My precious feet.

As we were walking back from our last day at the well last week all I could think about was how badly my feet hurt. I begged God to teach me something from it.

This is what I learned: My feet are something I definitely take for granted.  I rarely think about using my feet as a source of transportation or a tool to share the gospel, joy, and love. After my time in the village, where my feet have never hurt so bad, I really feel like God was bringing feet to my mind. I know that sounds weird, but think about how often we take our feet, or any of our body parts, for granted. It could be something different for you, but God chose my feet to teach me a lesson.

I began to think back to my life in the US: the awesome desk I sat at, so I never had to stand at work, the endless amounts of couches and chairs to rest on when my feet hurt, the car I drive so I never have to walk anywhere, and the nail salon I go to for pedicures when my feet feel neglected. We even have shoes for everything: running, walking, work, play, water shoes, mountain shoes… all for our feet.  I began to wish I was back home as I hobbled back to our campsite. My feet hurt so bad. They had blisters on every side, there were cuts everywhere, mosquito bites around my ankles, and dirt and mud covering the very lovely shade of hot pink I chose to paint my nails just a few weeks ago. God really began to challenge me. I began to thank God for my feet. Although they were in an intense amount of pain, and I had the lovely red clay ground to rest on when I got back to camp, I had feet to walk, jump, play, dance, and run!

I began to think about the scripture where Jesus washes his disciples feet to set an example of what it means to be a servant. Now, here in Africa, we have dirty feet. Dirty. If we’re in the village or in Kampala we have dirty feet. So, last night for devotions I decided to do a lesson on Jesus washing the disciples feet and all the MST’s that were left, there are only 10 now, took turns washing each others feet. (Devotions are fun because we constantly are enlightened, taught, and encouraged by our peers.) In case you’ve never read John 13 it says this:

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.


When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

Today I felt like God was continuing my lesson on how to be a servant and it included a young girls feet. We went to Katalemwa today, the hospital for children with pretty severe disabilities. It’s always difficult to go there, but so humbling. The children are facing conditions I would never wish on anyone, but their joy remains constant. There are children with burns, uneven limbs, missing fingers, missing toes, unable to walk, unable to feed themselves, etc. The emotion you get going here is really overwhelming. When we start our programs you quickly realize they are just like any child: they want to have fun, play, sing, do crafts, and are just full of joy!

I did games with Hannah today and after I do my part I always have to step out of the room to cool off. While I was sitting outside a girl, maybe 11, started to make her way out of the room. She was using crutches and it was easy for her to walk through the class because the ground was so smooth. I don’t know what her disability was, but she could barely muster enough strength to lift her feet at all to walk. When she got to the end of the classroom and the beginning of the outdoor walkway she was halted. I stood there for a minute trying desperately to move but her feet just couldn’t glide across the concrete. Because of the language barrier I didn’t jump in to help right away. When one of the “Aunties” who works there spoke to her I walked over to see where I could help. I didn't realize what we were doing or where we were going, but I grabbed her crutches and we headed down the hill. Just a few steps there and they started talking. She moved into the grass and they immediately started unbuttoning her clothes so she wouldn’t go to the bathroom in the shorts under her dress. I stood there, holding her dress as she knelt on the grass using the bathroom, just thinking about how I take my movement, my mobility, my feet completely for granted. When she was finished the Auntie picked her up to take her back to class and I looked down at her feet. They were wet. I stopped her, opened my bag, pulled out the only tissue I had in my bag and wiped her feet. I was completely in awe of the moment God had just blessed me with. I have never been more challenged about being a servant. 

My challenge to you is to spend time praising God for the small things in life we take for granted and to take the time to be a servant to someone around you! I am so incredibly thankful for a healthy, strong body! My goal for the next 2 weeks, next week in the village included, is to not complain and too watch where God wants me to serve.  It might be a very hard goal for me, but maybe if I continue to lift up praise and thanks for so many things I’ll be able to thank God in my pain, tiredness, frustration, confusion, or anything else that tends to keep me from him! As always, thank you for reading and I love you times a million!

Our feet after a long day of programs in Kampala. 

My feet after a day of working in the wells. 

Village feet! 

Prayer requests:

Our team is small now, just pray for unity and the strength to do more and more!

All of the MST’s that have gone home, that God would continue to work and reveal himself to them

The village trip next week: we are sticking true to the fact that this well is the biggest, yet. So strength and love to overflow through each of us!

The children we see each and every day, at all of the different projects, that God would continue to use us to teach them, love them, listen to them, and encourage them! 

The Mile Long Walk.

