(This was written while flying back from my trip) I’m going to try not to ramble here, but it’s proving to be quite difficult. Uganda, Africa. Say those two words to me a few years ago, and theyd hold little weight. My life was pretty normal, repetitive, and care free. Wake up, go to the gym, edit a few pictures, return a few emails, hang out with a few friends, sleep, and then repeat with careful pre-calculation. As a 30 year old Caucasian male, I had an easy life. I thought that I had a pretty good world view from the pictures, movies, and stories that I had watched, heard and read, all while reclining comfortably in my air conditioned apartment, but God decided to abruptly turn my world inside outwards. As Im sitting on my return flight, thousands of feet in the air somewhere over England, I cant help but think about how my heart is no longer with me. In less than a week’s time, my entire life changed. I know a lot of people blindly throw sayings like that around in today’s culture, but Im no longer who I was a week ago. Talking normally comes quite easy to me, but for some reason Im at a loss for words currently. It’s difficult processing such a magnificent, huge reality-altering experience like this. That country. Those kids… Those smiles, hugs, and laughter. They had so little, yet their faces burned brightly with an over-abundance of joy like I had never before experienced in my short little life. Uganda, Africa. Home of over 2.2 million orphans. Over 50 percent of this nation’s current population are UNDER the age of 15. Let that soak in for a moment. While driving from village to village, I continually saw countless kids sitting around in the dirt, wearing clothing that looked as if it had been worn for ages, falling apart at the seams, far from the comforts of our washing machines. It seemed as if the villages were almost ran by the kids themselves, as they were who we mostly saw throughout our daily interactions. In 2008, Pastor Emmy and Supermom Nnyanzi decided to make a change, after God stirred in their hearts a desire to do something. While he and his wife lived in poverty when this calling arose, the least bit certain as to how God would pull off what they felt moved to do, they knew one thing: Something had to happen. Fast forward to today, and where there once was nothing, there are now 5 schools. There are now 70 churches. There are now 2 farms, 1 medical clinic, and 1 baby house, which was just launched. There are over 1800 kids, who if not for Emmy’s vision by God, would probably be out on the street with kids of their own. These kids who were missing the love and care of their biological parents that a lot of us are used to having now had a place to call home. Parental Care Ministries was officially born. During that week, we visited multiple schools multiple times, as my perception of this world got ripped ever so quickly from my hands, and was gently replaced with the grasping, tiny fingers of countless loving children as they wanted nothing more but to be loved. To feel acceptance. To feel cared for. I dont get overwhelmed easily, but this blew the roof off of what I was expecting when signing up for this trip. I HAD to do something. I HAD to bring back images of these faces, even if no image could fully represent just how amazing these little lives were. Flying home, I feel an undeniable calling from God, for the first time in a while... Uganda is now a part of my life. I never thought that Id say that, but God works in funny ways. When you let go of what you think your definition of life should be, mountains move. Perspectives change. LIVES change, starting with our own. I decided to create this gallery to show you all these little faces that fully changed my little life within the period of one little week far, far away from the comforts of my home. Ive shot close to a million pictures throughout my life, and zero affected me like these did before now. While they could never fully convey what it’s fully like to be there in person, I hope that you enjoy these images as much as I do. With plans to potentially go back as soon as mid February, I decided that I wanted to create a coffee table book from these trips and donate all of the proceedings to PCM, since its such an amazing cause that I believe in so very deeply. Once youve seen these images in this gallery and fallen in love with each and every one of these little lives, it would mean ever so much to not only me, but the countless lives that youll help if you picked up a copy once it was created. If youre interested, feel free to send me a message, and Ill keep you up to date with that project there. As a final note, these images are just a starting point. Jesus calls us to go. To let go of who we think we are, and to follow him… Fully. Anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let go, reckless in your love, youll have it forever, real and eternal. If any of you want to serve me, then follow me. -Jesus To learn more about PCM, visit pcmonline.org :-)
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 18:06:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015