There is hope.

Well… we are back safe and sound in Florida! Praise God! Just so everyone knows, the planes were all wonderful, the people that we met while traveling were all wonderful… everything worked out swimmingly.
Trying to figure out what to write as the first blog back from Uganda was super difficult to think through. I thought I wanted to write about all that had occurred since the last time we wrote, but I didn’t feel like that was necessary. And to try and type out the endless amount of things that the two of us have learned would be utterly impossible. Two things are for sure: Lots happened, and we learned more than we thought we ever would.
One of the main things that remains on the forefront of my thoughts is how the people that we interacted with Uganda worshipped. Yes, it was definitely through music (you could tell by how loud and passionately they would sing), but it was about so much more than that for them. They were the first people I have seen on a regular basis worship through SERVING OTHERS. In talking with Seggy one day, he mentioned that the people at Nkumba live on an “emergency needs” basis, meaning that whenever an emergency pops up, that’s when it is dealt with… not a week later in a meeting or a lunch date. On the spot. Pronto. What a beautiful thought. I am always intrigued by how I witness a human worshipping, and this to me was absolutely mind-blowing, not because I have never seen acts of service, but because the selflessness in those acts of service was overwhelming. It was just as it says in the Acts church, they literally “gave to anyone who had need”. It is very rare for a person in Uganda to have a savings account, and not because they don’t have the money (don’t get me wrong, that is sometimes the case), but merely because they give to whatever cause has come up. I cannot wrap my mind around this one point. These people are a constant support system for one another, and it truly inspires me.
Another thing that has my mind spinning is a question one of my mom’s friends asked me yesterday while I was showing her pictures and videos of the amazing children that I get to call my friends. She asked, “Melissa, what is their hope?” I was left speechless, because the answer is still a mystery to me. They are going to school, they are living with a roof over their head, and they are getting three full meals a day. But what is their hope? The only answer that I could think of is “God. Their hope is in God”. I know, pretty typical answer, but it would have been foolish of me at this point to respond any differently. The amount of love these children have for one another as well as for their Savior is SO evident and undeniable, and it truly leaves me the most inspired I have ever felt. Even though the question of where there hope comes from is boggling to me, one thing is for sure. You see their hope through their smiles, their hugs, their laughter, and their singing, and their dancing.
The kids love to dance, and we loved watching them dance. They do a dance called the Calypso that was literally the focus of a lot of the laughter throughout the trip. It looks like this:

I cannot even begin to explain how often they did this, and how much Natalia and I STUNK at doing it…. Which was the cause of even more laughter. The children simply JOINED IN, which was AMAZING!!!!!! When one child started it (which was more often than not Peanut, a child to be talked about later… one of the most inspiring children I’ve ever met), they all just hopped up and danced along with him. Truly incredible.

One thing that has not been able to escape my mind is that I can now call these people my friends. The idea of hierarchy is slowly diminishing from my mindset (only by the grace of God… literally), and these children are constantly on my mind. I remember certain moments and smile, giggle, sometimes cry, and just reminisce how beautiful it was. And the hope that I gain from this is that it is not over. Our stories converging with the people and children of Nkumba are not finished. The fact that I am attempting to worship others through serving is still just that… a meager attempt. But I know that those children taught me about the hope that can be squeezed out of life. Through laughter, tears, dances, uncontrollable joy, hugs, smiles… one thing remained constant through these children. Hope.

revelations!

Ok, first off, I cannot believe that we only have 11 days left in this beautiful country. Secondly, I cannot believe that God would allow us to see so many revelations in this past week. I feel like the first two weeks of the trip were slow, much like i said in the last post that the culture shock just snuck up on us. But this past week has FLOWN BY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the past week, we have been starting to paint the walls for the boys and girls dorm. Nat is a flipping baller at that sort of thing, and so she is heading that up, and i’m pretty much putting my kindergarten skills to work and coloring in the lines. Also, we have been watching the student prepare for their competition which will be next weekend. Here, they are split into 4 ‘houses’, and have to prepare a “music, dance, and drama” routine. It is SO AWESOME and INSPIRING for us to watch!!! We normally take some of the younger students and watch each individual house. It is through this that it hit me that people just want to be supported. The encouragement that comes from a mere smile can literally change a person’s day. Praise God for seeing that!

Also, today there is going to be a party for some of the secondary students… its kind of like a student government association, where they will be performing and singing for other students. It should be really cool for them to show off what they have been practicing!

On Thursday, we led a church service for the secondary students and the feeling of JOY that overcame us was just undeniable. Nat spoke about Gideon and BROUGHT IT with the truth that was coming out of her, and I sang some songs to lead them in worship. It was such a beautiful thing!!! Aftewards, we couldn’t hold in our excitement, and so we just danced in the chapel… by ourselves.