I just got back my third trip to the village and I have to admit it's growing on me. I'm still struggling with the intense labor aspect, mostly because I didn't really sign up for that, but each trip I understand more and more how much of a difference it makes. On our first day at the village we set up our tents and walked to the well for some slashing. I'm actually glad we did that because after an hour of slashing we were done and made the long walk back to our campsite. On the way back we were all trying to figure out how far the walk was. We all guessed that it was a mile or more. Each time we've gone to the village the wells have been further and further away. It makes me think that the villagers talk and it spreads like wildfire the impact our team can make in just a few short days. After we came back we had lunch and set out on door to door evangelism.

The well before we started slashing. 

Morgan, Leez, and I walked down the road towards the trading center. This is a walk we make at least twice a day each time we visit the village, but we never actually get to stop and speak with the families. The second house we went to was awesome. There were 3 families and they were so hospitable. The children ran to get chairs for us to sit in and we talked with them about how EAC wants to bring a church to the village. The nearest church to the area was miles and miles away. Women had to start walking at 6 am to make it on time. When we told them about our crusade and the plan for the church they literally burst out in a giant cheer! It was an exhilarating way to start our visits. They had been praying for a church to come nearby for a long time and were so thankful for an answered prayer. After we prayed for and with them the women ran inside their houses and came out with so many gifts for us! We were given 3 eggs, fresh from the hen, 3 bushels of bananas and an African pumpkin! It was such a nice gesture considering people in the village don't have much! In their culture it's also very rude to not accept a gift that's given to you; so, although Morgan and I were hesitant to accept this incredibly thoughtful gift we did and walked on to the next house just excited and blown away by their generosity and excitement.

My favorite house, though, was a stop about halfway down. We walked up to a house and 3 friends were sitting outside seeming to have the time of their lives. There were 2 women and 1 gentleman. One of the ladies was wearing an Obama ski hat, which was hilarious because it was 89 degrees outside, but I guess chilly in the shade. Again we mentioned to them our plans to bring a church to Zirobwe and they were excited about our Crusade. When we finished we asked if there were any prayer requests and the lady wearing the ski hat mentioned that she had a prayer request but she was nervous to tell us. I asked Leez what she was saying, because although I couldn't understand I could see the excitement in her eyes. She said that she's getting old and wants a husband to take care of her. After she said it Morgan and I both said "AMINA (amen)" and all of us, including their gentleman friend, burst into laughter! As we left that house Morgan and I talked about how universal it is for woman to pray for husbands!

Day 2 in the village brought a few struggles. We had a few girls on our team sick with a number of different ailments. I timed our walk to the well and it was 17 minutes. We were definitely sure the walk was a mile. It gets exhausting carrying our tools and walking in the heat, but with great company you don't really notice. When we got to the well there were villagers already there working. The great thing about us coming to work on the wells is that we always have villagers eager to jump in and help! It's great because they give us an extra hand, but it also gives them a sense of accomplishment.

Happy face on the way to the well! 

You can see the difference an hour of slashing made.
Starting Day 2 of working on the well!

The tree cut down by the villagers. 

I found a baby turtle in all the mud :) 

This well was deep. I can't even begin to describe how big it was in comparison to the wells we have done the past 2 weeks. It just felt like a huge task. We worked until 11:30 the first day and then walked back to the camp site. I can't describe how much I don't like working all day and then walking home in the heat to sit around a campsite with no shower. I think it's the hardest part of the trip to the villages for me. My parents sent me solar bag showers, but the water in the well we've been using was all dried up. This time we had to take the car and drive to another part of the village to fill up our jerry cans. It wasn't convenient, but at least we had a car. The villagers have to walk so far to fill up their jerry cans when the water is out in their well. It makes me so thankful that all I have to do is walk to my kitchen, here and in the village, and fill up my water bottle to get something to drink.

After this we went to the trading center and had our crusade. It was wonderful because we never get to do programs with parents, just the children. As soon as we started doing praise and worship the clouds opened and rain poured down! The day before we had gone door to door and the people's number 1 prayer request was for rain to help with the crops, which is their main source of income. It rained the whole time! Mostly when it rains everyone goes inside, but people took cover and still stayed around the listen to the message of salvation. One women ran out in the rain and pulled me into her hut, along with the children that I was trying to cover from the rain. I counted and there were 9 adult women and 12 children in her living room, which is maybe the size of my car. It was an incredibly loving gesture. We all listened to the message from the inside of her hut and enjoyed the fellowship so much. Many women, men and children accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior! It was a great way to end our evening.

Barbara came to the Crusade right after school. The baby is Tracy. I prayed over her with her mom because she
is special needs and her mom wanted to pray for her strength because she can't hold her head up on her own. She was
really scared of me at first, but then after I comforted her for a while we became good friends!

Some of the boys looking at one of the bibles we handed out! 

