Getting Ready for Your Trip to Uganda

Get ready for an unforgettable experience in Uganda! We’re here to walk with you every step of the way.
View Missions Packet

Your Journey Begins Here

We are excited you are joining us in Uganda! This page will help answer many common questions regarding your stay at the Field of Dreams and will also help you to understand our expectations as you serve with us in Uganda.

The First Steps

Log into your managed missions page and refer to the Tasks and Goals section. This will help you navigate the various things you’ll need to do to prepare for your trip. You will find helpful links within the individual task descriptions.
Managed Missions Account

APPLY 2 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE. Visa will expire 90 days from the application date.

A tourist visa is required to enter Uganda. This one-time cost is $50 and the visa application must be completed online.

Visa Application

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) requires anyone traveling from the USA to Uganda to get the Yellow Fever vaccination.

Please check with your doctor for other potential immunizations/medicines you may want to take. We suggest that you make an appointment for your immunizations well in advance of the trip. The international travel clinics will sometimes run out of the vaccine for periods of time. You can visit the CDC’s website to read more.

Malaria preventative is required. Show Mercy can provide you with malaria medications (Malarone or Doxycycline) from our medical clinic in Uganda. More information is in your Managed Missions account.

Visit CDC Website

We encourage you to give others an opportunity to sow into what God is doing through Show Mercy by supporting your trip. You’ll create a public profile on Managed Missions and receive a shareable link.

Friends and family can make tax-deductible donations through your link or mail a check to P.O. Box 1003 Port Gibson, MS 39150. Your trip must be paid for two weeks prior to your departure date. Also, please make sure to sign our waivers before you begin fundraising. 

Managed Missions Account

Travel Resources

Flight Information: You will be arriving at Entebbe International Airport (airport code: EBB).

You are responsible for purchasing your own ticket; however, we are available to help guide you. If you prefer booking through a travel agent. Please click the button below and enter this referral code SHOWME, when requesting a quote.  

Travel Agency

We recommend that you fly Delta, United, KLM or Brussels. Flights typically arrive in Uganda late in the evening, between 10 PM – 12 AM (midnight.)  

Tourism: If you are interested in visiting a tourist location such as a safari or the source of the Nile. You can contact us at missions@showmercy.org
for more information.

Your Arrival & Navigating the airport
Your arrival

Your Time in Uganda

Our desire is to help uncover your God-given purpose and potential. You were born to make an impact and we are confident this will be a life-changing experience. We promise you’ll never be the same!

The General Expectations

Missions Packet

Make sure you download and read our missions packet. It is full of helpful information that will help you prepare for your upcoming adventure in Uganda.

Missions Packet

FAQ

A typical short-term trip lasts 10-14 days. The cost varies depending on the length of the trip, extra outreaches, and safari add-ons. The money helps to cover the costs of housing and food while at the SMI base, transportation to and from the airport, Show Mercy outreaches, clean drinking water, a team t-shirt, and administrative expenses. Your contributions assist in supporting the ministry and mission of Show Mercy International.

Anyone can apply to join us in Uganda; however, anyone under the age of 18 will need to have a signed parental or guardian permission and liability release in order to be considered.

Team numbers range from 5 to 25 persons depending on the time of year. Interns or long-term employees usually join visiting teams. You can come alone or with a few friends if you don’t have a team. There is very seldom a time when we do not have volunteers at our base in Uganda.

-Visa fees ($50 for a tourist visa) obtained through the following website. https://visas.immigration.go.ug/

-Any vaccinations or medications (malaria preventative). Yellow Fever is required.

-Airfare unless otherwise noted

-Money for souvenirs and an occasional meal when we are away from the Show Mercy Field of Dreams base

There are a variety of choices available. A quick Google search will turn up numerous businesses that offer quality protection at competitive prices. You will be given access to a Managed Missions page once you have submitted an application and been accepted as a team member, which will also include options for travel insurance.

Please click here and enter the referral code SHOWME when requesting a quote. You can also use other travel agents or online sites such as vayama.com, orbitz.com, travelocity.com, etc. You will fly into Entebbe, Uganda (EBB). Other airlines that fly to Entebbe include Delta/KLM, Turkish Airlines, SN Brussels and Ethiopian Airlines.

There are some consistent activities on every trip. You’ll spend time with children in our sponsorship program. We also participate in weekly village outreaches to orphans and widows, visit and pray for the sick or work in our Show Mercy Hospital and Maternity Center on our Field of Dreams property (if you qualify), share in schools and local churches, host VBS or similar outreaches. Occasionally there are simple building projects, farming outreaches and new water well opening celebrations. Team members are also encouraged in their faith. There are regular times of group worship, devotions, and prayer. Usually, a team trip’s itinerary is shaped by the interests and backgrounds of its participants. We accommodate teams with medical backgrounds by giving them a chance to participate in activities of that nature.

