The Big News...

 

I have been in Uganda since the end of May. I feel like I have been here for a long time already but at the same time I feel like I haven’t been here long at all. Many people who come to Uganda either come for a short trip, about two weeks, or a longer one, about six months to a year. I am in this weird in between stage; two months. Two months may sound like a long time to some but it feels very short to me. Even being here only a mere month I look at the length of my stay and it doesn't feel right. I just got here, I just got settled and now I am supposed to go home and live life normally? I don’t want to live my life that way. I want to take risks, do things that demand an explanation and most importantly live a life that is in obedience to the Lord. 

Coming to Uganda this summer started off by joking about it. That seems like thats how a lot of things start for me, I joke about it and then it happens. Of course I wanted to come out here in the first place but I never thought everything would fall into place so perfectly so I could. The joke of me staying started even before I left. Stef joked about me staying until November; of course I thought about it but I had made all theses plans for when I would return in August. I would go to Hume Lake with RH High School ministry, I would go back to work at an amazing restaurant, I would move into a new apartment with really good friends, I would go back to Long Beach be a peer mentor and be involved on campus and I would attend a good friends wedding. All these things sound good and amazing but I feel like I am being called to a different season in my life. The joke of me staying continued when some friends from the US came to Uganda for an internship, and made staying in Uganda sound more enticing. I felt peace about wanting to stay and began praying about it. 

I had many obstacles that I faced while praying and thinking about this decision, but God seemed to just clear them all away. Things again started to fall in place and work out so perfectly. It was constantly being confirmed that  I was supposed to stay in Uganda. I just felt that my time here wasn’t done, that I had so much to learn and experience. I have always wanted to stay in Uganda for a longer period of time but it never worked out for me in the past. This time feels like it's my time, my season to finally live in Uganda. So here I am, I packed for two months, told everyone I was staying for two months, but feel this huge peace, confirmation and excitement about staying for six. I talked to my parents, talked to my roommates, and have asked several people to join me in prayer. Its a huge leap of faith and I will continue to live and learn how to be fully dependent on God. 

I am choosing to continue denying the comforts of the US, take another semester off of school, thus pushing my graduation date back...again, and work in a developing country...for free. I am choosing to miss out on a lot of birthdays and celebrations, decline a lot of events and not see my close friends and family. I am choosing to live a life that demands explanation, to be obedient to what I believe the Lord is calling me too, and to allow my self to take risks, grow and be challenged in many areas of my life. This choice was not my own but one that the Lord placed on my heart and has confirmed. 

I will be staying in Uganda until November, working with Remnant Uganda, learning as much as I can and simply just living life here. You may not agree with this decision and you may not understand this decision but I am asking you to continue supporting me regardless. YOLO right? But in all seriousness I am in the perfect place in my life to do something crazy like this and I am not going to turn it down because of fear, guilt or what other people may think. Again this was not my decision to make, it was placed in my heart and although I may not know what my future holds I trust the one who holds my future. 

I cannot make this journey alone and I want to invite you to join me and continue joining me on this adventure during this season in my life and my time in Gulu, Uganda. Along with tons and tons of prayers, encouragement, and words of wisdom I also ask you for support financially. I came to Uganda with the financial means for two months, saving all my tips for months and being really wise with my money. At this point I still have money saved but six months is really stretching it. Money is my biggest concern right now but I refuse to be disobedient and not trust that the Lord will provide if this is really what He wants for me. Life in Uganda is fairly cheap so I don’t need much, I am asking for $2000 to pay for rent, food, transportation, airtime/internet, and all the other random things I may need to survive.  

I have set up a pay pal account for anyone and everyone who feel called to donate, who feel obligated to donate or who I guilt trip to donate. Use my email address maryjsick@gmail.com and simply just go on to paypal.com

Plus I will be out here for my birthday, and what better gift to give than supporting my livelihood in Uganda. I love and am grateful for all the support I have received for this trip and trips in the past; I may not be the best at saying thank you but know that I am forever indebted to you and really do appreciate the support and influence in my life.

