Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Christmas with the Funk


One movie that I know many people love yet others hate is Christmas with the Kranks… For me personally, it both makes me laugh because of similarities I see with my family getting excited for when I’m home for Christmas but it also nauseates me because it shows just how much Jesus is missing from the “necessities” of Christmas.

This Christmas, I didn’t have it with the Kranks but with the Funk (in two different ways). I had one type of “funk” in that I was so so sick leading up to Christmas. My permanent residence was the couch in Jess and Bev’s house as I had to miss so much of what captures this season (parties, food, etc… ) it definitely was not a pleasant time. I’m just happy that I’m FINALLY getting better!

But honestly, even before that I had the another type of funk… I am normally nuts about Christmas… more about the magical (for lack of a better word) feeling that comes along with the season. Even here in Africa, in the past I’ve really just loved this time of year. This year was a different story. I just couldn’t get into it. Now given, the extra things that we get so bogged down with don’t make Christmas… it’s about rejoicing in God’s love that He chose to put skin on, but I just was honestly a bit of a Grinch and didn’t even allow that focus to bring joy to my heart.

All day yesterday, I was in probably the worst mood I’ve ever been in. I feel bad for Davis because as it tends to normally be, the ones you’re closest to take the brunt of when you’re in a sour mood, even if they don’t deserve it. Instead of trying to make the best of everything, I just allowed myself to be miserable… and in turn make others miserable as well. Instead of being focused on Him, I was focused on myself, and really that’s the worst funk of them all… I wasted what could have been an awesome day and now have a whole year before I can enjoy this time again.

Yes, I could use the excuse of: but I was just homesick, or this was wrong, or I was sick, blah blah blah… bottom line is that truthfully I was focused on me, myself, and I and that’s just not ok. Just yesterday before the service I was having my quiet time and reading about John the Baptist calling his listeners to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” and then this morning in Proverbs I read “As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly”. I need to truly repent from my attitude yesterday, change my temper, and not be like that dog. It was definitely a sobering holiday, and let’s just hope that next year, I will have learned from my mistakes and make my focus 100% on Him and not on myself.

I feel like hopefully this was me reaching rock bottom, and it’s been a long time coming. I feel like my focus has been on myself for a while now and that’s possibly why I’ve been a failure at blog posts and keeping you all updated about the work out here, I’m hoping that will now change after the firm beating I got yesterday from Him.

But all that to say, I hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

A new chapter

Life is full of new beginnings and changes. Sometimes it seems like you're kind of in what you seem will forever be you life with very little change. You have your routine and you get comfortable... that's when God goes, "yup, time to shake things up". I thought my life was pretty good, couldn't complain, I was happy with my work and life in general. Last winter I went to the States and talked about my plans to reach the 17 million youth of Uganda and had my game plan on how I was going to achieve it and what not. But again as it has been said, if you want to see God laugh, make plans.

Shortly after coming back from furlough, God showed me through a variety of ways that I had the man He made for me standing right in front of me. The nice thing is that He was showing him that too (except it was the woman He made for him :) ). After almost six months of officially dating, Davis Muwumba asked me to marry him and I couldn't be happier... like seriously I don't think I've stopped smiling since Monday. I am amazed that God would love me so much as to give me such an awesome man to spend the rest of my life with.

The amazing thing is that with this new twist of me getting married, I'm realizing that the vision God gave me of reaching the 17 million is in fact even more possible then it was before. I get to marry a man who recognizes my call and my giftings and desires for us to work as a team to make it happen. This is simply to say, please don't think that just because I'm getting married does that change anything about my passion to see the 17 million youth of Uganda turned into true disciples of Christ.

As I enter this new chapter and begin preparing to add on the new ministry of being a wife, I just ask for your prayers for both Davis and myself to maintain our focus on Him and that we would be sensitive to the opportunities God continues to open up in reaching the youth in Uganda.


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

In sickness and in health

At Calvary ABQ, we are currently going through a serious about marriage. It's been awesome so far, and this past Saturday was one that God spoke volumes to so many people. The message title was "In sickness and in health" dealing with what happens when one spouse gets sick. I honestly couldn't believe it considering what my family has been going through for so long now.

I've said this before and I will definitely say it again... I have learned so much from my parents about what love and marriage are all about. The first and foremost most important thing I've learned is that marriage is not about you... it's actually the total opposite. It's about dying to yourself each and every day putting that other person's needs above your own... even when it's not easy. Love is a commitment, it's about hanging in there even when you have reasons not to and other people have split up for much less.

My parents have been married for almost 30 years and they've had to deal with a laundry list of trials, especially in the health arena. It's amazing what sickness can do and the toll it can take to all involved. My mom is sweet and kind and hands down the strongest woman I know! My dad, in the midst of his sickness and pain continues to love my mom and wake up early in the morning to make her breakfast and miss her like crazy when she's at work. Marriage isn't going to be perfect, but it's about how you deal with the curve balls and choose to deal with them together.

I praise God that I have parents who I can look at their relationship as an awesome example of living out those vows promising to love one another "in sickness and in health".



Wednesday, October 10, 2012

A quick trip to the States

So for those of you who don't know, I'm currently in the States right now... Some of you may be responding right now with the thought "ummm... what is she doing back, wasn't she JUST here!?" You would be right, I was back here just a few months ago, but well... life happens.

I came in about two and a half weeks ago because my dad was having severe complications with his diabetes and it got to the point that my mom was really needing me to come home in order to try and revive some life in him and really the rest of our family as it has been a really long past few months. I praise God for Jess and Bev and Neil, Trudy, and Servy who helped me get on a plane less than 24 hours after my mom asked for me to come back.

