The month of March marks 20 years since our family returned home from Uganda, East Africa. The 2 1/2 years we spent in that country are very special to me and it breaks my heart that it has never been possible to return for a visit.The years I spent in Uganda were formative ones. I grew from a child of 11 to a young adult of 14. My eyes and ears were sharp, always observing the adults around me. I learned much about relationships and missions, and living in a foreign culture. I loved the excitement of a great adventure and Uganda, during the years of 1989-1992 was a great adventure in more ways than one.
We left Uganda quickly, within a few weeks of receiving news of my grandmother's grim cancer diagnosis (thankfully, her few month prognosis turned into 15 years of extended life). It was hard to be torn away so quickly and finally from a place we had grown to love. It would have been hard to bear at that point the knowledge that we would never return (at least not in the 20 years following).
Sometimes I feel sad that living overseas in such a place as Uganda never "happened" to me again. But I am reminded that the whole point of the Christian life is serving Christ and not myself. And, I'm am so happy that I have friends living in Uganda and I can continue to "keep in touch" with this country that touched my life so long ago.
6 comments:
look at that DOG!!! its So big... i cant really tell who people are... except the red head :P, the view is amazing.
I feel exactly the same as you.... only about America instead of Africa.
Are you in this photo?
I am the child with the plaid shirt and green shorts.
The red head still looks the same!
I just finished reading Kisses From Katie. Have you read that, yet? It was a gift from a friend for Christmas and I LOVED it.
If you haven't heard of the book, it is about a young woman who goes on a short term mission trip to Uganda and ends up returning for good after graduating high school.
It is one of the best biographical books I've ever read. Very inspiring and while it opens our eyes even more to the suffering in Uganda, it also tells stories of people living in poverty who are happy and love Jesus.
Are those boys your brothers? Do you even have brothers?
No, I don't have brothers. We had friends, with two boys, visiting from Kenya.
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