well...its my last day here. i went back to bukasa wakiso this morning for church and it was so so so so great. i don't really even know how to describe it...but God is so good. aaaaaahhhh.
this is going to be a short one because i cannot even handle it. i am not ready to leave this place, and i pray that i will find myself back here someday.
i want to thank all of you so very much for all of your prayers and all of your encouragement. i cannot even put into words how much it means to me. i love you all. i will landing in chicago on tuesday afternoon....
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
peace out.
kirsten.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
I can look You, to do for me what I am unable to do for myself...
this is coming from my devotional book...it really spoke to me and so i would like to share it:
"Beloved, even when your thoughts are scrambled, you can indeed look to Me for help. Many people stumble out of bed in the morning and head straight for the coffee pot. Though they are not yet thinking clearly, they are conscious enough to move toward something that will help untangle their thoughts. I perform a similar function for you, when your mind stumbles in My direction. Ask Me to help you think My thoughts and see things from My perspective. I created you in My image so that you would have this amazing capacity.
As you wait in My Presence, I not only unscramble your thinking, I also unscramble your path through the day. I am sovereign over every aspect of your life, so opening up the way before you is no problem for Me..."
Thursday and Friday of last week I had days full of cultural exposure, and some experiences that really made me think, and really made me praise God. Last Thursday, I had a brief exposure to the kind of traditional worship, dealing with spirits and such. It was slightly uncomfortable, to the point of knowing something was not right, and constant communication with God was necessary. I was with Jon and his research assistant, as they interviewed people about something that occurred over 50 years ago. There was a hill where people went to see this self-proclaimed prophet for healing. What we did not know, was that there is now a different priest there, and people still go there for the same reason. We were able to just talk with this priest and he explained what he believed. It was troubling, because there is a greater truth and God is more powerful than we can even fathom. It was certainly a lot to process, and a lot to pray about.
I am spending the first part of this week back at the school, helping out with their summer camp in the morning. Yesterday afternoon I able to go back to Mama Mary's, probably for the last time. I get emotional just thinking about it, because those children and Mama Mary has touched my heart in more ways than they probably know. God is truly amazing.
I know that my time here is winding down...I am not ready to head home (even though I miss you guys so very much!). I have had trouble sleeping the past few nights, and I feel like my mind is racing...which is my that quote from my devotional was so moving. I have no idea what tomorrow holds...let alone farther off in the future. In this continual processing, I am trying to figure out my experiences, and the next steps on this crazy journey called life. Trust is a funny thing. Faith is a funny thing.
"We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you" (Psalm 33:20-22).
love you all.
kirsten.
"Beloved, even when your thoughts are scrambled, you can indeed look to Me for help. Many people stumble out of bed in the morning and head straight for the coffee pot. Though they are not yet thinking clearly, they are conscious enough to move toward something that will help untangle their thoughts. I perform a similar function for you, when your mind stumbles in My direction. Ask Me to help you think My thoughts and see things from My perspective. I created you in My image so that you would have this amazing capacity.
As you wait in My Presence, I not only unscramble your thinking, I also unscramble your path through the day. I am sovereign over every aspect of your life, so opening up the way before you is no problem for Me..."
Thursday and Friday of last week I had days full of cultural exposure, and some experiences that really made me think, and really made me praise God. Last Thursday, I had a brief exposure to the kind of traditional worship, dealing with spirits and such. It was slightly uncomfortable, to the point of knowing something was not right, and constant communication with God was necessary. I was with Jon and his research assistant, as they interviewed people about something that occurred over 50 years ago. There was a hill where people went to see this self-proclaimed prophet for healing. What we did not know, was that there is now a different priest there, and people still go there for the same reason. We were able to just talk with this priest and he explained what he believed. It was troubling, because there is a greater truth and God is more powerful than we can even fathom. It was certainly a lot to process, and a lot to pray about.
I am spending the first part of this week back at the school, helping out with their summer camp in the morning. Yesterday afternoon I able to go back to Mama Mary's, probably for the last time. I get emotional just thinking about it, because those children and Mama Mary has touched my heart in more ways than they probably know. God is truly amazing.
I know that my time here is winding down...I am not ready to head home (even though I miss you guys so very much!). I have had trouble sleeping the past few nights, and I feel like my mind is racing...which is my that quote from my devotional was so moving. I have no idea what tomorrow holds...let alone farther off in the future. In this continual processing, I am trying to figure out my experiences, and the next steps on this crazy journey called life. Trust is a funny thing. Faith is a funny thing.
"We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you" (Psalm 33:20-22).
love you all.
kirsten.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
boda.
hi. hi. hi.
ok soooo today was a very interesting day. wooohooo. jon, his research assistant (george) and i went to namugongo to the martyrs' shrine. i had my first boda experience (a motorcycle taxi) so that was quite awesome. we then took a taxi van the rest of the way. the amount of people there was just insane! probably about 2 million...and they come from all over the place to participate in this national holiday. people were there from tanzania, congo, kenya...just to name a few. in the 1890's the king of buganda (the region i am in) had 25 catholics and protestant christians killed on june 3. there were several others that took place over the course of a couple of years, but this was the day that the most people were martyred. it was very interesting, and kind of incredible that so many people would come from all over the place for this. i think i said it already, but some people started walking over a week ago so that they could be in namugongo.
anyways...we were at the catholic shrine, and it was kind of hard to see because of the masses of people, but we got to a spot where we could kind of tell what was going on. the president (museveni) was at the catholic service, but all we saw of him were his cars leaving afterwards. there was a lot of singing, and the music was close to traditional african music. it was explained to me that the catholics allow more of the traditional type music, while the protestants taught the hymns that i would be more likely to know. jon and george started talking to a couple of high school students, who said they wanted to become priests if God allowed it. they talked about praying to the martyrs and how anyone who was there would receive a blessing from God simply for being in that place today. it was interesting to hear different people's take on things.
afterwards, we started walking down the road to the protestant shrine. on the way there, we kind of got caught in a stampede of people...a little scary. especially when a taxi tried to pull out into the crowd of people. that was a little much. but we finally made it through, and took another boda because we found out it was quite a distance away. the protestant shrine was interesting as well. there was a small chapel building, and signs posted saying that the martyrs were buried underneath. there were also a couple of artistic pieces set up to pay tribute to those who gave their lives there so many years ago. if it did not take so long, i would post pictures of them...but i guess we all will have to be patient. :)
it was really really awesome to learn about some of the history of this country, especially from a religious aspect. i am still just blown away at the number of people, and am grateful that i got to be there with them to witness it all....very cool stuff.
kirsten.
ok soooo today was a very interesting day. wooohooo. jon, his research assistant (george) and i went to namugongo to the martyrs' shrine. i had my first boda experience (a motorcycle taxi) so that was quite awesome. we then took a taxi van the rest of the way. the amount of people there was just insane! probably about 2 million...and they come from all over the place to participate in this national holiday. people were there from tanzania, congo, kenya...just to name a few. in the 1890's the king of buganda (the region i am in) had 25 catholics and protestant christians killed on june 3. there were several others that took place over the course of a couple of years, but this was the day that the most people were martyred. it was very interesting, and kind of incredible that so many people would come from all over the place for this. i think i said it already, but some people started walking over a week ago so that they could be in namugongo.
