Uganda 2008 – Teen Missions – Team #11
I just had an amazing summer in Uganda, full of challenges and blessings! I went to Uganda with a Teen Missions team full of brave and talented young guys and girls, and we did a beautiful work while we were there. Teen Missions is an international and interdenominational Christian missionary organization that sends thousands of young missionaries all over the world every year. This summer I was one of the leaders of the team that went to Uganda, along with Christa Paap (co-leader) and Camille Headlock (head-leader/ Teen Missions staff in Uganda). The three of us lead a team of 15 teenagers to Jinga, Uganda, where we built a house for missionaries in the Teen Missions base and we went to different schools and orphanages to do basketball camps and share the gospel with kids. We had an outstanding team with kids from all over the U.S. and Canada and their names are: Tyler Renew, Andrew Nelson, Alex Carver, Kristy Kerr, Michael Boone, Jenni Chrock, Andy Brak, Jonathan Davis, Zach Anderson, Jonathan Day, James Jakosa, Scott Dykstra, Jasmine Parros, Aubre Lindsey, Evan Lindsey.
Our team first met in Merrit Island at the Teen Missions’ headquarters for Boot Camp – a very intense training phase. Boot Camp was tough and it really broke each of us individually and at the same time brought us all together and built us up like a team. Boot camp was intended to prepare us for the mission field so we would not experience a big cultural shock once we arrived in Uganda, so we slept in tents far into the woods and away from electricity and running water. We had a very structured schedule that started with an early 5:30am wake up call (by the leaders), 5 minutes to get ready and out of the tents and a long walk out of the woods back to the boot camp facilities. At 6:00am we would ran the obstacle course (OC) which was a lot of fun for my team and at the same time very muddy and wet and challenging. The OC was definitely one of the highlights of the day for my team, and almost every day we finished the OC in first place! Since the Uganda team was designed to be a “sports evangelistic team” we ended up with a very athletic team, which gave us a huge advantage.
After the OC we ate breakfast and for the rest of the day we had many different classes that trained us for the summer ahead. We had classes that talked about the Bible, character, evangelism, cultural differences, etc… and we also had many practical/ hands on lessons such as carpentry, block laying, drama, puppets, music and others. There were no breaks between classes, which made it very challenging for us to go from one place to another and get there on time (it’s a very large property), but this was good to teach us punctuality and prepared us to have long and productive days. It also prepared us for the “lifestyle” the we were about to experience in Uganda with no running water, limited electricity, bucket baths and bucket laundry J.
After surviving two weeks of boot camp we were finally off to Uganda. We were extremely excited to leave boot camp and head to Africa! We flew from Orlando, FL to Washington, then to Addis Ababba (Ethiopia), and finally to Entebe (Uganda). However we were stuck in Addis Ababba for two days because of flights cancelled and mechanical problems with the airplane… but eventually we made it to Entebe and from there we embarked on a very bumpy and fun truck ride to Jinja, where we stayed at the Teen Missions base. The base was very nice and well taken care off – beautiful property. We stayed in tents and we shared the bathrooms (squatty potties) and shower stalls with the students/missionaries that lived and worked in the base. Everything was very simple, but well organized, and we were very content with our living arrangements.
Our main job while in Jinja was to build a house in the Teen Missions property for the base director (Peter). This was a very large house and it took a LOT of hard work and time, and I am so proud of our team for the effort and energy they put into this job. We were able to finish all of floor (which was by far the hardest part), and we built almost all of the walls in the house. The only thing missing was the roof, but we ran out of time and money… I think if we had two more weeks we could’ve finished the whole thing. It was a great accomplishment and a huge blessing to get so much done. Peter and his family have been praying and waiting for this house for 10 years! So it was very exciting to see the project finally take off and see the walls go up. The students and staff that are now in the base will finish the roof and do the finishing touches around the house.
