HANDS AND FEET IN UGANDA

Greetings from Uganda!

It has been quite a journey thus far. I arrived in Entebbe, Uganda Wednesday at 7:45am. I received a warm welcome from Alisha and our driver Joe. Alisha is from Mobile, AL and attended William Carey a few years ago. We had never met in person before, but we began messaging a few months ago and let me just tell ya we are kindred spirits. I am challenged daily by her obedience to follow the Lord daily here in Jinja. She has been such a blessing to me as I have had a million questions about Uganda, the culture, how to go about things here in Jinja…and so on. I seriously have no idea what I would do without her! We left the airport and headed to Kampala where we stopped for breakfast and grabbed a few groceries. We then headed to Jinja, which is about a three-hour drive from the airport. After a few scares in the matatu(Ugandans are CRAZY drivers. Haha), we arrived at Ekisa orphanage where I will be staying for the next few months. I was welcomed to Ekisa by Emily Worrall, Emily Henderson, and Stacy. The two Emily’s started Ekisa almost two years ago. They met a few years back whenever they were both volunteering at a baby’s home and they saw the need of a special needs orphanage for kids who are disowned by their families because of their disabilities. This was a dream of theirs that they thought would never come true. Little did they know that shortly after their time of volunteering would the Lord turn their dream into a reality. They are now serving the country of Uganda by giving children with disabilities a loving home and sharing the love of Jesus with these precious children. A little while after my arrival the children awoke from their nap and welcomed me quickly by wrapping their arms around me and me and calling me “Auntie Whitney”…which I love. Within Ugandan culture Ugandans call “muzungus”(white people), Auntie and Uncle. These kids had my heart the first day I arrived. Wednesday night I was able to attend the weekly bible study where all of the missionaries of Jinja gather together to encourage and challenge one another, worship, and most importantly study the word together. I was so encouraged by the community that the Lord has brought together here in Uganda to serve HIM. On Thursday and Friday I spent time getting acclimated and spending time with the children and people I will be with for the next few weeks. On Saturday, I had the opportunity to go visit the Mesese people. Amazima ministry had organized an immunization drive for the children of Mesese. There were around 600 children waiting in line to receive numbers in order to receive vaccinations. It was completely overwhelming to see the poverty and the need for food, education, shelter, medical attention, care, and hope these sweet children need. All parents of these children get up early in the morning, head in to town, and do not return until late at night. Yes, some of them are doing the proper thing of going and providing for their families, and others are wasting away their day abandoning their children. There were four year olds caring for their newborn sibling…. heartbreaking. I am still having a hard time processing all of this and trying to determine what the Lord is calling me to do within this situation.

I want to challenge you all to be obedient to what the Lord is calling you to do within your life. Just because He might not call you to be in another country that does not mean you have an out of doing what the Lord has called you to do. We are all “called” to the nations and to missions. Be open to what the Lord has for you in your daily schedule. Look around for the needs that are surrounding you on a daily basis. Take time to invest within the lives of your neighbors and your community.

Please continue to pray for these people. Pray specifically for the Mesese people. Pray for the Ekisa children. Whenever I arrived there were several kids who had measles and then we had a few children break out with chicken pox. Please pray that measles and chicken pox would not spread among the other children. Please pray for direction from the Lord for a few decisions that will have to be made within the next few weeks. I love you all and cannot wait to continue sharing with you what the Lord is doing here in Jinga and I cannot wait to see how the Lord works within you guys as well! We serve a MIGHTY, AWESOME, SOVEREIGN Lord.

Here a few pictures to capture this week...

The Emily's that started Ekisa.

Alisha and Patricia sharing a yummy treat at "The Keep".

"The Keep" coffee house is a popular place to gather on Friday night to hangout and listen to some good music.

I stayed with Alisha Friday night and whenever we got back to Alisha's her neighbor's had just finish slaughtering a turkey...welcome to Uganda! ha! This is Bryce finishing the process.