My wife and I had often talked about one day going on a mission trip. We were sitting in Church last summer when our pastor mentioned a mission trip to Uganda, and when we got to our car after the service, almost simultaneously we said “let’s go!”
We knew it would be out of our comfort zone, and tried to prepare for the trip as best as possible. There were seven in our group going; four of them had been there before, and they did a wonderful job of preparing us for the travel and living conditions, along with what to bring in the way of clothing, and what we would most likely be eating during our stay. We received the necessary vaccinations for the journey along with the prescribed medications to take along. In November of 2019, my wife and I boarded a plane along with 5 other anxious people headed to ChildVoice’s Lukome Center in Northern Uganda.
Between the songs and the laughter, a person would never know how much hurt some of these young women went through.
When we arrived at the Lukome Center, we met the staff. The girls performed a cultural dance for us and then we were introduced to our huts that we would be staying in for the next few days. We were encouraged to visit the different class rooms where the girls were taught various occupations, from welding and auto maintenance to hairdressing and cooking. We ate three meals a day. (I mention this because it seemed as if we were always eating.) The food was well prepared by the girls, as cooking is one of the classes. We worshipped every morning and evening. Let me rephrase this, we went to worship every morning and evening, the girls seemed to never stop worshipping. They were continually singing, dancing and having fun. We saw first-hand what a joy filled heart looks like that can forgive. We would be by our huts talking about our day, and a few of the girls would come down to clean and do our laundry. Their singing and praising God would be contagious, and before long we were all joining in. Between the songs and the laughter, a person would never know how much hurt some of these young women went through.
After the evening worship, we would join in with the girls in crafts, or cards. (They love UNO!) The children took about two days to become more accustomed to our being there, and as the days passed, they would more readily approach us on their own. These evening fellowship gatherings were a great way to end the day.
We also visited the Lukodi village that endured atrocities at the hands of Joseph Kony. We heard the stories from villagers that had lived through it, and our hearts broke for what they had suffered through. We then visited Fort Patiko, and learned about the slave trade and brutality that the people of Uganda suffered. Again, our hearts ached for what these people had endured.
We went into Gulu to the women’s prison. We did not know exactly what to expect, and I have to say that I was amazed by the fact we had to travel to Uganda to visit a prison to comfort someone. Different members of our group stood up and spoke to the women and we worshiped together in song and word, and then before we left, we were allowed to walk through the group of prisoners and pray with them and for them. WOW!! I still get a chill as I remember the feeling of praying with these women and knowing it was not my words I was speaking, but those from the Holy Spirit speaking through me. God knew after having visited the previous two places, we were in need of having our hearts lifted, and they were. I would have to say this was a very impactful visit and we are hoping that it becomes a mainstay of future mission trips.
We were able to worship on Sunday at the small church across the road from the Lukome Center. We witnessed a passion for God, through the congregation’s song and dance, that we seldom get to see in the churches in the United States. Because of that, every time we go to church here at home we want to get up and dance, and feel that same passion again. We definitely raise our voices a little louder in song and our hands are in the air to God more often than not because of our experience with ChildVoice.
On the last full day at the Lukome Center, we washed the feet of the girls and the staff. We are so grateful that they allowed us to serve them in this manner. All of them had waited on us, from preparing our meals to daily cleaning of our huts and clothing, that it seemed such a small gesture on our part in telling them “thank you.”
There is not a day that goes by that we don’t think about these girls, what they’ve been through, and we pray for their future, and we can’t wait to get back.
When people ask what we did over there, we tell them we got a glimpse of Heaven. The worshipping with the girls, the visiting the prison, the washing of their feet; all of these activities lifted our hearts, and made us feel so rewarded. In everything we had done to ready ourselves for the trip, the part we were not prepared for was the lasting impact these young women would have on our hearts. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t think about these girls, what they’ve been through, and we pray for their future, and we can’t wait to get back.
We closed out our trip with a safari to Murchison Falls. We talked all the way back to Entebbe about our experiences, and the wonderful job ChildVoice is doing with educating these young women and getting them to experience the wonderful love God has for them through their forgiveness of others. We were told ChildVoice teaches through discipline and love, and somehow, I feel that is the same way God teaches us.
Karen and Danny Miller traveled to Uganda in November, 2019 with a team from the Lutheran Church of Hope of Des Moines, Iowa.