Hello All,
The year two thousand and ten was filled with challenges, adventures,
fears and hope. November 2010, I had the opportunity to travel to
Uganda, Africa where I learned about God?s will, His love and
compassion. Let me preface this whole thing by saying: I had no
plans to travel to Africa, EVER! In my mind, Africa was a land of
disease, death, war, and poverty. I had no intentions of going there.
. . until my cousin, Joyce, asked me to come and visit her while she
was living in Uganda. I politely told her that she could have her
little adventure and tell me all about it, but I did not want to go
there. Joyce was persistant and asked me a few more times to come and
visit. I asked her, ?how can God use me in Uganda? I am not a doctor
or nurse, I can?t give out medications. I am not very good at
construction and building. How will He use my talents and abilties in
Kaihura, Uganda?? A week later she emailed me back. She proceed to
to tell me about the clinic director in Kaihura. He wanted to know
how to treat low back pain, he had been getting more and more patients
with the complaint. God has an uncanny ability to get me out of my
comfort zone! May 2010, I booked a plane ticket to Entenbbe, Uganda.
The months leading up to my departure were filled with immunization
shots, applications for visa?s, learning the customs, and staying in
contact with my cousin and Global Support Missions. The weeks flew by
and the day had finally come: I was heading half way around the world
to a country where running water was a luxury.
My first impressions of Uganda, Africa: hot, humid, and green! The
seven days I spent in Uganda flew by in a blur. I spent five days in
the western village of Kaihura in the Kenjojo district. There I
teamed up with Global Support Missions missionaries, the Sasser?s, and
led a workshop on diagnosing and treatment of low back pain at the
local clinic. In those classes, Ugandan culture and customs hit hard.
Time is not as important to Ugandans as it is to Americans. When
we schedule a meeting to start at 9am, we are expected to be there by
9am, or earllier. In Uganda, classes started at 9am, the class got
underway around 9:30am, once everyone showed up. Ugandans are
traditionalists. They do what their parents, and their parents?
parents did. So, trying to bring in new ideas and ways of performing
certain household chores was a difficulty. For example, in Uganda,
they sweep their floors with a small fan shaped broom. When I say
small, I mean small, it?s about 10 inches high. The women are hunched
over sweeping their floors, then complaining of back pain! I showed
them how to sweep with a ?Muzungu? (white person) broom. They
laughed, saying it ?looks funny.? I explained to them that it would
help take pressure off their low backs, and that it worked just as
well, maybe even better, than their brooms. It took about three days,
before Joakimb, the clinic director, asked where he could purchase
some Muzugu brooms for the clinic.
While in the villlage, inbetween my classes, I was able to meet some
of the children at the orphange, Home Again. Two kids in particular,
I was asked to work with. The first was Paige, a two year old with
cerebral palsy. Joakimb and Little Faith, the head nurse, wanted me
to work with Paige and get her better. Paige is an adorable little
girl who does not like white people. Muzugu?s scare her. That made
things a bit more challenging. Everytime I entered Home Again, she
screamed, and screamed and screamed. I was able to teach her house
mother some exercises and play ideas to help her.
The second child was a young man named Robert. Robert is a fourteen
year old boy who was hit by a truck while riding his bike back in
June, 2010. He was released from the hospital in Kampala and was just
learning to walk with a walker. I met with him at Faith?s house, Hope
for the Family. Robert suffered fractures to his left femur, tibia
and fibula, as well as a dislocated left shoulder, along with multiple
abrasions. Joakimb and Little Faith had informed me that Robert was
walking, but needed to get stronger. When I saw Robert, he was up and
moving, but not walking. He did not weight bear on his leff leg, and
compenstaed with his arms and right leg. Over the course of three
visits with Robert, I had him using crutches, weight bearing through
his left leg, and doing a variety of exercises to strengthen his legs.
He was happy to learn that with the new exercises he could get
strong enough to play football again, an activity he has missed dearly.
My time in the village also opened my eyes to the extreme poverty
found in Uganda. Most people lived in single room homes, with dirt
floors, and thatched roofs. Many were unemployed, and expected
handouts from the local government and fellow villagers. Those that
did have jobs, provided for their families. I heard story after story
of young teenagers going off to work to provide for their sick
parents. Or having to quit school in order to care for an ailing
parent or grandparent. The average lifespan of Ugandan is 50 years
old. Most are killed from disease such as AIDS and malaria. Others
have been victims of war and genocide.
I saw God?s hands and feet working in Kaihura. Helping plant gardens,
building houses, digging wells, teaching basic life skills, and
spreading the love of Christ. The Sasser?s, Chris and Katie, are two
missionaries working in Kaihura, Uganda with Global Support Missions.
They lead worship at the church, lead men?s and women?s bible studies,
and have integrated into the lives of the people in Kaihura.
This was an experience I will never forget. God pushed me out of my
comfort zone. He showed me that He is present and alive, even in the
darkest of places. And reminded me that He can use all of us, no
matter how insignificant we think we are. We are mighty in Him!
For more information on Global Support Missions and the Sasser family,
you can go to www.globalsupportmission.com or www.knowthinkact.com.
In Christ,
Melissa Metcalf <><
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