This post will be a little different from my other posts, seeing as it is more of a recap of my missionary trip rather than a guide for those visiting the same place. Despite the new shift in subject, continue reading to see why this is the trip I’m most excited to share about!
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to go on a missionary trip to Uganda with Loving One by One Ministries (LOBO). I must say, it has truly been the most emotionally fulfilling experience I’ve ever had. I’ve never shed so many tears, both sad and happy, in the span of 2 weeks, and my heart has never felt so full of love.
It all started when we arrived at their home and we were greeted by 7 year-old, Daniella, hugging every one of us with a huge smile on her face. Little did I know that she was just the first of the countless Ugandans that would welcome us with so much love and excitement.
With LOBO, we were lucky enough to stay in nice homes with power and running water (at least most of the time haha!). However, just outside the compound is a true Ugandan village that is full of the sweetest, most loving neighbors.
Leaving and returning to the compound each day was one of my favorite parts of the day because of the children throughout the neighborhood. There were numerous children running and shouting with so much excitement just to greet us every single time we drove by. The sound of their little voices shouting “Hi mzungus!” (mzungu = white man) with their aggressive waves warmed my heart every day.
There are so many stories to tell, so I will start with quick recaps of some missionary specific work and locations, and then continue with some other, more personal experiences.
This will not be in order of importance so I hope to keep you interested enough that you will read until the end!
MISSIONARY WORK
Sanyu is the baby orphanage that has to be my favorite location because anyone who knows me, knows that I just want to hold babies all day, every day. There, they could use all the help they can get to bottle feed and carry the babies. Talk about heaven! I went around to all the cribs to choose which baby I wanted to hold. There was one girl (maybe around 8 months) who smiled and clapped when she saw me, so obviously I had to choose her! Not only was she a darn good-looking baby, but she also never cried! The second she would start to squirm, I would sing to her and she would instantly smile and start clapping again! And get this, her name is Precious Angel! I wish I could have captured a picture of her smile and her sleeping in my arms, but unfortunately Sanyu is not photograph friendly :(
We visited Graceland High School to give them deworming tablets (which always comes with biscuits and “sweeties”). The lessons at this school are taught in English so it was easier to converse with these high schoolers. It was great to meet some of the students that were raised by LOBO back when it used to be a children’s home (the government made it difficult for them to continue as a children’s home).
Visiting the elderly home was so meaningful because the life expectancy in Uganda is around 59 years. This home also has a few children with disabilities because of the fact that people drop off their unwanted children knowing the sisters won’t turn them away. It was fun to dance with a few of the old geezers that still have all the moves. My teammate, Kendra (a nurse), mentioned that you could tell the staff at this facility worked very hard in keeping it in the best condition they could.
Bless a Child Foundation is a children’s cancer home that gives the patients a comfortable home while they go through cancer treatments. I was surprised to hear that they are 80% locally funded because they are so well respected in the area. Unfortunately, some of the patients went to the hospital for treatment when we visited so I didn’t get to meet many of them. However, it was great to see their facility and learn more about the foundation.
Teen Challenge is an addiction rehabilitation center that, despite the name, is not just for teenagers. There, we heard many moving testimonies of current patients and a quick lesson from our teammate, Pastor Tim. I loved his illustration how being saved is like putting Jesus physically in front of us so that God sees a perfect person when he decides if we are welcome in heaven. Fun fact – I met an intern there that happened to be the same guy I sat next to in church the day before and we didn’t realize it until we retold each other our prayer requests!
At Kampala School for the Disabled, we worshiped with the children, gave them biscuits and sweeties, and helped serve them lunch. It was heart warming to see the children helping each other despite their own disabilities. Unfortunately in Ugandan culture, disabilities are very looked down on. They typically believe it to be a punishment to the parents for their sins. With that being said, I was even more happy to visit this school that shows true love to these children.
