Africa 2025

April 5, 2025 Today is the day we return home. It has been a laid back day that began when we awoke to rain making its presence known as the drops pelted the metal roofs above us. For those of us across the street on the hill, we waited to the last minute before we moved to the Stevenson's home for breakfast. It was a day that had a very relaxed feel as some of us packed while others read their Bibles, enjoyed card games, caught up on news from home, and sending messages to loved ones who will be waiting when we arrive home on Sunday night. Later we ventured out for one last shopping trip to the open market in dowtown Kampala. On our way back to the Stevenson's compound, some of us sat in tra1ffic while the President of Uganda, and his motorcade passed. The road was cleared and traffic stood still for at least 40 minutes as we waited. After lunch we finished packing, met with all the staff, thanking them for their tremendous support and love, concluding with group pictures ...

4-3-25 Today was day two of the safari. We woke up at 5:00am and were on the road at 6:00am. In order to attempt to see the cats (lions and leopards) it's best to catch them before sunrise when they are finding their spot for the day. Our tour guide/driver's name was Frank. He was very knowledgeable and had a very keen eye for spotting the animals. We had 3 vans for our team to have enough room to enjoy the drive. The other 2 driver's names were Tony and Sam. We were very blessed with being able to see so many of God's creation in their natural environment! We saw many types of "antelopes", they have many different names and were very interesting to see the differences in all of them. The little deer looking animals were called Oribis. They were so cute. We also saw so many different types of birds. There was a beautiful sunrise that we were able to capture. God surely is a Master Painter and Creator. The baboons were alongside the road playin...

April 3, 2025 The first day of the Safari was amazing, to see God's animals in their natural habitat was breathtaking! I didnt know what to expect or what the day would reveal and as we drove through the Safari the animals began to appear and I was atmazed at how freely they were walking around unbothered by our presence! Our tour guide began to explain the pattern of animals that we were seeing and how the animals stayed together when their enemy was around them in order to remain aware of its presence. I loved how the animals all stayed with their pack and each one took turns alerting the others of any potential danger. The giraffe were so beautiful standing as tall as the trees with different spots that distinguished them from the other giraffes. The lions were walking so carefree and unbothered by anything else that was going on. The female lions are the hunters for the family, they go after their prey and provide food for their family. Once the female lion secures the prey...

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 ...

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....

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...

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...

`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

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 ...

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...

Monday, March 24, 2025 Been in Uganda for three days. Two with the Stevenson’s the missionaries to Uganda. Today our mission team bobbed and weaved through Kampala traffic and hundreds of bota-botas to reach the Church of God school at Kasubi. The school open for more than 30 years has boys and girls from nursery school through high school. Annette gave us a tour of the facilities. The team broke up into groups to preform separate missions. One team went to Kawala near the TAPP office in Nabagalia. They delivered Buckets of Love to 4 HIV Positive sufferers. Along with visiting and praying with them one woman accepted Christ as her Savior. A team member helped with a Counseling service member. Ministers attended and were impacted by a Prayer ministry discussion. 2 Children of Promise sponsored by the New Castle church traveled to Kasubi for visits with Pastor Crystal, Cami and Fred. Several members visited high school student classes interacting with the students answering questi...

Saturday, March 22, 2025 After a 3 hour drive to Pittsburgh a 1 hour flight to New York City a seven hour flight to Amsterdam the travels to Uganda are 10 hours away from here. As we wait in the Amsterdam airport some of us have slept 7 hours some have slept 3 hours and others have slept 1 to none hours. Everyone seems excited if not a little road weary. There has been little in the way of obstacles on our trip and I feel very blessed as this is my first time to leave the country. While gearing up for our trip the lord has shown up in little and big ways and proven that he is inevery aspect of our plans. From encouraging words from friends, family and even strangers, to sending blessings to Africa in the form of finances, supplies for schools and churches, clothing, and other things that people have donated. He has calmed my nerves the closer we gotten leaving as from the beginning I was not entirely sure but felt his push to stretch myself and grow in new ways along the way. Thankfu...