I was wearing my red shoes.

From the beginning of the Lighthouse Church team trip to the end, I experienced Jesus in practically everything at both campuses of God Cares School. He was in the firm hug of a teacher welcoming me into her classroom. He was in the bold, enthusiastic worship voices behind the microphone at chapel. He was in the quick, but careful hands of a school cook who worked to feed hundreds of students, but still warmly welcomed me into the kitchen to chat. He was in the full brown children’s eyes that spied me and came racing over to grab my hands. He was in the faithful comment of a Dongo family member as he stated matter of fact, “We believe God will provide.”

Not only did I see Jesus in God Cares Schools, I saw overwhelming evidence of Him in the communities. God was present on the billboards and in the names of businesses. His name was literally tacked up on the walls of homes in the slums where many of the God Cares children go home each evening. His name was written, spoken, and sung with joy and confidence every time I turned around.

In the summer of 2017, I was given the opportunity to travel to God Gares School and Orphanage with the mission team at the Met Church and was equally blessed to be doing it with my mom by my side. Preparing for this trip was a tedious process that required lots of time, commitment, and money, but I knew, in the end, it would all be worth it because I was going to do the Lord’s work and change some lives…but little did I know that it would be me whose life would be changed instead. When we arrived at the orphanage on the first day, the squeals of the kids accurately reflected my feelings of excitement, as the trip of my dreams was finally beginning! During my time in Uganda, I met a handful of children and lifelong friends (no matter how far apart we may be) who left a lasting impact on my heart and my life. I prepared to show each of these people the unconditional love of

Jesus and teach them His righteous ways, but miraculously they managed to show me a side of Him I never knew. As the days evolved, I quickly realized that all some of these children had was Jesus and each other. That’s it. Some of them had deceased or terminally ill parents, nowhere to call home outside of the orphanage, or were abandoned because their parents couldn’t handle the burden of caring for a child. This broke my heart when I heard some of their stories and personal experiences, but in a strangely beautiful way, none of that seemed to matter to them because they had Jesus in their hearts and therefore they had everything they could ever need and from THAT is where their joy stemmed. The moment I realized that is when I knew that nothing would be the same when I returned home, where I had everything and more that I simply take for granted. My lifestyle would be shifted in such a way that I stopped putting my happiness in the hands of material objects or people and started putting it in the hands of my Creator, Jesus Christ, where I would find an everlasting joy I’ve never known before. Furthermore, God was calling us to sponsor a young lady, and He placed Waldah in our path.  This was our opportunity to continue His work and give back each month as a constant reminder of where our joy comes and to keep shining our light wherever we go.