Monday, August 26th, 2013
Uganda Mission Trip Reflection
“An Unforgettable Journey to the Center of God’s Heartâ€
We all expected for this trip to be out of the ordinary; we were going to Africa, this had to be extraordinary. We could never have imagined that Uganda would creep up into our hearts and take hold of us like it did. Perhaps it was the red soil described by Katie Davis in her book, or the huge smile that we were greeted with by our guide Rachel; I knew that this trip would be different from any other I had ever taken before, the moment I left Miami.
We arrived at Entebbe airport after two days of traveling non-stop through the world to reach this corner of God’s creation, all of us tired and dirty. It was amazing how even while exhausted I could appreciate the natural beauty of Uganda. We were reminded to look for inner beauty by Pastor Keffa as we ate a hearty meal at his spacious home located near the hotel we had been placed at. He stressed how the people we were likely to encounter would be dirty, beaten, and weathered by life. I was personally reminded that God could care less what we look or smell like and that I was here with the sole purpose to show God’s love to the people of Uganda. With His words in my head I went to sleep that first night, aware that the days to come would bring new challenges and blessings.
After sleeping comfortably in the modest hotel I was worried how many of the patients we would see each day would go without the things in life we so easily took for granted. Breakfast was always served in the morning by the time we woke up, and even though it was not an amazing breakfast by American standards, it would be considered a feast by any of our patients. Day after day at the clinic I could see the stamp of poverty on the patient’s faces and body. I would wonder how things could be changed for the better for these communities and time after time I came up with the same answer: they need education. In order to be raised from their social status these dirty children I was playing with needed to overcome the illiteracy barrier and finish school. We were unable to provide for them anything more than some medical care and a kind word, but at least it was a start. I was letting God use me as His hands and feet for their immediate medical needs, and for the moment it was enough.
I understand that these trips, like most mission trips, are not able to create radical change unless they are longer and more comprehensive. In the end though, it became more about showing each individual that there are people out there that care enough for their needs that they will travel the world just to see to some of them. Perhaps, and this is always my wish, they saw some of God in each and every single member of the team.
There is one man I will never forget so long as I live. He allowed me to be humbled and blessed me more than what I could have blessed him. At some point in the hustle of the second day of clinic I was changed from Dr. Moses to Dr. Peace and was not very happy about that because in my own will I wanted to stay and learn from the more comprehensive and prepared professional, but as always God has a purpose even in the small things that he does. I sat for some time more than a little irked in the room I was assigned to, and looked out the window from time to time out of sheer impatience. I saw a familiar figure going up the steep steps leading out of the clinic. It was an elderly man I had seen before in the clinic, walking with the aid of two roughly made sticks. I wondered how on Earth he would be able to climb all those steps with no help and I realized that it would not be possible. As he tried unsuccessfully to climb the first step while fumbling with both sticks I waited for someone to help him. At that precise moment I felt a nudge from God asking me why was I waiting for someone else to help him when I had able hands and feet. I don’t even remember what I told Dr. Peace, I just ran out of the room as fast as my feet would take me and hoped it would be culturally OK to hold the man like I did. I took a hold of him from the back and quickly motioned him to move forward with my help, that it was OK now. As we made our way up the steps he started to hum, and at that precise moment I knew that he was content. He was showing me and helping me understand a part of God’s word that was partially hidden from me until then. When God tells us in Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!†He meant always. He meant rejoicing in sickness and poverty like the man I was holding. I felt like anything that would ever come my way would be fine in the end because He has called me to rejoice even in the worst times. When the man’s humming subsided and we were still halfway to the level terrain of the road I started singing for him, I don’t know why I did it, I just know that it was what we both needed. As I started singing this man started humming once again, and I am sure we made a peculiar sight: the crippled man and the mzungu girl singing a universal song of praise to God.
This trip signified the true beginning of getting to know myself apart from every other identity I could possibly have. In Uganda I was no longer anyone’s daughter or girlfriend, no longer a student or mzungu: I was living God’s purpose in my life and this made me His. I believe that I was more touched by this trip and the many acts of kindness that I was able to witness and be a part of than any other single event in my whole life. It was in His will for the team to be assembled and to be blessed with the knowledge of the human body so that we could ultimately serve His people. If there is anything else that felt as good as this, I have never experienced it. I hope to be able to continue living in His purpose no matter where he places me, and while Uganda is far away from home, it will always have a place in my heart.
Stephania Almonte
May, 2013
Tags: Kisses from Katie, Medical Missions
Posted in Kampala, Project Updates, Uganda | Comments Off on Palm Beach Atlantic University-Gregory School of Pharmacy
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