My YWAM Mission Trip to Uganda by Cecelia Wolfe

Several weeks ago, I went on a two-month mission trip to Uganda. I went with a team of fourteen young adults with the missions organization YWAM. On this trip, I learned and grew so much. I saw the Lord work in so many incredible ways. 

One of the main things we did on this trip was door-to-door evangelism. We would hike five to ten miles to the remote villages in Uganda to share the gospel. We were surprised to find that the people were incredibly open to hearing us share about Jesus. We would show up to their homes with our translators and ask if it was okay if we shared about Jesus and everyone agreed. We were not turned away at one home. This shows how God was working in the hearts of the Ugandans we ministered to. Better yet, the people would go out of their way to show kindness and hospitality to us. Many of them invited us into their homes, ran to get any food they had to share with us, and even brought out seating for us to rest while we shared our good news with them. 

 There were many opportunities that God gave us to bless the people as well. There was one time when my team and I were hiking to a village when we saw a man sitting on the side of the road. We talked to the man and asked him how we could pray for him. The man told us that he was blind and that he had no one to help him or take care of him. He also said that he had not eaten in a week and he was starving. We did not have much to give him at that moment, but we did have a protein bar. We gave it to him along with a shower of prayers. Throughout the week we were in that village, we brought him breakfast and dinner daily to ensure he was cared for. We also notified the local church of his needs so that they could care for him in our absence. We knew that just as much as his physical needs needed to be met, his spiritual needs needed to be met even more. Every day we prayed for him and shared the gospel with him. By the end of the week, he had committed his life to Christ and was walking in a relationship with God. 

Another thing I did in Uganda was teach many men and women to make jewelry for Hope’s Gate. Hope’s Gate is one YWAM Wylie’s local ministries. The purpose of Hope’s Gate is to empower young men and women all over the world to earn money for college. They do this by sending out teams to teach these men and women how to make jewelry, clothing, art, and more. Each person is paid for each item they make and these items are sold in the Hope’s Gate store in Wylie, TX. In many countries, including Uganda, it is not easy to find work. Hopes Gate helps these men and women pay for their degrees as well as gain new skills which increases their chances of finding work and providing for themselves. In Uganda, we taught these men and women to make beaded bracelets and necklaces. On the morning that we planned to make these, our team leader was very sick. She was unable to get out of bed. Fortunately, I had been making jewelry from the time I was young and I felt confident that I could teach these men and women with the help of many of the other girls on my team. The Ugandans were so excited about their new skill. They worked all week on the jewelry. As they were working, we were able to have conversations with them about their lives. We were able to show them that we truly cared about them. Through showing that we cared, we were able to have many gospel conversations with them and encourage them with stories of what God has done in our lives. 

Additionally, when we traveled to one of the villages we were able to participate in a crusade that a local church put on in the village. We would set up a stage and giant speakers in a huge field. First, we would play music and everyone nearby would gather around to dance. One time we had almost one hundred men, women, and children gathered. We would dance together for hours. The joy that the people had was incredible. There were many times when children I had never met would come up to me, grab my hands, and dance with me in a circle. Their little giggles as I would spin them around filled my heart so much. Then my team and I would take turns going on stage to share the gospel message, testimonies, songs, and anything that the Lord put on our hearts to encourage these people. Afterward, we would invite anyone who wanted to give their lives to Christ to come to the front of the stage. Here we would pray for them and get them connected to their local church. We would finish off each night by playing the Jesus film to expand their knowledge of who Jesus is. In that village we had ninety-nine people give their lives to Christ. God was doing so much in that village as well as through my entire trip and I was blessed to be a part of it.