Being the Hands & Feet of Jesus Christ! Day 3!

Day 3: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Today I was SO excited because it was actually our first day of going out to serve God by loving on all of His children!  I was SO excited for this and was happy that our journey and experience was finally beginning! :)  Today we went to one of the children’s prisons in Uganda.  Our team had been told that we were going to go and minister to all of these children, yet I feel many of us were still a little confused on what the children’s prison was.  I personally was a little confused by this and didn’t quite understand it.  I didn’t know what to expect going into a prison that had so many young children—what happened that these children were placed there? What were all of their stories?  Where were their moms, dads, and other loved ones?  Why would anyone make a child go to a prison in the first place?  These thoughts with SO many other questions just consumed my mind and were heavy on my heart.  I didn’t understand it but was looking forward to going in to visit these kids! 

Before leaving our guest room to head to the prison, our team leaders had mentioned how some of us may feel uncomfortable and unsure of what to do, what so say or how to act.  They encouraged us to step out of our comfort zones and to really spend time with these children…To be there in the moment with them and to show them that we truly do care.  I remember sitting there being just SO excited and anxious to GET THERE!!  I just wanted to be there already!  I had been praying and praying and begging God to send me to Africa for this purpose---for HIS PURPOSE!  To serve…love…care…adore…and bring hope to all of these precious orphans and children.  I was finally there and couldn’t stand to wait any longer—even though it was only like 15 minutes until we headed out onto the road!  But I just felt like it was killing me having to wait any longer until we got there!  :)

Shelby and me before heading out!

Shelby and me with our roomies! :) With our bus driver in the back! :)

Our team arrived to this prison and we walked in were many of the children were having a class with their teacher.  I’m not exactly sure what they were doing—or what they were saying—but it was some form of a class.  After they finished up with their class they welcomed us into the front of the room/building.  We all lined up and sat against the wall.  Shelby and I happened to sit RIGHT next to some of the kids.  I remember specifically walking towards the bench that was being shared with a few of the kids.  I just wanted to get as close to them as I could and to make every single moment count with them!  So, Shelby and I sat down and were introduced ourselves to a few of the children.  And really, I can’t even explain it!  They were ALL so EXCITED!!  Like it was Christmas morning to them…or Like we were these famous people!  I could just really tell that they were TRULY HAPPY and THANKFUL that we were there!  They laughed at how we talked and seemed so interested in everything we had to say.  One girl kept looking and smiling at me, so I waved and smiled.  Then she got up and walked over to me and gave me a hug and then went to sit back down.  I thought that was SO precious and that hug meant just as much to me as it did to her! :) 

Once our whole team was settled in, we each started with introductions.  Shelby and I were the first ones to go.  We stood up and said, “Hello!  My name is Shanna….and My name is Shelby.  I’m 23 years old….and I am 20 years old.  And, we are sisters!”  They all LAUGHED and smiled once the interpreter told them we were sisters.  We sat down and then they all started speaking loudly at once.  We of course couldn’t understand what they were saying but then the interpreter told us that they wanted to know MORE about us!  So, we got back up and gave them some more information about us.  We told them that we were from Minnesota—which is in the United States.  We told them that we both liked sports, especially basketball…we told them that we were both going to school (college) to be teachers and that lastly, we are SO excited to be here with them!  And we thanked them for having us.  They LOVED this and got such a kick out of it!  Also, after we said something they liked—they would just break out into a special clap!  They had so many different beats and claps that they did.  It was so cute and they made us feel so welcomed!  :)

After our team finished up with introductions, we were able to make Salvation Bracelets with them.  To many children in America—especially the older kids, they may have thought making a little bracelet was silly. BUT…not these children.  This was HUGE to them!!!  First off, it was something they could make themselves!!  AND, they were able to keep it!!!!!!!  I can’t even explain to you how special this made them feel.  They literally have almost NOTHING, so being told that they were going to be able to keep their bracelet just made their day!!  Many of the children in this prison have been through hard times and have made mistakes—like we all do.  And many of them had committed crimes…some worse than others, but regardless, they all did something that caused them to have to be here.  So we thought this Salvation Bracelet would be very meaningful to them.  The bracelet was made up of 5 different beads.  The black bead went on first and represents SIN and how we ALL sin and make mistakes daily.  The second bead was red—for the BLOOD Jesus shed for EACH and EVERYONE of us while He was on the cross. The third bead is white to remind us that we are each made NEW and WHOLE and are CLEAN because of Jesus.  The fourth bead is yellow to show us that once Jesus lives inside our hearts we are to SHINE HIS LIGHT onto others and it represents the LIGHT that God gives us.  The last bead is green to remind and encourage us to ALWAYS GROW WITH GOD!  Our relationship with God is a forever commitment that needs to be worked at on a daily basis and it reminds us that we should always want to GROW CLOSER to HIM!

