Missionary work: Learning lessons in Uganda
Published 11:25 pm Friday, December 28, 2007
MARYSVILLE – For Triana Jule missionary work was in her blood and starting to get under her skin.
After spending a summer with her aunt and uncle in Mexico doing missionary work, she was convinced that God was calling her to the field as a missionary as well.
But which field remained the question.
“I was looking for an opportunity, but only where God wanted me to go,” Jule said.
Days turned into months that turned into years, and still an answer didn’t come. Jule sometimes became impatient and sometimes disappointed, as opportunities that seemed to be in reach became unattainable. That is, until one night earlier this year after a youth service, when she experienced an epiphany: God wanted her in Uganda.
After confirming her calling with her pastor and church elders and arranging financial support, Jule became the first missionary to be sent from her church.
On June 5, she left for Africa.
Uganda turned out to be far more than she imagined: green and lush landscapes contrasting against the dark, red earth made for a scenic first impression when she landed.
That, and the heat.
“The humidity is the first thing that hits you when you get off the plane,” Jule said.
She was then given a room at the mission house in the village of Seguku and from there her work began, taking her from the island of Lwage on Lake Victoria to the neighboring country of Rwanda. Jule taught third-grade English at a boarding school, helped repair houses, ministered at 57 jails, preached at vacation Bible school, and while at the Katakwi village baptized orphans from a nearby displacement camp.
Her most formative moment came while visiting the Krugali Genocide museum in Rwanda.
“It really opened my eyes to the experiences and circumstances of the Rwandan people and the region,” Jule said. “It broke my heart, though I learned a powerful lesson: that not all needs can be seen. We tend to minister to what we see and ignore the spiritual needs. We need to search out both in equal measure.”
Jule returned home to Marysville on Nov. 12 after five months and 11 days.
Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.
