Sacrificial Love

I remember the day I gave up the one thing that my life revolved around. Gymnastics. It was towards the end of my senior year, and I thought my life was coming to an end. I sacrificed a lot in life to be in the gym. After countless years, days, and hours put into the one thing I loved more than anything.. It was time to shut the door. About a year before so, I just knew that I was going to be a collegiate gymnast. Wrong. God said no. I struggled with injuries and setbacks. Little did I know, God was shutting the door on gymnastics....

With my heart broken, I sucked it up and let it go. The weird thing was, I felt a peace after letting it go. It was a trip to Jamaica that changed my life forever. Just a small vacation with my family to celebrate graduating from high school. The feeling was overwhelming. I felt a tug on my heart; I felt the Lord moving within me. It was the poverty that I was caught off guard by. I knew then and there I wanted to help those less fortunate.

After closing the door on gymnastics, I decided to sign up for a trip to Uganda, Africa in November of 2011. There is nothing like God's love, His sacrificial love. Something that I experienced more than ever on a short, two week, mission trip. The moment I stepped foot onto the African soil, I knew right away I was not home anymore. I will never forget my first trip to Uganda...

The children were adorable in their ragged clothes, no shoes, and big smiles. The people there were so welcoming, and always had a smile on their face. I was amazed at how happy they were. How could these people who have nothing be so happy? The children at the orphanage would laugh at our funny accents, and it took a couple of days for them to warm up to us. I even got the chance to meet my sweet, sweet sponsor child, Catherine Kusaasira.

Catherine is beautiful, and such a selfless little girl. She is 7 years old, and has had malaria twice in her precious, little lifetime. I'll never forget the first time I met her. I had never seen a kid who was beyond happy about a dress, rain boots, and a baby doll. With tears, her mother thanked me countless times. It was an unforgettable moment. It was in that moment that God taught me true sacrificial love. Sacrificial love is not winning a gold medal, and dedicating your life to earthly treasures. It is about showing others Christ's unconditional love. It is about doing whatever it takes to love one another, even if it means setting aside your selfish ways. 

God opened my eyes to a whole new world. It was saturday, the day of the Christmas program at the orphanage, Upendo Christian. After the program, the kids scattered, running around playing games. I walked back to where the Christmas program took place, and saw a group of kids singing and dancing to the music. I walked in, and looked for Catherine. The kids who were dancing, ran up to me and grabbed my hands. I formed a circle, and we all began to dance. We danced round and round, and in that moment it began to hit me. Boy, did it hit me hard! Seeing those kids with the biggest smiles on their faces made my heart melt. I fell in love. I fell in love with His children, His people. God then said, "You love because I first loved you." I knew that God was calling me to something more than just a two week trip.

The journey home was heart breaking. I cried before leaving Uganda. I cried on the plane ride home, and I cried when I arrived home. Life was not the same. I was angry. Angry at the clothes, technology, nice car, and food I had in my refrigerator. Angry at my selfishness, and angry at America's selfishness. I did not understand why my life was the way it was. I did not understand why I had all these things, and the people in Uganda had nothing. Needless to say, two weeks in Uganda was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. After a while, life set in. Reality was back to normal, but Uganda never left my mind. It never left my heart.

A year later, I was back in Uganda. The second trip was so different from the first. In the past year, I grew in my relationship with the Lord. I was more prepared than I was the first time. And now... I find myself moving to Uganda. That's right, MOVING to Uganda. 

However, this is only the beginning of a new journey in my life..

- Kaitlyn