Wow, 2012 was an adventure for me. I crossed the both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, and both trips came to me as a surprise. In May, I went to Hawaii. In December, I had a chance to go with my church, CFC, to Kampala, Uganda.
Why was I there? I went with two pastors from our church, Clay Sterrett and Brian Fitzgerald, to help teach the Bible to approx. 500 youth leaders from all over Uganda.
What was it like? Kampala is a huge city, with around 3 million people. I did not see lions and giraffes. It's like an American city except they drive on the other side of the road, and cities in America are much wealthier.
The Ugandans I met were all very warm and welcoming. Prepaid cellphones are popular, and they know a lot about American pop culture ( Drake and Chris Brown) as well as the English Premier League in soccer.
What did I eat? Nothing out of ordinary. A lot of rice, potatoes, pineapples, watermelon and the Ugandans' personal favorite, matooke (Mu-Tok-E). They take a special type of bananas and make them exactly like our mashed potatoes, and they often top them with a special peanut sauce.
What story best describes your experience? Tolkien's The Hobbit. I would be the hip-hop remixed version of Bilbo Baggins, and Ugandan pastor Joel Bukenya would be Gandalf. Joel was in Staunton eating with our church leadership at Kathy's when he suggested I join the team coming to Kampala.
I'm not huge on travel or adventures. I just like to chill at home. By God's grace, the opportunity to play a part in encouraging Christ's church globally was a greater motivator for me than my love of comfort. God's grace is changing me.
Was it dangerous? Anything has the potential to be dangerous, but I never felt like I was in any danger at any part of the trip.
What did I learn? I learned that I look like a western Ugandan. And, more importantly, I got to spend time with some Ugandan pastors. They relayed to me how they had seen God move in amazing ways, and that was very encouraging. The pastors we met were also all involved in the care of orphans. That was really special.
What was the hardest part? It's very hard to be away from your wife and kids for that long, especially knowing that you have put the responsibility of five kids on your wife for a week. Also, the time difference was crazy, too. The second night I woke up at 11 p.m. showered and got dressed because I thought it was 6 a.m. FAIL!!!!
How did it change me? It's probably the most I've ever been aware of the amazing privilege of living in America, and it made me want to manage that responsibility well.
So what happens now? I am trying to teach my kids the biblical principle of preferring others over themselves. In Uganda, I visited kids orphanages that are home to hundreds of kids. The schools function with the bare necessities. I thought it would be cool for my kids to find a way to raise enough money (10 bucks or so) to mail one of their books to the orphanage. When you mail a book, hundreds of kids get a chance to read a book.
And, of course, I want what I saw to change me, too. One prayer that is the Lord will continue to increase my love for the church locally and the church globally.
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