My mom and I were so proud of ourselves that we were able to keep a secret and didn't tell anyone here that I was coming. I don't think I will ever forget the look of surprise on my different family members faces as they saw me, and then when I went to the hospital to see my dad, he just couldn't believe that I came back. I am here only another week and a half as I leave bright and early on the 21st, just enough time to help my family get back to "normal" now that my dad is doing amazingly and is out of the hospital. Like seriously... It's a full on miracle how well he's doing.

I apologize for not getting to spend time with really anyone except for family, but they have truly been my sole reason for coming back and the focus of this trip. Even though I may not have been able to meet up with you, I thank you for your prayers and encouragement and know that you continue to be in my heart and you can look forward to continued updates for when I return back to my usual ministry.

I miss life and ministry back in Uganda terribly but I do know that it's right for me to be here now for this month. God has just shown that He had numerous reasons for me coming back right now, it really was the perfect time.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Introduction 101

After four years, sometimes I forget that I’m in a different culture, but then other events come around that a blaring reminders that I’m not in Kansas (or I guess I should say Albuquerque) anymore. One of those reminders came this past Saturday where we had quite an event go down for one of our long-time church members.

Here in Uganda, there are typically two very big events for couples: an introduction and a wedding. An introduction is where the groom is introduced to the brides’ family. It’s an absolutely huge “to-do”, where the groom brings all sorts of gifts to appreciate the family for their daughter. Before the event meetings are held primarily to figure out how the event will be funded because typically nobody really has the money to pull off the event by themselves so they send out “budgets” to friends and family asking for help in paying for everything from luggage, to goats, to seating for the event.

The day-of begins with everyone getting dressed up in their traditional wear of gomezi for the ladies (dresses with pointed sleeves, tons of fabric, and a huge belt) and kanzus for the men (basically off-white night gowns they wear with slacks and a suit jacket). Everyone is told the event is to begin at a certain time but everyone gets there about 2 hours after said time. If they are a part of the groom’s party, they meet at a certain location and then head out with a huge convoy bringing the guests and gifts from him to the location of the introduction. Once they get there, the women line up on one side and the men on the other and they make their grand entrance as the bride’s side is already seated. The guests come and sit and on each side there is an emcee to help run things, and it make the whole day a lot less painful if they’re more on the charismatic side (for this one, the emcee was from one political party, and the groom from another which helped for lots of playful banter). Then the whole ceremony is carried out in the language of the families (for this one it was Lusoga). There were several groups who came and danced in traditional wear and envelopes of money were given out to members of the bride’s family. And finally it’s time for the bride to make her big entrance wearing the first of several very fancy gomezi and the maid of honor (somehow) is to go and fetch the groom from among the crowd and bring him to his bride. Then it’s time for the groom’s side to bring in gifts. The women carry in baskets wrapped in cellophane filled with everything from bread to cooking oil to potatoes and they MUST carry them on their heads. The men bring in the bigger stuff like Matooke (green bananas), charcoal, and furniture. And it’s all placed before the bride’s family. Then there’s the cake and the food.

That’s what happens at the event, and now to personalize it a bit. I had never worn a gomezi 100% the traditional way until this event. I will admit I was pretty miserable. It is literally yards of fabric over a whole other layer in order to give you an ehem… figure. It rained the day of this introduction so the first part of the ceremony people were getting soaked and there’s nothing like using your gomezi that is hanging down to the floor to help soak up some of the water (or at least that’s what mine ended up doing). I will also admit though, that I loved my material and enjoyed the fact that Ugandans really appreciate when bazungu (westerners) support their traditions. I will also say that Davis looking unbelievably handsome in his kanzu and I found myself having to make a conscious effort to look at the bride and groom and not at him (hehe). Overall it was a really fun day and I’m so glad we were able to be there to support the bride and groom as they begin the process of beginning their lives together.







After four years, sometimes I forget that I’m in a different culture, but then other events come around that a blaring reminders that I’m not in Kansas (or I guess I should say Albuquerque) anymore. One of those reminders came this past Saturday where we had quite an event go down for one of our long-time church members.

Here in Uganda, there are typically two very big events for couples: an introduction and a wedding. An introduction is where the groom is introduced to the brides’ family. It’s an absolutely huge “to-do”, where the groom brings all sorts of gifts to appreciate the family for their daughter. Before the event meetings are held primarily to figure out how the event will be funded because typically nobody really has the money to pull off the event by themselves so they send out “budgets” to friends and family asking for help in paying for everything from luggage, to goats, to seating for the event.

The day-of begins with everyone getting dressed up in their traditional wear of gomezi for the ladies (dresses with pointed sleeves, tons of fabric, and a huge belt) and kanzus for the men (basically off-white night gowns they wear with slacks and a suit jacket). Everyone is told the event is to begin at a certain time but everyone gets there about 2 hours after said time. If they are a part of the groom’s party, they meet at a certain location and then head out with a huge convoy bringing the guests and gifts from him to the location of the introduction. Once they get there, the women line up on one side and the men on the other and they make their grand entrance as the bride’s side is already seated. The guests come and sit and on each side there is an emcee to help run things, and it make the whole day a lot less painful if they’re more on the charismatic side (for this one, the emcee was from one political party, and the groom from another which helped for lots of playful banter). Then the whole ceremony is carried out in the language of the families (for this one it was Lusoga). There were several groups who came and danced in traditional wear and envelopes of money were given out to members of the bride’s family. And finally it’s time for the bride to make her big entrance wearing the first of several very fancy gomezi and the maid of honor (somehow) is to go and fetch the groom from among the crowd and bring him to his bride. Then it’s time for the groom’s side to bring in gifts. The women carry in baskets wrapped in cellophane filled with everything from bread to cooking oil to potatoes and they MUST carry them on their heads. The men bring in the bigger stuff like Matooke (green bananas), charcoal, and furniture. And it’s all placed before the bride’s family. Then there’s the cake and the food.

