From Lake Superior to Lake Victoria

On the shores of Lake Victoria lies a country rich in natural beauty, yet impoverished due to the devastation of disease and the lack of resources such as clean water and basic medi­cal care. This coun­try is the Republic of Uganda, known as the Pearl of Africa. Across the Atlantic is another lake, Lake Superior, where communities rich in natural beau­ty lie: the north shore. And when those from the one lake met those from the other, both worlds were enriched by the meeting.

In 2023, First Bap­tist Church of Two Harbors formed a mis­sions committee. This committee is “dedi­cated to serving our missionaries and mak­ing our congregation more aware of their situations and needs.” The committee then asked the missionar­ies supported by First Baptist if they would like for a team to vis­it them, “if that would be beneficial to them.” The committee also in­quired if the mission­aries had any projects with which they would like some help.

Eagles’ Wings Children’s Village in Uganda respond­ed by inviting a team to come learn about their ministry, meet the people there, and help with some proj­ects. Eagles’ Wings is located near Lukaya in south-central Ugan­da, and was founded in 2004 by Bill and Ann Peckham of Manitoba, Canada. Part-time and full-time care is pro­vided to over 500 stu­dents at Eagles’ Wings. Students in Nursery to Senior Six, as well as some vocational and post-secondary stu­dents, receive an edu­cation, health care, and hands-on experience learning agriculture. The managing director is Jonathan Michalski, formerly of Silver Bay.

Planning for the Uganda trip took close to a year, and ten peo­ple from the Two Har­bors area were on the team: Conrad and Sara Swanson, along with their teenage children Wyatt, Savannah, and Will; Barb Hamilton; Josh Nelson; Greg and Shele Hull; and Katrina Goutermont.

Sara Swanson shared that her family “has a friendship with the director of Eagles’ Wings, Jonathan Mi­chalski, and his parents from Silver Bay Bap­tist Church. Because of that, all five of us wanted to be a part of the team.”

Sara Swanson went on to speak about the goals of the trip. “We wanted to encourage the missionaries, and the other Christians in that area, because the work they do is chal­lenging – they deal with a lot of broken fam­ilies, addiction, and poverty.” Shele Hull added that, “People are people no matter where you go.” It struck her how far below the pov­erty level the people of Uganda live. “We re­ally have it good here [in the United States],” Hull said. Still she saw people “be joyous in situations we can’t un­derstand”, and empha­sized that Uganda is a beautiful country.

While in Uganda, the main project the team worked on was build­ing a road through Eagles’ Wings’ farm to aid in transporta­tion of harvested crops and firewood. Team members’ specialized skills were put to use. Josh Nelson helped in the clinic. Conrad Swanson and sons Will and Wyatt worked on motor repairs for a generator and some lawnmowers. Other team members were involved in building shutters for a dining hall.

Sara Swanson finished by saying, “It was a wonderful experience in a beautiful country, and the people there will remain in our hearts for the rest of our lives.” For more information about Eagles’ Wings Children’s Village go to https://www.eagleswingschildrensvillage.com/ to find out how you can get involved in helping children on the other shore.