anyways...we were at the catholic shrine, and it was kind of hard to see because of the masses of people, but we got to a spot where we could kind of tell what was going on. the president (museveni) was at the catholic service, but all we saw of him were his cars leaving afterwards. there was a lot of singing, and the music was close to traditional african music. it was explained to me that the catholics allow more of the traditional type music, while the protestants taught the hymns that i would be more likely to know. jon and george started talking to a couple of high school students, who said they wanted to become priests if God allowed it. they talked about praying to the martyrs and how anyone who was there would receive a blessing from God simply for being in that place today. it was interesting to hear different people's take on things.
afterwards, we started walking down the road to the protestant shrine. on the way there, we kind of got caught in a stampede of people...a little scary. especially when a taxi tried to pull out into the crowd of people. that was a little much. but we finally made it through, and took another boda because we found out it was quite a distance away. the protestant shrine was interesting as well. there was a small chapel building, and signs posted saying that the martyrs were buried underneath. there were also a couple of artistic pieces set up to pay tribute to those who gave their lives there so many years ago. if it did not take so long, i would post pictures of them...but i guess we all will have to be patient. :)
it was really really awesome to learn about some of the history of this country, especially from a religious aspect. i am still just blown away at the number of people, and am grateful that i got to be there with them to witness it all....very cool stuff.
kirsten.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
watch out for the crocodiles...
hello all. it is a little after 8:00 and i am seriously considering going to bed. whoah. today was pretty awesome...i had the opportunity to go to the buvama islands in lake victoria. it took a couple hours of driving before we arrived to the "dock." hahaha there was no dock. the boat was in the water and there were guys who picked us up and carried us out to the boat. they carried the guys up on their shoulders, and picked me up sideways. so...that was interesting. it took about an hour and a half on the boat, which was like a long wooden canoe-ish thing with a motor and a tarp over the top. the purpose of us going there was to check on a building project. there is a school on the island that was started by wgm and the project going on now is the church building. the nurse near the school, jennifer, took me around through the village right near the school. it was very different, even from the houses near kampala. there is no electricity on the island, and very few shops for food and such. one of the guys who came with explained that is very much just survival for them. they will fish and grow food, but there isn't a place to sell it, and they need most of it to sustain themselves. i enjoyed talking with jennifer and walking around. i wish i was better able to communicate with the people, but like many others here they speak a language called luganda. so it was pretty limited to "hello" and "how are you?" and then jennifer would translate some other stuff for me. our stay was short, because we had to be back this evening, but i am very thankful i got to see the island and some of the ministries that are going on there.
that kind of lacked some details...whoops. but my brain is not really functioning right now. tomorrow is going to be busy busy busy in kampala because it is martyr's day (a national holiday in uganda) and i am going to be in the middle of it all! apparently millions of people come from all over to be here. jon (he's working on his doctorate here) is taking me to the shrines and to witness all the stuff that's going on, and he said that people started walking about a week ago to get to kampala tomorrow. don't really know what to expect, but i have a feeling it is going to be crazy. :)
that kind of lacked some details...whoops. but my brain is not really functioning right now. tomorrow is going to be busy busy busy in kampala because it is martyr's day (a national holiday in uganda) and i am going to be in the middle of it all! apparently millions of people come from all over to be here. jon (he's working on his doctorate here) is taking me to the shrines and to witness all the stuff that's going on, and he said that people started walking about a week ago to get to kampala tomorrow. don't really know what to expect, but i have a feeling it is going to be crazy. :)
Saturday, May 29, 2010
what we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean...
hello my friends. i love you all...thought you should know that. :)
let's see...what have i been up to?
On Thursday, I spent the day at Heritage International School, mostly helping organize for the end of the year. There is a bookroom in the administrative office that needed to be organized and catalogued, so I did my best to help out in that aspect. In the afternoon, there was a youth event that one of the missionaries was in charge of. It was an end of the year event for the youth group, and they were playing a variety of games throughout the time there. I helped out setting things up, and making sure there were enough supplies. It kind of brought me back to my youth group days...there were a bunch of food games, and several students came running over to the faucet with flour all over their faces. Oh that was a fun trip down memory lane...
One of the students had recently accepted Christ, and shared a devotional with the group. It came from Romans 12:1-2. It was awesome to see him up there sharing, even though I hardly know the kid.
Yesterday (my 21st bday!!!) I was back at the school again, helping the teachers as they wrapped things up for the end of the year. But something so awesome took place today. There were several students who came to Christ this year, and they had a baptism service for those who wanted to take that step. There were fifteen students who decided they wanted to be baptized, five from elementary, and ten from secondary. All three of the graduating seniors were included in that group. The Holy Spirit was truly present at the service. Each student shared a few words about their decision, and they were baptized in an inflatable pool in one of the yards behind the school. Many of them were very emotional, and the student body as well as anyone who was there was invited to pray with each of the students. I moved around to several of the students and prayed with them. It was such an awesome thing to see, and I praise God for what he has been doing at that school. One of my favorite verses says, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:17-18). That is my prayer for all the students.
today. today. today. This morning I met up with the group from North Carolina again. They had spent the week at Mama Mary’s, and were taking all the children to an amusement park here in Kampala. It was not an amusement park like I know it, but it had water slides and “kiddie rides.” We went and picked up the children, and Mama Mary came with as well. They were so excited. Just watching them as they were there, was enough for me. Happiness was all over their faces. Later this afternoon, I was driving through Kampala with some of the missionaries from WGM, and several children were on the street begging. We also saw a baby, probably about 18 months old, just left sitting on the sidewalk. Every time we drive, we usually encounter this, but today it really bothered me. It is very overwhelming, almost to the point of being paralyzing. My heart just broke for these people, and the children. A verse that I read when I got back said, “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them” (Isaiah 41:17). I must trust that what is written here is true, and that these children will be taken care of. There is a quote said by Mother Theresa, which says, “What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean. But if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less.” It is frustrating, because we want to fix what we see in front of us. But I feel like a lot of it must be done with little steps, never fully seeing how God has his hand in everything.
i love uganda...peace out.
kirsten.
let's see...what have i been up to?
On Thursday, I spent the day at Heritage International School, mostly helping organize for the end of the year. There is a bookroom in the administrative office that needed to be organized and catalogued, so I did my best to help out in that aspect. In the afternoon, there was a youth event that one of the missionaries was in charge of. It was an end of the year event for the youth group, and they were playing a variety of games throughout the time there. I helped out setting things up, and making sure there were enough supplies. It kind of brought me back to my youth group days...there were a bunch of food games, and several students came running over to the faucet with flour all over their faces. Oh that was a fun trip down memory lane...
One of the students had recently accepted Christ, and shared a devotional with the group. It came from Romans 12:1-2. It was awesome to see him up there sharing, even though I hardly know the kid.