Trash is literally everywhere in Uganda. It’s not considered rude to litter in this culture. In fact, it’s more so a habit since there are no public garbage bins around. With the help of a few women and their children, we had a successful trash pick up day in our surrounding village. Although it’s hard to change the lifelong habits of the adult villagers, we witnessed some of the children villagers helping out and handing us their trash. It may seem small, but to see even a single child understand the idea of “keeping Uganda clean” made it all worth it.
Medical camps are events in desperate areas where we offer free doctor visits, medications, glasses, etc. At both camps that we hosted, I helped with the deworming station for the children, which typically ended earlier so we could have time to play with the children afterwards. It was crazy to see how many people were so desperate for basic medical needs. Since the camps were so crowded, I loved that almost all the mothers were more than willing to let me carry their babies while they waited in line. Fun story: at the first camp, one of our teammates dropped her phone in the latrine (this is a toilet a.k.a. a tiny hole that leads to a pile of waste 20ft down)! It was hilarious to see all the innovative ways they tried to get it out. That night, Ken (LOBO founder) dreamt of a solution so they went back the next day and magically got it out! Now our team always jokes about the “fecal phone”.
OTHER EXPERIENCES
On the road one of the days, we witnessed a boda boda (motorcycle) accident. Our bus driver, Henry, did a great job at avoiding the accident. I kid you not, our 4 nurse teammates were already outside helping the injured man before I could even process what had happened. They wrapped him up quickly and we took him to the nearby medical center. As many civilians thanked our nurses for helping the man, I felt so proud to be part of their team.
LOBO founded a school called the New Creation Centre (NCC) just outside of the compound. Every weekday we would go down to the school to have morning devotions with the staff of the school, and it was a joy to experience authentic Ugandan worship with Pastor Josh and Mama Edith. Every time we visited the school, the kids truly made us feel like celebrities. They would be fighting for the chance to hold our hands and play with us. The way their faces would light up when they saw us was absolutely priceless.
This school is also where I fell in love with my now sponsor child, Jacklyne. The first day we had a good chunk of time to play with the kids, I remember thinking how much more fun my teammates were compared to me. They would play games and chase the kids around, and I would boringly just sit there. Yet Jackie stuck by me the entire time. I figured most of the kids would be happy to play with any of the mzungus, but Jackie continued to stay by my side every time I visited the school.
She is 5 years old with an adorable grumpy face when she squints and the sweetest blushing smile as soon as she sees you. Her father passed away 2 years ago. Now her 12 year-old sister, Katherine, takes care of her and her 3 other siblings (one with disabilities) while her mom is out (sometimes for many days at a time) searching for work.
I was given the opportunity to visit her single room home and meet Katherine and her 2 year-old sister, Praise. Her home had a hanging net to divide the living area and the bedroom area (one “bed” for all 6 people). It was amazing to see Jackie’s face light up in the car when she realized we were going to her home.
Jackie is very shy and has only spoken English to me once (asking what my name was). However, this just shows that you don’t have to speak to someone to have a connection. I wish I could do so much more for this sweet girl, but I’m honored to at least help with $30/month to cover her educational and medical expenses.
I was also given the opportunity to stay a night at one of the neighboring homes. I had such a great experience thanks to the amazing family that hosted me. Hidija is a single mother who lives with her Jaja (Luganda for grandma), her 3 biological children, and a set of twins that LOBO found a couple of years ago.
When the twins were found, they were extremely neglected, weighing 10lbs at age 2 and both struggling with their eyesight and hearing.
After getting them checked out, Elizabeth remains completely blind while Maria is able to see through one eye. Hidija and Jaja graciously took in the twins with the support of LOBO and have truly adopted them into the family.
Alice is the oldest child at age 13. She radiates so many respectable qualities that really inspired me. She jumped at every opportunity to be a great hostess every time we stopped by, and she takes such good care of her siblings. Hidija truly does an amazing job at raising such a sweet, respectable family.
