Savannah spent a couple months this spring serving with Global Hands of Hope in Uganda. We are so thankful for the time that we were able to spend with her and the relationships she built while she was here!
Savannah’s Internship Recap
When I was in the 9th grade I had the opportunity to take my first out of country mission trip to a small rural city of Iquitos, Peru. I was lucky enough to take this trip with my father, two brothers, and some of my best friends. I didn’t know this at the time but that short trip would give me a strong heart and love for international missions and experiencing the amazing world that God has created.
Early in 2018, my dad asked me if I wanted to go to Uganda for two weeks. This was a difficult question for me. My innate desire was just telling me to go and throw off all responsibilities of being a recent college grad. In addition, there was the fact that once I got a job there was no telling when I would be able to do something like this again. But my reasonable side was saying, “no, go home, work and save money, and look for a job so you can go start your life like a normal college grad.” After lots of prayers, I started feeling like my path was going to be a little different than most after graduation. It was time for me to go to Uganda.
That July I went to Bukeka, Uganda. I went with a team of twelve people to work at Suubi. Though I had met Pastor Ronnie during some of his previous trips to the US, I really got to know him during my trip to Bukeka. Through many talks with him, the Suubi staff, and children at Suubi I was feeling like my time and work with Global Hands of Hope was not over. After being home for a few months and a lot of praying I reached out to Ronnie about coming back and spending a couple months there to do some photo and media work.
Before my second trip to Uganda, I was really in a weird place in my life. I started feeling like I wanted to change my path in life since I love doing missions so much. I was really asking God for some direction and clarity. This was a weird way to go into such a big trip and put a lot of weight on me as I prepared mentally and physically.
While I was in Bukeka spent a lot of my time collecting content for future blog posts for the Global Hands of Hope blog, taking photos for social media and website use, and working on little odd jobs that anyone needed me to do. I enjoyed taking photos for the school’s principal for district reports and typing up the end of term exams for teachers and staff. It became easy to get overwhelmed by my work and not take the time to enjoy myself. I had to force myself to remember to put my camera down or my computer away and just go on a walk or play with the kids for a couple of hours and really enjoy what I was doing and my time there.
On days off or during breaks, I would spend time taking walks in the village, sitting in on different classes, or spending time with the kids in the safe house. On weekends Hammy and I would spend our days with the kids in the safe house teaching them things that they can use later on in life. We spent a couple Saturdays in the banana plantations teaching the children how to take care of their bananas and then picking many bunches of plantains and bananas, bringing them back to prepare for lunches the next day. We spent time playing Bible memorization games, watching movies, and playing soccer!
Towards the end of my trip, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Kenya. It was incredible to experience the differences between Uganda and Kenya, to get to spend Easter with such amazing families in a different country, and to learn about the history and culture of Kenya and how it differs from Uganda. I got to visit tea fields that just roll on for what seems like forever. We drove through the Great Valley Rift (I, of course, had to wave to Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba on our way through) which had views which were so incredible that you feel like they weren’t even real. Every time I visit a new place, a new country, I become more amazed by God’s creation, and his creativity. It constantly inspires me to push myself and grow my own skills.
It is such an enjoyable experience traveling and living in someplace new. You get to grow with othersin Christ and invest in the lives around you. While there, spending my time among people who trust God profoundly, God me taught me the difference in trusting God with making big decisions and looking for clarity from God. I was at a point in my life where I kept telling myself I just needed more clarity on which path to go down, but in reality, I just needed to trust God that I would end up where I needed to be.
About Savannah
Savannah is a graduate of Kent State University. She has a major in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in media. Savannah is living in the Dayton, Ohio area. She loves traveling and photography. She first became connected to Global Hands of Hope in 2015 through family friends.
