Refiner's Fire

God is constantly teaching me things here in Mbarara, and tonight was no different. Friday is a long day for us here, and today I was especially tired after our first full week of school. We have youth night every Friday night at 5:00 either at the church or at the church office. Youth is kind of a relative term, as anyone who is single and unmarried can come. It's a really great time for us to build relationships with the guys and girls who are around our age. We usually play cards or volleyball and then end with some time of worship. It's always great. It's always uplifting, but tonight staying at home and relaxing sounded so much more tempting. In fact, I was kind of having a bad attitude about going if we're going to be honest. I just wanted to stay home and be lazy. But I went, and God really humbled me tonight.

When we got there, everyone greeted us. I don't just mean they said hi and kept playing their game. They stopped their games to extend their hand or give us a hug and remind us that "You are welcome!" To us that sounds like a response to someone saying thank you, but here they say that the first time they see you for the day so that you are reminded of how welcome you are here in Uganda. Desarae and I made our way to the back table where our friends Bob, Nicolas, and Winne were playing a game. Immediately Bob and another guy stood up and gave us their chairs so that we could play. We spent a long time (D-rae claims it was 40 hands) playing cards with Nicolas. Then we ended with singing some songs, both in English and in Runyonkore. In the middle of one of the Runyonkore songs, our friend Gibrel (who looks remarkably similar to Whoopi Goldberg) came over to make sure that we understood what the song meant. She always makes a point of doing that so we can know what we're singing and understand the meaning of the song.

After youth night was over, we made plans with our friend Alexanderson to go to his village on Monday. A lot of people who we've met through church here in town, actually live in villages that can be quite a ways away from Mbarara. Being invited to go to someone's village with them is a pretty special and intimate invitation. Desarae and I are so excited about getting to experience this true side of Uganda. Any picture you have of what you think Africa might be like...mud huts, no running water, very primitive situation..that is what we understand the villages to be like. We're so thankful that our new friends wants to share this with us.

We headed to our favorite grocery store here in town to pick up a few things after youth night, and our friend Wilbur, from church, followed us there. He insisted on buying us something in the store, so we finally gave in and let him buy us some juice. Then as we were walking home, our friends Livingston, Cheeza, and Gibrel saw us, waited for us, and then insisted on carrying our bags for us.

I went to youth night tonight dragging my feet. I would have rather stayed home. But from the moment that I got there, I was continually served. People gave up their chairs, bought me things, and carried my bags for me. They put my needs far above their own in a way that completely floored and humbled me. Accepting this kind of love from these people, who have so little to give anyways, is a very very difficult thing to do at times. It was wrenching my heart to allow Wilbur to buy us something, knowing that he probably struggles to make ends meet every single day. But that is just how the people here are. They have a giving spirit that I have never seen before. They love you before they even know you. They love you simply because you love Jesus. Thank God for the example of what it truly means to be unified in Christ and what it truly means to love and serve others.



As we were walking in town tonight, I saw this. I gasped (Desarae actually thought something had scared me and was worried for a second) at the beauty of this place. But even more than the beauty in the landscape, I notice the beauty of God's people here in Mbarara. He is alive and active. I pray that these people can only rub off on me in the next year to make me more what God wants me to be.

Refiner's Fire. My hearts ONE desire is to be holy. Set apart for you my master. Ready to do your will...

2 posts in one day...don't get too excited

I know this might be a little ridiculous...posting twice in a matter of minutes. But really, I just have a bunch more pictures online that I wanted to make sure everyone knows are there. This group of pictures is basically just an assortment of things that I've experienced or seen in the last 2 1/2 weeks. There are pictures of my class, food that I've eaten, and some of Mbarara.



This picture is my favorite one that I've taken so far, and you'll notice that pictures of sunsets completely dominate this album. I love being outdoors because it's always a place that I see God in a tangible way. Watching a sunset is pretty much one of my favorite things ever, and they are absolutely the prettiest here in Uganda. Every night we have dinner at one of the missionaries' houses at 6:30, which is just about the time the sun starts to set. So every night I get to walk in the direction of it, and I have a difficult time not taking a picture. God is so good to us when he showers us with blessings, and being able to see his beauty, here, all around me, is a blessing that I hope I never take for granted.

