Up until this point, I had been very numb. There is so much hurt all around me and I didn't know how to react to it all. I prayed hard on Monday night for God to wreck me, for God to break my heart for what breaks His. Tuesday, at the hospital, He did just that. I was kneeling beside a hospital bed where 24 year-old Patrick was lying. And where he will be lying for the rest of his life. When he was just two years younger than me, he was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army. He was beaten to the point of paralysis, and now he'll never be able to walk again. I sat...

             Our team tends to refer to our lifes back in America as "real life", where as being in the Pearl of Africa isn't. (ie: In real life I usually have lots of energy, but here in Africa-land I'm always exhausted.) It's hard to explain, but sometimes I don't feel like I'm actually breathing, standing, and living in the continent of Africa. It seems as if I'm in some foreign land, but I'm unable to actually wrap my mind around the fact that I'm on the other side of the planet. I don't know how the...

The atmosphere was bright and alive as my team and I walked into the prison for a second time. Most of the men were standing up dancing, playing drums, singing, smiling, and clapping their hands. Once we joined in my heart was full of joy once again. There is just something about this place. Even though we were in the middle of a prison singing with only a few drums…it was one of the most amazing worship experiences I’ve ever had. There is something about being in the middle of Africa away from the rest of the world and worshiping with these men. There is such a joy that...

Imagine being in a hospital where everyone around you could possibly be on the verge of death. Imagine seeing a wife who takes in orphans sobbing because she is to sick to go home and take care of them. Imagine an 18 year old girl fighting cancer. Imagine a very old man that weighs maybe 50 pounds smiling from ear to ear because he finally has a visitor. Imagine a 6 year old boy having an infection in his leg that makes him unable to walk. But he desires to run and play like a normal kid. Imagine a 24 year old man who was abducted by the LRA, forced to carry heavy things for long...

Rewind to last Sunday: first day of prison ministry. Down a dark hallway. Gate is opened and sunshine hits my face. Suddenly we are standing in a prison yard with a whole crowd of men staring at us. Bright yellow uniforms clashed against their dark skin. There was one guard… without a gun. I didn’t feel uncomfortable though. I felt at peace. Later we asked our translator what the men were in prison for. Theft, murder, pretty much anything and everything. Fast forward to this Sunday: second day of prison ministry. Down the dark hallway, the gate was opened and we were ushered...

This is Africa! Everything is bright in Uganda: the colors, the sun, and the smiles. The dirt is very red, and the grass and trees are very lush and very green. The sky is huge; there are so many clouds during the day and so many stars at night. It really is beautiful here. I have yet to see any giraffes or have a near-death experience with a lion, but there are cows, chickens, and goats aimlessly roaming the land. My favorite part of Eastern Africa is the large variety of insects. The bugs are huge! I love picking them up and housing them in our room…which my teammates love!...