Week 50-Kabowa with Elder Hunter and Mboya

Where I lived in the United States, I could take a hot shower whenever I desired, turn on a sink and get clean water to drink. I've been blessed with so many things that other people around the world struggle for and even go without. Before living in Uganda, I took clean running water in our homes for granted. It's very rare for a household to have running water here, which means that one of the women's daily responsibilities is to fetch water for the family to drink, cook and bathe. Throughout the hours of the day you'll see women, of various ages, carrying water to their homes, often by balancing the fifty-pound jerry cans on their heads. While it's an impressive feat, as you can imagine it's quite hard work and extremely taxing on these women. Especially when the nearest bore hole to your home is over two miles away, which was the case for eighty-two-year-old Sister Asunta Zindia. Sister Zindia stays all alone in a humble grass roofed mud hut on the outskirts of Gulu. I became aware of her troublesome water situation when I came across her attempting to carry one of these fifty-pound jerry cans back to her home. I found out that she had been making that two-mile journey all her life but in her old age it became too rigorous for her body to handle. It was very difficult for me to see her struggle, and I felt extremely sensitive to the situation. She could only make the trip once a month which meant she had very little drinking water and couldn't bathe. She had no-one to help her. Seeing her struggle for something so necessary for survival I knew I needed to help, I told her that I would come and fetch water for her twice a week until I could come up with a more permanent solution. I continued getting her water until I found out about a man who lived only a mile away that had running water. After explaining the situation with Sister Zindia to the man he kindly gave me permission to tap his water line so as to allow Sister Zindia to have running water close to her home. However, this would mean digging a two-foot-deep trench a mile long between their two homes to lay a pipe. I happily agreed, and although the labor was hard very few things in my life have been as satisfying as it was to help Sister Zindia. It took almost a whole month of digging every other day, and it was all worth it to see Sister Zindia travel ten feet from her home to get a drink of water. I'm eternally grateful for the chance to serve her. When I first arrived in Africa, I really struggled. I missed home badly. I began to doubt that I could make it a whole two years. I counted every minute of every day, Now I'm so glad that I decided to serve a mission. The thing that really changed was I learned how to focus outward and serve other people. When I began to lose myself in the service of others time began to fly by. The true joy in missionary work comes from bringing happiness into other people’s lives. One of the blessings of being a missionary is that you get to work very closely with other people, and you learn all about the intimate details of their lives. This allows insight on what I can do to truly help them. Here in Uganda, there are so many opportunities to serve others. One thing that I've tried to do is find ways to do small acts of service daily, in between teaching appointments. These small acts of service are usually simple things such as carrying jerry cans for the women, helping someone in their garden or shucking maize. The locals often think it's funny to see a white man in a shirt and tie helping in the garden, but I can tell that they feel loved and appreciate the help. As I've studied the life of Jesus Christ and his ministry it's encouraged me to pattern my life after his. He spent so much of his life serving others and communicated the love he had for them through his service. This is something I'm striving to emulate and apply in my life and will continue to apply as I go home. I’ve had opportunities for life changing service such as helping build straw roofs on huts, digging wells, or laying the foundation for a new chapel, which is a project I recently helped to complete. I've discovered that by loving my fellow man I can communicate my love to Heavenly Father. Now, months seem like weeks and I don't find myself worried about time because I'm so engaged in showing love to others. Looking outward and the joy that comes from serving other people has caused the days to blur by.