In Between...

Let me begin by saying that I'm so glad that God has called me to work with His youth! I count it a privilege that He's given me the ability to relate with youth well and teach them His ways.
With that being said... I went to camp this past weekend at SpringHill in Southern Indiana with Trent and his Jr high kids. We brought 3 boys and 3 girls and I believe they were all in 7th grade. It's such a funny age when the girls are all bigger than the boys. Anyways, it was a great weekend of building relationships, worshipping Jesus and drawing nearer to him, and being ridiculous with the kids. Trent and I watched as they climbed rock climbing walls and tall poles and played "z ball". We rode an 800 foot zip line (yes, I thought I was going to die), went swimming in the lake, and just hung out. Our group was one of the smallest there, but that made it great for getting to know each of the kids better than if we brought 60 kids.
Of course a weekend retreat means no sleep... in fact I'm still trying to catch up a bit, but it was definitely worth it.
So that's the update, now onto the point. I'm in a place of limbo right now. Let me be clear on what I mean when I say limbo. Here is how Webster has defined limbo:
1 often capitalized : an abode of souls that are according to Roman Catholic theology barred from heaven because of not having received Christian baptism
2 a : a place or state of restraint or confinement b : a place or state of neglect or oblivion c : an intermediate or transitional place or state d : a state of uncertainty
Those in bold represent my meaning. I've had many times with God lately when I've been blessed to hear (loud and clear) from Him and have His will confirmed in my life through others and the Word. Now I know that most of us who walk daily with the Lord hear from Him more than we choose to recognize, but I always love how the sound of His voice is so sweet. So why would I say I'm in limbo? It's been very easy to grow impatient because though I know that I'm called back to Uganda I don't know when that will be and I'm very anxious to be back there. It's easy to let little set-backs and miscommunication weigh me down because I'm such an impatient person. Isn't it funny that even though I know where I'm going I'm still disappointed because I don't know EVERY single detail? I was reminded during an early morning walk in the rain with Jesus this weekend that my timing is NOT near the same as His timing. My ideal plan is to be back in Uganda in January or February. I would like to be raising support right now and looking forward to my return. His ideal plan is for me to be well equipped and prepared and also for the people I'll be with in Uganda to be ready. This can't just be about me and my timing, it can only be about God and His timing.
Even though I was so deeply discouraged last week, God has encouraged me to continue to completely trust Him and keep walking with Him daily.
Jesus is so patient with me, always reminding me to look at what He's given me for the DAY. Right now I'm a worship team director. This is the ministry He's put me in for right now, this very day. Tomorrow it may change or remain, but either way I must choose to walk closely with Him regardless of my timing for HIS plans.
So I'm asking for you all to pray with me as I prepare to go back to Uganda... whenever and however that will be. Thanks so much for your faithfulness in always praying for me and loving on me and in serving our great God.
My schedule is slowing down for the first time in 3 months and I'm really excited for a few weekends of no commitments, at least none that I can think of right now. Email me with prayer requests and praises. Much love!

Oh! ps the Heritage International School retreat went well from what I've heard so far. Thanks for praying for that event!

The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose

From: My Utmost For His Highest
By: Oswald Chambers


Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant . . . —Isaiah 49:5

The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in

John 3:16 — "For God so loved the world. . . ."
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.

Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life

Jesus Made Me Chuckle This Weekend...

The Lord moves in ways that we never expect. He just never ceases to amaze me and I can’t help but worship Him. He makes me chuckle sometimes… ☺. This weekend the plan was to meet up with a friend and drive down to Birmingham, Alabama for the weekend. Jade and Shelah Acker (Lino’s guardians) are in the States and I would never pass up an opportunity to visit with them. So Thursday night I began my journey after work. Luckily the route that takes me to Alabama is packed with people I love! So I spent Thursday night in Indianapolis with a friend. Friday was very leisurely in that I slept in, took my time getting ready, had lunch, and then hit the road to Louisville. Here’s where the story begins… On my drive towards Louisville I was blessed to get a phone call from dear friends in Uganda. They were quite entertaining and kept me going along the LONG road. I was so happy and excited about talking with them that I got to my next stop in no time. As soon as I hung up the phone with them and went to restart my car after getting fuel, my passenger side window rolled itself down. I thought that maybe I had hit the window button or something, but I wasn’t even close to touching it. It wouldn’t have been a big deal except for the fact that the window refused to roll itself back up. So there I was, driving along at 80 mile per hours with the HOT wind in my hair when I began to feel sick. So I pulled over, leaving everything (computer included) in my car with a window that was permanently stuck in the down position, and headed for the restroom. After a one other stop like that, the medicine kicked in and I started to feel better, but it was still hot and I still had hundreds of miles to go… by myself (my traveling buddy backed out at the last minute). I was able to stop and hang out with a friend from college for a bit near Louisville and get myself reenergized.
As I got back in my car for the next 3-hour leg of the journey I began to feel defeated. I realized how disappointed I was that I had to travel by myself when I was looking forward to a road trip with a friend. Then I started to have a pity party for myself about my now broken car window. The journey didn’t seem as great at that moment.
Then I was quickly reminded of some scripture that I had been reading that morning. I had just flipped to the Psalms for a quick read before leaving Indy and I came across Psalm 44. The people were feeling quite defeated, they was being attacked by their enemies on all sides feeling very separated from God. Their battles were being lost and they were crying out for God to hear them. When I read that I was thinking, “you silly people. Don’t you see God hasn’t left you? Just because things aren’t going your way or the way you had planned does not mean that God has deserted you.” But somehow, through the little trials I was experiencing during what was SUPPOSED to be a glorious weekend, I was just as defeated as these warriors were. Then I remembered the next two Psalms after that. Psalm 46 says:
God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
A river brings joy to the city of our God,

