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Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

From July 17-29, sixteen Chicago HBF members went on a short term missions journey to Uganda. We stayed at a modern and comfortable missions center called Field of Dreams, which is operated by Show Mercy International, a Christian organization which does evangelistic outreaches in Wakiso District, a very poor Muslim area close to Kampala, Uganda's capital. The group leaders were Francis Choi, Helen Kim, Christine Mun, Moses Lee and myself. We prepared for several months through Bible study, prayer and fund-raising. We are extremely thankful for the prayer support and generous financial support of our church and family members and others.

In Uganda, we served two vacation Bible schools at two schools with about 400 students each. The theme of the VBS was Creation. After praise, Helen Kim and Moses Lee gave a message on Genesis 1.  Then, Francis Choi gave a gospel message and invited those who wanted to accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord to raise their hands. At both VBSes, hundreds of children raised their hands, and Francis led them in a prayer of confession of faith in Jesus. After the message, we served different activities such as face painting, bracelet making, sports, music, and coloring.

In addition, we served the elderly by visiting them, bringing fresh water, cleaning their homes, and praying with them. Some of them live in very remote places, called the bush, and we had to travel on foot down a dirt path through the banana trees and foliage to reach their homes. Many elderly have no one to care for them. Some were Muslim, and we could reveal Christ through our serving and visiting. One elderly Muslim woman had jiggers, a parasite that comes into the feet from the ground. Daniel King and Moses Magardecian, our youngest members, disinfected and cleaned her home and yard. There are many other such beautiful stories of our members' good deeds.

Everyday, except Sunday, we served other outreaches, such as teaching the Bible to village children in the several schools, soccer fellowship with high school kids, visiting the market and health clinic, playing with village children, and helping with agriculture. While visiting the health clinic, we shared the gospel and prayed for the patients at the HIV clinic, the maternity ward, and general health care clinic. Many of our HBF members were asked to name babies by the mothers at the maternity ward. We listened to many sick people's stories about their sufferings, shared Bible verses, and prayed for them. At the HIV clinic, seven people accepted Christ after hearing my message on Romans 5.

At the market place, we shared Bible verses and prayed with those who were open. The market was very poor and dark. Usually women sat in manger-like stalls trying to sell potatoes and bananas. Everyone sells the same produce and competes against each other. They use black magic and put charms around their neighbors' stalls to curse them. In that very dark environment, some Muslim women accepted Christ and were greatly encouraged by us.

We also went door to door in one village and shared the gospel and prayed for people who opened their homes and businesses to us. We met a blind, elderly woman who recently lost 4 people who cared for her. She was joyful because of Jesus' grace that was sufficient for her. And she was so happy to pray with us, and we were mutually encouraged by her. At the village bar, several rowdy men listened to my message on Romans 5 and my testimony on how my father overcame alcoholism. And, after many questions, one man accepted Christ. There are many other beautiful stories of how God worked when our HBF members loved and served Ugandan people and shared the gospel with the despaired, needy and sick.

In Uganda, over 60 percent of the population is under age 15. There are many orphans since parents often die of AIDS, other diseases, and violence. People in that area eat only one meal a day. Some of the children contracted malaria and other infirmities due to poor health conditions and health care. Some children don’t have shoes and wear rags and ill-fitting clothes. Some can't afford the fees to attend school. They live in one-room homes that have no water, no electricity, and few belongings. Also, the local well is often a mile or from their homes. In spite of this, the children were so joyful to see us, and often shouted, "Hi, Mzungu! Bye, Mzungu!" Generally, Ugandans are kind and gentle people. They welcome and trust foreigners since many missionaries and humanitarians go there. In addition, we were surprised to see that many white American women are giving their lives as missionaries in Uganda, serving at SMI and in other organizations.

Our HBF missions team had devotionals at 6:30 a.m. every day. In the evening, we studied all of 1 John in six lessons. We also debriefed after each outreach to hear from each team member what they learned or how they were adapting. Our HBF students participated fully and gave their hearts to love and serve Ugandan people. They even cooked a fried chicken dinner to bless and thank the SMI staff Repeatedly, the SMI staff said they had never had a group like ours and were so impressed by our HBF members. We also learned a lot from their love, faith and service to the Lord for the sake of the poor and downtrodden.

On Sunday, we attended Makere UBF SWS and saw God's mighty work among college students. As a representative of HBF, Deborah Pozo shared her life testimony, and HBF sang a special song. We were inspired by the missionaries' sacrificial lives in Uganda for the last 24 years. They have MDs and PhDs, such as Dr. Luke Lim. It seems that called had called the very best to serve Uganda, including Dr. Joseph and Esther Chung, who they were commissioning as missionaries back to the states that day. During Msn. Esther's farewell testimony, several Ugandan sisters wailed loudly, because they were heart-broken to lose their spiritual mother. After a wonderful lunch served by Makere UBF shepherds, we toured the new Bethesda clinic. It has state of the art facilities with endoscopy surgery, eye surgery, plastic surgery, and other specialized services. It was a great privilege to witness God's life-giving work in Makere UBF.

On the last day of our missions trip, it was Francis Choi's 29th birthday, and his wife Theresa Choi joined us. We laid our hands on him and prayed for him to be a blessing to Uganda and tearfully sent him out as a missionary. At the airport, Dr. Joseph and Esther Chung joined our team on the journey home. We left one young missionary and brought back two senior missionaries.

We learned so much on this missions trip about what God is doing in Uganda and the faith and love of those serving Ugandan people. We also were inspired by the sheer joy in the hearts of Christians in Uganda, who have little in this world except for Jesus. There are many sincere Christians in Uganda who really pray to evangelize the nation. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, but it is also one of the most rapidly developing in Africa due to the influence of the gospel. May God bless them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. May God accept our missions trip as our prayer to be Jesus' hands and feet in Uganda and impact lives for Christ.

One word: Let your light shine before others

By Yvonne Lee