Oh the places you'll go!

Today waiting for my flight to board a guy taking a survey asking how many flights I had been on in the last 12 months....  I really had no idea so I guessed 25 but thought since I had a few minutes I would actually see how many from last mid May...

MAY...MKK to HNL for a meeting, HNL to MKK return home
JUNE... MKK to HNL for grad school
JULY... HNL to MKK return from grad school, then MKK to HNL to MKK for a meeting
AUGUST...MKK to HNL ; HNL to OAK to visit Ashley; OAK to SLC to ATL to GSO to visit family
SEPTEMBER. .. RDU to ORD to ATL to RDU disney with Mom, RDU to ... to LHR to EBB
DECEMBER... EBB to Nairobi, KENYA to EBB to visit Stacie and renew visa
MARCH...EBB to ADD to CAI to ADD to EBB to visit Joe and Lori and renew visa
MAY... EBB to DUB to AMS to visit Gerbin and Marjon; AMS to GOT to AMS to visit Marcus; AMS to.... to.... RDU to visit family

So with all of those stops I guess I am at around 28.... hmmm... that is a LOT of flights!

Fun facts

While traveling back to Hawaii to finish grad school... I am taking the scenic route and taking a month to get half way around the world.  So stop number 3 after Dubai and Amsterdam... was Sweden to visit my friend Marcus who lived on Molokai about 8 years ago. 

As much as I enjoy traveling ... I really enjoy spending time with friends in new cities... it gives the local perspective.  So Marcus planned out the few days I was going to be visiting and he had planned to take a road trip from where he lives to Stockholm after church and dinner with his family on Sunday.  Can I also say how much I really enjoy road trips!

Road tripping across Sweden was started with Marcus saying something about "fun fact" ... and then pointing out a spot and making some sort of comment.  It became the catch phrase of the trip and each time it brought smiles and laughter...

So as I have been posting picts on fb I have been putting FUN FACTS with them... here are a few other fun facts I learned along the way..

I knew Ikea was Swedish but we went to the oldest and largest Ikea...no other Ikea matches up to the original in Sweden...

H&M is a Swedish company and we passed their headquarters while in Stockholm

ABBA is a Swedish band and we actually went through the museum in Stockholm.  And I had the privilege of singing on stage with holographic images of ABBA!  Needless to say... I was singing "Dancing Queen" for the rest of the evening.... and had to watch Mamma Mia when we got back to Malin's apartment.

Swedish fish are not from Sweden but there are many other sweets and food that are known for being Swedish delicacies

Pippi Longstocking, Trolls, and Vikings are well known Swedish traditions.

Hanging on the locks refers to waiting by the door for a store or shop to open.

When the King has a public dinner ... it means the public are invited to come and watch the king eat... they are not served.

Fina fisken = nice fish (something nice).... the direct translations of Swedish words to English are sometimes very funny.

Huskvarna where Marcus grew up and where his parents still live is known for its lawn equipment!

Well... at this point I am waiting at the bus station in Jonkoping to go to the airport in Gothenburg.... it has been a really good few days catching up with friends and exploring Sweden.  I am not sure I will ever be able to hear the phrase 'Fun fact' without thinking back to this trip to Sweden!

Religious freedom

As I am sitting on my flight to Dubai... current headlines from the BBC keep going across the screen in front of me and one in particular catches my attention...

"Sudanese women charged with apostasy and sentenced to hang because she converted from Islam and married a Christian man."

This is an unknown to many American Christians that play church and only touch their Bibles on Sunday. The freedom we have to worship however and marry whomever is taken for granted and many throughout the world are willing to be martyred for their faith and the decision to marry outside their family belief system. 

After a recent situation in my own life and making the decision to stand firm on my beliefs... I realized the consequence of doing this in many countries I have recently gone through.  For many friends that grew up in the Islamic belief system it is nearly impossible to change to another belief system without immediately becoming a martyr for their faith.  That is definitely stepping out on FAITH!

