As I now sit back a week after and reflect on my trip to Uganda, the relationships and memories keep flowing through my head and heart. My experience for a week living at New Hope Vocational School with 18 teenage orphan and vulnerable boys was life changing. I got the unique chance to immerse myself in their culture and experience life as they do. This experience entailed fetching water from a well that is a half mile away, going to the bathroom in a concrete outhouse, making homemade soap, and even butchering a chicken for dinner. I was humbled to be completely accepted into their school, lifestyle, and culture for this week.
The idea of acceptance is one that is a hot-topic today in America. Many people feel that they aren't accepted at their jobs, in school, in communities, or even in the country in general. People feel as though they are outcasts in these settings due to various external factors. The fact that these orphans broke down the barrier that I was a white kid from America and accepted me for who I truly was, blew me away. Maybe my expectations were off, but even then, it takes a level of humility and hospitality to reach this level of acceptance.
Transitioning to the theme of hospitality, I was amazed to witness how this theme drove their culture in Uganda. Being hospitable takes the backseat in American's mind as we try to climb the social ladder and improve our status, individually. Even though the Ugandans have much less than us, they are 10 times more giving of their food and belongings than us. Their value of hospitality I believe comes from their devout faith in Jesus Christ and their trust that God will truly provide all that we need.
During this week living at the school, the kids learned much valuable and real world information. They learned how to bead to make jewelry and decorate handbags, liquid soap, vegetable samosas and donuts, leather shoes and belts, and even counter books to write in. In this midst of doing all of this, I got the chance to sit down and have a deep talk with most of the boys living there. Due to the fact that these boys are around my age (16-18), when I would talk with them, I felt as though I was their close friend and not their superior. We would share our dreams, fears, faith, or simply any other topic to come to mind.
My mind is full of the amazing friends I made and unbelievable sights I saw. Going into this trip, my expectations were bright yet I had a lack of awareness of what I was actually going to be doing.
One of the boys William, who is the leader of the school and essentially the school president, was one of the boys I talked the most with and he made a tremendous impact on me. He always was the last to eat, he fixed the solar panel and circuit within the girls dorms, he was quick to help out the staff with whatever they needed, and he was always there to provide for others before himself and he truly served with a humble heart. During my senior year of high school the bible verse Philippians 2:3-4 has been one that has stuck with me and always runs through my head. This verse states, " Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." William's efforts truly displays this virtue and this display of unselfishness had an impact on me and is something I will take back and apply to my daily life.
After this week, I went back to the village with the rest of our team and spent the weekend with them. On the Saturday we set up a community day for the village which involved playing games, singing songs, and talking to the children. Of the people I met during this trip, one that will stick with me the most will be Kenneth. Kenneth was a 14 year old boy who lives in the village of Kaihura and attends primary school there. He lost both of his parents and is living at the community orphan house. When asked about his dreams, he responded by outlining his plan to work in a medical clinic to bring money home and support his siblings. Kenneth was a boy of faith, trusts wholeheartedly in God, and lives his life for Jesus.
Our Sunday began with a church service in the village and a beautifully written sermon by Pastor Will Bredberg. His sermon was centered around the book of Luke and was on the theme of our identity in Christ. For Sunday Night, our team drove to a city called Fort Portal which was a 45 minute drive from Kaihura. We had a very nice dinner at a hotel and got the time to talk about our experiences so far on the trip and how God had been at work in and through each of our lives. Upon getting home from Fort Portal, I went to bed as soon as I could, because there was an early wake-up and life-changing excursion coming my way.
Waking up at 4:00 AM on that Monday morning was no easy task, but was well worth it. The other leaders of the trip, Laine, and I drove out to the school to pick up the boys and began our drive to Masindi, and was on our way to Murchinson Falls National Park. After stopping for lunch on the way, we finally made it through the dirt road and arrived on the Nile. Immediately upon arriving, the boys and I ran out to the Nile River and were in awe of the beauty that resided on this vast river. The boys were quick to want to take photos of this beautiful sight and share in the memories with me. I was humbled to witness their pure joy seeing this and it distracted me from experiencing the beauty myself. I loved to see their enjoyment in this and made me take stock of my life. I pondered the childlike joy of these boys for seeing this beautiful sight for the first time and taking that in with their brothers.
Once we crossed the ferry across the Nile, we made it to our camp ground and got situated within our rooms and started on dinner. When I look back and think of those distinct moments that made the trip truly special for me, one that points out for me occurred while we were at the camp ground. The sun was setting over the tree line of the African plains and I was playing soccer with the boys. I stopped for a moment and thought about where I was in life. I was in the middle of God's creation, witnessing the vivid colors of the sky, and was enjoying soccer with these orphans whom I had grown to love and become great friends with. That night we had a campfire were we talked about role models and how we can emulate our role models in our day to day actions to improve our life.
Our Tuesday began with a game drive, out on the African plains. We saw a tremendous blend of Giraffe, Elephants, Antelopes, Hippopotamus, and buffalos. Despite the fact that I have never seen any of these animals myself, I was distracted by the amazement and awe that was in these boys as they were seeing these animals for the first time. I loved their smiles and the pure joy in their hearts. I got the chance to talk to them about these animals and they truly loved seeing this beautiful sight.
The sunrise is one of the times in which I see God at work the most in my life. There is something about the morning sun rising that brings hope to the day and energizes me to get started with my day. During this game drive, I got the chance to see the sunrise out of the back of our car as we were driving in the middle of the plains.
