Back to the grindstone

Any run of the mill guidance counselor when asked, “what should I do for a living?” would most likely give the sage advice of, “Find whatever you would love to do, even if for free, and then find a way to get paid for it…”.

As I’m coming out of my two month break from normal work as I adjusted to married life, I can’t help but yet again scream from the rooftops, “I LOVE MY JOB!!!!” Most people would rejoice at two months off from work… I was finding every possible way to go back early. I ached to be back with my students. I would see them and they would ask when I was coming back and to tell them May 1st seemed just way too far away. Needless to say I may or may not have gotten back a little before that date. The Bible study at Jinja SS and the youth group are just two of my favorite things. I’m so blessed to get to serve these students! You ask anyone who knows them, they would tell you they are AWESOME kids. And it’s true. I’ve seen God work in such cool ways as He grabs a hold of them and they follow Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…” He has in many ways placed a protective bubble around them helping them to be “as innocent as doves” even in this ever worsening world.

This next week they go on school holiday for the next month. On the agenda this month will be some of what we did last holiday with having classes throughout the week for them to learn more about their Bibles in more intense ways to make them true disciples with the end result of what Jesus says in John 13:17, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them”. (emphasis mine).

We will also be taking a group of students to Entebbe for a large youth conference hosted by the Calvary Chapel there. The students are psyched out of their minds at the prospect of getting out of Jinja for a few days and meeting new friends… I am battling the heart palpitations of trying to make sure that they are well supervised and that they don’t bump into “bad company”. Needless to say that’s a prayer request.

We continue to pray that the students will grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that they would be different from the youth around them (even “Christian” youth). That they would be true doers of the Word. Please just pray for us over this next month as we try to pour into the students in an incredibly concentrated way.

The Amazing Race Honeymoon Edition: Part 2

Well… we made it to our hotel. It was a beautiful little resort where everything was pretty average except for the staff. We ended up having the exact amount of money needed to pay for everything. Again, thank you to all who gave to help our honeymoon be extra awesome!

The first full day there, it rained. But really after all that travel, it wasn’t so bad to get to just hang out. The hotel staff arranged for a tour of some coral caves for a decent price and so we took them up on it. It was so cool seeing what God does even deep under the ground. God’s beauty just absolutely amazes me on a almost a daily basis and this one brought a big WOW! I won’t lie though, I had some super fun and exciting bouts with claustrophobia the deeper we climbed into those caves. At one point, I looked back to where we came from the entrance and it was pitch black…gulp! But then I remembered that there is nowhere I can flee from His presence and that helped. That afternoon we were able to partake of the beach. The hotel didn’t have their own beach because of the tide at the actual hotel location, although it is oceanfront. But we were able to take a shuttle 5 minutes away to their private beach and that was really cool… except that I found out how awesome it is to get stung by a jellyfish. That wasn’t so fun. But it was great seeing Davis as he just took it all in and enjoyed the ocean waves. I’m not a big water person anyway, so I was very ok in the observation area ☺



Day two, we decided to go to Stone Town… it’s the old original capital town of Zanzibar. It has awesome history and was the highlight of our trip. We made it there early afternoon and walked around basically checking out the history and the art. We went to the old palace for the sultan and it was just so cool actually being in a palace… I’ll admit I’m pretty sure that was a first for me. And I won’t lie, all I could think about when I heard the word “sultan” was “ALADDIN!” We Finished off the day with watching the absolutely amazing sunset from the balcony of a restaurant at the top of a hotel. It was so cool!



Day three, we partook of the glories of the honeymoon package. Part of that package was that we were able to take a little boat to a private beach across the bay. The day was perfect and the trip took about two hours but it was amazing to take in the sights of people wading through the water to fish and also collect a certain type of grass to sell. We also were able to see some AMAZING starfish. I had never really seen starfish in the wild so that was way too cool… we also saw lots and lots of jellyfish. That was cool to see, but definitely took away any of my desire to ever really get in the water. The beach was not really swimmable so we just enjoyed a rather large twin bed hammock and then the best food we had on the trip.



Day four consisted of just some chill couple time. We went to the beach but it was way too hot so we went back had some lunch and just hung out. That evening we had the rest of our perks of being a honeymoon couple with me getting a massage (it was fabulous!) and then getting to use the Jacuzzi and that night we had a seafood dinner (although I must say it was not all it was cracked up to be, and I was a bit disappointed but still…)

Day five was the day we left. We had breakfast and boarded the daladala and headed into town to load up on the ferry. The bad part was the daladala gave us the wrong instructions on where we should be let off so we ended up having to walk a couple of miles with all of our stuff trying to get to the ferry port just as it was about to rain. We get to the port, and this time our ferry was probably older than we were so needless to say I promptly took the motion sickness medicine. We then got to Dar es Salaam and tried to find our guest house we booked since the bus wouldn’t leave until the morning. This was yet another part of our amazing race. On the website it looked close to the bus terminal… nope! It ended up costing over double what we had anticipated just to get to the guesthouse. To make things even more fun, I had put the money in my front pocket to pay for our night’s stay but when I went to pay, it was gone. I assume it fell out when I tried to take my phone out… and we didn’t have any more money on hand. But at least the guesthouse was totally accommodating and even brought us to the ATM in the wee hours of the morning to get the money for our stay and to take us to the bus park.

