One Year Later

365 days ago, in a span of 19 days, my life was changed.

I remember opening all my presents, stuffing myself full with ham and potatoes, and enjoying board games and basketball with my family. I tried to sleep that night, but 3:00 am came early, and the anticipation was far too great.

I remember boarding the first plane, comparatively a short flight to Washington D.C. We would eventually travel through Belgium and Rwanda before finally reaching our destination: Uganda.

I remember the smell. It was like a slap in the face as soon as I stepped out of the plane. The heat engulfed me. The air was thick. The bugs were everywhere. It was a world completely unknown and so very different than my home. As we walked out of the airport to meet Pastor Hudson, our host, a huge crowd of locals began to stare at us "muzungu", or "white people". We were obviously strangers in a strange land.

I remember being overwhelmed with emotion. Excitement. Fear. Joy. I was in a land I had only dreamed of visiting with my husband, best friend, dad, and brother. I had no idea how much I would change in just those few days on a foreign continent.

I remember the way the orphans were in awe of how light my skin was compared to theirs, the way they clung to my neck, hungry for affection, the way they sang their songs with dance and energy...

I remember the way the church members were so hungry for knowledge of the God they had recently come to know, how they danced with the movement of their tribes, their genuine gratefulness for our visit...

I remember the Muslims who approached me, asking why I believed in Jesus and not Allah, asking how they could come to know a God who truly cared about them and not just what they could do for Him, and invited us into their home where they had prepared the most delicious African food.

Between the miserable heat, the cockroaches, the lack of Western toilets, the frequent power outages, no pizza, and incredibly long flights, there was a lot that could have ruined my trip. But God used it to completely alter my heart and my perspective. I realized how happy the people are with so little, and how shallow and discontent I can be with so much. I realized how big the world truly is, though I can get very focused on just America as the crux of the earth. I realized how big God is, and how incredible His love is. I learned joy through the children, love through the adults, and brokenness from the orphans. I learned gratefulness.

The greatest thing it did was create in me a burning desire to do something, to be a world changer. And it doesn't have to just be in Uganda, but anywhere I am. I have a new love for people and for my God.

My heart misses Uganda. Its an ache that will not go away. It is my second home, and I place I know I will return to one day. It is the home of at least one of my future children, and a place I am forever grateful to because I am not the same.