Home sweet home

I know that my last post might have provided some insight into the apartment that I live in. It has definitely kept us on our toes the last 2 weeks, as we're never quite sure what might work or what won't work. But to me, that is just part of the adventure. It's a cool lesson that God has already taught me since being here. I wake up every morning completely thankful IF there is hot water to take a shower. I told Desarae this morning that I feel like I've gotten spoiled because we've had water for the past 4 days. Just learning to go without much water and having to conserve that water that we did have taught me a lesson of thankfulness. Water is something we just take for granted in America, but here it is a special blessing. I can't tell you how many times, just out of habit, I've gone to the faucet to get some water to drink or make some coffee before I remember that I have to get that water out of the filter. It's a new kind of life to get used to, but I feel like God is teaching me things everyday just by learning to adapt to life in Uganda.

Even though our apartment is maybe not the most reliable always, it has been an incredible blessing for us to be here. It's in a great part of Mbarara, and we are surrounded by beauty every we look. There are only a few other people living in our building right now because all of the university students are on holiday break, so we haven't gotten to meet many neighbors, but we have gotten to know our landlord Mbaga pretty well. He is such a blessing and has been so good to us. There have been numerous days that we have had to call him several different times to come help us fix things or whatever. Each time, he comes right away and stays until everything is working perfectly. We've even called him late at night before when our toilet wouldn't stop overflowing and we were out of water. Through it all he has been very gracious and helpful. Today as we were walking in from church he asked where we'd been. When we told him, he said, "Next time I will go with you." Des and I had been talking about how we wanted to invite him to church because a lot of our friends are probably around our age, and then he went and invited himself. It was pretty great. We usually don't have church on Sunday nights here, but tonight we're having a special praise and worship time at 4 so he is going with us. Please pray for him and pray for us that maybe God can use us to reach him.


I know that a lot of people have been asking for pictures, and I finally was able to load a bunch onto my picasa website. The picture below is a picture of our apartment building. Our apartment is on the back side of the far right of the apartment complex. It is still very much under construction as you can tell from the picture. If you click on this picture, it will take you to a bunch more of the inside of our apartment. And just a warning, be prepared to take a pretty indepth tour of our apartment. I had a little too much fun taking pictures of everything, but I know everyone is curious about what it looks like, so that's how I justified it! I miss you all!

Fully Alive

Well, I'm finally here. I've been in Mbarara for 2 weeks now, and I have absolutely loved every minute of it, and I'm not just saying that. It's amazing how wonderful this trip has been so far. I know that it's early on in the trip and I'm still on a high of being here, but I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with such a great beginning to this journey. I know there will be plenty of days where I'm not feeling this great and days where I want nothing more than to be home. I know good and well that every day of this journey will not be great or easy, but I'm just enjoying the great days right now and the ways that God is so good to me here in Uganda.

I don't even know where to start to tell all about I've experience so far. All I know is that I've never felt as alive as I do now. Someone told me once that when they're in Africa, they truly come alive. She also told me that she could see that in me. Well, she was right. Mbarara already feels so much like home to me despite the ways that it is so different. I feel God's presence in such an intimate way here...a way that I've never felt before. I can't explain how much I enjoy worshipping with the town church here, singing and dancing (yes I said dancing...this is Africa). Desarae (who, holy cow has been an incredible blessing to me here) and I have talked about this. It's almost like there is a face of God that we see here that we've never seen before. These people help us to see a side of God that we've never even touched before. It's almost like I see God in such a tangible way...like I can reach out and touch him. That might sound so strange to you, but He is just so real here. The Ugandans that I meet have a joy in God that is indescribable. They live in the most run-down slums you could ever imagine. Seriously, imagine the worst area of a town you have ever seen and multiply it by 10. They don't know where most of their meals will come from. Most of them don't have jobs and don't know where their next 1,000 shillings will come from (which sounds like a lot, but is really only 60 cents). Yet, through all of that, they smile and they thank God for the clothes on their back and the meal they had 3 days ago. They shake my hand, hug on me, and thank me for coming every time I see them. Seeing them jump, shout hallelujah, and give God their all during worship, and every day, is truly humbling to me. I learn something more about what it means to truly love God every day that I am here.

