Give Forward

**3/23/09 A list of relevant links**

Where I'll be working: http://www.hospiceafrica.or.ug/

Where I go to school: http://www.divinity.duke.edu/

A L'Arche community in Uganda: http://tinyurl.com/dkvvta

Great micro-finance ministry in Uganda: http://tinyurl.com/cqlkup

Where I studied abroad in '04: http://www.ucu.ac.ug/

My traveling companion, Denise - http://deniseinuganda.blogspot.com/

World Vision report of child soldiers: http://tinyurl.com/6amzo3

**3/10/09 Where I'm going and what I'm doing**

Tubasanyukidde! Welcome!

I have been blessed with the opportunity to pioneer a field education placement at Hospice Africa this summer in Kampala, Uganda. A fellow student and I will be the first Duke Divinity School seminarians to work with Hospice Africa. What an exciting adventure! The mission of Hospice Africa is “to improve the quality of life among the sick and restore hope.” During my time, I will work as a seminary intern at Hospice Africa, providing spiritual care to patients who are dying of AIDS, cancer, and other terminal illnesses, as well as supporting their family members as they cope with grief and loss. Because I have never before worked in hospice care, I will spend much of my time learning from the doctors, nurses, caregivers and chaplains who have dedicated their lives to providing palliative care in Uganda. Undoubtedly, this placement will challenge me emotionally and theologically. But I have no doubt that my time in Uganda will allow me to further discern my call to ministry, including the prospect of living overseas and working with vulnerable populations.

Furthermore, I will be able to visit with friends, missionaries, non-profits and churches in Uganda. I studied abroad in Uganda five years ago, and I look forward to paying a visit to my Spring Semester '04 alma mater, Uganda Christian University, where I will visit with several missionary friends who are teaching there, as well as former students and staff members. I will also be living within two miles from the Uganda l'Arche, a community in which disabled and non-disabled adults share life together. Having been a member of the Greater DC l'Arche community for two years, I am excited to spend time with a “sister” l'Arche in Kampala. It will surely be a home away from home!

At the end of the summer, I will travel with a group of fellow seminary students on Duke Divinity School's Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope to Uganda. Our group will travel to important historical, political and ecclesiastical sites throughout Uganda and “experience the contemporary challenge to witness to Christ's peace and justice in the global society.” We will also travel to war-torn Northern Uganda to meet with individuals and churches promoting peace and reconciliation in that region, and witness the pains and struggles of those living in IDP camps who have been displaced from their homes by violent rebel war.

As you can see, God has blessed me immeasurably with the opportunity to go to Uganda this summer! Because this is an international placement in an economically disadvantaged nation, Duke has asked me to pay for my own living and internal travel expenses while in Uganda. These will include costs for transportation, housing, food, immunizations, host family donations and malaria medication. I am asking for your financial support to cover these expenses and, in turn, make possible this wonderful opportunity for ministerial discernment in Uganda.

Weebale nyo! Thank you very much!

Heather Bixler