^The sweetest email from my manager after informing them I would not be returning in August as planned

Continue following my blog and seeing what is going on in Uganda. I will try to update more often; feel free to set up any Skype or FaceTime dates and don't be sky about emailing or messaging on Facebook! Thanks to technology we are closer than you think. I am only a short message away!

Just some thoughts on life...

Life here in Uganda is amazing. I love living in a place that is filled with new and interesting things. I absolutely love the culture and just how different living here is like. I love waking up in the morning knowing that I will have to fully depend on the Lord, that I will expect to do something that is out of my comfort zone, or something that just doesn’t make sense to most people. I love walking down the beautiful dirt roads and have dozens of kids call to me and wave to me. I love seeing how people live and wish I knew their story, or what it felt like to not be a stranger in this land. 

There is so much I could say about life here. It really makes me look at my “normal” life differently. There are so many things that are easily taken for granted for, and things not taken enough advantage of. Its amazing how much you can learn living in a different culture, country, continent. I do things that the people here think is silly but when they laugh I have learned to look at it as me bringing them joy. So what if I feel my tomatoes before I buy them? If you think its funny, go ahead and laugh, at least I am bringing you a little bit of happiness. 

Through this experience I have learned so much about God, who he is and how much he loves his people. I have learned about parenting and how much parents go through seeing their children get hurt, go down the wrong path, or make poor decisions. I have had my heart broken and my heart filled with joy in the same hour; I have seen the most beautiful sunrise and a night sky that is cluttered with stars; I have seen a school that is exploding with Gods will and a bar that reeks of captivity, corruption and emptiness. 

This past month my mind has been filled each day with new perspectives, words of wisdom, and Gods will. I don’t really know how to explain everything that I see and experience and I fear that it is going to become overwhelming. This has become my life and I couldn’t imagine anywhere I would rather be. My life is not easy, but its also not hard living in a place you feel called to. There are obstacles to overcome, attacks to fight, and lessons to be learned, but I am filled with a peace and a trust that can only come from the Lord.

            My past week has truly been amazing. Wednesday began with a beautiful sunrise Boda ride. That is a sight to see; the stunning African sun rising over Eucalyptus  trees, huts and simply just life waking up. The ride was a last hurrah for Ashely, one of the new friends I met here in Gulu; she was leaving to go back to the US. I learned that day that that is the best way to wake up. My day continued to be amazing. I taught a discipleship lesson to a class of awesome Primary 3 students, and then had some great meetings with the amazing Pastor Ron and Mamma Joy. The week continued in the same fashion with a delicious cheesy-pesto-sun dried tomato-pasta and podcast night and then a beautiful weekend in Kampala. 

        Everyday, is just another day to enjoy my time here, to take advantage of all that I can learn. Everyday is a chance to see what the Lord has in store and a chance for me to take risks and live a life that demands an explanation.

Stay tuned for a post about Kampala and the RH team. And don't forget, my big news is coming up!

Allow me to catch you up...

It has been a couple weeks since I last updated about my life here in Uganda. Everyday here is better than the last. I learn new things everyday and have really stopped being surprised by anything, things are no longer different but normal. We have been pretty busy here at the compound. We have had many different orders, and many deadlines. We had some friends going to the states so we were determined to get all the shirts for our summer line photo-shoot done and put on a plane with them. 

Our first financial training class. 

The week following my last blog was a crazy one. It must be that time of the year here because all of our ladies were getting sick. We literally had one lady Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The best part was that it was somehow always the pregnant lady that came, and she can’t even do a lot of screen printing. This is Africa though, people get sick, and all we can do is love on them, pray for them and do what we can without a full healthy body. The week started off slow but Thursday and Friday were phenomenal. Most of our ladies were back, and even though they weren’t at full strength they put what they had into their work. In two days we finished and order for a really cool organization called The Recreation Project (TRP).  Read Remnant Uganda’s blog post about the amazing work of TRP. We were so proud of the ladies and they were so determined to get the order done. Their attitudes were amazing, we sang and danced and just worked together joyfully. Looking back at those two days, I could really see the growth in the ladies. It was a great end of the work week for a very fun weekend.