Day 3 was a bigger struggle. About halfway through our day we realized that we were going to have to stay later to finish or come back Friday morning. We all opted to work our hardest until 1:00 and hopefully finish. The hardest part about working the wells is that we have bread and butter for breakfast, so we are so hungry for lunch by 11:30. Well, this day we worked past that and by noon you could sense the change in attitude by everyone. The combination of being annoyed, hot, tired, and hungry just overwhelmed our group. It seemed so easy for everyone to just jump on the bandwagon of negative comments. After maybe 15 minutes of discouraging remarks we quickly realized the words that were coming out of our mouths weren't building anyone up! I left that day so completely discouraged and just questioning my role in the well work. The walk home was a painful one. My feet have never hurt so badly before. I had blisters on my feet, blisters on my hands, mud all over my body, hand't showered in days, hadn't eaten a good meal in hours, and still had a walk a mile home.

Our work is finally done. 

Gross. 

When I got home I immediately ate lunch, bucket showered and spent some time with the Lord. I remembered how difficult we make our lives sometimes, especially when we have expectations for things. I kept reading things in 2 Timothy that reminded me to be strong, endure hardships, etc. Verse 5 of chapter 4 stuck out a little more because it said "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist..." It really stuck out because I was reminded of how there are certain things we may not like about what God has called us to do, but he called us to do it and we should do it with faith and reliance on him! I was enduring hardship and was so mad about being so uncomfortable that I let my selfishness get in the way of glorifying God. I had to remember that every person I saw, met, hugged, smiled to, waved to, helped were all children of God!

With a renewed spirit I joined everyone in the trading center for our program. This was the night I found out about Barbara and her need for a sponsor! I was thrilled. God definitely had been preparing my heart to serve this wonderful girl and her family! If you don't know what I'm talking about read the blog before this one! On top of that excitement more people accepted Christ and the excitement of getting a bible was just amazing! Never in my life have I experienced people so eager to have God's word before. Maybe it's because I've never known what it's like to never have it before. I can go to any store back home and pick up a copy. They don't have that option. Barbara's mother even accepted Jesus and I had the wonderful opportunity to give her a bible in Luganda! She can't read, but Barbara can and will read to her siblings the stories from the Bible.

All in all it was an exhausting, but life changing week. God gave me a renewed heart for his people and the village of Zirobwe and I can't wait to go back and see my girls! I've never been more thankful for the ability to walk and use my feet as an instrument to bring him glory! I never thought I'd love a family more than I love Barbara's family. I never realize how much of an impact someone's smile and hug can make in your life! Although I miss home so much, I am thankful that I get to build relationships with these kids and just love on them! They can't understand a word I say, but they understand the language of love! It's so universal and God's handiwork is all over it!

I will end with my favorite part of my trip. Friday, right before we left, Flex and I went to the school to pay Barbara's school fees. Her sister was at our camp, so Flex told her to go tell Barbara that she can go to school for the rest of the semester. I had just enough, with the help of Amy, to pay for her school fees and her uniform. As we're driving down the dirt road I see 2 little beauties in the distance. Barbara and Immaculate are all dressed up in their new dresses Amy and I gave them and they were walking down the street. Not only did Immacu run home to tell her sister about the fees, but they took their time to look their absolute best when they came to thank me. How incredible is that?! As we get closer I gesture for the driver to stop and Benon tells Barbara in Luganda that her fees have been paid. She comes to my window and graciously kneels and says "Thank you". I tell her that I love her and I will see her soon. As we start to drive off Barbara and Immacu are running after our van, waving their arms in the air, with giant smiles across their faces! For 4 days I longed to be back home in the comfort of my twin size bunk, with my shower, clean clothes, free from well work and at that moment I wished we never had to leave!

Until next time.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, 'Love your neighbor as yourself." Matt 22:37-39

Meet Barbara and Immaculate!

Last week when I realized we were definitely going to the village I felt 2 things: dread and excitement. I have to be completely honest that I don't like working on the wells. The labor is so intensive and just so redundant that I have a hard time remembering that the work we do helps the people in the area immensely. I also don't like working all day, sweating, getting super muddy and then just going back to camp to continue on with out exhausting village programs...all with no shower. But I also felt excited because of the sweet children that live in the village. I seriously thanked God for them because without them there I'd be a Debby-Downer for sure. They are such a source of joy!

If you've been keeping up with my post you might remember a girl named Barbara. She was in my blog about some of my favorite people in the village. I love her and her sister Immaculate, who actually goes by Immacu (Immachoo) because she doesn't really like her name. She says it's hard! I told her my name was hard, too! Ugandans just can't pronounce it well, but I take what I can get, which is Hilawy. Close enough.