Yesterday (my 21st bday!!!) I was back at the school again, helping the teachers as they wrapped things up for the end of the year. But something so awesome took place today. There were several students who came to Christ this year, and they had a baptism service for those who wanted to take that step. There were fifteen students who decided they wanted to be baptized, five from elementary, and ten from secondary. All three of the graduating seniors were included in that group. The Holy Spirit was truly present at the service. Each student shared a few words about their decision, and they were baptized in an inflatable pool in one of the yards behind the school. Many of them were very emotional, and the student body as well as anyone who was there was invited to pray with each of the students. I moved around to several of the students and prayed with them. It was such an awesome thing to see, and I praise God for what he has been doing at that school. One of my favorite verses says, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:17-18). That is my prayer for all the students.
today. today. today. This morning I met up with the group from North Carolina again. They had spent the week at Mama Mary’s, and were taking all the children to an amusement park here in Kampala. It was not an amusement park like I know it, but it had water slides and “kiddie rides.” We went and picked up the children, and Mama Mary came with as well. They were so excited. Just watching them as they were there, was enough for me. Happiness was all over their faces. Later this afternoon, I was driving through Kampala with some of the missionaries from WGM, and several children were on the street begging. We also saw a baby, probably about 18 months old, just left sitting on the sidewalk. Every time we drive, we usually encounter this, but today it really bothered me. It is very overwhelming, almost to the point of being paralyzing. My heart just broke for these people, and the children. A verse that I read when I got back said, “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them” (Isaiah 41:17). I must trust that what is written here is true, and that these children will be taken care of. There is a quote said by Mother Theresa, which says, “What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean. But if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less.” It is frustrating, because we want to fix what we see in front of us. But I feel like a lot of it must be done with little steps, never fully seeing how God has his hand in everything.
i love uganda...peace out.
kirsten.
Friday, May 28, 2010
to kirsten: love us.
Kirsten-
I am at Danielle's house with Leah, Danielle, and Brandon...and we wanted to wish you a happy birthday and i knew you would appreciate our amazing voices and dance moves. I hope you had a great day i miss you...beee goood!!!! love youuuuuuuu. meoewwww.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
it's official...im in love.
sorry mom and dad. im not coming back. :)
its been a few days...time for an update! right? right. okay.
sooooo....let's see. saturday was kind of a fun day with the missionary family. i went with kenneth and delight, and their daughter emily to the equator. yup yup....that was pretty cool. i stood on the line and was in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. later that night one of the other missionaries on the field (lisa fish!) came over to the hopsons and we had dinner with her. that was a real hoot. hahahaha.
sunday was really great. we went to a church called Bukasa Wakiso and I met Pastor Miria. The service was held in a school building and we sat at bench-style desks. They do not have a sound system, but it was not needed. It was beautiful with the men and women up there singing. Off to the side a couple of guys were playing the drums (with the help of an adorable baby girl who had wandered over there at one point during the service). They also have shakers made out of aluminum cans. The church service was about three hours long but did not really seem that long. The people at the church know the Hopsons and they asked Kenneth to get up and say a few words. He then introduced me and asked if I wanted to say anything. I was like, "okay..." hahahaha. So I just introduced myself and told them how happy I was to be there (which I was!). At both of the churches we have been at, they invite anyone to come up and share, so I guess it was not anything out of the ordinary. They also invited anyone who wanted to, to come up and share a song...that was something I definitely did not do! There were a couple of young women who got up and sang. There was also a group of three school-aged boys who shared a song with the church. They were singing and dancing and it was just so so so great.
yesterday i went to the bank with the field accountant...and lets just say that was quite the experience. we were in like two or three different lines and then this closed room where they had to count out all this money for us. i held 30 million shillings in my lap. woooohooo. (about 15,000 US dollars). on monday evening i went with delight to Kampala International University. the team went there last week and they continued their discussion on relationships and marriage. it was interesting to hear some of the cultural differences in regards to such things. the culture here is a lot more conservative than back home. after bible study we went to the supermarket to get groceries for Mama Mary because I got to go back there today!!!!
While the team was here they left some money to donate and we got quite a bit of groceries (I took a picture so you girls could see, but loading pictures on this takes forever!)...and then there was still some leftover, so Mama Mary will be able to use that as she sees fit. a student from kiu (the university) came and picked me up this morning and we drove to the children's home. his name was Emmanuel, and it was fun talking to him on the way there and back. he is studying business and finance...or something like that. i don't remember the official name of his "course" (major). he is from kenya, and has one year left of school. i told him about sledding during the winter, and im pretty sure he thought i was crazy. he also commented that it sounds a little dangerous.
when i got to mama mary's, there was a pretty big group of people there. they had come from two different churches in north carolina, and were working at mama mary's for the week. most of them were adults, but there were a couple of girls my age who i got to talk to. they were so great...they were painting a couple of the rooms, and had a bunch of games for the children to play with. and to my lovely teammates...a lot of them were asking where you guys were...and i told them how you had to go home. :( i got to see my basketball buddy james again...and leah if you are reading this...he wanted to know where you were, because the team was just incomplete without you. i remembered one of the soccer balls (woot. woot.) and they loved it! one of the guys from the north carolina group brought his guitar with him, and james got out his keyboard. he was really talented, and after listening to the guy play, james could just pick it up and join in. the two of them started jamming out, singing worship songs, and a bunch of us, went with the kids to listen and sing along. it is definitely one of my favorite events that has taken place...it was truly beautiful. to keep myself from crying just thinking about it...lets move on to something else. one of the other young men at the orphanage was doing a lot of the singing, and then he started dancing too. he tried to teach my how to "break dance" but im sure you all can imagine how well that went.
it was a great great day...i had been very much hoping and praying to go back to that children's home. growing impatient, really. and the opportunity opened up. praise God. a lot of the kids are just content to sit with you. we sat and watched the boys play soccer for some time. someone there made a comment about us being a blessing to these children, but really...i feel so blessed that i got to spend the day with them. joy that comes from Christ alone. aaaaaah. they make me smile.
okay whew. that was a lot of typing. and i am covered in dirt so i should probably go take care of that....i love you all!!!!!!!!!
kirsten.
its been a few days...time for an update! right? right. okay.
sooooo....let's see. saturday was kind of a fun day with the missionary family. i went with kenneth and delight, and their daughter emily to the equator. yup yup....that was pretty cool. i stood on the line and was in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. later that night one of the other missionaries on the field (lisa fish!) came over to the hopsons and we had dinner with her. that was a real hoot. hahahaha.
sunday was really great. we went to a church called Bukasa Wakiso and I met Pastor Miria. The service was held in a school building and we sat at bench-style desks. They do not have a sound system, but it was not needed. It was beautiful with the men and women up there singing. Off to the side a couple of guys were playing the drums (with the help of an adorable baby girl who had wandered over there at one point during the service). They also have shakers made out of aluminum cans. The church service was about three hours long but did not really seem that long. The people at the church know the Hopsons and they asked Kenneth to get up and say a few words. He then introduced me and asked if I wanted to say anything. I was like, "okay..." hahahaha. So I just introduced myself and told them how happy I was to be there (which I was!). At both of the churches we have been at, they invite anyone to come up and share, so I guess it was not anything out of the ordinary. They also invited anyone who wanted to, to come up and share a song...that was something I definitely did not do! There were a couple of young women who got up and sang. There was also a group of three school-aged boys who shared a song with the church. They were singing and dancing and it was just so so so great.
yesterday i went to the bank with the field accountant...and lets just say that was quite the experience. we were in like two or three different lines and then this closed room where they had to count out all this money for us. i held 30 million shillings in my lap. woooohooo. (about 15,000 US dollars). on monday evening i went with delight to Kampala International University. the team went there last week and they continued their discussion on relationships and marriage. it was interesting to hear some of the cultural differences in regards to such things. the culture here is a lot more conservative than back home. after bible study we went to the supermarket to get groceries for Mama Mary because I got to go back there today!!!!
