8 Years of up, down, turn around, 8 Years of love and learning…

When i moved to Uganda 8 years ago I couldn’t have imagined the place I would be in right now. It hasn’t been 8 years of easy, but rather 8 years of new experiences, ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and immense growth. It has required a constant reminder that on my own I am nothing, but with Christ, I am more than a conqueror. A constant reminder that if I try to go it alone all my weaknesses and imperfections are ever so evident, but when I travel this journey with Christ He gives me a strength that is beyond what I could fathom. On my own this journey, this road God led me to would truly be impossible and only He can equip me to fulfill the purpose He has laid on my heart.
Right now as I type I am the International Coordinator for an NGO and Admin in an Inclusive Kindergarten and Primary School. 11 years ago, God started something in me and 8 years ago He launched me on a journey I did not feel equipped to follow, but I learned very quickly that as I surrender to Him, He gives me what I need to keep going. Indeed it has been a necessity to surrender to Him continuously. 
I am so glad God didn’t give up on me. When He put Africa on my heart 14 years ago, I said no and I laughed at Him. I laughed at God. I told Him, little me, are you sure? I don’t think so. But He was persistent. And I am glad He was. I have grown in character and in relationship with Him. I have grown in faith. He gave me friends that will last a lifetime. He gave me a wonderful husband and a most beautiful daughter (which is another journey and adventure all of its own).

I have seen children with special needs be given life and joy simply in the provision of a place to go to where they are loved and where someone believes in them and their unlocked potential. I the last 8 years I have seen children who cannot sit, eventually learn to walk, children who were told they could never learn, progress through kindergarten to primary education, and they are excelling. Why? Because someone believed in them. Their resilience and determination has spoken volumes to me. I have witnessed children without special needs embrace those with special needs as friends, cheering them on and demonstrating the heart of God in its purest child-like form. I have witnessed my own daughter, from the age of 3 months to her current age of 2 years and 5 months old, grow alongside children with special needs and know for a fact she is better because of it. 
When a teacher tells you ‘some children run away from other children because they struggle with saliva control, but not your daughter’, it warms my heart. And my prayer is that as she embraces and befriends others, those who ‘run away’ will learn from her. 

As we celebrated the opening of a new building this weekend on Bussi Island, in an amazing event, I was taking photos with my little girl shadowing behind me and I was told your protege is watching and learning to follow in your footsteps. As I watched her enjoying life and interacting with other children, disability was not an issue, skin colour was not an issue and I thanked God for the opportunity she has to grow up in this environment of inclusion and love. My prayer was that she would develop her own relationship with God in which she wouldn’t just follow in my footsteps, but she would trust God to blaze for her a new trail, one that is guided by a love and a heart for others no matter their differences. 
After 8 years in Uganda, I am still learning new lessons, some of them now from my own daughter, in what it truly means to love others and  surrender to Christ on a daily basis. 
The best is truly yet to come…