tuesday number two

Tuesdays are my long day at church. We had staff meeting this morning, and then I basically just hung out all day. Literally. Mom, you would have a cow. 

I mean, it was pretty uneventful. Since last week was a pretty terrible Tuesday, I spent some time writing in my journal about what was different this week, what I'm still struggling with, what I'm excited about, nervous about, etc. That was good for me. I did have some fun conversations today at church and made some big plans to go to the beach with some peeps for Heroes Day which is next Tuesday. Seriously though, this Ugandan sun is killing me. I haven't really gotten  burned yet, but it is so so so hot. Its instant sweat from the time I walk out the door in the morning until the time I get home at night. You would love it, Andrew boy. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stand the heat. Even the Ugandans said it is real hot, and the boy who said that was wearing corduroys today, so he can really stand the heat. Seriously, corduroys? It was like 95 degrees today.

So the past few days have been busy trying to write my talks, but now everything is spaced out better and I'm only speaking once a week. I am pumped about that, because now I can spend some more time out with friends or even spending time reading or whatever. I was getting so frustrated last week, because people would ask me to hang out and I couldn't because I had to come home and study. BUT, things are settling down and my schedule is starting to sink in. AND i've gotten the chance to start reading East of Eden and am super enjoying that.

Tomorrow is also a national holiday, Martyr's Day, so everything is closed which means no church. Diana is taking me to visit her sisters. I'm not sure really how that became the plan, but she's real excited about it. It will give me a chance to see a different part of the city and know a little bit more about her life, so I think it will probably be good time had by all. 

 spoke tonight for the third time, and that went pretty well. I know that I rushed through it because I wanted to get home before dark, so I probably spoke faster than I should have. So that was a bummer on my part. Sometimes I forget that even though they speak english, language is still a huge barrier because they have thick accents to me and I to them. And I remembered that at the end of my talk. But the Lord was gracious in bringing me home safely and timely. 

One last thing I want to share, and something the Lord really encouraged me in today is intercessory prayer. We spent about an hour praying for people in authority, top leadership, those who are weak, and those closest to us. I guess I've never really spent time thinking about what it means to intercede for someone, speaking on behalf of someone else and bringing those requests to God. Let me tell you, these Ugandans can really pray. I know that its not our words that matter, but its our hearts. But their hearts and their words are so awesome! Like I said, I just felt encouraged and challenged as I walked out of that meeting. Pastor Micah said that intercessory prayer reminds us to pray for others and also reminds us to love others. 

I desire to cultivate a deeper intercessory prayer life.