Africa: Final Thoughts

From the words of those on my trip:

"I woke up surrounded by the orphans, as they had piled on the mattresses and blankets Matt, Carolyn, and I laid out for them for sleeping the night before. The oldest ones of the 60 were already up and gone, but all the little ones still laid there soundly sleeping together as the 6:30am Ugandan sunrise started to seep into the mud and brick building we built for them last year. No one puts them to sleep or makes sure they've been tucked in; they grow up resilient and taking care of each other the best they can, but life is different and difficult when there's almost no adults. I get up and see the morning start to turn into day as the heat of the African sun starts to peak over the mountain tops surrounding the school we're constructing and orphanage home. Some of the orphans are with one of the few teachers who has come to help get the porridge ready for breakfast, some are washing their clothes by hand. Most of the children only have their school uniform and one other outfit making laundry a difficult and constant job. Then a little girl sees I'm awake and runs to me, giving me a hug and a proud smile and says, "Mai Suzi your water is ready". One of them had gone down the mountain to get me water so I could take a bucket shower. As I stood in a makeshift latrine turned shower with a heavy bucket of water than a 9 year old had gone alone and gotten for me, I felt incredibly humbled and recommitted to help those placed in my path. What a beautiful place full of laughter and joy and hardship and quiet struggles and optimism. There are places I've stood that I will remember and feel changed forever by and this place is one of them. We are $1,400 short of our first fundraiser to work on income generating projects and classrooms for these beautiful babes." -suzanne

"The word "Refugee" has so much more depth and meaning to me after getting a chance to spend a brief moment in a community of Refugees in Uganda. Their stories and situations are one that no one should have to face in a life time and I find myself laying awake in bed thinking about what I can do to help. This little boy stole my ❤️as he was standing in a crowd of refugees patiently waiting our arrival. Witnessing such a magnitude of poverty can feel discouraging at times...how can a mother of three young children at home be able to make the slightest difference in people living across the globe? That night I had a dream (I am blaming the malaria pills) and saw myself helping the local refugees who have been relocated to my community from different parts of the world. I got to know them on a personal level and we became friends during a time of transition in their life that can be so isolating. I realized I CAN make an impact daily and am determined to find more ways of getting my family involved. #theugandaproject #dogood #lighttheworld #livetolove #refugees" -Cristi

"Double post cause procrastinating homework and there have been lots of feelings today/promise this is the last Africa post for a while: There was one day where we were riding in the bus after we'd gotten done with a few projects and I just thought, "Screw it. There's so much poverty. There's so much work here to do. We're not even putting a drop in the bucket. There's no way we can help everyone here." Blah blah blah complaints. Then a thought popped in my mind that was basically, "Ya you're right. You're not gonna save everyone. That's been taken care of by Someone a long time ago. But you can help one person. And that one person can help someone else. You're not here to save the world, you're here to change someone's life in a little way and hopefully start a ripple. So stop crying and get out there and serve better, even if it's just for the one. Cause heavens knows Jesus would have suffered everything he did, would have felt everything he felt, and would done everything he did, even if it was just for the one. Even if it was just for you." So while my time in Uganda was short and I'm nowhere near an expert on creating change, I just wanna say that I know it's possible. I saw so many people on that trip work and serve and love on levels that I hope to achieve one day. I felt God's individual love for the people out there. I learned that God doesn't want us to do everything for everyone; just to do what we can for who we can. Happy Sunday🙏🏼" -Brytaney