How do I begin to sum it up...?

I have been asked to share about my time in Uganda this coming Sunday at church. There is so much to say...so much I want people to hear, to see, to feel. I don't want to talk about myself or how I contributed to the lives of those I met...
~I want to tell them about the pastor that walks over 4 hours every week to preach at a church held under a tree...who usually doesn't get paid...who usually doesn't have enough food to eat. But who is always there...
~I want to tell them about the beauty of the children...so eager to learn about who you are why you are here in their homeland...who are open to know God...who laugh and sing and play with all of their hearts.
~I want to show them the beauty and simplicity of their worship...their joy...hunger...passion...respect...for Jesus....for spreading His love...for telling others about Him....for living life and not wasting a moment...for singing His praises...for giving Him thanks despite their circumstances.
~I want to tell them about the selfless hospitality, genuine joy, thankfulness, devotion and dedication...the devotion and dedication of a pastor who cannot read or write, but who memorizes scripture while his wife reads it aloud and who is a spirit filled, solid preacher!
~I want to paint for them a picture of the beauty of God's creation... breathtaking star filled nights....brilliant sunsets...rich red soil...vividly blue skies...exotic safari animals...Palm, mango, avocado trees in your backyard...
~I want to introduce them to a disabled lady who is carried to church every Saturday and stays up all night in prayer....whose past boyfriend showed up many years after their child was born and raped them both...a woman who is now infected with HIV....but who is still LIVING FOR GOD..who doesn't miss a Sunday service...
~I want to tell them how we are nothing without Christ....how He should be the center of your lives....how we should only live for Him....how we should live to love, delight in, and glorify HIM

Some say that we are blessed to be Christians living in America...yes in many ways we are... But in many ways we aren't. With regards to health and wealth we are blessed, but when it comes to faith, joy, passion and devotion we are too busy....too consumed....to distracted. The simplicity of Uganda allows one to truly seek after God without the distractions of all the things we must do, all the places we must go and all the people we must talk to. They don't have an Internet to waste time on or a TV to endlessly watch or sports events that must be attended or new music to download on their Ipods.
They have the Bible, their families, their church. They have a day by day faith that is evident to all...they have Jesus without distractions.

That is how I begin to sum it up...

Ministries in Arua...

After spending nearly 7 weeks in the busy city of Kampala, Arua was a breath of fresh air. Post root canal things started looking up and I began to fall in love with the people of Arua! One of our main ministries was helping distract the little kiddies while their parents were in classes at Uganda Christian University. Tuesdays and Thursday were the highlights of our week! We would sing songs as long as possible, have a Bible lesson, and play games...seems simple but had a great impact on Angela and me. Those kids were such a blessing to us! As were the MK's and our lovely neighbor kids that would come to our Bible Club on Saturday mornings! Angela and I had a fun time meeting the little ones from our neighborhood and acting out Bible stories and playing more games each Saturday. God used me in ways I never thought. I had never really planned children's Bible lessons without using materials or having a book to guide me step by step, but I soon began to love the idea! Hey why can't we actually just use Bible stories right out of the Bible, make it kid friendly and use some imagination on how we can tell a story without purchasing a $25 activity book or watching a video. A brilliant idea! Not to say activity books are bad, but we wanted something that could be replicated and that did not cost a thing.
Another opportunity I never thought I was capable of was leading a small group of women...not our typical bible study women, but women/girls that have been taken in by a saint of a lady and taught how to knit and who now have hope in their future. Susan (the saint of a lady) has started a business of making school sweaters. Only she does not hire just anyone. Susan takes in orphans, people from the street, women who have children but were abandon by the father, girls who don't know what the next step should be. She takes them in and teaches them the trade of knitting...something they can do the rest of their lives. But she not only teaches them but loves them and provides for them and best of all shares Jesus with them! When we were asked to share with these ladies, I could not have felt more inadequate. What in the world can I offer to them?? Even heading into our last meeting I felt like nothing I had done had made a difference. And really...nothing I did really did make a difference, I was just willing and God worked through my inadequacy. He used Angela and I to minister to these girls despite our lack of experience and wisdom. I will never forget our last day there when Ruth prayed for us and said what a blessing and encouragement we had been. We had made a difference but ONLY because God worked through us! The first step is to just be willing...