Our trip home, we decided to take the way through Kenya (it was just one 24 hour ride instead of a 24 hour ride, staying the night somewhere and then another 12 hour ride). The elections in Kenya had finished and everything seemed to be pretty peaceful. The trip home was gloriously uneventful and we got back home on Sunday afternoon.

It really was a trip of a lifetime where I got a crash course in submission recognizing that I really don’t know all the right answers and how I need to yield to my husband’s better judgment. It was a great trip and I praise God for His awesome provision for it and learning that my husband is even more amazing than I thought.

Amazing Race Honeymoon Edition Part 1: The Journey

I’ve reached the conclusion that every newlywed couple should embark upon a honeymoon like ours… it can be summed up in one word: ADVENTURE.

But before I get into the details (don’t worry… not too much detail ☺ )… I just have to take this time to thank everyone who contributed to our honeymoon registry. Without it, we would have been having our honeymoon at our little house because we so didn’t have the money to pull of the dream honeymoon that God provided through everyone’s support.

Ok, so back to our “amazing race”… it began here in Jinja at the Kampala Coach office – great customer service by the way, and they have seats that recline and head rests that actually give your head some support… although their buses may or may not be older than I am. We decided to go to Zanzibar via Kigaali, Rwanda and then through Tanzania for two reason: 1) both Davis and I had already been to Kenya and wanted to see some place new and 2) the Kenyan elections were just finishing and last time there were major riots so we thought we’d spare ourselves that “adventure” until maybe the way back. Ok so there we go… the journey there…. Like I said, it began in Jinja on Thursday afternoon, they then had us board a taxi (they paid) and had us head to Kampala because they didn’t have any buses passing through Jinja because of before mentioned Kenyan elections. So here starts the tally for the number of hours it took us to get there – 2 hours to Kampala – We get to Kampala and take bodas to the bus loading area for Kampala coach. Word of he wise – use the restroom before you get to the bus station, don’t ask me how I know, but I’m just sayin… Finally at 9pm (we left Jinja at 4) we board our bus.

We traveled for 12 hours and reached Kigali at 9 the next morning. We then were informed the next bus for Dar Es Salaam doesn’t leave until 5:30 the next morning so the very nice guy from the bus company suggested a guest house close to the bus park we could stay at and gave us some pointers about getting around Kigali. We checked into our “hotel” and we’re still not quite sure if they’ve had any other customers… ever. But it had a bed and running water (in the evening after they fixed it) so we couldn’t complain. We then decided to check out Kigali and see if what we’ve heard about it was true… we were (ok more like I was) like such a little villager, in shock at the modern way they do things. Even the bodas all have to wear helmets and only take one passenger who also has to wear a helmet (in case you’re not familiar, that’s NOT the case here in Uganda). It’s also VERY clean. There are police everywhere so everyone behaves most of the time too. All in all, it was a nice little city.

Bright and early the next morning we wake up and head to the bus park. We get on our bus that’s in even worse condition than our Kampala coach… and this time our trip will be 24+ hrs. As we begin, the bus starts zipping around the Rwandan mountains and I seriously felt like I was on a roller coaster, it was at that point I praised God for Bev and her giving me motion sickness medicine. As we passed through Rwanda, it was absolutely beautiful and full of mountains. At the Rwanda/Tanzania border, they had an awesome river and waterfall. It was amazing the change between Rwanda and Tanzania how it was almost as soon as you passed the border. In the midst of our 24 hour amusement park ride, I had a little bit of a claustrophobia/panic attack as NOTHING was familiar and I had no control of anything… at all… Davis being the very fabulous husband that he is, agreed that I should try reading my Bible to get me through that little “episode”. Then, it was just so clear, God whispered to me that Davis was a tangible expression of His heart of wanting to protect/care for/comfort/provide for me and I needed to trust Him and also Davis. It was quite a cool lesson for a new wife to learn.

In Tanzania, you’re not allowed to drive between the hours of midnight and 4am and so the bus pulled over at a little roadside town at 12:30 and we all were able to get out, find food (at 12:30) and figure out how to get a little sleep. We got out and there was this little disco that was rather hopping and outside there were a couple of food stands. One of which was an old man making eggs with French fries in them… talk about the perfect midnight snack. It’s one of my favorite memories of our travels, thinking about sitting there with the music, sipping tea, and eating that fabulous Tanzanian fast food. We then brushed our teeth like good little children and got a little sleep and 4am we were off again.

