I'm back!!

Rusty, orange earth. Breath-taking fuchsia floral arrangements. Emerald landscape. Cars and bodas (motorcycle taxis) zooming past. Children's laughter. Dust. Bright blue sky. Friendly faces. Countless ducas (tiny shops along the road). Burning trash. Mud huts. Giant houses.

These are just a few of the sights, sounds, and smells I enjoyed on my walk home yesterday.

Upon arriving in Uganda a week ago I found myself very sick and very restless, yet simply at home. The transition has been easy, natural for me. I'm really thankful for this. As I'm trying to adjust other areas of my life and my heart, the last thing I needed was a complicated time adjusting to life back here. By the grace of God, it's been simple. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and love as this transition has been taking place.

Friday I had little or no voice and still felt terrible. Saturday I was feeling much better, but still had a nasty cough and no voice. But on Sunday I felt great, still coughing, but pain free. By Monday morning I felt back to my old self again, just with a cough. I began working in the print shop, collating a devotional book for youth in boarding schools. That took me all day Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was a national holiday called Liberation day, so my teacher friends were off school as were the kids. We had a slumber party with some youth girls, and then went into town for the day. It was a lovely day. Yesterday I spent the day stapling all of the books I had just collated, stopping for a few hours during the day to go and have lunch with a friend.

I am blessed by Jade and Shelah Acker and the Center of Hope for refugees that they have opened. They offer English, computer, sewing, and other life skill classes to those considered to be refugees. They are from many countries and backgrounds. Anyways their Center of Hope is just a couple of miles from my house so to ensure that I could find it and get there on time to meet them for lunch I took a boda. It was very easy to find as my boda driver knew exactly where to go. When I arrived I found Shelah and enjoyed a tour of the Center and a good chat with her while we waited for lunch. I got to see a friend from last time that I had not yet seen. When lunch was ready we served ourselves matoke, potatoes, pocho, beans, and some kind of veggie/meat mush. All of this local food was prepared by Uganda women who work at the center. It was my first encounter with local food again and of course I enjoyed all of it. You guys who know my issues with certain foods would be amazed at what I'll eat. I love local food and had been anxiously awaiting a chance to get some. Anyways as we ate our lunch we caught up on life for the past year and a half. It was such an encouraging time and I'm honored to be a part of the Center. I am still praying about my involvement there, but will most likely be teaching an English class and working with the youth when they are on holiday from boarding school. I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of their family again. I spent much of my time with the Ackers the last time I was here. They have two adorable children of their own and 9 Sudanese guys that they sponsor, two of whom they are adopting, Lino and Taban. Again, if you want to know more about them check out earlier blog entries from like Sept 08- July 09. I think there's even a video of Lino and his going away presents last time.

After lunch with Shelah, I walked home instead of catching a boda. I love walking here. It's so peaceful despite the danger of being run over by a speeding vehicle. :) I stopped in a little road-side salon to find out about dreads for a friend, waved at the staring children, and sweated my way home. It was awesome. I'm not really sure why this is sticking in my head right now. Maybe it's because I'm excited about the familiarity of it all. I didn't even think twice about hopping on a boda. Driving on the left again has been surprisingly mindless. Despite the condition of my heart I'm excited to be here and to jump right in to ministry.

I've begun some work on the orphan project on Buvuma Island and am hoping to make my first trip out to the island next week. I'm working on some logistics with having a translator and a good camera to get pictures of the kids. I'm exciting to share more about this once I travel to Jinja and then to the village on the island. There is much to be done and the laborers are few... isn't that how it always is? I can't help but hear those words right from Jesus' mouth in Matthew chapter 9 when I think about all that needs to be done in this next year. However, God is sovereign and I'm still surrendering every day.

Would you join me in praying for Kikongo village on Buvuma Island? Pray for safety and health for those of us traveling to the island. Pray for the upcoming elections (Feb 18??) as the threat of terrorist attacks is high and getting higher by the day... pray for safety on the roads and for the police as they control rioting and whatnot. Please pray with me for the students at Heritage International School (HIS), pray for souls to be won and hearts to be broken for Jesus. Pray for the teachers as well.

I have yet to snap a photo of anything, but I will soon. Thank you for all your prayers and support! I appreciate all of you. Please feel free to email me prayer requests whenever you can.
My address and phone number are as follows:
World Gospel Mission
0772463218
PO Box 11788
Kampala, Uganda
East Africa

+256772463218 (you must dial the 256 because it's the country code. )

Pingo.com offeres great rates on calling cards, but honestly the easiest way to get a hold of me is over skype. If you just search my name you should be able to find me easily. I would love to hear from you!

