Uganda - hardship during the time of Corona

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On Saturday, April 24, 2021, a group of 15 people embarked on a mission trip to Uganda. After a long flight, we arrived at the mission building in Uganda the following Sunday. Our arrival in Uganda alone was a blessing from God. Due to the country's COVID-19 regulations, it wasn't at all certain whether we would even be able to get there.

But God guides all paths according to His plan. So we enjoyed the new, though initially unfamiliar, surroundings, the culture, and the warm climate. After a short break, we participated in a church service. There, we served with sermons and singing. Each group member introduced themselves, so our African brothers and sisters had a picture of us. After the service, we distributed sweets to the children and some adults. Everyone had been looking forward to them.

Sunday afternoon was a bit quieter. This gave us time to explore the surroundings and settle into the mission building.

Our goal for the trip was to work with the people there. We wanted to support them with practical and humanitarian aid, as well as spiritual nourishment. The week began energetically. The brothers split into groups and went to Pascal's, a church worker. A toilet and a washing area were to be built there, and first a concrete slab had to be poured.

Since no concrete mixer was available, our German brothers, together with our African brothers, had to mix the concrete themselves using shovels. We first had to get used to the new working conditions. Here, we didn't have the same tools and equipment as in Germany. It was definitely a worthwhile experience to carry out such heavy work under such circumstances.

Not only did the Africans learn from us, but we also learned from them. After the concrete slab was finished, we built the walls. Here, too, we quickly realized that we couldn't build to German standards. The bricks weren't all the same, and so we sometimes faced challenges. Finally, the roof was on and the door was installed. After several days of hard work, the toilet and washroom were finally finished.

Another group installed solar panels on the roof of the mission building. Here, too, we quickly realized that some tools we were used to having in Germany were not available.

As soon as one project was completed, a new one could begin. For example, the slide installed in the playground in March 2021 needed to be replaced. The original wooden slide had already become dilapidated after about a month. A new iron slide, which required welding, was to be installed. In addition, the seesaw was given some minor repairs, so the playground in front of the school and church building was ready for use again.

We repaired the roof of a member of our community. Due to the heavy rains during the rainy season, water was leaking through the roof into the house. While the roof was being replaced, the sisters bathed the family's children in the garden and dressed them in donated clothes. Children from neighboring families saw this and came to be washed as well. The children had a wonderful time, and it gave us great joy to see them so happy.

While the brothers were busy with crafts, the sisters also sorted the donated clothing and packed it into bags to make it easier to distribute to people in need.

On some afternoons, we attended church services. We wanted to go through some topics from the "Alpha Course" with the congregation. The congregation was interested, even though some things were difficult for them to understand. They asked many questions, and so we were also able to offer some spiritual instruction. After one of these services, we presented a wheelchair to a sister with mobility issues. She was overjoyed. Walking on the dirty, dusty, and bumpy streets was often difficult for her. Her joy was clearly visible on her face.

At a church member's construction site, the brothers were building the walls. The scaffolding was quite rudimentary and not comparable to the scaffolding we have in Germany. Tree trunks were felled and tied together to form the framework. Workplace safety wasn't a major concern. Thankfully, the brothers were spared serious accidents, which was by no means a given.

While some were working on construction sites away from home, others were busy at the mission grounds. Here, for example, the brothers were welding table frames for new tables in the Bible school. Some of the sisters then painted these tables. This kept everyone busy. While the table legs were being welded, children from the neighborhood came with an old, broken bicycle that had snapped in half and asked if it could be welded back together. Our welder, of course, couldn't refuse their request and repaired the bicycle for the children. Even though it was such an old bike, the children were overjoyed when it was fixed.

Some of the sisters distributed the donated clothing, which had already been prepared, in the surrounding area. It was wonderful to see how happy people were with the donations.

In the middle of our trip, we took a break from all the work and went on a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) tour. Along the way, we handed out sweets to children. They kept calling out, "Muzungu, give me some sweets!" ("White person, give me some sweets"). The children couldn't get enough of the sweets.

We also took a short break at Pastor Joseph's place. A company had built a well there so that all the surrounding families could draw water from it. The well is 41 meters deep. We were quite amazed when we saw the well, which had been dug by hand. Concrete rings were repeatedly attached to the walls to support the well. Some of our group were there when the work with the concrete rings was completed.

The men were lowered into the well in two canisters attached to a rope. Two other men stood above, cranking the handle. Descending into the well requires great trust, as oxygen is scarce at the bottom. After only a few minutes, one must be pulled back up, otherwise one can suffocate.

We constantly compared life in Uganda with life in Germany and realized how good we have it. Probably no one in Germany has the same workload as the people in Uganda.

In the following days, we went to the national park. On the way there, we stopped at a hospital because one of our group members wasn't feeling well, but the hospital was very full. So we decided to go to another hospital and soon arrived. While our brother was being examined, we waited outside the hospital and enjoyed the sunshine.

Then one of our group noticed that a boy had fainted about 20 meters down the street. Several of us quickly ran over and administered first aid. They carried the boy to the hospital and gave him something to eat and drink. Once he was back on his feet, he explained that he had lost his job and was actually on his way home by taxi.

But the taxi driver simply left him standing in the street after a short distance. So the boy had to continue on foot. Without money, food, or drink, he set off for home. The sun was very hot that day, and so he lost consciousness in front of the hospital where we were waiting. We gave him fresh clothes, a backpack, some provisions for the journey, and money for his way home. God hadn't simply orchestrated things so that we would have to wait in front of this hospital.

Afterwards, we continued on to the national park. There we marveled at God's wonderful creation. We saw many wild animals such as elephants, zebras, monkeys, buffalo, hippos, and even lions. Nature is beautiful.

After the restful days, we returned to the mission building with renewed energy and carried out the final work on the construction sites.

In addition, the church received a fresh coat of paint, we made preparations for building the fence, and visited the children from the orphanage in their foster families. The children had been placed in foster care due to the coronavirus pandemic. To bring them some joy, we brought gifts for them and their foster families.

The biblical saying from Acts 20:35 was confirmed once again: "It is more blessed to give than to receive!"

Thus ended our two-week, exciting journey. On Friday, we returned to Kampala with many new insights, experiences, and impressions, and then continued on to Entebbe Airport, from where we began our journey home. In all things, we can say that God has richly blessed us. To Him belongs the glory for everything we were able to do in His name.

Sabine Noll
Municipality of Bielefeld

More information about the project and the opportunity to donate:

https://cdh-stephanus.org/uganda/