While the team was here they left some money to donate and we got quite a bit of groceries (I took a picture so you girls could see, but loading pictures on this takes forever!)...and then there was still some leftover, so Mama Mary will be able to use that as she sees fit. a student from kiu (the university) came and picked me up this morning and we drove to the children's home. his name was Emmanuel, and it was fun talking to him on the way there and back. he is studying business and finance...or something like that. i don't remember the official name of his "course" (major). he is from kenya, and has one year left of school. i told him about sledding during the winter, and im pretty sure he thought i was crazy. he also commented that it sounds a little dangerous.
when i got to mama mary's, there was a pretty big group of people there. they had come from two different churches in north carolina, and were working at mama mary's for the week. most of them were adults, but there were a couple of girls my age who i got to talk to. they were so great...they were painting a couple of the rooms, and had a bunch of games for the children to play with. and to my lovely teammates...a lot of them were asking where you guys were...and i told them how you had to go home. :( i got to see my basketball buddy james again...and leah if you are reading this...he wanted to know where you were, because the team was just incomplete without you. i remembered one of the soccer balls (woot. woot.) and they loved it! one of the guys from the north carolina group brought his guitar with him, and james got out his keyboard. he was really talented, and after listening to the guy play, james could just pick it up and join in. the two of them started jamming out, singing worship songs, and a bunch of us, went with the kids to listen and sing along. it is definitely one of my favorite events that has taken place...it was truly beautiful. to keep myself from crying just thinking about it...lets move on to something else. one of the other young men at the orphanage was doing a lot of the singing, and then he started dancing too. he tried to teach my how to "break dance" but im sure you all can imagine how well that went.
it was a great great day...i had been very much hoping and praying to go back to that children's home. growing impatient, really. and the opportunity opened up. praise God. a lot of the kids are just content to sit with you. we sat and watched the boys play soccer for some time. someone there made a comment about us being a blessing to these children, but really...i feel so blessed that i got to spend the day with them. joy that comes from Christ alone. aaaaaah. they make me smile.
okay whew. that was a lot of typing. and i am covered in dirt so i should probably go take care of that....i love you all!!!!!!!!!
kirsten.
Friday, May 21, 2010
oliyotia.
that means how are you/hello in luganda...just in case you were wondering. i have no idea if that is spelled right, but i suppose you wouldn't have known that. this is kirsten. the team has left :( wednesday was rough seeing them go...it felt weird driving back from the airport without them. So just a little shout out to my lovely teammates....you guys are great and i love you so much!!!! i miss you a lot...and know that the work you did here was great. i am proud of each and every one of you. Who knows what God has in store for you now that you are home....
yesterday (thursday) was supposed to be a pretty full day for me. I had planned on going into the city of Kampala with Jon (he is working on his doctorate here in Uganda) to see some things and then go to back to the Mama Mary's children's home (via Boda!!!) to spend the better part of the afternoon with those children. However, being in a foreign country sometimes brings sickness and that sickness ended up on the front lawn. gross. So I was house-bound for the day which was more than frustrating. However....after chilaxing and taking a four-hour coma-nap I was feeling almost back to normal but still a little hesitant about food. oh well. I am tentatively planning to go to Mama Mary's tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) to play with those wonderful children....so pray that it all works out.
Today I got to experience the Friday market and running some errands in town with Delight. On the way there we had a fun encounter with a traffic police officer. He decided to randomly pull us over and asked for her driver's license (in Uganda it is called a "permit"). Much to Delight's surprise her license had expired. whoops! After chatting with him for a little bit, apologizing and promising to get it renewed he said "okay. i forgive you." and we were free to go. so that was a fun little adventure. the friday market was slightly overwhelming with so much to look at...and it was hot. hot. hot. today....
later this afternoon we went back to Heritage International School to take care of a few things. Our team had some bibles donated for us to pass out, and we brought them to a few of the students who had recently accepted Christ. I was overjoyed to be able to pass them out....and good thing we brought an extra with us because another high school student became a brother in Christ today. :) woohooo.
on a very random note...im pretty sure there is a gecko in the closet where my clothes are. a nice little friend....i hope he does not end up in my suitcase...ill have to send the boys after him later.
ill try to keep updating....sending lots of love from across the ocean.
peace out.
kirsten.
yesterday (thursday) was supposed to be a pretty full day for me. I had planned on going into the city of Kampala with Jon (he is working on his doctorate here in Uganda) to see some things and then go to back to the Mama Mary's children's home (via Boda!!!) to spend the better part of the afternoon with those children. However, being in a foreign country sometimes brings sickness and that sickness ended up on the front lawn. gross. So I was house-bound for the day which was more than frustrating. However....after chilaxing and taking a four-hour coma-nap I was feeling almost back to normal but still a little hesitant about food. oh well. I am tentatively planning to go to Mama Mary's tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) to play with those wonderful children....so pray that it all works out.
Today I got to experience the Friday market and running some errands in town with Delight. On the way there we had a fun encounter with a traffic police officer. He decided to randomly pull us over and asked for her driver's license (in Uganda it is called a "permit"). Much to Delight's surprise her license had expired. whoops! After chatting with him for a little bit, apologizing and promising to get it renewed he said "okay. i forgive you." and we were free to go. so that was a fun little adventure. the friday market was slightly overwhelming with so much to look at...and it was hot. hot. hot. today....
later this afternoon we went back to Heritage International School to take care of a few things. Our team had some bibles donated for us to pass out, and we brought them to a few of the students who had recently accepted Christ. I was overjoyed to be able to pass them out....and good thing we brought an extra with us because another high school student became a brother in Christ today. :) woohooo.
on a very random note...im pretty sure there is a gecko in the closet where my clothes are. a nice little friend....i hope he does not end up in my suitcase...ill have to send the boys after him later.
ill try to keep updating....sending lots of love from across the ocean.
peace out.
kirsten.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
goodbye uganda.
i wanted to start out by saying that this will be the last blog entry being here in Uganda. it has been such an amazing experience and God has taught us so many things...especially that we need to trust Him and that His will may not be our own will. With that...we are all packing right now because we are flying home tomorrow morning. We will be heading to the airport at 6 am and will arrive back in Chicago at 6:15 pm on May 20th.
It has been such a rollercoaster ride with emotions and decisions the last 3-4 days. It is definitely difficult for each one of us because we do not want to leave almost a week early.
But...God has his way of working things out. We had originally been scheduled to go to an orphanage on Saturday..Mama Mary runs the orphanage, but it did not look like it would work out. Tomorrow we were going to drive up and go on a safari which is 6 hours away, so it would be a couple days that we would be gone.
It ended up that after our VBS today, we were able to go to Mama Mary's and spend 3 hours there playing with the kids and doing crafts and singing. Those kids really touched our hearts. It was extremely difficult leaving them knowing how little they had and that we may not be able to ever see them again.
So basically...God worked it out that we could do every opportunity to serve here that we were given. We are missing the safari and another day at a village church...but we got to really show love to so many children here in Kampala. It has been an incredible trip and experience even if it was less than 2 weeks.