Finally by 10am the next morning we pulled into Dar. We took a taxi as Davis practiced his Swahilli and we headed to the ferry port. We paid $5 extra for the “first class” tickets as I was warned the ferry trip could be a little gnarly. We boarded our ferry and it was nice and new and sat in our cushy first class, air-condtioned seats. I took my handy dandy motion sickness medicine and we were off again. In the midst of my semi-conciousness (partly because of the medicine and part because of the trip), they had Madagascar 2 playing and so needless to say, I managed ok and my adventurous husband spent most of his time checking out the view from up top.

By 2pm Sunday we landed in Zanzibar. We (Davis) got us a Taxi and we drove another hour and reached the hotel. Ok so now class… let’s do some math… We left Jinja at 4pm Thursday… we reached our hotel at 3pm on Sunday… that’s right folks… 71ish hours to get there. But it was very cool even in the midst of motion sickness and freak outs, we were able to see some awesome East African countryside. I also learned I could totally and completely trust Davis’ wisdom as he was right pretty much 100% of the time as we encountered various situations and I was w…. well never mind ☺ Needless to say I learned a lot. And that’s just our journey there. It was an awesome adventure for us and definitely not something we will ever forget.

Grace

I've always heard grace defined as "unmerited favor"... I can't help but have the breath taken away from me at the grace God has shown me over this past week... and really this past year.

When I tell people about Davis, I tell them that he is grace in the flesh, because I so don't deserve him. He's patient, strong, kind, humble, and basically perfection (ask anyone who knows him). I don't deserve him but I praise God for me getting to call him my husband (in just a few short days).

If that wasn't enough, this past Sunday I experienced God's grace in a way I'm still recovering from. First, a miracle in itself happened to get my mom to come here to Uganda for my wedding. My mom had never been past Mexico and then she set out 11,000 miles to come and be with her baby girl on the biggest day of her life. Leading up to her coming, she daily had reports of God's goodness in providing for certain parts of her trip (immunizations, ticket, clothes, etc...). I was already in awe of the outpouring of love so many people were showing towards myself and my parents through this time.

The thing is... God wasn't done yet... "He is able to do exceedingly more than we could ask or imagine" I NEVER thought it was possible for my daddy to make it here to Africa for the wedding. I honestly don't even think I really prayed about it, it seemed that impossible to me (yes I know my lack of faith is sickening). I thought that between finances and his health it was just not possible for him to come to a 3rd world country with who knows what types of diseases. But God had other plans.

As I got to the airport to pick up my mom, the butterflies in my stomach were going full force. I kept staring at the monitor and pretty much had a coronary when it showed "arrived" next to my mom's flight. Then a few minutes later I get a call from her asking where to go. I thought "oh no! that's why I didn't want her to travel alone!" Seriously over an hour after the plane arrived and I think I chewed my finger nails into oblivion and may need to have blood pressure medication for the next 3 weeks to recover, Davis and Bev gave me the sign she was coming (they worked out the sign because I was going crazy staring at people coming out from the customs area). I couldn't believe it as I saw my mom push her little cart out that with an unexpected few amount of bags. I rushed over, gave her a huge hug, cried and then we went over to the side. As I was crying as she and Davis met and hugged for the first time, I asked her if she got all her bags, and she said, "just one more is coming", and I look and my eyes seriously couldn't believe that they were seeing my dad pushing a cart loaded down with trunks. I broke down in a definite gnarly ugly cry as I just buried my face in my daddy's chest and hugged him and never wanted to let go. All of my dreams of having my daddy walk me down the aisle, the pictures of when he first sees his little girl in her wedding dress, the father daughter dance, could all happen now! I just couldn't believe it!

My parents later told me about all the miracles God worked to get my dad here through the provision of funds to the dr's ok. It was unbelievable what God did in order to get my daddy here for the big day.

On Sunday evening, I just still couldn't verbalize even the thanks to God for what had happened! I didn't deserve it... not in the slightest. I'm not trying to be overly humble or anything, I just flat out didn't/don't deserve what has been taking place. But that's where I get to rejoice in His grace, He loves blowing His kids away and He definitely did a good job at doing that with this daughter of His!

I PRAISE HIM I PRAISE HIM I PRAISE HIM!!!! For the amazing blessing He has given me in having both of my parents here... Our God is so so good!

This Past Holiday

Here in Uganda, the school year begins in February and ends in late November/Early December. Therefore, the students "summer break" so to speak is during the Christmas holiday. Which means it's 2 months worth of me praying about and trying to figure out what exactly I should do to make the best use of the opportunity of the holiday where I don't have to share them with school.

