Hey all!
So today is our second day in Uganda and I feel like we have been here at least a week already! Our journey was quite long, but such a fun adventure. We traveled for over 30 hours, some a little longer if they had to fly into LAX before departing to Istanbul. We flew 12 hours to Istanbul, then 8 more to Entebbe, Uganda where we discovered that we were luggage-less due to the planes being loaded with the wrong luggage. Pastor Hudson and his wife, Mercy, met us at the airport at 6 in the morning and drove us to their home in Lugazi. They welcomed us so lovingly and fully that, no matter how tired we were, we felt so happy to finally be there with them.
We drove two hours or so to get to their home. We watched the sun come up on the way there, and were able to get a taste of what urban Uganda looked like, and what African traffic consisted of. It was a fun experience, and the sun rise was so beautiful! The day consisted of sleeping, eating, sleeping, and going to church that evening. Adjusting to the time difference has been weird, but so far we're managing! At church, we heard Pastor Hudson speak to his congregation while being loved on and hugged by so many of the children. When we walked up to the church, they were all outside, waiting to hold our hands and hug us and play with us. I fell in love instantly. Throughout the sermon, I had a beautiful little girl named Christine in my lap the whole time, playing with my bible and petting my hands and smiling at me. It amazed me how trusting and kind she was, along with so many of these other children. The service was so great; we danced and praised and loved God with these amazing people of faith. I am so excited for a whole month of this :) Last night, we got back to the house we are staying at and had an absolutely amazing meal before sitting together and worshipping and praying. I shared my story with the group, as we have agreed to share a testimony a day. I thought I would start so I could get used to talking in front of groups of people. The night ended well, but we all slept a little weird because our bodies weren't on Ugandan sleep schedule yet.
Today, we woke up, had a snack of pineapple (the best pineapple any of us have ever had!), and went over to the Faith School where all of the kids from the Faith Children's Home go to school, both places being run by Pastor Hudson and Mercy. We joined the beautiful, loving young children for their PE this morning which was a bunch of dancing, singing, and running around with some of the happiest kids I have ever seen. They would fight over being able to hold all of our hands, so we would usually have at least six children hanging on our skirts, hands, and arms at a time. No complaints from me....I think I could do this for a long time. A young girl named Joy was in my arms almost all morning, petting my face and holding my hands, jumping when she wanted to dance. It was a beautiful morning with the kids.
Later in the day, we went to a local high school and joined them in prayer and worship before Kati and Megan shared their testimonies and Scripture with a room full of students. I was blown away by the passion these young people had for God and how happy they were to be praising Him and thanking Him for everything. I have so much to learn.
That has basically been our time here so far! Learning the ways of this beautiful place and building friendships with those around us. I have loved every second of it so far and cannot wait to see what is in store for us while we are here with these amazing people. We are still luggage-less, so we're sort of Bear Grylls-ing with only one outfit and nothing else. But what I love is that we are still remaining optimistic and so happy. Only by God's grace and mercy.
Verse from a song we recently learned from dearest Natasha, and really love:
Thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me,
Thank you, Lord, for what you're doing now,
Thank you, Lord, for every little thing in my life,
Thank you, Lord, for oh- you make me sing!
So today is our second day in Uganda and I feel like we have been here at least a week already! Our journey was quite long, but such a fun adventure. We traveled for over 30 hours, some a little longer if they had to fly into LAX before departing to Istanbul. We flew 12 hours to Istanbul, then 8 more to Entebbe, Uganda where we discovered that we were luggage-less due to the planes being loaded with the wrong luggage. Pastor Hudson and his wife, Mercy, met us at the airport at 6 in the morning and drove us to their home in Lugazi. They welcomed us so lovingly and fully that, no matter how tired we were, we felt so happy to finally be there with them.
We drove two hours or so to get to their home. We watched the sun come up on the way there, and were able to get a taste of what urban Uganda looked like, and what African traffic consisted of. It was a fun experience, and the sun rise was so beautiful! The day consisted of sleeping, eating, sleeping, and going to church that evening. Adjusting to the time difference has been weird, but so far we're managing! At church, we heard Pastor Hudson speak to his congregation while being loved on and hugged by so many of the children. When we walked up to the church, they were all outside, waiting to hold our hands and hug us and play with us. I fell in love instantly. Throughout the sermon, I had a beautiful little girl named Christine in my lap the whole time, playing with my bible and petting my hands and smiling at me. It amazed me how trusting and kind she was, along with so many of these other children. The service was so great; we danced and praised and loved God with these amazing people of faith. I am so excited for a whole month of this :) Last night, we got back to the house we are staying at and had an absolutely amazing meal before sitting together and worshipping and praying. I shared my story with the group, as we have agreed to share a testimony a day. I thought I would start so I could get used to talking in front of groups of people. The night ended well, but we all slept a little weird because our bodies weren't on Ugandan sleep schedule yet.
Today, we woke up, had a snack of pineapple (the best pineapple any of us have ever had!), and went over to the Faith School where all of the kids from the Faith Children's Home go to school, both places being run by Pastor Hudson and Mercy. We joined the beautiful, loving young children for their PE this morning which was a bunch of dancing, singing, and running around with some of the happiest kids I have ever seen. They would fight over being able to hold all of our hands, so we would usually have at least six children hanging on our skirts, hands, and arms at a time. No complaints from me....I think I could do this for a long time. A young girl named Joy was in my arms almost all morning, petting my face and holding my hands, jumping when she wanted to dance. It was a beautiful morning with the kids.
Later in the day, we went to a local high school and joined them in prayer and worship before Kati and Megan shared their testimonies and Scripture with a room full of students. I was blown away by the passion these young people had for God and how happy they were to be praising Him and thanking Him for everything. I have so much to learn.
That has basically been our time here so far! Learning the ways of this beautiful place and building friendships with those around us. I have loved every second of it so far and cannot wait to see what is in store for us while we are here with these amazing people. We are still luggage-less, so we're sort of Bear Grylls-ing with only one outfit and nothing else. But what I love is that we are still remaining optimistic and so happy. Only by God's grace and mercy.
Verse from a song we recently learned from dearest Natasha, and really love:
Thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me,
Thank you, Lord, for what you're doing now,
Thank you, Lord, for every little thing in my life,
Thank you, Lord, for oh- you make me sing!
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