Pray for peace and comfort in our hearts. We know that God's will and plan will prevail and is..but it is difficult to understand at the same time. Pray for safety on our flight and while we stay overnight in London. Pray that we continue to unite as a team even in difficulties and our travel time.
Before I go back to packing...I wanted to share about our amazing VBS experience. Yesterday was our first day and at the beginning of the day we had about 30 kids. We would sing songs, teach them a lesson about a bible hero...do crafts..play games...and then come back together and go through it all again after learning about another hero. By the time we all came back again less than an hour later we had over 100 kids. By the end of the day we had close to 200. Today was about the same if not more. Those kids had so much joy and love to give, but yet had so little. Nothing. It was humbling and saddening to see at the same time-but also brought me so much joy. I think i can speak for most of our team when I say that this experience was amazing and I am so so happy that we were able to go for two days.
PLUS--after our skit at the school last week and the chapels we did ...at least 2 people that we know have accepted Christ. God is at work at that school and that is something we need to be so thankful and praise him for. Pray that God would work in all of the lives that we encountered and even our driver Julius!
Thank you for all of your support and prayer. We will be home soon!!
It has been such a rollercoaster ride with emotions and decisions the last 3-4 days. It is definitely difficult for each one of us because we do not want to leave almost a week early.
But...God has his way of working things out. We had originally been scheduled to go to an orphanage on Saturday..Mama Mary runs the orphanage, but it did not look like it would work out. Tomorrow we were going to drive up and go on a safari which is 6 hours away, so it would be a couple days that we would be gone.
It ended up that after our VBS today, we were able to go to Mama Mary's and spend 3 hours there playing with the kids and doing crafts and singing. Those kids really touched our hearts. It was extremely difficult leaving them knowing how little they had and that we may not be able to ever see them again.
So basically...God worked it out that we could do every opportunity to serve here that we were given. We are missing the safari and another day at a village church...but we got to really show love to so many children here in Kampala. It has been an incredible trip and experience even if it was less than 2 weeks.
Pray for peace and comfort in our hearts. We know that God's will and plan will prevail and is..but it is difficult to understand at the same time. Pray for safety on our flight and while we stay overnight in London. Pray that we continue to unite as a team even in difficulties and our travel time.
Before I go back to packing...I wanted to share about our amazing VBS experience. Yesterday was our first day and at the beginning of the day we had about 30 kids. We would sing songs, teach them a lesson about a bible hero...do crafts..play games...and then come back together and go through it all again after learning about another hero. By the time we all came back again less than an hour later we had over 100 kids. By the end of the day we had close to 200. Today was about the same if not more. Those kids had so much joy and love to give, but yet had so little. Nothing. It was humbling and saddening to see at the same time-but also brought me so much joy. I think i can speak for most of our team when I say that this experience was amazing and I am so so happy that we were able to go for two days.
PLUS--after our skit at the school last week and the chapels we did ...at least 2 people that we know have accepted Christ. God is at work at that school and that is something we need to be so thankful and praise him for. Pray that God would work in all of the lives that we encountered and even our driver Julius!
Thank you for all of your support and prayer. We will be home soon!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
frustration.
with all of the issues that have been going on with the airlines--the decision that looks like has been made is that we will fly home on Wednesday the 19th. this is very unfortunate and upsetting for each member on our team and even the missionaries here. please pray for peace for each one of us as it feels like we just got here and have so much more to do. i know its going to be hard for everyone. also pray that if there is any option that we can stay another day or two or three or even till when we were supposed to leave, that this door would be opened and shown to us.
if this is the final decision tomorrow will be our last day. we are going to do a VBS and also go to an orphanage afterwards. today's vbs was wonderful and we had close to 200 kids attending and they said it would probably be double tomorrow. and only 10 of us in charge! thankfully we have translators and some help from a few teachers.
please pray. now. thank you so much.
if this is the final decision tomorrow will be our last day. we are going to do a VBS and also go to an orphanage afterwards. today's vbs was wonderful and we had close to 200 kids attending and they said it would probably be double tomorrow. and only 10 of us in charge! thankfully we have translators and some help from a few teachers.
please pray. now. thank you so much.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
as we enter into this week....
hello friends. kirsten here. today was a wonderful day. we went to katale...to a local church this morning. they normally start around 11:00 but we got there at about 11:30. there were several people up in the front singing and we could recognize the melody to some of the songs but did not know the words because it was in luganda. you could definitely tell that we were visitors and they had the choir come back up and sing a few more songs because "when the visitors are happy....we are happy," the pastor explained. they were dancing and you could tell that singing praises was really a relational thing. a couple of people came up and gave testimonies and one lady explained how she was having a hard time in her village because of her faith. i did not understand the whole story, even though there was a translator but her and her family were being persecuted for being christians. the church service was longer than what we are used to and even leaving shortly after the service ended we did not get into the car until about 2:00...you can do the math. :)
monday (tomorrow) and tuesday we are going back to the church to do vbs with the children. pastor wilson announced to the children that we were going to be there to serve food and play games, and teach the children. he told them that they should tell everyone that they knew and bring their friends to the church tomorrow. delight (the missionary we are staying with) told us that the last team who did vbs at this church had about 400 children show up. so....we are in for some pretty long but very exciting days. our theme for the next two days is "heroes" and we will be teaching them about certain people in the bible who really walked by faith and what we can learn from them. prayers will definitely be appreciated as we start this week.....that we can just be a light to these children and show them the love of Christ.
tomorrow evening after vbs, we will be going to Kampala International University to participate in a bible study with the college students there. and then on tuesday after vbs, we will go to a place called Jordan's home. there are children/adults there ranging from 6 to 21 years old. many of these children are orphans, and we will get the chance just to play and talk with them.
God is good.
we will keep the updates coming.....good night!
monday (tomorrow) and tuesday we are going back to the church to do vbs with the children. pastor wilson announced to the children that we were going to be there to serve food and play games, and teach the children. he told them that they should tell everyone that they knew and bring their friends to the church tomorrow. delight (the missionary we are staying with) told us that the last team who did vbs at this church had about 400 children show up. so....we are in for some pretty long but very exciting days. our theme for the next two days is "heroes" and we will be teaching them about certain people in the bible who really walked by faith and what we can learn from them. prayers will definitely be appreciated as we start this week.....that we can just be a light to these children and show them the love of Christ.
tomorrow evening after vbs, we will be going to Kampala International University to participate in a bible study with the college students there. and then on tuesday after vbs, we will go to a place called Jordan's home. there are children/adults there ranging from 6 to 21 years old. many of these children are orphans, and we will get the chance just to play and talk with them.
God is good.
we will keep the updates coming.....good night!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Hello friends and family!!! This is Kristen :) Today was a little more "relaxing" day. It was the "MK" day (aka hang out with the 7 missionary kids). It was a beautiful sunny day with a bright blue sky! We went to the pool with the kids which was SO much fun! I have never seen a pool as brilliant blue before...for those IWU readers, it looked like the fountain when the dye is REALLY dark. Absolutely beautiful!!! Across from the pool was a wedding reception, so we saw the wedding party arrive which was awesome! It was great to spend time with the kids so their parents had a day for themselves. The kids were from 15 down to 4 but it was almost energizing spending time and laughing with them...and at one point singing songs in the pool with them :) Unfortunately a lot of us came home with a souvenier from the pool...aka sunburns. Thankfully we have aloe vera and Lisa fish (where Danielle, Beth, Emily and I are sleeping) has an aloe vera plant!!!
