Sarah Fulgham is a past CTP (Community Transformation Project) member who was excited and willing to share about her experience in Uganda! She has been on several mission trips, including ones to China, Mexico, Italy, and inner city Houston. Uganda was different than the previous mission trips Sarah had been a part of. We asked her to share some stories about the CTP and what made this trip different.

One thing that Sarah misses most from Uganda is the relationships she had with the people there. She reminisced about how genuine and relational they were.

The CTP team visited Wings of Hope Christian Academy during the first half of the mission trip. They played games with the students, showed the teachers some different teaching techniques they could use in their classrooms, and got to just spend time with everyone. One of the activities the team was involved in was going to the school to read a book with the students and teachers. They purchased a book written by a Ugandan author from a local book distributor. They brought enough copies for there to be one book per two students -- rather than only the teacher having a copy of the book. Typically, the teacher has to take the time to write out a few paragraphs on the board and discuss each section, just to have to erase it and start over for the next few paragraphs. Having more books to go around, they were able to go through it much quicker. The students and teachers were so thankful that at the end of the week they put on a performance and showed the CTP members how happy and appreciative they were for them just being present.

Just “being present” is how Sarah describes SWOH. She expressed how it is different than other mission trips she has been on. “Most people ask what we’ll be doing. They expect to hear that it’s a medical mission trip or that we’re going to teach English. But SWOH is about being present. It’s about loving on the students, teachers, patients, and people at the guest houses. It’s about being Christians wherever we’re at and loving people. To see where they’re hurting and where they need love. Now, we do have a focus, but the main focus is to engage the culture and enrich the community.” Simply put, ministry of presence is what differentiates this Ugandan CTP from other mission trips. Rather than going to Uganda to “do,” we go there to “be with.”

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Recently, SWOH’s Hospice Tororo team traveled 20 miles outside the city to care for Jane and Scovia who were in a stressful family situation.

Jane is a 43 year old mother and wife who is suffering from stage IV HIV/AIDS. She has been in and out of hospitals and is being cared for by her husband and two youngest children. While her husband’s meager farming barely supports the family; Jane’s 18 year old daughter, Scovia, dropped out of school to care for her—bathe and feed her, administer medication on time, and maintain household duties.

The SWOH hospice ministry met them just in time. We provided Jane with peace, prayer, routine medical support, emotional healing, and counseling. This gave us the opportunity to share about the Prince of Peace during this family ordeal. Scovia expressed her concerns as well, and through our hospice care she has reconciled with not being able to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher, and choosing to focus on being a faithful daughter.

We hope to give peace and guidance to other families like Jane’s so we can do whatever we can to fulfill God’s purpose of demonstrating the love of Christ. We currently serves and ministers 150 patients. This fall Hospice Tororo had a shortage of $3,125. Praise God for and thank you to the donors who helped meet that need. Those gifts are sustaining Hospice Tororo though the end of this year. However, there is still a need of $1000 in monthly donor support so Hospice Tororo may continue meeting the needs of patients and families, like Jane and Scovia.

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Scovia and her mother, Jane

We made it to Uganda!

After a several leg journey, including a 15 hour overnight layover in Dubai, we arrived in Jinja, Uganda. The Jinja district is where Sovereign Wings of Hope has its largest presence and will be our home base for most of the trip. We are exhausted! When we opened the door to our room in the Guest House, I first noticed mosquito nets over the two beds. I’ve heard of mosquito nets and know they are lifesavers (literally!), but I’ve never slept beneath one. We three girls – Esther, Katie, and myself – are staying in one room, and Jeremiah is down the hall. This is a fairly new Guest House. Our rooms each have a bathroom, windows, and a patio overlooking a small field of maize across the road.

It’s about 7:30PM now and we are off to meet Rinty Kintu, Coordinator of Hospice Jinja and Wings of Hope Christian Academy, at a restaurant called All Friends. I hear they have pizza and hamburgers on the menu!