What can I do??

The past couple of weeks have flown by and it's really hard to believe that I've already been in Uganda for over 2 months. With April coming my schedule doesn't seem to be slowing down, but what fun would that be, right? Since I last updated it seems like a million things have come up that I've wanted to post about, but now that I have a minute to sit down and write none of those things are coming to me. Here's a brief update though...

My class at the Center of Hope is going really well and I love my students more each time we meet. I subbed for a friend's class last week and loved her students too. I am blessed to be surrounded by some of the sweetest people I've ever met. These refugees are fantastic and in getting to know them and hearing their stories I find myself completely overwhelmed with the great need this world is in. The worship service has been going well on Wednesday nights and the Lord is moving in big ways. I'm very thankful to Jesus for worship on Wednesdays. The week of the 14th was a very rough week for me. Without going into much detail to protect others, there is a bit of an issue with a youth kid here and I am really needing prayer in the situation. Healing needs to take place, but mostly lives need to surrender to Jesus. I'm reminded more and more that it's not about what I can do, it's about surrendering and allowing God to work. I've found myself on my knees, crying out for the youth very often lately and I'm imploring you to do the same. My heart is beyond broken and the burden I feel is huge. Just as I was typing that out the Spirit reminded me...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Amen, yeah? Yeah. So other than those few things I actually had the chance to take an unexpected vacation last week. Heritage International School was on Spring Break last week which meant all of my teacher friends had time off too. A few of them decided to take a 22 hour bus ride to the coast in Kenya. I joined them and spent 5 days in Mombasa hanging on the beach, snorkeling the reefs in the crystal clear water of the Indian Ocean, and avoiding beach hawkers. I did indeed kiss another camel... they're just too cute. For those of you who followed the blog last time I was here you know I rode a camel which was a life goal of mine. I know... my life goals are just so lofty, aren't they? :) Over all we had a good time. Mombasa is HOT and humid pretty much all the time, but we found a cheap hotel with air conditioning. What a blessing! The last night we stayed at a guest house in Mombasa town. Let's just say it wasn't as nice. Ok, but really it was filthy and sweltering. We didn't get much sleep that night, but it was ok because we spent the next day back at the beach. That next night we hopped on an over night bus back to Nairobi. Not even two benadryl helped me sleep, so by the time we got to Nairobi I was exhausted.

I'm currently in Nairobi doing some work for WGM. It just worked out that I could schedule some meetings here and up country in Kericho before heading back to Kampala. Being here is such a treat... they have everything! Well almost everything. No McDonald's or anything like that. It's just very upscale here compared to Kampala, so it's nice to drive on mostly smooth roads that aren't as covered with trash. They have some really nice restaurants too. Also it's about 10-15 degrees cooler here because it's a higher altitude. Yay for being able to straighten my hair a bit. HOWEVER I do have to say that I much prefer Kampala and I'm missing being there right now. Not only do I miss my friends, but I miss the comforts of my second home. I like being able to hop on a boda and shoot off somewhere. I like seeing familiar faces with huge smiles that light up my days. I like being "home".

Since being here I've been shadowing one of the WGM missionaries who has been here for about 30 years. She's been showing me one of the ministries that she's heavily involved in and helping me to get a good idea of what her life is like day to day. My goal is to assist her and the other WGM missionaries throughout Africa to market their ministries. I'm trying to help them keep their supporters very updated and involved in their ministries. Raising awareness is difficult when you are busy all the time and it's tough to keep all of your supporters up to date, but hopefully with some new printed and web material we'll be more effective at keeping you all posted on things here.

Today we went to a couple of hospitals and orphanages. Obviously I'm not a nurse like these missionaries, but just following them around and watching them work was overwhelming. Like I was saying before, there's SO much work to be done and it's not just in Kenya, Uganda, or just in Africa. It's everywhere. I met a boy today who would have died if it weren't for a missionary discovering an illness. I shook hands with and hugged countless kids and youth who are HIV+ and have AIDs. I heard stories of how and why they are in the situations that they are in. You guys... it's heartbreaking. The longer I'm here, the more stories I hear, the more people I want to help. It's never ending. I'm realizing that I can't fix everything for everyone. I can't solve the world's problems no matter how badly I want to. Tomorrow I'm going into the biggest slum in all of Africa. Imagine... over a million people crammed into a very small area, living in filth, starving, and dying of AIDs and malaria. I can't even think about what I'm going to be feeling tomorrow as I walk through there in my Nikes, with my wallet full of cash, full belly from breakfast, and iPod in my purse.

There is too much need for people to be just sitting around. If every single person did something every day, how much could we change? Even more, if every single person was living out the Great Commission how many more souls would be saved? God provides. He calls His people into obedience and provides.

My heart breaks more every day. The more I invest into people's lives and hear their stories, the more broken I feel. Jesus came and died to save us. He heals the sick and broken. Knowing His healing power and saving grace is the only thing that gets me through each day. I was never promised that it would be easy, but I know that it's worth it. Every time I see a smile on one of the refugee's faces or watch the Sudanese guys strive for greatness from brokenness, I'm reminded of why I'm here. The youth, the refugees, my friends, my family... they need to know Jesus.

Pour Yourself our Spirit, come Jesus.