We are back home in Costa Mesa, safe and sound (although a little jet-lagged). Here is our second post from our time in Uganda!

Friends have been asking what Uganda was like for us, and I think the best way to describe it is like this: The ethos of the trip was to be ready for anything, and in fact, all sorts of anythings did happen, and we did our best to jump in and go for it!

One of our favorite stops in Uganda was Christ the Center, a school in Gulu where we sponsor a child. We have been sponsoring Gerald for around a year and a half, and when we signed up to sponsor him, we really had no idea that we would someday get to meet him. As you could imagine, it was pretty surreal. Gerald is such a sweet, gentle, and smart kid. I am excited to see what God does in his life as he continues to grow.

Christ the Center is currently in the process of building a new school campus. We got to stop by and pray over the construction. It was amazing to see the fruit of Dave and Frankie’s obedience in partnering with this ministry to see it expand and grow. We are praying that God will influence the future of Gulu through their faithfulness.

We also got to go to the 31BITS (above) and Krochet Kids (below) compounds. The women were on Holiday Break, but we were still able to walk the grounds and see with our own eyes the places we have loved and supported for so many years. Being there made me even more proud of my sister and friends who have worked so hard to impact the lives of so many. For Bethany, the experience was pretty emotional (in a good way), as she was tangibly reminded how real and important their work is, and how meaningful it has been for her to play a small part in that story.

The 10 year celebration of Gulu Bible Community Church kicked off with a two mile parade through the streets of Gulu. We all marched in the parade, following behind a full on Ugandan marching  band! (Above photo by Jonathan Dickson).

We also got to hang out with Dom, who works with Krochet Kids. He is also on the boards of both Christ the Center and GBCC, so he was at the Celebration to help hand out awards and support. For the record, our whole team was rocking the orange shirts. Long story short- when Pastor Martin wants you to wear a shirt- you wear the shirt!

Another unforgettable experience was getting to preach at the new years celebration. The night was filled with a lot of dancing, celebration, and worship. Around 11:30pm, I gave a short message out of Mark 1:14-18 about being called to follow Jesus into life in the Kingdom of God. My challenge was to lay down anything that might keep us from stepping into God’s work of transforming us and using us to transform our communities. We responded by praying together- that God would fill us afresh and transform the world through us. After we prayed, Pastor Martin led us in the countdown to the start of 2017. As soon as the clock struck midnight, fireworks erupted and the celebration continued. This New Years Eve will be hard to forget!

Sharif and Shaban have been friends with Tim since he first started traveling to Uganda, and accompanied us on our trip. Sharif owns a clothing store in Kampala, where Shaban also works. He was able to start his business via a loan from Tim a few years ago, which he paid back in full this year. It is amazing to see what a long term investment in people can do to impact their lives. Sharif’s story is one of many stories of people’s lives being impacted because people like Tim, and churches like ROCKHARBOR, are willing to partner for the long haul.

While this post doesn’t begin to encompass all that we experienced, I hope that it helps to  paint a picture of how impactful this trip was for us. When you see us, please ask us more, as these pictures only begin to scratch the surface of all that we experienced, and all that God did.