three months here and gone

i woke up at 6 this morning to the sound of a choir of African birds singing in the tree outside my bedroom window. my body feeling totally rested and my heart completely full. i stepped out of bed and it hit me.

has it already been three months?

feels like it's been forever. 

and at the same time, feels like it's been only a few weeks. 

when i signed up for HEAL Ministires, i thought "okay, to test and see if long-term missions is really what i'm after, i'm gonna try three months." thinking that might be too long.

to tell you all the truth, it was definitely not long enough.

i could live here. 

here - being Jinja, Ethiopia, wherever the Lord calls me.

because this life is not my own - it all belongs to Him.

my heart holds a spot for the James Place and those here. i love this place!

praying that it is God's will that i return next summer - there is no way i can stay away now!

a huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you who supports me through financial aid, prayers, work, reading my blog and telling others about what God is doing in my life!
with a heavy (but excited) heart and tears in my eyes, i am leaving the James Place in about two hours.....
better run now and play with all my kids one last time!

in love

i am in love with Africa.

i am in love with the bigness of it...the vast, open skies filled with clouds. the endless green valleys covered in many textures of plants. the sunsets and their mixture of colors. surely there is a Creator!

i am in love with the things i cannot see...the air and how it smells of fruit and rain. the sun and its overwhelming warmth. the breeze and how it brings a feeling of renewal.

i am in love with the people....their welcoming, friendly personalities. their beautiful dark skin tones. their different, unique cultures. their many languages and dialects. their children. their love for God. their faith.

i am in love with the newness i find each day here...the feeling of being on fire for the Lord and being used by Him in ways i cannot express. the knowing my spiritual walk with God is being challenged, strengthened and grown.

i am in love with Jesus....and forever thankful and amazed at His undying love for me. how He has never left me. how He continues to be faithful. how He has brought me this far, has brought me here, and keeps bringing me back.

being "in love" is not just a feeling or a saying. it is an action. it's something that affects every area of your life and changes you for the better. being in love makes you vulnerable. being in love makes you happy. being in love tests who you really are and challenges your identity. being in love pulls your heart, sometimes in many different directions.

being here, in Jinja, i am starting to realize that maybe God hasn't called me to just one place - maybe, just maybe, He has called me to all of Africa. everything about this continent i love. and i would love to see and experience more. that is my prayer.

"and He said to them - go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation!" Mark 16:15

some collages for you

today has been such a full day!

as i (sadly) begin my count down for my last week in Jinja this summer, i am staying busy and blessed!!

too tired to write much tonight and im off to bed. so i'll leave you with some collages.

they say a picture's worth a thousand words....that's about eight collages with two photos each at a thousand words per picture....well, you do the math....

sulabaloongi (goodnight!)!!! 

Haggai. he speaks a completely different language than any of us here...it's been fun seeing him adjust from the shy, sensative one to a happy, spirited preschooler! 

baby Faith. CUTE. need i say more? 

Akram. i promise i did not teach him this duck face.......this child comes up with new tricks daily. 

Desire and Isaiah. siblings and best friends. Desire's love and care for her baby brother just makes my heart melt! 

Mikyala. the shortest in my class and by far the spunkiest. what a doll but what a sassy one she is! 

you all know Emmanuel. ah Emma, this boy has my heart! 

annnnnnd last but not least, me and little miss i-want-to-be-carried-everywhere-like-this-please-and-thank-you-very-much!! 

He loves us with an everlasting love

"for i am sure that neither death, life, angels, rulers, nor things present things, things to come, powers, nor height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to sperate us from the love of God in Christ, Jesus our Lord!"

today was my last Wednesday Bible study in Masese. as i was riding in the car to our regular meeting place underneath a group of mango trees, i just knew i was going to be an emotional wreck. Jesus, give me strength and peace. i prayed this over and over and over - until we arrived. i almost started crying when i saw the women all sitting there, waiting for me. Jesus, give me strength, i prayed once more.

the topic the Lord had placed on my heart last night was His everlasting love and how it never leaves us. ever. so our Bible study was focused on Romans 8:31-39. 

please go read it!
there is absolutely nothing anyone or anything can do to separate us from the love of God.
we are MORE THAN conquerors through Him who loved us! celebrating Easter really has never been so impacting to me than it is this year.
my group discussed how often we, as Christ followers, mess up or face a trial or stress and forget that God's love is still right there?! 

His love is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow!
God's love is not anything like human love. it does not doubt, it does not hold a grudge. it does not waver.
He loves us with an agape love. an everlasting love. a love that won't go away. AMEN!
the further we dug into the Scriptures, the less sad i was about this being one of my last Bible studies here. being reminded so strongly of the Father's love overtook me completely. and He gave me strength and peace. He is faithful!

nothing is impossible

im not gonna live by what i see

im not gonna live by what i feel
deep down i know that You're here with me
and i know that You can do anything

through You, i can do anything
i can do all things
cause it's You who gives me strength
nothing is impossible

through You, blind eyes are opened
strongholds are broken
i am living by faith
nothing is impossible

this song speaks volumes into my life...the more i seek God, the more i crave His Word. the more i read His Word, the more i want to live by faith alone. and the more i live by faith alone, the more i see and believe that NOTHING is impossible!!! 

if i've learned one thing from being here, it's that i have the power of Christ in me. through Him, i can do all things. if i live by faith, nothing is impossible! 

