Meet the Team

There are less than three weeks before we leave for Uganda. We have had our last official planning meeting and the commissioning service is in a little over a week (May 31). Many of us have finished school for the summer, and are now able to focus on preparing for the trip.

Before we leave, we thought it might be nice if you knew a little bit more about who is going and why they are traveling to Uganda.

MEET THE TEAM
Stephanie-I'm so excited to go to be heading to Soroti! Right now, I'm trying to stay focused, finishing up my third year of finals at Calvin. It's easy to get distracted, thinking about the plane ride that is only 20 days away!!!!!
I'm excited for this opportunity and feel enormously blessed for the support of my friends and family. I'm looking forward to building relationships and immersing myself in a new place and in a different culture. I'm a little nervous for the culture shock and for the heartache that we are sure to find. We all know that spending so much time with orphans who are HIV positive will make leaving them SOOO hard. All of us covet your prayers and appreciate your support immensely!

Carolyn-Hi! I'm Carolyn Wharton, Pastor of Congregational Care at PHCRC. I am thrilled to be a part of this exceptional group going to Uganda in June. I lived and worked in Egypt in the past, have traveled back there with groups several times, have taken mission groups to Kenya twice and am excited about this new opportunity! My former church supported a student at the Christian University there and I am anxious to meet her as well as her pastor to learn about their work too. Keep us all in your prayers as we travel and minister for Christ.

Bonnie-When I look back, I believe my mission trip started in the making about three years ago. Three years ago I watched the video, The Invisible Children, for a student sponsored event at the high school where I work. At the time I had never heard of the LRA. The video was so powerful. I went away thinking,"I wonder if I could ever make a difference like that ". I gave a few dollars and didn't think about it again. Two years later there was talk about a possible mission trip to Africa. Again I thought,"Wow, what an experience that would be and didn't think too much more of it."A year ago I watched the video of The Invisible Children again and thought,"Maybe someone is trying to tell me something." Six months ago when the interest to go to Uganda came up, I knew that it was a sign to go. I have never been on a mission trip. I feel it's time for me to get out of my comfort zone and see the world from other cultures. My biggest fear is leaving my family and having no contact with them for two weeks. I'm also fretting over little things like,"Will I get coffee in the morning? How will I exercise everyday? and What if I get sick and there's no place to throw up. My faith will definitely be tested. I know this will be a once in a life time experience for me and look forward to it with much excitement and anticipation.

Ernie-As of this writing our mission trip is only 13 days away!
I have been very busy this past week and anticipate another busy week ahead.Because of this, it really hasn't hit me yet,but I anticipate it will very soon.Bonnie & I have started the 2 week devotional that was recommended by Tim and Angie for the group to do as we prepared for the trip.We also started taking the typhoid pills and malaria pills are soon to follow.We have already taken a number of shots as a precaution for other disease.To get sick, contact a virus or catch some type of weird illness is probably my greatest concern for this trip.I am also preparing myself for quite the "reality" check.I believe I will come back from this mission trip being more personally effected by their culture than the people there being effected by me.Please pray for our safety and that this trip will be a blessing for all of us. Thankyou, Ernie Noorman

Lisa- I have just completed my sophomore year at Calvin college. Last summer, I spent the summer biking across North America with Sea to Sea. Throughout the summer, we learned about those people who are stuck in "the cycle of poverty". The goal of the trip was to raise money and awareness for organizations that are working to help those in poverty. When Tim and Angie came to our church last fall with the possibility of our church participating in "Ride for Refugees", a bike ride supporting the area they work in, I was game. I started looking into the issues that Tim and Angie were working with in Uganda, and decided this was something I wanted to experience. From then on, I have been excited and scared about traveling to Soroti, but know that God will open my eyes and teach me a lot while I am there.

Judy- My thoughts on missions - God loves me. God loves all people. He calls me to serve Him. When people ask me why I go on mission trips I say why not go. God always provides and is always there for me. For this Uganda trip I also had inspiration from Gilbert, an African refugee living with us. (Plus, I already have a passport that needs to be used :) ). I hope I can adapt to the Ugandan culture, climate, and food. Please pray with me that I can show God's love, be a blessing to Tim and Angie, and to the people they work with.

Jane- Why do I want to go to Uganda?

a) It’s one of those things I have always wanted to do
b) I love warm climates
c) Selfish reasons (I want to learn)
d) All of the above

It’s been a dream of mine since college. When I interviewed to get into nursing school, I was asked a question that went something like “where do you see yourself using your nursing skills?” My answer involved something about the mission field. I suppose at that time it was one of those things I thought was the “right thing” to say. Kind of like the Sunday school “I love Jesus” type answer. But my heart has been pulled and I have always had a yearning for the third world health care concerns. I have had the opportunity to travel into a few third world countries; one to visit a friend, another with youth group, and yet one more with Heal the Children. Although not all have had a medical focus, my mind still goes towards the questions of the health and health care of the area in which I am traveling.

One of my favorite health care books is one that has never been on the required book list for any of the courses I have ever taken in college. It is a book I picked up off the shelf while visiting with some friends of the De Vries’ in the Dominican Republic. It’s called Where There is No Doctor. It is referred to as a village health care handbook. The handbook is an awesome text for working with the local people to understand their health care, how to use the resources available, and how people come to their beliefs about health care.

As I finished my graduate studies last summer, one of my projects was to do a presentation of “My Ideal Advanced Practice Nurse Role. All of my classmates had very nice looking organizational charts of health care organizations and where they fit in. I described the following model:

Instead of the high heels on glossy hospital floors working next to the vice-president of the hospital, I pictured myself wearing sandals in a dusty hot climate working with the local mom’s, healers, farmers, and elders.

I cannot wait to get to Uganda to learn. To learn about the work that God is already doing and the work yet to do. I cannot wait to learn about the people, why they do the things they do and believe the way they do. I can’t wait to work side by side with the nurses and caregivers at the baby shelter to learn how they assess the kids without the use of MRI, labs, and other fancy equipment. No charting, no lawsuits, no insurance companies to be concerned about payments. I look forward to looking on the shelf of the baby shelter, finding something that will do just fine for the purpose we need it. Will it be difficult? You bet. Will I wish I had better and different supplies? Of course. Will I be scared? Already am. Will I learn and grow? I can’t imagine not learning. Will I ache and cry and grieve? I’m sure of it. Will I be changed? God only knows.
I know that I look forward to using my hands, my heart, my mind, my ears, my knees as I kneel in prayer, and those around us to help provide the best care possible to children who need whatever God wants us to provide for them in the time that we are there.
Does it answer the question of why I want to go to Uganda…not sure. I just know I am blessed to have this opportunity to go with my husband, two daughters, and five other people from our church. And yes, I LOVE HEAT.

And in case you haven’t gotten the answer to the multiple choice question…it’s d.