We are all learning and growing TON from God while here. It is crazy when I read from my "expectation" list for Uganda and how I was going grow and realizing how everything had SURPASSED my expectations by a long shot. God has been gently been teaching me about waiting on Him and His guidance. Even when it came to the STD seminar, things I prepared for that I did not expect to need, but I felt like God was telling me to prepare for were needed.
We are getting excited to lead Sunday school for the MKs tomorrow morning and go to a church at Katale and next week do a VBS at Katale.
Thank you for your prayers. Like the girls before said that the Devil is working against us, but JESUS WILL PREVAIL!!! He is on our side and we are working in His name. This next week, we would love prayers for the children that we are working with at Katale. We could also love to have prayers for continued energy. We praise God for what He is has been doing at the school and in the community!!!
Until next time, Mungu Akubariki (Swahi for God bless you)
We are all learning and growing TON from God while here. It is crazy when I read from my "expectation" list for Uganda and how I was going grow and realizing how everything had SURPASSED my expectations by a long shot. God has been gently been teaching me about waiting on Him and His guidance. Even when it came to the STD seminar, things I prepared for that I did not expect to need, but I felt like God was telling me to prepare for were needed.
We are getting excited to lead Sunday school for the MKs tomorrow morning and go to a church at Katale and next week do a VBS at Katale.
Thank you for your prayers. Like the girls before said that the Devil is working against us, but JESUS WILL PREVAIL!!! He is on our side and we are working in His name. This next week, we would love prayers for the children that we are working with at Katale. We could also love to have prayers for continued energy. We praise God for what He is has been doing at the school and in the community!!!
Until next time, Mungu Akubariki (Swahi for God bless you)
Friday, May 14, 2010
God=Amazing
Hi it is Heather again. It is late here and most people went off to their houses to sleep but I felt it was needed to praise God for all He has done on this trip so far. The past two days have been very busy. Today was our biggest day yet. On our agenda we had to lead two chapel services, lead a STD seminar, and paint a classroom. Thursday night was a very late night for all of us. The latest some of us were up was 2 am. We needed to arrive at the school at 7 am to prepare last minute details. All of us were exhausted but we knew God is our source of strength and that He had amazing things planned for the day. After our two chapel services were finished we received news that a high school student accepted Christ as their personal savior :) This was such an encouragement for all of us. As the day went on we did our STD seminar and realized that all of the information we shared was exactly what these kids needed to hear (another God thing ). God provided Lisa the opportunity to talk to a girl for awhile and was light into her life. Throughout the whole God just kept everything running smoothly and provided great witnessing opportunities. Satan has been working against us big time, but we know that just means we are doing something right. God has shown us over and over again how mighty He is. It is crazy to think that God brought all 10 of us girls together for a purpose. I know for me personally I've been learning patience. God has perfect timing for everything. And even though some of us are a little anxious about the British Airways strike we all know that God has a plan. He knew that this was going to happen before we did. Please just keep us in your prayers :)
My thoughts are all over the place tonight since I am so tired, but I needed to give a little shout out to our Savior.
Good Night Friends and Family :)
My thoughts are all over the place tonight since I am so tired, but I needed to give a little shout out to our Savior.
Good Night Friends and Family :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
praypraypraypraypraypray.
hey guys. Leah here. If you're reading this, I really need you to take a moment on behalf of our team... The situation that Heather and I talked about a couple of days ago with British Airways has become a little more stressful. We're being told that the strike within the airline could possibly not be resolved as soon as we had hoped... This would mean that we might not leave until a week or two after we had planned. Which wouldn't be good for the few on our team who have summer camp staff training and family activities to return to. We were also given the option to leave on the 19th... which is next Wednesday. About 5 days early. What we need from you right now is your prayers. Seriously. Pray that this will all be worked out or another alternative would be found. We're also praying for God's wisdom and will to be revealed to us. We want to make the decision based on what God has in store for us, rather than our emotions. We know that God allows everything to happen for a reason, so right now all we can do is pray and keep the faith that God will allow what's supposed to happen happen. Thanks for your prayers!!! If your a family member, don't worry, we'll be getting in contact with you if needed!! JUST PRAY.
mzungu?
Hello fellow Americans...and maybe some who are not. I do not know. We are taking a little break after our downtown market adventure before we head to dinner. Last night we had a cultural lesson and Ugandan meal at one of the hosts we are staying with. (Jen & John). Oh by the way...this is Lisa & Kirsten. AKA Platy and Pengu!
It started out with all of us in a line outside washing our hands. We had to scoop the water and take some soap and then rinse the water again. We then went inside where we first took off our shoes. Our appetizer was coffee beans and we had to bite the beans. I love beans. WOo woo woo. We then ate the inside of it and it had a lovely flavor. Our next appetizer was something quite unusual. SOme of you may think this is gross but we ate grasshoppers. Lovely little buggers with two piercing black eyes that were staring right at us right before we bit off their heads. I had 5! I loved them..me being lisa. Kirsten had one but the eyeballs were a little too much...The meal was traditional Ugandan food a lot of it being food we would not normally eat...greens, cabbage, chipattis, rice and meat, motoke & g-nut sauce. It was alll yummy!!
During our dinner which we were eating on the floor using our hands (Ugandans who live in the villages do not use silverware), we got a lot of cultural lessons from Jon who is working on his doctorate in Ugandan History..and relations...or something like that. It was really interesting!
Today we got to spend time in the markets and our favorite parts were interacting with the shop owners and people of Uganda. Juliet was one of our favorites. She loves Obama...and our hair. We heard over and over how she would love to have hair like ours. She was so sweet and we would love to take her home with us!! Some of the girls got to walk on the street while others were shopping and we ran into a little girl and her dad. The dad was saying "take a photo of her!" and "she wants a photo"...her name was Irene and she was probably about 5 years old. She was so cute and had the biggest smile on her face. We took pictures and showed her our cameras and she loved seeing herself on the screen. Seeing people on the street even while driving is probably the most interesting and heartbreaking part of this trip.
Ok off to dinner. G'day mates.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tea and Crumpets?
Hello fellow blog followers
This is Heather and Leah reporting for duty. Where to begin...we are all alive and well. Pretty much recovered from jet lag. We spent the past two days working at Heritage International School. We have all been assigned a wide variety of tasks. Such as, inventory, participating in art classes, sharing testimonies, swimming with the little ones, observing student behavior, tutoring, and working with special needs children. We arrive at the school at 8 am and come home around 3ish. Our afternoons have been filled with planning ahead for our STD seminar, skits, songs, VBS (vacation bible school), and LAUGHTER. haha. Every night we eat at a different WGM houses. We get to sit down and answer the usual questions: where are you from, what's your major, what the heck are you going to do with that intercultural studies major, and what do you want to do for the rest of your life. Oh and my favorite....are any of you dating accountant majors? Our team decided to do a skit for the older kids chapel on friday. The skit we are performing is the Everything skit (look it up on youtube its awesome). We ran into one problem while practicing....we needed a male Jesus. Danielle was a great fill in but we needed a man. At one of the houses we ate at we met a young man in the prime of his life (24-27) ready to be Jesus (we tricked him into doing this ;] ) He learns fast...thank goodness....and we are really excited to perform. We were told that a few of the kids at the school are close to becoming Christians so we hope that this skit and our testimonies have an impact.
