Journey With Us

The day is getting very close for when our group will board a plane and embark on a roughly thirty hour journey to return to Uganda in January of 2020. Those of the group that have been to Uganda before- Matt, Barbie, Steve, and myself. And those of the group that will visit for the first time- Cecil, Jane, Cheyenne, Lois, Kelly, and Maya.

The journey back to Uganda is far away. It is not local. This trip can confuse many because of the distance. Many people choose a local focus. Instead, our hearts are for those on the other side of the world. In fact, there are such special souls that we love in Uganda that we greatly desire to see again!

In John chapter four, God’s word says that Jesus and the disciples traveled from Judea to Galilee. This trip for Jesus and the disciples would be one hundred and twenty-five miles of walking. In order to travel from Judea to Galilee you would have to go through Samaria. Because the Jews stayed away from the Samarians, they would usually make the travel farther by going around Samaria. Instead, Jesus walked through Samaria! Which would make it seem like he was taking the shorter distance to Galilee, but even though his path of travel was out of the ordinary, there is great significance to Jesus’ choice of direction. In John chapter four, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well.

There is a great deal of preparation for our trip to Uganda. Each traveler gets a specific amount of luggage to check onto the plane and we plan out carefully the supplies we will take for the Hope Center. It is a long process of discerning what will benefit the children and staff the most. Even before our flight takes off we have spent many hours of energy to prepare. Gathering of supplies, immunizations, research, and prayer take energy. John 4:6, “Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.” Jesus was tired through the long travel and heat from the sun.

The realities of Uganda are much different than the United States. Uganda is extremely populated, high in unemployment, struggling through poverty, plagued by corruption, devastated by HIV, AIDS, and even preventable or curable diseases, tribalism and other false religions hold back peace, trafficking threatens young girls, alcoholism and drugs are everywhere, God’s true word is twisted, poorly taught, and neglected, and as we know all too well- children are left on their own or unable to be cared for by family. The depths of each of these realities makes the United States seem like a utopian world of sorts.

Much like the Samaritan woman at the well, Uganda has a lot of difficult issues. It would be tempting to say that they are a lost cause. But, despite the trouble in the Samaritan woman’s past, Jesus has a specific mission of getting his message of life to her.

By no means do I compare our efforts of going to the Hope Center to the level of Jesus, but our group shares one specific mindset: “We are compelled by the Living Water of Jesus Christ to go to Uganda and visit our brothers and sisters that are in need.” We share this mindset and cannot ignore or contain the fact that there is so much joy in Jesus! So much that we cannot contain it and will go to any length, even the long trip and confusing difference of life and culture to save those that would otherwise have no one to care for them and share the love and news of Jesus with them!

In regards to Jesus’ instruction to “Go and make disciples of all nations” David Platt once said that, “God’s heart is for the world!” So we go! Wherever the place may be, whatever issue may arise, as followers of Jesus we are to share the hope we have amongst those in urgent physical and spiritual need! We must go! The children need all of our help! Without the Hope Center, each of the children would be without a home, without food, without anyone to love or care for them. They would barely survive or most likely die.

If you share this urgency with us, will you join us? Will you do what it takes to reach those far away? Will you follow Jesus’ efforts to spread the news of his love and forgiveness? Will you pray for how you can join our efforts? Pray how your own resources, expertise, and your own love and care can be used to impact those in need of our help!

If you need help getting started we have a couple ways for you to begin your impact:
- Convert your Amazon account to an Amazon Smile account and direct the donations to ‘The HOPE Center Uganda’.
- Shop the Amazon ‘Charity List’ on HCU’s Amazon Smile account and choose from a range and variety of supplies that we wish to take with us on our January trip.
- Become a monthly donor.
- Tell others about HCU. Become an ambassador and spread the word!
- Join our volunteer efforts or our Task Force for weekly planning meetings.
- Set up a speaking event for a group to grow the awareness of HCU.
- Pray for the growth and development of HCU to reach many more children in need.

-Michael Kander, Task Force Member