Here's the story of how Christopher got roped into travelling to Uganda in May 2012.
Growing up I had heard the term mission trip several times but it always seemed to have a connotation of going to some remote place and preaching sermons. It was definitely not something that I felt comfortable with or called to do.
MaryAnn went to Uganda in October of 2011 and I was thrilled for her to have that experience, and when she asked me to accompany her to a lunch for Tim and Janice McCall at our church I was excited to go and meet them. Getting to meet Tim and seeing his face light up when he learned that I am a Diesel Mechanic really stirred my heart,...maybe I could serve God, serve others while using my abilities to do those things.
I signed up for a Vision Trip through Common Ground here in Indianapolis for a May 2012 trip. I sent out prayer letters and before long I was packing my tools up for the trip. Luckily I was able to communicate with Tim to find out what specific equipment they had and what I could do to help them repair and maintain those pieces of equipment.
Once at RG I couldn’t wait to get started. Within an hour of arriving I found myself along the Nile River - under the hood of an ancient deuce and a half dump truck trying to get it started. For several days I felt like I was doing great things, but there lies the problem, Iwas doing great things. Then later that week, I found myself working on a shredder and I spent all day fighting it, not getting one single thing accomplished.
I felt like a failure.
Speaking with Tim that evening, he told me that God is always in control. I realized that I was trying to make this work about me, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. For my remaining time in Uganda I was able to get many more things accomplished but I felt like the realization of giving God the glory even during trials would be the best thing I could have realized on this trip.
I made it safely home to my girls and in time to get ready for the birth of my son.
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