Well… I’m glad you you asked! It was amazing! I got to see some of the places where the Lord first made an impact on my life and was privileged to see people I hadn’t seen in years. The Lord is doing amazing things in Uganda through the different people and ministries Joel and I got to visit on our 2 week trip in June, but before I give you more details, I want to take you back to when I first visited Uganda in 2009.

I had just turned 12 years old and my dad decided it would be a good idea to take his rebellious middle schooler to Uganda to hopefully have a seed planted in my heart. We went to Midigo, a village in the north of Uganda, and then to Kampala, the capital city. It was while I was in Uganda that God made me aware of the blessings I had neglected to be thankful for back at home and that He was real. I didn’t give my life to the Lord on the trip but a seed was planted for me to make that decision just 3 and a half years later. It’s safe to say Uganda has changed my life!

So when the opportunity came for me to go again, I was so excited! We said goodbye to our families and headed on our way to Uganda. Once we landed, we met our wonderful friends Bryan and Jill Kanyike and their 3 kids, Luke, Laylee and Liana. They serve at Arise Christian Fellowship in Kampala where Bryan is the Senior Pastor. 

While we we there, we got to lead a men’s conference looking at what it means to be a biblical man. On Sunday morning, Joel taught and I led worship. We got to take a trip to the market place where we evangelized and shared with a few people. The market place is actually where the church started 10 years ago! We also got to visit some people in the slums and bring them some soap and sugar. We came into their homes and prayed for them.

One man named Vincent prayed for us, that we would be able to share the good news of Jesus around the world because they were unable to due to their situation. It was very moving to see someone living in a slum praying for me to be a witness of Jesus around the world. 

As we were making our way through the slum, we noticed that many of the people we had seen at church lived in the slum. They loved God and trusted in Him, even in the midst of their circumstances. It was awesome to see that this church was reaching the poorest people with the word of God!

But the sweetest time in Kampala was just to simply sit with the Kanyikes, eat with them, worship with them, and fellowship together. This was the purpose of our trip, to care for these missionaries who don’t always get people coming to see them. They encouraged us as much as we wanted to encourage them. Please pray for them and sign up for their newsletters to hear all that God is doing! We were mentioned in the last update!

Next, we went to see the Harris family in Gulu, which is 6 hours north of Kampala. Matt came down and picked us up and drove us all the way there. Matt and Noelle have 5 kids, Apio, Emma, Madi, Noah and Charlotte. They serve at Calvary Chapel Gulu and run the Terebinth Bible School that trains pastors to teach the word of God instead of emotionalism. 

While we were there we visited all the different places where they minister, spent some time at the church, Joel shared at a widows ministry, we went to people’s homes, and we got to see the Bible college campus as well. Of course we got to spend time with the family and got to hear all that the Lord has been doing in their lives. Pray for their ministry and sign up for their newsletters as well! Matt also sends out a devotional that’s really good!

We were then picked up by the Aniku family. Vincent and Melissa have 2 boys, Zachary and Ian, and they serve at Calvary Chapel Midigo where Vincent is the Sr. Pastor. Before we got to their home, however, we went on a safari! It was a nice break in the midst of all the ministry we were doing. 

We made it to Midigo where we were welcomed by a thriving church! I was asked to share in the youth group (5th-7th graders) at 7am on Sunday morning. Now, my first thought was that 7 am is way too early for this age group of kids, as the youth I lead in America probably wouldn’t want to get up that early for youth group. But man was a wrong! Hundreds of kids ran to save a seat at church as the sanctuary filled up before we even started. I got to share about Jesus praying for us in John 17 and encouraged the youth to be bold in their faith. It was an amazing time!

Joel shared the message at church on Sunday morning and then in the evening we went to their church’s soccer game. They started a mens soccer team to be an evangelistic tool in the community and they have now won the league and will move up to the premier league in Uganda! Praise God!

There were so many things happening in Midigo like the new community center they are building to host conferences and teams and to bless the community. They are praying about reaching the surrounding areas where 95% of the people are Muslim. Please pray for the Anikus and sign up for their newsletter!

We did so much more, but I don’t have the space to share everything. If you want to know more please reach out! And if you’d like to support us as we continue to serve the Lord then click the giving link below. Thank you and may God bless you!

Stay tuned for our next update where I’ll share about the youth summer camp we just finished and more plans for mission trips coming up soon!