{"id":6163,"date":"2016-04-22T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=6163"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:46:24","slug":"ugandan-faith-lesson-5-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2016\/04\/22\/ugandan-faith-lesson-5-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Ugandan faith lesson #5: hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faith lessons from my Ugandan family<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Editor\u2019s note:<\/em><\/strong> This is the final blog post of a five-part series \u201cFaith lessons from my Ugandan family\u201d \u00a0(see lessons #1<\/a>, #2<\/a>,\u00a0#3<\/a>\u00a0and #4<\/a>) by <\/em>Messy Jesus Business guest contributor\/Rabble Rouser Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/a> about her experiences in Mbale, Uganda.<\/em><\/p>\n

More than almost anyone I know, my Ugandan host parents embody the \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d of hard work and righteous living resulting in opportunity.<\/p>\n

\"Ugandan
Ugandan host family, courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bufamba
Bufumba (Ugandan host family father’s home village), courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My host dad\u2019s story almost seems too inspiring to be true (but it is): he grew up in a traditional clay house nestled within a small subsistence-farming village. A self-described \u201cnaive village boy,\u201d he was eight years old before he saw an electrical light bulb (and the story of his first encounter with a toilet would have you in stitches). During secondary school, he walked 14 miles every day to attend class; as the top-performing student in his district, he earned a scholarship to attend university in Uganda\u2019s capital. From there, he was recruited for a prestigious post-graduate program in development studies in Dublin, Ireland, and now works as a professor at the local university in Mbale. He is in the process of completing his dissertation (focused on emergency response to climate change-related landslides in the foothills of Mount Elgon), and will soon be awarded his PhD.<\/p>\n

My host mum is no less impressive (indeed, my host dad would be the first to tell you\u2014with great pride\u2014that she is his boss at the university). Together, they are a force of wisdom, intellect, and tireless work. With their credentials and connections, they would have no problem establishing an easier, more convenient life in a Western country.<\/p>\n

But they have no interest in doing so.<\/p>\n

\"girl
Courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They have made the choice to remain in Uganda and put their skills to use in service of their people. That choice is fraught with daily sacrifices\u2014sacrifices which probably would have overwhelmed me many years ago. But for my host family, whose every breath is rooted in transcendent hope, the trials of life in Uganda can do nothing to diminish their sense of fulfillment in doing their work \u2026 or their sense of joy in knowing, truly knowing<\/em>, they are loved by God as they do it.<\/p>\n

Of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, hope<\/em> was always somewhat nebulous to me. What does it mean to hope, and how is that different from having faith?\u00a0 But life with my Ugandan family made real to me just what it looks like to dwell in the joy of belonging to the Lord.<\/p>\n

The Catechism describes hope this way: \u201cThe virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man \u2026 Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.\u201d<\/em> (CCC 1818) My host family\u2019s hope cannot be stymied by the setbacks and tragedies they experience in Uganda, because their hope is written in their hearts by Someone greater.<\/p>\n

The unmistakable fruit of that hope is their relentless joy.<\/p>\n

When I am asked to describe my host family, the first word to come to mind is always \u201cjoyful.\u201d\u00a0 But words really cannot do justice to the sheer jubilation that is infused in my Ugandan family. They are radiant<\/em> with it. It is palpable, contagious \u2026 It is, quite frankly, exactly the sort of thing that can change the world.<\/p>\n

It has certainly changed me.<\/p>\n

\"hiking
hiking trip to Sipi, courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For reflection: <\/strong>How can I nurture a spirit of true hope in my family, so that our joy and generosity are not influenced by our circumstances?<\/p>\n

Author bio:<\/em><\/strong> Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/a> is a friend of Sister Julia\u2019s who writes from the Seattle, Washington area. She spent three months living and volunteering in Mbale, Uganda in 2006, and recently returned there with her husband to visit her host family and friends. She considers her experience in Uganda to be the greatest theology class she\u2019s ever taken.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Faith lessons from my Ugandan family Editor\u2019s note: This is the final blog post of a five-part series \u201cFaith lessons from my Ugandan family\u201d \u00a0(see lessons #1, #2,\u00a0#3\u00a0and #4) by Messy Jesus Business guest contributor\/Rabble Rouser Nicole Steele Wooldridge about her experiences in Mbale, Uganda. More than almost anyone I know, my Ugandan host parents...","protected":false},"author":51099403,"featured_media":6175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755598,115341],"tags":[247352,214,401,406,79294,7816,20816,104576,5840,226436,3785,49907,30351,178304,5548699,3981,4510,140969,15201,131],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-6163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-family-life","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-american-dream","tag-christianity","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-generosity","tag-god","tag-hope","tag-humility","tag-joy","tag-lord","tag-love","tag-sacrifice","tag-service","tag-simple-living","tag-theological-virtues","tag-theology","tag-uganda","tag-village","tag-wisdom","tag-work","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/ugandan-host-family1-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

Ugandan faith lesson #5: hope<\/a><\/blockquote>