Reflections from a team member.....

I'm Casey Lewis and I traveled to Uganda from Tennessee..... When I first arrived I was in shock.  It literally took me a couple of days to take it all in.. There were new smells, new people and definitely new living conditions that I was not used to; a new culture all together. I was so shocked that people actually lived in these conditions. I had seen pictures but to see it first hand was truly amazing. These people that lived in the "slums" were different though. They did not seem to have pity for themselves. Their joy was truly something remarkable.. It was as if they did not know that their living conditions were so horrible.. 
They praised Jesus like I have never seen before and their smiles could light up a room.. It was a little bit of a smack in the face for me because hear I sit with air condition, running water, a bed to sleep on, food to eat whenever I want it- and yet I will still find something to complain about.. 
It definitely opened my eyes and made me realize how selfish we are in the US because we have everything compared to these people but our joy and gratitude towards the Lord is absolutely nothing in comparison to these people of Africa. 

I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of a Heal Ministries team and work with Tina.  What they are doing in Uganda is truly amazing. They are making changes that are very visible. It does not happen over night. It starts by building relationships with people and gaining their trust and Tina has done a great job with that. The people love her in Uganda, they trust her, and they listen to her. God is doing big things in Uganda and this is just the beginning of it!

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  ~Anne Frank

Believing that Prayer changes things....

Watching the villagers dance is an experience that I wish everyone that I love could experience.  They are so incredible and when you learn their personal stories, it makes the dance all the more special.  We went to Masese to see some of the school children dance and most of them are orphans.  A young man has taken a group of kids called "African Talents" and is teaching them music and dance to stay off the streets.  He grew up in Masese and is wanting to give back to his community.  Some of the children have a place to stay.  Some of the children are looking for a family.

That seems to be the story everywhere I go in Uganda.  There are many women that are taking care of children that do not belong to them.  Some of them are distant family members, some are not.  What is shocking in my research is that ALL of these abandoned women taking in these orphaned and abandoned children can NOT afford to do so.  They know that it is the right thing to do.  The biggest problem that arises from this is malnutrition.  Malnutrition results in death when not treated.  Many of the children in the kids' programs in Masese are malnourished.  

Serving His Children is an organization that works with malnourished children and moms.  It is an incredible organization that sees the need to train moms how to eat and care for their children.  They work with these families up to 3 months.  Most are back on their feet and able to leave the program after just one month.  The team visited and gave the moms and children that are in the program now an afternoon of encouragement.  They made them feel so special and loved by painting their fingernails, making jewelry and just loving on the children.  

The team had a prayer send off tonight, their last night in Jinja.  We prayed for all the wonderful ministries that we work with:  Ekisa, Serving His Children, Amani Baby Cottage, Canaan Children's Home, Jinja Crisis Pregnancy Center, Amazima Ministries and all the women and children that we work with in the villages, on the streets and in Masese and Wax Slums.  They have contributed in many ways such as placing new bed sheets in another dorm at an orphanage, dressing children in clothes that were provided by a sewing group in Nashville, providing food and clothes for women and children that we work with, encouraging and praying, providing vitamins for orphanages, taking Ekisa kids swimming, and on and on.   They have had a very busy 10 days.

During team time, another profound question was asked:  "How do you know who to help?  Finding the needs is not the issue here.  There are needs everywhere we literally turn.  How do you decide who to help?"  This is a question that haunts me sometimes because we know that we can not help everyone.  We fortunately have a network of missionaries and ministries here that work together and talk.  So that when I meet a boy that is 13 years old living in the streets, we can ask questions to other organizations. We find out if the boy is lying (which many of them do) and when we feel led to help, we investigate first and then see where God leads - which often are led to network with another organization to seek help.

