Below is my Uganda thank you letter that I am mailing out to my dear friends and family; I thought I'd share!
Hello friends and family!
I am back safe and sound, and I am excited to share with you about what God has done and is still doing!
It was presumptuous of me to assume that my trip to Africa would greater impact the people of Uganda than me. I had supposed that I had much to offer them, and they would have little to offer me. I was wrong! I am forever changed by the people of Uganda!
Joy seems to be one of Uganda’s greatest cultural values. Ugandans express evident and abundant joy in the simplicity of life and living in the here and now. Several times on my trip, I encountered men, women, children, and entire families who had so little. Many were clad in dirty clothes, most were not well fed, and few children had shoes. Yet the beauty of their situation is that their contentment is not base upon what they do or do not have. They know what it means to be dirty, and hungry, and barefoot, but they also know what it means to choose joy. Their happiness is not based on their circumstances because, after all, circumstances are only circumstantial, and they understand this.
Being amongst these people was, for me, a fresh reminder of from whom and from where I should derive my joy. In our American-Christian culture, we tend to find our joy in our “blessings.” It seems to me that we correlate material wealth, circumstantial happiness, and even sheer luck with divine favor. Thankfully, this is not from where the Lord intended us to find joy! “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song.” Psalm 28:7
A servant to Uganda and its people is absolutely the most prestigious position I have ever held. My team and I spent our mornings worshipping the Lord with the Ugandans employed by Restoration Gateway. In the afternoons, we toiled the land and molded bricks. In the evenings, we cooked meals along side two Ugandan men employed by the McCalls. One life-changing afternoon was spent with 125 parentless, orphan children. We taught these children songs, games, and Bible stories. We held them; we played with them; we fed them; we loved on them. We told them about Jesus. We saw Jesus through them!
After a trip such as this one, I can't help but consider my life in contrast to theirs. A Starbucks drink is nearly a week’s worth a food for a little Ugandan girl. An hour on the Internet could be used to make 8 or 9 more bricks needed to build Restoration Gateway. A half hour in traffic is half the amount of time it takes some Ugandans to walk to work. I realize, in comparison, that I have much monetarily, and I want to give back. I want to make attempts, as feeble as they may seem, to close this distribution gap between my world and theirs. Though monetary donations are needed and necessary, I am convinced that these people need something more sustaining than anything I can offer. They long for restoration, and only the Lord can provide that.
We all have a role that we are called to play in the kingdom. I love what the McCalls have written on their website in regards to this: “Some will give. Some will pray. Some will go. Regardless, God wants us in. All of us. Two coins or entire existence. Just Act.”
If you too would like to contribute, please find out how at the following web address.
http://www.restorationgateway.com/getinvolved.htm
To see pictures from my trip, please view them at this website.
http://picasaweb.google.com/christina.crenshaw/Uganda
Videos and even more pictures can be seen on a teammate’s website.
http://picasaweb.google.com/juliemcbrayer/UgandaMissionTrip2007
Thank you so much for your contribution to this trip! You have made an eternal investment!
