“My life will never be the same” Uganda 2009

 

This year we had the opportunity to travel with over 60 individuals, including 10 pastors, to Uganda. Click to view trailer. Within the group were doctors, lawyers, school teachers, electricians, students, and many others from diverse walks of life. We asked some of them to share how their time in Uganda has touched their lives. Here are the thoughtful reflections of a few of the missionaries:

 

 

Carol Powell, Academic Dean, Manassas, VA

I have been blessed by the Lord to travel to Uganda annually, with the exception of 2007, to be a part of the mission work we’ve done there as a church since 2004. I have a personal love relationship with the nation that I don't have adequate words to express. It started the first time I stepped foot on the soil of Uganda. Each trip has been a growing and learning experience for me. The faith that the people of G-d in the nation of Uganda have surpasses that of any Christian I have yet to meet. We talk faith here, but the Bible teaches us that we are to walk by faith and that the just shall live by faith, and my Ugandan brothers and sisters truly live by faith. They trust and worship G-d in spirit and in truth. They are far from being a perfect nation, for while we were there yes, we were in the midst of the riots that took place. But even in that the Lord protected us and gave us favor with his Excellency, Vice President Professor Gilbert Bukenya, who sent his personal military staff to escort us to safety. What the Lord showed me on this adventure was summed up in the words that the nation’s Vice President himself said to us members of the advance team – who met him a week before Dr. Peyton and the rest of the team arrived– (and I paraphrase him), “When the soil of Uganda touches your feet, you may leave the land but the soil never leaves you and it calls you back.”  The soil and the soul of that nation has touched not only my feet, but my heart and my head (to the point that, this time, I have yet to fully come back mentally to the US) and the Spirit of the living G-d, which abides in Uganda, bids me to come back. In obedience, I can’t help but return to my home in Uganda again and again. Also, my babies at the Bethel Healing Kids In Need Home and Orphanage in Kitovu-Kajjansi are growing, thriving and I have to keep seeing and touching them as well. Prayerfully, the Lord will allow me to return again in July 2010!

 

Bellina Shaw, medical doctor, Baltimore, MD

I was not sure what to expect.  Poverty in itself is not shocking or new.  I knew that Uganda was what was not considered “developed”, but I never understood what that term meant.  I still cannot generalize the term [in reference] to other countries, but God revealed to me what a so-called “undeveloped” nation is and [what it] is not.  There is a lack of development of natural and human resources that stems from the lack of a governmental infrastructure.  This leads to more devastating consequences for those on the wrong end of the unequal distribution of wealth. Contrarily, through the love of Christ, there are well-developed communities of faith.  Worshipping with a multitude of my Ugandan brothers and sisters in Christ, reminded me of how the love of God connects people in a way that creates a family out of what many may see as a crowd, worldwide. The Vice President of the nation of Uganda has a heart for the youth – the future of the nation.  He is to open a nearly completed hotel in order to fund projects to create jobs and develop skills for the youth.  Walking through the lobby of his hotel, I could see how God is using the love-rooted, faith-based communities to come together across the world, heart-by-heart, in order to not only feed the people of Uganda with spiritual and natural food, but eventually provide for [their] spiritual and natural needs that will continue to abound in the absence of American guests or support.   

 

 

Barbara Pringle, Fairfax, VA

My life will never be the same. I went on faith and came back with pure faith.  What does it mean to serve GOD with your whole heart? Well, to praise Him in the rain, darkness, mud and until it just hurts. When you can't praise Him in the spirit. We don't have it here in the United States. We worry about who's looking or what we have on or who's sitting next to us, letting our joy center around people rather than GOD and His power. I lost my job when I came back, but I was prepared to accept it through the faith I gained there in Uganda. Why cry over man's work when there is a greater work to be done in my life and the lives of others? My children and grandchildren need me to preach and teach to their generation about the faithful GOD I serve.  What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? I spent years working for others and never working fully for My GOD. Life felt good there in Uganda living and serving, not thinking that life is about me and my needs. Take care of GOD’s business, and He will take care of yours. I can't say I won't work again. I am saying I know what's important, and I know the power of praising GOD. You must step out of the box and have no fear of what people say. This anointing can't be duplicated or underestimated.

 

Deborah A. Woolen, Administrative Assistant, Dumfries, VA

I had the awesome opportunity to travel to Uganda for the first time this year. I had been on the mission field three times previously: to Ghana, which opened my eyes; to Honduras, which gave me awareness; and to Haiti, which tugged at my heart. But, Uganda has caught the attention of my spirit. It was moving to be in the midst of a people who are hungry for God. Their purposeful worship and praise, their deference to give, and their sincere hospitality are evidence of the fact that these people are chasing after God. And for a moment, we chased alongside them. One unforgettable moment occurred when we visited Pastor Irene’s village. I remember seeing a man holding a girl in his arms. Everywhere he went he carried her. Upon speaking with him, he told me that the girl was his daughter. She appeared to me to be around seven years old, but she was actually 12 years of age. She was born with polio and due to a lack of medical attention she was paralyzed from the waste down. To see her father carry her around and attend to her with such compassion touched me. It reminded me of the caring and compassionate love of the Father for us. I hope I never forget them.

 

 

Shannon Boozer, Student Records Administrator, Woodbridge, VA

God connected us in WORSHIP with the Ugandan church. The hunger for God in Uganda could be described even as the chariot of fire of God that carried Elijah away in the presence of Elisha. Some may say that I am going over board, but it was an experience that I pray I never forget. This mission trip has put a passion in me to go on more and more mission trips in the future. I look forward with expectancy to working in the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

 

 

 

Reginald Banks, Triangle, VA

I was truly blessed from the experiences that I had in Uganda. I knew that it would be a powerful experience and that God was going to show up mightily; but what happened while we were there went far beyond my expectations.  God showed us where we fall short individually and as a nation. I witnessed real love, real faith, and real worship. I will forever be changed by what happened in Uganda.  God also matured me in a few areas of my life. It was so hard leaving Uganda, but I look forward to the time when I can go back to the place I now call HOME!