Anyways, when I was thinking about these girls I got so excited to go back to the village because I hadn't seen them in 2 weeks! I began to wonder why I had this love for them that I didn't have for the other children and asking God to reveal to me what His plans were for my love: to help, to just love, to play with them, to know them, etc. Whatever it was, I wanted to be ready! I knew those feelings were real, but also different, and I wanted God's direction in this.

On Wednesday I had Flex pull Immaculate aside to get to name because she always just said Immacu and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what she was saying. Culturally the women and children don't look into your eyes and speak looking to the ground, so that didn't help me because she'd always look down and whisper. Well, while she was aside with Flex Barbara came up and Flex asked why she was there. Barbara told him that she was Immacu's sister. He started explaining to me that he knew Barbara because she's been on the waiting list to be sponsored since January! Immediately I knew God wanted me to sponsor her. Empwer A Child does a sponsorship program and they have asked me about sponsoring a child before and I just didn't feel like it was time yet. I don't know why. I've browsed their website and the pictures around the office, but just never had the heart to do it. I hope that doesn't sound harsh. My biggest fear was that I don't have a job right now and I just kept telling them that so they would stop asking me about it.

Immediately, though, I knew God had prepared my heart to have a closer relationship with Barbara and her family. There's something incredibly special about them. The girls smile at me and just love me without words. I can only imagine that it's how a mother feels when she looks into the eyes of her children... I get filled with that much joy! It's like music to my ears to hear them scream my name from down the road and it meant the world when their mom even knew who I was.

Today we went to visit with Barbara's family expecting to talk to her mom about my desire to sponsor her, but thinking Barbara would be in school. She was sent out of school today for not paying her school fees. It costs 30,000 Ugandan shillings to go to school for 3 months... they'd only paid 5,000 shillings. The fees that she needed to pay was equivalent to about 12 US Dollars. She didn't even have a school uniform and that was maybe 6 US Dollars. How does your heart not break when you see children walking down the street to fetch water, helping out with chores, or caring their smaller siblings during the day because they can't afford school. If they can't pay fees there is no alternative... they just don't go.

As we sat in their small house I asked her mom if there was anything else they needed and through translation Benon said that me paying her daughters school fees was enough. (That's what sponsorship does, pays school fees and gets them needed supplies for school.) In my head I was thinking: Are you kidding? You don't have much of anything and you're ok with me just helping with the school fees? Benon asked if she had a school bag, she said no. We asked if she had shoes, she said no. It just amazed me how grateful they were for that little bit of help. Before we left I took a picture their them. The baby is missing because she was asleep and the dad was at work in the fields. As we walked away she pointed to the ground to show me a gift of corn they had for me... a whole bag of corn!! It'll be the best corn I put in my mouth, that's for sure!

I have so much more to talk about the village, but Barbara and Immaculate were definitely my favorite part!

Me and the family: Mom is holding Kate(6) , I'm holding Marvin (3), Barbara (11), Immachu (7). This boy just lives with them, he's not in their family. 

She's wearing the dress Amy and I gave her. 

Giving her hugs because I love her so much!

Me and Immaculate, she's 7. 

Me and Marvin, he's 3. 

We look to Yahweh

The past couple of weeks have been tough. We’ve had to watch people go, but we’ve also seen a few come in. It feels like the dynamic of the group just keeps changing, but we’ll get into a groove soon! We had a couple of technical issues this week; for example, our car broke down in the middle of the road on Friday and we had to walk home. It wasn’t frustrating, but some people are leaving tomorrow and they didn’t get to finish projects last week. I feel like I’ve had a lot of opportunities to work at the different projects and I helped lead praise and worship a lot. It’s been so good to force myself to get in front of people and I think I’m starting to get my love for performing/acting/just being in front of people back. I hope that doesn’t change when I get home. I’m really starting to understand that you don’t have to be perfect, just as long as your heart is in the right place, God will be glorified! It was good to go to the projects 2 full weeks. I hadn’t really done that since I got here because I was in the village, then on safari, and then the village again. Amy, Jillian and I have big plans for some of the schools. We’re all staying a longer than the rest, so we’re exciting to bring our own creativity to the projects!!

Our group before some of these girls left. 

Amy and I at Victory having a blast!

Porridge. Porridge. Poooooorridge. 

Leading praise and worship. 

Chapati!

There's no point in wearing clean clothes to Victory... you get so dirty!

Kelley from Tennessee, Megan May from Texas, and Melissa from Chicago.
I miss you all!

Jumping for Jesus!

Saturday was a sponsorship meeting. Lots of children, not all of them, came to our house and we did a program and bible study with them. I happened to glance at the list of children here and noticed my friend Paul’s sponsor child was here. I made it my goal to find him and take a picture to show Paul. I also bought him a coke to enjoy with his lunch. He was so excited! I helped lead Praise and Worship with Craig and Leez and was the man beaten up in the story of the good Samaritan. It was a super fun, but very exhausting day! I love seeing sponsor children because they are so sweet and grateful for their sponsorship! We have another meeting this weekend, I believe, and the children will be back to write letters to their sponsors! It will be fun to see them again!

