A Place of Love 6.17.18- Payton Calvert

Good Shepherd’s Fold is a secluded campus in the Buundo Village of Uganda, neighboring several villages. It is home to 65 children and employs a number of Ugandan as well as Western individuals and families. There is a Ugandan primary school that performs above the neighboring school average and a tailoring school that conducts sewing lessons for locals. GSF is completely donor funded and most of the children here are a part of the sponsorship program. There are a number of community outreach programs such as feeding programs, agricultural efficiency programs, and a craft business called Buundo Beads which serves as a source of income for a number of village women and allows them to maintain savings accounts. There are also farm animals and crop fields that provide another form of financial support for the ministry.

The members of the Good Shepherd’s Fold team is composed of so many amazing indiviudals, some I have met, and others I still hope to meet in the coming weeks. They all have unique stories of how God brought them to this special place and how He is using them here. If I was to describe GSF in one word it would be love. Others are put before the individual and service is the norm. I had lunch at one of the children’s’ houses this week, definitely a highlight of my week, and after sitting down to a meal that had been served to me, the girls kept asking if they could get me more. God’s grace is evident amongst even the children as they make known their faith by loving others with all that they are. Relationships are valued in a way different from the Western world; they seek not to ensure efficiency of daily life is achieved, but instead that community is kept in a loving way. The people here are quick to converse and get to know their companions more personally.

I have been less homesick this week and more focused on what is going on here, which is an answered prayer! Having my job in full swing, building relationships, and exploring town have kept me immersed in my surroundings and more in tune to discovering where exactly my place is here at GSF. I am excited to continue growing in my relationships here and, by His grace, continue learning what God has to teach me this week.