Thursday, May 29, 2014

So Much LOVE.

I had two things on my mind when I left for Uganda last year. I wanted to be brave, to try everything. I also wanted to really love. I wanted to seek and find examples of how and what love can do through the incredible efforts and incredible passions of people. 

I’d like to believe I stood true to both of those things, most of the time. I tried my hardest to be brave: bungee jumping and white water rafting on the Nile River, voicing opinions in a culture where women aren't known for standing up for themselves, walking into situations  knowing that bad things could come out of them, choosing to live in a country where I would be an extreme minority, riding on the back of a motorcycle weekly just to get from place to place, traveling solo back from Nairobi, but most importantly, walking out of the compound each day knowing unforgettable things could happen if I was all there, if I trusted God and didn’t just go through the motions. 

I’d like to think I truly, wholeheartedly, loved.  Never in my 23 years have I loved as deeply or as fully as I did the children I encountered every day in Uganda. But it was a two-way street. Because they first loved me freely and without judgement, I was able to let every guard down, let every difference become invisible. I loved and was loved through smiles, conversations, waves, hellos, good-byes, and my favorite: I was loved through endless hugs. Never underestimate the power of a genuine hug. I learned on my last day full of good-byes, that when things are just too difficult to say, a hug says everything. It says good-bye, it says I love you, it says thank you. That’s what each of my hugs (since my words were muffled through tears) that day said to my kids at SWB.

I was not only able to give and receive love, but MAN was I able to see the love God was spreading all over Uganda. It seemed like each week I came across another person, another organization, another way passionate and purposeful people were making a lasting impact on Uganda. Each time I talked to these people and tried to connect with them in some way, I could see Jesus flowing from them in the way they talked about what they were doing and what they were passionate about. These people have been called and guided, and although they may be working for small organizations or NGOs that most people have never heard of and never will hear of, those small things are what are actually making a difference in the world. Think if we can help everyone be like that — if we can help all people become difference makers in some way, this world can make some serious leaps and bounds. 

I kept my eyes open. I left home, I let go, and certainly made it to the great unknown. I would have never known this beautiful place and these beautiful people if it hadn’t been for the support and push of so many people around me. Family, friends, coaches, teachers. And one year later many of those people were waiting with open arms to welcome me back from that beautiful, great unknown. 

I’ve learned more in the past year than I have in any other year of my life. A few things I’ve learned: It's possible to be a difference maker, even if I’m no one special. I’m a completely ordinary person that was not called to do what I did because I was qualified, but was qualified because I was called. If God continues to qualify me in each step in my life, I can’t imagine the possibilities. It's possible to thrive in uncomfortable situations. It's possible for good things to come out of bad situations. It’s possible to love your neighbor as yourself, and it is certainly possible to love strangers. It’s possible to do things you think you can’t do. In short, I've learned a whole lot about possibility and a whole lot about opportunity. But most importantly, I’ve learned it’s absolutely possible, and absolutely necessary to unconditionally love people. It's necessary for them, and for us. All people. Regardless of their past, their present, their faults, their appearance. Differences mean nothing, it simply makes us all a little more interesting. LOVE people. LOVE the life you are passionately leading. LOVE and trust God and all of His plans. He leads us to some pretty incredible places!


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Another Beautiful Country: Kenya

It's been over a month and I still haven't written about the more than incredible journey to Kenya we took in April. I'm writing this on a very rainy Tuesday morning in Uganda. I love the sound of rain, but it means no class for SWB since both our students and coaches walk long distances (sometimes up to 3 miles one way) to attend programming. Instead of being sad that it's another day I won't see my students before I leave (I'll leave that sob post for the next one), I'm attempting to be productive with the sounds of rain and Needobreathe in the background. I won't bore you with every detail of the safari, but I will show some pretty great pictures that we captured. Jill, her mom, and I took a monster 15-bus ride to Nairobi with a 3am stop at the Uganda/Kenya border and started our journey from there. We arrived in Kenya a day early and went to some pretty SWEET places! Here is a glimpse at the elephant orphanage and getting some love from the giraffes at Giraffe Manor:

   




Me, Jill's mom, and Jill right before our trek to the national parks!

