Follow Up Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

I want to thank you for your prayers and support through my trip to Uganda this past summer. It was easily the most amazing experience of my life. I miss all the people and culture so much and find myself thinking about it regularly. We built so many new friendships with the most incredible people I have ever met. They taught me so much about passionately pursuing Jesus and trusting Him for everything we need- and for them that means trusting Him with the things that we so easily take for granted. Our team came face to face with so much brokenness and corruption, but what we could not deny was that this was still the most beautiful and amazing place we have ever been to. Whether we were hanging out and working at the local church or feeding thirty orphaned babies spoonfuls of mashed up potatoes and veggies or fellowshipping with the house women at the babies home, each day we interacted with the most loving, accepting, wise, Jesus-loving people ever. I still am in contact with some of the friends we made while there and we talk regularly. Some of my biggest take-aways from this trip include: not taking things for granted (being thankful), the importance of serving others and treating them with the love and respect they deserve, and the necessity of prayer. 

These people thank God for everything- and I mean everything. They thank Him for the breath they breath each day and that they even woke up that morning. They thank Him for each meal they receive, even if it is only one meal a day (or the week for that matter). They thank Him that He protects them from disease and being kidnapped and other dangers. It is truly beautiful. 

My team and I had a conversation one day about the power of serving. My teammate Daniel told us about a thought that he had while he was praying: “I could spend all my free time that I have here reading my Bible and praying and journaling and that would be so good. But look where we are! We are staying at a home for abandoned babies that lack the necessary love any human being would need. Why read my Bible when I can “do” my Bible? Why wouldn’t I go and love on these babies and help out the people working here?” This resonates with me. Even now I am passionate about this idea. The first message I heard when we returned home after our trip was all about being closer to God and feeding our personal relationships with Him. This included reading the Bible and praying and being “away” with God. While all these things are great and important, I think one thing was seriously overlooked: the necessity to serve. We are called to serve, and that’s the life that Jesus lived. This is where you truly learn about and experience Jesus. His character is made tangible when you serve, because when you serve you interact with others and end up seeing Jesus in the way they live and/ or the testimonies they share. I learned more about passionately pursuing Jesus by listening to a Ugandan who had been through hell and back than I ever could have listening to a sermon and praying. Don’t mishear me, I think personal time with Jesus is important and vital to every person’s relationship, but you can’t have just that. Serving, being with and learning from other people (no matter who they are or where they come from) is just as important, if not more so. 

One major thing we noticed while in country is that they emphasize prayer. They have prayer services that go all night long (literally) and they pray with passion and power, pacing back and forth, thrusting their fists in the air, raising their voices. They pray about everything. They do this because God is literally the only thing they have to hold on to. I hope I can implement that into my life as well. 

There is so much more that I learned other than these things. Despite the expected bit of homesickness, I loved every second of my trip. I hope to return someday soon. These are the most beautiful people I have ever met and my heart will forever be in Uganda.

“God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good. And that is His nature. Wow.”

Mukama Yebazibwe,

Tess