Shafikke is 13 years old.  His parents died.  He has a JaJa that he says is abusive.  He wants to be in school.  He wants a family.  He does not want to live in a cardboard box anymore.  He is asking for help.  This is when the heart bleeds and the tears spill.   Tonight, I am wondering where Shafikke is sleeping.  I am wondering why this beautiful child is not in a bed.  And I am asking God how we can help.  Sometimes helping means connecting the needy to another organization because we realize that we cannot help everyone.  So, tonight, Team 3 will spend their last night in Jinja praying for Shafikke and many others that they have met and grown to love.  And, I'm thankful for this team because they have committed to praying for HEAL Ministries.  They have committed to praying for us to make the right decisions.  We can't change everything here but prayer can.  And, tonight, I'm thankful that I know that prayer changes things.

The HEAL team dishes out encouragement

The HEAL team has had some pretty amazing experiences.  One will forever hold a special place in my heart.  We took Richard (from Amani Baby Cottage) to visit his grandmother in the village.  I have visited his grandmother three other times and in these short past visits, I have grown to love her.  We have become friends.  Richard is under two years old and loved by everyone.  His mother died and his father abandoned him.  His grandmother has now buried six children, most of them dying because of aids.  She wanted all the ladies to sit with her in her small hut and she was anxious to give us fruit, an African tradition.

We walked behind her mud hut to look at the graves.  Looking over at JaJa tearing up as she embraced Richard was overwhelming.  She is not able to care for Richard but she loves him very much.  Richard is where he belongs for now.  While he was a little scared, he soon warmed up to JaJa and walked around her home in his little squeaky shoes.  When we were leaving, he said "bye bye Jaja" and she smiled bigger than ever.

The team enjoyed visiting her remote village.  Most of the neighbors live in small mud huts.  The smells of the home-made alcohol all around the village are so strong that I developed a headache.  There were many children that came out to see us and to catch a glimpse of Richard.  I asked why they were not in school and, of course, I received the same answers that I always do:  school fees, work, etc.  We sat around and talked and a friend translated.  JaJa met everyone on the team and hugged Jim because she was so impressed that he was a dad and a father still with his family.  She was so impressed that he cared enough to come to Africa.  The men in this particular village start drinking the home-made alcohol early in the morning.  We understood why she was embracing this man that was setting an example for the children watching.  The team visiting them in their village gave them a boost of encouragement that was needed.

Another amazing morning was our mini-women's conference at Pastor Andrew's church.  Both Bible Study groups that I work with in Masese showed up to hear about God and to praise Him loudly!  I was so thrilled to see that over 80 women showed up.  More of them show up when I travel to their home-site but I wanted to see who was willing to travel just to hear more about God.  They were so full of the Holy Spirit in song and dance that it was overwhelming.  Their freedom to express their love for the Lord is something that everyone can learn from.  I had asked June (a team member) to speak on HEALING - and she did a fabulous job.  A few months back when I told the ladies about my past with cancer, I told them about June because she wrote a book on healing with all the scriptures that helped me get through some hard times.  Seeing her talk to my friends was so special and they loved it.  They left knowing where their JOY comes from, encouraged, and lifted up.

God has placed some amazing men and women in my life right here in Uganda.  The team members reminded me of that when we were sharing our God moments last night.  I have amazing friends that pray for me and work with me.  While God has called HEAL Ministries to this wonderful land full of red dirt, He has also provided the men and women to help us.  Not once have I had to look for people to help.  Every person that helps HEAL has come to us.  I am in constant awe of how much He cares about every detail!

"If I can put one touch of a rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God."  George MacDonald

    

Teams are PRICELESS!

I get the privilege of greeting each team and walking alongside them as they experience the joy of Uganda.  The most exciting ones to serve with are the first timers.  That is what this third, wonderful, team of 7 are.  They are not only coming to Africa for the first time, they are experiencing their first mission trip.  I am so humbled as I watch them serve, as I see everything through new eyes again, and as I learn daily again how wonderful our Lord is.

