Is it finished?

Eight months have gone by since the Kumi Mission Team visited Uganda, and six months have gone by since we posted our last blog entry. We've been radio-silent on Kumi Konnect for far too long, so you might be thinking that we've forgotten. Forgotten to write. Forgotten to blog. Forgotten to connect. Forgotten what this whole endeavor is about.

Our quietness must have made you think that this mission ministry was simply about the trip to Kumi. You might have thought that our work, then, has been completed, finished. Alas, our silence might have contributed to a misunderstanding of our whole endeavor.

Now that we are in the Easter season, as Easter people, we remember that as Christ was dying on the cross, he uttered the words "It is finished" to usher in a new era of change -- a time in which the early disciples were called to speak, act, and live boldly as faithful believers of God's message of peace, love, justice, and equality. And they didn't just believe, those early Christians also worked unceasingly, at times wearily, in the Spirit to bring the kingdom of God a bit closer to home...

Bring it back to the communities we serve. Those were not merely words to describe the purpose of this blog. Those were words describing the Kumi team's motivation in going in the first place. By those words, we mean to share this experience with everyone we know in order that we could, as the motto of YCVM says, "touch the heavens and change the earth."

We've been to Kumi, and we've touched the heavens. Now that we've seen, now that we've tasted, now that we've experienced the goodness of God's people working together to transform the world, we believe more earnestly in the Power of God which changes the earth -- Power enabled through us. We renew our commitment with greater vigor, with more dedication, with more passion.

One way in which we hope to share this experience is by giving presentations. Various Kumi team members have visited a number of church groups that are interested in hearing about our trip, about YCVM, and about the children of the orphanage. We have been pleased to share with them snippets of the stories that helped our own faith community discern its call to mission and ministry.

Another way in which we share this experience is through a benefit dinner that we will host to raise funds to build a Christian boarding school in Kumi, Uganda. If you are interested in participating in any way, please click here.

Lest you think we're not serious about this, visit the YCVM blog to find out all the activities of the Kumi team since their return stateside.

And finally, we are now ready to share with you some images of our trip. After several presentations, talks, discussions, etc., over the past few months, we have finally managed to cull together several photographic series taken during our trip to Kumi in July 2009. Over the next few weeks, we will post photos which had been taken by our trip photographers. Some photos will make you laugh, and some will tug at your heart-strings. Some images will show you the progress of construction on the building; some images will share snapshots of life in Uganda. None of them, alone, will tell the full story of what we saw, tasted, touched, felt.

We invite you, wholeheartedly, to view these photos, to share in our stories, and to stay connected...