Today we said goodbye to Cherish Uganda. There were lots of tear filled eyes as we did so. We will spend a couple days seeing a little more of Uganda before heading back to the states. But in so many ways this journey has been so much more than we ever could have hoped for.

I think when we embarked on this short term global missions trip there were some things we expected. We probably suspected we’d see a level of financial poverty different than what we see at home. We knew we’d experience parts of another culture. One expects to help in some way and work hard. And we hoped to see and learn more about Cherish Uganda. All those things happened. What I don’t think we expected was to build such deep relationship so quickly with so much of the staff. To really feel like family at Cherish. To care so deeply about individuals there and be changed by them.

One team member told me Wednesday even how surprisingly attached they felt and were already sad the week was almost over. Another said today that they are so glad they came, what an amazing time it’s been, and they know they were meant to be here. I think we would all agree with that.

I’ll try to unpack a couple more stories, thoughts, and pictures here over the next week leading up to our gathering in Santa Cruz to celebrate and share. But know above all we are bummed to leave because of what this week has meant to us. We have met so many incredible people and heard so many amazing stories. Brent, who leads the ministry, assured me that we helped and blessed their ministry in a number of ways. There’s still a lot left for us to process, but I’m confident we are all going home different in some way than when we arrived. Win/win. What an amazing week.