Adjustments and Blessings

Bagged milk. This is just one of the many things that are done differently here.  It's amazing how many things you learn by living in a different culture versus visiting for a short mission project.  I was so excited yesterday when I found dry taco seasoning. All of the missionaries here have told us that we would not be able to find it here. I can't wait to tell them I found some. Also, I am really missing grape jelly. PB&J's just aren't the same with anything else. I have found what is called Blackcurrent jam (I've never heard of it, but for all I know we could have it back home), and it's the closest I think I am going to get to grape.

These are the vehicles sitting here at the compound that I see everyday and think to myself, "I really wish I could just drive one of those instead of using public transport." But that what we have to do. We have 3 options: Taxi's, Boda-bodas, or private hires. Taxi's are not like taxis as we think in the U.S.  They are more like buses, but much smaller in size. The best way to describe them is that they are like 14 or 15 passenger vans compressed to the size of minivans. These are the least expensive to use, but can be confusing because there is no neon sign in the windshield telling us where they are going.  Also, to go to some places, we have to take a taxi to the taxi park in the middle of the city where there are hundreds of thousands of taxis, and get on another one to take us to where we want to go.  Talk about chaos and stress.  And we had Ugandans leading us through the park the one time we have done it.  Boda-bodas are motorcycles that you can hitch a ride on the back of. These are my favorite so far.  They were scary at first, but I think they are the most practical at this point.  They can go anywhere you want them, but safety really is the main issue with these, so we are not supposed to take them to go very far.  It's like playing real-life Mario Cart, but you're not in control of the vehicle. Yeah.  Lastly, the private hires are the most expensive.  These are like what we know as taxis in the U.S.  They would be the best option if they weren't expensive. I say expensive, but they are pretty cheap compared to a taxi back home. We are alloted 8,000 UGX ($5) per day for transport, so that's what we're working with. I need to take a picture of me on a Boda so I can post it on here.

Below is the video of me bungee jumping from a couple weeks ago. (It's sideways, I know. I can't change that) You can kind of hear me yelp after I jump...and then the girls laugh at me. Good times...

We have still not really started our ministry here yet. I am just about DFA'd out. We have been doing daily field assignments since last week to get to know the culture. They have been helpful but somewhat exhausting trying to get to different places and ask people all kinds of questions. I'm sure it will pay off for the ministry we will be doing. Speaking of that, hopefully we will start doing Bible studies with youth next week so that we can find specific ones to pick out and disciple so that they can be the future leaders. We are pretty much trying to replace ourselves with Ugandans who can disciple others. Please continue to be in prayer for us as we try to find those whom God has called us here to invest ourselves into.

Another thing: the lost bag I mentioned in the last post was found! It was my smallest suitcase that had my dad's [really nice] camera and all the books that the guys back home gave me to read while I am here. The amazing thing is that it wasn't just missing, it was taken by another passenger by mistake, so it is pretty awesome that it was returned, given what was inside.  Praise God!

I love and miss everyone!

Life in Africa

Well, I finally made it to Uganda! Tanzania was nothing short of amazing.  In Dar Es Salaam I met with 37 of the other Hands On participants as well as numerous missionaries to the CESA region for 2 weeks.  Honestly, a lot of the sessions we sat through were pretty boring, but the people I met were incredible.  God really used that time to show me that he has all of this worked out and that we have all been called by Him to be here.  Hearing everyone's testimonies and just being surrounded by such strong people in the faith was amazing. By the time we left Dar, I truly felt like I was living

 Hebrews 12, "surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..."  As the verse continues, now that we have all parted ways, we must "lay aside every weight, and sin, which clings so closely, and...run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus..."  How great it will be when we all meet together again in Dar before heading home in December to share with each other the amazing things that will happen in the months ahead!

[We got to go to a really nice beach for our last day in Tanzania!]

It's hard to believe we have already been here in Uganda almost a week! Our flight was delayed something like 6 hours leaving Tanzania (something about the airline not having any fuel...there were a few rumors going around).  Once we finally made it in, we were there almost another hour trying to deal with a missing bag (still yet to be found).  

We spent the night in our new homes. The girls are in the house they will be staying in until late October or early November when some other missionaries come to move in.  Steven and I are staying in a guest house on the Baptist Mission compound until our apartment is ready, which will hopefully be sometime next week.  I'm not complaining because this guest house is a lot roomier than our apartment will probably be. They told us that the apartment has one room and a bathroom. They are planning to put a cooktop (stove) and fridge on the veranda for a make-shift kitchenette. In the guest house we have separate bedrooms, bathrooms, a living room and a full kitchen. Oh well, TIA and this is actually more than I ever expected. :)

We went with Misti (one of our supervising missionaries) and her girls to meet her husband, Anthony (our other supervising missionary), in Jinja for the weekend. He is teaching at the Baptist seminary there for the next couple of weeks.  We got to meet more missionaries who live in Jinja and see a smaller, quieter place than Kampala.  We also went to the source of the Nile, where lake Victoria feeds into the Nile River.  Steven and I went bungee jumping over the Nile Sunday afternoon.  It was about a 150-foot drop from the tower (seen in the upper-right of the picture) down to the river.  I went first. It was pretty exhilarating!  I'm pretty impressed that I didn't hesitate after they counted down for me to go. I did have second thoughts once I left the ledge, but it was a little too late then, and my stomach was already in my chest (which was strange since I was upside down).  The worst part was hanging upside down after I stopped bouncing until they lowered me down into a raft. I had a headache for most of the rest of the day. Don't think I could do that twice in one day...

