Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Maps of Uganda

Whenever I am getting ready to travel, I love looking at maps and getting a perspective of where I'm going in the world in relation to the continent, other countries, and how far I will be traveling while I'm there.  So if you're maps-oriented, you'll enjoy this post.

Here's a map of Uganda in relation to the world and Africa:

Here's a map I made in Google maps of my flight path:
We'll be flying from Dallas to Chicago, to Brussells in Belgium, and then to Entebbe in Uganda.  If you want to play with the map in Google, click here for the link.

Here's another map I made of where we will be traveling within Uganda:
The airplane symbol in Entebbe is where we will land.  We will then visit a church in Kampala, the capital.  The two medical symbols are at Gulu and Apac, where we will be holding medical clinics and doing health education, among other activities.  The Galileo School, which is in the process of construction, is located outside of Gulu in Bul Kur (but I couldn't locate Bul Kur on the map).  The camera icon is Murchison Falls, where we will be doing some sight-seeing.  Again, if you want to see the map in Google, click here.

I hope to add more details to these maps during my travels, so stay posted!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Uganda

Considering God’s work around the world brings such joy to my heart! I am amazed by the scope of His love- from personal to universal. Over the past year, God has been going deeper with me into how personal His love is for me. But God’s personal love is not only for me…it is for people of all cultures in all countries! I am continually delighted by updates on how His love is being shared by friends in America, Canada, China, the Ukraine, Mexico, India, Germany, and now Uganda. This year, God has given me a new opportunity to share His love in Uganda.


Just to give you an idea of how this started….I have been on several mission trips in the past, and had the opportunity to do medical missions twice in college. When I went to India in 2009, we did one day of medical missions and I was reminded of how much I love to minister to people through nursing. So last summer, I started to have a desire to do another medical mission trip. After casually mentioning to my Dad that I needed to make Africa my next travel destination, Scott and Georgianna Noel came to my church to talk about their upcoming mission trip to Uganda.

Scott and Georgianna Noel started an organization called The Galileo School in 2008. They are currently building a school in the village of Bul Kur in Northern Uganda. Uganda is suffering from the after-effects of a 20 year civil war in which almost the whole population of Northern Uganda was displaced from their homes. Refugees in their own country, these people were forced to live in displaced people camps for years. Conditions in and out of the camps were terrible. Inside the camps the people suffered disease, starvation, and poverty. Many people were murdered and many children were kidnapped and forced to become child soldiers. The civil war is now over and the people have been forced to return “home”, but their homes have been destroyed and their country ravaged. The vision of The Galileo School is to help provide a future for the people of Uganda by providing an education for their children.

I will be joining the Noels and several others on a trip to Uganda in May. The school that is currently being built in Bul Kur will be finished in May, so we will be there for the dedication. We will be visiting with and encouraging believers in Kampala, Gulu, Apac, and Bul Kur. The part of the trip that I’m most excited about is the medical part! We will be serving the community by providing health education and medical clinics in several locations. We will also get to do some sight-seeing, including a trip to the source of the Nile and Murchison Falls.

I would love it if you would join me in this through your prayers! Here’s what you can pray for:

• Pray for the people of Uganda, for physical and spiritual peace in their lives

• Pray for the building of The Galileo School in Bul Kur

• Pray that God would provide for the needs of the many orphans attending the school in Bul Kur

• Pray that God would direct our trip and work out all the details

• Pray that God would give me wisdom in developing a health curriculum and preparing for the medical clinics

• Pray that my heart would be open to learning about who God is and what He wants to do in my life through this trip

I will continue to update this blog with more details about the trip (a taste of what’s to come: prayer request updates, maps, video links, Uganda history, more about The Galileo School). I hope you enjoy the updates!