I bet a lot of people's first reaction to my idea of going to Uganda was, "What? Why? I thought you were working on an animal training job......?" I can't blame you! I myself have wondered the same thing more than once. So I thought I would tell you a "short" version of why I'm going to Uganda.
Early February. My world was turned upside down when my relationship (and engagement) came to an end. I had no idea what I'd be doing next with my life. My first thought was, "Well okay, now I can move to Florida, live by the beach, chase my dream of working with dolphins, and everything will be perfect." But I didn't actually feel like doing that. I was praying for guidance and patience and peace. And boy was there peace! A peace like no other, which was surprising considering the circumstances.
And then one day I thought, "Maybe I will do something for the Lord instead of for me. Maybe I will do a mission trip! And then when I get back I will decide what to do with my life." The Lord had drawn me so close the past year, and I desired to give back a little of the awesome blessings He had bestowed upon me. The only place I was interested in going was Africa. Who knows why, but apparently that is the only place that God has put on my heart. My first search was to see if Compassion International had an upcoming trip to Ghana, where my sponsor child is. Unfortunately, no :( I kept searching other websites. I was open to anywhere in Africa, but I was also thinking about how wonderful it might be to go to Uganda and see where Katie Davis, the author of Kisses From Katie, has her ministry. I had fallen in love with that book, and I thought it would be so cool to actually see the area she wrote about. Most of the short trips to Africa (2 weeks to several months) were unbelievably expensive, averaging a little more than $4,000. So I kind of stopped looking. I didn't stop wanting to go, I just stopped looking. I believed that if God wanted me to go, He would show me where He wanted me.
A few weeks later, my good friend Miss Amy emailed me a list of organizations she knew of. Youth With A Mission was on the top of the list. I had never heard of it, but it sounded neat, so I looked it up. They specialize in offering something called Discipleship Training School (DTS), which is three months of school-type Christian education, followed by two months of outreach trips. How perfect! I LOVE school! So I searched for Africa. I searched for Uganda. Lo and behold, there were several schools in Uganda! How wonderful! I looked up the first one. Not much of a website...not much information...didn't feel it. Same for the next one. And then I clicked on the website for Hopeland, located in Jinja, the same city that Katie Davis has written so much about. The website opened up and was beautiful! Much more information, dates, costs, etc. My heart beat fast. I wanted to be there. I looked up the date...late August. Perfect! I could enjoy the Flagstaff summer and then go. I looked up the cost...$1,600. I could definitely swing that.
In short, everything about this place seemed like exactly what I was desiring. Right place, right time, right cost, going back to "school," and doing outreach. Amazing how the Lord can bring you exactly what you wanted if you let Him.
So, to put it simply.. I am going to Uganda to learn about the Lord, to increase my faith and my dependence on God, and to find out how I can help others in need. I am going in order to see for myself the injustice of this world, to see the people we always hear are "starving and dying in Africa" but do not care about because we have not seen. I am going in order to be changed for the better, and to serve the Lord in any way that He might ask me to.
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