Jill and I trying to be artsy as we pull into our first game drive: Amboseli National Park.

Backpackers shot with beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background!

Just hanging at the hippo pool on one of our game drives!

My favorite shot of the trip. Casual staring contest with a giraffe.




The rest of the pictures are my favorite from the whole trip. I think they really capture (as much as a picture can) the amazing scenery and untouchable earth that I witnessed during these few days. I am still blown away by the beauty of Kenya, the landscape of East Africa, and the creativity of God. He is so GOOD! 







Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Ain't No Gift Like The Present Tense

What month is it? March? I have found that time is passing so quickly that I am sometimes forgetting to savor each and every moment. I have less than 2 months in Uganda (did anyone else's jaw drop after reading that?), and what I have found I need to do most is take a breath, and refocus my eyes and heart on each moment. Needtobreathe says it best, "Ain't no gift like the present tense". God has continued to work wonders this year in Uganda and at SWB. Many things have happened since the Youth Festival in January (I'm embarrassed to say I haven't updated since then), so if you have the time, check out what is going on!

School, School, School!
I'm ecstatic to report that through one of our partner organizations, Xavier Project, almost 20 of our regular participants received scholarships in February to attend school! Yes, almost TWENTY! We miss them in our SWB classes and around the center each day, but they belong in school, that's for sure! Here is  a picture of a family of children (one of the sweetest and most frequent participants of SWB Uganda) that received scholarships, as well as two boys that received scholarships that we see on the weekends now. Seeing them in a school uniform gives me the chills. God is good!



International Women's Day
Isn't it awesome being a girl?! It truly is, and we can't stop telling girls that, especially in countries like Uganda where their opportunities are significantly less. We celebrated International Women's Day on March 8th with all of the girls in our program, as well as their mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and any important women in their lives. We had tea, biscuits, and danced and sang the (extremely HOT) morning away! It's so fun to celebrate what so few people acknowledge.. that girls are the KEY to changing the world!



The New Center
Just an update with our new HOME! Soccer WIthout Borders Uganda is thriving in the new center just down the road from the previous. Our classes have grown but each of them have a steady and great number. I have my own classroom with about 20 students, while Jill and Turner have taken the full load of English 1.. with nearly 50 students each day! Hats off to them. A sneak peek: future plans for the new center include creating a garden with the participants to celebrate Earth Day throughout the month of April, and a new outdoor pavilion fundraised by Jill and her Mom (who will be here this week)! We will be using the pieces from the old building that was used as a classroom, which was fundraised by Sara, one of last year's long term interns. LOTS going on in the months of April and May! Here is a picture of my classroom (goofing around) and a picture of all of the students in my class after we returned pen-pal letters to Ms. Parsons' classroom in Cullman, Alabama!



Outside of the Program: SOLE HOPE
I was privileged to be able to travel to Jinja (East Uganda) two weekend's ago and experience a whole different kind of NGO world. Jill and I volunteered with an organization called Sole Hope. Their mission is offering hope, healthier lives, and freedom from foot-related diseases through education, jobs, and medical relief. An incredible weekend that showed me the endless ways that God is making moves around the world. On Friday we participated in a jigger removal clinic and shoe drop. I washed the feet of many children before they moved to the gracious women who were carefully checking and removing the jiggers from their feet. Washing feet was so simple, yet so humbling. Here we are, two people from such different backgrounds, living completely different lives so far away. Yet I'm serving these children just as I should be, just as God planned. It was a really neat experience for me and I couldn't help but see Him a little bit more through these children and through this organization. Wow. On Saturday we were able to visit Amazima Ministries, just outside of Jinja. Jill and I -- along with the help of the volunteers in with Sole Hope -- were able to run a quick yet fun session with a few hundred of the children! Smiling, laughing, beautiful, happy, gracious children. It was amazing again to see another organization making such a positive impact on the children in Uganda. Taking the 2 hour trip back to Kampala that evening, I was blow away by the Lord's grace. He gives and gives and gives. Both Sole Hope and Amazima are organizations that are both a testament to what can happen when ordinary people follow and really, actually, wholeheartedly, listen to our extraordinary God. 

