her three grandchildren. She quickly ran inside her mud house and laid out mats for us to sit on and thanked us for coming to her home. She told us all she had to offer us was pineapple and asked us to sit while she prepared it for us. I watched her run around the small house stepping over a hen and its chicks while she searched for a knife to cut the fruit with, and I remember hearing a small whisper telling me that I was at this women’s home for a reason. Soon she began sharing her life with us and about all the struggles that she was dealing with. This woman was the sole caretaker of her three grandchildren and two of her sons who also lived there. She could barely walk on her good days because of extreme pain and swelling in her knees, and on bad days she couldn’t move. Her husband had died years ago and one of her sons had run away leaving her with his three children. The only source of food or income that she had was her garden, which was not ready to provide harvest for them yet. So, the six of them were living off of her youngest (12yrs) son’s earnings. He would spend the day helping dig ditches or working in someone’s field to earn 1,000-2,000 shillings, an equivalent of about 50-70 cents. With this money they were able to buy posho (a kind of flour mixed with water and usually sugar) and water it down to feed all of them. Her eldest grandchild Sarah was fighting malaria and had run out of medicine. In fact the first set of medicine the grandmother had borrowed because she was unable to pay for it, and wouldn’t be able to get more until she had. None of her grandchildren (ages 7, 5, and 4) or her 12 year old son Frank were in school. They didn’t have money for school fees, uniforms, or books and pencils. Both their saucepan and jury-can (a large can you carry water in) had broken. This family was literally living on nothing. I had the chance to share a little of my testimony and how God had healed me and saved me from blindness, and I prayed healing over her. Since this was a family that knew the Lord, we were able to encourage them and just remind them that He is our provider and strength.

Jajja, Me, Frank, Fred, Alowless, and Sarah

I also promised her that I would try and help because I knew that this was why the Lord had brought me to this beautiful family. I told her that I would try and find sponsors for the four children who needed to go to school. I already knew them from seeing them at Sunday school and Sarah was already very close to my heart. I had known for a while that I was meant to sponsor a child and had just been waiting for the Lord to show me which one. I knew that 7 year old Sarah was the one I had been waiting for. I knew that the Lord already had people who He wanted to sponsor, Frank (12 years), Fred (5 years), and little Alowless (4 years). I also was aware that God had blessed me the previous month with more than I needed to cover my monthly costs. I had been waiting for Him to tell me what it was for, and I immediately knew that it was for food and medicine for this family. See God always knows exactly what is going on in our lives, but what we often forget is that He wants to use us to bless others. He gives to us so that we may give to others. I had a chance to be a part of blessing this family and I was completely honored!

Yesterday, I went out and bought food, medicine, a saucepan, a jury-can so that I would be able to bring them to the village after church. Unfortunately, after getting sick last night I wasn’t feeling up to the long drive and asked my friend Hannah to bring it to them today. I was surprisingly alright with it. Of course, I wanted to be there. But it really isn’t something that was ever about me. I am just so glad that they were able to see that God provides for our needs. 

Here are some pictures of the family. If you would like to sponsor one of the children, please let me know! As soon as we get these children on the sponsorship list I will give you more information about it. Hopefully, in the next couple of days. But again, feel free to message me if you have any questions. 

Alowless- 4 years old

Sarah- 7 years old

Fred- 5 years old

Family portrait!

So, thank you to all of you who are supporting me, financially and through prayer, without you I wouldn’t be able to serve and love those around me. You are all a part of what God is doing here.