Today marks three weeks until I get onto a plane, with my final destination being Washington DC! God has graciously provided a few weeks at home, going to two family reunions on the east coast, spending a bit of time with my brother and sister in DC and then going to San Diego for a few days!

Now, the only sadness involved in this time away was that the nine kids that I’ve talked so much about in various updates (the kids from Gulu who are only able to be home during the two-month Christmas holiday) were going to be here alone once again. Our trip back (Lindsay’s going home too) coincided almost to the day with the kids’ term 2 holiday… which was good in one sense because all 800 of the kids will be away with some family during that time…. but in another, it was really hard to think of our Gulu fam being here the whole time, missing their home (it’s hard to find the words to communicate how much they miss home and family, being away for ten months of the year).

Well, once again, God is amazing and all along He had planned to lay it on the heart of another to fund the trip home for these kids! We found out that finances were the only thing keeping them here and through the generosity of this person, that was no longer an issue.

So yesterday, Lindsay and I put together a scavenger hunt and led them through the house with clues (9 of them… one for each of the kids to read) leading them to the surprise on the rooftop. Now see the video… it’s so precious!

All glory to God’s lovingkindness!

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Things have been so busy lately and there is not much I want to do outside of a full day besides sleep. Here are some highlights of the past few weeks:

- My dad and brother came to visit!

- A football (soccer) field was made for the boys and they pretty much can’t keep themselves off of it. My dad left two soccer balls and the boys are playing so much and so hard that they are nearly shredded.

- Saturday was V-day (Visitor’s Day) at school and I was able to meet the parents/guardians of some of my small friends.

- Andrew and Carissa arrived on Sunday! This week we are traveling around with them as Andrew and another guy film/interview for a project for Children’s Heritage Foundation…. stay tuned. Working or not, I am loving having them here. If I have my way, they’ll stay always.

- Rhoda

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My friend Emily, who has been living in Kenya since last August, visited last weekend and we took a long weekend holiday. Such a gift to have her visit – the fellowship, the exploring, the food options which broadened beyond posho and beans – everything was so refreshing and I am praising God for it.

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There’s nothing like joining a church women’s group in a different country when they’re in the middle of preparing a big competition – complete with a song (that everyone else already knows, sung in a different language), a tribal dance (involving a lot of hip-shaking… hips I don’t have), and a fashion show (in which I modeled “Christian Wear”… ?). The day of the competition was such an awesome day, though. There was so much joy and unity throughout the entire church body and God used it in truly amazing ways to knit our (Lindsay and my) hearts to the people here.

We took a day trip to Jinja last week with the kids who are here all the holiday long. All of the other kids have some family who can take them during the month-long break, but these ones are from northern Uganda and are only able to see their families at Christmas time. We went to the source of the Nile, took a little boat ride, went for lunch, saw monkeys (which we prayed for on the way!), and the girls saw and held a mzungu baby for the first time (which we didn’t pray for, bug God knew how much it was amaze them!). It was a lovely, lovely day.

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And one of my favorite parts… this was going on almost throughout the entire drive…

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Two more friends for you to meet.

First of all, Patrick (Ssekyanzi). Last time I came to Uganda, I was praying that the Lord might make it clear should He want me to sponsor a child that I would meet while I was here. During our time at the school, many of the children were home for Christmas break, but the sponsored children were around that week for a conference. So, no less than 95% of the kids we interacted with already had a sponsor. Well, our good Lord had some good plans. There were two kids, Patrick and his little sister Patra, who quickly made their way into our hearts and lives. Patra absolutely loved my dad and would run up to him with her arms stretched out to be picked every time she saw him. And Patrick was always around, watching out for his little sister. Sometime near the end of that trip, I found out that Patrick didn’t have a sponsor. My heart jumped and I just knew he was the answer to my prayers. So, for the past two years we have been writing many, many letters and Patrick has become my little man. Being here with him has been so much fun! He is always running up to our house before and after school just to say “hi” or “bye” and give me a hug. He loves to play Uno and it’s been fun to interact with him face to face and watch his personality come out in so many sweet ways. I praise God for Patrick!

And then there’s Maama Pat (Florence). She is called Maama Pat because her firstborn son is named Pat… so name your children wisely if you ever plan to live in Uganda. Within hours of when we first entered our new home, Florence was in the kitchen cooking our first meal and the fun just hasn’t stop. From nights of prayer and singing, to talking about our lives and Lord, to watching her cringe as I cook things that aren’t posho, rice, or beans, to showing each other our imitations of the tribal African dances. Florence is the answer to my Aunt Barb’s specific prayers for someone that we could have here as a friend who will help us learn our new town and its culture, answer any and every question, and just be a sister to us. She is truly the Ugandan sister I didn’t know I had and not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for Florence. (Even though everyone here calls her Maama Pat, I asked her if she’d rather us call her Maama Pat or use her real name. She picked Florence.

The End.

I think I notice it more often here, but we must all have these moments – where something happens and either at the time or very soon after you sort of freeze and think, “How could something so beautiful and so wonderful have just happened?” And of course, for those in Christ, the following thought must be how kind and glorious God is to have blessed our lives with it.

Here’s one: The other night, Lindsay and I took our dinner up to the roof. It was an especially lovely evening weather-wise with an incredible sunset. So we enjoyed just catching up a bit and soon after we finished, a few of our dearest friends, Brenda, Millie, and Moreen (some of the girls from Gulu in Northern Uganda) joined us. Then Florence (Mama Pat) came up, and by this time the stars and moon were visible. We soon began to sing and after a few minutes, a few more girls began to find their way to the rooftop. Another 15 minutes or so passed and about 40 more girls and boys began to stream through the stairwell and joined the worship. The view, the sound of their voices, the Truth of the songs we sang, were truly glorious, giving a fresh glimpse into the infinite greatness of God. It was one of those moments when you wish you could pause time to capture and take in every detail (complete with the plastic laundry bucket that one of the kids had pulled over and was using as a drum). It was also so blessed because these are the times when I most feel our hearts bonding with the kids – in ways that do not use or even need words – but it’s so much deeper than a normal conversation.

Afterwards, we headed into our apartment and finished with a time of Mulenzi (the oldest boy at the school and future pastor, no question about it) preaching the Word for a bit and leading us in prayer before bed. The place was completely packed, sweaty beyond all reason, but experiencing its finest and most beautiful moment. A crowded home is almost always the happiest home….

This is Mercy. Mercy is a young girl here at the school (she’ll be 10 in July) and ever since I met her she’s somehow reminded me of my sister, Carissa. I’m still not completely sure why – probably something to do with personality and the more I’m with her, I think it has a lot to do with her inner character – but whatever the reason, having her around feels a bit more like ‘home’ than almost anyone else here. She’s such a dear friend to have around, in a very quiet and faithful way. I just love her more and more all the time…. And it’s funny because I was talking to her the other day and her family’s birth order is identical to our family’s: three girls, all three years apart, and then a boy six years younger – and Mercy is exactly in Carissa’s spot. She now calls herself my “Ugandan sister.” I praise God for Mercy.