This is the video I made about my trip to Uganda! Enjoy!!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
1st Week in Uganda: Kampala Ministry
Our first week in Uganda was spent in the capital city of Uganda. We went to church on the first Sunday...church that lasted 5 hours!! But it was awesome. The church then took us all to a restaurant for lunch and we had a "Ugandan" meal. It was pretty, thought I'm not quite sure what it all was. Then the next few days we did school ministry. We did our "True Love Waits" program in many schools. On a typical day we would go to two schools. We would do our program as a big assembly and then break off into smaller same gendered groups. Or we would start in smaller groups if the school was very large. One day we broke into smaller groups to start. Our team divided into about 3 groups in the school. My MIG had one group of about 200 students. We had no microphone and my voice was not the greatest because of all the dust I had been breathing in. But I was able to do the program with God's help. So we started the program and I was doing the introduction and explaining who we were and where we were from, and then all the sudden I turned around and about 100 more students were walking over to our group. So I started over and was speaking so loud trying to be able to have the students in the back be able to hear me. It was a great presentation and the students really responded to us. At the end of the program we gave the students the option to commit to purity by signing a purity card... and we had such a response from the students that we ran out of cards! Another school we went to was a Muslim school. It was amazing that we were even able to go there being a Christian missionary group. But the school has a good relationship with the MCChurch that we were working with that we were able to go there. We did an all school assembly and all sat in patio furniture. It was pretty funny...not your typical school auditorium. We did the program and ended up making our program much longer because we were waiting for Pastor Ssempa to arrive. He got delayed for some reason so we had to stall for over an hour. We did skits and just kept going. At points it seemed like none of the students were listening, but when the pastor finally arrived and talked about leadership and asked who in the school wanted to be leaders, nearly 30 students stood up and said that they wanted to be leaders of the school. Pastor Ssempa was going to return and give them leadership training. One of the things that amazed me about this was that the students who stood up were serious about their commitment. And some of them looked like they were the popular kids in the school. Then we were allowed to pray for them in their school. It was amazing!
A few days we didn't go to secondary schools and were unable to do our typical program. One of those days we went to a primary school and did a VBS program which was amazing. I submitted a testimony to the GE website after that school and my mom posted it on here while I was in Uganda. That school was very amazing. We were in a 3rd or 4th grade classroom and did a good VBS program. One of the other days we did not go to a secondary school we went to an orphanage on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria. That place was very special. We had to take boats to get there. It was about a 2o minute boat ride with some very unique looking life jackets. The place we went to was called African Renewal Ministries and it is a self sustaining island village. Basically, it is a Christian run program and the island has a school, farm, clinic, housing and a camp. The orphans live in houses with "brothers" and "sisters" and house "parents" like a real family and they are able to grow up in a home. It was a really awesome ministry. The ministry also allows the kids to go to a week of camp. And they bring other kids in from surrounding areas for a camp week. We were able to take a tour of the island and talk to some of the house mothers. And then we did a VBS program for the kids. My MIG worked with the younger kids and did a few Bible story skits and some coloring. I sat next to and colored with a little boy named Henry. He was adorable! I drew Jonah and the Whale and he told me that it was really Jonah and the Big Fish. I laughed. He was very smart. He was able 8 or 9 years old.
Ministry in Kampala was amazing. The places we went were typically about 1 -2 hours out of the city and driving back from those places in the evening proved to be interesting....I never would have guessed that there would be so much traffic in Uganda. It was unbelievable. One night it took us a very long time to get back to the hostel for dinner because of all the traffic. It was totally stopped traffic. During this week we were also taken to the market to buy skits. Many of the girls on my team didn't bring enough skits to wear everyday, so that meant a shopping trip. All the girls bought skits or dresses for about 7-8 U.S. dollars.
A few days we didn't go to secondary schools and were unable to do our typical program. One of those days we went to a primary school and did a VBS program which was amazing. I submitted a testimony to the GE website after that school and my mom posted it on here while I was in Uganda. That school was very amazing. We were in a 3rd or 4th grade classroom and did a good VBS program. One of the other days we did not go to a secondary school we went to an orphanage on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria. That place was very special. We had to take boats to get there. It was about a 2o minute boat ride with some very unique looking life jackets. The place we went to was called African Renewal Ministries and it is a self sustaining island village. Basically, it is a Christian run program and the island has a school, farm, clinic, housing and a camp. The orphans live in houses with "brothers" and "sisters" and house "parents" like a real family and they are able to grow up in a home. It was a really awesome ministry. The ministry also allows the kids to go to a week of camp. And they bring other kids in from surrounding areas for a camp week. We were able to take a tour of the island and talk to some of the house mothers. And then we did a VBS program for the kids. My MIG worked with the younger kids and did a few Bible story skits and some coloring. I sat next to and colored with a little boy named Henry. He was adorable! I drew Jonah and the Whale and he told me that it was really Jonah and the Big Fish. I laughed. He was very smart. He was able 8 or 9 years old.