They experienced the two Bible studies at Masese and were forever moved.  The love of the children running up to the van as they attempt to get out overwhelms them.  They stated that the love they feel is a deep, sincere, tender experience that they hope to never lose.  The ladies in the slum area embraced them.  They shared their fears and their praises.  We prayed with them, laughed with them and cried with them.  The kids' club in Masese was one of the most joyful experiences they have ever had.  The two translators that help me impressed them beyond imagination.  I have blogged about Godfrey and Martha before.  They are in their early 20's and they show up every Monday and every Wednesday to help me with translation, to help with the children and to show love and support.  And, they do this for free.  We pay them for their transportation but they are volunteers that are trying to make a difference in their own country.  As I hear the team's excitement about all of this, I am reminded of how AWESOME our Lord is.  How much HE loves us and how HE takes care of every detail if we just let HIM.  Like finding two translators that not only are committed but are full of joy, full of love, full of enthusiasm and full of God's love that overflows.

They have worked at Amani Baby Cottage, Canaan Children's Home, the Jinja Crisis Pregnancy Center and in the villages.  At every place, they find warmth and love.  At every place, they find God.  At every place, they re-learn where true JOY comes from.

At the Crisis Center, they met two young teenage girls with babies that were kicked out of their village.  One, has a set of twins and another baby.  The twins were going to be sacrificed by the witch doctor, and the young girl decided to flee, taking her babies with her.  Today, she smiles and spreads hope to others.   The other young lady is 14 years old and has a beautiful baby.  When I see her innocent smile, I can only think of how this beautiful baby is raising a baby.  Here, hard life begins much younger.  Many young girls are raped.  Many are forced (by their parents) into prostitution.  Many do not know love and seek love from any male that they receive attention from causing them to end up pregnant at 13, 14, 15, etc.  The beautiful young 14 year old that I have grown quite fond of was forced to bring money to her family by selling her body.  I cannot imagine what age she began this if she got pregnant at 13.  I cannot imagine a family that forces their child to do this.  I cannot imagine the fear of a 13 year old giving birth.  I cannot imagine getting pregnant and then the same family that forced me into prostitution becoming ashamed of me because I'm pregnant.  But, I can now imagine that girl happy and being a good mom.  I can imagine her slowly becoming confident and loving her baby.  I can imagine a team coming and learning the love of Jesus through her.  I can forever imagine this because I have now experienced this.  I have felt the pain, the heartache and now the love and reward of being a survivor all because of new faith and hope in Christ.

A team member said this to me today:  "Our team paid a total of about $30,000 to come to Uganda which includes airfare, lodging, food, shots, and everything including supplies for the ministry.  Is it better for teams to spend the money to come here OR would it have been better to take all the money it took to get here, all the money on the meds and shots, and just give HEAL the $30,000 ? Would you rather receive the money or the team?"

I had a very simple answer:  "I would rather the team come.  I would rather my sweet 14 year old friend with a baby see the joy in your eyes when you hold her baby.  I would rather give encouragement to the women of Masese by sending people to see them to show them that there is love and prayers for them across the world.  I would rather see my sweet little orphans run and clap as the muzungus walk up because they are so happy to see loving arms about to embrace them.  I would rather see the staff at the orphanages smile for days when I say that another team is coming to encourage them.  I would rather see my Ugandan friends that help me with translation smile and receive encouragement because they know that their work is not finished.  I would rather see the market ladies grin and hug me when I say that a team is coming to purchase their goods so that they can feed their families.  I would rather see friends, like Fazirra, smile bigger than ever when I say that I'm bringing a team to her home because she has no family or friends that stop by.  I would rather see my lame friend with a baby smile and have hope because a team cares enough to visit because she is an outcast in her own country.  I would rather support my Ugandan church and see their laughter and excitement as a team gets out of the bus to worship God together.  I would rather spread encouragement to my fellow missionary friends and offer service to their ministries.  I would rather use God's people to spread His hope.  I would rather teams come and see and experience and then return and spread awareness.  I cannot put a price on the rewards of a mission team.  $30,000 may have been the price tag for this team to get here, but the eternal rewards are PRICELESS!

