Uganda Mission Trip 2014!

This is a quick update to give you the "nuts and bolts" of our planned Due Unto Others trip to Uganda in 2014.

Our family will be leaving for Uganda on May 24th (Saturday) and be returning on July 10th. 

During that time we will have several projects, but most of them will involve loading up in our van (and others if needed) and traveling out to rural Uganda to set up medical care for many underserved villages.

 During our time there, I hope to host 2 or 3 two week teams that come over from the US.  I know that many of you cannot possibly be gone for 6 weeks, but if you know in advance, you could possibly swing 2 weeks.

These are rough estimates but here are some numbers and dates:

1.)  First team would go over with us on May 24th and return on June 7th.

2.) Second team would leave DFW on June 6th and return on June 21st.

3.)  The best flights, right now, are with British Airways leaving from Dallas, stopping in London and then on to Uganda.  Price for the first team is between $1,500 & $1,600 per ticket (round trip) right now.  Price for the second team will likely be about $2,400 for flights as the tickets get more expensive in the Summer because of more demand.  I can hold tickets and prices right now if you are committed to going.

4.) Ground expenses are truly a guess until we know the # of people and where we are going with each team.  If I remember correctly, the expenses were about $100 per person per day, for our trip last year.  This includes transportation, lodging, & most meals.  There would be occasional eating out, shopping, or safaris that would be extra.

5.)  We will likely operate 8-9 days of clinic in the 14 days and also give you a taste of some of the Ugandan sites in the area.  This will not be a vacation or a tour.  We will be getting our hands dirty providing medical care and showing God's love to the people of Uganda.  You don't have to be medical to go, as we can find jobs for anyone willing to work.  Students can go pending discussion with me.  Many mission teams are herded on buses from one spot to another in a somewhat sheltered environment.  I think that we get a more hands-on, true feel for taking care of people and living in Uganda.

 

 

6.)  We will have team meetings on most nights where we will talk about the day and the "That One Person" that came across our path during the day.  We will also likely work our way through a devotional book together that deepens our Walk and grows us closer together as a team.

I am convinced that you will be "ruint" once you get a taste of medical missions.  I think it is a tremendously positive thing for high school or college students to experience how most of the world lives and to get a new perspective on things.  We love having students interested in medicine as a career.  They are able to get up close and personal with treatment of patients and see if it is what God made them for.

We will only be able to take 20 people on each team, and that includes my family.  Housing and travel is limited in most of the places that we go.

Hope this helps you to start thinking and praying about going to Uganda or elsewhere to serve in the mission field.   We will plan team meetings in the spring to answer questions and get everyone ready.  We can review immunizations etc at that time.  Please let me know if I can answer further questions.  Even if you can't go, please start praying for our team.

1 in 5 Ugandan children dies before their 5th birthday.  What if YOU could reach "That one person"?

Jay

A life that matters!

Did you ever have a coach or authority figure that you wanted to please so badly that you would do just about anything to make sure that they were satisfied?  I had a few of those that inspired me in sports, in the classroom and in life.

 

Over the past few weeks, I have been reminded about how limited and fragile our lives are on this earth.  I attended 3 funerals in the past 8 weeks, the last of which was a couple of weeks ago.  Through these services and graveside gatherings, I was reminded of the death of my grandfather, Elmer Due, in 1987.  I felt like my world stood still and it was confusing to me why other people seemed to carry on with life as usual.  The fragility of our lives here was hammered home by my participation in medical care of a young patient that was murdered, for amusement, on the streets of Duncan, OK. 

 

In America, I feel that it is far too easy to slip into a life of ease.  We have air conditioning, satellite tv, computers/phones in our pockets and machines to do most anything.  We don’t NEED much.  Sometimes I find myself tired from being busy, but I was busy doing close to nothing.

Instead of a life of ease, we should strive for a life that matters.  Have you heard the old song called “Thank you, for giving to the Lord”?  It describes people that a guy meets when he goes to heaven that are thanking him for living a life that matters.  They are in heaven because of various things that he had done during his life on earth, that pointed them to God.  What if your life was full of purpose and every day that you lived made a difference in the life of another?  What if you left changed lives in your wake as you navigated between the buoys of life?

I know families that are changing lives through foster care and adoption in Oklahoma.  I know a young lady that gave up a life of ease to care for orphaned children in Uganda.   I know people that volunteer much of their free time in juvenile prisons.  I know a woman that put a successful career on hold to give extra attention to a child that needed her attention at home.  These are just some examples of people that are living a life that matters.  A Godly man in Chickasha passed away in mid-October.  While discussing his life and the difference he made, a friend asked the question, “What could have Bill done to be a better man”.  No one could give him an answer.  That was a life that mattered.  I mentioned the death of my grandfather, and namesake of this blog, above.  He lived a life that mattered.  How do I know?  I was a part of that life and had first hand experience.  I also know that his life made a difference, to others, because of a couple of pictures forever etched on my mind’s eye.  The first is of a full auditorium for his memorial service at Immanuel Baptist Church in Duncan.  The second is the funeral processional that went from the church to Duncan cemetery.  Twenty six years later, I can still see the line of cars stretching down Bois d’ Arc from the cemetery, across highway 81, and as far up the street as I could see to the East.  He made a difference for that many people, most of which occurring right in the middle of Duncan, OK. 

Through supporters of Due Unto Others, our friend Kevin is getting burn treatment, surgeries, and physical therapy in Uganda.  He returned, to the hospital, last week and is getting surgeries on his neck and eyelids.  People, with a life that matters, are helping a boy to get the care he needs to live a life that matters.

As I stand at the end of my life, I want to be able to look back, without regrets, on a life that matters.  It makes perfect sense that I should give that “go through the wall effort” for the One that gave His life for me, just like I would for a coach.  If I give my best effort to please my maker, I should end up achieving my goal.

I apologize for having 4 months pass without updating the blog.

 

Jay