Summer Plans

So I sorta eluded to this in an earlier post, this summer I'm traveling with a team from my church to Kampala, Uganda in Africa on a short term mission trip. The team is comprised of mostly medical professionals and we'll be volunteering during the Kampala Baptist Church's annual week-long medical clinic. The more I think about this opportunity, the more excited I'm getting. Since nursing school, I've always wanted to do a medical mission trip, to use my profession and do an outreach for the Kingdom of God. He gave me this desire to do nursing and I truly love what I do. And in a response of gratitude  I have an even greater desire to use my skills to be his hands and feet.

We've had our first team meeting the end of April and it was the first chance I got to see the faces of my team members and learn a little bit more about our objectives and what we'll be doing the 2 weeks in Uganda. Initially when we get there they hope to have the first day just to "orientate" us to the country, the culture, and the jet lag (Uganda is 7 hours ahead of us!). Then Sunday we'll attend the morning church service at KBC before spending the rest of the day setting up the facility to receive the locals that will be coming in for medical attention throughout the week. Last year, they said that this free medical clinic saw and treated just under 3,000 locals in 5 days. That's a lot!! So far, there are 3 nurses on the team, myself included. If any of ya'll are nurses and wanna come, let me know! :)

After we've completed the medical camp during the first week, we'll travel to the west side of the country to the city of Kasese for the second week. As our pastor put it, the people of Uganda have this sense that American Christians are like, on this side of heaven, not necessarily a "holier-than-thou" complex but that we are like, very close to being "perfect Christians" which is absolutely not the case. It's very encouraging to the Ugandans to hear us give our testimonies and talk about our walks and struggles and for them to realize that we are no greater or smarter or stronger with our faith than they are. We'll spend a couple of days visiting sister churches and then work a one day clinical camp at a local bible college.

The purpose of our mission trip is to serve, so we serve first. Then, our last 3 days we'll have a little fun. The plan is spend one day in Queen Elizabeth Game Park which is what I believe to be similar to like a Yellowstone National Park here. Except with elephants and hippos and zebras. The next day we'll travel back to Kampala (about a 7 hour very scenic drive), and then the last day (hopefully!) we'll get to go rafting on the Nile before getting cleaned up for our overnight flight back to the states.

My initial hesitation with applying for this trip was not the huge bugs my mom loves to warn me about or the heat or the location of where we're going. Not even the total cost of the trip. It was the fund-raising. I hate soliciting for money. Even as a kid, I hated the door-to-door business. I would have made a horrible girl scout. But during our meeting and after looking through some of the material, they encouraged us to be up front about this particular need. So, here it goes: the total cost of the trip is $2,800. In addition there is the cost of obtaining a passport ($190) and a trip to the travel clinic (approximately $200) to get all the necessary shots and prophylactic antibiotics. As advised, I've mailed out announcements of my trip including our objectives, prayer requests, and details of how, if felt led, to contribute towards the total cost of the trip. I've decided that the extra hours I work at A&W this summer, the tips I earn since I refuse to take a paycheck from dad, will go directly to my "Uganda Fund." My mom is also putting her window tips into my fund as well. Since the first meeting, I have made about $300. Our first payment, $700 (25%), is due May 31st.

More importantly than the money is the prayer necessary in these months preparing for the trip and the two weeks while we are there. As the trip draws closer, specific prayers will surface but for now, prayers are needed for the individuals in Uganda that we will be serving, team unity as we get to know each other, that all the necessary preparations will fall into place (passports, vaccines, professional endorsements, etc), and for me as I personally prepare for this experience.

So occasional posts this summer will be dedicated to updating progress towards the trip. If you would like to have updates/newsletters/prayer requests mailed to you, please let me know and I will be happy to forward you one of the forms below. I would love to keep you in the loop and feel a big support group cover this mission trip in prayer! I cannot wait for this summer and to watch God's hand work through this.