After the drive, we boarded the boat for the boat drive on the Nile. As we boarded the boat, the boys were quick to get their life vests around them and were scared to board the boat. Seeing the boys face their fear of water and hop on the boat with their brothers was a sight to see. Facing fears in life is a necessary duty that we must partake in life, so we aren't bound to our fears and we don't have those fears drive out the joy in our life. Once we drive out those fears, we can experience the joy that God has in store for us and the joy he has put into our hearts. I loved how the boys got the chance to drive out this fear together and received the joy of being on the boat together and going to see the falls all together. As soon as they faced their fears, they experienced the true joy of this and now will go into life knowing that they conquered this fear of water.
As we were driving home through the park, we had one more pit stop before going to Masindi to spend the night. Our stop was at the top of the falls. At first I underestimated this sight and didn't know exactly what it would be. We all ran out of the van and walked down the trail for a couple of minutes and then arrived at the top of the falls. Seeing this vast, powerful, and glorious sight, humbled me and allowed me to see the power in God's creation. This waterfall was roaring and truly fulfilled the name slogan of "The World's most powerful waterfall." The boys were running around and taking in the beauty of seeing a sight similar to this for the first time.
We then drove to Masindi, played some soccer and volleyball, and then went to dinner. During the games, I sat and talked with some of the boys who weren't playing. We had the time to talk about our dreams in life and I asked them the question of, "Where do you want to be in five years?" As I mentioned before, I was continually struck by the specificity and size of their dreams. These boys had such large dreams that would put Americans dreams to shame. Despite having no capital, money, or family, these orphans truly trust in God to provide the basic necessities for them, so that they can go out to achieve their dreams. Our night concluded with a discussion of the best parts of our days. Many of the boys thanked Laine for his efforts and all that he has done for the boys this week. The boys all shared their amazing experiences throughout the day and life-changing times that they had. I was in awe to see how although they went through these amazing experiences, they were so quick to thank Laine and the other leaders of the trip for all that they had done to make this week possible for them. I was also humbled to hear some of the boys thank me for coming from America to help them out in the school and love on them. One of my goals was show the boys that they are loved and get to know them to draw closer to them throughout the week. I loved this opportunity and it was so much fun to become friends with them due to the fact that they are my age, and I could easily relate to them. I also loved being able to see how despite our similarity in age, we were both in different settings and environments. The boys didn't allow their situation to determine their future and stop them from achieving the true potential that God has in store for them in their life.
The next morning we got another early start and stopped at a University in Kampala to learn about some farming techniques which involved milking a cow, fish hatchery, and eggs from a chicken. Learning these skills was a great opportunity for the boys and they were diligent to take notes to remember all of the important lessons they learned. After this we drove back to Kaihura village and made it home all safely. The other bus had some car trouble, but nevertheless, trusted God to get them home safely through all of the troubles that they faced. Once we made it back the team was quick to ask me questions of my trip, and truly it was difficult to explain in a quick sentence or explanation, without taking all of the time from the team.
My last full day in Kaihura Village began with breakfast and then a great experience with my mom, and some other members of the team. We got the chance to drive out on motorcycles to rural houses and shacks to give them mosquito nets to cover their beds and to protect them from the insects. While this action was helpful to them and will benefit them greatly in the future, again it is the power of relationships that made this experience truly special. After gifting them these nets, we got the time to pray with them and pray for their life, future, and that God would provide all that they needed in life. One of the gentlemen was building his house and appreciated our prayer for his house to come to fruition and come to completion for his family.
The theme of hospitality also was apart of our experience. One of the woman that we met with placed out a table and chair for us as we arrived and presented us with a special gift for coming. She gifted and blessed us with avocados, eggs, and corn. While initially we were caught off guard and were quick to decline the gift, we eventually accepted it because it is considered more rude to not accept the gift that she so graciously gave us.
Later in the afternoon, I got the chance to walk around the village with my mom. We got to laugh and enjoy each other's presence and share our memorable experiences from the week. We ventured into the baby house where they house orphan babies and played with them. Another sight that I saw that will stick with me forever, will be seeing my mother's joy in the most pure form as she was enjoying these children and lavishing her love onto them. She truly smiled like I have never seen her smile before and was filled with more joy than I was ever seen within her. This sight almost put me into tears and will definitely be one I look back on as I recollect on the trip in the coming years of my life.
Our last night and morning were bittersweet. We were all full of gratitude for everyone in the village who had helped us through our trip and made this experience one to remember. We were also greatly sad to leave, but all knew our impact was appreciated by everyone. The last morning we said our goodbyes, thanked everyone, and was off back to Kampala to enjoy our last two days in Uganda at a resort near the city.
The power of relationships is underestimated in society today, but nevertheless is the most important part of life to me. This relationship can be your family, spouse, friend, teammate, stranger, and ultimately, the most important relationship is our relationship with God and drawing closer to Him each day. In America, everyone is concerned with improving their status, making more money, and focusing on merely just themselves. Because of this, they take for granted the power of relationships and the beautiful result that can come from sitting down and talking to someone for an hour or even taking five minutes out of your day to call someone that you haven't talked to in a while. We are made as social animals and to experience other's presence by spending time with them. As I head into college, I now will challenge myself to take more time out of my day to be with others, listen to them, love on them, and enjoy their company. I will also challenge myself to draw closer to God and make more time out of my day to spend time in meditation with Him and sit in silence to be able to hear from Him. This experience helps to limit distractions in life and allows for us to hear from God and see what he wants in our life. I truly believe that once we enter into a place of silence and limit distractions, we can prepare our hearts and minds for the plans He has for us in our lives and the beautiful things that He is making in us and through us.
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