My Trip To Uganda Taught Me About Active Patience

I recently returned from a trip to Uganda to visit some missionary friends. It was my first time in Africa, and while I loved the sights and people, what stayed with me most wasn’t the experience itself  — it was what I learned about patience.

I expected to be inspired by my friends’ big vision of a new retreat center. What surprised me instead was their attitude toward failure.

One person we visited moved to Uganda 32 years ago, and she’s a legend! She brought peace between warring tribes through her veterinary work. It’s incredible! (There’s even an Adventures in Odyssey episode about her.)

Her vehicle, which helps people know it's her.

During the trip, we visited three places that told the story of her life’s work:

• the location of her first assignment, where she regularly washed her hair in a waterfall,
• her (and her husband’s) current home and ministry,
• and the site of their future retreat center.

The retreat center is just getting started. A few small buildings stand now, but their vision includes a massive A-frame space that’ll serve as a training ground for mission training, veterinary education, and farming instruction.

The retreat center at night.

But working in Uganda is hard.

For example, the land they purchased is being contested by the seller’s son, and title protections aren’t the same as in the US. They also have to deal with antics like neighbors trying to plow their land to claim it as their own. At one point, they built a fence, but raiders stole the fence materials. So they hired a guard, bought all new materials, and built another fence.

It’s regularly two steps forward, one step back.

What struck me most wasn’t their vision, but their patience. Yes, they have enormous goals, yet their daily focus remains simple: take steps each day, even if it’s a repeat of yesterday’s steps. Again and again, they spoke about trusting God’s timing and finding God’s purpose in setbacks.

How many dudes does it take to fix a broken tractor?

Be Patient

Reflecting on their work reminded me of something I had read many times but never fully felt: the steady faithfulness described in the book of James.

Unlike some early followers, James stayed in Jerusalem through decades of hardship. His letter was written to believers scattered by persecution: people facing loss, poverty, and uncertainty, wondering how long their suffering would last.

In response, James points to a farmer:

'Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.'

James 5:7-8

The image would have resonated immediately. Most were from agrarian communities in Palestine and knew there were two rainy seasons: planting and harvest. The farmer couldn’t control the rain, but he could prepare the soil, sow the seed, and wait in trust.

The farmer’s patience wasn’t passive. It was active.

He worked while he waited.

Digging up a root to make medicine for a sick goat.

James, like my friends, knew this firsthand. He led the struggling Jerusalem church with limited resources and many trials, including political tension, famine, and persecution. When he writes:

' Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. '

James 1:2-4

He isn’t offering theory. He’s describing a life shaped by endurance.

Growth takes time. But waiting isn’t inactivity. The farmer tills, plants, and prays. In the same way, James calls us to active patience: a quiet trust combined with faithful action. Delays aren’t signs that God has forgotten, but signs that He is ripening something precious in time.

Burn dry grass to make way for new grass when rain comes.

Count It All Joy

Just as the early church learned to persevere through hardship, and just as my friends continue building despite constant setbacks, we are invited into the same kind of patience.

Most of us aren’t building retreat centers in Uganda. But we’re all waiting for rain somewhere.

Maybe it’s a business that’s growing slower than expected. A relationship that feels stuck. A calling that hasn’t produced visible results yet. A season where faithfulness feels repetitive and progress feels invisible.

Active patience means doing today’s work well while trusting God with tomorrow’s outcome.

We prepare the soil.

We plant the seed.

We keep showing up.

And in time — often longer than we’d prefer — the rain comes, and the harvest arrives in ways only God could produce.

I can't believe she washed her hair in this waterfall...