From the Ranch: Uganda With Love

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. —Proverbs 31:8-9

I just want to start by thanking you for your support in my recent mission trip to Uganda. Your support helped provide clean water, medical supplies, clothing, shoes, food, along with tuition to keep kids in school which is essential for changing their futures. For that I can not thank you enough. I wanted to share with you some of the things I witnessed, along with those that impacted me personally during my time there.

I left my home in Vancouver WA on Sept 3rd and traveled to Seattle to hop on a flight. 14 ½ hrs later we landed in Dubai, UAE where we had a layover before another 6+ hrs into Entebbe, Uganda. We then traveled another 6 hrs by van to Lira, Uganda where we would be based for the majority of our time there.

Each day while in Uganda, the mission team would head out to different villages to visit, bring supplies, and spend time worshipping, before hearing God’s Message. I will say, worship in Uganda is taken to an entire new level compared to here in the U.S. We started referring to it as “Worship Aerobics” because of the level of praise, dance and singing witnessed each and every day. What a wonderful testimony to God’s love to see individuals with so much less than the average American, yet so passionately praising God for what they have and His Grace. It was truly refreshing to see these communities come together for hours! Along the way, I had the opportunity to engage and share basic first aid in many of these villages along with some youth that we were teaching new skills.

So many things happened each day, its difficult to put in words yet a few things resonate in my mind. In one village where we delivered one of the clean water lifestraws that I had brought along, as we were teaching them how it worked, it was very obvious they realized the need to filter their water as they could see the difference the filter made. In another village, near the nutrition center we are building there, they were overwhelmed as we got their water source fixed. Women and children no longer had to walk long distances for water, and did not have to worry about being harassed for using another communities water source. What made this day stand out even more was while we were visiting, a torrential rainstorm hit. Over 30 of us ended up huddling in one house, (a room about 10x20) for at least 30 minutes, smiling, singing and praising.

Another day while visiting a family that CRM is supporting we took backpacks to kids as they prepared for school to start the following week. Students usually attend school from 7am-5pm and walk long distances to get there. They have to pay for their tuition or they cannot attend. This is a huge burden on many, and they end up dropping out. Unfortunately, this also limits their chances for a better life without an education. For girls, they have a tendency to end up pregnant at very young ages. The cycle of poverty continues if we cannot keep them in schools.

One of the most memorable moments for me however was the day we went into the hospital to visit mothers in the nutrition unit. As someone who has been involved in Public Safety the majority of my life, I never could imagine state run health care being this grotesque. I cannot describe accurately the unsanitary conditions these children and mothers were housed in as they try to save their child’s life. What made things worse was the fact that the hospitals do not provide food for the mothers while they are there caring for their children. Family members need to supply for the mothers while they are there. This becomes a huge burden on the families. Realizing this was the best medical care available left me in tears as we left.

This need in helping these mothers and children is really what started Child Rescue Ministries, who we worked with while we were there. This grass roots organization was started by four gentlemen who are the backbone of Child Rescue Ministries. Many times they have given whatever extra they personally have to help the children and families they are supporting. I cannot say enough about these 4 men, and their passion to help and their passion for the Lord. I cannot say enough about Moses, Martin, Felix and Michael's committment to make a difference!!

Along the way, we had an amazing support team to help lead worship each day as we traveled into the villages. Pastor Robert who joined us from Kampala, Dru, who is amazing at writing, and producing music, Jimmy, Emma, and Isaac who rounded out our team and our traveling band van. Each day they would load and unload speakers, equipment, in each of the communities, provide as worship leads, and translators. These remarkable young men who were behind the scenes in so many ways supported our team. I could not leave out Ruth and Patricia who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in keeping us fed.