In December, we kind of took it easy because the students were busy preparing for the Christmas program, but Davis, three students, and myself decided to undertake the re-painting of the church. I'll admit I thought it was going to be a little less invasive than it was, but the bottom line is that there is now no longer three different paint colors randomly smeared on the walls of the church. I must confess I felt rather blessed having my fiance be a professional artist, he made sure it was done right and it looked great!



And then came January... dun dun dun
As I've mentioned before, January was planned to keep the kids busy nearly every single day. Tuesdays we had a special topic of discussion/teaching. Wednesdays we learned about different religions (Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hindus, and Catholics) and how we can witness to them. Thursdays we went through a theology topic (the sinfulness of man, the Trinity, heaven and hell, angels and demons). Fridays we had a fellowship day where we would just do something crazy (game day, water play day, field trip to the source, and a swimming day. Saturday we did a couple different outreach/service events. We went to 2 orphanages, a local slum area, and then we tried to do an event here at the church as well. The deal with the Saturday events is that they were to be planned almost entirely by the students. They had to do everything from come up with the schedule, make a shopping list and shop, and even run the event, I basically just taught.




I will be honest, January quite possible did me in. Doing all of this solo, was a bit more of un undertaking than I had anticipated, but I pray the students grew closer to each other and more important than that, they grew closer to Christ during that time.

Now, the students are starting back to school and I just ask for prayers that they would be a light in their schools. Pray that God would help them to boldly make known the mystery of the Gospel. Pray that God would help them to flee from temptation. And pray that God would help them to love Him more than anything or anyone else.

Memories

Packing up and moving everything except basically my clothes to the new house I will share with my soon to be new husband has definitely brought a whirlwind of memories as I go through everything. I’m going through goodbye cards from when I left ABQ 4 ½ years ago, birthday cards, “just saying hi” cards, pictures, and journal entries. It’s just amazing all that has gone on in life in just a few years. Honestly, it feels like I’ve grown up in that time.

I came out here a brand-new college graduate who really hadn’t seen much of the world nor realized just what a big world outside of my little sphere was out there. I came out having to learn the hard way (and honestly still kind of am continuing to learn) the universe doesn’t revolve around me. I used to think I had my stuff pretty well together for a girl in her early twenties, but then as I look back on all the dross that came up through the trials I went through, I realize I definitely was a far cry from having it all together.

I read about past crushes and hopes and dreams and reading about my laments as I approached my 25th birthday thinking I may never find “Mr. Right”. Now I look at the man God has given me and I can’t help but echo Garth Brook’s song “Unanswered Prayers”. We go through life, especially early adulthood thinking that we know what we want and when it all should happen. We pray and hope with all our hearts that God’s will is our will. I can tell you that what I’m reading in my journals is a far cry from anything that I ever thought would be a part of my life, but I can see how God has used those things, sometimes painful, and sometimes even embarrassing, to humble me and shape me into the woman that I’m becoming.

I think of how the pastor and author Warren Weirsbe compared life to a tapestry where on one side you see all the messy knots of thread but on the other side it makes an amazing picture. I praise God for these memories, and I look forward to the new ones yet to come. I also am so thankful for everyone out there who made up those memories, those whose cards I’m reading and some I’m still keeping in a little wooden box my cousin made for me. People, friends, family, and sometimes even foes make us who we are. Thank you all for being a part of my past and I look forward to seeing what God has got in store for the future.

Overwhelmed

Preparing for our wedding, Davis and I entered into it anticipating on paying for everything ourselves so as not to place the burden on either one of our families. Also, here in Uganda they have "wedding meetings", getting people to sponsor certain parts of the wedding, that was just not something we felt we wanted to do but instead we just wanted to bless those attending the wedding and thanking them for the role they've played in our lives. But yet again, my life verse rings true "His ways are not our ways" they're so far above them.

Over the past few months, Davis and I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support (both financial, emotional, and prayer) from people from around the world have given as we start this new chapter of our lives. People who have given to help my mom make it out here for the big day, family members working tirelessly to try and raise money, friends giving checks with the specific purpose of contributing towards the wedding, and even our friends here in Uganda throwing us a surprise "wedding shower" to help raise money for us. All of it has left both of us speechless. You pray, knowing God answers prayers, but always wondering how... and how much He'll bring about. He is truly able to do exceedingly more than we could ever ask for or imagine. And I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for all of your support, it truly means more to us than you will ever know.

As the countdown is now just a mere month away (YIKES!) we continue to ask for prayers to cover our marriage. That we would glorify God in showing one another the un-conditional love He shows us, that we would understand one another, that we would learn to pick our battles, that we would serve the other above ourselves, that we would constantly keep Christ at the center of our marriage, and that we would be an example of marriage to those around us.