Here’s our group with their bracelets! :)

After that we had free time to play with the kids…it was SO much fun!
Here are a few pictures of how our time was spent…

After leaving the kids we got in our bus and drive back to our Guest House and all of a sudden it started POURING out.  After 10-15 minutes the streets were seriously flooding…it was CRAZY! I can’t even explain it!  The water has no where to go…nowhere to drain to and so it seems like its everywhere!  I tried to snap a few pictures to try and explain what I mean, but it’s sort of hard to tell! 

Today was such a meaningful day for me.  I learned so much from spending just a short amount of time with these children.  In my next post I will TRY and share a little more about the children’s prisons.  It’s hard to understand and comprehend, but I’ll try my best to share with you! Have a great Sunday everyone!  Cherish this Sabbath day by relaxing and spending time in God’s word!

Here is a quote I would like to share with you.  My good friend, Miranda, sent me a card with this quote on it and I think it’s very fitting for today’s blog post and also for my whole trip! God stretched me and pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I’ve never had a more enjoyable and meaningful experience!!!!

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” –Neal Donald Walsch

Being the Hands & Feet of Jesus Christ---Day 2!

Day 2: Monday, June 26, 2011

We made it to AFRICA!! We landed in Ethiopia and it felt SO good to get off of that airplane and to get some fresh air! :) Although the flight did seem to take a while—especially the last 6 hours, it did go by pretty fast.  Shelby and I watched a few movies so that helped! After arriving in Ethiopia we had to catch our flight from Ethiopia to Uganda.  One thing that I noticed right away about the Ethiopia airport was that they allow you to smoke inside the airport.  I found this to be very disturbing and it seemed as if EVERYONE was smoking.  I just really, really do not like smoke and I found it surprising that they allowed this to happen.

Here is a picture of me and Abdul right after we landed in Ethiopia! Yes, it was a little bright out—but felt SO good to get some fresh air! :)

Anyways, our flight from Ethiopia to Uganda seemed to go by SO fast!!  It was only about 2 hours?!? So it felt like nothing compared to our 12 hour flight!  Below is a picture of our team loading our luggage on the back of a truck.  We had SO many bags—I think around 45-50 bags and almost all of them weighed 50 pounds!  We definitely got a workout from having to carry and load and reload our luggage throughout the whole trip!  After loading our luggage we got onto a bus and headed to the Namirembe Guest House. 

Here are a few pictures I snapped as we made our way to the guest house.  At this point I was just taking it ALL in and STILL couldn’t believe I was IN AFRICA…getting ready to LOVE all of God’s precious children.  It was such a wonderful moment!! 

Here are a few pictures of the guest house that we stayed at. 

And here is the bus that we road for the Uganda portion.  This thing was a beast! :)  

Once we got inside and settle into our rooms, we all brought our donations into one room to sort through them.  This was SO much fun for me.  I just LOVED seeing everyones donations and bettet yet—I loved knowing we were going to be able to donate all of our items to children IN NEED!!  I just got so excited knowing we would make their day just but leaving a few items with them! 

This bed was covered in flip-flop and clothes donations!  SO awesome! :)  Especially since there are SO many children that don’t have shoes! 

This bed was full of toys, bubbles, stuffed animals, blankets, formula and so many more items to bring to the children!!

This bed was full of a ton of school items!

As you can see, a lot of these items are cheap and are nothing too special or fancy…Just basic—everyday items that we maybe take for granted…Flip Flops at Old Navy were on sale for $1.00!!  A lot of these stuffed animals were from the Dollar Tree that all cost $1.00..And although many of us here in America think we need more of this…more of that…more money to spend carelessly…more food that we don’t need…better—faster cars...fancy houses…etc. etc. Many of these people in Africa have NOTHING.  They have what they are wearing and that is IT. But yet, the JOY that they have in their hearts is REMARKABLE!!!  I can’t even begin to explain how TRULY THANKFUL they are when we give them something so small and so simple.  For example, a balloon.  Yes, balloons like you would blow up for a birthday party.  We brought balloons to almost every place we went to because it was something so easy and simple to do and they LOVED it!  And not just small children…older boys had nothing but SMILES on their faces once we brought them some colorful balloons to hit around.  It makes me sick to think of how spoiled our culture has become…and how children now expect SO many expensive things, when really they don’t need it.  They may WANT it…but they don’t NEED it.  Spending this time in Africa and serving all of God’s amazing people truly opened my eyes and touched my heart like nothing in my life has ever done before.  It’s so hard to even comprehend everything that I saw and everything that broke my heart, but I still look forward to sharing my pictures and experiences with you.  And maybe, just maybe, you will be inspired as well!  Just like so many of these children inspired me!  Have a wonderful weekend everyone and remember to ALWAYS be JOYFUL! And more importantly—THANKFUL! :)

"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'"      –Nehemiah 8:10



Being the Hands & Feet of Jesus Christ---Day One!

