A Year ago Today

Reflection could be personally defined as something that was beaten to death in my education degree.  Even though I hated writing reflection after reflection about lesson plans or educational experiences, I did learn how valuable reflecting truly is.  It always seems to be around a holiday that I look upon what I was up to the year before.  Every birthday, new years, or thanksgiving, I will remember what I did on that day the following year.

Last year around this time, I just finished my final teaching practicum and all the course work for my degree(yes, all those blasted reflections!).  Going to Africa was a small idea brewing in my head.   This year I am at God’s Grace Orphanage, a three bedroom house home to one hundred and twenty children.  They fast and pray as they regularly don't have money for food. They sleep up to 7 kids on a foam mattress inside the home, and the bathrooms outside do not have a roof or even curtains on the doors for privacy. Although there are so few resources and funding to support all these children, the kids at God’s Grace are something else.  We were mobbed by smiling children fighting to hold our hands, and greeting us as Auntie or Uncle as we arrived.  We taught the children a Bible lesson in their tiny schoolhouse outside their home before playing games and singing songs out on the red dirt road.  As we left the orphanage, one of my team members had to stay out of the bus to keep the children from crowding the bus.  It is really difficult for me to portray how special this place is.  The children have such a presence of love and joy about them as they hugged us and talked with us.  Later on in the week, another team visited God’s Grace to only get to witness a huge truck delivering tons of new mattresses to the children.  

Last year I spent my days perfecting my resume and cover letters to hand out to school districts, cleaning my neglected basement suite, hanging out at the Mustard Seed every weekend, and exploring the local trails around Victoria.  This year, I am visiting Akiba, a home for children with cancer.  I spent my day there washing walls, laughing, dancing and running around with kids.  We were informed that a boy we met the previous visit successfully underwent his operation to remove the large tumor on his neck.  Please keep Emma in your prayers for a speedy recovery.  He is maybe 9 or 10 years old with a beautiful smile and likes to play soccer.

Two years ago, I was in Rome along with another million tourists and pilgrims for Holy Week.  I visited the Sistine Chapel, and witnessed part of the Palm Sunday service at St. Marco’s Basilica.  This year, I attended a Revival Night and Praise Rally in the heart of Kampala at Watoto Central.  The Praise Rally alone had 6,000 people singing, dancing, and worshiping in the church and the parking lot for four hours straight.

Last year on Good Friday, I went to a citywide church service at the local hockey arena where I ran into many people I knew from different churches throughout Victoria.  This year on Good Friday, I attended A Night to Unite which essentially is a multi-congregational church service as well with thousands and thousands of Ugandans.  We arrived at the large fairgrounds at around 5pm.  From 6pm to 10pm, we sang, danced, prayed, listened to a sermon, and had a massive communion.  Oh and did I mention we danced!  I think I will have a really hard time not moving around in the pews during church worship when I get back home.  We danced to some African worship songs, and then at the end we formed a LONG chain as we sang Hillsong’s Running.  Callie lost her sandal in the midst of the chaos and I was sure that if I fell down, I would be trampled to death in this Christian mosh-pit!

Four years ago, I woke up early in my dorm to walk down a forest trail in the pouring rain to attend a sunrise Easter service on the beach by the ocean.  Last year, I celebrated Easter at a potluck at my friend Daphne’s house.  This year, I taught little two to four year olds about Jesus raising from the dead by narrating a play and singing songs with them.  I ran down the hill by my house with my little neighbor friends and ate matooke, chapati, g-nut sauce, rice, pumpkin, and some type of meat for Easter lunch.  On Easter Monday, Jess and Danielle planned some activities including egg painting and a hunt around our compound.

So many things have happened in just a year and I can see how much I have been shaped and molded into a better disciple over the last year.  I wonder where I will be and what I will be doing next Easter season.

Happy Easter everyone!  I will leave you with this Easter song I sang with thousands of Ugandans over this Holy Week --> Hillsong's Man of Sorrows

Peace and love