If you want to see a little about what goes on at Sole Hope, here is a link to the their website and the Blog Hope section that has stories and tales from the incredible girls who were working with Sole Hope while I was there. Really amazing stuff, check it out!


So basically, through all of my experiences so far in Uganda (and life in general), I've realized there truly is no gift like the present tense! And I am so thankful for that gift.


Saturday, January 11, 2014

Faces of the Festival

What a week! I have to admit, this has been the most incredible week in Uganda so far. In case you didn't see my excited tweets and posts over the past month, this past week has been Soccer Without Borders Uganda's Third Annual Youth Festival. The SWB staff have been planning this HUGE event for over two months, and it was so amazing to see it all put in place. I could sit here all day and talk about what we did each day, but I'd rather just leave you with a few pictures. One thing I did notice this week was that our participants were happier than I've EVER seen them. I knew they were going to be happy and have a great time, but this was over the top. This was constant hugs, constant smiles, and constant LOVE! I can't count the number of hugs I was given or smiles I have seen this week. The kids were happy to be in their new SWB home, with friends, and with coaches that truly care about them. Our local coaching staff were amazing each day, as were our 5 volunteers from the U.S. God was present this week in more ways than I can count, and despite rain showers, more kids than we thought we could handle, and limited resources, this was a week I will remember forever. So thankful to be a part of SWB and the Third Annual Youth Festival!

Here are a few of my favorite faces of the festival. So many smiles!














Friday, January 3, 2014

New Beginnings

WOW! Big things are happening over here lately. God is really working! I went from almost (key word: almost) giving up on finding a place to teach our classes and run programming, to decorating multiple classrooms, painting walls, putting up pictures, all inside our very own compound! Having a gated compound is SO important for us, not only for the safety of the kids but because of how much our program is growing. I just wanted to write something short and post a few pictures that shows the transformation over the past couple of months. Every single thing about this new place gives our participants a chance to THRIVE even more than before. It gives them a larger, safer, and more inviting environment to learn english and life skills -- something that our kids need more than anything. But most importantly, it gives the SWB family a new place to call home. This is our new home, and it is the beginning of a new era for the education of urban refugees in Kampala. Just because our kids are not in school, doesn't mean they aren't learning. 


This is our old center. A place of big dreams that we slowly but surely outgrew. 3 rooms total, with one larger classroom that isn't pictured:





Here are a couple of pictures of our new place, the first is the front gate with some of our participants:




Two of the classrooms, the second one is English Level 1 which Jill and I teach:




Anyone who I've talked to recently knows how STOKED I am about these new tables. Our kids went
from sitting on benches (many broken) and writing on their laps, to having a solid, sturdy table that lets them feel like they are at a real school! So much thanks goes to the girls and parents of Tophat Soccer in Atlanta for raising money for these tables and whiteboards. God is good!

As I continue to work in this organization and grow as a person, I am seeing first hand each day that sport has the power to change lives. The late African hero, Nelson Mandela, said it best:

 



Friday, December 6, 2013

More Than Ever!


I started to make this a long drawn out post with lots of mushy things about thankfulness and family and friends and everything else in my life, but thinking more, I can make it so much simpler! I feel it all inside of me everyday, to the point where I can say my heart has never in my life been this full! I am so thankful, and so overjoyed that even though I am away from my family and friends, and miss them a little more each day, I have more that EVER to be thankful for this year! I have over 100 refugee children that know me by name and sprint into my arms at first glance, and many other people I've met in the past 5 months that I find myself thanking God for this year. I am so far away from the comforts of home, but my heart is filled to the BRIM! The Lord continues to be gracious and fill me up day after day, even after tough situations, difficult days, and especially when I least deserve it. He has given me experiences and shown me things that have caused me to grow, learn, and challenge my thoughts and actions. Thanksgiving Day this year in Uganda was incredibly hot and pretty uneventful as compared to a normal U.S.A. holiday, but still incredibly beautiful! I AM SO THANKFUL! 


I love these boys so much.

The boys teaching me how to do a handstand.. it may take me a while!

Couldn't ask for better friends to spend this year abroad with.

Corbin is a little sleepy after an amazing Thanksgiving dinner! 
So blessed to have great food and even better company.

"Sport has the power to change the world." Nelson Mandela