And the journey to the other side of the world begins...

After A LOT of emotions over the past 24 hours I am finally sitting in Entebbe waiting to board my flight to Dubai... the first of many stops as I head half way around the world taking the scenic route.

You know it is going to be an emotional exit when saying bye to Sheba (the cat) and Vernicius (our gardener) evoke tears.  I am almost thankful that my staff and the kiddos were not on campus because I am not sure I would have made it out of the village. 

As we were driving to town there was worship music playing... the car was running smoothly... and we actually made good time into the city.  My heart was finally able to calm down and relax as we ran errands and then headed to the airport.  Hannington and I were chatting at lunch about some ideas for the future as well as going through the last 9 months of me being in the village. 

Everything in me needs a respite from the spiritual battle that I have been going through over the past couple of weeks... I can honestly say I am physically, spiritually and emotionally tired.  I see clearer how Job felt after studying this a month or so ago and having gone through the recent trials.  Really praying that these flights are relaxing and that I get some physical rest. 

There is a saying in wrestling... leave it all on the mat.  In this case I can honestly say... I am leaving it all in the village.  There is nothing more I could have done in my 9 months here.  Everyone has their 'should have' thoughts but at this point I could not have done more.  I did exactly what my Father called me to do and I can't focus on anything outside of that.

So on that note... I am going to board my flight... 

A hunting we will go...

There are some things that still catch me off guard living by myself in the village... one is the sound of rushing water and the other is a group of people yelling and screaming.  Well both happened today and this just again showed me that I may have my to do list for the day but God has already ordered my steps. 

The morning started with one of my staff showing up on my door step needing to register her sister which is actually her cousin that was brought to live with her aunt when her parents  died... following that?  Ok... well I find it amusing that they walk up the hill... I hear them coming... I see their shadows from my bedroom window... but the just stand outside my door without saying anything... expecting me to know when they are there.  Find it comical that many of my staff will do this and if I don't come to the door .... they walk away and say... I came and did not find you there! Anyway I went to the window to see what was needed and told them I would walk down in 15 minutes. 

Registered two new children today both without a translator I might add (victory in learning a new language!)... assisted my teachers with scheme books and keys to get in their classrooms to write lesson plans and prep for term 2 that starts Monday... got Irene our seamstress set up to finish the boys uniform shorts only to walk down near noon to find her reading a book...when I asked if she was done she said no the machine broke so I am just waiting...waiting...waiting.  I calmly asked her why she didn't come get me and let me know of the problem... she looked at me like that thought didn't even cross her mind.  Grrr!  Paid her for the uniforms she had finished and sent her on her way. 

I get back up to the houae where I am getting papers ready for tomorrows skype in grad class and I hear one of our workers yelling in my window... Mamma Angela turn off the pump... we have a problem.  And a big problem we did have... lots of water spewing from a cracked fitting on the pipe leading to the water pump in the house.  Several inches of standing water had to be cleaned up after all the water was turned off.  Thankfully the workers jumped into action... turned off the water from the upper tank as well as the main valve leading into the house... and then called Mulongo so that by the time I got around the house to unlock the door there was no longer a geyser of water.  The fittings were found (or jerry rigged) and by early evening I had running water in the house again!  In all of this craziness... I run out the door to find one of the clinic staff just waiting for me...again never did she knock or call my name... just waiting!  She needed reagents that are stored in my icebox so ultimately she had to  wait for a few more minutes!

So I gave Mulongo a walky talky so that I could continue to get paperwork done in the house and got back rolling on it when Nakafero, Maggie, Regina, and Nagawa came up wanting me to teach them how to make a cake... which I had promised when we were finishing my mat.  Since I made cupcakes yesterday... I let them each eat one and then told them I was going to make oatmeal cookies today if they wanted to help me with that...of course they did.  So while they were baking I taught them how to make simple little bracelets and then we sat eating our 'biscuits' and chatting. 

