Loving God in Uganda

(Mary Kate traveled to Uganda with Global Expeditions)
God worked in so many ways this summer during my time in Uganda (Kampala and Gulu). We partnered with the local church called Makerere Community Church. This church amazed me! The services were 5 ½ hours long, and so on fire for God. The Pastor and various members went with us everywhere we went and became not only our translators but our good friends. Because of the AIDs epidemic in Uganda, one of the ways Makerere Community Church is trying to fight HIV, is through teaching about purity and abstinence. The majority of our ministry revolved around a God-centered abstinence program called “True Love Waits”. Before we left for Uganda, we learned and practiced the program in Texas during a few days of intense training. In Kampala and in Gulu, we presented the program at many secondary schools. I was amazed at how easily some of the girls opened up. They asked all sorts of questions about relationships, anger management, parents, friends, faith and so many other topics. There were times when I had no idea how to answer, but God gave me words of encouragement that these girls appreciated.

At one school we presented the program and our leader shared the Gospel. The girl who was sitting next to me said that she wanted to accept Christ. After the presentation, I was able to talk to her and pray with her. She is 17 years old and like many people in Gulu, she was affected by the war in Uganda. She had friends who were abducted by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). I was able to give her a Bible and welcome her into the Family of God. She is now my sister in Christ and the smile that lit up her face when I told her that was priceless!! I gave her my email address and hopefully I’ll be able to hear from her again sometime soon.

We also went to an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in Gulu. It is a camp for war refugees. While some people were starting to return to their home village, many people were still in this camp. There were many elderly people. Some of the members of my team and I were able to help an elderly man clear his front yard of rocks and fill in a hole. It was a very unique experience, but very rewarding when the man told us, in his few words of English, that he loved God. Each day presented a new exciting challenge. It was awesome to see God at work!