Prayer request: Shoe box distribution

Tomorrow is a very exciting day! We are distributing 300 shoe boxes to children here in Kamwenge. I know that many of you have been involved with Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child program - some, for a very long time. I can't wait to show you pictures and tell you about the wonderful impact you're having!

I also wanted to ask for your prayers for this event tomorrow. Will you please pray for the logistics, for the Netherlands Team (donors) who will be attending, for unity between the seven churches involved, and for the children who will receive their gifts tomorrow. Pray for all of our hearts. Pray that God's presence would be palpable in St. Stephen's Church tomorrow. Pray that our Lord will receive all the praise and glory!

God loves your prayers and I appreciate them so much.

A Dieu soit la Gloire!

Homosexuality in Uganda

Are you ready for this post? I might fire some people up with this one, but here it goes.

I recently had a long, passionate conversation with my Ugandan co-workers about homosexuality. They were locked in a car with me for 5 hours, so they got a lot of my mind on this. I saw them passing a piece of paper around and signing it. Out of curiousity, I asked to see it. It was a petition. Against homosexuality in Uganda. And all my co-workers were signing it.

I felt my temperature rising, but I tried to keep my cool. "What is this guys?" I asked.

They explained to me that homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. You go to jail if convicted and in the villages you can be stoned to death. They want to remove all homosexuals from the country because they fear that they will corrupt the rest of the population to become homosexuals too. Therefore, my Christian co-workers were signing a church-sponsored petition to keep homosexuality illegal.

I told them that I have friends who are homosexuals in the states and they told me that I should end those friendships. I told them that they were being ridiculous and that this is not what Christ would do. We are called to love our brothers and sisters - unconditionally. We all fall short of the glory of God - right. I am no different. We are saved by grace - not works - not sexuality. They didn't budge.

It's sad to me that homosexuals are not accepted into church families here and in many other places throughout the world.

We all need Christ.

A little message

Because it's difficult for me to hear a good, challenging message over here - I listen to a lot of sermons on my i-Pod. Right now I'm listening to a series called the Journey from Real Life Ministries. This is what I'm hearing that's impacting me...

God doesn't send us places (like Uganda.) We go with
him to places.

Do what you do with the Lord, not for the Lord.

In scripture...

Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in
me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me - you can do
nothing." John 15:5

May we abide in Him today. Walk with Him. Spend time with Him, today.

He loves you so much!

So what's God teaching you?

Enjoy clean water. Enjoy God's Love!

I am often asked the question...so what do you do out there anyway? Well here's an idea of what my team is doing and why they're doing it. Check out this link:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/water/

Uganda isn't featured, but our projects are very similar. My team constructs thousands of biosand water filters for the poorest of the poor in Western Uganda. They also build water tanks, water jars and shallow wells for public places such as schools and health clinics. This link was featured on SP's website because we're all facing rather large budget cuts due to the downturn in the global economy. If you feel that God is asking you to give, I can assure you that your money is being well spent.

We're working hard to bring clean water to our neighbors here in Uganda. Currently, less than 5% of our community has access to clean water. This especially affects the health of the children. Contaminated water carries diseases which are completely preventable, but also prove fatal in poor environments such as ours.

We're working hard to teach them about good health, hygiene and sanitation. For instance, this week we're holding a Children's Hygiene Fair. Playing games like the poop toss and hand washing relays. :) We are also training some of their parents to be on Village Health Teams. These teams will be responsible to train their villages about proper hygiene and sanitation practices. We hope to see families washing their hands, building improved latrines and using their filters to get clean water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. These simple changes can save lives.

Finally, we have a passion to show them God's love and to tell them about Jesus - the eternal life saver. It was so encouraging yesterday to hear my staff asking me for bibles in the local language and discipleship training. They are eager to share Christ within their villages. And I am eager to equip them as best I can.

Our team wants to share this message with everyone, including you:

Enjoy clean water. Enjoy God's love!

As you're enjoying your clean water today, we also want you to remember God's love for you.

Have a blessed day, my friends!

