Analisea Araya Spends Summer in Uganda

WAITSBURG – It was four years in the making, but 2017 Waitsburg High School graduate, Analisea Araya, spent part of her summer making a dream come true. The wait was worth it, and her three-week adventure spent serving children in Uganda, Africa was everything she hoped it would be.

Araya said she has "always" wanted to go on a mission trip, but narrowed her destination to visiting Uganda after she was inspired by a good friend who served there when Araya was a freshman. Unlike most teens that go on service/mission trips as part of a church or youth group, Araya was on her own.

"That was one of the biggest things for me. Trying to figure it out and do it on my own," Araya said.

Araya researched organizations and decided on Empower a Child. She completed the lengthy application process and raised the nearly $4,000 necessary to cover her stay, travel, vaccines, passport and VISA which was another challenge.

"Financing the trip was the hardest part about going," she said.

She raised funds by pulling rye, housekeeping, and doing whatever she could to earn money. She also sold T-shirts she designed through Bonfire.com that had an outline of Africa with a heart where Uganda is located.

"A lot of the people at the high school, especially staff, really helped out by donating and buying T-shirts," she said.

Araya had only flown once before, as part of a group middle-school trip to Washington D.C. Undaunted, she boarded the plane alone for her 30-hour international flight to Uganda on July 8.

"I was definitely a little nervous. But I learned to just follow the crowd," she said.

Araya spent her first night at an Empower a Child office in Kampala, Uganda, the country's capitol, where she was joined by four more missionaries. The next day they visited a school in the city, where they picked up more group members before traveled to the village of Zirobwe, where she spent the majority of her trip at the Empower a Child compund. She and another girl were the youngest missionaries of the group.

While in Zirobwe, Araya spent most of her time working with the more than 400 children that attend Empower a Child's private school for children in grades one through six. Students practice conversational English by talking and speaking with the missionaries, and the missionaries help with physical education, games, and worship.

Araya said that one day one of the students arrived at school saying that his family's home had burned down. The opportunity to be a part of rebuilding their hut is one of her standout memories of the trip.

"Home is where your family is. To be a part of that was really awesome," Araya said.

"We drove to their house – it would take them three hours to walk to school every day and the family had three kids in school. Their house had completely burned down by a candle that had been knocked over. They already had a structure up, made from sticks. So we came in and made mud and packed it and 20 of us pretty much built this house in two or three days," she said.

"We also brought them rice, clothes, insect repellent...that was really funny because they'd never seen aerosol before and were kind of freaking out," she added, laughing.

Araya said her favorite part of the entire experience was just spending time with the kids.

"It was crazy. Sometimes I would have five hanging off of each arm," she said.

Araya shared a video of her group entering a village where children line the streets, smiling and yelling, " Hi Mzungu!"

"Mzungu is what they call white people," Araya said, pointing to the leather bracelet on her arm, stamped with the word.

Araya shared an impactful conversation she had with a 14-year-old who had been abandoned by her mother. She had several siblings from multiple fathers, who had all left, which is common among Ugandan men, Araya said.

"She was left trying to provide for her siblings and said they hadn't eaten for a couple of days, which was really sad to see. Now she's stuck with raising these kids when she had hopes and plans herself," Araya said.

Araya said she was hard hit by the difference in cultures. She said she was surrounded by the very poor, who considered it a blessing to walk hours to school each day, and were happy, while in the USA people complain, are chronically unhappy, and don't appreciate what they have.

"I'm having kind of a reverse culture shock coming home. The things people say, their outlook on life, the things they post on social media – you should be grateful for what you have. The culture is so much different," she said.

"I'm so grateful for what I have and the family I have after seeing what they have to go through and how little they have," she added.

Araya did get to have some fun and explore the country a bit during her stay. A highlight was a three-day safari in Murchison Falls National Park where she took a ferry across the Nile, hiked to the top of Murchison Falls, and saw lions, warthogs, baboons, giraffes, and crocodiles.

"Baboons are everywhere. While we were outside the vehicle, a baboon jumped inside the van, got into my bag, took a bag of candy, jumped out and started eating it. Luckily he didn't take anything else!" she said.

Araya said her African experience was definitely life changing.

"I met a lot of people from around the world that were really inspirational because they were so strong in their faith...The money I would have spent somewhere else is nowhere near the amazing experience I got to have, the people I got to meet, and the things I got to see. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But now I want to go back!" she said laughing.

Araya said her next goal will be to visit Thailand, because she wants to serve where she can spread the gospel in areas where people haven't had the opportunity to believe, she said.

But for now, she's gearing up for her freshman year at Lewis-Clark State College, where she plans to study physical therapy, which starts Aug. 21

The majority of students that attend the Empower a Child school are supported through sponsorships. To learn about sponsoring a child, visit http://www.empowerachild.org.