Saturday Morning.

this is a great morning. today is my big day off. i woke up this morning, and everybody was at their churches... so i turned up the taylor swift and made myself some pancakes. and now i'm just hanging out on the porch swing, sipping some coffee, and updating this blog. i mean, i will probably have to study the rest of the day for my talk on tuesday night, but it is a beautiful day in Uganda and i'm really enjoying this time. tonight we have pizza movie night at the Davis'. Renee claims that Brian makes deep dish pizza better than Giordanos. But my thing is, she's real bias because Brian is her husband, so i'll just be the judge of that. everyone's pumped about going over there tonight, so it will be real fun. 

and as an update, last night went really well. i was really encouraged afterwards. despite the fact that the atmosphere was less than perfect (meaning we met on a porch with a traffic jam happening right beside us - so there were horns and bodas and nasty car smells. and i had to shout, but i can do that just fine). i had to come up with some discussion questions at the end, and everyone was so open and it was a great time of dialogue. And even afterwards I got some good feedback from the women that were there, which I hadn't gotten on Tuesday... so that was really a blessing. Additionally, I think last night was a great springboard for some new relationships. I'm actually meeting with one of the girls on Wednesday afternoon, so I'm excited about that. Thank you so much for your prayers. 

Staci, my mom said she gave you this blog address... so if you are reading this, I want you to know that I cannot wait to come see you and get a haircut. I need one so bad! 

and KRISTA! I only got your post this morning, but I wish I would have done the hip-pop-snap move. that could have maybe been the most effective thing, i'll never know. love that. i gotta tell you about this place called new hope that we went to. i think we should come back here next january and go to their institute from january to may. its part of this awesome orphanage program. i was so blown away when i was there. don't worry, i got the brochure.

SIngle, Sassy and Satisfied :) Go Time.

Well, its time for talk number 2! 

The talk was really supposed to be about men, but I mean, what could I really say about that? I'm not sure if they wanted me to talk about the inner-workings of men, etc. but I really don't think that is even the issue. Our relationship with Jesus is. Therefore, really all that my talk is about is as women, seeking the Lord first and pursuing that relationship above all. I read this great sermon from John Piper about the blessings of singleness, and it was SO interesting, so I talk about that a little bit too. It's a whole different perspective than we are even used to in the West and definitely different than they are used to in Africa. All that to say, I'm not sure how it is going to be received, but either way the Lord has definitely blessed me through this time of study, and I just pray that he will use it for His glory. 

Pray for me tonight!

Oh and I got a phone from Brian this morning. Great news. 

Internship Day Three... (and pics of our house!)

I forgot to tell you that yesterday I had some meetings at the church, and we reworked my sched. I'm going to be doing outreach on the university campus on Wednesday morning and Friday morning. I mean, outreach isn't really my thing, but here in Uganda anything is my thing! I'm just so pumped to get some face to face interaction, so outreach with college students is the most perfect thing. I actually spent some time in a dorm (called hostels here) today with a girl named Ninah from Kenya, and we had a blast together. Unfortunately, many of the university students are finishing up their finals and heading home this week and next week, and she will be one of them. It's going to present some challenges in terms of establishing relationships... but that's ok. Ninah gave me some great things so pray for her about, so we'll just continue our relationship that way, and then chat again in Heaven I guess. Best rendezvous spot, no doubt!

Also, today I spent most of my morning working on Single, Sassy and Satisfied... so that's going just fine. Coincidently, what Ninah was talking to me about is almost exactly what I am writing my talk on. I told you, relationships are a HUGE deal here. Praise the Lord for his timing. 

And another also, I had my first language lesson today. We have a language tutor coming once a week just to get a little flavor of the tribal language here. I mean, the national language is English so thats great. The tribe that mostly inhabits Kampala is called the Bugandan tribe, and they speak Lugandan. So here's a little sampling. 

ASKING ABOUT YOUR FAMILY - (2 people, person A and B. go ahead, give it a try)

A. Ab'eka bali batya? (how is your family?)

B. Gyebali (they're fine)

A: Mm....

B. Mpozi mmwe? (How about you?)

A. Gyetuli (we are fine)

B. Mm....

and they actually seriously say Mmmmm... all the time. I mean, I guess we do that too, but everyone here does it, its an actual response. It feels weird to force it. The tutor laughed at us a lot because he could tell we felt awkward. Good times. 

And here's pictures of our house:

the kitch. 

the front of house.

the living room. 

mine and sarah's room... mine is the messy bed. good job sarah. 

the dining room. 

Pics! Finally!

Well, I had the best intentions to post pictures all the time as I was writing my blog entries. But then I didn't know how to do it. But then I asked Jenn Webber and she knows everything :) So I actually haven't taken pictures in a while because I couldn't upload them. This is what I have so far, but I'm so pumped that I know how to post them so there will def be more to come soon!

Just me in front of Windsor(?) Palace. I don't know, but the Queen was there. The flag was up. 

Westminster Abbey. This was our big tourism spot for the day.

