This is Africa.
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go”
-Isaiah 48:17
Beautiful Uganda, my heart beats for you. When people see poverty, I see prosperity. When people see brokenness, I see hope. When people see sickness, I see restoration. When people see starvation, I see abundance. When people see darkness, I see Jesus.
And so my heart continues to beat for the lost ones.
As we travel from village to village, people encouragingly welcome us into their huts and we tell them about Jesus. We exchange stories. We pray together. We laugh together. We rest peacefully beneath the blazing hot sun. And so the Lord continues to bring water to this dry and weary land…
Ugandan life has been rough to say the least, but my heart is full. My life is full. I faithfully join where Jesus is at work, and my answer is always “Yes, Lord. Where You go, I’ll go. What you pray I’ll pray.” Like a candle in the sun, His light shines brighter than I have ever imagined. And I am eternally blessed that He chooses to impart His light to my flame.
“The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through Africa. The Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.”
-Deuteronomy 2:7
…And you have not lacked anything. It’s difficult for me to not feel consumed by the amount of need here in the town of Malaba, Uganda. People work tirelessly for one month and make 100,000 shillings, which translates to about $50.00 USD. School teachers work from 7am to 5pm and make less than $1 a day. Many of these people have children that want to go to school, but it requires $200.00 to send one child to school for three months. And this excludes the cost of uniforms, school supplies, and in some cases, transportation.
When the rain season comes, clean water is hard to come by. Children drop out of school because of sickness. There are no hospitals in the town of Malaba, only clinics. And these clinics have been known to hand out expired drugs, and people often die due to these preventable causes. In addition, when it rains, the mosquitos are innumerable. Cholera and malaria are almost unaviodable, and children often drop out of school by age 17. Once they drop out of school, the women are left to care for their siblings, and work around the home.
These are people just like you and I. They have dreams too.
I believe that I have been filled up so that I can pour out. I don’t understand why people across the world live in these conditions, but I am reminded that I am not the one who saves; Jesus is. That it’s not my Kingdom, It’s His. And so I continue to allow God to fill me up, so that I can spill out. I am here because God brought me here. I know that as long as i continue to say, “Yes, Lord”, He will show me what is best for me. I have full confidence that My Father will direct me in the way I should go.
“He who sent you is with you”
