After two weeks on the field doing outreach, I am back at home in Mbita. While I loved outreach, I really missed being here at SEEK. It didn’t take long for this place to become home to me and the staff here to become like family. It is so amazing to be in a place where I am surrounded by people who are Spirit led, who speak life into me, love me, and encourage me in my faith and daily walk. Yet beyond even that, they see me as Kathleen, not as a Mzungu or spectacle, or even a never-ending source of money… they just see me. Praise God! I didn’t realize how much I had missed that being in Uganda until I arrived here and have it poured on me. God has blessed me so much through the wonderful people here in Mbita and I only pray that I can equally bless them.
So for outreach… there is so much to write about. Though it had it’s ups and downs, highs and lows, it was two weeks where I watched God move in amazing ways. I met two amazing women, Joyce and Juliette, who lived with us and translated for us during ministry. They quickly became good friends to me, and it was terribly hard to say goodbye at the end of the 2 weeks. God used them to show not only me, but everyone we came in contact with what it is to be a woman of God who stands up, without shame, for the God they love and long to serve daily. God has blessed these two women with so many spiritual gifts, and having them at the crusades, door to door and hospital ministry was such a blessing.
As for ministry, I am still adjusting to the style of evangelism here in Africa, especially door to door and crusades. They are so foreign to me, but I know that while they wouldn’t be particularly effective in America, God really works through them here, and many people have been saved because of them. Nonetheless, I still feel uncomfortable at times. That is just something I am adjusting to. As we visited people at their homes, we were able to talk with them and get to know them in a relational manner. Our hosts here are all about relationships in ministry, not numbers of people saved (PRAISE GOD!) As we talked to each person, I was amazed how quickly they opened up to us about struggles and prayer needs. They put such trust in us and really wanted to hear about God and his unfailing love for them. It was amazing to be able to speak life into these people, to encourage them through the word and my own experiences, and to sit and pray with them. As we did crusades, I was able to love on the street kids and children. So many of them are desperate to be seen, to be played with, to be held and rocked, just to be loved. They would surround us, want to hold our hands, fall asleep in our arms… it broke my heart at the end of each day to say goodbye. That is the difficult part about outreach… goodbye always comes too soon.
Beyond the ministry, we had many experiences throughout the week that I will not soon forget. Driving to the first house, Mama Mary’s in Endore was an adventure within itself. Paul picked us up in Homa Bay and we all jammed into the Land Rover with our stuff in our laps. You get really close with people in the Land Rover… REALLY close! We were cruising along, then turned onto a eroded dirt road that looked absolutely impossible to drive down, but Paul knows no limits! Off we went, me in the front middle, Nadia next to me with trays of egg in her lap. After one of the roughest bumps, I heard her say, “Oh, guys…. I got egg on my leg!” Turns out carrying eggs on trays as you travel down roads that are only comparable to the Indiana Jones ride (I could here the theme music in the background) isn’t the best idea. Go figure!
Finally, I had my first (and hopefully last) interesting African illness. After nearly everyone else had experienced malaria or typhoid, I guess my body was feeling left out so I got… drum roll please… WORMS! And I didn’t even have to go worm noodling to get them. In honor of my dear friend Katie Graves and her little friend Pedro, I decided to name them… RIP Willie and Kermie the Wormie.
After a few days of stomach cramps after every meal, nausea, and constant hunger no matter how much I ate, I went to the doctor. Sure enough, after being tested, he told me I had worms. “Worms?! Are you serious?!” I replied, to which the doctor said, “Yes, does that offend you?” Um… yes, they’re WORMS! It should offend you too! Nobody wants to have worms in their body! A definite case of TMA (too much Africa.) Yet worms are common here. You can get it from walking, from unclean water, even from playing with a child who has them. In fact, most children who are mal-nourished actually have worms and aren’t getting the nutrients from the food they are eating. It is a problem that many people deal with, which is why the Doctor was surprised that it grossed me out.
I’m so excited you name your worms! My “friend” Lurch died last October…may he and his offspring suffer a thousand painful deaths… good riddance LOL Glad you’re better! Thanks for the great update about your outreach!