This morning I texted two pastors at our church to mention that Leslie and I would be joining the service remotely, having arrived home last Saturday night from our 11-day trip to Uganda. One mentioned he’d love to hear about our trip once we were rested and settled in. I shared two insights in that exchange, which I’d like to share now, along with three others.

First, it was good to return to normal activities (Bible study and setting up Zoom appointments as a psychotherapist, which I typically send out Sunday mornings at 8:00 a.m. CST). There’s nothing like having personal creature comforts and routines that ground you and help you regain focus, flow, and stability!

Second, it takes a village to raise a child (and I’m particularly glad for the inhabitants of the village!). What I mean by this is that during the past 14 years we’ve traveled to Uganda through our non-profit ministry, Marissa’s House Projects, we’ve had the wonderful opportunity to see children who were 4, 6, or 8 years old grow up to become productive citizens who are nurses, truck drivers, confectioners, photographers, small business owners, worship leaders, college students, and married adults. For this we are overjoyed, because we’ve had the opportunity to watch these kids grow up, but we certainly didn’t do this alone.

On this particular trip we traveled with two families: one mother-daughter team (Sarah and Mia), who between them have been to Uganda ten times, and one family of six (Bruce and Jill, who have been there seven times, along with their adult children and spouses). Mom and Dad participated in providing healthcare and hands-on training with the Marissa’s House children in developing trades and small-business incubation opportunities. Bruce and Jill wanted their family to meet the children they’ve become fond of and to see firsthand what their ministry has produced.

Third, some people never miss an opportunity to help make the world a better place. I mention this because there were about 10 college students, who I gathered were involved in some altruistic service experience, being interviewed by CDC employees and not phased one bit by the experience. I imagine that their service, not unlike ours with Marissa’s House, helped them feel good about their current contribution and will hopefully set them apart as they begin their professional careers.

I was also impressed by a medical professional who boarded the plane with us in Nairobi, Kenya, and, upon deplaning in Paris, helped a person who she later said had experienced a seizure. She too had no misgivings about the interview process as we briefly chatted after her CDC interview, which occurred after our eight-hour flight from Paris to Washington Dulles. 

Fourth, I’d do it all over again, even with our 48–72-hour travel challenges, culminating in a 20-minute interview with very courteous Customs officers and Centers for Disease Control employees. It took us about 40 minutes to get to our first Customs officer, who was just as kind to us as she was to others when I first noticed her asking screening questions to travelers.  

I was highly impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the CDC employees, whether it was sterilizing the desks between interviews or demonstrating care while asking questions about our travel, the locations we visited, and, of course, health-related questions connected to the containment of Ebola. Even though we were rerouted twice after our initial cancellation from Entebbe, which eventually took us through Nairobi, Kenya; Paris, France; Washington Dulles; and finally DFW, I’m thankful for our border and public health employees and the valuable job they perform in keeping us all safe.  By the way, the CDC employee who interviewed us was from Southlake, Texas, and was looking forward to returning home later that night after her shift!

Finally, my life has been deeply enriched because of our involvement with this non-profit ministry. I love the ongoing relationships we’ve built, and the assistance generated and given to the people we’ve served has provided me with a treasure that simply can’t be priced. The return on the investment and involvement far outweighs the momentary challenges we experienced.

Visiting with children we’ve essentially “grown up” with, serving alongside families from our church, and partnering with our son whom we love, and with whom we’ve served in honor of his sister’s desire to help others in Africa has been one of the greatest experiences of my marriage and life.

As parents (and like many of you who are parents), Leslie and I have always wanted our children to be wise and supportive of others, just as we supported their goals in life. Little did I know that Marissa and Gabriel’s desire to love others would lead us into this life-changing and life-enhancing ministry, and I’m certainly grateful we’ve had one more opportunity to serve others together as a family in this unique way.

Thanks for allowing me to share this with you!

Ken