For those of you who don't know, I'll give you some background info on exactly what I'm doing. I'll be participating in a semester long study abroad program (Nope, it's not a missions trip) through the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Specifically, I'm participating in the Uganda Studies Program. I'll be spending the next four months in Mukono, Uganda, a city on the coast of Lake Victoria (the Jeopardy song plays here as you google where exactly that is :). I will be taking a few classes at Uganda Christian University along with other international and Ugandan students and living in a dorm there. In addition to my traditional classes, I'll be doing my junior year social work internship. This is a major part of junior year as a social work major and counts for 6 credit hours. I would be doing this if I were taking a traditional semester in the states, interning in a social service agency, but doing it in Africa will certainly give my internship a distinct flavor! There are several NGOs (non-government organizations) that accept social work interns and that I can choose to intern with over the semester; I will get to tour and interview at each of these agencies when I arrive before deciding exactly where I will be interning.
So you're probably wondering why on earth I would want to do this.Well, first off, I have been fascinated with other cultures for as long as I can remember and want to learn as much about them as I can. Second, what better way to get my focus off of myself than on living in the Third World?Most importantly, God started leading me to go last September when I first learned of the opportunity through some professors and other students. At first, back in the fall, I was gun-ho about going. Then as the deadline for application approached in February, I started to get apprehensive. I applied, telling the Lord that if I was accepted, I would take that as a sign that He wanted me to go. After being accepted, I was still apprehensive. I started wondering if my doubts were attacks from the enemy, or if I had mistaken God's voice originally and He was giving me doubts to get me back to where I needed to be. My confirmation was needed in April, and I was more torn than I had ever been. After been told by literally EVERYONE to go, I put in my acceptance. I won't deny that I've been crazy nervous since then, but I truly believe this is where God wants me right now. God has recently opened me up to working in adoption, especially internationally or with children who have HIV/AIDS,working in a pregnancy resource, or even working in a missions/church social work setting. So, in light of that, I'm using this semester as a way to see if working with international orphans, either in a social work or missions setting, is something I could do long-term.
So here's where my adventure really starts. I fly out of Columbus 8/23, connect in Washington D.C. where I meet the rest of the group from the Uganda Studies Programme, connect again in Amsterdam, then land in Entebbe on 8/24. Our first few days will be spend in the capital training and debriefing, then we'll travel to Mukono.
Hopefully I will remember to post highlights of my African life and pictures, too! Feel free to ask me any questions.