That’s what happens at the event, and now to personalize it a bit. I had never worn a gomezi 100% the traditional way until this event. I will admit I was pretty miserable. It is literally yards of fabric over a whole other layer in order to give you an ehem… figure. It rained the day of this introduction so the first part of the ceremony people were getting soaked and there’s nothing like using your gomezi that is hanging down to the floor to help soak up some of the water (or at least that’s what mine ended up doing). I will also admit though, that I loved my material and enjoyed the fact that Ugandans really appreciate when bazungu (westerners) support their traditions. I will also say that Davis looking unbelievably handsome in his kanzu and I found myself having to make a conscious effort to look at the bride and groom and not at him (hehe). Overall it was a really fun day and I’m so glad we were able to be there to support the bride and groom as they begin the process of beginning their lives together.







After four years, sometimes I forget that I’m in a different culture, but then other events come around that a blaring reminders that I’m not in Kansas (or I guess I should say Albuquerque) anymore. One of those reminders came this past Saturday where we had quite an event go down for one of our long-time church members.

Here in Uganda, there are typically two very big events for couples: an introduction and a wedding. An introduction is where the groom is introduced to the brides’ family. It’s an absolutely huge “to-do”, where the groom brings all sorts of gifts to appreciate the family for their daughter. Before the event meetings are held primarily to figure out how the event will be funded because typically nobody really has the money to pull off the event by themselves so they send out “budgets” to friends and family asking for help in paying for everything from luggage, to goats, to seating for the event.

The day-of begins with everyone getting dressed up in their traditional wear of gomezi for the ladies (dresses with pointed sleeves, tons of fabric, and a huge belt) and kanzus for the men (basically off-white night gowns they wear with slacks and a suit jacket). Everyone is told the event is to begin at a certain time but everyone gets there about 2 hours after said time. If they are a part of the groom’s party, they meet at a certain location and then head out with a huge convoy bringing the guests and gifts from him to the location of the introduction. Once they get there, the women line up on one side and the men on the other and they make their grand entrance as the bride’s side is already seated. The guests come and sit and on each side there is an emcee to help run things, and it make the whole day a lot less painful if they’re more on the charismatic side (for this one, the emcee was from one political party, and the groom from another which helped for lots of playful banter). Then the whole ceremony is carried out in the language of the families (for this one it was Lusoga). There were several groups who came and danced in traditional wear and envelopes of money were given out to members of the bride’s family. And finally it’s time for the bride to make her big entrance wearing the first of several very fancy gomezi and the maid of honor (somehow) is to go and fetch the groom from among the crowd and bring him to his bride. Then it’s time for the groom’s side to bring in gifts. The women carry in baskets wrapped in cellophane filled with everything from bread to cooking oil to potatoes and they MUST carry them on their heads. The men bring in the bigger stuff like Matooke (green bananas), charcoal, and furniture. And it’s all placed before the bride’s family. Then there’s the cake and the food.

That’s what happens at the event, and now to personalize it a bit. I had never worn a gomezi 100% the traditional way until this event. I will admit I was pretty miserable. It is literally yards of fabric over a whole other layer in order to give you an ehem… figure. It rained the day of this introduction so the first part of the ceremony people were getting soaked and there’s nothing like using your gomezi that is hanging down to the floor to help soak up some of the water (or at least that’s what mine ended up doing). I will also admit though, that I loved my material and enjoyed the fact that Ugandans really appreciate when bazungu (westerners) support their traditions. I will also say that Davis looking unbelievably handsome in his kanzu and I found myself having to make a conscious effort to look at the bride and groom and not at him (hehe). Overall it was a really fun day and I’m so glad we were able to be there to support the bride and groom as they begin the process of beginning their lives together.







After four years, sometimes I forget that I’m in a different culture, but then other events come around that a blaring reminders that I’m not in Kansas (or I guess I should say Albuquerque) anymore. One of those reminders came this past Saturday where we had quite an event go down for one of our long-time church members.

Here in Uganda, there are typically two very big events for couples: an introduction and a wedding. An introduction is where the groom is introduced to the brides’ family. It’s an absolutely huge “to-do”, where the groom brings all sorts of gifts to appreciate the family for their daughter. Before the event meetings are held primarily to figure out how the event will be funded because typically nobody really has the money to pull off the event by themselves so they send out “budgets” to friends and family asking for help in paying for everything from luggage, to goats, to seating for the event.

The day-of begins with everyone getting dressed up in their traditional wear of gomezi for the ladies (dresses with pointed sleeves, tons of fabric, and a huge belt) and kanzus for the men (basically off-white night gowns they wear with slacks and a suit jacket). Everyone is told the event is to begin at a certain time but everyone gets there about 2 hours after said time. If they are a part of the groom’s party, they meet at a certain location and then head out with a huge convoy bringing the guests and gifts from him to the location of the introduction. Once they get there, the women line up on one side and the men on the other and they make their grand entrance as the bride’s side is already seated. The guests come and sit and on each side there is an emcee to help run things, and it make the whole day a lot less painful if they’re more on the charismatic side (for this one, the emcee was from one political party, and the groom from another which helped for lots of playful banter). Then the whole ceremony is carried out in the language of the families (for this one it was Lusoga). There were several groups who came and danced in traditional wear and envelopes of money were given out to members of the bride’s family. And finally it’s time for the bride to make her big entrance wearing the first of several very fancy gomezi and the maid of honor (somehow) is to go and fetch the groom from among the crowd and bring him to his bride. Then it’s time for the groom’s side to bring in gifts. The women carry in baskets wrapped in cellophane filled with everything from bread to cooking oil to potatoes and they MUST carry them on their heads. The men bring in the bigger stuff like Matooke (green bananas), charcoal, and furniture. And it’s all placed before the bride’s family. Then there’s the cake and the food.

