#8 Farewell

Welcome to our eighth and final blog from our Uganda mission trip! 

Thank you to everyone who has read our blog, prayed for us and supported us in so many ways over the last two weeks. We hugely appreciate your support!

As we sit in Dubai airport, waiting for the final leg of our mammoth journey home, we reflect on the time we have had. 

Sarah, Jo and Vicky share their summary of the trip below.  

Well, where do we start? There was nervous anticipation and fear felt just 14 days ago in Manchester Airport; some from fear of flying and from everyone the unknown of what the next 14 days would bring. We could never have imagined the life changing experiences we were going to have, new friends we would be making and the spirit filled changes we would be making in Jesus’s name in both our lives and the people’s lives we had yet to meet.

It is difficult to summarise all the many experiences we have had here but we will do our best.  Our initial highlight was the amazing welcome to FACT on our first full day and the joy on the children’s faces as they paraded down the road with the brass band in tow. Feeling their anticipation of what was to come and the stark contrast when walking into the school was shocking. I don’t think any of us were really ready for the poverty we were going to encounter on this trip, however many stories we had heard beforehand. Seeing really is believing, but still having the feeling of God’s presence everywhere we went gave us the courage to keep moving forward.

Over the days to follow we visited lots of different communities, schools and churches all of which provided different joys and challenges, but in all of this, God was with us every step of the way. The team have grown and moulded together, and over this short time have become a really loving and caring family.  We have seen God touch every situation, each in a different way: a smile from a child, a hug from a teacher, and even tears.  We made lifelong friends and partnerships with Peter & Rose Mugabe, Ben from PDN, Paul from FACT, Patrick from Kathy’s Centre, the staff & over 1,600 students at NVI, especially Juliet and the beautiful Abbie (inside & out) who joined our team in Kampala to attend Firefest International. Oh and of course not forgetting the lovely Jude, with the help of Andrew, whom God placed to be our guide, driver, helper, friend and fixer of any challenge that has come along.

We had a lively time of worship at Watoto church on Sunday. Their impressive choir, truly anointed dancing troop and inspirational teaching was a blessing to the team. Having the chance to visit Suubi Watoto village in the afternoon and share a traditional Ugandan meal with three families was an equally blessed time; we left feeling incredibly humbled and positive about the amazing work Watoto are doing in Uganda.

Our final task before flying this morning was to trek through a local forest in search of monkeys. Vicky and Neal climbed 120 ft up to the top of the viewing tower (used to research different types of mosquito!) and spied three red tailed monkeys, while the team below spotted a few in the trees around them. What an incredible experience to be amongst them in their natural habitat!

We thank the Lord our God for the time we have spent here and for the small part we have played in making a difference in this beautiful country. We thank God for the blessings and the challenges that He has given us and the spiritual upgrade throughout this amazing journey. We pray that God will continue to bless the friends and situations that we have touched and that he gives us the opportunity to continue helping in His name.


Psalm 121

I lift my eyes to the hills -
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
the maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip -
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you -
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm -
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and for evermore.