I'm Going to Uganda!

I'm officially going back to Uganda! My heart can hardly stand the wait. I wanted to share with you the letter that I'll be sending out to my family and friends in the next few weeks. Please pray for our team and all of the precious people in Uganda who we will be interacting with. 

Hello Loved Ones, 

On October 17, 2009, I left Raleigh-Durham airport for Uganda. I had no idea what I was doing; I only knew that God wanted me to go. What I experienced over the next ten days changed my life in ways that I am still realizing. I played with children, sat and talked with working men and nursing mothers, and most importantly, I was able to lead people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I made friends that I have been able to stay in touch with via email and phone calls, and I learned some Lugandan phrases and songs. I did things that I didn't think that I could do, including speaking in front of an entire church, and peeing in a cornfield. If I had to sum it up - I felt truly ALIVE.

When I got to the airport in Entebbe, I started to panic -- I didn't want to get back on a plane. I love my family, my friends, and my life in the United States, but I didn't know how to go back to that life after what I had seen and experienced. I didn't know how to go back to a life of comfort when I knew what my new friends had to endure. I had seen true poverty and it had left me wrecked. But I knew that I was supposed to come back. I love Uganda, and it had changed me, but I knew and I know that I wasn't supposed to stay (at least not then). 

So how can I adjust after something life-changing like that? How can I use here what God did in me and taught me in Uganda? I'm still learning that. I've been supporting one pastor specifically in Uganda, and praying for all of my friends there. I try to keep seeing how I use my resources with the viewpoint that it is all a gift from God. 

Honestly, I struggled with whether or not to go back to Uganda. My heart longs so much to go, but I wrestled with whether it wasn't better to send the money to support the people instead of paying for my airfare, because I know how far that money could go. Or I thought that maybe it would be better to send someone else so that they could experience what I did. I don't think that it's a coincidence that in the middle of the struggling with all this, I got emails from friends in Uganda saying that they were praying that I would come back. After praying and seeking advice, I have decided to go back. I will be leaving on a new adventure on October 3rd and we will be returning on October 14th. 

I have been saving and I have enough money to be able to pay for my trip, so I'm not asking for money - I'm just asking for you to please pray for me and my team as we go. Last year God blessed our team with good health, and I am believing and trusting him for the same for this year! Please pray that He would use us to be a blessing to all of the people that we meet, and that everyone's hearts would be open to what God is doing. 

Thank you for praying. It is not a small thing - it is vital. James 5:16(b) says that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." 

Thank you for loving me and supporting me on this adventure. I am so glad that I get to share this journey with you. 

Love, 

Helen