March 31, 2025 Team Uganda bog Today was a day of mostly traveling from the remote villages back to Kampala. A bus filled with tired people and a van loaded with luggage, topped with chickens, goats and a sheep that were given as gifts of thanksgiving.....what could I possibly write about such a day of travel? Here is what my heart learned as I sat in the bus for many hours, watching the landscape, reflecting on the Kingdom work that had just happened, and catching a few naps here and there. Traveling with this team has been a complete joy. Listening to the conversations, hearing the giggling of sisters, singing hymns, joking with each other, and sharing our silly inside jokes....we are a true team in every sense of the word. God has bonded us through this journey as we have shared laughter and tears and helped each other step by step. We have had to cooperate and put each other ahead of ourselves and through the example of our leaders, we have learned what kingdom work looks like. I ...
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Sunday Blessings
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March 30, 2025 I woke up this morning with the chorus, “We serve a great big, wonderful God, a great big, wonderful God, a God who is always victorious, always watching over us, a great big, wonderful God.” God is indeed great and is the same God we serve in New York, Pennsylvania, and Uganda. Today, we were blessed to worship and fellowship with the Bumangoye Church of God in Uganda. This was a special service as Pastor Roy, our team leader, had the honor of opening and dedicating the new church built in partnership with Busti Church of God, NY. We had over 200 persons in the sanctuary, including political leaders who brought greetings and spoke about what the church meant for their district/region. One shared that this was the most beautiful building in his district; not only was there a church, he said, but also a school to help educate the youth. He then made a plea for a medical clinic so people would have access to health care. The worship service was vibrant and heartfelt....
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March 29, 2025 Hebrews 13:16 says "And don't forget to do good and to share with others, for such sacrifices God is pleased with". This was the daily verse from my devotional that sent me on this mission. It amazes me how we always have in our mind, preplanned what our destination and purpose is going to look like only to learn you need to throw the rule book out on day one. I've never seen time flow so effortlessy. No hardened schedules, no clocks, fluid time frames and most important not to make assumptions on expectations for the day. As unsettling as this may sound to many of us, everything manages to get done that is needed, destinations are reached, three meals are eaten and sleep is generally achieved strangely making space for a sense of peace and calmness.These shifts in pace and assumptions elevates opportunities for a focus on relationships, apprectiation and serving others while opening yourself to the plethora of gifts others have to share in return. Tod...
Journey to Namayingo
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27th ~ Our journey to Namayingo was an adventure in itself. So many things we saw along the way, eye opening for sure. Jackfruit, goats, fields of tea and sugar cane, chickens running loose everywhere, mud huts with straw roofs, handmade brick buildings, people on bicycles, boda bodas, taxi buses, workers in fields, deep rich soil, the place wnere Lake Victoria meets the Nile River, beautiful landscapes and trash filled areas, school yards filled with uniformed children, gold mining, cows crossing the road, selling of fresh fruits and vegetables, grilled chicken on sticks, raw meat hanging in an open market, many little churches and shops, handmade furniture, water wells, solar panels, rice paddies, people carrying bananas on their head, pigs, a simple round-a-bout, and so much more unexpected. We headed to a wonderful ceremony to dedicate a brand new JjaJja house for a grandmother raising 13 children. Eddy Nancy Lovisa was so excited and grateful for this gift. She was finally able...
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`1 28march, They like tea. Ugandans really like tea a lot. We handed out 60 buckets of love at a jjajja party. We had to drive longer than 3hours to get here and we could see the mountains of Kenya. The jjajjas got really excited about the tea party and the tea in their baskets. The kids really like to play with our hair. It started raining really hard and we ended up getting the bus stuck in the mud. One of the bus drivers, Moses, ended up picking me up and carrying me to the bus because it was so muddy and slippery. Everyone teased that I was a princess and it was funny. At dinner he caught a flying termite and asked if I wanted to write my name on its wing. Everyone here in Uganda is really nice and friendly. -Ariana
Yn
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Wednesday, March 26, 2025 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Our Wednesday met us with torrential rainfalls, flooding roads, and difficult travel. When we arrived, I was met by the most eager student, John. John was one of my students in 2022 and has taken the reigns for the grieving here in Uganda. John is an accountant by trade and is taking course work in counseling. His goal is to offer his services as a ministry and not for pay. He has already been able to apply his grief training when Colleen called him to attend to a couple whose child had died. He was confident to provide and stated, "I have been trained!" Oh my heart! Today, John woke at 4 AM to prepare for the day knowing the weather ...
Second Day Of Ministry :Mar. 25, 2025
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Today many things happened and many different emotions were felt. A small group of the team went to visit Jajas (Grandmas/Granparents) which was very emotionally eventful for me and I think for us all. We visited 4 Jajas and were very late to dinner as we were yesterday. At the first Jajas' house the Jaja was very kind and even though we could tell she was tired she tried to find a place for all of us to sit. The Jaja had a brother who lived with her at their home she also had her grandson there with them. After we had done all we had needed to do at her home my sister (Norah) had a very surprising expirience. Here is the dialouge. Jaja Son - "Are you married, no?" Norah - "What?" (She later told us she couldn't understand what he said) + Cami - "NO!, SHE'S TO YOUNG!" Everyone else - Trying to process the situation. After this whole mess we had 3 other Jajas to visit. The other 3 were not as wild as the first, we were very rushed. During th...