That’s what happens at the event, and now to personalize it a bit. I had never worn a gomezi 100% the traditional way until this event. I will admit I was pretty miserable. It is literally yards of fabric over a whole other layer in order to give you an ehem… figure. It rained the day of this introduction so the first part of the ceremony people were getting soaked and there’s nothing like using your gomezi that is hanging down to the floor to help soak up some of the water (or at least that’s what mine ended up doing). I will also admit though, that I loved my material and enjoyed the fact that Ugandans really appreciate when bazungu (westerners) support their traditions. I will also say that Davis looking unbelievably handsome in his kanzu and I found myself having to make a conscious effort to look at the bride and groom and not at him (hehe). Overall it was a really fun day and I’m so glad we were able to be there to support the bride and groom as they begin the process of beginning their lives together.







Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The past month

If you talk to me for even ten minutes chances are you will start hearing me get on my soapbox on how it is so so important to reach the 17 MILLION youth of Uganda. 17 million is a big number, a huge number even but the amazing thing is that God knows every single one of these students by name and created each one of them for a reason. To try and get a 15 year old girl in the heart of a Ugandan village to understand that is not necessarily an easy task but that was our goal for the events of this past month… to get these students to know and understand that God wants to use them… now… to change their families, their villages, and even this country.

Our heart at reaching the “17 million” isn’t to proselytize people to the American way of life or to add ticks next to our name. Our desire is to see even just one at a time, one student coming to know Christ but more than that, to live like Him. Can you imagine what could be done by 17 million students living their lives completely sold out for Christ? Loving like He told us to love, serving like He told us to serve, living like He told us to live? That’s where change happens, when people put others above themselves, when they seek to please God above all else, when they live with humility, compassion, and holiness… that’s where it’s at… and basically for the youth of this country to be passionate about Christ because He’s passionate about Him.

Sometimes I think that the kids here view themselves as the tuna (or whatever fish were caught in the net) in Finding Nemo (yes, I did just site an illustration from a child’s movie). They feel like they’re just one in millions, that they don’t count, that they are just merely trying to survive. But during this past month we basically bent over backwards to make sure the students we encountered would realize that their life is worth something… and specifically God cares enough about them to die for them.

Inductive Bible Study
We began the month-long school holiday with two weeks of the students of the youth group taking an inductive Bible study class (it was optional but they blew me away how for the whole time 25+ students showed up every single day). It was awesome seeing their eagerness to learn how to study their Bibles more even if they weren't able to grasp all of the concepts 100%, I like to consider it a time for them to get a good first coat of "how to study your Bible"

Girls Night
From there, we had our very first Girl's Night where some of the young adult women were able to pour into the girls of the youth group. We made s'mores, ate tons of food, watched princess bride, painted nails and stayed up way too late. But more than anything we wanted them to know their worth was more than just what they offered on the outside. It was seriously one of my most favorite nights and I'm blown away at how God worked everything out.

Youth Conference
Already, in a previous blog I wrote about our killer conference, I couldn't summarize this past month without adding at least a little bit about it... 250 students... learning about what it means to be a disciple based off of what Paul talks about in the book of Philippians. It was absolutely crazy, and me having Malaria during the midst of it definitely didn't help make things any easier but it definitely also forced me to trust in God more than I ever realized I could. In the end tons of students were ministered to, who quite possibly many have never even set foot inside of a church. I praise God for how it all turned out!

Orphanage VBS
If that wasn't a busy enough way to start the holiday, we also joined up with a team from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale to do a VBS at a small orphanage outside of Jinja. It was great getting to see my students serve alongside the Ft. Lauderdale team in ministering to kids who definitely had much less than they do (even though most of my students also don't have a whole heck of a lot). I was blessed to see different people step up in certain ways fulfilling what James says about the religion God accepts.

Village Outreaches
And to top it all off, we hit six... that's right six different villages doing youth outreaches/conferences for churches we have connections with. With the first 3, we brought a 30 person shuttle packed with out students from Jinja to be a part of the ministry. The final three, we went with just a couple of students and then Rogers (our prison's pastor and a friend I had come along to help teach), and Davis. The theme for all of the events was the book of Judges with teachings on Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. The first two helped teach the students how God wants to use us, no matter who we are or where we come from. And Samson helped to teach what sin does in hindering us at being used by God in the ways He created us to be. It agains was an amazing time getting to watch my students serve and be stretched as they saw what it was like to be used by God to help change their country and fulfill being witnesses in their Judea and Samaria.

On one final note, I just had to say that Davis is hands down the world's best boyfriend... like seriously this past month would have killed myself and many innocent bistanders if God had not given me such an amazing man to serve alongside and be an extension of God's strength in my weakness. He's truly my knight in shining armor (sigh).

I truly am amazed at all God did over this past month... I'm sitting here and as I'm typing, I'm just shaking my head as I'm humbled and blown away at all of the opportunities and answered prayers. Thank you everyone for your encouragement, prayers, and even financial support during this hectic time. God used you in some amazing ways and we couldn't have done it without you. And to God be all the honor, all the glory, and all the praise!

Monday, August 20, 2012

250 and growing

It's hard to know where to begin on this one... Thursday and Friday were fabulous, unbelievable, chaotic, insane, and miserable all at the same time. We had our usual youth conference for this term's holiday. I had been thinking yet again it would be 200+ while honestly being ok if it was smaller because I don't know if I ever really recovered from the last conference. But as the days approached, the number kept climbing and 200 was passed. It was going to be another doozy, but then again, PRAISE GOD!

Now, it would have been one thing if I could have approached the event with 100% of my strength and gone for it, but as God would have it, Davis and I were out shopping for supplies on Wednesday and after a few days of random little symptoms I finally just felt so bad that I asked him to take me to the clinic because I had a feeling I had Malaria. After buying everything we stopped by my "usual" malaria testing clinic and as he came back with the results his exact words were "Eh! It is much this time!" It was then that I began really understanding that God wanted to do something big... not Kelli to do something big. So I went home took my meds and continued checking things off the to-do list and by 9 I was asleep.

