Not The End

We had our last worship with the village and then did a eye-glass clinic for various people in the village. Many of these people have a small problem with their eyes that prohibits them from reading and can easily be corrected by the right prescription reading glasses. It was so fun to test their sight, give them a pair of glasses and then see their faces light up as the words came into focus. It was such a seemingly small thing, but so huge in the way it impacted their everyday life. The whole village had an over-all more studious look as all the glasses patients walked around sporting their black rimmed reading glasses. :)

We said goodbye to all the church leaders who had hosted us for almost a week, the women who had done so much to feed us well and make us feel welcome and then to all the dozens and dozens of kids who had watched our every move, played with us and laughed as we tried to speak their language. :)

It was surreal leaving the village....We prayed that we would never forget the things we heard and learned and saw and experienced there....I started jumping up and down when the next hotel we stayed in had hot showers and real toilets...It's incredible how much we take things for granted until we no longer have them. I seriously was ecstatic to have these simple luxuries back.

We had the blessing at a Safari Lodge for a few days with the Cashes. It was so nice to rest, wash, swim and try to process the past week's adventures. The Lodge was located on the Nile River down from Murchison Falls! We saw everything from hippos playing in the Nile, to baby giraffes with their mothers...It was incredible!!!

Jeff and Issac

Brayden, Silas and Kinley watching hippos.

Sunrise over the Nile. 

Kinley and Alex!

Cheryl and the kiddos.

Murchison Falls in the background. 

After a few days there and a few days to rest in the capital with the Cashes, we boarded our flight headed home. We still are speechless in many ways as we try to process everything we learned , the experiences we had and the ways we know God changed us....It is hard to mentally make sense of it all right now, much less retell it well. But we are incredibly thankful for all the support- prayers, money, encouragement etc that made it possible for us to go and spend the summer in Uganda. Neither of us will ever be the same. Hopefully, we can share more stories and pictures and videos in the near future. We couldn't have gone without you all! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

We know that this isn't "the end" by far. The work in Uganda is still being carried on faithfully. We both have an incredible respect for the Cash family. They helped us see what missions and ministry truly are. They helped us see what sacrifice means. What devotion means. 

I pray that we never forget the people in Africa-their faces, lives, struggles. Their lives are just as real as ours...just half a world away. I pray that we both can go back sometime. 

And as we stressed at the beginning of this blog, we should all be serving Christ with all our heart and dedication and joy -no matter where we are. Sometimes, it's easy to get back to "normal" life and work and school and church and forget that just because the "mission trip" is over, doesn' mean we're somehow off the hook of giving Him our all. God has given us all different homes, talents and passions to use for Him. Don't waste those! Life is too short to live for ourselves- whether we are on the plains or jungles of Africa, or back in good 'ol East Texas. 

Thanks for reading the blog guys, it was truly a blessing knowing that so many people were keeping us in mind. Praying that we would all see the bigger picture and be filled with boldness to tell the world about this crazy Love that has called us out of darkness, rescued us and called us His own. May we be Souled Out. every day. always. 

Love you all! Bryn and Brayden Goode ( Akiiki and Apuuli) :) 

Hand washing clothes :)