Breathe

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

It's natural and comfortable... at least I hope so.  Being around my friends who've served in Uganda is always just like breathing.  I can't describe it well, but it's a relief.  (It probably seems like I'm in some sort of perpetual state of discomfort or something the way I say that, but I'm not.)  It really is like a breath of fresh air.  It's exciting.  They don't get sick of talking about Uganda and they understand exactly what I'm talking about.  They have clear mental pictures and can hear the sounds.  They know the smells.  They know the smiles.  They understand the frustrations that pop up in daily life.  They've been burned by the equatorial sun.  They've been to the markets and eaten the food.  It's a shared experience... it makes sense, right?

This past weekend my first Uganda roomie, Jean, my friend Jodi, and I drove down to Atlanta to celebrate the marriage of some very dear friends.  The groom, Francis, was the first Ugandan I got to know quite well.  He was a colleague at the international... our beloved music teacher.  We've been friends and partners in ministry for 6 years now.  The bride, Missy, was my roommate for a few months during my second year in Uganda and she's been a very a dear friend and encourager in my life.

Jean and I were asked to participate in the ceremony, so we arrived at the church Friday afternoon.  They had just started the rehearsal so we grabbed some seats in the back of the church.  It was such a weird feeling.  I had hung out with Missy in the States a few different times over the years, but Francis had never been here prior to this month.  Sitting there, I was beyond anxious to run up and hug them both.  I've been saying for two and half years now that I want to go back... if only to visit, but I've not had the opportunity.  To see Missy and Francis in the States brought a little bit of Uganda to me.  Memories rushed back.  Things fell right back into place.  They brought love and greetings from my dear loved ones.  They brought tears of joy.  They brought the joy of the Lord.

After the ceremony, at the reception, we had lots of time to catch up with dear friends... ones we've served with, but haven't seen in years.  I was very honored to have Francis ask me to give a speech representing him and the Ugandan community.  What a privilege to share with people just a little bit of my love for the Lord, for the couple, and for Uganda.  It was a very special time.  And to top it all off... we all stayed until the reception was over.  We helped clean up and as things were wrapping up Francis, in true Francis fashion, took my guitar out and we had a jam session.  My heart was exploding with joy.  It's just what we always did in Uganda.  Francis always has a guitar (or some other instrument) in his hand.  We're all always singing.  It felt so natural and right.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Trust Jesus.

Rehersal Dinner!

Getting ready for the ceremony

Practicing before the ceremony

With the Bride and Groom

Hanging with the Bourne's 

After wedding jam session

Roomie selfie

Chamuka-ing with Francisco :)

Suited Up

I've sat down to write many times in the last two months, (some ideas were great, others not so much) but for some reason, I've not been able to get anything out.  My energies have been exhausted.  Much has happened, but I don't feel the need to go on and on about it right now.  Shocking?  I think so.  I'm not entirely sure what brings me back tonight, aside from missing writing.  I was really good at journaling up through about college, but that went out the window a long time ago.

Much of my blogging through the years has been for me, though the updates were usually at the request of those keeping up with my ministry (sorry I've not kept you updated, but it will comes eventually).  I say it's been for me because since I've not journaled consistently, I've used this to record things that God has told me.

Maybe God is bringing me back tonight.  As is a common theme in my life, I've been desperately missing Uganda for the past few weeks.  I miss every single thing about it, even things that frustrated me there.  My passport is expired and my bank account is far from being in the black, so a trip anytime soon seems HIGHLY unlikely.  Just the passport being expired is enough to make me want to cry.  So since I've been daydreaming of walking the orange dirt roads so much, God has been sustaining me with His presence.  When my longings to be on the mission field over-take me, He reminds me that He is enough and that I am where He is asking me to be.

Being on the mission field is what God has commanded all of us to do.  There's no disputing that.  For some, that looks like pastoring a local church.  To others it looks like moving 9,000 miles from home.  For some it means going to work and being Jesus to co-workers just by how they live their lives.  Spreading the gospel is obedience, no matter where or how.  One is not greater than the other.

Something that God has been reminding me and showing me is that South Jersey is my mission field.  It is no easy mission field for me.  Yeah I'm in America, but not the America I've always known.  It's not easy because it's America.  If I'm being honest, it's actually quite difficult in our too-much-stuff, always busy, selfish culture.  Priorities are tricky.

So as I've been thinking of South Jersey as a mission field, I've noticed that my expectations are skewed because of my time in Africa.  In America, we've moved away from a community culture.  We don't build community outside of our family units very well.  I've experienced this since coming here, as I'm sure I would experience all over this country of ours.  My experiences prior to this were so different because I was home and then I was in Uganda where there is a very strong sense of community.  It's tricky to come into a culture that's so set.

It's also tricky to have experienced a culture where people's decisions to follow Christ may cost them their families or even their lives, yet they do follow Him.  It's amazing.  Here, our lives aren't in jeopardy, but our way of life is... that is, we are not as easily persuaded to give up our sin.

(I realize that these are generalities and not every person lives this way or struggles with the same things.)

The mission field is where I live and I need to keep remembering that.  There's a constant battle for souls going on.  I need to stay suited up and smelling like Jesus. (Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 )