LOBO also founded a medical clinic just outside the compound that is ran by the awesome doctors, Santo and Amon. I sat in on a discussion with the Santo, Amon, and the nurses from our team discussing the ways the nurses could bring useful supplies from home. It was fascinating to hear all the stories and the ways this free clinic makes such a huge impact. Some stories are quite hilarious as well (you can ask me personally if you’re curious)!
We also attended a two-day crusade - basically a local Christian outdoor festival. It was a blast to have this event to hangout/dance with our neighbors and many of the kids from NCC. All of the young women (plus two of the older women) on my team had the spontaneous idea to perform at the event, and it went surprisingly well considering we had zero practice! As much as it was just a silly thing for us to do, the Ugandans seemed to truly appreciate the mzungus performing for them! So many people came up to us with compliments and gratitude, and the children swarmed us like we were pop stars when we exited the stage!
At the crusade there was an elderly man that people kept moving away from. My friend, Kendra, went to dance with him because she felt bad for him and realized it was because he had a very bad stench. She noticed a bunch of flies on his pants and when she waved them away, she saw that his body was oozing of something. She told Sherry (LOBO founder) that she thinks he should go to our medical clinic, so Sherry arranged for him to see the doctor the following day.
Turns out he has cancer in the lower half of his body and the oozing was from a lack of treatment. LOBO has now arranged to help him and take him to the cancer clinic. The following day, he showed up at the local church (where he has not been to in many years) and mentioned the young mzungu that saved his life. This story touched my heart so much I just had to share it with you guys!
TESTIMONY/BAPTISM
I also had the awesome experience of getting baptized in the Nile River! To give a very condensed version of my testimony, I struggled for many years not feeling “ready” to be baptized because I always felt like I was not a good enough Christian. Coming into the trip, I thought it would be cool to be baptized in the Nile, but still didn’t feel ready.
One day, we went to Prayer Mountain. My teammate, Berkley, and I went off on our own quiet time. I confided in her and asked her how she knew she was ready to baptized. From that point on, I became very emotional just at the thought of baptism. I knew the doubt in my mind was coming from the devil and not God, yet I still couldn’t get past it. After many days, prayers, and discussions with different people around me, I finally felt relief that God doesn’t expect me to already be “there” to get baptized. Instead, he will help me get to that point and change my heart once I’ve accepted him as My Savior and truly put my faith in Him.
Considering how emotional I was about baptism throughout the week, I knew God was putting it in my heart as a way of showing me that I was ready. And so I said screw the devil and the doubts he put on my mind, and I just did it!
IN CONCLUSION
To end with a funny story – one day, on our way to the medical clinic, our bus caught fire! Apparently our bus was leaking some fluid, which caused the fire from underneath. Luckily, part of our team was in a car next to us to see it and tell us. After evacuating, they put fire out with our water bottles and we continued to the clinic where the mechanic met us. Everything is fine now and everyone is safe, so now it’s just a fun story as to why we named our team “Burning Bus Ministries” (play on words for the burning bush).
If you made it this far, thanks for reading this recap of my trip! I have too many words to describe my experience that I don’t know how to sum it up. Being surrounded by so many people who have so much less than me, and yet so much more faith, was truly inspiring. I am honored to have been a part of LOBO, which has gained so much respect from the village throughout the years that I was instantly given love and open arms from everyone. On top of that, I had the best team with lots of support and love for one another. Can’t forget all the laughs we had, I love you guys! Truly the best experience of my life and I cannot wait to go back!
***There are so many children, teens, and even young adults (pursuing higher education) that deserve so much. The reality hit me, that the amount I spend on a manicure is the same amount the covers so much of their basic needs. If by any chance you feel so inclined to sponsor someone, please do not hesitate to reach out to me! Even if it’s just to ask for more information – you don’t have to be ready to commit to talk to me about it! Or to learn more about LOBO and potentially donate, check out their website www.lovingonebyone.org***