My 40th Continued...

I am blessed with some awesome and giving colleagues and friends here in Soroti.  Last week, three ladies and a baby showed up at my house to kidnap me for a few days.  It was supposed to have been a complete surprise, but due to scheduling and ministry, we had to postpone and plan this amazing getaway.  The ladies came at lunch time and blindfolded me and took me away to Murchison Falls National Park for a two-night getaway.  

 On the first night, we relaxed at Fort Murchison Lodge, overlooking the Nile River and Lake Albert.

I shared a safari tent with Ronnie and baby Corrie.

I loved the sunset the first night!

We got up at 5 the next morning to drive into the park, but I ended up with a seriously running stomach, and we had to delay the trip by 5 hours.  When we got to the park gate, I was the only one with a passport and a work permit, proving that I was a foreign resident, so the ladies sent me out to use my strength of "woo".  Delightfully the man at the park gate was also from Soroti and he believed my story that we were all working in Soroti, but that the other ladies had their passports at immigration.  It's a $60 difference in price per person.  :) God is good!

Then the safari drive began...

Beautiful!

Nature at it's finest

Too close for comfort... his buddy on the other side of our vehicle raised his ears and trumpeted to warn that we were in their territory... we quickly drove away.

Bones got tired during the game drive

When we got back in the afternoon, I was so hungry, I wante

d to eat from the Sausage Tree!

But, instead, I waited for the delicious meal the lodge provided!

(Now, the rest of the pictures are actually Rachel's!  She has a far better camera... I honestly need to get a good camera, I'm so disappointed with most of my shots.)

Here I am being "Kidnapped" from home.

Don't worry, I only had to wear the blindfold for a few minutes.

Hippos, which we almost hit early in the morning on the second day.  On the first day we drove around the park ourselves, but on the second day (since we were given a 24 hour park pass) we decided to hire a UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) guide and purposely look for cats.

My favourite - WARTHOGS!

Cape Buffalo

Did you know that giraffes can live up to 28 years, and the male giraffes get darker the older they get?  Starting around aged 20.

Majestic

We had an incredible time with the UWA man... who spotted this leopard in a bush... we watched this pregnant mama walk through the grass for some time until she found a nice branch to rest on.

When we found a pride of 7 lions I actually choked up.  God has created the most magnificent animals and I had the joy of seeing a family, with 5 cubs relaxing freely in the wild.

The thousands of Uganda Cobb in the back we not relaxed though.. they were very aware that there was a predator in the area.  So incredible!

This was our last animal sighting as we left the park.  Wow!

Murchison is 5000 square kilometers of wildlife.

I am beyond grateful for the gift I received from Ronnie, Jennifer, and Rachel.  

Happy 40th Birthday to me!

June 27, 2016... Happy 40th Birthday

In Uganda, all day long on your birthday, people call you "Baby" and baptize you with water. 

I was able to get most of the way throughout the day without getting wet... until the cake cutting ceremony at the party.

I decided to throw a big birthday bash and I was blessed by a great crowd of friends, colleagues, neighbours, church friends and more.

 The first of two baptisms

 The food table was a hit

 Standing in line

 Choosing treats that came "40" in number

 Dancing

 Eating

 Playing a game... I wrapped a small gift in layers and layers of newspaper, and then had a fun game of "Musical Unwrapping".  When the music stopped, a participant had to put on a pair of oven mitts and use two forks to rip through the tape and paper.  Super fun!!

 I also had people filling in a personal quiz about me  throughout the night.  40 questions to see how much my friends knew about me.

 I have a feeling many people learned even more things about me when I revealed the answers.

 Peter won!

 Cake cutting ceremony

A birthday letter from a sweet sister.

Father Heart

June 23-24... I found myself at a child sponsorship site - training the parents about the Father Heart of God.  I once again loved training along side of Peter and Tereza.  I spoke on mothers - the role the play, what happens when they are absent, what a Godly mother looks like and more.  Peter spoke more from the father's perspective.  Even though none of us are parents, I loved seeing how God provided awesome material for us to lead these struggling, vulnerable parents.

 Tea time

 Ice breakers

 Teaching with Teddy 

 Lunch time

 Chowing down

 On the ground...

 Day two

Posho and beans.  

African Child Day 2016

For the past three years I have been the guest speaker for "African Child's Day" at Precious Children Nursery and Primary schools.  I always love being with these children and the relationships are growing with the teachers.

 The children did a few songs and poetry presentations.

 I told Bible stories about characters who prayed - Hannah, Daniel, Peter.

 The kids listened well, sang with excitement, and participated with energy.

 Sharing God's Word is a delight for me.

 Captain Salvation joined me in the ministry this year.  :)

 Although the kids really wished that he could fly. 

This little girl was recognized for being such an active listener and participant.

Songs, games, stories...

all of it focusing on the fact that:

Children can Pray!

Admitted with Malaria

On Monday, May 30th I trained at a small private school in the village.  There were 23 attendees at the training, and I shared about creative teaching methods, eight different multiple intelligences, and that pupils are made in the image of God.  During lunch, my friend Jennifer - a nurse - was showing school staff on how to use a malaria test kit.  Everyone watched with curiosity, and at the time, I had no idea that I would be driving over to Jennifer's house that night looking for a test kit myself.
The test came up negative.
The next day I traveled to Kampala to get my car fixed, to watch a movie, and to relax. 
Wednesday morning, I still wasn't feeling good.  The headaches had been occurring for about 4 days... and well...
I ended up blacking out in one lab, throwing up in another... and finally being admitted at IHK (the International Hospital of Kampala).  I had no idea the malaria was so high.  Shivers, fever, headache, joints aching, and nausea.  I have never spent a night in the hospital in my life... but I guess there is a first time for everything.
At least I have friends in many places.  People came to check on me, and thankfully the hospital provided food and bedding.  (Many hospitals in Uganda do not provide those things.)
I spent two nights in the hospital, until malaria was no longer sighted in the bloodwork.  I drove home with friends on Friday afternoon, and I have spent the past 5 days in my house sleeping, sleeping, sleeping.  I am exhausted, but today is the first day that I finally feel good.  I thank God for healing and for the medical care that I received, and for the friends who looked after me.

Educational Care

I love weeks like the one I just finished... busy, full of purpose... seeing teachers and church leaders become trained sharing God's Word through all of the curriculum... recognizing that we are all made in the image of God.

 I was co-planner, registrar, treasurer, and attendee of the 5-day long "Educational Care" training.

 When it was hot we would have class outside

 Praying for Rhoda - who was sick with malaria

 I love hearing all the stories that my new friends had to share... trainings like this are always culturally insightful for me.

 Small group discussions

 Sharing God's Word together

 Attending with Steven and Rachel

 Praying over one-another's action plans!

 (Out of order, but for the last two weeks, I have been fellowshipping with friends, celebrating my colleagues introduction and wedding)

Peter and Eunice

 And I took the kids swimming for Opio and Ocen's 6th birthday!!

 Can you find me at PAG?

 Mwaya and Munyiva wa Kitavi - my East African director for CRWM

 Church friends and leaders

 Global Prayer Safari planning meeting

It was a great week of learning, sharing, and growing!