The meditations of my heart: How it all got started...

Two years ago I was sitting in church when a friend of mine had mentioned that she was wanting to bring a team to Uganda, Africa to volunteer our time at a children's home. At the sound of Africa my ears perked up! She continued on saying that our main goal would be working with the special needs kids. With just those few words I knew I was going to be a part of that team.

A couple months later 12 of us flew into Uganda. We spent about two weeks at Good Shepard's Fold Babies and Children's Home. Within two weeks I knew I was not done with Uganda. I had absolutely fallen in love with the people, the country, and everything about it. The kids especially. These special kids grabbed my heart. At the end of the two weeks I sat down and talked about options on how I could come back, and with that, less than a year later I was on the plane again heading back to GSF for two months.

During those two months I spent my time working with the occupational therapist. I learned so many different things from him, and was able to share some of my own ideas and thoughts. I worked with the teachers to help incorporate more of the kids with special needs into the classes,I taught the sweetest group of 6-7 year olds for Sunday school, and I spent a lot of time getting to know the kids living there. Again I could feel the tug of my heart telling me that I was still not done with Uganda. It was this time around that I was introduced to a girl who has started a ministry just for people with disabilities. As much as my heart wanted to stay at GSF I knew that the kids at GSF had so much going for them, and that there were so many other kids who did not have as much. In Uganda people with disabilities are severely marginalized. Many people believe that people with disabilities are cursed and are often abandoned. I felt that God was leading me away from GSF, my comfort zone, and pushing me into a new area.

After many months of prayer, applications, and interviews I was accepted as a short term missionary with Africa Inland Missions (AIM). Starting in August 2013 I will be working at Acheru Rehabilitation Center. I will be just about an hour and a half away from GSF so I will be able to visit often! At Acheru I will be working with the teacher that is already there. We will be teaching the students while they are living at Acheru. I am so excited to see what I will learn from this experience. As hard as it is to leave, I am so excited to be back in a country where I often feel like I'm at home. I'm so excited to come home every day with stained feet from the red dirt roads, to hear "Mzungu" screamed from little voices as I walk down the road, to taste the sweet sweet taste of fresh pineapple, and to see the bright smiles of precious kids.