All things Uganda

Hello all--

I just wanted to write, for those of you interested, and give a little update on all things Uganda. We purchased our flights! :) Which makes everything more real and exciting and terrifying-- all at the same time! We leave May 10th out of DIA-- head to Minne-an-apolis (I am spelling it like I say it. I know that is wrong).

Then on to Amsterdam.

Finally flying into Entebbe. Of course, we then have a 6 hour drive to the community we will be living and working in.

Recently, we were made aware that the community we are traveling to (Barakalo) is so rural that it will be rare to have people speak English. Being the ignorant American that I am, I just assumed that at least the schools would be taught in English and there would only be a slight communication barrier. After some research, we have determined that Barakalo is home to the Lango tribe who speak Lwo. Now, if you know me, you know I heart the library. Soo--- I checked out all books from the Rocky Mountain region on this culture and the language. There were 8. Better than nothing, I suppose!

Just in case you thought we were going to be living lavishly while in Africa, let me give you a little insight onto what we will experience. There won't be showers or bathing areas-- mostly just buckets that you fill up with river water and dunk your head in. We probably will get small mattresses or at least a thin cushion to sleep on. Granted-- we will have a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. We are still lucky. But this is by no means a vacation.

We are there to work side by side with the community members, engaging in conversations and relationships. We are there to reflect the love of Christ and serve His children. We are also there to learn from the people of the community, respectfully and lovingly.

Well, now that you have a glimpse of what is going on on this end of things-- let me tell you a little more. Each of the team members had to raise around $3000 to be able to go to Uganda. At this point in time, we still have $6700 left to raise (for the whole team). We are down to the wire. If anyone feels called to give, we would be forever grateful.

If anything, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for our team. Pray for our finances to come through. Pray that our hearts continue to be prepared for what God has in store. Pray for the people of Barakalo-- that they may be opened to what God will do in their lives. Pray for others we will encounter on our journey there-- that our team may be a great example of His love and peace.

If you are interested in giving, please email me at jessicatrichie@gmail.com. I can give you information on how to give via check or credit card. Thank you so much for partnering with me on this.