Halfway there...

Today marks the halfway point in my journey here in Africa. It's crazy that it has already been that long, and at the same time it's nice to know that I'm that much closer to being back home. I want to thank everyone so much for the encouraging notes and messages for my family and I after last weekend. I really appreciate the prayers so much!

Steven and I got moved into our house this past week. We moved into the house that the girls were living in and now they have moved into another place. The BMU has these big storage containers on the compound that are full of household items to stock missionary's homes here, so I got to go through and pick out a bunch of stuff for the house. That was fun. A lot of the stuff is kind of old [think 70s and 80s type decor] but it works. It's a really awesome house, but we have to walk back down to the guest house (where we were staying) in order to use the internet. That's one reason I haven't given an update in a while. It's nice waking up in the morning and not thinking, "I need to check my email." Well even if that's the first thing I think of when I wake up, I then remind myself that I can't.

In reflecting back on the past 2 or so months and seeing where we are now, I'm not sure what to think. At times it seems that we haven't accomplished a lot, but that the same time, I know that God has done so much in me and that He is still working in me. It's crazy how many things I see here that parallel ministries back home. It's helped me to see how much effort and love it takes to do [especially to start] any kind of ministry, whether in Africa or in Bartlett. It's given me a greater respect for missionaries and has just opened my eyes to what the life of a missionary is really like. It should be just like any other Christian's life. The only difference is that we are taken out of our familiar culture and immersed in a foreign culture. For any Christian, our lives should still be all about telling people this incredible thing that we know. That there is something wrong with us. We are separated from God, but He loved us so much that He came back for us. And He's coming back again!

Being the first Hands On team here in Uganda, we are kind of the guinea pigs. And I knew that going into this and from just about every mission trip I've ever been on, I know one of the most important things is to be flexible. Thankfully, God has prepared me in so many ways for this experience, even in some circumstances that are somewhat humorous. I know that whatever God has planned for the rest of my time here, it will be more than I could ever achieve on my own. Anything that is accomplished is simply and utterly a gift from God, nothing of me.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor. 12:9-10 (NIV)

May we all learn to boast in our weaknesses, that Christ's power may increase as He receives all the glory!