Tonight we are eating...................................GRASSHOPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!! nom nom nom
Now...we have something important for all y'all to be praying for. It has been brought to our attentions that British airways is going on strike. In case you didnt know this is the airline that gets us home. They are specifically striking on the days we are leaving (this totally would happen) BUT.....we were told that this sort of thing happens quite a bit and should be resolved :)
PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!!!! thank you my kind people. haha.
We love you all
Thanks for reading
Thanks for praying
Thanks for being you :)
rawr
Peace and Blessings
Peace and Blessings
tea and crumpets?
This is Heather and Leah reporting for duty. Where to begin...we are all alive and well. Pretty much recovered from jet lag. We spent the past two days working at Heritage International School. We have all been assigned a wide variety of tasks. Such as, inventory, participating in art classes, sharing testimonies, swimming with the little ones, observing student behavior, tutoring, and working with special needs children. We arrive at the school at 8 am and come home around 3ish. Our afternoons have been filled with planning ahead for our STD seminar, skits, songs, VBS (vacation bible school), and LAUGHTER. haha. Every night we eat at a different WGM houses. We get to sit down and answer the usual questions: where are you from, what's your major, what the heck are you going to do with that intercultural studies major, and what do you want to do for the rest of your life. Oh and my favorite....are any of you dating accountant majors? Our team decided to do a skit for the older kids chapel on friday. The skit we are performing is the Everything skit (look it up on youtube its awesome). We ran into one problem while practicing....we needed a male Jesus. Danielle was a great fill in but we needed a man. At one of the houses we ate at we met a young man in the prime of his life (24-27) ready to be Jesus (we tricked him into doing this ;] ) He learns fast...thank goodness....and we are really excited to perform. We were told that a few of the kids at the school are close to becoming Christians so we hope that this skit and our testimonies have an impact.
Tonight we are eating...................................GRASSHOPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!! nom nom nom
Now...we have something important for all y'all to be praying for. It has been brought to our attentions that British airways is going on strike. In case you didnt know this is the airline that gets us home. They are specifically striking on the days we are leaving (this totally would happen) BUT.....we were told that this sort of thing happens quite a bit and should be resolved :)
PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!!!! thank you my kind people. haha.
We love you all
Thanks for reading
Thanks for praying
Thanks for being you :)
rawr
Peace and Blessings
Peace and Blessings
tea and crumpets?
Monday, May 10, 2010
We are here!!!!
We made it!!!!! I am sitting at Kenneth and Delight's dining room table in Uganda! We made it through the airports and onto our flights with no problems at all. It was definitely a blessing that it went so smoothly. We are all quite jet-lagged, but trying to stay awake so we can adjust to the time difference (eight hours ahead of Chicago!). We just got back from seeing Heritage International School where we will be working this week...lots to do and we are all going to be busy busy busy. More to come later....
kirsten.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
we're leaving today.
how did we get here?? we will be getting on the plane in about 10 hours. wow. i was talking with Kirsten about how we have gotten this far obviously not on our own...so during travel and while we're there we need to continue to lean on God because He is who brought us here! With raising all of our money and to each member on the team...God knew what He was doing for sure.
i should probably get my last minute stuff together! keep us in your prayers. we take off at 8:10!! yay.
so excited.
-lisa
i should probably get my last minute stuff together! keep us in your prayers. we take off at 8:10!! yay.
so excited.
-lisa
Thursday, May 6, 2010
2dAyS!!!!
Packing is CrAzY!!!! We are leaving in 2 days and are so stoked!!!
Thank you for everyone who has been praying for the team. We can definitely feel the prayers because we have gotten so close! It has been amazing getting to know each and everyone of the girls and growing closer to each other the last 6 months as we have prepared for this adventure. God has been so evident through the process of preparation and it has been AMAZING learning with the girls more about His Spirit as we read The Forgotten God by Francis Chen together. We have learned more about the power of the Holy Spirit and we want Him to guide our missions. I believe if you asked any one of the girls they would agree with me when I say that we have grown so close together because we have allowed God guide our way thus far. We have laughed together, cryed together, prayed together, eaten together, celebrated together, planned together, loved together and grown together. I am absolutely thrilled for the next three weeks, but I know we cannot do it without God on our side. The closeness of our team is wonderful, but that is what the devil is going to attack the most, so PRAY for continued unity for our team please! We are united through Christ and it is my prayer that we continue to stay united through Christ!
PS girls...I want to celebrate with a 2day cake today...it seems like yesterday when we had our 75 day cake :)
Thank you for everyone who has been praying for the team. We can definitely feel the prayers because we have gotten so close! It has been amazing getting to know each and everyone of the girls and growing closer to each other the last 6 months as we have prepared for this adventure. God has been so evident through the process of preparation and it has been AMAZING learning with the girls more about His Spirit as we read The Forgotten God by Francis Chen together. We have learned more about the power of the Holy Spirit and we want Him to guide our missions. I believe if you asked any one of the girls they would agree with me when I say that we have grown so close together because we have allowed God guide our way thus far. We have laughed together, cryed together, prayed together, eaten together, celebrated together, planned together, loved together and grown together. I am absolutely thrilled for the next three weeks, but I know we cannot do it without God on our side. The closeness of our team is wonderful, but that is what the devil is going to attack the most, so PRAY for continued unity for our team please! We are united through Christ and it is my prayer that we continue to stay united through Christ!
PS girls...I want to celebrate with a 2day cake today...it seems like yesterday when we had our 75 day cake :)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
13. days.
we had our last meeting as a team on Friday. it's so surreal that we will no longer have meetings preparing to leave for this trip and the next time we are all together is when we are at the airport getting ready to fly to Uganda. this team has been such as blessing in my life and i know in Kirsten's as well. it's been so awesome getting to know each of the girls and learning how we can work together as a team to serve in Uganda.
during one of our meetings, we shared testimonies. i'm so glad that we feel comfortable enough with each other that we can all be vulnerable and open. after sharing our testimonies, it became obvious why God placed each one of us on the team together. the things we have gone through and each of our personalities relate directly to some of the things we will be doing in Uganda. God doesn't waste anything...even hard times. We will get to use those hard times to give hope to the children in Uganda, and I know we all are so excited about that.
please pray for peace for each of us on our team. finals will be going on in the next few days, and I know it's hard to focus on that when there is so much else going on. Also pray for safety and protection for each of us while we are at the different airports.
we will all fly out of Chicago after some members of the team fly from other states to meet us there. We will leave at 8:10 on May 25th, so if you want to pray specifically during that time that would be great. We arrive in London at 9:45 am which I believe is 3:45 am in Central time and 4:45 am Eastern. Then we have a 12 hour layover at the London airport. And finally we will get on the plane at 9:45 pm which is 4:45 pm EST and 3:45 pm Central.
We will then finally arrive in Uganda on May 10th at 7:45 am which is 11:45 pm Central and 12:45 am EST.
