Learning to Experience

We made it! We've been in Kampala for 3 days now, and this is the first time at the computer. But, time here is so tight, I wouldn't know how to sit and reflect, much less get the computer to be fast enought to let me blog :). Pictures won't be able to come until when I return home, but, here I am, yay!

Saturday and Sunday were spent getting reacquainted (at least for me) with the sights and sounds of Uganda. Oh, the constant smell of exhaust, how I missed you!! We attended church and got to attend a really cool dinner with cultural dancing. So fun.

Today, however, is when the real business began. We started bright and early and headed out the the Bbira village with Watoto. We jumped right in and went to load the truck with bricks (an inagural activity for building that our whole team participated in). My first highlights of the day came in a triple effect when one of the brick workers looked over at me and recognized me instantly from our last trip here. Frank, who is characteristically attached to his Mp3 player, came over to me and gave me a big hug. He and I spent a day and a half 2 years ago pointing all the mortar of the house we built.

After a couple of minutes, he pulled me up on a pile of bricks and told me to look out into the field at the man who was approaching. As soon as I saw him, I knew him...Kassim, our forman from our house! He and I became quick friends 2 years ago, and I was so blessed that he remembered me on sight and called out my name. We hugged and were just so glad to run into each other. Neither of these men are building with us on the classroom, so it was a great blessing to see them so soon.

My third morning blessing came as he pointe just 200 yards away, and told me that the house we had built was right in view! So fun! It turns out, the classroom that we are building this year, will have a view of the house that we built 2 years ago!! Wow!

The day went by so quickly, with building all we could for the day before lunch and tons of time talking to kids in the village, that I realized I was having such a hard time experiencing it all. I felt that I was looking around all the time for someone I knew or a memory of what I experienced 2 years ago, that I was missing the experience of right now!

My team in wonderful, and has been incredibly patient in listening to all my stories of what I did last time I was here, and how we did this or that. However, I have not been taking the time to experience them, and just go through this with them. So, tonight, I am going to bed with prayers, asking God to help me learn to experience this anew. I want to be here today, and excited for what He is doing this week, with this team, this classroom, and the AMAZING children that we are seeing every day. We did not get to spend any realy time with the children in the village where we built in '07, so we are making up for lost time and hugging and talking with them as much as possible!!

So, my prayers will be for humility and quality time here and now, learning to experience all over again!

ps-Super amazing capstone to the night was getting a visit from my friend (and our former Watoto guide), Harry. Such a blessing and balm to my overwhelmed heart and mind!

Getting back to Uganda

It all started about 2½ years ago. In doing research for a new film at work, I watched a film that has forever changed my life. It had nothing to do with the brilliant storytelling, likeable characters, or cool shots…it had everything to do with the heartbreaking story of children in the faraway land of Uganda that have been forced to be soldiers, wives and mothers, sex slaves, and killers by a man who will stop at nothing to gain his power through terror (for more info, go to:http://therescue.invisiblechildren.com/en/#/watch/ and watch a history of the conflict and what’s being done about it).

God has done immeasurable things in my heart and daily life to continue to lead me down a path of passionate activism and service for these children of Uganda. Since first hearing of this story in February of 2007, I’ve volunteered for countless events, lobbied on the Hill for the issues of child soldiers and the affected people of No. Uganda. Most amazingly, I was floored by the Lord’s providence of the opportunity to travel to Uganda that very summer with National Community Church (NCC).

Me, Jenny, and Katy at The Rescue (Invisible Children event), 2009

I cannot tell you how much this trip impacted me back in 2007. I have never experience such a swift calling from the Lord. Within months of hearing of the conflict and plight of the children in Uganda (who, in addition to suffering a 23-year long civil war and abductions by rebel forces, are chronically orphaned by the AIDS virus), I was in that very place, elbow deep in bricks and mortar building a new home for these children, and praying at the altar of a local church in Gulu, No. Uganda who is seeking to serve these shattered hearts and families.

My friend, Carmel, and me on the plane to visit Gulu, Uganda in 2007

Now, in the summer of 2009, after living in DC now for almost 2 years, and enjoying my family at NCC, as well as continuing to make documentaries with The Johnson Group as my 9-5, I am again embarking on a trip to Uganda to work with Watoto Children Ministries (www.watoto.com) with NCC. This year, instead of building a home, we will be taking an even larger team of 26 NCCers to build a classroom in one of the village’s schools. Our trip is scheduled for July 24-August 1 (I'll be spending and extra week in Gulu as well).

Watoto does more than an average orphanage. The ministry actually adopts the children themselves, placing them into single-family homes (like the one we built in 2007), where they are joined by a new mother (a woman from the community who dedicates her life to raising this new family) and 7 other siblings (some biological, some new ones who have also been orphaned). These children then have the opportunity to go to school, have a stable home life, a clean place to live and study, medical care, and a church community that loves and disciples them into future leaders. The motto of Watoto is “Save a Child. Raise a Leader. Rebuild a Nation.” I get chills just thinking about it!

I'm honored to be going back!!

Away we go (to Uganda)!

After months of prayers, encouragement, and the financial support of many friends, I'm off to Uganda in about 8 hours. Whether it was through a quick email to check in, and actual check, attending a fundraiser (or two :)), or praying for me, you are all a part of this team in spirit.

You can say my socks are officially blown off!! God totally raised all the funds necessary to send me along with the team, as well as provide some unexpected blessings for my time in Gulu.

In addition to working with Watoto Child Care Ministries with a team of 24 other NCCer's, I will be spending an extra week in Uganda, traveling up to Gulu (in the north) to serve a sweet friend's ministry, the Zion Project (www.zionproject.org), as well as get some much longed for time in the region of Uganda that has suffered greatly over the past 2 decades. My friend, Laura, and I will be working with the child mothers (most of these women are young mothers as a result of their abduction by the Lord's Resistance Army) that live at the Zion House. We'll be filming their lives and how God has changed them since coming to live at the Zion House. So exciting!!

If you are reading this, it is likely that you know about the trip, so here are some ways that you can be praying. Checking in with the Spirit in prayer will hopefully give you many things to pray for us, but here are a couple:

-Perspective: Pray that our team will have new, and Godly perspective of our time in Uganda. That we would remember that we are there to be students of the culture, and serve alongside the Ugandans in an effort to see God move in their nation and communities, as well as in our hearts.

-Humility: As a part of remembering that we are serving alongside Ugandans, remaining humble with each other and serving one another as a team.

-Health: Like any foreign country, there are lots of different things out there that our bodies aren't used to. Please pray for the adaptation to the diet and environment. I have all my shots and pills, but extra prayer will go a long way too! :)

-Traveling: Pray that I can use our long plane rides to pray and prepare my heart. Also, pray for safety in country, especially as Laura and I travel to Gulu. The buses are very safe, and we have friends looking out for us on all fronts, so pray that it all goes smoothly, but that we would also go with the flow!

Thank You!!!

If, indeed we are able to get it going, the NCC team will be blogging each day on this site: http://theaterchurch.com/missions. Look to the menu on the left, and find Uganda. Be sure to click the one that is furthest up the list. If there is only one "Uganda" listed, feel free to enjoy the blog from our 2007 trip :-D.

Again, I am so thrilled to go and serve and be in this country again. Thank you for being a part of that!!

much love, amy