More than anything, I just am so encouraged by your constant prayers for this trip. God is showing us SO MANY THINGS that I don’t have time to write down here because the internet cafe time is almost up. I am so excited for what these next 11 days will bring, and cannot wait for more conversations and friendships to grow with these students as well as those that run the orphanage. Thank you for being prayer warriors, we truly love you guys!!!!!!!!!!

Nkwagala (Love in Luganda),
Melissa

There is so much more to them, than just their stories.

I came into Uganda with the mind set that I was called here to listen to the children’s stories, record them, make them feel valued and go. My goal at the end of the day, the only way I truly felt accomplished was if I got a “tragic” story out of a child… Talk about pushy…

There are two different sections, the orphan section (no parents) and the boarding sections (with parents). When a student shared his/her story and revealed that they had parents i was off to the next story, next victim, like they are objects, like some sort of project. I felt like these children didnt need as much love, or be held as much as the children with with “broken” stories. It trully was so incredibly selfish of me.

By the Grace of God, He opened my eyes… and Fast.

I felt such a burden in my heart going about the first week. I was in search of stories, rather than just LOVING these children they way God loved them so much before they even lived out their stories. I asked God, “are you pleased with what I’m doing?” God spoke such such tenderness in my heart, revealing that He loves these students, His children, all the same. HE DOES NOT CHANGE HIS COMPASSION ON THE INTENSITY OF THE STORY. That blew me away! God loves us all the same?

I am called the love each and every one of these students the exact same, parents or not, and based off of my own judgement… sad story or not. What right do I have? God just want me to be filled with compassion, to love on these kids, before anything. I no longer NEED to hear the Isaac and Byron stories, war stories, abandonment stories. I NEED to Love on these kids no matter what. Yes their stories count SO MUCH, but they ALL do. Their is no selection in the kingdom of heaven. God Favors us all, the same?!!! I must live this way. A compassionate heart for each and every one of Gods children, Sticky hands, sad stories, or not, all the same.

I picture Jesus, Just loving on his people. Holding any hand, and listening, patiently to anyone whom desires to speak to Him. We have quite the beautiful example.

My prayer is that we fill ourselves with the compassion of our God, That the stories are treated with the same amount of care and tenderness.

I love and miss you all.

From a forgiven one, to another.

- Natalia!

We are human.

So we have been here for almost 2 weeks, which if you really think about it… is INSANE. And I honestly thought that I was going to be superwoman and not suffer through that little bugger called “culture shock”. And I just can’t explain how wrong I was. It has taken so long to get used to the smells, the sights, the people, everything. Its a constant process. The last few days have been pretty rough with going to a children’s clinic and seeing some of the most heartbreaking sights in my whole life. Also, we have been simply trying to figure out what God would have for us here for the remainder of our time in Uganda. We want so badly to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to this country that it literally hurts our hearts. Over the next two weeks we will be speaking to the high school students every day at lunch, as well as throwing the children a birthday party (those that have birthdays from march-july), painting the dorms, making paper beads with a local artisan, and continuing to love on the children after they get out of school. Please be in prayer that the Holy Spirit will speak through us during these times and more!!!!

One of the biggest blessings we have experienced so far is being at Mark’s apartment, which is 10 steps from ours and our comfort zone. At Mark’s apartment, we cook the majority of our food, meet incredible people from Nkumba, as well as have some of the most inspiring conversations I have been a part of. It is here that we are truly able to sort out what is going on in our heads throughout the day and where we can just sit and laugh about the things that God is allowing us to see. At Mark’s, we are encouraged to just BE Natalia and Melissa with no strings attached.

We are learning more than I could have ever hoped for, I hope that you know. We are learning what it means to feel, act, be, and live simply as what God has called us to. The amount of trust that we have had to muster up and say to God, “Take control” is huge, and it is definitely my biggest struggle in being here so far. I cannot explain the joy that is found in this beautiful country, but also the amount of eye opening experiences that God has allowed us to be a part of… and we are only halfway through our trip! Praise God!

The most important thing that we are learning… is that we are human. We cannot fight the culture shock. We cannot contain the laughter. We cannot suppress the anger from seeing some of the atrocities and hearing about these children’s stories. We cannot contain the excitement from children that we have nicknamed “Peanut”. We cannot fight the tears after hearing how some came to be orphans. But we can hope. We CAN trust. We CAN love these children through whatever means God gives us daily. And for that, we just want to say PRAISE GOD.

Luke 14, verses 15-24 has been a passage that has been wrecking me over the past day. We are called to go to the street corners and alleys and say “YOU ARE INVITED”. These orphans are craving to be wanted, to be valued, and to be known. That is what we are called to! That is the mission of this trip!!! And I just can’t thank Him enough that He would reveal that to us.

THANK YOU for being prayer warriors for the two of us as well as the commuity we are living with. Natalia and I feel the power of your prayers and are so grateful for all of them.

MUZUNGU! MUZUNGU!

hey friends!

