Safely in Dubai

Team has made is safely to their first stop on their journey home. All is well and a little rest and food before the long flight back home.

Last Day at Nations Changers

Friday-
Yesterday we went to Nations Changers for the last time. As soon as we got there the students raced to the van and then we started the activities. First, we painted long strips of papers and the kids loved to paint each other more than the paper. Then we had a big dance party which entailed all of the kids drenching us and themselves with water. After that we had our daily PB&J before we served the feast. The teachers prepared a giant meal for the kids and some parents to eat which contained rice, meat, and potatoes. This was eaten very quickly by the students, parents, and faculty. After the feast we had another dance party and started to say goodbye to the students. It was filled with different emotions; joy for the memories and love we had for the kids and sadness for the uncertainty if we’d ever be back to see them. Once we got back to the hotel we had a dinner in a  bungalow looking over the pool. Most of us wore our African skirts and we debriefed on what to take away from this experience. We are sad to be leaving but excited to return to our families!
Hugs and kisses, the Ellas

Day in Jinja

Thursday:
Hey! Yesterday we got a little break from going to Nation’s Changers and drove a hour and a half to Jinja. Once we got there, we were able to ride on a boat on the Nile River! We spent about an hour on the Nile with a tour guide who showed us different animals and sites along the way. He showed us different shops and a small island which had sunk in due to the rising water. Afterwards, Sarah wanted to get baptized in the Nile so we got to take this next step of baptism with her in her faith. It was amazing and we’re all so happy for her and love her so much! Then we hopped back on the bus and drove to the town center of Jinja where we got to shop along the streets and eat lunch. While we shopped we were able to bargain prices with the different venders and negotiate a reasonable price. It was really fun to argue a bit with the owners and it was exciting to see all the different trinkets and and crafts that different people had made. After that we headed home, with (of course) music jams blasting on the speaker! It was a really fun day to bond with the team and we definitely needed a break, but now we’re excited to see the kids and go back to Nation’s Changers. We miss u all!
- Anita

Community Outreach

Hi!! Today we headed over to Nation’s Changers and sang to country and Taylor Swift all the way there. Once there, the students’ break started and we spent more time with all the kids and brought the P6 kids (sixth graders) up to do a service project. The pastor of the Seed Faith Church picked 14 families in need to deliver them rice, beans, a mosquito net, and soap. We then packed bags of the food and soap with the P6 kids. We had the privilege to join chapel where we taught the kids two songs. The first one was a new one, but the kids picked up the lyrics and the hand motions quickly. Then we performed a song they learned last year and we all sang every word. The teachers then went up and and all the kids went onto their knees and prayed. After chapel, we ate lunch and we started out on our community outreach project. Some groups took the bus to the houses but Ella, pastor Denney, 5 P6 kids, and I walked to the houses of two women. One woman had sold all of her land and gave her money to the church and the other has kids on scholarship at the school. The opportunity was extremely humbling and an eye opening experience. Ella and I both had opportunity to pray over these women in their homes. Both of us began to cry because of how vulnerable the women were and how close we felt to God. When we returned to the school it started to rain, so we all danced and played basketball. We even started a dance circle and both Ellas did the worm. The outreach was definitely a highlight of this trip and gave many of us a new perspective on prayer and giving back. We miss all of you. Kisses and hugs from Uganda.
- Olivia

Another Day at school

Tuesday:

In the morning we went into town to get rice, beans, mosquito nets, and soap for our outreach project on Wednesday. We went into a Ugandan “Walmart” and just got a look at some of the things they have in a normal grocery store. Then we went to the school to work on our paving project. All of us girls worked so hard and fast. Girls were carrying four cinder blocks at once in the African sun. We made an assembly line to pass the bricks to the girls setting the blocks. Not one girl wasn’t giving it their all, and we finished our project! Then we had lunch and played with the kids. I love looking around, because you’ll see an SFC kid and then 5-7 kids (or more) surrounding each one of us. It’s so sweet because you can see which kids are friends with a particular girl. For example: Mariah will come up to me and say, “Where is Reagan!” My friends that come find me are, Angel, Patricia, Ryan, Prince, Sherah, and Joel. After lunch we taught our second lesson to the kids and then we sat in the shade or played basketball with the kids until we had to leave. I teared up today when we had to leave because Joel came up to me grabbed and hand and said, “I will NEVER forget you.” We have fallen in love with Uganda.
-Theresa

First Day Teaching

What’s up people, today we were at the school all day with all of the kids. Pulling in the school and hearing all the little kids start to go crazy will NEVER get old - it’s amazing. Today was a blend of extreme kid play and manual labor as we paved the dusty floor. Wearing a grey shirt was NOT the move. Also, today we did our first lesson plan which we prepared back in the states. It’s so cool seeing how excited and eager the kids are to learn. It made me feel like I was actually impacting their lives and they were learning, even if it was only the colors. Missing you all at home, but never want to come back.
-Sarah

Sunday Church Day

Walking into church Sunday morning was a completely different experience than what church is like back home. Everyone was dancing and singing and the pastor would share short messages with other testimonies from different people intertwined. I learned that there are so many ways to worship beyond our everyday routines.
-Grace Cleveland

Church was a truly unique blend of free worship of the lord and a practice of dedication. It was a celebration of Jesus and a  community bonding experience. I loved the freedom to dance as my expression of my love for Christ. I especially loved getting to dance with the kids from Nation Changers and share our faith together. We really are visitors in their community and they have been so welcoming.
-Vicki