Early the next morning (6 to be exact) Davis and I were out setting up benches and getting everything good to go. By 7:30 the rest of the leaders arrived, we had our coffee and chapattis and it was time to start day 1. Registration began and although the conference wasn't supposed to begin until 8:30, about 50 students were already handing around even before 8.
(oh, I forgot to add that 125 of them were street kids... so ummm... yeah...)

We began with worship, then Ricky teaching the theme of Be Disciples and then small group time. We then did a game where the volunteers had to be blindfolded and manage their way through an obstacle course in order to follow the example of their leaders.

Then it was time for Steven to teach on being focused and then it was lunch time. To feed 250+ people was definitely an interesting task but our ladies were AMAZING and did it all and we had just enough food for all the students (the leaders got samosas for lunch that day). We then had more worship and Jess taught on being humble. Talk about a tough subject but I pray the students were able to learn and be changed specifically in that area.

It was then game time. I can tell I wasn't feeling my best because the games were pretty tame this time but we still had fun. To demonstrate how we needed to be focused, we did a balance beam (basically a 2x6' balanced on 2 benches).
And then to teach about humbling ourselves and being willing to be uncomfortable, we had a game where one person had a half a water bottle they were to hold on their head while catching the water balloons their team threw at them. We had some more just chill time and then it was time for dinner.

At the dawn of day 2... all the students came back and then some and it was go time yet again. We had our tea and Mandazis and then quiet times where the kids were reading from 1 Peter. It never fails that my most favorite part of the conference is looking around and seeing all the students reading their Bibles. We also had the kids who couldn't read in small groups with leaders giving them small devotions.

We had worship, and then Rogers taught of being content... another doozy of a subject. And during small group time then we gave one student chocolate cookies and soda while the others got plain sugar cookies and water to test their level of contentment. You know... "I've learned to be content in all situations, chocolate, no chocolate... with coke or with water..." There was also a game where Jess got random things together for them to build houses with and use everything to make it into the best thing they could... teaching basically make the most of what God gives us.

Ryan taught about being joyful and then we had lunch... again... the meals... it was madness!


And then boy oh boy... we had presentations where several boys showed of their mad crazy dancing skills and all the kids were shoving to try and get a better view. If only that were the extent of the excitement that afternoon. As the presentations came to a close, the storm clouds slowly came in and during worship the rain came, and then came some more, and then some more and then the wind came seriously making the rain fall horizontally.
All the students were packed into the church (a building that normally doesn't get more than 120 people in it at a go) and our poor tent outside was beat into submission. And joy of joys, it was my turn to teach on being prayerful. I must say the storm gave for awesome illustrations tying together all the conference topics though. It was between my malaria and the storm that I knew God wanted to do something big and as chaotic as it was, and how many students (who many don't normally have the best behaviour), God kept their attention and they heard about how He cares for them, how we're to lay down our worries at His feet but more than anything we are know Him.

All in all, the students were fed the Word, loved on by leaders, had fellowship with one another, ate tons of food, and heard the Gospel in full force. You can't ask for much more than that?

I must say by dinner of the first day I was so done, the Malaria definitely gave me its best shot by then but praise Him that His grace is sufficient and that in His amazing grace He also blessed me with an awesome boyfriend. Davis was such a HUGE GIGANTIC WORDS CAN'T DESCRIBE IT blessing. He had it all taken care of for me. Before the conference and even before the Malaria he told me to tell him everything that needed to get done with the conference and he'd make sure it happened so I wouldn't have to be so stressed out. Even one of my students told me that I wasn't nearly as stressed this time as I've been in the past. I really would have been in the hospital on drip if it wasn't for him (well, you know, God working through him). So anyway, just have to give him props because he totally deserves it!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

A night to remember

You know those moments where you couldn't imagine it being any more perfect and all you want to do is savor it and remember every detail? That was last night for me. At one point I was just sitting next to our bonfire as the girls were roasting marshmallows and making so many s'mores their stomachs hurt, laughing, talking, and sharing stories, with worship music in the background as sparks floated up into the starry night sky and thinking "this is what life's all about". Yesterday I was blessed to see one thing God's been laying on my heart for some time now finally come into fruition - a girl's night. Every last detail God was in... it blew and still does blow my mind to think about.

We had about 15 girls show up, all between the ages of 10-17. They come from all sorts of backgrounds but one thing was constant with all of them, they all need to hear and hear again just who they are to their heavenly Father. I'll be honest, sometimes I buck against the cliche themes for girls/women's events (don't hate me) but this time I knew God really wanted them to hear those "cliche" things because just because everyone hears about them doesn't mean they remember them or live them. I wanted them to leave knowing they are precious to God and that God's purpose for them is more than just living for a boy or to please their friends. I also had five women who don't just talk the talk, but they walk the walk in order to encourage my younger girls to stay strong and to see Ugandan women (some in their twenties, some older) who truly live passionately for Christ.

The day began after many of them finished with the Inductive Bible Study class Jess is teaching to the youth. We began with having chalk numbers written on the ground and then a di was rolled and the number it landed on was the number that the girl standing on that number had to answer a question from the game "Loaded Questions". It was fun and very telling and I may or may not have been the subject of some of the answers as they gave me a hard time about my current relationship status :). We did that for about an hour and then it was time for dinner and then for the bon fire.

Let me just say that it was an awesome bonfire! (and I'm not just saying it because Davis made it). Then the girls were instructed in the way of s'mores. I wasn't sure if they would enjoy them but boy howdy did they! It was hilarious! Even the "Big girls" partook in the marshmallowy goodness. Then Mary shared some of what was on her heart about God's timing and not rushing into doing things just because your friends say that you should. The other women also shared a little bit. We asked questions, and discussed issues and then it was time to go in.

My friend Anne brought the idea of spin the nail polish bottle... now before you judge, this is how it works: you take turns with each girl picking a color and then they spin the nail polish bottle and whoever it points to is the one you paint one finger the color you choose. It was hilarious and we definitely disrupted the rest of the building with our laughter.