the sacred home of the Most High.

God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.

From the very break of day, God will protect it.

The nations are in chaos,

and their kingdoms crumble!

God’s voice thunders,

and the earth melts!

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;

the God of Israel is our fortress.
Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:

See how he brings destruction upon the world.

He causes wars to end throughout the earth.

He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!

I will be honored by every nation.

I will be honored throughout the world.”
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;

the God of Israel is our fortress

I was immediately in awe of Jesus… so thankful for the reminders that He gives throughout each day of His presence and His faithfulness. Clearly my little troubles of a tummy ache, broken window, and lonely car trip were not as impending as being attacked by armies of my enemies, but I did begin to feel defeated about something I was once SO very excited about. The enemy was trying to take my joy. Luckily I have God on my side. So the trip to Nashville was a sweet time of worship and prayer and laughter… especially as the rain began to fall and make it’s way into my vehicle. I couldn’t help but chuckle. The anxiety dissipated and I kept on rolling. When I got to Nashville I borrowed a garbage bag, taped up my window and quickly forgot about as I reunited with a great friend. It was a blessing to hang with Meghan for the night and morning… we even got to spend some time in downtown Nashville… something I hadn’t done in a few years. ☺
As noon approached on Saturday, I removed the plastic from my car and began my journey to Alabama where I had a fabulous time hanging out with Jade and Shelah and some other really fun friends that I met in Uganda. It was so cool to just have time to sit and chat and catch up on their lives and the lives of the Sudanese guys. Seeing their girls was so sweet! Anna-Grace was SO excited to see me… she ran and gave me a HUGE hug as if I’d never left Uganda. She’s too cute!
My trip back was a bit less eventful, but it was sure not missing the Lord’s presence. One night while driving I realized I was getting real cold and even with the heat, the cool night air was biting. I was having a convo with Jesus and just happened to mention that I was feeling cold… a few minutes later my window was half-way up and I hadn’t touched anything. I though, “um ok… this is weird.” To my delight/shock/joy/amazement my window rolled all the way up and I was warm and safe inside my car with just a short bit of my journey remaining. I can’t explain it other than that Jesus is awesome and the electrical system in my car is crazy!
As far as weekends go, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I mean, time with Jesus, time with friends along the road, time talking to my buddies in Uganda (a few times actually, thanks for calling guys!), time with my Uganda family in Alabama, and then time with Trent’s youth kids on the way back... what more can you ask for out of a weekend, really??
So that’s the story and that’s what God and I were up to this weekend. This is a short but busy week filled with work, meetings, worship team practice, and another drive down to Indy on Friday. Would you pray for energy throughout the week? Also, I’m going as an adult leader on Trent’s junior high youth retreat (hence the reason I’m driving to Indy again)… just pray for the student’s heart to be open and pray for a good time to connect with them. Oh! Also… Heritage International School (where I taught last year in Uganda) is getting ready for and going on their fall retreat this week. Please, please pray for the Spirit to fall on the kids, pray for the speaker, pray for the music, and please pray for safety. Thanks so much everyone!
Well now that I’m home from the weekend and done updating you all… I’m gonna attempt a nap. ☺

