Greetings from The Pearl of Africa!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Hello and welcome to my blog about my journey and time spent in the beautiful country of Uganda. Being new to the blog thing and new to Uganda things may be a little rough at first, but I hope in time to smooth out the rough edges so you can get a good picture of what life in Uganda is like. I hope that by sharing this amazing journey with you, too, will come to love the people and culture of this beautiful country!

This journey began for me over 25 years ago when I first learned of the conflict taking place in Uganda in which children were being abducted by the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) lead by Joseph Kony, and forced to fight as soldiers in his misguided attempt to overthrow the government of Uganda. At that time thousands of children were being kidnapped from their villages in northern Uganda, villages were being burned to the ground, people were slaughtered, women and girls raped or taken as sex slaves for the rebels and many other atrocities. God placed a burden on my heart for these people, these little children and their suffering and He would not let me rest until I fulfilled His plan for me to come to Uganda and be His hands and feet here.

Since that time, 25 years ago, my life has taken many turns. I've had many different occupations, gone back to school, completed a Bachelors in Social Work at Eastern Michigan University and a Masters of Peace and Conflict Studies at The University of Sydney, Australia. throughout this journey, God has been preparing me for the day when I finally set foot on Ugandan soil - on February 16, 2012. It was with much sacrifice and mixed emotions that I arrived at Entebbe airport. I left behind in America my two most precious gifts - my adult children - Charlotte and Carl. They are my whole purpose for living and have been my rock and greatest supporters! I love them dearly and miss them so much every day! But I know that we are together in spirit and that we will be together again when I return from Uganda.

So, as you read the posts, I hope you get a feel for the people and country of Uganda and the heart that I have for them. I hope you enjoy the posts and feel free to send comments to me or questions you have about anything I write here. I only ask that you keep it clean, polite, unpolitical and not degrading to anyone else. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey.