Lions...tigers...and bears... oh wait

Those animals don't live in the same area... they are even from different continents....Africa...Asia...and North America depending on the type of bear!

So after today's adventure ... should is say lions... elephants... and warthogs oh my!  Today I kicked something else off of my bucket list and as I lay here under my mosquito net in my bed at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains... I want to share what all we saw...

This journey begins last Thursday when Hannington dropped me off in Kampala at my friend Sarah's house... spent the night there and then were to set off on our great adventure Friday morning.  However due to some mechanical details with the car... we got a bit of a late start.  Stopped by Makindi market  for Alyssa to purchase some African made craft items.  Then we got on the road praying for safe travel and to not get stopped by the police.  Crossed the equator and then headed to Masaka where we met some of Sarah's friends at Hope Alive.

Saturday...while Sarah and Alyssa went on home visits and Saturday club... I stayed in the hotel with a massive headache.  The power was out so all day so the workers below had the generator running for their power tools.  Great for a headache!  By evening was feeling better.

Sunday... Went to Masaka Baptist Church then met up with the driver that was hired to take us the rest of the way to Kasese.  The road gets really bed and Sarah didn't want to take her car on the Safari.  While driving down the road we saw monkeys and elephants and a myriad of other animals.  By mid evening we made it to Kasese and met up with some English friends for tea!  Sarah and Alyssa are staying with these friends and I am staying across the road at Rwenzori The Gardens hotel.  So when I was ready to go the armed security walked me to the hotel.

Monday... started very early.... I was up a bit before 5am... met up with Henry our driver at 5:45 and then picked up Sarah and Alyssa.  We headed to Queen Elizabeth National Park which was about 45 minutes away.  We picked up a park ranger and paid our park fees and off we went....

The first highlight of the day was going to the bathroom... expecting to find a pit latrine and actually finding a clean toilet!  Oh the simple joys in life.

As we are driving through the African plains we see lots of kobs which kind of look like deer and are everywhere... we see a few warthogs that when they run their tail goes straight up like  a warning beacon.  Then we come upon a lioness laying in the tall grass next to a rock just watching a group of kobs playing nearby.  We sat watching her through binoculars from the top of the car before moving on.  As we were driving I kept praying to see more lions and as we came around the bend there were two male lions just relaxing about 10 feet from the vehicle.  Of course we stopped... turned off the engine and watched these magnificent creatures for about 15 minutes before other vehicles started showing up.  These lions are brothers and looked like they had been out for the kill this morning as they still had blood in their mouths and one had an injury on his hind leg.  It was an amazing glimpse of God's creation.

Throughout the drive we say everything from water buffalo to warthogs  to several kinds of deer to a turtle and mongoose.  Once we dropped off the park ranger we headed to the lodge for tea and lunch before heading out on the Kazinga Channel for a boat tour.  I was super concerned about getting motion sick but it was quite a slow, smooth ride.  We saw elephants playing in t he water... lots of cape buffalos and hippos.  This was upclose and personal with the animals.  Also saw crocodiles and lots of varieties of birds.  Two hours of watching these creatures in their own habitat was absolutely amazing! 

Good reminder

Written 9th April 2014

Oh how easy it is to be deceived by things that look good and look like what you want and desire.  As I was reading Ezra this morning, I was reminded how the enemy comes not in a red outfit with a pitchfork but as a wolf in sheeps clothing.  He doesn't look bad so he is allowed into the flock. 

In verse 2 the adversaries of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin come up and say... "Let us build with you for we worship your God as you do...".  At first glance it looks pretty good but is it the best.

I have been struggling with settling for good or waiting on God's best and how to tell the difference.   Our modern culture says... do what feels good... do what makes you happy...no need to wait...we all worship the same God just call him different names...

We need to stand firm as Zerubbabil and say "You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel."

Ultimately God doesn't want us to settle or waste time playing with things that are "just good".  He wants what is best for us.  So in life application... I am not going to be deceived by what feels good but leaves you empty... I want his fulfilling best.  I am not going to settle for empty flattery but promises that will be kept.  I don't  want a wolf in sheeps clothing butnthe shepherd himself!