Teaching with Douglas about The Good Samaritan. 

hanging out in the tree

Girls being girls. 

me and Isaac

My favorite day is Sunday. We go to Watoto Church, well most of us most of the time, and it’s such an awesome experience. They have a bunch of different satellite locations, but today we went to Watoto Central. It’s near downtown Kampala and we wanted to visit the Craft Market after church today. I love the church so much because as you look around you realize you among believers from all over the world! There are Ugandans, of course, but also Americans, Australians, British, Koreans, etc, etc.  It’s an incredible sight to look around at people so different from you in culture, and yet, so similar in their faith. We worship 1 God, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! It’s quite exhilarating and it was an incredible worship!

It was also an incredible day because I got to spend time with Melissa. She was the oldest girl here and the only person older than me; but, that’s not why she’s awesome! Melissa and I both came to EAC last summer, but missed meeting each other by a couple of days. This year we’ve had the opportunity to spend this last month together. Before she got here I heard that she was coming to see about adopting a little girl she met last year. I honestly didn’t know how much she would just change my heart!

Over the past few months I’ve had the awesome opportunity to learn her story and what God has called to her to do. She’s from Chicago and is a Resource Teacher for elementary age children. Last year when she came she met a baby named Scholastica at Nsambya babies home, one of the orphanages we go to. She told me that she knew instantly that God had a plan for this girl to be in her life. She spent the whole past year knowing what God had called to her do, but maybe doubting what he actually said. Her time here has been spent doing projects and spending as much time as possible with this sweet baby.

She’s spent this last month in a flurry of emotion. She’s had good days with Lola (what we call her!) and bad days with her. We had a conversation the other day about Lola being exactly what she said she never wanted to adopt. Funny how we put limitations on what we think we’re capable. Good thing God knows exactly who we are. She met with a lawyer last week who wasn’t really interested in meeting with her. Little did this lawyer know that Melissa would be an answer to her prayers. Melissa explained that she’s interested in adopting a special needs girl from Nsambya and the lady knew exactly who she was talking about. She even said she’s been praying for a family for her! Now, this whole time Melissa has struggled with what appears to be the negative things: Lola won’t have a dad, because she’s not married, adoption is expensive, let alone an adoption from Uganda, and Lola has cerebral palsy along with a few other things. After Melissa met with the lawyer she came back to the house and told us all what had happened. As she explained what the lawyer said I was just reminded about how God’s time frame is not our own and how he is always in control. He’s had his hand on this situation the whole time and I was blessed to be a part of it this summer!

Today we went to Nsambya because Melissa is going back to Chicago. The positive side is that now she can start the adoption process in the US. The negative was that it was her last day with sweet Lola. Since Amy and I are going to be here for the next few months we promised to watch over her and take care of her until Melissa comes to bring her home officially! Although we don’t know what will happen I know God will continue to show himself in a mighty way in this situation. It was sad when we really had to leave her. Melissa started crying, like any mother would. I’m glad Amy and I were there to encourage her about this whole process.

Melissa bringing Lola out to say hello to us!

She is a natural mother to Lola, it's such an inspiration. 

On another note, we are going to the village this week. Our team has dwindled to just a few and the teams I went to the village with before are mostly gone now. It will be a great opportunity for us to get to know each other better. 

bibles.

First, I'd like to apologize for no posts or pictures. We were in Kampala, but the electric companies and Ugandan Government are having it out by turning on and off the lights when they are needed most. We've spent all but 1 night doing everything in the dark. It's nice to be silent and still and fellowship with no distractions, but hard at the same time. We like the little luxuries we have here, so it's sort of weird when they are instantly gone...no warnings.

I wanted to share with you something God has put on my heart. Last week marked my 1 month anniversary here... I know, who really counts. :) I started really quickly evaluating the fact that time has flown by, and not necessarily doubting God's ability to work in such short amounts of time, but wondering what I can do to make a lasting impact on the people of Uganda. I guess it's on my mind simply because I don't know when I'll be back to Uganda. I'm doing this really awesome study with Jeremy of Jeremiah and this week as I was reading it just struck me how truly blessed I am to have the word. Whenever I have an issue, a question, anything I can open my bible and read away at life lessons.

I talked with Jeremy about what I can do, and he's looking into some things, but I really feel like God has given me a heart to provide bibles to Empower-A-Child for the people they work with. At first I thought this feeling was for Zerobwe, the village we are building our training center at, but then I was reminded how much the organization needs to have them when we visited the Remand Home- the DJJ of Kampala.

