Before moving to Uganda, I had never heard of Steps to Freedom in Christ by Dr. Neil Anderson. And I had never walked through the steps myself to be set free of past hurts, sin, and bondage that I never really realized I still carried. It wasn’t until we moved to Uganda, and I wrestled with my identity, I let insecurities overcome my thoughts, and I started to see the negative impact I was having on my family, friends, and my own spiritual walk. When I started with the first women in discipleship group, I wanted to join and not lead. I was very happy to sit back and watch, letting another very capable missionary lead. But because of different circumstances, and honestly God pushing me, I began leading the group with a Ugandan co-leader. It was hard. It was frustrating. It was ugly. It was GOOD! It was amazing to watch how God transformed these ladies’ lives, and mine as well. It was encouraging to be in His Word, sharing with others who are very different from me but who were also having similar struggles with living out their faith. God was present.

As part of the Discipleship Journey, my co-leader and I meet with one woman at a time to go through Steps of Freedom. It’s an intense time of sharing, confessing, prayer, and proclaiming God’s Truth. It’s powerful and we have seen God overcome so much in each of the women’s lives time and time again. It’s not an easy day together, but it is so beautiful to see the freedom each woman receives. I also walked through the steps myself before I led the ladies through the process (“you cannot lead where you do not go”), and it was amazing to see how God revealed things in my life that needed to be dealt with. It is also amazing to see how the Holy Spirit continues to work in my life to change me.

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