No. There is always the opportunity to travel without a team. There are very few times when team members are not serving with us in Uganda. You can just assimilate into the teams that are already there. Team members are still required to fill out an application, submit all required liability forms, stay at our base, and agree to follow our ministry guidelines. Please contact us if you would like to travel outside of a scheduled team trip.

Yes. If you would like to organize a trip and lead a team with your church, youth group, organization or with a certain group of people, we can accommodate those requests. Please contact us for more information on pricing, availability, and activities that you would like to be involved in. If those activities fit into the mission of Show Mercy, consideration will be made for those types of organized trips. If a team leader organizes and brings at least 10 people on an organized trip, the fee to Show Mercy will be waived for one team leader. If you take a team of at least 20 people, SMI will also contribute $1000 towards airfare along with the fee being waived. Due to limited space and increased demand, we ask for a deposit of $500 to reserve space for a group.

Show Mercy has team housing on our 25 acre “Field of Dreams” compound. The houses are simple but clean and nice. We have two homes for team members that each consist of a large living room, 4 bedrooms (2 sets of bunk beds in each room along with a dresser). The bedrooms are self-contained with showers (including hot water), flush toilets, and sinks. There is electrical power available, but can be inconsistent. More detailed information will be available in your preparation packet that will be sent to you once you have applied and are accepted on the team. It is a very nice, peaceful, safe and comfortable base where you can spend time with the team or spend some alone time with God. The base was designed to provide teams a time of refreshment in between outreaches. We want you to be ready to serve those you encounter each day.

Yes. If your trip is for the purpose of volunteering with Show Mercy International, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the cost of the trip may be tax-deductible. Donations made toward your trip through Show Mercy are also tax-deductible, as long as they are made to the organization and not directly to you as an individual.

According to IRS guidelines, all donations become the property of Show Mercy and must be used to further the organization’s mission. While donations can be designated toward your trip, they are ultimately used at Show Mercy’s discretion to support our ministry in Uganda.

We recommend consulting a tax professional to understand how your individual situation may qualify for tax benefits.

Donors will receive a tax-deductible receipt for their contributions.

Stay Connected

Want a glimpse of what you’ll be part of in Uganda?

Follow us on social media to see the impact happening on the ground—and feel free to invite your friends and family to follow along too!

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Grace's Story:

In 2004, when we began Show Mercy, we had no idea the depth and reach this journey would take. We simply said yes to helping 50 children. That’s it. No grand strategy. Just obedience.

And that’s when I met Grace—a quiet, wide-eyed little boy sitting in a church service. I invited him to sit on my lap, and from that moment on, he had a special place in my heart.

Grace’s story was painful. His father had died of AIDS, and by custom, he was sent to live with his grandparents. At just seven years old, Grace was forced to work in the fields from dawn to dusk, digging for food with his bare hands. He wasn’t allowed to go to school. He slept on the hard mud floor. His clothes were rags. He was in constant pain—his feet and hands raw and infected from living barefoot in the dirt.

When he was finally brought into our sponsorship program, everything changed.

A Heart Transformed

Grace was safe. He had a bed. A blanket. Shoes. Meals. Clean water. Medical care. An education. But more than all of that—he had love.He would run to carry my bags every time I visited. He started dreaming big, bold dreams. He told me with glistening eyes that one day he would be a pastor and evangelist for Jesus. And over and over again, he dreamed of fishing—casting nets—pulling in a catch.

One day, as he wept in my arms sharing the horrors of his early life, he suddenly lifted his head, smiled, and said something I will never forget:

“I now know what it means to be a King’s kid.”

Grace discovered who he truly was—not an orphan, not a slave—but a son of the King. That truth changed everything for him. And it became a cornerstone of this ministry’s calling.

The Final Goodbye

In 2008, we received the heartbreaking news that Grace had passed away. While being treated in the hospital for an injury, doctors discovered he had leukemia. It progressed quickly, and we didn’t even have time to say goodbye.

But then, something miraculous happened. My husband Mike had a dream. In it, Grace was sitting on Jesus’ lap—radiant, whole, joyful. He looked at Mike and said something like:

“Thank you… for showing me what a good Poppa is on the earth.”

He woke up in tears. It was as if Grace had come back one last time to say thank you—and to pass the baton.

Send your sponsored child a note!

Use this form to send a special note to your child in Uganda.
You can upload a few small photos as well.