Surrendering

Our tickets are purchased!  We will be flying into Kampala, Uganda, on September 9th and staying through November 1st.

As we are beginning to map out our trip, we both are committed to surrendering and listening deeply within for what is God’s direction for us.   In this surrendering process, we each have a particular experience to share. 

Initially, we didn’t know where we were going to go in Africa - just Central Africa.  We knew we were being called and that’s all.  We thought of Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan because some of our friends, from these countries, are  members in our church.  Recent unrest in Burundi and Sudan has made travel there questionable.

A few weeks ago, we travelled to meet with Chuck and Beth Bradshaw.  They were in Cambridge, Massachusetts on leave during a three year mission posting in Mityana, Uganda.  

As we listened to them tell of  their work in Mityana, we heard stories of their experiences and of their network of people there.  We each felt a growing affirmation that this was to be our home base.  It seemed clear that God was guiding us to benefit from the network of drivers, translators etc. 

Madame Victoria runs a small school and orphanage about two kilometers from Mityana.  She accepts guests in her home and orphanage and this seems like a good place for us to stay.

We are continuing to learn what this trip is to be as we explore opportunities in Mityana as well as in Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi.

 In our preparation for the pilgrimage to Africa, I was brought back to my trips to India and the process of surrendering into an entirely different culture to honor the customs as best as I could.  I didn’t realize until now, how significant this experience was.  

On my initial visit, I would walk down the streets and view all of the poverty and filth.  It was a sensory overload.  Initially, I just shut down and didn’t even want to go out of the compound.  That didn’t work, so I began to slowly accept it all as it is.  Then, I began to realize something entirely different.  I realized the native people had a light in their eyes and a genuine happiness with so little. I began to appreciate these lovely people for who and what they are.  They became my teachers in so many ways.  I learned the power and strength in surrender.

I returned each year for four months, for almost 20 years.  It completely changed the way I lived my life.  I didn’t realize all of the many ways it had deeply affected me until I began to prepare, spiritually, for our mission to Africa.  It  is my prayer and intention that this same wisdom and strength be present with us on this mission.