Sleep, School, and Sun

A correction to my last post... Yes, I am aware that it was Isaac who was to be sacrificed.  I copied and pasted my info and didn't look at it closely enough.  Thankfully a friend pointed out the mistake and it's now fixed.

I'm still not sleeping well.  For the past month or so I've had more restless/sleepless nights than I think I've ever had in my life.  I've given in and taken tylenol pm a couple of times just to stay sane.  So far so good.  I think it's all catching up to me now though.  Every night I get into bed with a headache and each morning I get out of bed with a headache.  Throughout the day it's bearable, but I'm thinking if I would just sleep it would all go away.  Who knows?  My body is exhausted, but my mind continues to race.  There's so much to do here.  Lots of projects to tie up well.  Lots of people to spend lots of time with.  An important relationship to mend.  Not knowing when I'm coming back is starting to get to me.  However, grad school awaits and is important.  Especially for the long run.  If I want to come back here on a more permanent basis getting my masters is essential.

I'm hoping to take the GRE in January and finish applying to grad schools by March.  I haven't even started the process because I just don't have time right now.  The school I want to go to is going to be tough for me to get in to because of my undergrad GPA so I'm hoping that I can do well on the GRE.  I've done fairly well with standardized tests in the past, but I've been out of school for a looooong time now.

My plan at this point is to get my masters in Christian counseling, specializing in trauma and PTSD.  Not only will this enable me to be a better missionary, especially working with refugees and child soldiers, but it will also help me to be a better youth pastor.  Win-win if you ask me.  Thinking about paying for grad school is intimidating and very much discouraging, but I'm trusting that God will make a way and I'll be able to pay tuition each term somehow.  I'm excited about the prospect of finishing and being able to be here more permanently.  We'll see what God has for me though... hopefully a husband is in the near future!  Ministry here seems to flow more easily when you're married.  This will also help with the whole getting-proposed-to-all-the-time problem that I seem to have.  IDK, maybe my husband is here.  God knows.

Something else I'm excited about is seeing Lino and Angelo.  They don't know this yet and I doubt that they read my blog, but two weeks after I get home I'm going to see them!  I just booked my flight yesterday and I couldn't be more pumped!  I miss those guys so much and I'm blessed to have this opportunity to spend some time with them.

Lino!

It's going to be so fun to hang out with them on my home continent!

Anyways, the other day I was running around trying to get some stuff done while I had some free time and for the first time in a long time I boda-ed everywhere.  I've been driving places for security purposes, but I've been feeling completely trapped!  So I called my boda guy with three stops in mind.  He came about 3 minutes later and we started the journey.  It was blindingly bright and sunny, so in my tank top I was excited to get some sun on my skin.  The rainy season has been a drag and it was a nice change to be really hot.  I ran errands for about 2.5 hours and enjoyed every minute that the sun soaked into my skin.  It was lovely to finally feel free again!  It was also lovely to get my tan on.  I'm determined to soak up every ounce of sun that I can, knowing it'll be at least 5 months before I see it again.

While out, I was once again reminded of how much I love living in Uganda.  Also, of how much I love Africans.  What a huge blessing to live in this place and be able to call it home.  Even when we don't have power or hot water, I love it.  Praise the Lord for the privilege of being here and the work He's doing in my heart because of it!