Initial reflections on the CRED 360 Uganda trip

Well, here I am again, happily back in Uganda, staying with John and Sophie, and having the delights of introducing yet another team to the inspiring, challenging and thought-provoking projects that I have grown to know and love so much over the years.

I really do feel so very blessed to be able to come here so often, and it is so lovely to see the young people blossoming and being transformed in very positive ways as they get involved in the different projects.

We’ve just had a debrief time, and everyone shared a couple of thoughts on what it is that has impacted them most since they’ve been here (ie since yesterday lunchtime). For most of them, it is their first time to Africa, for some it was their first time on a plane, or away from family for more than a weekend. So it was good to hear the varied reflections that they had.

When it came to my turn to share, I initially found it hard to think what to say, as I have been here so many times and so all the things that are unusual and strange to the others feel relatively normal to me.

But what has impacted me today, is just how much God has been showing up everywhere. And as the representative of a Christian organization, with a heart for getting the gospel out into the near and far reaches of the world through word and deed, I have been so excited to see how many times today the young people have seen and heard God referred to in and through daily life as well as the projects.

Some of these young people have come from very dark places, and very broken backgrounds; others have had it less tough, but still don’t have anything to do with church back home. Today they have all heard about being good stewards of God’s creation, as John spoke about what inspires him to help others pursue sustainable living as a way of escaping poverty; and they have heard all about the power of forgiveness and prayer, as Benson spoke about the atrocities experienced by the Acholi people during the reign of terror by Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army.

Some of them also sat in on the prayer time at the start of the day; and I had a long conversation with one lad about different denominations, faith in action v faith by word, power of prayer etc.

And all of that on just day one!

So, as we embark on the rest of the fortnight, thank you for your prayers for the team – may they continue to be touched, challenged and impacted by what they see, what they hear, and what they take part in. And may we, the leaders, be wise to the different ways in which God is working His purposes out in each of them, so that we may support them in the ways that they each need it.