My last Sunday of this year in Mbale and Africa was a sad day but a good day. I’ve learned that it is ok to be sad as long as we stay focused on Christ at the same time.

We had church at Bishop Gogo’s home with just the family. There were five of us which was good. I don’t think that I could have handled a larger group. Bishop asked me to share about my time with them and that was the tough part. I only had to stop for a minute three times. After I shared, Bishop had each person share something. It was very touching and very encouraging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian is a young man that’s still in school that comes to the Bishop’s house on Sundays and helps out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a total eclipse today. As I was talking with Bishop Gogo about the eclipse, I told him that Africa was so sad that I was leaving that the sun was going to hide its face in sorrow. 🙂

But seriously, after watching the eclipse, I thought about how much my trip to Africa this time has been like the eclipse. When I was getting ready to go to Africa and the first few months that I was here, it was a glorious time full of excitement and wonder but slowly the food, the difference in cultures, and the lack of things that I had grown up with began to take their toll. The days became harder as not having friends and family close began to lead to loneliness and sometimes depression. There were times of doubt and a kind of darkness, times of wanting out and times of wanting to get back to what I was used to. Now as I’m getting ready to leave, I’ve found myself remembering the wonderful moments; the making of new friends and the seeing of God’s hand at work around me. As I come out of that dark place once again, I find myself seeing the light that is the glory of Christ even more clearly. As I behold more of His Light, I find myself looking forward to coming back to Africa. Just like with the eclipse, I’ve gone from bright and glorious to dark and depressing then back to the brightness of the Son filling me with that wonder of just how blessed I am. I’m looking forward to what’s next in this adventure that I’ve been blessed to be a part of as I follow Him.