Home again home again

So I have been home for about 5 days now. Something like that. It still does not seem quite real. I am having a little trouble plugging back in to life here. I don't have a phone and today is the first day of real Internet access since I got back. Everyone wants to know my plan and where I am going to work or if I am going back and what is next. The truth is....I just don't know. I wish I did. I would tell you. But I don't. I am waiting on the Lord to fill me in. I know I can trust him to do just that. So ....I sit and I wait..wondering but not worrying.

I am missing Uganda and missing my kids. Wondering how everyone there is doing. Are they healthy...are they happy? Are they playing and laughing or is some ugly disease rearing its head. I pray for Renee. She is on her own for a while. I'm gone. Danielle is gone. She is so strong. I don't think I could do it on my own. Well she does have the staff, but still it must feel overwhelming. Be with her Lord.

And another thing....it is COLD here. It is spitting snow and the wind is blowing and that makes me miss Uganda even more!

Hmmm. Reality is a weird thing. I am house sitting today and I look around and I am surrounded by luxury and abundance and my mind drifts to the kids. Not the ones in Renee's, but the ones in the village. Will they eat tonight, or will they go hungry? Will yet another end up at the gate pleading for help? Will the house blow over in the rainstorm tonight? That actually happened the day before I left. The rain and wind came and it came with a vengeance. The rain was coming sideways and as I lay in my warm bed in the guest house, just a few yards away my friend Carol and her family were wet and cold as their house melted ( it was made of mud ) and fell down in the dark of the night. What is happening to them now? How will they live? And there are so many families just like them there in that village. And so many villages like Masese there in Uganda. Oh Lord it is just too much to take some days. I cry out to you and ask you to intervene in their lives. Make you power and love and Mercy known to each of them. May your messengers go and share your love and you sacrifice with them. May they know that regardless of what happens in this world, that you have a better plan. A plan they can be part of. A plan far better than anything we could hope or imagine. They need you Lord. I need you.

May I and the world around me see through your eyes.

a little video

A little of life in Masese.....

Last night in Uganda

Well tonight is my last night in Uganda. What a day it has been. We got two new kids today..twins. They are very small but pretty healthy considering they are malnourished. Took two people to the hospital today. Packed. Said some sad goodbyes to friends I have bonded with. Said goodbye to all my babies which was really hard for me. Ran around like a chicken with my head cut off tonight but it is almost 11 and I am done for the night. A few short hours from now my adventure continues around the bend in the road. Where? I can not see just yet...the forest is thick and the road curves and I can not see. I am excited though. What wonderful things the Lord might have in store! My time here comes to a close with my heart filled with mixed emotions. I hate to leave but long to see my friends and family. There is so much to do here but my leaving has created a job for a Uganda nurse that began working this week. How wonderful that is! All I know for sure is that nearly every single day for weeks the Lord has been saying to me...DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW! So I really am not worried. I am just walking in today....right now that means walking in the other room and falling in my bed for a few short hours...and perhaps dream of the wonderful things God may have in store for me next.

Teddy update

So Today is day 14 of our vigil with Teddy. We have been trying to help her overcome this pneumonia in her lungs and it has been a big battle. We have had ups and downs and set backs and moments of victory. We still do not know how this will end. What we do know is that God is ultimately in control and we must continue to trust him. Please continue to pray for Teddy as this battle is not yet over. Please also pray for wisdom for all of us and Teddy's family as we make decisions on how best to care for Teddy.

Pray for Teddy

So the last week is kind of a blur. Teddy who has been with us since the first week of January, took seriously ill last Wednesday with severe pneumonia. She came very close to going home to be with Jesus, but somehow with a lot of prayer, oxygen, and medicine, she continues to fight and hang on. She has been fighting her battle for health and life for 8 months now. It all began with the bite of a mosquito, which led to cerebral malaria. Since then this normal little girl, who was going to school and playing with her friends has been devastated by the disease and the resulting complications. She now has permanent brain damage, is unable to walk or talk or swallow properly. As a result she became severely malnourished. The latest round of pneumonia (not her first) has been quite severe. As of this morning, she is doing better and we are cautiously optimistic. She is off oxygen for the first time in a week and has a feeding tube in place to help with hydration. I have been unable to obtain an IV line because her poor little veins are so weak and are either all used up from being poked so many times, or blow the second you establish a line. PLEASE PRAY for Teddy. She needs God to intervene and help her to get better. She needs to be able to swallow better, she needs her body to begin to produce blood the way God designed it to, she need strength to fight.
Pray also for Danielle and I as we continue into day 8 of round the clock vigil with her. We are both tired and weary and our hearts are burdened. We both desire to see God lifted up and glorified and are trying hard to understand and see how this will be in this situation. Pray that we will have supernatural strength, wisdom to know what to do and when to do it, and endurance to finish how ever long this goes on. Pray also for the family of Teddy who are weary from months of this battle for Teddy's life. Thank you for standing with us as we trust and believe.

Safari

So it has been several weeks since I posted anything. Part of that is because I was on Safari with Rick and Carolyn for a few days. Part of it is because I have been crazy busy since I got back.

For those of you who don't know, Rick and Carolyn are good friends of mine who happen to also be the Mom and Step dad of my best friend Lori. They came half way across the world to visit me, and go on Safari while they happened to be in Africa. :)

They were generous enough to share the experience with me and treated me to several days of Safari in the southwest corner of Uganda.
It was really wonderful with good food and good conversations. We had a nice time trekking in the Kyambura Gorge looking for chimpanzees. We did not find them in the end, but had a wonderful time looking. It was a very lush rain forest, which was kind enough to give us the full experience and rained a lot while we were down in it. We did see baboons in the trees quite close and "evidence" of recent elephants walking about nearby. We also got to see a large hippo swimming in the river from a short distance away. It was all very incredible. Our guide was highly disappointed we did not find out chimps, but all of us were pretty happy. Our trek ended by getting to see some black and white monkeys sitting in the trees on the edge of the gorge. It was a great day.

One thing that really struck me as we went about our time on Safari was this:
God created everything after its own kind. Yes, I know that this is not a new revelation of any sort, but it was just everywhere and in your face. Everything that I saw, from monkeys to crocodile's, elephants, water bucks, lizards and birds, everything had babies just like themselves. I was reminded that God made them all, male and female (including humans) to reproduce after themselves. And boy do they! There were cute little babies everywhere. All looking like, or very close to alike, the parents that made them. I know that does not make me politically correct, but guess what?....the Truth very often is not politically correct.

I am grateful for the few days of down time, good sleep, good food and good friends. How truly blessed I am. I will attach a couple of pics. It was so fun to see the animals in the natural environment, with no fences or zoo's. I wish everyone of you could have the same opportunity. It you ever get the chance I highly recommend it!

As for me, I took the bus back cross country by myself on Monday. ( sorry Mom ) That trip in itself was an amazing experience. I got to see much of the country and meet interesting people and conquer some fears of my own. Thank God with me for safe passage. Also please keep Rick and Carolyn in your prayers for safe Safari and safe travel home. Today (Saturday) they should be hiking with Silver back Gorillas. Pray they safely see some!

Chris Rice, Tell Me the Story Again

Just a great song..I never get tired of listening to.