June brought on the start of my crazy summer. The trip to Haiti went off without a hitch. Those of you who read my email updates know that stepping off the plane was like stepping home for me. It was all somehow very familiar because I was reminded instantly of Africa. From the sights to the smells to the beautiful faces, I felt right at home. My time there was heartbreaking for obvious reasons, but more than that it was encouraging. The people of Haiti have hope, a deep seeded hope that they refuse to ignore. We got to minister to a few different groups of people and ministries and we also had the opportunity to visit the area where the heart of the damage still sits. Though the country was devastated they are working to move forward.
I got home from Haiti on Saturday and left on the following Wednesday for the 100 year anniversary Celebration of World Gospel Mission in Indiana. Throughout the week about 1,000 guests graced the campus of my Alma Mater, Indiana Wesleyan University, to enjoy fellowship and to hear updates on the mission and all of the fields that it serves. It was beautiful to see so many of God's missionaries in one place at the same time to worship Jesus and honor the work He has done through WGM in the past 100 years. People from all over the world were able to obtain visas and come share their stories and experiences. It was very cool to hear their testimonies about their lives being forever changed because someone said "yes" to the call God placed on their life. Mugisha Emmy is a pastor that was trained through WGM missionaries in Uganda. He now works with the missionaries there to train pastors and youth pastors. Mugisha experienced his first flight and first trip out of Africa to come to Celebration. It was a delight to hear his perspective on America and to talk through some of his first thoughts. Can you imagine having never been to a Walmart before? What in the world would you be thinking, not knowing something like that even existed? Kind of crazy to think about, right?
Being in Indiana for Celebration meant spending time with the awesome people from Trent's church again. I've enjoyed being able to spend so much time with them. I got to see some fireworks with Trent and some of the youth a week early for their local festival. Very fun!
For the 4th I was here in Illinois. My sister, bro-in-law, and nieces were gone on vacation and for the first time in what seemed like forever, I had nothing I had to do and nowhere I HAD to be. It was fantastic. I literally slept all day that Saturday, only waking to eat some lunch, read a bit, and lay in the sun. It was awesome. I was also very blessed to be able to spend time with my some of my best friends at a pool all day one day and watching fireworks with some of my youth kids. All in all, one of the best 4th of July weekends ever! :)
A few days after the 4th I left home yet again to head to Indy. I had a meeting scheduled with the missions committee at Trent's church (New Hope Pres) on the 8th that happened to get cancelled. It worked out just fine though because I would have been down there the next day to prepare to leave on the youth mission trip with Trent. We left Saturday morning and headed to New York where we spent the week doing various ministries in the Adirondack mountains with YouthWorks. There were 6 of us leaders and 24 youth. Some of the youth were kids that I didn't know very well if at all, so it was pretty cool to get to know some new faces. Also some came on the trip who aren't a part of the church at all which opened up doors for some great convos and times of teaching. Even though it was a fantastic trip and I was very blessed to have the chance to go with Trent and the kids, it was a little bittersweet for me. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it and was reminded SO often of why I love hanging out and ministering to youth, but I was a little sad thinking about leaving for Uganda. I spent a week building up some really awesome relationships with the kids and other leaders, only to turn around and leave. Of course I'm stoked to get back to Uganda, but it doesn't make leaving any easier.
I still don't have a definitive departure date, so I know I'll get to see the kids again... I just wish I got to spend time with them more often. It's a hard thing to be a part of a youth group that I don't get to spend a ton of time with. I love the kids from New Hope so much that I wish I could be there all the time. BUT I love the kids from Wheatland Salem so much too and love seeing them all the time! Darn, listen to me whine about the ways that God is moving! :) I really am super thankful to belong to two awesome groups of kids.
So after just getting home from Indy last night, I'll work this week and then leave Saturday morning to do it all over again with the youth from WSC. Our youth mission trip is to Birmingham, Alabama and we're going through Group Work Camps. The theme is Undeserved and I'm pretty excited to hear some good preaching along those lines. We're printing the t-shirts at my job and they look pretty sweet! It'll be really sweet to spend time with my kids, especially the ones getting ready to go off to college. The Lord has really enabled me to build some strong relationships with the kids and I love them so much! Yay for youth ministry!!
When I get back from B-ham, I'm sure I'll find some time to update on how the trip goes. I jump right into a busy month of August... with baby showers, 2 new babies, youth leaving for college, visiting friends in Ohio (hopefully!!), time with youth in Indy, on top of getting myself ready to leave and raising support. I would like to say some rest would be nice, but what fun would that be?
Beyond all of those things, I'm sure many of you have heard about the bombings in Uganda. They happened during the World Cup game on Sunday and it's completely heartbreaking to hear about. Everyone that I know well is safe, but many people lost their lives and I happen to know families of those who were lost. Please be praying for Kampala. One of the restaurants that was bombed, Ethiopian Village was owned by a family whose children attend Heritage (the school where I taught). It is frequented by the Acker family, but thankfully they were at home when it happened. It hits really close to home when you've been there... I mean, we picked up food from there one day and brought it to a visit day for one of the Sudanese guys at boarding school. Pray for peace and pray for justice. God is sovereign. Thanks friends!
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