Ministry in Kampala was amazing. The places we went were typically about 1 -2 hours out of the city and driving back from those places in the evening proved to be interesting....I never would have guessed that there would be so much traffic in Uganda. It was unbelievable. One night it took us a very long time to get back to the hostel for dinner because of all the traffic. It was totally stopped traffic. During this week we were also taken to the market to buy skits. Many of the girls on my team didn't bring enough skits to wear everyday, so that meant a shopping trip. All the girls bought skits or dresses for about 7-8 U.S. dollars.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Coming Soon to a Blog Near You...
I will be on vacation for the next week, so more posts will come when I return next week! Don't forget about the picture site.... http://www.dropshots.com/Uganda2009 I'll be continuing to update that when I post more stories.
What is an MA?
Global Expeditions uses a lot of abbreviations. So you all are probably wondering what all these letters are that I keep talking about. Like MA, TL, MAG, MIG, ect. An MA is a "Mission Advisor". GE leadership is kinda like a ladder. There are different levels of leadership. The highest level is the Project Director (PD). They over see the entire project and make sure everything is going well, and specifically they give the Team Leaders instruction on how to direct their teams. The next level down is the Team Leaders (TL). Each team has two TLs. One male and one female. They look out and guide the entire team. There are usually a few teams on each project. Our project had 3 teams. Then the next level is the Mission Advisors (MA). That was me. I was under the leadership of my Team Leaders, but I was in charge of a small group of girls called my MAG, a small ministry group called my MIG, and a small travel group called my TAG.
As the leader of my MAG, I was in charge of everything that had to do with the girls in my group. I was to look out for their physical, spiritual and emotional well being. When they got sick, I got up with them. When they had a question, I helped them find the answer, when they needed to cry, I was the shoulder to cry on, when they needed a friend, I was the friend. It was a great role. The training I had the few days before everyone else arrived was amazing in helping me
prepare for this. This was a huge responsibility I had, but it was awesome because I got to watch these girls grow throughout the trip. I believe that part of my ministry on this trip to Uganda was to these girls. It was not only to the Ugandans, but it was to the members of my MAG. There were 4 girls in my MAG. Lexi from Washington, Anna from Wyoming, Claudia from Panama, and Amie from Florida. (Picture on Left, from LtoR Me, Amie, Claudia, Lexi and Anna).
Another part of my role as an MA was to lead a MIG. All the roles were exciting to me, but this one was especially exciting to me. I got to lead the direction that our group went when we were on a ministry site. If we were in a class doing the whole purity program by ourselves, I had to get that started. That was exciting, but also a little scary. There were some points when I had no clue what to do, but God totally took over. And that was so exciting to see happen. It was awesome to see God work through me when I had no idea what to say. My MIG had 4 other members. We all clicked very well and it was so awesome to get to watch the people in my MIG minister. When we'd be in a class sharing the True Love Waits program each person had such a unique role in it that it was awesome to see it unfold each day. Each ministry site went different. No two sites were alike. And it was great to see my MIG
work together and share the Lord with people and watch people come to know the Lord because of the people in my group. As the leader of that group it was awesome to be able to see the progression of my group and how we all grew over the month we were in Uganda. The picture on the right is of my MIG. (LtoR) Lexi, Me, Mary, Anna and Tyler is sitting down.
The final role I had as an MA was to serve as a TAG leader. I lead a group of 4 other people when we traveled. I was in charge of not losing anyone in my group in the airport, during long lay overs, making sure no one lost their passports, helping everyone check their bags and get through security. I didn't spend too much time with my TAG, because we were only with them when we traveled internationally, but it was a great way to get to know people from the other teams. I had people in my group from both other teams.
One of them had even been the same trip last year as someone else I knew. It's a small world. I didn't even lose anyone and no one lost their passports! The picture on the left is of my TAG in Dubai airport. (LtoR) Jennifer, Grace, David, Lexi and Me.
Being an MA was a great opportunity for me. And I was so happy I was able to do that.
I know so many people were praying for me and I know that it was only God that equipped me for this role. God used me to minister in my various roles and it was such a blessing to be able to watch the people in my groups grow closer to God.