At the Remand Home our program has praise and worship (lead by those students), games, a lesson from the Bible and small groups for a bit. Our small group was intense this week. The last time I went to the Remand Home I thought to myself that I didn't enjoy it at all and that my heart might be changing for small children. Although I do think my heart has completely changed about children and that ministry, God reaffirmed his call for me to help provide bibles to Empower-A-Child. As we were going over the lesson, which was on Adam, Eve and temptations we face, I happened to ask the kids who had bibles. Maybe 4 of them lifted their hands. I didn't think too much of it, but happened to mention that if they wanted a bible in Luganda or English to see me after the groups were over.We continued plugging away at temptations, God's provisions and our expectations of Christ to provide this thing or that, our talents and how we can use those to glorify him even if they aren't the same as another persons (which is a completely different lesson for this week) and the kids were bouncing around, back and forth asking questions about what they knew and didn't know. There was one boy in particular that said he understands what we were there to do, but he is addicted to drugs and just doesn't think he can fight that battle. I had the opportunity to share with him about Philip, my pastor, who also struggled with drugs, ended up in jail and turned his life around: accepted Christ, married, has children and pastors our church. One boy asked us what we can do for them by just coming once a week and another one simply asked for a bible, just straight forward.

His question really threw us for a loop and we didn't know what to say. I haven't really thought much about bibles until this week. After our group was finished a huge circle of boys and girls came around me writing their names and what kind of bible they want: English or Luganda. After the whirlwind of people writing their names down I counted and the number quickly went from 4 to 20. 20 children don't own bibles...20. I have probably 5 on my own and could definitely just go and get a newer one in no time. A couple left some money for the bibles, so hopefully all 20 of them will get a bible before they get released.

It really got me thinking about the village, again. Of course I wish we could provide a bible to every person we meet, who accepts Christ or simply asks for one, but it's so costly. Still, God put this on my heart and I can't wait to see how he uses this situation for his glory. Can you imagine not having your bible? I know I can't. I'm attached to it; it's a necessity for my life. This week after the Remand Home God put it on a few other peoples hearts to provide bibles for EAC to give to those children. There's a fundraiser to collect 500 for this endeavor. It'll be interesting to see how that works out. It's been an issue that continue to pull at my heart. I just keep thinking that what I do may make a small impact, but nothing compares to the gospel. If all I can do it come here, praise God with them, pray with them, sing with them, show them God's love, I honestly don't think those things compare to having God's word to keep their foundations strong. I think it's so important for the families in the village to have bibles because if EAC can't be out there they'll at least be able to read, study, learn, worship, and discuss the bible.

On top of all of this I continue to be reminded of 2 Corinthians "for when I am weak, then I am strong". I'm surprised all the ways God brings it back into my life on a daily basis. It's such an encouragement that God can use me even when I think I'm at my weakest moment. Continue to be blessed by that reminder and please continue to pray for the health, safety for our team as we prepare for a week in the village, and for the bible situtation God has put on my heart.

A girls gotta laugh...

So, since I was a little girl I have dreamed about getting married. I know what you're thinking... where is she going with this? Well, I've had such a hard time with this parasite thing physically changing things on my body, and I don't mean anything extreme, but I've been jokingly referring to myself as the leper of the group. Now, with my finger nail about to fall off I've really had to battle whether or not my happiness comes from Christ or having this finger nail. Sounds silly, I know, but here are my thoughts:

Before I knew it was a boil, I was going to projects and the first thing the kids did when they saw it was point it out and ask what it was. Some MSTs, when they were talking to me, would look away from my eyes and talk to this growth on my chin. I had mosquito bites, bug bites and blisters all over my body that, instead of healing, they continually got more and more swollen with puss. And, my finger nail is on the verge of falling off (which I wish, now, it just would because the pain is unbearable at times and I want to stop popping pills). When people look at it they make these really gross faces, almost like the "I'm sorry, that's so disgusting" face. I can joke about it now, but I honestly had a hard time with these problems.

One day this week I jokingly mentioned to Amy, another MST here, that I didn't want to go out of the house because the boil on my face was so ugly. I tried covering it with makeup, I was obsessively cleaning it to try and make it better, I even put my hair in front of my face to try and cover it. Well, the morning I said this to Amy she reminded me that we were going to Katalemwa- the hospital for Children with severe disabilities and she said to me that they don't care what I look like, just that I'm a mzungo coming to play.

Only for the sake of the blog am I putting this picture up. 

It really got me thinking about how much time, energy, hope, etc we put into things like great skin, a perfect body...just winning looks, you know? I can almost guarantee that every person reading this post has had a moment where they didn't feel good enough, pretty enough, strong enough, capable enough. I can honestly, and embarrassingly, admit that I didn't go to the doctor earlier because I knew they'd do something that would make my nail come off and I couldn't have that. 

