Uganda Week 7 & 8

I am skipping ahead to week seven and eight because that is when we started ministry at our next location. Week six was just a partial week of rest for Christmas and also a week of debrief, which we spent processing through outreach thus far and reflecting on our struggles as well as what God had been teaching us.

Our final two weeks of outreach were spent in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. These two weeks would be spent in the Katanga slums primarily running a holiday program through the Mbuyu foundation and doing door to door visits. While these two ministries made up for the majority of our ministry time, we were also part of a two-day campaign in the slums as well as a slum cleanup day.

The first thing I will write about is the holiday program. For the program, the kids were allowed to pick one of the three groups our team created based on our skills. Their options were music, sports, and crafts. Each morning all the kids would start together for praise and worship and also a short devotional. Then they would split into groups and the program ran till lunchtime. I was a part of leading the music group. Each day we worked on teaching them a skit we had created, taught them a song, allowed them to pick between basic, piano, guitar, or voice lesson, and also a time to disciple the kids.

One of my favorite times of discipleship we had with the kids was the very first day. Curdin spoke on true worship and then we had a time for all the kids to write their own songs. After allowing them a while to write, we asked if anyone wanted to share. While some of them were shy at first, as they started stepping up and sharing, it was so powerful. From the first day, we got to see these kids’ hearts and love for God in such a personal way from each one of them. As the week went on, we covered topics similar to those we had on our lecture phase like the father heart of God, identity, hearing God’s voice, etc.

Another moment of discipleship that stands out is the day we taught on Identity. After the time of teaching, the kids looked up verses about our identity in Christ, but instead of explaining it to them we asked them what they thought and actually had them look up and read the verses themselves. Because of this, we got to see how uniquely God spoke to each of these kids and allow them to see that they can read and learn from God’s word on their own.

The other ministry I mentioned was door to door, which is just what it sounds like. We split into teams and each team had someone on staff with Mbuyu with then to translate, and then we visited various people in the community. On one of our other visits, we met a woman named Gladys. She was so joyful and welcoming! She has been a part of the Mbuyu’s skills for life and adult literacy programs for a year and because of that she was able to speak to us in English and she also showed us all the clothes that she makes. She has been through a lot and yet because of Mbuyu she is able to support her family. Overall, I was blown away by the hospitality and vulnerable of each of the people we visited. Getting to hear their stories and their testimonies were inspiring. Yes, the pain and hardship they have been through was real, but the joy and hope that I saw in each of these people just went to show that God is real. God is the only explanation for the hope that shines out of those people. I was also convicted of how often I fail to see how blessed I am. One woman, when asked how she finds joy said she is happy as long as she can feed her family and send her kids to school. Those are two things I often fail to even see as a blessing.

Another cool opportunity we had while in Kampala was to go to miracle center church. The whole front of the church stage was lined with walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, and also Muslim caps. Each of them was a physical representation of people’s testimonies of healing and transformation that had taken place at this church. We went to church here and then also attended one of their overnight prayer nights. When we arrived for the overnight, the area in front of the stage was full of people praying for the nations with some even holding flags from various countries. Getting to pray alongside them and see their passion as they prayed was inspiring. These people are prayer warriors for Christ and are changing the world with their prayers.

Since we were in Kampala for New Year’s Eve we got to attend Watoto church’s all-night worship party. Other than spraining my ankle right at midnight, it was the perfect way to end last year and start the New year. The pastor spoke on Matthew 6:33 and committing this year to seeking God’s kingdom above all else. That night I also felt God speaking to me personally that this would be a year of my joy and hope being restored in the arms of the Father as well as a year of stronger faith. Looking back now as we are halfway through, it is amazing to see how much each of those things has been key in this season. While I had no idea what this year would hold, God did and he spoke to me exactly what I would need to get through it, faith in Him.

We finished off our time in Kampala with a campaign for the last two days. This was the first campaign that had ever been held in the slums there and it drew a crowd. The team from Mbuyu lead praise and worship to start each night.  On the first night, the kids from the music group got to perform their song and then Alexis preached the gospel, which was so powerful! The second night our kids performed the skit and one of them explained it. I was so proud of them; they put some much work into this and it was so beautiful to watch them. And one guy got saved that night! At the end of the second night, we served dinner and just like that, outreach was finished, which meant many more goodbyes.

These two weeks our team got really close to the kids, teens, and staff at Mbuyu and it may have been some of the hardest goodbyes yet. Not only was this the end of our time in Kampala, but it was the end of our outreach. The next day we headed to the airport and then back to Australia. Leaving Uganda was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. In so many ways it felt like I was leaving home. While I was getting on the plane and going to Australia it felt like a huge part of me would still be there in Uganda. Although leaving was hard, I am so thankful for my time with YWAM and my time in Uganda. God showed himself to me and grew me in ways I never imagined. Those six months were the most powerful and life-changing months of my life and I would not have changed a thing.