Imagine getting this truck through all this stuff. These people know how to drive, and they don't even do drivers ed. I mean, come on. 

This is called Old Park. The texi drivers all congregate here and then they go out to their respective destinations. It's like spokes on a wheel. So far I only know how to get to church and back, and praise the Lord I don't have to go through Old Park. This place is crazy. 

Internship Day One and Two

Good Afternoon.

Day 2 of real internship. I mean, today was the second day that I went to the church.

I'm not gonna lie, yesterday was real tough. Let me take you through it step by step: Pastor Micah came to pick me up in the morning and told me I would be preaching that night. HOLY COW! Luckily, I had written one manuscript before I came, but of course I did not bring it with me. So we got to church and I went to staff meeting, and they told me all the things that I would be doing, which only consisted of teaching. That was kind of a bummer. I had wanted to invest more into the lives of people in a discipleship kind of way. But I just kept my mouth shut at that point. So then I went into another meeting, and they told me more specifically what I will be teaching on. This is the best. Friday night (as in this friday night, two days away. They kinda sprung that one on me), I will be teaching from the book "Single, Sassy and Satisfied" dealing specifically on the topic of men. So, I mean.... I don't know! Over here its a real big deal if you're in your twenty and thirties if you aren't married, I mean real big. Marriage is your identity. So these women are single minded, all they want is a husband and they totally comprise their standards in order to get one. It's pretty sad. So that's legit. 

After that, Liz, the lady in charge of ministry planning, told me I would be teaching Sunday School two times (but its like High School age kids), and then going through the "Don't Waste Your Life" Bible Study with adults on Sunday morning. So that's fine. I've read that book before. 

So anyways, like I said, it was real heavy on the teaching and not on anything else. And the whole time I was in these meetings, all I was thinking about was the fact that I had to preach in about 6 hours and hadn't even thought about my manuscript since two weeks before. But I figured out that I didn't have to come all the way home to print out my manuscript, because it was on my gmail! I could just go to the internet cafe. But of course right around the time I got out of the second meeting it started POURING! Uganda is paralyzed by rain. No one goes outside until the rain stops, which is usually fine because it only rains for about 30 minutes or so. But of course this rain lasted about 4 hours. So i just sat, waiting... getting stressed and anxious. During this time, some glitch happened with my phone's software and now it doesn't work! So that's just another thing to think about and get worked up about. I started to cry... and Ugandans don't handle crying well. I knew that, so I held it together when I was around them. So finally, I was able to print out my stuff and had about two hours to look over it. I had a really sweet time with the Lord before I went to teach, and that was surely the brightest spot of my day. And then around 6, the choir showed up and I gave my sermon, and then finally was able to go home. But on the way home, the guy got lost and it took an hour and a half. When I got home, I just let it flow. There's a lot of other cultural barriers that happened throughout the day, that I won't bore you with, but those things added to the tension I was feeling. 

I am so grateful for my teammates and Dr. Lightbody, as they just listened and encouraged me after a pretty discouraging day. And I am also so grateful for Brian and Renee and their wisdom and insight. They took me out to breakfast this morning :)

Like I said, day one was rough. But day two was much better. There has been a real lack of communication, and once we started to hash that out, everything is seeming to fall in place a lot better. And even in the hard times, I know that God is working and He has a purpose, and I just need to be faithful. God really is so so good. 

Brian asked me this morning that if I could "play God" in this situation so that I feel effective and at peace, what would I change. I told him that if I could meet one person and have a real connection with them and really be able to invest in her life over the next six weeks, I would be so pumped about that. So I ask you to pray for that. And pray that I would be able to just be myself. I have found myself trying to be so culturally sensitive that I am always second guessing myself on what I say or how I act, and its starting to really become a hinderance! Oh man.

Well now, I'm going to go and start reading "Single, Sassy and Satisfied." Nate was like "You'll be awesome at teaching that because you are all of those things." Hahahahaha. Sassy... haha. Loved it.

I really am so excited about the opportunities that I will be able to have while I'm here and the way that I will be able to minister. Although yesterday was a bummer day, like I said today wasn't, and I praise God for that. Everyone has a bad day once in a while, and this internship is going to be hard. But hard in a really good way, and I am already learning so much. Hallelujah. 

And Mom, don't worry. Brian and Renee got the phone thing figured out. I mean, I'll probably have to get it figured out at home, but at least they got me a phone to use while I'm here. No prob.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my life and for praying for me. I am really so thankful. 

Love. 

Oh and also...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN WEBBER!

I know your b-day was about 5 days ago, but I didn't have the internet then, so I had no way of communicating with you. Hope it was a fantastic day, and we'll celebrate when I get home :) I'll even bring you a little Ugandan surprise!

LOVE YOU!

1 Peter 4:8-11

Yesterday was the first service I attended at University Community Fellowship. It was nuts! But I mean that in the best way. The choir was fantastic. The just sang their little hearts out. There was dancing, and drama and preaching. And it was all able to fit in because the service was about 3 hours long. A lady who is on her vision trip with WorldVenture, Ann, went with us to church and was able to get a lot of pictures and even videos, so I am working on getting those to put up. If I ever can figure out how to put that kind of stuff up. 