Arua...

Sorry friends, I can't believe it has been a whole month since I have written. My Internet time was strictly limited up in Aura. As you may have read our trip up to Arua was an adventure! The first week there held a few challenges for me. I had being ignoring a certain tooth ache while in Kampala, hoping the pain would soon subside. But it just happen to get worse day by day. I can honestly say it was the worst pain I have ever felt...I was desperate to get relief...chewing on tea bags no longer worked...biting down on a wet washcloth was failing...holding warm water in my mouth as long as possible was my only bit of relief...then came the time I could no longer take it! I got over my stubbornness (and fear) and admitted I really need to see a dentist. The slight problem being that the current dentist in Arua just the year before was the janitor at the "dentist office", if you can call it that (no offense to janitors). So Arua was out of the picture, that left Kampala, but our first dentist contact could not get me in til the end of the week. Thanks to a friend who had a few dental visits in Kampala I found a dentist who could get me in the very next day...but how would I get there?? Eagle Air to the rescue!!! Thanks to much prayer and our friends at Eagle Air I was able to get the only flight out of Arua the very next day and make it to the dentist!! I would say it was the best dental experience I have ever had, even though I ended up having a root canal ;) It could not have worked out better. The whole time I was hurting I kept thinking of the hundreds, probably thousands of Ugandans that are suffering with some pain and how is affects every part of their life. As funny as it may sound that tooth ache crippled me from doing what was set before me in Arua the first week I was there. All I could think of was the constant pain I was in which gave me no desire to do ministry or even be in Arua. One silly tooth caused so much trouble. It really makes me feel for those who are suffering and cannot find relief, but yet they still press on, it's the African way. I hope we all can pray for those people, whoever they maybe or wherever...

That's Africa...

Your time in Africa is not your own. I have learned that firsthand this week. Angela and I were scheduled to leave Tuesday morning for Arua. As we were waiting for our ride, Leeann got a call that there was car trouble and our trip would be delayed. No problem! It was a nice day of needed rest and watching the last soccer game of the year for HIS. Wednesday morning came around and things were looking good, we were off to the shop to pick the car and would be on our way. (We were traveling in two different vehicles.) Before we were out of the city the leader of the pack was knocked from behind by a motorbike driven by two police officers. The bike was knocked on its' side and the policemen went slowly down with it. One quickly jumped to his feet following after our friend. All we could say was "Dear Jesus help us!" We turned into a parking lot and were quickly surrounded by a "friendly" mob. Most of the time the mobs that form after accidents are not so friendly here in Uganda. The policemen were persistent that our friend take them to the police station to sort things out. Thankfully it was only across the street. So Angela and I waited and waited, praying that they don't hold our friend in jail and things would be settled in the proper way. Well for the most part things were settled, but mostly in an African way, but we made sure it was legal ;) Needless to say that was not how we planned to spend those few hours.
Time is not in your hands here, but I believe that is how we should live our lives as Christians. Our time here (anywhere) is not our own, we are living solely for Christ and our time is His.
I again learned that lesson the first day in Arua. We were presented with all the programs and activities that we are supposed to head up and to be honest it was overwhelming! I very much missed my routine and comfort in Kampala. We had VBS events to plan, bible studies, bible clubs, MK Days, Sunday School Teachers training...on and on. I started to count down the next four weeks, looking forward to the end. But after my first MK day and planning for the next four weeks, I began to regret the thought of counting down the days. I realized that although I am eager to return home, God's time for me here is not up yet. I still have four weeks to try and make a difference. I assure you I am unable to do it on my own strength, which is dwindling by the day. But I am able to finish strong only with the strength I ask God for. Please be in prayer for our ministry in Arua!!