We ate cookies, watched Princess Bride, and then finally by 1am everyone had a place to sleep as we packed into the girls dorm... I was EXHAUSTED!

By 5 I was awake again to work on a couple of things and also just to breathe and compose myself before the girls woke up. Davis helped make the tea so I could finish making the notes I made for each girl. We had tea, chapattis, and then I shared with them about what type of character we should have using examples of women in Scripture. We then just painted nails again - that's what nail polish remover is for - and tried to do our own version of American Idol (not so successfully though) and then it was time to go home.

I'm so blown away by how it went. Thank you for all of you who prayed for this event! Your prayers were answered in HUGE ways!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

One Scary Afternoon



We live in a fallen world and I can't help but echo the psalm and Romans where "there is no one who is good... not even one." Sin and evil are everywhere, but praise God that He too is everywhere and promises to never leave us nor forsake us.

Yesterday afternoon, I had what was most definitely the scariest experience of my life. I had just gotten back from town and was getting to work on some projects when I heard Bev scream, at first I thought she was just yelling at some kids but then I could hear her yelling "Jesse!" and I knew something was wrong. I ran out screaming for Jess as well and had no idea that I would find what I did, I thought maybe it was an accident or something but when Steven, Jess and I got out of our gate I found Bev in her car and a car that was blocking her path and she point at it and said "Thief!" Steven tried to reach in and pull the guy out of the car but he sped off, as we were distracted with the car we didn't realize that the guy on the other side of Bev's car were two other thieves, and he was holding what I've been told was an AK-47. We thought that maybe he had just been a security guy who had come to help but then as he was shouting for the money and Jess started to yell for Bev to get out of the car, we were about to run and the guy shot out Bev's window. Just as she was getting out. Us girls ran to my veranda while Steven ran after the guy and Jess got in the truck to head him off the other way. Then Davis ran out to go and help them.

It didn't take long for the mob justice to form as the area around the corner came to help out. Literally hundreds of people came and as Steven had caught who we believe was the shooter at a local school, the group came and began beating and stoning the thief with every intention of killing him then and there (that's just how it's normally done here as not a lot of stock is taken in our police). But our guys protected the man and even Davis and Joseph got hurt in the process because the people were just so upset. Our guys dragged the guy to the church and brought him in the gate and I was the lucky one who had to keep everyone out and only open it for police and the others who were really a part of the situation. All of our guys did unbelievably between chasing the guy down, protecting him in order to save his life and be sure he was around to give the names of his friends, and trying to recover what had been stolen. Afterwards, the police came and fingerprinted the car and Jess, Bev, and Steven have had to be at police for hours giving their statements and so far the guy they caught has given up some information. Along with the mob justice, another way they deal with people here is they fill a jerrycan of petrol and begin burning the person who was caught in order to make them talk... I'm still kind of in shock about that one.

We were the subject of several tv and radio interviews and so many people were just so upset that these thieves would rob from us, and specifically Bev because God has used this ministry to help so so many people. We all are still kind of reeling from the whole ordeal and we're all praising God for his protection because Bev, Jess, Steven, myself, Davis, Joseph, Rogers or any of the others could have easily been shot. Now we're just praying that 1) thieves have gotten the memo don't mess with us 2) the crowd was able to see God's mercy in how we dealt with the thief and 3) that the thieves would be caught so they wouldn't do this to someone else and potentially with a much worse outcome.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Gearing up...

Every three months the schools go on holiday, and basically for me it means it's game time. During the school term I'm busy in teaching at Jinja SS, youth group, and meeting with individuals, but when the holiday comes I get to ramp up the program and really try to facilitate opportunity after opportunity for the students to grow deeper in their walks. This next holiday begins at the beginning of August, and I'm in shock how quickly it has crept up on me this time. So currently I'm just trying to plan and pray and see what all God wants to have take place this holiday be it outreaches to villages, large events here in Jinja, various service projects, and one event I'm getting really excited about which will be a girls' night where I hope to have women from all walks of life (missionary and Ugandan) to be able to pour into the girls from the youth group. A night of testimonies, teachings, food, girliness (but not too much considering I'm the one organizing it :) ).

I'm currently just asking for prayer for all that God wants to do during this holiday. Please pray that the plans would be God's plans, that I personally wouldn't be so distracted by the "programs" that I'm missing the main thing. Pray that the students grow in huge and awesome ways and that lives are changed over the next month.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Divine encouragement

"you have searched me and know me..."

Our God is so huge, so powerful, so awesome and yet He knows us and knows what we need and the exact time we need it the most. Lately I've been experiencing the pain of being the subject matter or some rather gnarly gossip, with nearly all of it having fallacies as its base. People say, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" yeah... that's a lie. Words hurt, and I've definitely learned from being on the receiving end that it's really bad juju to slander, gossip, etc... others. I continue to remind myself to "love my enemies", that Jesus and others in the Bible dealt with the same thing, and that I constantly just need to make sure I'm being blameless before God and not allowing others sin to be an excuse for sin in my own life. But I'll be honest, it's sometimes nearly unbearable as I just feel like there's sometimes no pleasing anyone, short of becoming a hermit, and even then I will probably still do/say something that will be fodder for some juicy story.