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to post this morning was to that I wanted to share this verse that I read, that really is a great summation of the meditation of my heart and vision while I am here in Uganda:

1 Peter 4:8-11 

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Amen and Amen.

Big day of shopping today. Gotta go into the market and get some skirts, and then around 2:00pm (I say around because Ugandans have no real concept of time), a girl from the church named Diana is coming over and I think we are going to go get some dinner. She always calls me "baby" and I haven't quite figured that out yet. Maybe I'll ask her today. 

Love and Peace to you all. 

Orientation.

I'MMMMMMMMM HEREEEEEEEE!

Sorry I haven't gotten a chance to update sooner! I just got the internet connection set up. 

It's been such a crazy week! We spent two straight days traveling. Thank you Mrs. Thomas for the Ambien. It was a dream drug! Jet lag hasn't even been that bad, I think I'm just an awesome sleeper. 

We've been doing orientation stuff all week, so its been lots of early mornings and long days. But it has been so beneficial as we have been learning such insight into the culture, but also very overwhelming. Part of me is just excited to jump into my internship and working with the church, but also I know that this time is so crucial. 

When we got here on Wednesday, we spent a lot of the day napping :). Then we had a training session with a local Ugandan and then had dinner at the Davis' house, who are our internship coordinators and the Short Term programmers for WorldVenture.  We spent Thursday in the market learning how to bargain for our food, which was a totally overwhelming experience. There were so many people! But I'm starting to learn that this is the case anywhere I go in Uganda. Friday was so awesome, and probably my favorite day so far. We went up into the bush and spent some time at New Hope, which is this awesome orphanage and Bible Institute. They have a really neat program, in which they set up orphans into family units that work their own land and learn how to sustain themselves. Every family unit has a Ugandan "mother and father", which adds so much balance into their lives. It was so powerful. Then we spent some time in the living room of  the McFarlands (Moody grads who work there) talking about African worldview and how to better reach the African people. It was such a special time. Then today we tried to master public transportation. It's real different from the CTA. Taxis are like buses and "bodas" are like taxis. Bodas are just motorcycles that you pay to ride. Thank you Dad and Matt Tinken for helping me know how to ride motorcycles. What you didn't help me to know is how to ride them side saddle, because thats what women do here. Sarah and I were freaking out. But it was fine. Rode them twice today. holler!

I also spent some time today in the church that I will be working with. Tomorrow they are having their 8th anniversary, so that will be neat to be apart of. I was there when the choir practiced today, and they basically do a ton of Hillsong songs, which was surprising to me. I am excited about the opportunity that I will have there. I think at the end of this week, Dr. Lightbody and I are going to be traveling up country with Pastor Micah (the head pastor of the church I am with, which is called University Community Fellowship), so that will be a good chance for me to get to talk with him more. 

Things you can pray about:

I've been having a terrible tooth ache, and got some grind gards before I left, but they don't seem to be working. I wake up every night in pain and have to regularly take advil throughout the day and night. Pray that my toothache goes away.

Pray that I will make some great, fast connections with women in the church.

Pray that I would be able to make my way around the city. Like I said, the transportation is a little different and difficult for me to understand at this point, so pray that I would be able to figure it out and that I would be safe.

Pray that the Lord would fill me and I would rely on Him alone. Life right now is pretty exhausting, and I know that the Lord is the one who gives me strength, and it is the desire of my heart to rely Him for everything.

p.s. there is a Shaggy concert happening on an open field at the bottom of the hill we live on right now as I am typing. So outrageous and hilarious! until I want to go to sleep... then not awesome.

 

Go Time.

It is the eve of my departure for Uganda. I'm just sitting here with my momma and my roommate krista watching the season finale of survivor. I don't even like this show, but its just real good to sit and be with people that I love. Today was nuts, my mom and I packed in so much because today was the last full day to get ready. That's unbelievable to me. Can't believe I'm going to Africa tomorrow. 

To be honest, I don't feel ready - mentally, spiritually, physically, and however else one would want to feel ready for this sort of thing. I just came off a high stress week with papers and finals, and now its time to turn around and begin this totally new, unknown experience. I was reading from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers yesterday and the devotional for that day was entitled "The Habit of Rising to the Occasion." I was so encouraged as I was reminded that God has given me everything I need in order to be ready for this trip, he has equipped me with the gift of His Son. As I rise to the "occasion" of this trip, I am reminded that my only goal is to submit to His will so that He may work through me what He wants.  I don't think on my own I would ever feel ready for a trip like this, but Chambers writes "Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides, rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way." So it's go time. It's time to rise to the occasion, pursue the will of Christ above all while relying on my gracious God, through whom all is accomplished. 

Thanks for your prayers and thanks for your support! With your help, all the funds for this trip came in, and that is such an answer to prayer. I feel so blessed. 

I'm going to be in London tomorrow!!!