...the Pearl of Africa...

Ecclesiastes 3:8 mentions that there is a time to love.

God has developed within me a love for the Pearl of Africa, aka Uganda.

Here's a glimpse of my latest experience...

 “Visiting friends and family.”  That’s what I told the man at customs in Chicago when he asked me what I was doing in Uganda for six weeks.  He cocked his head to one side and asked, “What family do you have in Uganda?”  “Right, as soon as I said it I realized that wasn’t completely accurate.  I mean, friends and family just go together, right?” was my reply.  “So just friends?”  “Yeah, just friends….”

Well, I guess when you have countless people throughout the country that you naturally refer to as brother, sister, aunt, uncle, or grandma, then “visiting family” just seems like the right answer.  Relationships, whether they were new or old, or simple or complex, seemed to be the main focus of my time in Uganda.  The six weeks I spent in this East African country were filled with sweet reunions, deep conversations, good laughs, sincere prayers, and much more with people I call my friends, and yes, even my family.

I just want to say “thank you” to all of you, my friends and family back here in the US, for your support (whether through encouragement, prayer, or finances) in making these reunions happen.

I have so many stories to share about my time working with Juna Amagara Ministries (JAM) in Uganda, but I will have to really limit them for this letter.  So, even though I know I am leaving so much out, I am going to focus on some of those family reunions…

After returning home last year, I decided to sponsor a high school student named Rauben.  He is twenty years old, and after December (when their school year ends) he will have two more years of high school.  Rauben lives in the village of Kishanje and goes to school at Juna Amagrara’s high school there.  We arrived in Kishanje on Saturday, so walking into church Sunday morning was the first time we saw any of the kids.  As I was walking towards the room, I saw Rauben through the window and we immediately made eye contact.  So, instead of sitting with the team, I went back a few rows to sit with my little brother (who is much taller than me).  Whenever I was at the school throughout the week, he would find me so quickly.  One day I went to visit his family, over an hour walk down the mountain and through the village.  They served us quite a feast and even sent us home with vegetables to share with the house for dinner!  Before we had begun the journey, I gave Rauben a few small things I had brought for him.  I was really happy to see that the item he was most excited about was the Study Bible I had brought for him.  He told me he was thinking about becoming a reverend, and this gift was going to help make that happen.  I was amazed to see him more involved this year in things like helping to lead the worship time in morning chapels, which he was not doing when I first met him.  During our last week in Uganda, we were back in Kishanje for a few days.  Rauben joined us for a Saturday program for the kids, helped us lead worship with the older kids, and spent the afternoon and evening with us in the guesthouse.  After a few more pictures, and before he started the walk back down the hill towards home, saying goodbye was not too easy.

Another sweet reunion was with my other little brother, JJ (John Jude).  JJ graduated from JAM’s ABIDE program in 2010.  ABIDE (Amagara Bible Institute for Discipleship and Evangelism) is an excellent program for young men during the six months following their high school graduation.  Last August, God led me to help JJ attend university in the capital city, Kampala.  We have maintained regular contact throughout the year, and were both in high anticipation of seeing each other again. 

It was during the ABIDE graduation ceremony, 2 ½ weeks into my trip, that we finally saw each other.  We were able to have a good time catching up that afternoon.  Later that week I was able to visit his family, which is about a 45-minute drive out of town and up the hills from where we were staying.  In accordance with the very hospitable culture, I found myself enjoying an amazing meal and pleasant conversation.  We even shared family photo albums with each other.  I was so happy to meet several of his family members that day.  Any other time we were in that town, we made an effort to see JJ, and were often blessed with his company.  In fact, we were able to spend our last two days together and provide his ride back to Kampala for him to return to university, as we prepared to fly home.  Actually, our last day together was his birthday!  Linda, Hayley (my team members), Roland (a Ugandan friend & our driver), & I did what we could to make it a very memorable birthday; in fact, we all really enjoyed that sweet time together and had a difficult time saying goodbye at the airport.

I was also able to visit with my friends (and missionaries) Crystal and Matt Kehn, and their children Asher, Stephen, and Adelynn.  As you might remember, last year I was anticipating the arrival of Adelynn since the moment I landed in Uganda, but missed her debut by three days.  So, I was very happy to see her smiling face in person and hold her in my arms a bit.  Walking into their house felt like coming home in many ways after spending so much time with their family last summer.  The boys were excited to play together and gave lingering hugs before we left their home for the last time.

So many more reunions occurred during those six weeks.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many friends again:  Roland, Pamela, Michael, Joseline, Ben, Lilian, Godfrey, Janet, Herbert, Sarah, Harriet, Eliezer, Samson, Patrick, Monica, Bernard, and the list just goes on and on.  Everywhere we went (and we did quite a bit of travelling around the country), my phone was buzzing.  We had friends asking us if we could come meet their families at their homes, find them at a restaurant for a meal, or have them join us at our hotel for tea.  Sometimes our friends would find us in town, not realizing we were there until they passed by where we happened to be at the moment.  One time we asked our friend and JAM employee, Godfrey, to stop somewhere along our way so we could greet some friends.  We told him it would be a quick, five-minute trip.  His response: “I think you guys are more African than me!  Your five minutes always turn into an hour.”  Sure enough, we visited with those friends for over an hour before leaving.

Does that give you a glimpse into why it seemed so natural for me to say, “I was visiting friends and family” to the man at the customs counter?  It didn’t really feel like a false statement at the time...nor does it now.  I have come to know and love many people in the land of Uganda, and look forward to many more reunions with them in the future.  

Of course there are many more stories I have neglected to include.  Feel free to look at our team’s posts at www.villagebible.org/uganda for more stories of the ministry we participated in while in Africa.  If you want to know even more than you can find there, please let me know, and I would love to share more pictures and stories over a cup of tea.

Emigisha (blessings)~

Lisa O’Brien