Great is Thy Faithfulness

I always start by apologizing for not updating frequently and this is not unlike the rest... life has been going nonstop for weeks. Here's a brief catch-up session for you: Indeed I got to see the Hopsons, it was awesome! Yes my bff came in from Seattle and yes it was absolutely fantastic to spend time with her. Of course I went to the Cubs game and though they lost the game, I had a great day in the city with some fabulous friends!
That doesn't sound like a lot and I realize that, but what I didn't expect to do in the midst of all of that was have surgery. It wasn't a huge deal and it shoulda healed in about a week, but because I had all that exciting stuff going on... I didn't rest therefore the stitches came apart and I've been laid up for almost 2 weeks! It's my own fault and I recognize that, but it doesn't make it any less annoying to do NOTHING for so long. I've not been able to work, thus my money supply is rapidly deteriorating. AND since I'm still healing I'm not supposed to be doing too much activity... my Nintendo is getting a lot of use right now. I'm still planning on my trip to Alabama this weekend to see Jade and Shelah Acker (Lino's soon-to-be adoptive parents) while they're home in the States! Please pray for safe travels. :)
Beyond that I've had a lot of exciting stuff going on in my life pertaining to my churches...
And this brings me to the point of this update. Jesus is absolutely faithful. I had previously talked about trying to figure out my future and where my ministry needed to focus. I specifically asked God to make it clear where I was supposed to be spending my Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. No sooner did I pray that prayer, than I got answers. I know that my "home" church is the UM church out here in Plano. I love the Body of Christ out here and I love serving and spending time with them. But I also know that my original "home" church was WSUMC in Naperville and I've been wanting to reconnect with them for years. The Lord brought two separate people to me from WS to tell me about ministry needs at the church. One is a small group leader for Sunday school which I'll be co-leading with Joy Thomas (love her!), the other is a director for the youth worship team. You all know my passions and music and youth rank pretty high up there! The call about the worship team can a mere two days after talking with Joy about Sunday school. I was very up front about my level of commitment, knowing that I'm going back to Africa (more on that later), but I also expressed my excitement to get something going with the kids out there. Becky (my old youth pastor, mentor, and great friend) is the one I was talking to about this and she was very aware of the fact that I'd be leaving for Africa in the near future and she kinda figured that into her plan of calling me. Jesus gave her a peace about it knowing that I could get stuff going and then someone else could take over once I'm gone. (Another confirmation towards my return to Uganda).
So anyways, I went to youth group a couple of Wednesday nights ago to kinda meet the kids and introduce myself. (It's so weird to be back at my "home" church and have no one know me anymore because it's been so long. I don't know any of the kids!) All of that said, I'm SUPER excited to get this party started and to start sharing my philosophy of worship with the kids and then form a team to lead others into worship. It will only be by God's strength that I'll be able to do this and do it well, but I'm pumped. Would you be in prayer with me about this? I've always felt very mediocre at singing, average at guitar, and like I'm just a beginner on piano, however I've got a great understanding of music theory type stuff. BUT I've done this before because God has given me a heart of worship and I'm excited to tell them what I know, what God wants them to hear, and then to share that passion with the rest of the youth through worship. Pray for the youth and their hearts. Pray for my leadership and direction. :) Praise Him for such an opportunity.
I've been praying for clarity since I returned home (almost 3 months ago!!!) and once again, God has answered that prayer for me. Isn't it so much easier to see things when we wait for the Lord to reveal them to us? Go figure! Anypoo, in my seeking about what's next I've been feeling like God is leading me back to Uganda. My plan at this point, unless Jesus has something else that's unforeseen by me, is to go back as a VIA (volunteer in action) like last time. However, unlike last time I won't be teaching at Heritage International School, my focus will be more on KIU (Kampala International University) ministries and marketing. There have been talks about a program with the orphans on Buvuma Island (where we have a church and a school) to get them sponsors and I would LOVE to be the person to help get that program up and running. I've been in talks with my field director (well former field director) in Uganda, who has been in talks with THE field director of Uganda and the regional director of WGM in Africa and they're discussing possibilities and options. I would really like to get back there by January and my thoughts are leaning towards a 2 year commitment at this point. Obviously I'm still waiting to hear back from the big bosses across the sea to hear their thoughts, but more and more I'm getting confirmation from the Lord through other people and through circumstances. He has covered me with a peace that I still don't understand and is preparing me even now for my time there. I'm asking for you guys to pray with me about this. There are still plenty of details to be worked out and then there's that little thing called a budget to work out and then I'll need to start raising support in an economy that screams, "keep everything you have!! Save your money!!"
Yikes. Raising support is a daunting task for me because it's so humbling. I've never been good at letting people give to me, but I know that in supporting me they're supporting my ministries and the works God has given me.
I long to be back in Uganda. It's strange to feel homesick for a place that I spent a short 11 months in, but I do. And it's such a real and strong feeling. My first trip was a breeze, in a sense... I was healthy (thanks be to God) and I did what Jesus asked me to do. Not that there weren't any struggles and not that there weren't times I was ready to throw in the towel and come home, but I have a feeling that this trip, whenever it is... is going to be a totally different experience. Pray, even now that I would adjust well, be healthy, and be able to jump right into serving the Lord in whatever capacity He allows me to.
Thanks to you all for your love! I love you all so much!! If you would, send me your address and email address to help me keep you updated on my progress as I move forward with these plans. My email is christina.maddalone@gmail.com.