God has also shown himself in a big way through the mission team here. The 3 families are incredible, and Desarae and I have become incredibly close to all of them already. They invite us over for meals all the time. Since we have been here, I think we've only been on our own for maybe 5 meals. They have completely welcomed us as their friends before they even know us. The way that they live their lives and the way they raise their children is a huge example to me daily. I love the 9 kids that are here so much already. Plus there just happens to be a 2 year old girl here who is 6 days younger than Kennedy so she fills in as my nieces for the next year. One of the ladies on the team is pregnant and due in September so I'll have another little one around when I'm missing my new nieces and nephews. The kids are really incredible though. One of the neatest things has been building such great relationships with them before being their teacher. We started school 2 days ago and it's been great. These are some of the best kids I know and it is nothing but a pleasure to teach them.

Ok, I feel like I could go on for days about my time here, but I have to go to dinner soon. I haven't figured out how to get pictures on here yet with my internet connection, but hopefully that will come soon. I'm going to end with a list of some crazy things I've experienced so far. Enjoy!

- 40 hours of traveling from Peoria to Mbarara...enough said
- Riding in a car on a Ugandan road where there are absolutely no traffic laws
- Playing a trick on one of the kids here where I acted like I could take off my finger. Then having him ask his dad for his knife so he could do it too
- Eating posho (a cornmeal mush here with random rocks in it) surrounded by all kinds of spiders in a local restaurant
- My landlord's name is Mbaga, which means Party...seriously that's cool
- Going without power every 3rd night from about 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM
- Coming home during our first power outage and realizing we have a generator. What a blessing!
- Trying to cook mac and cheese in our apartment. Trust me, it's an adventure every time.
- Playing the Ugandan game of Uno which is ironically enough called "cards."
- There is a part in that game where you say Pick and Play. Ugandans can't say their L's very well and they sound like R's so me and Desarae thought they were picking and praying for awhile.
- Experiencing my first earthquake...especially in an apartment building that is still under construction
- Eating fried grasshoppers
- Eating goat
- Mbarara had a water shortage and we went without water for 2 days
- Being in the middle of taking a shower and all the sudden the nice, clean water turns to muddy water all over me
- Just not really ever knowing if we'll have water or not
- Realizing that I can't whistle constantly like I always do because in Uganda, a woman whistling is like a sign of distress
- Riding a pici-pici, which is basically just a moped for a whopping 30 cents. We basically do it every time we come home from town.
- Having every Ugandan kid say "how are you?" when we walk past them on the roads. It's the only phrase they know and they don't even know how to answer it when we ask them how they are doing
- Having a Ugandan girl courtsy to me and then reach out and just touch me
- Having a Ugandan man ask if we are single and then giggle excitedly when we reply that we are not married
- Our toilet wouldn't flush for 2 days...sick.
- Then we got that fixed and our toilet wouldn't stop overflowing
- We have no shower curtain and the shower head is 1 foot from the toilet and 2 from the sink...it's quite an experience.
- The paint on our floor is still wet...There are footprints all over our rug.
- Our clothes rod in our closet randomly fell off today.
- We wake up to construction workers outside our door everyday.
- Desarae swears she witnessed an excorsism in the grass behind our apartment yesterday.
- Actually being woken up by a mosquito buzzing in my ear. Maybe I should put that mosquito net back up...
- Having my first African sickness called giardia...it was awful.
- Giving one of my students a mohawk the night before the first day of school
- Watching Ugandans pave a road here. It's really interesting.
- Hearing a bird that sounds just like a monkey and actually running outside to try to see my first monkey.


Ok I think that's all. Uganda is incredibly interesting and always keeps me on my toes. I love you all!