Patty - laundry isn't the same without you

Today I did my laundry by hand because I'm out in the sticks. I'm staying at this place called the Cape and technically, I could have the staff do it for me. But for some reason I feel bad about that. This is one of those gender things for me. If I were a guy, I don't think I'd hesitate. I would just put a helpless look on my face and ask. But being a woman, I feel like I should avoid being lazy and do it myself. So, I scrubbed away today and it reminded me of a fond memory of Liberia.

(Photos of Patty in Malawo)

When I was in Bopolu, Liberia doing VBS with Patty, we did our laundry by hand one Sunday. First off, we had all too many clothes. Secondly, we scrubbed too hard on the first few items. Thirdly, I think we were wimps. But by the time we got to the bottom of our buckets we were simply swirling, smelling and rinsing because we were so tired. After hanging our things, we took a nap. :)

You would have been so proud of me today, Patty. I had half as many clothes and I scrubbed them all! And I didn't even need a nap, though it's sounding a bit tempting right now. However, I can definitely say that laundry-by-hand isn't as much fun without you. I miss you Patty...this post is dedicated to you!!

Being a Muzungu in Kamwenge

(A glimpse of life in Kamwenge)

I visit Kaganga Supply Shop to pay our multi-million Ugandan Shilling (UGS) debt. I walk up the dirt path to the dusty shop. I follow a pathway of iron roof sheets that leads to the wooden desk where Mrs. Kaganga sits and will take my money. I quietly stand in line behind a local man from the community and plan to wait until he is finished making his purchase. He turns around with big eyes and says to me, "You better than me, Muzungu* - you go." He ushers me forward with his hand but I refuse with laughter. "No no! You go first. I am no better. I can wait." He finished his purchase and I feel incredibly awkward.

I hand Mrs. Kaganga our last millions and we try to have a pleasant conversation in english as she counts. She understands every 3rd or 4th word I say. We smile a lot and laugh a bit at our poor communication. But she is getting her money and I am getting my receipt, so we're both content. I play with her 4 year old child, Joseph. Tickling him a bit. Laughing with him. Mrs. Kaganga smiles and points to her smallest child - about 6 months old - sitting pantless on the dirt floor behind her. "You can have that one", she says. I laugh nervously. "Mrs. Kaganga, that beautiful boy is yours!" "No no, you take him. Take him with you. You can have him," she says bluntly. I say "no" again with a smile. She smiles as well. I turn and leave. Feeling a tinge of sadness.

Next I go to the market to buy some sweet bananas. I was trying to pay, but I was being clumsy. Dropping all my things. It was taking quite a long time. During all this fumbling, my merchant calls her daughter to come talk to me. Instructing her to say "how are you?" I entertain the small child and say "I am fine. How are you?" She smiles and says "fine." I finally grab the coins I need, read each one and pay the child's mother. I walk away saying "Webele (thank you)". But the mother calls me back and makes her daughter talk to me again. But this time, the child is told to bow to me. I quickly get on my knees as well. Eye to eye, we exchange the same simple words as before. I leave hoping and praying that the young girl understood that she never has to bow to a Muzungu.

I don't what to say about these experiences. I have them everyday in Kamwenge. I just pray that the Lord would guard me from the temptation to take advantage of my skin color.

May our Lord be glorified through these Muzungu bodies.

*Muzungu is the term used to describe a "white person" in Uganda.

Rafting the Nile

Last weekend I went to the source of the Nile River with some friends from SP, Lori and Mia. The source of the Nile is located in a town called Jinja and there is some great whitewater rafting there. After spending the night in a dorm on the banks of the Nile, we woke up to the sound of rushing water and a view of the river that just makes you sigh and smile. After a couple hours of being lazy, we went over to our outfitters, got all suited up with life jackets and helmets and hit the river. We rafted some crazy class 5 rapids. It was super scary, but SO much fun. I fell out on one of the big class 5s and sucked in some serious river water before my head popped up. But praise God, my friends scooped me up and I'm here to tell you to go do it too!! Above is a picture of our craziest rapid. That's us at the very tippy top on our way down. Good times! :)

For anyone who wants to go, I recommend: Equator Rafts (Price = $75 includes rafting, one night's stay, breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Hope you're all having a little fun too!

Know that I'm missing you, my friends!