Journal Post of Day 2 in Uganda

Day 2, 7/31- Journal

  Wow! What a first day! We got in late last night and the ride from the airport was most adventurous. Driving in Uganda is a sport and is survival of the fittest. The view from the front of the bus at 12:30 a.m was an eye opener and a great start to "awakening" me to this place. We got in bed at about 2:00 in the morning, and Josh and I got up at 7:00 and walked to the store which was about a mile away.

Our Team

All eyes stopped and stared at the two "Mazungus" walking down the street; an unusual site.We walked with a young man named Happy James there who is a Rwandan who fled his country during the Hutu/Tutsi strife. He has a great smile and disposition, worthy of the "Happy" name. This was definitely a different paradigm, as most places along the road had food for sale, or many other things that you can only imagine.  There was a sheep grazing in an empty lot along the way; never seen that before beside a busy road.  There were small "lean to" hardware stores; seafood stores; seed; fruit, you name it and it was likely to be found there.  People called out left and right for us to buy from them.  It was almost like a scene from Pilgrims Progress when they were walking through Vanity Fair.  We purchased bananas, water and juice to last the team for the day and returned to our house.

Crazy Traffic

We all loaded up and left to go to  Loving Hearts Baby Home. We stopped at several shops along the way to get coffee and lunch.

When  finally got to the home, we met Miriam and the other workers and the orphans they attended to. The babies are three years old and under and were so very precious. There were some wonderful people that I met there that really made an impact on my heart. These people are brothers and sisters in Christ. There was Miriam the directer, Francis and Victor, who were very hard workers and the muscles of the team. There was also Margaret, a beautiful young lady who sang unto the Lord. Burla was another sister with a beautiful smile.

Director Miriam

 

Margaret with Mamma Cassy

 The ladies of the group went in and played with the babies most of the day, while we men got paint from a paint store and painted the outside of the building for most of the day.

Francis, Ernest, Bullen and Hunter

Hunter and Cason worked so hard and painted all the way around the house. They were both impressive in their diligence.

We painted most of the house and will return on Monday to paint the upstairs part. I did have some time to interact with the little ones and they stole my heart from the beginning.

Omega

One in particular was a little girl named Omega. She is a two year old little girl who is chunky, has a sweet smile, and loves dolls. She laughed especially when I would take her doll and kiss her face with it.

They were all precious children, many of which had been abandoned and rescued by a good Samaritan. I wonder why God allows such things to happen but I trust His sovereign plan for each and every human who walks the face of this earth.  He commands us as His children to attend to these orphans; to care for them.  After all, we are all spiritually orphaned and have been adopted into His kingdom to be co-heirs with His Son. 

Lake Victoria viewed from 2nd Floor

   After we left, we went to a food shop and had supper. I had a blessed opportunity to spend some time with a Sudanese brother named Bulan.

Bullen

He lost his father and brothers during the Sudanese war that killed 2.5 million people. Bulan was very young when his grandmother came and got him for a visit. Not long after this, Muslim soldiers came in and gunned down many in the village and then burned it. Bulan's father and brothers died and his mother and sisters escaped. He fled Sudan for fifteen years and didn't see his family for all of that time. When a peace accord was signed in 2005, he returned to Sudan and found his mother. He has since been taking classes at Troy university in Birmingham, Alabama. He truly loves the Lord and I am humbled by his love for the gospel. Richard asked him if he hated those who acted out this violence and he said, " No, I pray for those who are in darkness and do not know what they are doing." Wow! Really puts suffering for Christ and loving your enemies into perspective. I pray God will give me and my family this love for other people.    

Day 1 - Uganda Daily Journal

7/29/2012 21:00ET

Hunter and I left for Atlanta @ 5:15 this morning.  My heart was full of excitement and yet at the same time a sense of sadness because I was leaving 10 of the most precious things to me on this Earth.  God was a great help to us as we made extraordinary time by getting to Atlanta by 10:30.  We decided when we were about an hour out that we would try to make it to Passion City Church where Louie Giglio is pastor and Chris Tomlin leads worship on occasion.  We got in there at 11:10 for an 11:00 service because parking was CRAZY!   When we got in, we were immediately blown away because on the concourse monitors outside the sanctuary I saw that Matt Redman was leading worship.  He is one of my favorite music writers and sings incredible songs.  He even led 10,000 Reasons (one of my favorite songs right now from Psalm 103).  Bless the Lord Oh my soul and all that is within me, Bless His holy name! Bless the Lord o my soul and forget not all of His benefits.  Psalm 103:1-3.

God has done so many incredible things over the last few days as we got ready to leave that I am just in awe of His supreme worth and majesty.  He has shown us time and again His greatness and His love toward us.  The song and the Psalm both remind us that there are 10,000 reasons to praise our God, for now and forever more!

The message we heard was based on John 11 about the story of Jesus and Lazarus.  I was floored when he chose the text because it was the exact passage that I read to the family yesterday in our family devotions around the breakfast table.  He is constantly reminding me that He is with us and HE is sovereign!  John 11:25 says " I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall live and never die."  HE is the resurrection; HE is the living water; He is the bread of life;  HE is the gate; HE is the door; HE is the only way!  So today, Louie reminded me yet again that He is with me!  That wherever we go and whatever we do, as a child of the most high, Christ is with us and in us!  Matthew 28:20 says "And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age."  He is with me, not just in 42 J (the plane seat beside me) but in MY seat, in ME!  So the challenge in his message was to live with eyes wide open.  JESUS, the Creator of the Universe is with me!  Right here! Right Now!  He knows my weaknesses and He knows my struggles and He is still with me.  So Louie boiled down his message in 6 points.

WHEN YOU WALK WITH JESUS:

1.You walk in the presence of divine affirmation. ( you are loved by a wonderful Savior)

2. You have all you need (He supplies all of our NEEDS according to His riches in Glory)

3. The highs and the lows of life are tempered (He brings us a peace to walk on an even keel)

4. You will end up in the right place! (He will have you where he wants you)

5. You will never pass those people who are broken (Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost and when we walk with Him, our goals and purposes are His and He came for needy, broken people)

6. You know he will walk with you every step of the way until the last step on this Earth (see Matt 28:20)

These were all reminders of truths that are backed up time and time again that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Meeting the team in Atlanta 

So now we have made it to the plane and are in the air; Headed to UGANDA!  My first, and my son's first mission trip.  What a privilege it is to share this experience with him.  He is a special young man who I love dearly.  I pray as we start this journey, that God would use us to glorify His Name!  He is worthy of all glory and He will get a name for Himself.  I am thankful that He walks beside us and uses us as He does it.    ~end of writing

Here are some more pictures from our first day, which was the travel day to Uganda.  We left from Atlanta at 5:25pm and flew into Amsterdam at 6:30 their time.  We had a 2 hour layover there and flew out around 9am Amsterdam time.  We flew from there and landed in Entebbe Uganda at 10:30 at night their time.

Hunter had never flown so this was his window seat view

Uganda Journals

Ok, I know we have been slack in blogging but I am going to attempt to start posting my journal writings from our time in Uganda.  We went to work for our Lord and I truly believe that the work that was done was in us.   He was gracious to show us our need for Him and Him alone and how much we rely on our own strength.   We worked and visited orphanages, did 3 days of VBS type work with a Street Children Ministry and evangelized one of the largest slums in Uganda.  It was truly a life changing time.  I journaled every day during the trip and I will be posting these along with pictures.  Can't wait to share our experience with you when jet lag subsides fully and a nasty cold that we are sharing departs.

Lord Bless,

Sean