Train Wreck!!

OK - here it is... I had no intentions of falling in love with Uganda and was not anticipating the intense train wreck heading straight for my heart. I was really excited to serve and explore a new country, having never traveled outside the US (with the exception of Canada) I was nervous - having read extensively about the country and the blood soaked reign of Idi Amin, but still really wanted to go.. Here are some of the things I found out about the country:

 Uganda is a country of stunning beauty and heartbreaking history of persecution. It is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also bordered by Kenya and Tanzania.





Between them, Ugandans speak an impressive forty or more different languages. This is a result of Uganda’s ethnically diverse history, and the adoption of English as the main language during Uganda’s colonial years. Uganda is a fascinating country, with a complicated history far too often involving bloodshed, violence and betrayal. Yet the people are among the most welcoming and determined to be helpful that you could meet anywhere in the world.

However, what soon became transparent to me was that Google failed to mention a single thing in any of the articles I read, about the kindness, hospitality, service, joy and love I would witness at every corner we turned. I had no clue reading from my Google notes, that the children who are suffering atrocities on a daily basis, could still have such sweet, innocent hearts.







My heart was immediately lost to the wise eyed children we encountered everywhere. Due to the AIDS pandemic, (AIDS was first discovered in Rakai, Uganda) There are multitudes of child headed households. Children of 10 taking care of younger siblings and struggling to survive. In the Rakai district alone, there are 40,000 child head of household families. Incredible. We soon learned, that the children of Uganda love to sing! They sing doing their chores, going to school, playing, worshiping… and even at bedtime. The emptiness of their bellies and the bleakness of their existence does not hit you when they are singing and dancing and are so happy to see you.. it did hit me hard, though, as our team traveled back to have a good meal at our lodging, and to fall asleep in a mosquito netting covered bed, while those precious children were going to bed hungry and lying on hard packed soil. What we are so used to taking for granted here in the United States is something never experienced by these children.. so please....







Join me in celebrating the heartbeat of a country that is rich in spirit and love and unlike any place I have visited on earth. I hope that by reading this blog, and becoming more informed about 'the pearl of africa', that you fall deep deep in love with Uganda, too. My goal is to finish nursing school, obtain midwife training, and move to Uganda to serve full time in ministry there.







Come Along With Me!