Friday was another successful Mexican Night. Sarah had a team in town so it was packed. I got to meet the new Krochet Kids interns, talk with friends and meet new people. 

Joel, Anna's baby

Saturday in the states Remnant’s Summer line had its debut at Fish fest. Yvette and her friends ended up selling a lot of product, so it was very very good! Saturday on my side of the world was fun. Exploring the market, walking the streets, and hanging out at the Bits house. As the night grew darker we ate Sankofa (local pizza place) and got into our overalls and flannels. One of our friends was hosting a white trash bash, I know it is a pretty great theme to have in Africa. It was a really fun night, there was a photo booth, a bon fire, and music blasting out of a couple huge speakers. Everyone dressed up and there were trucker hats for everyone. Let me tell you, the Ugandan market can be a gold mine for the best stuff! Picture a huge garage sale, with all the stuff that no one wants. The overalls were a gem. 

The weekend ended with a lazy Sunday consisting of a podcast, pad thai, baking, and chick flicks starring Rachel McAdams and a really attractive man. Sometimes you just need days like that, and weekends where you don’t do a ounce of work. It felt really good to just relax.

The following week was filled with outings everyday of the week. Goodbye dinners, birthday parties, hanging out with friends, and finally it was Friday again. The work week wasn’t as...well... it was definitely interesting. Early in the week one of the ladies was emitted into the hospital for her baby boy. Joel had pneumonia but he lit up and got so excited when he saw Stef and I and his good friend Jamesey. It was a really sweet time, Brenda, Miriam and Jane were there as well, we just sat with Anna and Joel and prayed for them. Prayer was probably the best thing we could do for them, prayers are a lot more powerful then anything else we could have brought, given, or did, We met a Doctor that spoke Kiswahili and made him see Anna right away. Stef gets really intense when it comes to the health of the ladies, but it is worth pulling the white card to make sure that our family members get treated. The rest of the week felt like it was all meetings. Meetings with landlords, brokers, and many meetings with the ladies. 

Posho & beans at my desk. We finally got the chance to organize our office, and I now have my own desk!

Development is a game filled with mystery but when it comes to the business of transformation there really aren’t step by step instructions. I have learned a lot this past week that when it comes to lives changing a lot of rules on the business side are broken, and the most important thing is and always is the lives of our beneficiaries. 

Thursday we had a meeting about a policy change. Change is never easy, there will always be a fight against change, even if the change will be beneficial. We turned to our friends and Remnant Uganda board members, Ron & Joy, for advice. These two speak so much wisdom and inspire me every time I speak with them. Through much prayer and more meetings with these two we came up with a solution that will be the most beneficial for life transformation in the lives our ladies. It is really something we are trusting in the Lord in and really allowing him to take control and show us what he has in store.

Saturday was a goodbye party for one of the IC girls. All I can say is, Ugandans really know how to dance. Some of the Invisible Children guys were there and were teaching us some sweet moves. We danced ALL night, we even danced on some tables. It was just a really fun night with friends and new friends.

Fourth of July was this past Wednesday. Such a fun night! Everyone was in their red white and blue, BBQing was happening and we had a a great feast of everything American. American holidays abroad are always so much fun, there is a huge community out here so it is always a great excuse to get together. We even had some sparklers and a huge party popper!

Stef got Maleria this week so she was in bed trying to get better. The tablets worked and she is now almost 100% back to health. The rest of our week was a lot of work and more meeting with landlords and the ladies. Sorry this post is all over the place and not very in depth. There truly has just been so much going on. I will try to break things down better, just know that I love it here and I am learning so much. 

Its a new week tomorrow and I am simply excited about what I will experience. Look forward to an exciting blog post coming up! I have some big news to share!