Easter Sunday

Easter was so different this year - but SO GOOD!
i woke up singing "Christ Is Risen" and made myself a chocolate chip pancake.
those lyrics "oh death, where is your sting? oh hell, where is your victory?" reassure me of my mom and her resurrection into heaven - that death HAS NOT won and Christ has WON the victory!!! praise the Lord!
spent some time picking out and putting together church outfits with my roommate, Sandra - which totally reminded me of my mom and how much she enjoyed doing that every Sunday morning with me and my sis!

i walked downstairs and left with Juliana for church. 

we both rode on the same bota (our first time trying this) and that was quite the adventure. the bota driver was practically sitting on my lap. we made it to the church and were greeted by several of the women in HEAL's Bible study program. what a joy to see them on Easter! they were all dressed to the nines in their traditional Ugandan dresses - so smart!

the sermon was focused on Jesus's resurrection - and how we have that same power inside us - the power to resurrect from the dead and ascend into heaven to live forever with God! another reminder of where my mom is.

after church service, i followed the women in my Bible study and walked with them to Masese, where we were again warmly welcomed! 

Juliana and i sat in one of the women's houses and ate an Easter feast of beef, rice, matooke, potatoes, kale and two sodas each. 

when it was time to pass out some Easter candy, i couldn't even eat one - i was too full from the meal! loved passing out chocolates to each of the kids around me - gift giving is definitely my love language. and my friends know this - they showered me with magazine bead jewelry they had made for me!

we all sat around for hours and hours, just talking and sharing what Jesus means to us and how He has changed our lives.

can i just say that i am beyond grateful for and blessed by these women of God who encourage and inspire me daily?!

on our way back, Juliana and i rode the bus half way and walked the rest of the way back home. getting to talk more with her and breathe in the fresh air was amazing. Jinja is so beautiful!

we finished the day with some fresh-made chips (fries) and watched half of The Sound of Music (the t.v. displayed "the end" in the middle of the movie - what?!).
it was indeed a good Easter - mostly because of Jesus and the truth that He is RISEN, He is ALIVE!

"and looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back- it was very large. and entering the tomb, they saw a man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. and he said to them, "do not be alarmed. you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen; He is not here. see the place where they had laid Him"...."

happy Easter Sunday!

as Easter approaches...

this week, as Easter approaches, i've been attending a Bible study every evening called "blood week" - walking with Jesus and His days leading up to His death and resurrection.

there is SO much to learn from our Savior during this time, as He tells of many major things God says and desires of us (His chosen people).
it is said that the last words of a dying person are their most important words. those words will stick with you for the rest of your life.
for me, this is true. my twin sis will testify, my mother's last words were "we will always have each other". and it's true, we will. maybe not here on earth, but we will always have each other - in our heavenly Father's kingdom!
anyways, the book of John counts down the hours until Christ's death on the cross. and though all of what Jesus says in the Bible should be valued and read through carefully, these chapters in John are extremely important. they are the "last words" of Christ before His death and resurrection into heaven.
i'm no pastor and not very good at organizing sermons - so instead of typing out all of what i've heard, i will make a list (now making a list, that i can do!) of key points this study has gone over.

Jesus has been warmly welcomed into Jerusalem by the people - the same people who later turn their backs on him and shout "crucify Him!".

during Jesus's time on earth, He has shown authority over
-sickness
-nature
-the devil
-demons
-even death itself

He has turned the culture upside down - showing His followers glimpses of how His kingdom works.

He has challenged His followers and given them the new commandment.

He has said He is God.

He has broken the disciples' view and idea of Himself.

Jesus doesn't want to be a means to the way - He is the Way.
Jesus doesn't want to be a means to the truth - He is Truth.
Jesus doesn't want to be a means to the life - He is Life.

He is not simply a way to get to the Father - Jesus is the Father.

the book of John is meant to reveal God as Father. our Father. Jesus reconnected us with our heavenly Father through His sacrifice.

our Father's love language is obedience. He desires our obedience. He doesn't want our devotion and our praises if we have not obeyed Him. He wants us to keep His commandments. even Christ Himself obeyed His Father until the point of death.

Jesus has sent us a Helper, an Advocate, an Intercessor, a Healer and a Leader to all Truth. our Savior said "it is to your advantage that I go away" so He could send His Spirit to manifest itself in us.
and because of this, God's power is now complete - through Jesus Christ, within us.

the Holy Spirit is a Helper - which leads us to each step to live Godly lives.

we must be in constant prayer that we learn to let the Holy Spirit guide us each day, every step of the way of this race God has set before us.

God has given us the Holy Spirit as a "living Christ" within us. even though Christ is not on earth, He is in us - through the work of the Cross.

He has given us the same authority and power as Christ had on earth. because we have Christ dwelling within us, we have that power and authority. we have authority over all the earth and we have access to the Kingdom.

not only do we have access to the Kingdom of heaven - but we also have the access to the Kingdom on earth.

we have the power to speak life, healing, and peace in Jesus's Name.

the Cross is a symbol of all of mankind's sins.

Jesus carrying the cross on His back is a symbol of Him carrying all our burdens upon His shoulders.

Jesus's physical state on the cross is an example of the nature of sin - ugly and bruised and despised.

"it is finished" is Jesus referring to His work done on the Cross - all our sins and sufferings and burdens are finished, done away with, gone for good...

hallelujah!

a paper egg hunt

today we had an Easter paper egg hunt! this was the James Place kids' first time hunting for eggs...and though they werent the plastic kind filled with candy, the paper eggs were just as (if not more) fun!!! 

most of my kids arent smiling in these pictures because of a few reasons...

1. they were somewhat confused as to what we were doing 

2. they were concentrating on hunting the eggs

3. they were too busy eating the eggs

all in all, this was a fun-filled experience for the kids AND us adults. i really enjoyed hiding the eggs...brought back a bit of what my family does on Easter Sunday after church! will miss spending this time of the year with my family BUT so thankful and happy i get to spend it here with my other family in Jinja!!!

their smiles

a smile is something you share. it is a contagious facial expression that gives people a glimpse of your soul. these babies are precious, from the inside out. oh, how i love them!!!