As the leader of my MAG, I was in charge of everything that had to do with the girls in my group. I was to look out for their physical, spiritual and emotional well being. When they got sick, I got up with them. When they had a question, I helped them find the answer, when they needed to cry, I was the shoulder to cry on, when they needed a friend, I was the friend. It was a great role. The training I had the few days before everyone else arrived was amazing in helping me
prepare for this. This was a huge responsibility I had, but it was awesome because I got to watch these girls grow throughout the trip. I believe that part of my ministry on this trip to Uganda was to these girls. It was not only to the Ugandans, but it was to the members of my MAG. There were 4 girls in my MAG. Lexi from Washington, Anna from Wyoming, Claudia from Panama, and Amie from Florida. (Picture on Left, from LtoR Me, Amie, Claudia, Lexi and Anna).Another part of my role as an MA was to lead a MIG. All the roles were exciting to me, but this one was especially exciting to me. I got to lead the direction that our group went when we were on a ministry site. If we were in a class doing the whole purity program by ourselves, I had to get that started. That was exciting, but also a little scary. There were some points when I had no clue what to do, but God totally took over. And that was so exciting to see happen. It was awesome to see God work through me when I had no idea what to say. My MIG had 4 other members. We all clicked very well and it was so awesome to get to watch the people in my MIG minister. When we'd be in a class sharing the True Love Waits program each person had such a unique role in it that it was awesome to see it unfold each day. Each ministry site went different. No two sites were alike. And it was great to see my MIG
work together and share the Lord with people and watch people come to know the Lord because of the people in my group. As the leader of that group it was awesome to be able to see the progression of my group and how we all grew over the month we were in Uganda. The picture on the right is of my MIG. (LtoR) Lexi, Me, Mary, Anna and Tyler is sitting down.The final role I had as an MA was to serve as a TAG leader. I lead a group of 4 other people when we traveled. I was in charge of not losing anyone in my group in the airport, during long lay overs, making sure no one lost their passports, helping everyone check their bags and get through security. I didn't spend too much time with my TAG, because we were only with them when we traveled internationally, but it was a great way to get to know people from the other teams. I had people in my group from both other teams.
One of them had even been the same trip last year as someone else I knew. It's a small world. I didn't even lose anyone and no one lost their passports! The picture on the left is of my TAG in Dubai airport. (LtoR) Jennifer, Grace, David, Lexi and Me.Being an MA was a great opportunity for me. And I was so happy I was able to do that.
I know so many people were praying for me and I know that it was only God that equipped me for this role. God used me to minister in my various roles and it was such a blessing to be able to watch the people in my groups grow closer to God.
Sunday June 14th - Tuesday June 16th : Training
On Sunday the rest of the project arrived in Texas. All the missionaries were finally there and it was great to have the whole project together. We were assigned to teams. I was on team Caritas. Led by Adrian and Kat. There were 23 of us missionaries and then the two leaders, making a grand total of 25. The team was mostly made up of girls. There were only 16 guys on the entire project, and only 6 on my team. We played some games to get to know each other and learn each others names. There were a lot of names to remember.
I was chosen to be an MA! I was so excited. Out of the 30 MA candidates, I was one of the 15 chosen to have a leadership role on this trip. The job came with a lot of responsibility, but it was awesome. I'll explain more about what it means to be an MA later.
Each day we had a few sessions of training with some practice / breakout time and some great speakers and great worship. It was a great time to really draw near to the Lord before we were sent out to Uganda.
A lot of our time in Texas was spent learning the abstinence program that we did in Uganda. It was called the "True Love Waits" program and I think I could probably do the entire program in my sleep now. We practiced it time after time after time. We were broken into smaller groups called MIGs... which stands for Ministry Group. I was the leader of the group because I was an MA. There were 4 other people in my group. 3 girls, and 1 guy. We got section 3 of the program to learn very well. We would be doing section 3 when we presented the whole program in Uganda, so our goal was to learn it very well. We went over the program so many times I can't even count.
Tuesday night, the final session was what GE (global expeditions) calls "Commissioning Night". And that is just such an awesome night. The final session has a lot of worship, an encouraging speaker (who was Ron Luce, the founder of Teen Mania) and then prayer as a project. They line all the flags up of countries that people were going to and then we followed the flags outside. We did a lot of praying for Uganda. It was the final step before we headed to Uganda.
I was chosen to be an MA! I was so excited. Out of the 30 MA candidates, I was one of the 15 chosen to have a leadership role on this trip. The job came with a lot of responsibility, but it was awesome. I'll explain more about what it means to be an MA later.
Each day we had a few sessions of training with some practice / breakout time and some great speakers and great worship. It was a great time to really draw near to the Lord before we were sent out to Uganda.
A lot of our time in Texas was spent learning the abstinence program that we did in Uganda. It was called the "True Love Waits" program and I think I could probably do the entire program in my sleep now. We practiced it time after time after time. We were broken into smaller groups called MIGs... which stands for Ministry Group. I was the leader of the group because I was an MA. There were 4 other people in my group. 3 girls, and 1 guy. We got section 3 of the program to learn very well. We would be doing section 3 when we presented the whole program in Uganda, so our goal was to learn it very well. We went over the program so many times I can't even count.
Tuesday night, the final session was what GE (global expeditions) calls "Commissioning Night". And that is just such an awesome night. The final session has a lot of worship, an encouraging speaker (who was Ron Luce, the founder of Teen Mania) and then prayer as a project. They line all the flags up of countries that people were going to and then we followed the flags outside. We did a lot of praying for Uganda. It was the final step before we headed to Uganda.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