As they were leaving... I heard a lot of screaming and yelling coming from a group of people up the mountain... above the new teacher housing... I asked if someone was playing futbol and they said...no they are hunting... Hunting?  What are they hunting?... oh you know...The usual cobra, wild goats, wild pigs.  I  started laughing and said when we go hunting we are quiet... we want to sneak up on the animal to shoot them.  Cultural lesson for the day... Ugandan's hunt with dogs and spears.  The yelling is to send the dogs to surround the animal and then the 'hunters' spear the animal.  it is a team effort!

So as I am watching Nakafero and her sisters walk down the hill...Mulongo and a couple of my girls are walking up.  Mulongo comes up saying my assistance in needed with a child that is waiting in Mamma V's kitchen... I eventually understand that they want to register the child so I take care of that and spend some time Sandra, Catherine, and Alvin.  (Sandra wanted tonshow me the bracelets she had been working on and to tell me that Regina was sick and couldn't come over!)

As  I am walking home... Seche comes running up... Mamma Angela...do you want to see the baby goat?  So I followed him to the new goat pin to find mamma goat and her new baby boy.  That explains all the goat noises last night! 

Well as the sun goes down on this day... I am really praying for a non-eventful laat day in the village tomorrow! 

And they call me mamma!

I am not sure what could be more fitting but to have my last Sunday in the village be Mother's Day! 
Woke up to blue sky and sunshine for the first time in more than a week.  Had made the choice that I was going to enjoy this beautiful day with my little brown eyed cuties.  Had 40+ children show up for children's church and we continued with the story of Abraham and how we are called to remember what God has done for us!

I couldn't help but think of what God has done for me over the past 9 months...

In the time that it normally takes to create one child, God has blessed me with 100+ children that call me Mamma.

In this time I have watched and taught these little ones as they grow with their hearts focused on Jesus and His love.

In this time I have learned what it truly means to see the depths of despair in some of these little lives and to see what overcomers they truly are.

In this time through their hugs, kisses, smiles, and tears I have learned what a mother's heart truly feels like when you watch your children fall down and get hurt... or have to say goodbye to a loved one... or accept Jesus and his gift of salvation... or try something new for the first time!  I also know how it feels to have a little one run to me first in each of these situations.

This may not be how I thought I would end up with children but for today this is what God has blessed me with.  I have the choice to take each little brown eyed cutie into my arms and love on them... or I have the choice to be bitter about not having a child of my own. 

So for this mother's day... whether you have biological children, adopted children, nieces and nephews, friends with children, or children that just show up on your doorstep looking for a mother's s heart.... be blessed and make the time for these gifts from God.  God doesn't work the same in each of our lives... so whether you have children...are single... are barren...have lost a child... or your own mother... YOU ARE LOVED by the King of kings and you are called to love on His children!

All In!

"But you, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15

It is early Friday morning here in the village... the last Friday in Uganda.  I woke up to the cat needing out and couldn't go back to sleep with everything running through my head and the rumbling of my tummy.  So I got up.... started breakfast...made a to do list for the day... cleaned up all the dishes from yesterday's cooking for the weekend marathon... and sat down to check messages while I ate breakfast

Had a lengthy email from a precious friend sharing recent messages at her church entitled "all in"... one of the examples was a man sailing to a new land and burning the boat when he reached land so that he couldn't turn back.  There have been moments this week that I have wavered on being "all in"... but after surrendering everything to God and then this reminder... I am ALL IN!

After breakfast, it started raining so I settled into the living room with my Bible, journal, and worship music and I have to say... it is exactly what I needed to be reminded of who God is in my life and why I should be "all in"!

My walk with the Savior is not about a bunch of rules and regulations that make up a religion but all about a relationship with the King of kings.  He is merciful and gracious... slow to anger... abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness... He is GOD! And I am ALL IN!