That is an answer I find myself giving a lot these days when telling people that we are going to Uganda. I don't blame them. It's kind of weird 'round these parts to go to East Africa for vacation. The nurse giving Ainsley one of her shots was reading my paperwork back to me as if I'd filled it out incorrectly.
"You said here you're going for vacation, but you mean mission trip, right?" She is a travel nurse who gives vaccines all day long and we were strange even to her.
At the bank I requested newer, clean bills because the country we were going to, I explained, "...is very picky about bills they will exchange." She was curious where, so I told her. She thought a minute and asked, "Are you going for {pause while she thought of a possible reason someone would go} business?"
But when you're going with your family to have fun and visit friends, without a set agenda...that's a vacation, right?
I will grant that there will be a ministry visit or two involved. Because that's where our friends are. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we will be spending most of our time with my friend Renee, the founder and international director of Serving His Children, an organization dedicated to "breaking the cycle of malnutrition one life at a time."
Malnutrition sometimes looks very different than we would expect in Uganda. There are the babies that just don't get enough food at all and have super skinny limbs and a distended belly, but there are other babies who just do not get the right types of food and it takes longer to tell that they are sick. Recently a wonderfully talented friend of Renee's spent a good time at Serving His Children and was able to capture this story of Blessing. I hope it blesses you and helps you see the dear people with whom we're going to get to spend some time.
[vimeo 94221354 w=500 h=281]
So, yes, maybe I should acknowledge this isn't vacation like, "Hey, kids, we're going to Disneyworld!" (For the record, I love Disneyworld!) I know it will be different. I know it will shake up Petunia's world. I know we will learn things as adults as we look at this new world through our daughter's eyes. I know our family will grow closer over shared heartbreak, adventure and gratitude.
That's why I want to go.
If everything has gone as planned, I will be hanging out on these same steps soon. They are the front steps of a place that works God's miracles here on earth: Serving His Children. Here, Renee Bach, along with a medical and house staff, help treat malnourished children, while teaching their caregivers not only about proper nutrition, but also about a God who loves them.