Contentedness

Written on 2nd April 2014...
I love how when a Biblical topic is about to be taught, situations come up that show how much you...the teacher still need to learn this lesson.  Due to going to Kampala Thursday and Friday, I talked to my Bible study ladies to see if we could move our lesson up to today. 

Well it just so happens that we are covering verse 27 of Proverbs 31.  This verse says...

"She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self pity) she will not eat."

Lately it seems like I have been struggling with being content... with where God has me at this point...with the fact that I am single and it would be really nice to have a lifelong partner by my side...with the fact that no matter how much I try I can't change a culture... and with the fact that I know the next 10 weeks of my life and that is about it.

As I trek to become more like the Proverbs woman... God is directing my heart to be more content with what He is doing in my life. 

Who let the dogs out?

Written April 1st, 2014

Sitting in my office this morning... I hear one of the teacher's sing "who let the dogs out?" And the children answer "woof woof"... it continues... "who let the cats out....meow meow...who let the goats out....maa maa... who let the children out... whah whah"...

I guess they are learning their animal sounds today!

When the muzungu runs...

...things happen!

I was warned before moving to Uganda... that people do not run in the village unless they are in trouble or they are chasing someone that is in trouble.  Running raises people's eyebrows and gets people attention.  So when I go running...it is noticed.

Today from my office window I noticed a girl wielding a stick at another student during recess.  Knowing it would do me no good to yell over the other kiddos playing and the tractor... I took off running across campus.  Of course by the time I got there... the stick was gone and everyone was looking innocent however I did talk to the one I saw with the stick.

As I was walking back to my office ... one of my teachers met me and said "I saw you running...what is the trouble?"  I told her about the situation and that I took care of it.  However while I was walking off I could tell she was scolding the children in Luganda...  not sure if it was for the stick or making Mamma Angela run!

The real meaning of Easter

With Easter being a couple of weeks away... I have been working with the little brown eyed cuties at chapel on Friday and children's church on Sunday with Resurrection eggs.  Many have never seen a plastic easter egg but they are very familiar with real chicken eggs.  These 'special' eggs are assisting in teaching the real meaning of Easter... which is Jesus took our sins to the cross and conquered death and the grave allowing us the opportunity to spend eternity with God.  

This morning at children's church...due to the rain... I started off with 7 children (compared to the 30+ that were there last week).  We went through the resurrection eggs up to the part where the guards are sitting at the foot of the cross gambling for Jesus' belongings.

As we were reading the story in the children's bible there  was a picture of the three crosses... they knew that Jesus was on one but they were curious about the other two.  I told them that they were theives... these children are very familiar with what happens to theives in the village... if they are caught... they are killed.  SO with this concept I was able to bring in the verse..."for the wages of sin is death" and explain that we are all sinners and that blocks our way to God.  Because of our sin we deserve death which means separation from God. 

And of course I drew a picture because these children are visual learners.  I also explained that Jesus... who was perfect...took our sin and took the consequence of it.  His death on the cross bridged the gap so that we can get to God.  Our choice is to accept what Jesus did for us by repenting for what we have done wrong and believing that this sacrifice allows us to be with God forever.  After wards I was watching a couple of my girls and I could tell that God was working on their hearts so I lead them in a prayer and as Allen was translating I could see these little hearts being given to their creator. 

This is the real meaning of Easter!

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs

Thanks to the generous donation of recent books, I have been spending some of my time in the mornings labeling them for the children to checkout.  Basically I am putting a pocket in the back with a note card inside with the book title so that the students can sign them out and we can keep track of what books are out and who has them.  A simple library system ... to introduce books beyond the classrooms and into the community... thanks to my action research project.

The goal has been a pile of books per day... that sometimes I have time for an sometimes they carry me through for a few days.  Well today the book on the bottom the pile was entitled "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett.  I know they just came out with a movie based on this story but I had never read it. So today was the day that I read the book... and you know what it made me smile.

This is why I think I like books so much and desire to share my passion... they tell a story that evokes emotion.  Books can take you to far off lands like Chewandswallow... they can make you happy or sad... they can grow your knowledge in certain subjects... and they can build your imagination to wonder what would happen if it really rained food!

So at the moment my heart is light and there is a smile on my face!  I want to continue to share this passion with others!