That being said, this afternoon I was feeling incredibly discouraged. After I got home from Jinja SS, I was just on my knees crying out to Him about how to deal with a lot of what is going on and during that time, I got a call from one of my girls who I've had a lot of history with. One time I had to go and basically rescue her from getting beat to a pulp by a woman in her community who was tired of how the girl was living. Since then she's gone to live in another part of the country to get her out of the environment and temptations that were around her before. She recently came back for a quick visit and I was able to see her and give her a big hug. Then tonight she called simply to say hi. It's funny how that helped make my day but it was an answer to the prayer of "God, what am I doing here?!" Before that, at Jinja SS I could tell another one of my girls (her father passed away just over a year ago and the only place she could think of to go was my veranda) was having a tough time and she finally told me that a boy was saying all sorts of mean things to her, I cried as I could definitely empathize with the sting that words can have. Being able to be there for her to confide in and help was another huge encouragement of the truth that God is at work in/through me. Then earlier today I got a card that was a part of a series of cards that one of my old students from the States arranged for me to get intermittently over the past couple of months. Those things combined really were exactly what God knew I needed to keep on, knowing that I am living right before Him, that I am doing what He wants me to be doing, and that I am exactly where He wants me to be. He is so good in how He cares for His children, it's just so important to look for the light He shines around you as you feel like you're engulfed by the darkness of discouragement that the enemy tries to send your way to try and distract and paralyze you.

Keeping you in the loop

I used to pride myself on how well I kept people up to date on the work and life here. And I've failed to do that these past couple of months, my apologies. The last post was about my birthday and in the past weeks life has been consumed with two key elements: preparing for and hosting a team of 42 who were here this past week, and enjoying life with the man God has blessed me with.

Let me begin with the team... can I just say that it's a blessing that 42 people were willing to pay thousands of dollars to come and serve in Uganda for two weeks. We had four teams: outreach, medical, and two orphanage teams. I was with the medical and outreach teams as I purposefully had them serving in the same villages so I could be around to do whatever was needed for either team. I've hosted this team before but never had then been this size, and this was my first time organizing a medical clinic. Needless to say I learned A LOT. Logistics for teams of that size are tough enough, but then bring them to Uganda, and well... yeah, you definitely learn flexibility and how to manage organized (and sometimes not so organized) chaos. We were in two villages - spending one day in Iguluibi and two in a village called Kikondo. The medical team saw several hundred people dealing with everything from malaria to jiggers to leprosy (yes, that's right leprosy). The outreach team did door to door evangelism, programs in a few schools, and also presentations in the middle of the village as well as ministering to the people who came for the medical clinic. We were busy, and I can't believe how tired I still am, but I praise God for Jess, Bev, our translators and one other key guy (see below) without whom this past week of ministry would not have been possible.

That brings me to the next subject... the latest development in my life is that I have been blessed with an amazing man who cares for me and treats me better than I could have ever imagined. His name is Davis, and can I just say that every single day, I'm blown away by the man he is. I want to tell all you girls out there who think you need to "settle"...DON'T. I used to think that I had too high of expectations of the man God had for me, but God has not only met those expectations, but has totally blown them out of the water. I just ask that you would lift us up in prayer that we walk according to His plan, keeping Him our focus never allowing one another to usurp His place in our lives, and that we would allow Him to direct every last element of our relationship.


So there you go, a little update on life. Now I get to be back in the swing of things as "normal life" was on hold for a little while as I dealt with this team. I'm teaching through the book of Amos to my guys at Jinja SS and continuing through the book of John at youth group. Those groups along with the people I get the privilege to meet with individually and discus His Word and how it impacts ever facet of our lives are what make every day a blessing and I continue to be in awe of all that God allows me to be a part of.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A blessed birthday

Eh eh! It's been a whole months since I've posted! Where on earth has the time gone?! I guess it's just because everything has been happening and yet nothing has happened all at the same time. It's been basically the normal routine of teaching at Jinja SS and leading the youth group while dealing with new and exciting adventures in life as well. One of which is that this past Saturday I turned the big 2-6. Last year, turning 25 kind of brought on what I would refer to a quarter life crisis just realizing that I'm now really truly an adult without excuses, I have to be responsible, and "act my age"... it was definitely a tough time. This year however, I definitely was able to ring in a new year with a much better attitude. On Friday night I was taken out for an amazing evening and it definitely started my birthday on a great note. Saturday morning began with opening presents from my family and care team (they blow my mind how with how awesome they are). Then it was time for the gym, and breakfast with some of the missionary girls. I had an amazingly rich chocolate cake with our staff and school of ministry students. Then went out to lunch with a great friend from Kampala. And then had youth group teaching from John 4 about the Samaritan woman and two of my girls totally drenched me in water to "bless" me for my birthday. Then I went to dinner with an awesome family where my friend made some of the best enchiladas I've EVER had (and coming from a New Mexico girl that's saying something). Then it was party time and some karaoke. It was such an awesome day getting to spend it with so so many awesome friends and friends who are more like family. I'm so blessed to have the people around me that I do both here and in the States, I don't deserve them but will continue to praise God for them. Twenty five really was a year of growth and I'm so thankful for all God taught me. Now as I embark on my 26th year, I can't help but wonder what new things He has coming my way. Many people say that 26 was their favorite year, I'm trying not to get my hopes up to high... but here's hoping that 26 is one for the books.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Hunt

