Seasons of Life

Have you ever heard an old song and it immediately takes you back to where you were the first time you listened to it?  A rush of memories instantly come back from the emotions you felt, the people you were with, or the struggles you were going through in that season of your life.  One song I know I will always associate with my time in Uganda is 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman.  At this time, I feel pain and agony every time hear the first few bars of the song.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful song, just since I have been here, I have probably heard it… 10,000 times.  Despite the desire to stab myself every time I hear it, down the road, the nostalgia might make me teary-eyed as I remember singing it at Watoto Church amongst my Ugandan friends and international family.

Yesterday, Jack shared that he had a dream about our last day when we were all leaving and saying our goodbyes.  The reality began to sink in that we all might never see each other again and if we do, it won’t be our entire 360 class and in different life circumstances.  The discipleship program is slowly winding down and we even have paid our last visit to some of the ministries we have been involved in. 

Last time to visit the kids at Retrack with my Central team.

It seems like ancient history when we first were informed of when our week off would be.  At the time, it seemed like it our week off was nothing but a distant blimp.  Well, last week was our week off.  The first two days I spent in Jinja riding horses by the Nile with some of my international housemates.  Jinja is absolutely gorgeous and reminded me of a nice small town feel compared to the busy and dusty life in Kampala.

As soon as I came back from Jinja, I packed up to head out to western Uganda for a three day safari trip.  Our safari took place at Murchison Falls National Park, where we stayed at a beautiful lodge.  My friends and I have been dreaming to go on a safari for a long time and couldn’t wait to scratch it off our bucket lists.  The first evening upon arrival to the park, we went on our first game drive.  We went on another sunrise drive the next morning and then a boat ride in the afternoon of that day.  My favourite would have to be the first sunset game drive.  We all were flabbergasted that our dreams were finally becoming reality and our expectations of exploring through the African terrain were getting blown out of the water.  On that first evening, we were overwhelmingly blessed to see elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, and other wildlife.  We even were fortunate to see a lioness lying close to the road, in which our bus driver got out of our bus to wake it up and get it moving.  As we drove back to the lodge, holding on tightly to the bars we were sitting on the bus rooftop, with the sun setting behind us, we couldn’t help but thank God on how incredible His creation is.  We all pictured Jesus on that rooftop with us laughing His face off at this random group of people he brought together to be a family for six months in Uganda and saying to us, “You came to Africa to follow me and I want to bless you for it.  Look at how awesome my creation is!” 

Guess what song I listened to as I saw this sunrise… Click Here

I was looking forward to getting back to class this week to catch up with all of my classmates however this week started off with a bit of a rocky discouraging start.  This bump in the road lead me to adopt the feeling of being very drained and disheartened.  Thankfully, on Friday, we had a session on 2Thessalonians 3:13, growing weary of doing good.  It was just what I needed to hear to push me through the last six weeks of the program.  Even though I have become comfortable with the routine of my life here in Uganda, there are many things still to be learned, many friendships that can become stronger, many places I can impact even more, and many more areas I can grow in my character and relationship with God in these last few weeks.  It was a good wake up call to not check out but fully engage in what God has placed before me in this given season.

Now this season is approaching a close.  Our class has even started practicing our song that we will sing at our graduation ceremony.  YIKES!!  Every time, one of my friends want to discuss when I leave Uganda, I immediately shut down the conversation.  Let’s not discuss the end but live in the present.  Do I want this season to end?  NO!!!  This has been an amazing eye-opening and life-changing experience, where I have been tested and stretched out of my comfort zone.  I will miss it.  I will miss picking up garbage at markets, miss going to the Bbira to play volleyball, miss going to the slums to share life with HIV+ women, miss playing scrabble while waiting for all the ministry teams to come back, miss having men catcall at me as I walk down the street… (THAT’S FALSE), miss being a part of a mega-church, miss Sunday fun with my neighbourhood friends, and miss random holiday celebrations with my housemates.

 Beauty and the Beast at Disney Day

However, it best be that I do not prolong this stage of life.  I wouldn’t want to be sitting in limbo, holding onto something that has been expired.  A new season will begin after 360 and I look forward to what that might be.  Is there a possibility of me coming back to Uganda one day?  Absolutely, but it will be in a different season.

Peace and love