I really began to question my motives and I always end up appreciating the little life lessons you get along the way of what started out as girly disasters. One of my favorite scripture verses of all time is from Proverbs 31:30 and says, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." I've been thinking a lot about this scripture and what it means to my life. 

I want to fear the Lord above all else. I continually found myself down in the dumps over a boil on my face and a gross finger, but I haven't lost anything. Even if I lose my nail it will come back to me. I began using this opportunity to praise God for the things he has blessed me with. I began every morning literally praising God for being awake and alive. That's something I forget to do in the business of life. I felt my heart just being transformed by the little blessings God was reminding me of daily. My relationships with friends here began to absolutely flourish because I was at my most vulnerable state... God was glorified in my shame and insecurities. 

This week is going to be fantastic. I've taken the opportunity to step up a little in leading more praise and worship. I'm really excited about that. We will be in Kampala this week and maybe the village next week... you never know, though! I'll hopefully have lots of photos to show you from the weeks events. 

ALSO, my friend Jennifer is starting a fundraiser to help build a family in Zerobwe a new house. It will cost $5,000, which is a lot for a house, but we know it's doable. She leaves in a little over a week, so I'm hoping to help her out with this project. There's a girl from an earlier post, Shakira, one of my favorite children from the village, it's for her family. There are 6 children and 1 on the way and their house is falling apart. It's one of the typical village huts made of sticks and mud. I'll update more on this later. AND, last but not least, I have been really thinking and praying about how to help the village and it dawned on me during my last visit there that very few people have Bibles to read. It's so exciting to go and preach, pray and teach the people, but when there are weeks like the past 2 where we aren't there I wonder about how they are getting the word. There's a place in town, Kampala, that has bibles for 18,000 Uganda Shillings, which is roughly 8-9 dollars a piece. It's still a brainstorm idea, but besides prayer the most important thing I feel I can do is help provide families in the village with a bible in their language. So, please be in prayer about that!

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. I look forward to updating you on all things boilish, falling nails, bibles, village houses and ministry later on in the week! I love you all!! 10 more weeks until I'm home. Please pray that they would be fruitful!! xoxoxo

Polly the parasite!

So, I apparently have a parasite. I named her Polly because of the way she viciously attacked my body. I'm hoping for a super smooth recovery now that I have medication!

Here's the sitch (situation!): I got a blister on the top of my finger from working on the wells in the village. When we popped the blister the cuticle kind of went away and left room for all kinds of lovely things to make a home in my body. Who really knows how I got a parasite though because I've been here for a month. I'm sure there were plenty of opportunities...my little finger just got the wrath.

I'm not going to lie. I didn't want to go to surgery because I thought they might take my finger nail off, and I am sort of attached to this one in particular...if you get my drift! :) Well on Tuesday I woke up with what appeared to be a skin rash or boil or fever blister or something hideous and uncomfortable right on my face. I also continued my slight fever through the weekend, although it was on and off.

The more I dug into what could possibly be going on the more I got scared and felt I needed to go to the doctor. So I sucked it up and went. It only cost just over $40.00 for everything, which is great and I have lots of medicine to take.

The worse thing about this is that it's affected my voice. It's been hard this week not being able to talk much or sing with the kids or during devotions. I had a beautiful moment with God earlier today when I couldn't sing, but just sat and listened to everyone around me praising God's Holy name. It was hard, because I love to sing, but amazing that God uses my silence to draw me closer to him! I feel so incredibly loved, encouraged and prayed for! I am feeling ok... not great, but not horrible! I am not a pill taker, so this new thing of popping pills every 4 hours for pain and killing the parasite will be interesting, on top of my Beta Glucan and my malaria pills.

Thank you for your prayers and concern! I love you all and continue to be filled with joy by your sweet words and encouragement! xoxoxoxo

The white on my ring finger is all of the puss.
You can't tell but my finger was swollen on the top.

On the way to "The Surgery": Smile, Jesus loves you!

Katy went, too. She had to get her burn rebandaged. 

Sunset on the way there.

Welcome to "The Surgery", open 24 hours a day!

When I checked in they said "It's going to be a long wait."

Over 2 hours, 90,000 Uganda shillings, and  minor surgery
later... you can tell how thrilled I am.

I took a picture of Katy for being my surgery companion!
She let me squeeze her hand and made me talk about
my sweet pups back home! Love her!

How great thou art!