SO now that you know all that, please please pray for our team during those time periods. The traveling may be the most stressful part for us. Pray that everything will go as planned and no delay will happen due to the volcano...and lastly pray for safety and protection while we are flying and at the airports.
we are so excited to go. thanks so much for your support.
during one of our meetings, we shared testimonies. i'm so glad that we feel comfortable enough with each other that we can all be vulnerable and open. after sharing our testimonies, it became obvious why God placed each one of us on the team together. the things we have gone through and each of our personalities relate directly to some of the things we will be doing in Uganda. God doesn't waste anything...even hard times. We will get to use those hard times to give hope to the children in Uganda, and I know we all are so excited about that.
please pray for peace for each of us on our team. finals will be going on in the next few days, and I know it's hard to focus on that when there is so much else going on. Also pray for safety and protection for each of us while we are at the different airports.
we will all fly out of Chicago after some members of the team fly from other states to meet us there. We will leave at 8:10 on May 25th, so if you want to pray specifically during that time that would be great. We arrive in London at 9:45 am which I believe is 3:45 am in Central time and 4:45 am Eastern. Then we have a 12 hour layover at the London airport. And finally we will get on the plane at 9:45 pm which is 4:45 pm EST and 3:45 pm Central.
We will then finally arrive in Uganda on May 10th at 7:45 am which is 11:45 pm Central and 12:45 am EST.
SO now that you know all that, please please pray for our team during those time periods. The traveling may be the most stressful part for us. Pray that everything will go as planned and no delay will happen due to the volcano...and lastly pray for safety and protection while we are flying and at the airports.
we are so excited to go. thanks so much for your support.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
42 days.
Just wanted to give a quick update---we're leaving in 42 days!!
AND...all money is due on Wednesday! It's been awesome to see how much money has come in within the last month. In February we had over $22,000 left to raise as a team, and right now, we have just over $3,000!!
But still...we need your prayer and support. Please pray that we get all of our money in by the deadline so each one of us is able to go. If you would like to donate any more money, you can still do that this week. If you are interested, let me know.
Thanks so much for your support,
Lisa & Kirsten
AND...all money is due on Wednesday! It's been awesome to see how much money has come in within the last month. In February we had over $22,000 left to raise as a team, and right now, we have just over $3,000!!
But still...we need your prayer and support. Please pray that we get all of our money in by the deadline so each one of us is able to go. If you would like to donate any more money, you can still do that this week. If you are interested, let me know.
Thanks so much for your support,
Lisa & Kirsten
Thursday, March 4, 2010
aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!
The tickets have been bought!!!! We have reached the point financially where we were able to book the flights and purchase tickets. So it is officially official. :)
The journey so far has been awesome but also challenging. Sometimes I feel like the world is spinning spinning spinning! The feeling of unity on our team is incredible and that is something that was most definitely brought about by God. He handpicked each one of us and we are coming together and getting to know each other so well. It is truly amazing and I love each one of the beautiful women on our team.
We are still working on raising funds...and it is coming in slowly but we are getting there. There have definitely been speed bumps along the way, and not everyone is supportive and so we continue to ask for your prayers. One thing I have learned is that God is faithful. In times of doubting and discouragement, he has truly made his presence known. This is for Him and His glory. God is bigger than any power that works against us and He has strength that none of us can fathom. A verse that has been resonating in my head as we get closer to leaving, and just as I am working through other things in life right now comes from Isaiah. God states, "I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" (46:4). When we feel tired and beaten down, and discouraged, God reminds us that he is here. He PROMISES to carry. He PROMISES to sustain. He knows we cannot go the distance alone, and He does not expect us to. Instead, God asks that we remember his abiding presence, and lean on Him and his unfailing love....He yearns for our dependence.
Well...dependence is not always easy. But God is in control and he will carry us when we finally decide to let him. And when we do...crazy things happen. :)
As we move forward, I am praying that we reach our financial goal of course. But I also pray that all ten of us find courage and strength like we have never know before. Courage to fall at the feet of God in complete dependence, and strength to do exactly what he asks of us. But all with the knowledge that God is carrying us the whole way through...
The countdown is now at 64 days!!!!!
So. so. so. stoked.
kirsten.
The journey so far has been awesome but also challenging. Sometimes I feel like the world is spinning spinning spinning! The feeling of unity on our team is incredible and that is something that was most definitely brought about by God. He handpicked each one of us and we are coming together and getting to know each other so well. It is truly amazing and I love each one of the beautiful women on our team.
We are still working on raising funds...and it is coming in slowly but we are getting there. There have definitely been speed bumps along the way, and not everyone is supportive and so we continue to ask for your prayers. One thing I have learned is that God is faithful. In times of doubting and discouragement, he has truly made his presence known. This is for Him and His glory. God is bigger than any power that works against us and He has strength that none of us can fathom. A verse that has been resonating in my head as we get closer to leaving, and just as I am working through other things in life right now comes from Isaiah. God states, "I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" (46:4). When we feel tired and beaten down, and discouraged, God reminds us that he is here. He PROMISES to carry. He PROMISES to sustain. He knows we cannot go the distance alone, and He does not expect us to. Instead, God asks that we remember his abiding presence, and lean on Him and his unfailing love....He yearns for our dependence.
Well...dependence is not always easy. But God is in control and he will carry us when we finally decide to let him. And when we do...crazy things happen. :)
As we move forward, I am praying that we reach our financial goal of course. But I also pray that all ten of us find courage and strength like we have never know before. Courage to fall at the feet of God in complete dependence, and strength to do exactly what he asks of us. But all with the knowledge that God is carrying us the whole way through...
The countdown is now at 64 days!!!!!
So. so. so. stoked.
kirsten.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
getting closer.
I feel like I should at least update this once a month before we leave. Since it has been around a month, I guess it's around that time :) . Well...over the last month since I last updated, we have gotten even closer as a team, and gotten even closer financially and time wise! We are leaving for Uganda in 76 days!!! So crazy. I don't think it has hit me yet that we are actually traveling to another continent in less than 3 months. All of us are so excited to be going and so ready to serve. God has blessed us with an incredible group of girls. I love them all and I am so glad that I am getting to know everyone better as time goes on before we leave. :) We are up to halfway with raising our funds! We are continually praying and trusting God that He will provide us with the rest. Since this is a more expensive trip than some of the others, it has been difficult getting money to come in. Besides sending out letters, we are also in the process of doing different fundraisers. So far, they are going pretty well. We will be showing Invisible Children at the Globe Theater this coming week. Invisible Children does not have any copyright laws, and they are allowing us to show it without paying them anything. So all of the proceeds we make will go towards our team, which is awesome. If you have never heard of it, I would definitely check it out. It's a documentary about the children of Northern Uganda who are abducted from their homes and forced to be child soldiers. It is so heartbreaking to watch, but also very eye opening and good to know that there are changes being made with this Invisible Children movement.
Besides doing VBS activities we will also be traveling to the Buvuma Islands on Lake Victoria. This is one of the things I am most excited about doing. The people there have no electricty, they live in mud huts, and the island has an abundance of children! There are many orphans that live on this island, and we will be able to work with them. If you want to check out their website....here it is. http://www.buvuma.org/
Please continue praying for our team. That we would not just be a group of people going, but a united team working together. Pray that we would be able to raise our funds by the end of March. Also pray for the children we will be working with and the missionaries we are staying with (Kenneth and Delight Hopson). If you ever want more information about World Gospel Mission, go to this website...
Thanks so much for your prayers and support..
-Lisa
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