Quotes from our students

Team B was in Kampala with Come Lets dance from May 31 til June 11 and are now in the north with Child Voice International from June 13 until June 25.
Those students name you may not recognize are our FOCUS Ugandan partners.

Allie Hadwen –
I am in love with Uganda and its people. God has shown me true poverty in the city slums, pure joy in the faces of the children, strong faith, and an undeniable hope through the people and organizations that I have come into contact with. I only wish my family and friends could be here to experience all this with me! My verses for this trip have been Ezekiel 36:26,27 and Philippians 4:10-13. Hugs and kisses to everyone at home. I will see you all soon!


Sophia Shin –
Uganda has been humbling me and challenging me more and more each day. It has been during the times when I have seen and felt the extreme poverty and pain of the suffering parts of this country that I am reminded of Psalm 46:10, where we are all called to be still and know God; to know that he will always be exalted and triumphant. Seeing the need of these oppressed people has truly broken my heart, but to know that my God is still present and in control despite such conditions has been a great comfort and reminder.

Amanda Batstone –
My time in Uganda has shown me how our God is truly a global God. The love of God shines through the beautiful hearts of the Ugandan people. I have been truly blessed interacting with orphan children at the Kids House, children living in the slums, and children at Child Voice International. Although they suffer from poverty, they are still so full of joy. The opportunity to play soccer with the church team in Kampala was incredible too. Our team won both times (and we had two girls haha). Now that we are in Gulu, I am learning how to relate to young mothers who were formerly child soldiers. I am amazed and inspired by their ability to move on with their lives, despite their many hardships. This trip has been a very humbling experience, and I am constantly reminded of Philippians 2: 5-11. I am so thankful for this incredible experience.

Kate Doria –
I was expecting intensity, I was expecting memories, I was expecting a life changing experience that would somehow direct the path for my future and bring clarity to my existence. The stakes were high. In the meantime, none of these expectations are being fulfilled as I imagined. Each day is full of surprises and this adventure is unfolding in mysterious ways- perhaps it’s better this way.
Fact: The reminiscence of war is nothing a book or short film can accurately portray. Fiction: Northern Uganda is a hopeless place.
I cannot comprehend what happened here, I know what happened, but I don’t. I’m sitting in a classroom with bullet holes in the door from a massacre that happened in my lifetime. The young women who just finished braiding my hair were abducted by the LRA and lived in the bush. The six-year-old child in the Lokodi IDP camp carries a baby strapped to her back. The material needs seem overwhelming but instead of overanalyzing the devastation, I remind myself daily to be present. A friend once told me. ‘Abide where you are’, and I think it best summarizes my experience. I’ve come to appreciate the presence of others and decide that being present can be the best gift of all. When the sun is hot and the well is dry, when your stomach hurts and the lightening flashes, when the road is bumpy and you wonder if the van can pass, be present.

Thaddeaus Kusiima
My time in Gulu with the intervarsity members has been a blessing to, there has been a lot to do and think about but I thank God for how wonderful He has used us to preach His gospel to the people in Gulu. Many have given their lives to God through the word we have been preaching to them and l bless God for that, With the help of Child voice international in Gulu working with us, we visited a number of camps in Lukodi area where we found that a number of girls were raped by the people who never gave them a good will come from the bush so some of these girls were being helped by CVI. Many people are still getting saved and God is still using us in different fields for his Kingdom.

AMANYA JERRY;
I Thank God for this opportunity to do this mission project and moreover in an inter- cultural setting. I expected like to entirely to do out reach and then door to door evangelism in this mission but I thank God that my mind have been opened to different ways how mission is carried out.
Working in an inter cultural setting has also made me to learn a lot from my American colleagues. This mission has been valuable to me when I connect it to my academic work. Back at school, I study Social Sciences and I do take course units like Sociology and then Social Administration which connects to what these two partner NGOs(CLD And CVI)
Also my spiritual life has been impacted upon through out the mission, a thing which I will carry on to build the Kingdom of God.

AGABA PETER.
Listening to many testimonies from the saints of God opened my eyes to see how God is at work. I saw God use young people with little Education, with no money but with a passion in their hearts to reach out to the helpless, poor, despised street children, their mothers ,child mothers abducted by rebels and their children.
I have learnt a new dimension of missions called holistic missions .I saw that a at Come lets dance ministries and Child voice international.
I also enjoyed working with intervarsity students from America.

NDEGWA RACHEAL:
Am blessed and thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to be part of this mission. The testimonies I’ve heard from different people I’ve met they have touched me and my life won’t remain the same. God bless you.

KEMBABAZI GENEVIEVE:
I’m so much blessed for having been a part of the mission because I know that the grace of God can take me where it wants to take me. I’ve learned a lot because I’d never been for mission and I know that God has prepared me through this great mission. God bless InterVarsity, and I pray that He continue to do great things for all the guys that were a part of it. Love you so much! I enjoyed being with you. I hope we meet sometime in the future. Jah bless.

KYARISIIMA JUDITH:
I’m really privileged to have been part of this mission which has been life transforming and power packed. Surely it has been a mission of its own kind given that I’ve been on various missions I have really learned a lot through this. Therefore, I will live to testify of God’s goodness. May God bless you so much.

MOLLY BYRD:
Man, oh man! I don’t know where to begin. I have been stretched and challenged on this mission way more than I anticipated and in ways I could not have imagined. We have all been blessed to experience different aspects of Uganda and learn about the beautiful culture here. We have met inspiring people that are reaching out to their communities and really living out the gospel. I am excited to return home and put into practice the things I’ve learned here. One of my favorite parts of this mission was the opportunity to work side by side with Ugandan Focus students, whom helped us adapt to the culture and grew in Christ with us. I will miss this place and everyone here! Mukama Yebazibwe!

LAURA YEGGE:
We had a blast in the South at CLD for the first half teaching women how to start businesses so they can move out of the slums and provide for their children, helped humble the Ugandan men and the role of women by soccer matches which we won, helped build a new church for them to move to a new location, fell in love with all the kids at the kids home and learned how to truly LOVE HARD! Just being in the North for 5 days now working with CVI some have been evangelizing in former IDP camps and have truly witnessed miracles! Those that have stayed at the site have seen God through helping and spending time with the amazing girls and their kids. We’ve built so many lasting relationships amongst our team and working with the staff of Come Let’s Dance and Child Voice Int. We’ve seen glimpses of God’s beautiful kingdom in so many ways through the people and gorgeous country of Uganda. God is truly shaping each and every one of us in amazing ways. God bless!

NASSUNA SUSAN:
It’s an honor that I’ve been part of this great mission. It’s a life transforming changing. I have loved its dimension being that it’s been intercultural. I’ve learned a lot from our friends and then having heard those great testimonies, coming in touch with CLD’s Love Hard to the community, and then CVI’s love and compassion for northern Uganda. I thank the Lord so much for InterVarsity and the relationship they have with Focus Uganda. Yeah. God bless you big!

KAKO CAROLYNE:
The mission has been challenging, amazing, and humbling to me. I’ve learned a lot from it—spiritually and socially. Associating with people of different nations and evangelism in the different parts of southern and northern Uganda had made a difference in my life. I must confess that I’m not the same. I’m changed and blessed by this mission. God bless.