The Crazy Adventures of an American Mzungu

I first met her on main street, while running some errands with a friend. She sat on a stool as we past her. She instantly caught my attention. Her smile was filled with great joy, just as a friend of mine in Boise. In fact, she looked a great deal like this friend and it caught me off guard. She then followed my friend and I a ways down the road, as we chitchatted about this and that. Once she finally stopped us, she showed us the bracelets she sells to send her nine children to school. My friend asked about her children, and her entire body glowed with pride for her children! This is such a rare gem in Uganda. People love their children and want them to succeed, but rarely do you see the pride on their face. But this woman had that pride! Of course, I bought two bracelets. Actually, I rarely buy things from people who come up to me and share their sad story of how they cannot afford something. Yet this was different. We walked our separate ways, not knowing what may come next...

I have found myself in a trap. A trap so easy to fall into, but should never be. I have allowed myself to be caught up with the people I come in contact with in ministry. … Wait. What? Isn't that I should be focusing on, people? Not really. I came to Uganda to share the grace of God and the love of Christ with all I meet. I came to build relationships. In short term trips, you are so rushed. Rarely do you have the time to build a friendship with people. When I knew I would be here for a year, I told myself I would build lifelong, Christ centered friendships. This has become a reality. I am constantly making new friends, and I know many of these friendships will last for eternity. However, making friends with many Ugandans means bearing their burdens along side them, just as all friendships. Here the burdens are so heavy on each one, and much more urgent. I am the kind of person who wants to jump in and fix it all. My friend Caroline has nine children from ages eight to twenty...

I met a man in town named Steve, who sells paintings on main street. I often walk through town, and the shop keepers beg me to look at their merchandise, and I usually just say, “not today”. However, Steve stopped me, and had a conversation before asking me to buy something. That impressed me. I told him I would come buy something another day when I had more money and time to stop and look. I held my promise, and a few weeks ago I went and bought this piece of art. When I returned, he was stunned to know that I kept my promise. I think many times mzungus will say they are coming back, but they never do. I like to stay true to my word. I feel like that is what Jesus calls us to when He says, “let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'” (Matthew 5:37). After I bought the painting, he told me that he sells them to support children in an orphanage. He is a Christian, and wants to help the children of his community. This started a good friendship. ...

A few years ago, I attended ICOM in Atlanta. God taught me a number of things, but one lesson which will always be with me tested my faith. “Are you willing to stand firm for Christ when your life is on the line?” This question was asked in a few different sessions I attended. I knew I needed to answer it. It is very easy to be caught up in those conversations, where your faith is on steroids and you are in the safety of America, land of freedom of religion to boldly claim you will stand firm for Christ. I did not want to answer on a feeling. I knew that would be dishonest, and this kind of question needs to be rock solid! I spent time searching my heart and soul. God brought me to deep places, where I became familiar with my deepest struggles and my greatest strengths. God gave me scriptures and visions, as I searched for my answer. At the end of the quest, I knew I would have the strength to stand firm on my faith in Christ, even at the risk of my own life. I am apart of a Bible s...

One of my favorite foods in Uganda is chapati. Basically it is the Ugandan form of a tortilla, and tortillas were my staple food back in Boise. Today I woke up with a serious need for some chapati, and apparently so did Trevor because he begged for some at the beginning of our day's lesson. We made a pact that if we both worked very hard, then we would go get some, but we had to work EXTRA hard! He never worked so hard in one of our lessons as he did today.... we got chapati. Trevor's shoe broke along the way, so I had to fix it about a hundred times along the way. By the time we reached our chapati man (he is beginning to recognize me... and I am not sure how I should feel about this ;]), my hands were covered in dirt. Not ideal conditions to eat finger food. There was a bunch of people waiting in line, so I reached into my purse to pull out my precious hand sanitizer. As I did, I heard someone shout, “Eh! Mzungu! Mzungu!” I have become accustom to this, and ignored it. How...

Okay. I will confess. Lately I have really been homesick, especially for my Boise family!... of course for my family just as crazily, but I cannot deny that I miss my crazy friends and the stupid stunts we would pull! Chocolate milk and real pants runs at 11 o'clock at night. Spontaneous trips to the most inconvenient Dutch Bros in town, accompanied by loud obnoxious (most the time) music that most would cringe to listen to, through downtown, windows down, sunroof back, and nothing but strange looks from those surrounding us. Singing songs about cowboys as loud as humanly possible while galloping across campus, and changing the lyrics to be about professors (“Stealin' the young girls hearts, just like Mr. McCoy”.... ahhhh. A classic). Frolicking into classes I was not enrolled in, and confusing every freshman into thinking I actually attended BBC still. But even more, I miss us pouring out our hearts with each other. I miss the late night Jes...

When I came to Uganda the first time, God opened up my heart and mind in more ways than I can explain. The biggest lesson I learned was that God expects us to serve Him with all of our selves. No middle ground will do. It was this lesson that caused me to give myself completely to the will of God. I remember one afternoon sometime after I returned home, when I was struggling to find what I was suppose to do with my life. I laid my future down at His Throne, and I felt an overwhelming burden to go to the nations.... and well, there went my life! When you meet missionaries here in Jinja, one of the first questions asked is, “how long are you here for?” When they hear that I have committed a year, most respond with, “Oh that is a long time!” This then transitions us into the conversation about me wanting to do long term missions. I am surprised at the amount of people who say, “Yeah. Sounds like it! A year is pretty long term.” When that happens, I just shake my head, and change the su...