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" John Keith Falconer

Love is the answer.....

The second team for HEAL this summer left and while they may be gone, their impact remains.  They made friends, built relationships, worked, served, painted, cleaned, landscaped, prayed, ran kids clubs and women's studies, helped with preschool at Amani, held babies, talked with young, teenage moms, took Ekisa kids swimming, blew bubbles with kids, gave new bed sheets to Canaan Children's Home and that is just a short list of what they did.  The important thing they did:  spread the love of Christ.

One of the most rewarding comments that I have received so far came from a Ugandan man while the team was eating out at a restaurant in town.  He told my son that he appreciated the way the ladies were dressed.  There are many Americans and Europeans that visit the Jinja area.  Many of them do not understand the culture here.  Here, it is culturally disrespectful for girls and ladies to wear short skirts and shorts.  It is also not appropriate for females to wear provocative tops, form fitting, and low cut.  The HEAL team female members have respected the culture here and I am so appreciative of that.

The two Bible studies that I have in Masese have also mentioned that our groups are "different."  They have many groups that go into Masese and I asked one of the lady's why she thinks our groups are different and she said because they dress the way they talk.  What a simple way to witness.  Not only are we to dress and act and say what we represent, but it is very evident that our outward appearance truly reflects our inner heart to the people here.

Another rewarding experience that the team got to be a part of is distributing shoes to the village children in Bujagali.  We have delivered shoes 3 or 4 times to the same program that a Ugandan friend runs named Esther.  We now have delivered about 200 pairs of shoes and only lack about 50 children in her program that still needs shoes.  The joy of delivering shoes is more than just something for them to have on their feet.  It means being able to go to school. 
 It means giving them a sense of pride in how they dress.  One of our youngest team members, Braxton, was trying to help a boy about 13 years of age find a pair and there were not any big enough to fit him.  Braxton took off his expensive sandles and gave the boy his since their feet were about the same size.  The boy's face lit up and he literally ran away with joy!

Another rewarding experience that the second HEAL team did was taking the Ekisa kids swimming.  Each member was paired up with a child and was responsible for that child in the pool.  I was able to walk around and take pictures of them and at one point, I could honestly not tell if the team members were laughing more or the children!  Everyone truly enjoyed it and was able to see how wonderfully made every person is that God created.  The team gave ice cream to the children after they went swimming and on this particular morning with the Ekisa kids, God's glory was shining brightly.

Some of the favorite moments for the team were in Masese.  We had a kids club program on Mondays and Wednesdays and a women's bible study on the same days.  The children laughed, sang songs and played games with everyone.  The instant joy that they show is contagious.  The children come running in their torn dresses, tattered clothing and dirty faces.  But their appearance is not the first thing that is seen.  Their smiles and love in their eyes outshine anything they are wearing.  It is very easy to see Jesus through the eyes and smiles of the children in Masese.

The women's studies at Masese have grown in size and in spiritual strength.  The women are loving each other, meeting together outside of the weekly studies to read the Bible, and helping each other in many ways.  They are looking after the children and claiming responsibility for their land that we have claimed for Jesus.  The team was with them on their last day here, and the rain began pouring.  We took shelter in a temporary building used as a church and were waiting for the village dancers.  The ladies waited patiently for us to see the village dancers.  They did not have to wait but because they are so eager to please and love us well, they wanted to be there with us for the 45 minutes that it took for the rain to let up.  We learned love, patience and just being from these women.  They know how to sit and wait, how to love unconditionally, how to see life through the eyes of their Creator, and how to enjoy each moment.

I could talk about many things that I have learned during the seven months here this year.  But, mostly, I have learned the true meaning of friendship and love from the people that I serve.  I have learned that Christ is all that matters and that home really is where love grows.........it is growing here in Jinja.  I believe that the love of Christ is the answer to all the problems here.

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."Mother Teresa




"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
Mother Teresa