Short-term mission: Reflections on 2 weeks spent in Uganda

Under the mango tree in Hoima Uganda, roughly a hundred children gather, eagerly waiting for Vacation Bible School to begin.  Sixteen short-term missionaries from the USA raised support and traveled to minister to these precious children and their families.  The sacrifices (such as: hot showers, air conditioning, and cultural familiarity) all seemed utterly insignificant as the days passed and the relationships between the natives and the travelers cemented. 

Unlike many mission teams, this particular group of missionaries from the states did not bring their pre-planned ministry program.  The mission objective of this trip was to “come alongside” the people of Hoima and to ask them: Where would it be possible for us to step in and help? 

This ministerial approach opened doors of service that were far greater than what we could have imagined from our various seats of service in the USA.  Similar to churches in the USA, select leaders from Hoima Baptist Fellowship Church wrote a Vacation Bible School curriculum and were passionately recruiting help in their community.  A group of sixteen friendly foreigners, anxious to serve, was an answer to their prayers. The Vacation Bible School program was held at two different locations in the city.  Well over a hundred families were served, and hundreds of children were acknowledged, celebrated, and deeply touched by the team’s impact. 

As you would imagine, ministry happened far from the shade of the mango tree too.  The team members taught in a local high school and college, assisted a local musical artist in developing songs for his low frequency radio station, and coached young adults in how to play basketball the “American way.” 

For 2 weeks, serving the people of Hoima Uganda was a lifestyle.  Whenever or whatever was needed, or even requested, these 16 missionaries quickly responded in joyful service. 

Jesus said: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:14-15).  Foot washing doesn’t sound glamorous.  For many, neither does short-term missionary work.  And, in full honestly, eating “barbequed goat on a stick” from an ambitious street vender at the risk of stomachache is not ideal.  However, knowing and experiencing the life-altering practice of short-term missions is not “misty-eyed romanticism,” it is real, it is significant, and it matters.              

I wonder what your life would look like “under the mango tree.”

For information on how to explore opportunities to minister on a short-term mission trip or to assist persons in raising financial support, please contact Joshua Gilmore (the Baptist Collegiate Ministry director at North Greenville University), and live life with increasing beauty and significance.