Packages and letters appreciated!! :) Although, do let me know if you're sending a package as I need to be able to track it. They sometimes get "lost" in transit. Much love!

Arrived!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to pen a quick update on the rest of my travel. I arrived safely and on time last night. All of my bags and my guitar made it safely and I'm SO very thankful for that. When I boarded my plane in London I immediately noticed the size difference. Of course it was a bit smaller than the plane from Chicago, but this just meant lots of people and not lots of space. Fortunately for me my neighbor got up and moved after take off, whether from my coughing of lack of space, I don't know but I'm thankful. So I had a row of two to myself, curled up in an uncomfortable little ball and waited to arrive in Uganda. Normally I would be very excited to watch the Mediterranean Sea pass and the Saharan Desert, but not yesterday. It was so difficult to lift my head I could do little else than lay still. I thought I would be exhausted enough to sleep when I got here because I hadn't slept on the planes, but due to my cough, not even Nyquil could put me to sleep. All of that to say, today I am dead on my feet and in a lot of pain. I'm praying for a full nights sleep tonight and for less coughing. My chest feels like it's been set on fire, my heartbeat is in my head, and I can't swallow a thing. It will get better though, of that I'm sure.
God was so gracious to me yesterday as I forgot my debit card and thus had no way to pay for my extra bag. Luckily the British Airways lady was amazing and sympathetic as she watched me begin to panic and realize exactly where I had left it. She didn't charge me for my fourth bag, praise the Lord!! Also my mom happened to have a secret hiding place with some cash in it, so I should be ok until my card arrives in the mail. I'm praying for it's safety as it travels to me.
I would really appreciate prayers from you all and I can't even say enough thanks for the way I've been covered in prayer so far. I treasure each of you! More to come once I can sit up longer... :(

Sickly

So, I'm sitting in the London Heathrow airport where I just paid 15 bucks to use the internet for the next couple of hours. Oh London with your ridiculous pricing. Last time I flew through London I had a huge layover and went and explored... this time I've only got like 4 hours before the next part of my journey. I'm thankful for a short layover because I definitely did not plan on being sick, but I totally am.

I was on the phone right before take off telling someone how I had a fever and a crazy cough and my neighbor heard me. The flight was pretty empty so she and her husband left my row to avoid illness. I had a whole row to myself! It was amazing. I'm not good at sleeping on planes, but I loved being able to lay down and rest my aching head. I'm still feeling pretty feverish and yet I have the chills. My head may explode due to the amount and severity of my coughing. It now hurts to swallow and my ears are killing me. On top of that, I can no longer breathe through my nose. I was really trying to avoid being sick while traveling because the pressure changes are killer, but it was a blast to play out on the ice last weekend with the youth kids on the retreat.

All of that to say... that I would really appreciate your prayers. Pray for my ears to unclog, for my fever to leave, and for rest. Thanks so much! I'll update much more when I get settled in. I feel like there's so much to update you all on! Much love!

Surrender

I'm not sure where to begin right now. It's been a while because I've been incredibly busy with work, youth stuff, and preparing for Africa. As I sit on my bed and write this right now the only sound I hear is the wind gusting past my window. For the first time in what seems like forever there's a stillness in the house. My nieces are not home from their sleepover last night and everyone else is upstairs. It's so amazingly peaceful. In the stillness of the house though, there's a level of excitement and anxiety exuding from my room. I have so much stuff to do in the next 18 days and absolutely no motivation to do any of it. Not because I don't want to go, but because this is the first time in over a month that I've had a quite minute to myself.

This Christmas season was strange for me. Normally I'm beyond excited to see family and friends, to celebrate, laugh until I cry, and just have a good time. This year seemed different. I wasn't anxiously awaiting Christmas Eve, I was working. I didn't want to get out of bed Christmas morning and had it not been for my cute nieces whom I adore... I wouldn't have. Maybe it was because I was so busy with work. Or because I was sad to have already said goodbye to the people at New Hope Presbyterian. Or maybe because of my mom's injuries and our lack of cookies and delish food. Maybe it was because I made a bad choice, broke my heart, and even worse... lost my best friend. Maybe because a dear youth kid passed away a couple of days before Christmas. Or maybe it was because I just have so much going on I can't focus my emotions on one thing. Emotions run high this time of year anyway, so for someone like myself who is not very emotional, yet loves Christmas and the week after, it has been a weird experience. I just haven't felt like celebrating. My heart hasn't felt like celebrating. Despite the energy coming from the kids, I've been broken.