Where has the time gone?

I cannot believe my time here in Kampala is coming to an end. Today is my last day at the school and tomorrow Angela (the new VIA) and I will be heading up to Arua. I am looking forward to living in a new city and meeting new people, but I will greatly miss my friends here in Kampala. I have come to know and love our guards, the staff at the school, the pastors, the store owners, and the friendly boda boda driver ;) and I am sad to leave all of them. Yet I am excited I have the opportunity to experience a new city and new ministry! I am not sure what is in store for me in Arua, but I know God will continue to guide each step I take, just as He has in Kampala. I know I have said this many times before, but I am so blessed to be here. I am so blessed to share in fellowship with the people of Uganda and all the missionaries here!
Sunday, Leeann took Angela and I to a church way out in the middle of tea fields, called Nakigalala. It was so beautiful I couldn't stop taking pictures. But what was far more beautiful was the spirit of the people at the church!! We did not tell them we were visiting so they were so surprised to see us. We were greeted with undeserved cheers and praises. Although I would normally consider my visiting a church as nothing special, but here it is. Just our presence there gives them such encouragement and joy. I am so thankful that by just showing up to church I am able to be an encouragement and support to the people of Nakigalala. The church is in the process of making bricks to build a new church and hopefully a daycare school. The current church is made of papyrus reeds and is easily torn up and not stable. Please be in prayer for the church as they find the resources to build.

~Buvuma Island~

I joined the IWU team for an overnight trip to the island, where WGM assists in ministry. Buvuma Island is in Lake Victoria, just south of Kampala. It is the image many think of as being "Africa", with no running water or electricity, and a village filled with grass huts. We drove through part of the rain forest to reach our port. A port with no dock, that is. Here at the port the boat is parked 75 feet or so from the shore, in order to get into the boat you are carried...yes carried like a baby, in the arms of a Ugandan man (whom I call boat boys) trough the water. Hahaha...it was humbling to say the least. But we made it safely onto the boat for our hour and a half ride to the island. Once we reached the island we were welcomed by a group of small boys who were eager to help carry our bags (on their heads) up the hill to the school. We would be spending the next day and a half playing with the island children and teaching a bible school. It was a joy to be apart of the island life for that short time. Being able to show the children the love of Christ was a blessing to all of us. I will always carry the memories of each new friend I have come to know and pray that God will continue to bless each one of them. There are so many opportunities for ministry on the island, from the basic need for clean water to sharing the Gospel. I hope this experience will encourage us to take action!

Blessings!

Busy times. Last week was a week of preparation. For the IWU team and for the big Bazaar at school. The team arrived safely on Friday evening, and now Leeann and I have five more housemates ;) The team will be here for three weeks and I look forward to working with them! H.I.S. held their Bazaar this weekend, where locals and people from school set up booths and sell basically anything. It was fun, a lot of work...but of course some good shopping!! I am pretty sure I could start a good shopping ministry here :) It may sound funny, but I have been so blessed by the people I come across while shopping or just browsing. I know that by buying a little beaded necklace can help provide for a family and I am more than willing to support the local shop owners and artists here ;) Today I came across a random blessing. Last week I had been at a small craft store...shopping of course...and had set my house keys on the counter. Not noticing until today that they were missing. Delight, just happened to call for a grocery run, so I went along and stopped by the store. And what do ya know, they had been keeping my keys hidden away, just waiting for me to pick up!! That doesn't happen a lot in Africa or any country for that matter. These people were so sincere and honest...and I was so blessed by that! So you can be sure I will return and bring lots of friends to give them business.
This Sunday was another adventure at a new church! More blessings! The kids are precious!! I have lots of pictures and wonderful memories! There is such joy and freedom in the worship here...it is refreshing!
Check out the pictures I finally got up!!