---

we are here safe, sound, and loving what we are seeing. We have been at the “Nkumba Ministries” for 5 days now. There are about 300 children that are living here both primary and secondary age (basically… all ages… which can be complete chaos!!!) We are staying in an apartment and loving the community around us. Just an example of what goes on every day…. we have to walk along the road to get to the orphanage (which is the scariest part… the drivers here are INSANE), and the neighborhood children come to the street and literally yell at the top of their lungs, “MUZUNGU! MUZUNGU!” which means “WHITE PERSON! WHITE PERSON!” its awesome.

We are getting to know the culture here with Mark and Seggy taking us into Kampala. We went to the market on the first day which was nothing short of an eye-opening experience. The people in Uganda are so kind, but they definitely know how to bargain! We also have done things like go to a cathedral on the top of Kampala to sit and reflect on what has been going on. God is moving in this city, i want to assure all of you!! Also, yesterday, we attended our first Ugandan wedding, which was so beautiful. Whenever music comes on either at the wedding or at church, there is a group of young boys that go to the front and do the coolest dance moves I have ever seen. They are so uninhibited!!!!!

The most beautiful part of being here is seeing how much the children value each other and their elders. It is amazing how well behaved they are and how much they just LOVE being with people!!!!! Every day at 4 is when their school gets out, which is around the time that we will get there. Honestly, from 4-7PM, all we do is hang out with the children, laugh with tehm, and listen to their stories of how they came to Nkumba. It is unreal some of the things that have happened to these kids, and it is safe to say I am SO humbled, because they HAVE SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WAY LIFE WORKS AND ABOUT GOD.

We have also painted a side of the orphanage, threw them a party just to celebrate who they are, and I have gotten the AMAZING privelege to sing with them. They sing at the top of their lungs… it is so awesome. God moves through their voices!!!! PRAISE HIM!!!!!

i wish I could write more, but i am at an internet cafe and with limited time. Please know that the stories from this trip already are endless and that I cannot wait to share more with pictures and videos later. There is no shortage of either.

One thing that Mark (who is absolutely amazing) said to us last night in a thick  Lugandan accent: it is just really good to know that to God, we are ALL known.”

Love you guys. Miss you tons.

Melissa

and so it begins!!

So we are sitting in the JFK airport, and we just ate crappy chinese food, and this is the 3rd time I’ve wrriten this post. Basically.. this is going to be short and sweet.

We got dropped off by our families this morning… let’s just say it was waterworks for the Mage Clan. The flight was awesome for a couple of reasons… the Sun was being its normal beautiful self and I was really reminded of the promises of God and how FAITHFUL HE IS TO US. There’s a verse in Joshua that I was really reminded of, and its this :

“I promise you what I have promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you… No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.” – Joshua 1:3-9

Also…there was this 4-year old champ that sat behind us and literally sang HER LUNGS OUT for a good hour. Here’s what it sounded like.

Honestly… it was by the grace of God that this happened for a couple reasons. 1). Anyone else who would have sat in front of her would most likely have turned around multiple times to give her the stink eye on account of how LOUD she was being. and 2). It made Nat and I all the more stoked that we are going to hanging out with kids that like to sing at the top of their lungs on a regular basis in just a few short hours.

I want to stop right now and say how amazing it is to see the overwhelming amount of support that you all have shown us. Through facebook messages, emails, handmade scrapbooks, handwritten letters, texts… all of it. You guys seriously have no idea how much that means to the both of us. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for allowing us to live our dreams. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us!

And for all of this… we THANK YOU GOD.

-Melissa

Fresh Start to Our Journey.

I am so excited for the sixth hour and possibly… a good dinner. : )

A few uncontrolable laughter break outs on the plane, too.

2:41 p.m.

- Natalia

PACK.

blank

So we are three days away from getting on a plane and headed a third of the way across the world (Thanks Dad for reminding me about that…). Natalia and I were talking the other night, and something that her artistic brain came up hit me pretty hard.

We were talking about what we are hoping to learn from the children. Basically… we don’t even know what we are going to learn. Joy, sadness, anger, hope, grace, mercy… all of that… maybe? Maybe none of it? Maybe way more than any of that? We just have no idea. Many times when we talk about it, I get really nervous. I literally thrive off of structure and of plans, of logic and step-by-step programs. But after voicing this, Natalia said:

“Melissa, I want to go into that orphanage with a blank canvas in my mind and in my heart. And throughout the month, what I want to do is just to have those children paint and throw colors onto my canvas. Then I will come back with a heart and mind painted by the knowledge and beauty of those children.”

Bingo.

Youtube site is up!

We officially have a youtube channel to document our trip! Search melissamage under www.youtube.com, and you will see 2 videos already uploaded.

Here’s a sneak peek!

This is us wearing our backpacks that we will be wearing throughout our travels. If this is how excited we get about backpacks, I cannot even imagine what it is going to look like when we see the children that we are serving!

Please continue praying for our journey, preparation, and hearts through this!! Love you guys!