I feel like I need to reiterate the fact that I'm in no way dreading my departure. I'm so looking forward to what God has in store for me and the people of East Africa. The sadness that surrounds me is not a regret for future decisions made, it's a regret for past decisions made and the loss that comes along with that. I'm SO excited to have the opportunity to serve in East Africa again and I'm VERY much looking forward to being able to share Christ with the nations. Thanks be to God. :)

Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that my birthday is one of my favorite days of the year. I usually have some sort of countdown reminding the world of "my" day, but again, this year it didn't seem important. I decided with one of my good friends/youth kids that I would have a combined birthday/going away party extravaganza on my birthday. We made the decision and sent out invitations before the craziness of life started, so by the time my birthday rolled around I wasn't too excited about it. The days leading up to my birthday were filled with work and hanging out with awesomely fun people. It was a good distraction to be surrounded by people who were excited for my birthday for me. On the eve of my birthday I had a slumber party with a couple of awesome youth girls. They took me out to a "classy" dinner at Olive Garden, then we came home and I was given some sweet temporary tattoos and some awesome safari animal sponge capsules that grow in hot water. We then spent the evening applying tattoos, dying their hair, growing the sponges, coloring, and simply having a fantastic time. What a blessing from the Lord. The morning of my birthday started with some yummy chocolate chip waffles, then I went and got my special birthday haircut. This year I even cut my hair more dramatically than ever; I'm not talking just a trim. I love it, so far. Then we headed to Naperville for the party. As soon as the guests started to arrive I couldn't help but feel like I was the most loved person on the planet. Throughout the night we had so many people filter through that I didn't even get a chance to talk to all of them. A big warm house filled with the people I love... it was the best birthday I've ever had. And to think I didn't even want a celebration going into the day. Honestly the Lord has been so gracious to me. I'm so undeserving and so thankful.

Despite myself, the Lord has been continually speaking clearly to me. Over and over and over again for about 3 weeks now He's given me the word surrender. One of the Sunday School lessons in our curriculum had the story of Jehoshaphat overcoming on onslaught. The short of it is that King Jehoshaphat receives word that they are to be attacked with no hope of a victory because of the sheer numbers and brute strength of the opposition. The first thing the King does is seek the Lord. He then orders a fast, so all the people of Judah and the surrounding towns fast. Then the King stands before the people of Judah and Jerusalem and prayed. The Spirit of the Lord then comes down to ensure the people that because they have placed their trust in the Lord, the battle is God's not theirs. The opposition is defeated and the Lord is praised with song.
A few things strike me. First off, if I was a mighty ruler and my people were threatened to the point of no hope, it seems like my first thought would not be to fast, it would be to RUN! To get the heck outta there and not look back. Or maybe it would be to create some sort of battle plan, but not pray and fast. The first thing Jehoshaphat does is surrender the situation to the Lord.

That was my first encounter with surrender. Then in the weeks to follow, as I've been struggling to stay afloat, God has continued to give me the word surrender. Then I heard a friend of mine speak to the youth about things that God has been laying on his heart. Through the truth of the words spoken by him from the Lord, I heard again the word surrender. Then one afternoon as I could do nothing else because I didn't have the strength or energy I picked up my bible and began reading. I felt prompted by the Spirit to read Colossians 3. I don't find the word surrender there, but I see discipline, complete trust (surrender), and real, unconditional love. A healing began that day and is still working right now. I am not strong enough to move forward anymore. I've thought for a long time that I was. It was not until I fully surrendered some things that I was still holding on to that I felt freedom.

Not being the one in control is painful. Surrendering is painful. However, I have never felt less in control and more free in my life... and I like it. There are areas in my life that I still have to consciously surrender every single day, some times more than once a day, and it is so hard, but when I do and let God take control there's nothing more freeing. Hearts don't heal overnight. Life can't be mended in a day. BUT God's grace is sufficient, His mercy endures, and His faithfulness doesn't waiver. God is not a God of guilt and uncertainty. He is a worthy and trustworthy God and I'm in love with him. I'm surrendered today.