Externally Focused at Watermark

I asked Brooke Mauritzen to share a bit about the ladies’ trip…

What an amazing trip!  We started by spending Sunday in the capital of Kampala.  The team from Watermark split up and went to two separate churches.  At the church I attended, our group was asked to give the main message in the service.  Our bags had been lost at the airport the night before, so we all spoke about different situations in our lives where we thought we needed something but were denied whatever that was (using the lost luggage as an example).  The underlying theme was in the midst of not having that “missing piece” to our lives, God really showed up and provided for us despite what we thought we were lacking,  In particular for me, I got to share with the church members my story of singleness, including how the Lord has really grown my heart over the last seven years from a thought pattern of making marriage a goal to a place where I am willing to be in whatever phase of life He thinks I can serve Him best in.  Since there is a negative stigma in the Ugandan culture with being single, I hope and pray it really resonated with some folks who may struggle with that issue!   Sunday evening we spent some time with some widows in Kampala at an IDP camp ALARM has been involved in.  Barbara Roberson taught the women to knit and crochet so they could learn a new skill to support themselves with.

We spent Monday traveling and visiting some areas that Watermark has invested in.  We flew from Southern Uganda to Pader, a district where our church has financed a water well and is currently building a trade school for former child soldiers.  I was incredibly proud to be a part of this body when I saw with my own eyes the practical ways we are loving the people of Uganda!

After visiting Pader, we settled in Kitgum, the northernmost region of Uganda.  Our conference started late Monday afternoon, and I really feel that we got the opportunity to minister to the women who came.  I can say with assurance that they most definitely ministered to our team from Watermark!  It was so revolutionary for them to hear the curriculum we taught on, which was primarily Marriage, Trauma Healing, Forgiveness, Conflict Resolution, Teaching Children, Health/Hygiene, HIV/AIDS, and Sharing Your Story.  Lucina Thompson did a great job of leading out with all that we taught, and her experience teaching these subjects really blessed everyone in attendance.  We could tell that our words (God’s words, really) were not falling on deaf ears, and we even heard stories that the women who stayed at the conference center overnight stayed up late to discuss what they were learning with each other.  On the last day, we spent about an hour and a half listening to their own testimonies and the impact the conference had on them.  It was truly overwhelming!  I still can’t fathom some of the difficult situations these women have been through, from war to being widowed, losing children to adopting a house full of orphans.  One woman in particular shared how she has struggled to forgive someone in her life, and as a result of what she heard last week knows she needs to find the strength and courage to offer forgiveness to the person to killed her brother-in-law.

Our short time in Kitgum was full of making new friends who live an ocean away, laughter, tears, dancing (we even taught them the chicken dance, to the beautiful sound of Beth Rudy’s violin), sweet conversation, and a new deep and abiding love in all of our hearts for the people of northern Uganda.  One more quick story of how the Lord taught me on the trip.  On Tuesday night, Tracy Alexander got a stomach bug and spent all of Wednesday sick in bed.  When we shared this with the women on Wednesday morning, they were all so intentional to stop and pray for Tracy.  She persevered and was a real trooper!  On Thursday, Tracy was back in action and really did a great job of teaching that day.  I was so encouraged by her faithfulness to do what she had came over there to do no matter how she felt!  She accomplished much through what she taught as well, and the women mentioned how grateful they were to hear from her.

Thank you to all who lifted us in prayer and encouraged us during our time over there.  Your prayers were most definitely felt and it is a privilege to have you play a crucial role in our ministry time in Uganda!

by Brooke Mauritzen