So I was going to title this post "insanity at its finest" but I decided to air on the side of being informative instead of witty. As you read on I think you may agree with my original idea. You know the saying, "the more the merrier"? Well, that was my feeling as we geared up for our usual youth conference that takes place every three months during the school holidays. I did my usual promo getting the word out to the missionary community and what not, really thinking that it would be like usual where we would have at the most 120 students...hahaha... WRONG! Little by little more and more people informed me that their students would come, I couldn't believe the response, it seriously blew my mind. My friends would just laugh as the final days brought in bigger and bigger numbers of people registering, and when it was all said in done we had around 250... that's right 250 students between the ages of 10-20 on our compound this past Friday and Saturday.
What adds to the fun and excitement of that number is the fact that I was out of town doing village outreaches for the week and a half before the conference. Now, I'm known for my OCD organizational skills when it comes to events. I have color coded schedules, countless to-do lists, a binder (usually with tabs), and the list goes on. This time, I couldn't do that and not being able to be my neurotic self before the largest youth event we've ever had almost killed me. But on Friday morning (after 2 hours of sleep) ready or not, it was go time. The conference had the theme of "The Hunt" which was a study through Proverbs and our search for wisdom and all that entails. We looked at the people (sluggard, righteous, hard worker, etc...), our plans vs. God's plans, our anger, temptation, and our words. We had to have the teachers stand at the back of the church so that the kids sitting under the tent could see the teacher as well as the kids in the church. It was an interesting dynamic but it worked.
We also had several wild and crazy games that each had a point to them to teach about what we were learning in Proverbs. We had capture the flag and a treasure hunt (dealing with searching for wisdom). We had a crazy huge slip n' slide to show that we need to focus on God and go straight for His path if we want to go the furthest in living the life He made us to live.
The next day afte the teaching on temptation, the kids had to eat cupcakes where some of them had some interesting items inside (cat food, jalepeno vienna sausages, olives) to show that things may look good on the outside but the inside only brings bad news.
We also had a killer water ballon fight to teach how our words can hurt us, get us "wet", and also affect others.
And another crazy game involving a crab walk to a basin full of corn starch to then take suckers out with their toes then go to a plate of honey, soda, and the stuff from the cupcakes and get a mouth full of that and then run and spit it into a coke bottle (all teaching about our words).
By now I'm guessing you're understanding the "insanity" comment from the beginning. And honestly, it was pretty crazy, and I learned a whole, whole lot about what I need to do come August when we host our next conference. But I just have to take this time to give a shout out to all the people who helped out with this event: the small group leaders, Jess, Bev, the School of Ministry guys, Ricky, and Davis (whose service was more of a blessing than he'll ever probably know). Overall, I'm getting feedback that it was a "success" and I'm just blown away that God allowed me to play a small part in getting these students to know Him more. TO HIM BE ALL THE HONOR, ALL THE GLORY, AND ALL THE PRAISE.

Village Outreaches #1 and #2

For those of you who don't know, God has laid a burden on my heart to make disciples of the 17 million kids in Uganda under the age of 15. Part of seeing that come into fruition is how God has been opening doors for a small team of us to go and do outreaches/conferences in villages around Uganda. This school holiday we were able to crank out three two-day long conferences. The first I've already posted about, but the last two were a bit different. Outreach #2 Bugiri Bugiri is a small town about an hour and a half away on the way to Kenya. A former school of ministry student has a small church there and he was chomping at the bit for us to come and do an event there. (We found out later that he even sold two of his own goats in order to make it happen.) We headed out with a packed car of worship equipment, game supplies, water, matreses and four students, Ricky, Davis, Bev and I. The church was one of the coolest ones I've seen, it is also used as a school, and is so simple yet speaks volumes in the midst a culture where true religion is defined by ostentatious places of worship. It was refreshing to say the least.
We went through our same program as the first outreach of teachings, games, activities, etc... But there was one distinct difference, there were just as many adults as there were youth at this YOUTH conference. But it worked out great as Bev lead the adult small groups and so it ended up being an unexpected surprise audience. At lunch I decided it would be as good of time as any to see how the whole bowl of meat soup would look poured all over the front of me, and it was so nice of a friend of mine to be sure to capture it on camera. We then had another glich of rain decided to come and pour during the second teaching causing a nice little rain delay (you can't do a whole lot of teaching in a tin-roofed building and no speakers for fear of lightening), but soon the rain stopped and we were able to continue on with our program. Another glich however was that I lost my voice for that conference. It was fairly miserable and rather humorous at times but we made it through. Nighttime in the village is honestly my favorite because you are able to just sit outside talk and enjoy the evening. We were all so tired though that almost right after dinner, it was time to sleep. Bev, Achiro, and I stayed in the house of the brother to the pastor, and it was amazing! It poured rain most of the night but we barely even knew as the house was so sturdy. The boys stayed in a little less luxury, as they shared a room with several rats. The morning began with more rain and the fear that the conference would possibly be cancelled for the day. But the sun came out and we went forward with the day. It really was a great event and the local pastor there did an amazing job and definitely set the bar very high for future hosts.
Outreach #3 Naykoi The first outreach was on a Monday and Tuesday, Bugiri was on a Thursday and Friday. On Monday, we headed out to the village of Naykoi which was about 3 hours away. This time Jess came along and we were down one student. We reached the village by 9. Got situated, and got into the swing of things. The language barrier was killer in this village but two of my students and Ricky are Ateso so they were our key communicators. The team was awesome and one of my highlights is one of my guys, Isaac, doing a stellar job at teaching the kids. You never would have expected such enthusiasm from such a chill guy but he did great so well. Achiro did great leading small groups. And Otim... well he's just amazing. That night was basically perfection. After the conference closed for the day, we went off to pick some mangoes as the sun was setting. Seeing my friend Davis get up in that mango tree was hilarious and we all tried to make sure mangoes didn't drop on our heads. Then as the sunset turned into dusk, the fireflies came out, we ate some of our mangoes and began to take part in an awesome little dance party to local music played on some of the traditional instruments. There was this one little girl, Maureen, she's 8 decided that she would get me to dance with her. No words were used she just started dancing in my general direction and before I knew it, it was just she and I. She could move in ways I didn't know were possible but it was really the highlight of the whole trip for me and super special. a
Achiro and I then went to a hut where two of the daughters of the village pastors slept and we put our matreses on the floor and got the mosquito nets all set up. It was rather interesting, and my first night of sleeping in a hut like that but it wasn't too bad and it was better than where the boys had to sleep so I'm not complaining. One of the most precious things was when the pastor's daughters came in and before they went to bed they both prayed (they didn't realize I was awake). It was so cool! The next day we got our hands on hot water so we could make coffee and got the day going. It again, was just an awesome day of getting to be used by God in this very cool capacity. We finally headed out by 3:30 and were back in Jinja in time for dinner. It was an awesome trip!

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