Blessed in Holland

I have often asked myself: "Who am I, that I should be so blessed?" and lately that has been running through my head again.  My Dad is known to respond to times with "Wow, God loves ME!" and that's how I feel right now.  There are a few reasons why I decided to go back to Ontario for the month of June, and since my ticket home provided an extended layover in Holland, I decided it was best to stop there for a few days.

Before even leaving Uganda though, I started seeing God move in amazing ways.  The week before I left was emotionally tough for me, and the local shop keeper that I have been walking alongside of - for pricing, inventory, and shop appeal, found a way to be a blessing to me.  On the morning of my departure he picked me up from my house and arranged for all of my baggage to get on the PostBus.  Then in Kampala he had a friend pick me up downtown and drive me all the way out to the airport.  Wow, such great service!  All I could say was: "God is GOOD!"

Then after a smooth flight to the Netherlands, a taxi was provided for me there from the family I went to visit.  It's hard to believe it's been 12 years since I was a nanny in Holland.  My little boys are now 15, 17, and 19... but man did we have a great time hanging out.

 I'm glad I stopped in Holland - it was a peaceful place to unwind from the ministry in Uganda and to prepare for the surprise of going home.  I spent a lot of time just hanging out with my host family, but I also took the bus into Den Haag to explore the city and to visit other friends.  I am always amazed at the number of bikes parked at the central station. 

Culture shock started to appear - how neat and organized everything appeared to be, how silent the buses were, the delicious breads and cheeses, the drivers were back on the left side of the car and driving was on the right side of the road, and so much more.

 Dutch royalty - a site to behold!

This is one of my favourite Dutch scenes... taken from the end of the driveway - The walking bath, bike path, and then the narrow roads.  I spent some cool afternoons biking around quaint Wassenaar and walking the Australian shepherd in the park by a castle.  I love Europe.

Scrabble Tournament

On Saturday and Sunday a preliminary scrabble tournament was put together.  National Championships will be in the middle of June - held in Soroti, so the club member are excited.  I had the privilege of gathering prizes for the winners.

12 guys competed - each playing 12 games.

The top three players all won a New Testament.  They were delighted.  I also gave some sweets to all the players.  Again, building relationships is key in Uganda... I love seeing how God opens doors to share His Word.

Testimonies from Kamuda

Saturday afternoon, I drove back out to Kamuda to finish a three week Bible study on the Gospel... how to understand and tell our faith in five simple words:  Heaven, Man, God, Jesus, Faith.

The youth asked me if I would stay longer this week, because they wanted to share testimonies of their time at Mto Moyoni.  I didn't go with this group, but I sure did want to hear their stories.

One girl stood up and shared about how God has really become her Father!!  She is no longer a total orphan.  SomeOne is looking out for her.

A young man stood up and described how he has now recognized that God doesn't want him to be a fighter anymore.  And Jesus is his Brother... so he wants to start looking up to his older brother.

One of the best stories for me comes from a leader.  In 1983 this young man's father went to Kenya to do missions in the slums of Niarobi, Kenya.  He was a young boy at the time.  In 1993 his father came home to visit and made lots of promises - I'll put you kids through school, I'll move back to Uganda, etc, but ever since that day he has not seen his father.  His mother died when he was 11, so he was raised by unfit brothers. 

Recently he met a Kenyan couple, and after sharing stories, the Kenyan couple recognized the names, and they know his father.  Communication is just beginning after 19 years of silence.  At Mto Moyoni this leader recognized that he can not hold 30 years of bitterness and anger against his father.  He is praying for a forgiving heart and that someday soon he will be able to see his earthly father and begin to restore the relationship.  He believes it can only be by the grace of God that his father has been found and that he is willing to have discussions with family.

Please pray that God will continue to shape and mold this community.

One Night in India

My friends at the Sikh temple have been telling me for weeks to make sure that my calendar was clear for Saturday night.  A huge celebration was being held and Indians were coming from around the country to take part in the festivities.  Saturday night was just fellowship and meal.  Sunday morning was for a ceremony, changing of the flag, and more food.  I wasn't going to go on Sunday - because I have to and want to go to my own "prayers" on Sunday morning, but I made sure to go on Saturday night.

Donning my new punjabi suit, I drove over to the temple to hang out with the young moms with their babies in the house.  Some of the other ladies were hard at work rolling out hundreds of chapatis.  The men were lifting heavy hot pots and rolling out two long mats for people to sit on.  Conversation flowed as people sat down on the ground, with a tray of food in front of them.  The attire was beautiful for all the Indians who attended, but all people groups were invited.  Street kids made their way into the line-up to try spicy food and sweet rice.  The language was foreign to me, but I felt like for one night I went on a holiday. 

I am so grateful for the open friendship that I have with my friends at the Sikh temple. 

 

Back to Bululu

The rainy seasons have changed the shape of the road.  A few months ago, when I drove to Bululu, it was like driving on beach sand.  This morning the road was muddy and filled with hard potholes.  My friend asked me if it was better to drive on these roads, or the sandy roads.  I responded with "well, these roads might be safer, because I am driving slower to safe my car from further repairs, but the sandy roads are more fun to drive on!"

We were heading back to Bululu to have a day of encouragement and testimonies.  The villagers are still so grateful for the training in Evangelism, but even more so, they had so many stories to report about children's ministry.  There was one lady who stood up and said that even though she didn't attend the training a few months ago, she has seen a change in her church's programming, and in the lives of her children.  They are now learning Bible stories, and coming home with ideas of drawing pictures in the sand.  I was so excited!!  The Lord is good.

This village in Bululu has definitely found a place in my heart.  Before I left, we shared a meal of posho (white corn meal) and chicken.  And I was blessed with a rooster and a bag of mangoes to go home with.  They insist that I come back to try more original honey from the tree.  :)

While driving home with this cock in my boot (trunk), I thought about how I would cook it, since I don't have a fridge, stove, oven, or any means of cooking at the moment.  Then I decided to give it to my landlords - since they are offering me so much food lately... it was nice to return the blessing.  So tomorrow night I shall eat chicken with my neighbours.

Writing Lists

I have slowly become a list making person and it goes against my grain, but there are things I must accomplish now days.

• Go to the bank to pay the water bill (20 minutes)
• Pay school fees for a team-mate (3 hours)
• Call the plumber (and wait in the house for 4 hours while he works)
• Organizing for two groups of youth to go to Mto Moyoni.
• Photocopy 120 pages for the Evangelism Bible study I am doing in Kamuda (1 hour)
• Then grocery lists
• And lists of contacts that I need to meet up

Here is the youth group from Abim.  I spent four days with them - listening to and exploring the Father Heart of God.

 

 

Rainy Activities

The other night I came home from town just as it was starting to rain.  These boys were playing with a few cars outside on the tiny verandah.  When they saw me, they started complaining that they were getting wet.

 I invited the neighbour boys inside to play cars and colour pictures.  They were super excited when I brought out a plastic car mat for them to play with.  They had never seen such a town!!