This week is our week of fasting and prayer. We've been praying for our families, friends, all of the people we have relationships with, Empower a Child, the MSTs, the staff members, our friends and families who don't know Christ, missionaries around the world, and the people who support us financially and spiritually.  It's been such a hard couple of weeks for me physically because I've just been getting sickness after sickness. Thankfully, though, it's not that bad: my fevers haven't broken 100, just high 99's and I haven't caught the 24 hour bug that's making its round in the house!

Yesterday we went to Katalemwa, which is the children's hospital for children with disabilities. You aren't allowed to take pictures of anything, but I took a lovely picture of the sign and my project for the day.

The sign for Katalemwa is on the right! 

We aren't allowed to take pictures, but I snuck this one since it was just of a chair. 

We are taking a break from the village this week because we really need to rest our bodies. It's been fun and overwhelming to have everyone in the house together for the first time (besides weekends). Since we had so many people to help we split the Katalemwa group into working with the children, working in the kitchen and working in the workshop. I was assigned to work in the kitchen, but they had everything done but collecting wood. I chopped a log into 2 smaller logs with a machete and got another fabulous blister on my hand. It was worth it to show myself I could do it, plus I haven't used a machete since my time in PR! After our group was done with that we went to the workshop to help sand some wooden wheel chairs they were making for the children.

I'm not going to lie: the affects of not eating much this week have made me feel so weak. I couldn't help but think, again, of the scripture Jeremy and I talked about before I left: "For when I am weak, then I am strong." Still, I had to sit down and finish my sanding project because I was so lightheaded. I just kept praying in my head. I don't usually fast, let alone fast for a whole week. Maybe it's because my body is so dependent on food or maybe because I've never understood or been convicted of it. Sometimes it feels impossible to pray about it when your pains are so big. I can only imagine it's a small feeling, a temporary feeling, compared to what some people around the world feel (often) when they go hungry. It's a terrible feeling. I'm so thankful to be able to eat, have food made for me, be able to provide food for myself because I can afford it, and so thankful for every person who has given me a free meal when I was in need. This experience has continued to open my eyes to the hungry, but also given me so much joy that I am filled spiritually. 

On another note, I've been reading Jeremiah and feel God is giving me a heart for the United States. I know that seems weird to say since I live there, but it's the same heart he gave me for Africa. Please don't misunderstand me. I don't want to limit myself. I want to be open to where God calls me and I still have an itch to travel the world and proclaim the gospel and God's love to the nations!  I've just been praying about how I can use this trip to glorify God at home. It is because of God that I am here in Africa and He is teaching me so many things, but he is giving me a passion for his people like I've never experienced before. More specifically, he is giving me a passion for the younger generation. I'm so thankful that I have sweet children and youth at my church to go home to, and I pray God would use me in their lives for his glory! 

Being here has given me the opportunity to learn so much about stepping out of comfort zones, stepping up when leadership is needed, listening when someone needs to speak, not comparing my gifts and talents to others, encouraging and  loving one another, but probably the most important thing I've been reminded of is to not be afraid to step out for Christ. It's so easy to be overcome by fear and timidity, to not want to be made fun of or for people to think you're crazy, but I take rest in God's word that says in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."  I don't want to be held captive by fear anymore. I definitely want to step out of my comfort zones and simply rely on Christ! I want to use my freedom to glorify God! And I want to take that mindset back with me the United States. 

I often think of one of my favorite songs By Our Love by Christy Nockels. It says, "we will come reaching out from our comforts and they will know us by our love...we will come reaching with a song of healing and they will know us by our love." It's such a passionate song and my prayer: That my love for Christ will be evident to everyone I come in contact with, my family, my friends, people in Africa, SC, Puerto Rico, or wherever else the Lord calls me to go to and that you, too, will live in the freedom of Christ and his love! 

Prayer requests:

- Some boys on our team, Craig, Kyle and Gabe, are traveling to Rwanda to work in the slums of Kigali. Please lift them in prayer for God to guide them, fill them with wisdom and overwhelm them with his love to share with everyone they meet!

- Our team: 7 people will be leaving this week and more every week until the end of July, with very little people coming in. Pray for safe journeys for everyone leaving and that God would just reveal himself to them in their last days here and also when they get home! And for safe travels for the people coming in, that God would prepare their hearts for the ministry here.

- Please pray for the village. We are going next week. Everyone in the house will be going, but our team will be small. Pray for our safety, our health, our energy, and for every family we meet! Pray that God would be glorified in everything that we do there!

-Pray for God's will in your life, where he is at work and where you can join with him to impact the world!! 

Pictures from the week (so far):

Natalia one of the twins at Clive College. 

Liz, one of the interns at EAC (in the green) and Katy talking to a student at Clive College.

Me and my ever-fabulous brother Craig at Devemi!

Some children listening in to the lesson from the back window :) 

At Good Choice School: love this program! 

Every body, every body wants to take a picture with a Mzungo!