[The bungee tower over the Nile River]

So, what exactly are we going to be doing here in Kampala? Well, that's the question that all of us are asking! We are going to be working with the youth in the network of house churches here in the urban areas.  There is currently no kind of student ministry in the house churches, so we will pretty much be launching it.  We are going to be spending the rest of this week and next week figuring out what exactly all of that will entail.  We are meeting with the pastors in the house church network as well as some from churches in the city that have existing student ministries.  We will possibly be looking to them for an example of what we might could do in the churches we will be working in, except that we won't have any kind of a budget, of course.  We don't really have a specific agenda or outline to follow (other than Christ's example in scripture) so what we do will be mostly up to us.  We are looking to start Bible studies and disciple students here.  Most importantly, as I recall Misti saying yesterday, we want to find where God is working and join Him there. Couldn't put it any better.

Here are some ways you can continue to pray for my team, as well as the other Hands On teams:

1. Pray that God will glorify Himself through our ministries

2. Pray for opportunities to share our faith.

3. Pray for boldness as we live out our faith.

4. Pray for God to prepare the hearts of the people we will encounter.

5. Pray for our cultural sensitivity and understanding.

6. Pray for our relationships with our supervisors and other missionaries.

7. Pray for team unity.

8. Pray for our relationships with nationals.

9. Pray for safety in travel and health on the field.

10. Pray for humility and a flexible spirit.

11. Pray for protection from loneliness and depression.

12. Pray for peace of mind for our families back home.

13. Pray that God will use our missions experiences to grow the passion in us for missions.

I cannot tell you enough just how much I appreciate the prayers and all of the support from everyone!  I hope to keep you updated weekly if I am able, but we will see. The internet is very, very slow here so the time it normally takes to do the simplest thing is increased exponentially. 

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be will you all."  2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)

I made it!

I am in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania! These are some of the amazing things I got to see Friday night/Saturday morning from the airplane window:

Lightning off the coast of Italy
City lights of Rome
Stars over Naples
Shooting star over Lybia
Sunrise over Egypt and Sudan

Incredible.

Keep praying!

One adventure to the next...

The week in the Republika e Kosovës (Kosovo) was truly amazing. I still have traces of the blue paint we used on my fingernails. Yes, I have washed my hands since (many times, actually, just to try to get the paint off), but I have come to find these remnants as a reminder of the place we left behind, a reminder to continue to pray for the work that God is doing there.  Throughout the week, we were able to form relationships and minister to the people of Kaçanik, the village that the school was in.  We were able to completely repaint the inside of the school, which was an amazing feat in itself, but that’s not all we were there to do.  I think the biggest influence we had was on the translators assigned to each of our crews.  Only one of the five or so translators was a believer.  The rest are each Muslims.  I know some of them were moreso Muslim by heritage than by actual faith.  This was an encouragement as we asked them questions of their own faith that they were unable to answer.  Hopefully as a result of seeing Christ in us, they will begin to seek the truth found in Christ.

It was humbling to see the many memorials to those who died and the rubble left from the recent war in the area.  In the school alone, there were pictures of three children who were killed in a bombing on their village.  The destruction is a reminder, to me, of the evil in this world that can only be overcome by the love of Christ spread by us as believers to the lost.  We were able to see one man come to salvation after reading the gospel of John.  Pray for Kosovar that he may be a light for Christ to shine in that village that others may be saved!

I think what was most encouraging for me was the crew that I was able to work with. God truly placed us each together.  That’s all there is to it. It was an amazing time of fellowship and worship working with each of the incredible people on my crew.  We were called “the wedding singers” and we lived up to our name by filling that school with the praises of God while we worked!

I am now en route to Africa. I can’t believe it’s really here. Leaving was bitter sweet and many tears were shed (I started it), but I think I’m okay now.  In leaving, I really realize just how blessed I am to have the amazing family and friends that I have.  Thank you to everyone who came to my going away party and for those who made me cards and things.  It all really means a lot.

I met a guy named Josh who will be in South Africa for the semester. We both flew out of Memphis, but we didn’t actually meet each other until we got to Atlanta. I am now in a hotel room in the D.C. area until I leave for my flight to Ethiopia in the morning. 15 hours and 15 minutes. It will be a new record for longest flight for me.  Still, I am looking forward to finally getting to Africa and being back with the people and the place that I loved so much last summer.  

While I am in Tanzania, I most likely won’t be able to update my blog. I will be there for 2 weeks (until the 14th  or so) so this may be my last update for a while.  I should have a chance to email my parents to let them know that I made it safely, so that is good.

Continue to pray for safety as I resume traveling tomorrow morning and get in to Tanzania sometime Saturday.  Please pray for me for the next 2 weeks as all 37 of the Hands On participants are training for the semester, that we might be prepared for the work God has prepared for us.

I’ll end this post the way I ended my journal entry coming back from Kosovo: I am amazed at how God is choosing to use me.  3 countries in 3 months. And that’s just the beginning...

Kosovo Pictures

I just got done uploading my pictures from Kosovo.  The link is on the right under 'Photos.'  I'll be posting more details about the trip a little later.

Beginnings in Kosova

We made it safely. I typed more in the original post but this computer isn't that great so it didn't go through.

Proverbs 24:11

Be challenged.

1 Corinthians 1:9

God is faithful! My passport is in Memphis! I missed the delivery because I was upstairs getting ready for work this morning and didn't hear the doorbell, but I will go by FedEx this afternoon and just pick it up. Thank you to everyone who is praying! You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Kosovo is coming! I leave bright and early at 5:40am Thursday morning. I'm flying by myself so I'm a little nervous, but it will help me prepare for flying to Africa. I'm so excited!

In the midst of their newfound independence, let us show them the new life we have found in Christ!