African Muzungu

Many of you know the incredible anticipation with which I was looking forward to my sister, Michelle spending the summer here in Uganda with me. Let me tell you, the reality has been even better than what I thought!!! Michelle has been here for over a month, and I still pinch myself to make sure it’s real. Her coming has been so timely in so many ways I couldn’t have anticipated… for example, I’ve spent an inordinate number of days sick the past month. The whole first part of the year I was doing so much better with sickness that I usually do, but the past 2 months a variety of different illnesses have knocked me down numerous times. Michelle has been a champ, not only in going with the flow and quickly adapting to the variety of paces ministry in Africa brings (everything from break-necked speed to sick-induced standstill, and everything in between), or even caring for me when sick, but also covering for me and taking up my slack at school when I’ve been down. She’s been so great ...

Throughout the years living and driving in Africa, I have often thought and remarked that driving here is a bit like a Mario Kart game. Dodging potholes is only half the fun. The more unpredictable obstacles are the goats, chickens, cows, pikis (motorcycle taxis), bodas (bicycle taxis), wheelbarrows, and pedestrians. Everyday, driving is a challenge and and adventure. However, somedays the reality of the real-life impact of failing to successfully maneuver these obstacles is driven home. For me, one of those days was 2 weeks ago and everyday since. As I was driving home from Kamonkoli one evening, the sun had set and it was just beginning to get pretty dark. I was passing through a busy market center on the outskirts of Mbale with people, bicycles, and motorcycles swarming everywhere. I remember seeing a man approaching on bicycle going in the opposite direction. Without any warning at all, he suddenly swerved into a u-turn directly in front of me. I barely had time to even touch th...

I've never seen such compassion in a child's eyes as I did that day. I had woken up on a Saturday morning feeling pretty awful but not wanting to miss AWANA that day. So I drove myself to Kamonkoli, determined to grit my teeth and push through the pain. By the time I navigated the mess of a 'road' we're calling a highway these days and arrived at the church, my endurance was already tottering. I climbed out of my Rav4 and weakly handed over the bags of supplies to one of my boys to carry into the church. The kids were already singing, jumping, and clapping in the sanctuary as they exuded the excitement that comes when our teams of western visitors are around. 10 minutes in, and I knew the tears converging behind my eyes would soon make a full appearance. Crying and tears are just not understood or accepted here, and I knew how uncomfortable they would make the kids. I stepped outside behind the church and vainly struggled to hold back the flow. Just then, two of m...

We sat face to face, with only a table separating us. I leaned in close and looked into her brown eyes. I have something to tell you.  She was so scared as she cringed in her chair waiting for me to continue. God will never remove His grace from you. Her eyes immediately welled up in tears as she quietly stared at me. Yes, I understand what you did. I heard you say that you know that it was wrong, and you felt the burden of shame and guilt. But dear sister, please know that even when you sin, He will never remove His grace from you. Because you are His . His precious daughter who He loves more than anything. Today brought one of the most precious conversations I’ve ever had with this dear friend of mine. My heart balloons with the joy of remembering the courage she had to admit her sin to me. A sin that had brought great shame and sorrow. A sin that had her feeling like God had removed His grace from her, and she was no longer free to come before Him. And yet, she f...

It happens like clockwork: Every Tuesday night is rough. One thing or another keeps me tossing and turning throughout the night: mosquito bites, upset stomach, random pain, crazy dogs, or the pounding music from the local bar. Or sometimes I'm just unable to fall asleep for hours on end. I usually wake up on Wednesday morning feeling terrible. And even if I make it through the night unscathed, illnesses like malaria, typhoid, or the flu like to make their appearance on Wednesday too. Which is not great, since Wednesdays are my longest, most challenging days. In addition to my regular daily work like teaching Bible for 5 grades at Genesis, I also teach a Bible study for all the teachers at Genesis after school every Wednesday. And I am convinced that is the reason for all the drama the night before. Bible study with the teachers is definitely one of the highlights of my week every week. The opportunity to teach, instruct, mentor, and love these men and women Jesus has so wonderfully...

One of my favorite weeks ever in Uganda started with the first day of our 2016 school year for Genesis. Welcoming new students along with the old all while hosting a wonderful team from Bear Valley Church in Littleton was definitely a thrill! I had missed my kids so much while I was gone, so finally getting to be with them again was a long-awaited joy. Although many of my kids weren't quite as enthusiastic as I would have expected them to be... mostly because I had "cut weight" while I was gone, and apparently some of them weren't quite sure if it was really me. HA! Once they were convince it really was me, they quickly warmed up, and we're settling back into our Bible study routine. Lining up by class for parade on the first day of school On Tuesday we got to take our P4 and P5 student on a field trip with the team to Sipi falls. All of them had an absolute blast, especially when we reached the top of the 2nd falls and they got to play in p...

In my first 2 days back in Uganda, I’ve had quite the welcome and re-introduction back into life in Africa. I’ve just been at home so far, unpacking and getting things settled and in order before I jump back into work. There are so many joys and challenges about living in Africa that you mostly just get used to while you’re here. However, leaving and coming back again definitely makes the differences (both great and hard!) clearly apparent again! Such as….. I found out as soon as I got back that our washing machine had been out of commission for quite a while, so naturally I called our ‘fixer.’ And in the most typical African fashion proceded to spend the next 2 days calling him every 2-4 hours to be assured that he was ‘on his way.’ He did finally come…. but after dusk so he couldn’t do any work on it (since we don’t have a light bulb in the laundry room). Here’s hoping he comes back today when power is on (fingers crossed) and with enough time to work on it! I think Umeme (Uga...