Another part of our ministry while we were in Uganda was basketball evangelism. We went to several schools to play and teach the kids how to play basketball (we also used frisbees and volleyball, but basketball was our main tool), and by doing that we created friendships and we really connected with those kids. Many times in the middle of our basketball practice we would stop for a minute and use basketball as an illustration for some biblical principle and that way it was easy for the kids to understand the message. At the end of each practice our group would do a presentation which usually consisted of two songs, a drama/ skit, and then a testimony or alter call. These presentations were very powerful and many kids (over 100) came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Some kids came forward and converted from Islam to Christianity, some kids came to us and asked for prayer requests, they asked questions about the Bible and how to grow in their faith, they asked for advice on how to deal with different religions, temptations, and other life issues. It was amazing to see God and the Holy Spirit work in their lives, and to be part of their joy as they developed a relationship with God. These evangelism trips to the different schools were certainly the most exciting and rewarding experiences of our summer! On Sundays we would always go to different churches (sometimes 2 or 3 churches/services in one day) to do presentations and share testimonies to encourage the local congregations. This was also a lot of fun and very rewarding. Church in Africa is so different! They are extremely alive and excited, and they love to worship J.
We worked on the house and did evangelism around Jinja for 3 weeks and on our last days there we went shopping for a day in the open market and local souvenir shops and we also got to see the source of the Nile River. We went on a boat ride around Victoria Lake and got to see where the Nile River starts.
After all that we left Uganda (wishing we could stay longer) and went back to Addis Ababba (Ethiopia) for Debrief - a training time that would helps to adjust back to our lifestyle in America. This was a good time and it helped us with the reverse cultural shock of coming back to the Western World. We stayed at the King’s Hotel and experienced outstanding service. The Malawi team joined us for debrief and we were all very excited to have electricity, hot showers and toilets again! We had many classes on how to bring back home our experiences and deal with the cultural shocks, in addition to lots of fun times playing games, and sharing stories, and shopping in the HUGE open market in Addis.
Debrief lasted one week and from there we returned to back to the States, and in Washington with smiles and tears we said good-bye to our leaders and teammates as each of us embarked on different planes to go their respective homes.
It was an amazing summer and I was extremely blessed to have such an outstanding team and great leaders next to me all summer. Praise be to God for all the deliverance of injuries and accidents that we experience, and praise God for all the lives that were touched in so many ways in Uganda and Ethiopia through our team. For me it was an amazing opportunity to practice (and learn) leadership, responsibility and creativity. I thank God for this opportunity and for the lessons I’ve learned, and despite all the tough times and conditions I would do it all over again in heart beat! There is nothing greater in this world than to follow God’s plan J.
Alegria! Já estou de volta da Uganda! Eu tive uma temporada incrível com minha equipe do Teen Missions (agência missionária) e Deus nos usou em grandes maneiras para o Seu reino durante nosso tempo na África. Peguei uma equipe sensacional de 15 adolescentes (11 meninos e 4 meninas) e 3 líderes (eu e mais duas mulheres). Nossa equipe se reuniu primeiro na Flórida por duas semanas para um treinamento intensivo que nos preparou para vida/trabalho na África. De lá fomos para Jinja, Uganda onde ficamos na base da Teen Missions (3 semanas) e construímos uma casa para o diretor da base. Foi um projeto muito grande e estou orgulhoso da nossa equipe pelo esforço e dedicação ao trabalho duro. Construímos quase toda a casa, só ficou faltando o telhado porque não tivemos tempo suficiente. Além da construção da casa nós fizemos evangelismo em várias escolas em Jinja usando basquete e esportes como ferramentas. Nós jogamos e ensinamos as crianças a jogar basquete e depois que havíamos formado uma certa amizade com o grupo, nós compartilhávamos o evangelho com eles através de música e teatro. Muitas crianças (mais de 100) aceitaram Jesus como salvador e muitas outras foram encorajadas, e vieram com pedidos de oração e perguntas sobre a Bíblia, etc. Foi incrível orar com as crianças e jovens e ver a alegria deles em ter um relacionamento com Deus.