Hello Everyone!! I am back from Africa and am very happy to be home!! But, to be honest, I could get on an airplane and head right back to Africa to see ALL of the PRECIOUS children I met!!  I had SUCH an amazing time! :)  I look forward to blogging about my experience and to share with you some of my pictures over the next few weeks!

First of all I’d like to apologize that it’s taking me this long to get my first post up!  Before leaving for Africa I had hoped I would be able to blog while I was there.  But, with the poor connection and with not always having electricity, that didn’t work out too well! :) Then, on my way back from Africa to the U.S. I was so excited to get home and to share with everyone about my trip.  However, once I got home, I realized just HOW much my head and heart had hurt from everything that I had experienced while being over there.  I was having such a hard time and I really was just missing all of those kids!!!  I tried to get my mind back to my “old” and “normal” life, but was just having such a hard time getting back into the swing of things!  So, I decided to take a full week to relax and to let my body and heart rest up from this trip of a lifetime!  Although my heart still aches, I am ready and excited to share my journey with you!!

Day 1: Sunday, June 26, 2011

Today was a very exciting day!  We were able to fly into Washington D.C. last night which was awesome because it gave us some time to get to know our team members a little bit better.  It’s still so hard to believe that we are here and are talking with all of them FACE TO FACE….rather than just having 22 women talking on a conference call.  We have so many wonderful ladies on this team…I look forward to getting to know them even more!!  I know God is going to use each and every one of us…and is going to pull us and stretch us in ways that we might not be comfortable with, but I look forward to experiencing all of God’s ways and plans with each and every one of them!  I don’t know what He has planned for me, Shelby and the rest of our team—But I am SO EXCITED to find out!! :) I’m also not one bit nervous—nor have I been about anything prior to this trip.  All of my emotions have consisted of being happy, thankful and excited!

We got to the airport and I was just SO excited and still SO happy and thankful that God led me on this journey!!  It’s so crazy for me to think that I’ve wanted to do this…I’ve wanted to go to Africa for such a long time now to LOVE…SERVE…and FEED God’s precious children!  And now, I’m here…just waiting…waiting….waiting in the airport…waiting to see what God has in store for me! Ahhh…I just sit and think of how God has guided me in ALL of this and it brings tears to my eyes.  He is SO loving…kind…patient…mighty….powerful…true…and faithful ALWAYS!!  My heart is full of JOY knowing that whatever happens in life GOD is ALWAYS with me…and I do believe this with my full heart—with that childlike faith.  HE IS ALWAYS WITH ME….HE is ALWAYS with YOU! ….I know I can turn to him at ALL times…about ANYTHING…and I know he hears my concerns…cries…praises…worries...EVERYTHING!  This is why I am not one bit nervous…just THANKFUL and EXCITED! :)

Here are Shelby and I…waiting to board our airplane!! :)

Sunni & Shelby!

Our Visiting Orphans Uganda/Kenya 2011 Team—Africa Here We Come!!!

Shelby…trying to sleep! It was a 12 hour flight and we didn’t/couldn’t sleep a bit! I was way too excited to see what God had planned for us!

Here’s Abdul and Shelby on the plane!  He was such a nice guy and was on his way back to Ethiopia to see his fiancé and family!  Very nice guy—I was thankful we got sat next to him!

I truly know and believe that this is God’s plan and will for my life at this time.  Therefore, I KNOW…that I KNOW…He WILL guide, protect and take care of me.  I have no fear! :)  I’m so glad that I have this personal relationship with Him because if not…if I didn’t have this faith in Him…I most likely wouldn’t have stepped out and taken this leap of faith by going on this trip.  And if I didn’t take this trip I know my heart and soul would be missing out on SO much!....So, I dare you…I encourage all of you to really listen to God…pray to Him and see where He wants YOU to go…What He is calling you to do…Believe me when I say this…He will NOT let you down and He will ALWAYS be with you! …Just like He will be with me, Shelby and the rest of our team members as we begin this journey!!

Hello From Africa!!! :)

Hi Everyone!! :)  I don't have much time and this is the FIRST time I've been able to connect to my blog since I've been in Africa.  We are having such a great time--God is doing GREAT things...that's for sure!  Our team has already had a few "God Moments" that have been so touching and inspiring!  We went to the prisons--which BROKE my heart...and also the Baby Cottage...and then today we went to some of the villages where these people are known as the "Least of the Least" ....It was super sad but SO great to bring hope to them! This whole trip has been BREAKING MY HEART...which is exactly what I've been praying for God to do.  It's been hard--but SO worth it!!  ....I can't wait to share all of my pictures and stories with you!  I'd share a few pictures now but they are taking forever to upload!  But anyways, I appreciate your prayers---we truly are feeling them!!  Please continue to pray for us and our team!!  I will be back and blog again as soon as I can!!