Our hearts break as we say goodbye to Africa once again

What an incredible journey the last 30 days has been for our church and the 32 team members who traveled to Uganda Africa. We have gone from fears of the unexpected, weeks before our travels began, to the over powering of emotions that can’t be explained or understood. We have seen and heard many new things that at times sent confusion to team members and at times so much laughter that we could not breath.

We have had the privilege to visit many different villages and schools while here: Nyrambie, Awillow, Nebbi Town, Nampunge, Kasula, Busuujja, Kasubi, and Heritage International to name a few. We have spent time with the women, children, and pastors in order to help us understand and appreciate the life these Ugandan people live. We worked side by side with them in efforts to build stronger communities and to build lasting friendships in the name of Jesus Christ. We worshipped with them and gave praise to God for all He does for each of us each day. We are all God’s children whether we live in the US or Africa. We might not speak the same languages, but God understands us all.

We have seen many levels of poverty and what we in America would consider unthinkable living conditions. Water that is so unclean even the Ugandan’s can not drink it. Homes so small and have so many people crowed into them that there is no room for furnishings. Food in the city is expensive and hard to come by when your yearly wages are less than we as Americans spend eating out one meal. Work is hard to find and many have opened businesses in hopes of just feeding their children each day. With the number of vendors selling the same products right next to each other the competition is high and you must cut prices to in order to sell anything. Each day the total of their sales might feed some of their children and does not come close to paying for rent and school fees, so many people live on the floor of their shops. Bathing conditions are no more than a bucket of water to wash up in. And the bathroom facilities are a hole in the ground that most of the time you share with flies and mosquitoes.

The many different medical facilities experienced by the teams were at best scary. They ranged from small clinics to one of the largest complexes we had ever seen. Some were for children only and some had a wing for every kind of problem. Each was as if you had walked into a movie about WWI. The very large wards with no less than 30 metal beds full of people; with personal care givers sleeping on the floor beside their loved one. The screams of babies sick and hurting fill the air. The smell of human waste and the site of the dead in hallways waiting for family to claim them, was more than our hearts could take.

We’ve witnessed the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, as can only be seen in the skies of Africa. The colors and textures of the country side so lush and green. We have seen the natural habitats of Gods creatures as they were meant to be seen, not behind fences or living in cages.
We have been shown true friendship and felt the warmth of other peoples souls exposed at its most vulnerable times of life. We have seen the beginnings of new life and of the finality of death. We witnessed 100’s beginning baptized. We have been accepted and loved by the people of Uganda.

We have grown closer to people we see on Sunday’s for years, but never really took the time to know these people before now. 32 people will forever be tied to a place and time, to an experience greater than ourselves.

We shared laughter and tears, excitement and discouragement, aching backs and aching hearts. We worked hard, played hard, and learned to adapt to the many personalities among the teams and the at times very strange culture differences. We explored new and interesting foods, and some tested our true missionary spirit at times. But we did not seem to lose any of those extra pounds we thought we might. We did eat a lot and often as each group of people wanted to share their thanks by way of food.

We met the little lives that we sponsor and now those pamphlets have real faces, little hands, big eyes, and very hurt expressions as to the lives they endure. They also have very big smiles when pictures are taken and small packages are opened. A piece of candy brings the biggest thanks you will ever receive. Can we really make a change to the little lives of Uganda? I think we all saw first hand the lives we personally have impacted so far, and gave us the encouragement to continue to fight for the future of these children.

Many of the children have many fears here like being female, as many things happen to them like rape, being beaten, and not being given the chance to get an education because they are a girl. They all have seen war, death of family members from Aids, and poor relationships of their parents. They see parents in drunken states and abuses of mothers by fathers. They can see this cycle of poverty and are hopeful that change can happen, but as they get older they are pulled in many directions and many times fall right back into the cycle.

The culture is so strong and so present in everything they do, from the daily chores of gathering water to the rich excitement of music and dance. The sear skill it takes to play the drums, sing and dance; and they can do it all as each skill continues to be passed down from generation to generation.

As Americans we seem to come with the intention to teach and to show new things to a 3rd world nation. A nation so seemingly behind the modern times we feel compelled to show them the way things should be done. Instead we leave here having learned so much about ourselves, our shortcomings, our mistakes, and how far we have to go to gain what these people already possess, love and compassion of the heart and for one another.

The 2 team’s dynamics were completely different from personalities, expectations, management styles, leadership styles, personal comfort zones, skill sets, and attitudes. But the mission was the same, to change lives. If truth be told it was our lives that were changed the most.

On behalf of Teams 1 and 2 the time has come once again to say with tears in our eyes and much love in our hearts Goodbye for another year. We take with us untold images that will forever be burned into our hearts and minds. You will be in our thoughts and prayers. Until we meet again


Thank you so much for the love, support, and prayers you have said for the two teams.
God Bless and keep you in His everlasting arms

With Much Love Kimberly
And
Team 1 Cheri, Larry, Tammy, Jeff, Janell, Teri, Genda, Emily, Jen, Debbie, Fredo, Delbert, Dan, Seth, Tim, Bill
Team 2 John, Debbie, Alexis, Brenda, Patti, Valerie, Steve, Carolina, Hilary, Heather, Carl, Mark, Scott, Chris, Grant