raw and real

i don't know what it is about this place - Africa in general.

Jinja and Ethiopia are so different, but there is one thing they share without a doubt.
something about these places just draw me closer to the Lord.

i am realizing how dependent i am on the known- how safe and comfortable home has become and i have lost sight of how much i really, really need Jesus. 
every morning i wake excited for the day. (almost every day) i reach a breaking point where i just feeling like giving up and going home. every time we drive through a village and i see poverty, my heart aches. when i hear yet another story of pain, suffering, loss and then the praising of Jesus's name - i can't help but drop my jaw in awe. everything here is so simple and raw and alive.
my soul feels exposed here; and even though it is sometimes painful and puts me in a vulnerable place, i love it! i love being real with people and having meaningful, heartfelt conversations about life and the life to come. i love feeling hurt and alone and running into the arms of my heavenly Father. i love spending day after day with children who love Jesus. i love getting covered in dirt and sweat and have learned to deeply appreciate a shower at the end of the day. i love being so completely busy during the day that i can't catch my breath. i love having nothing to do and nowhere to be and simply reading through the Scriptures for a few hours every night.
it's in these times when i am closest to my Savior. when nothing else matters. nothing. Jesus is my everything and my life belongs to Him. and it's in these moments when all my fears and concerns for my future fade away - and all i can see is God's provision and His mercies covering me all the days of my life. 

a huge thank you to every single one of you who helped me get here- i believe in the power of prayer and how God loves it when we talk to Him! He hears us and answers. and right now this is my answer- to trust in Him! to let go and live in the here and now and keep my eyes fixed on Jesus! everything else will follow. 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication make your requests be made known to God, and the peace that surpasses all understanding will gaurd your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. so whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. what you have learned and received and heard and seen- practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9

tiny flowers on their eye lashes

as this week comes to a close, i reflect on another amazing seven days here at the James' Place....

i have to say the highlight for me is without a doubt the kids here - their joy and sweet spirits just make my life! 

there is nothing i love more than starting my mornings with teaching them and hearing their little voices and answering all their questions. they LOVE to learn! 

whether it's playing on the swingset, hool-a-hooping, finding frogs, drawing smiley faces in the dirt or placing tiny flowers on their eye lashes....each activity is complete with singing "my God is so big!" or "i've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!" and every other Sunday school song you could think of! 

i guarantee that when i have children of my own, they will be a lot like the kids at the James' Place!  

i'm realizing how unimportant toys and electronic games are - compared to innocent, child-like imaginations!
these littles know how to have REAL fun!
and it's impossible not to laugh and join in their happiness!!! 

kids' club Saturday!

today marks another week of living at the James' Place. my heart is so full and my love for this place continues to grow!

today was kids' club, which is always a blast! it's so neat to watch these kids flood the front yard and play with one another. we gathered in a "big, big circle" and sang songs, played games and then divided into different age groups for Bible study.

as i read to my group out of Genesis, i was taken back to my childhood - i remembered listening to my father read to us about all the Bible's characters. how to this day, i have these stories memorized. i believe that this is the best thing you can teach kids - stories from the Scriptures - to have these powerful messages invested in their hearts and then in time, learn to apply them to their own lives. 
we counted 196 children today, ten of them accepted Jesus as their forever Savior - now THAT is something to get excited about!!!

so thankful for this place and the lives of many, many children that are being changed! 

making rugs

this afternoon i sat with the women making rugs at the James' Place. these lovely ladies are so skilled at what they do - they spend hours upon hours sitting on mats inside this green pavillion, cutting fabric and weaving the pieces into plastic feeding bags...creating these beautiful rugs. 

HEAL Ministries takes these rugs back to the U.S. and sells them - and all the profits go back to these women who make the rugs. 

it is such a wonderful way for my friends to support and provide for themselves and their children!!! 

a woman of God

one of my favorite activities of the week is going to Masese to help lead Bible studies. the women we worship with are by far the strongest women of faith i know...they truly know how to praise the Lord! 

this is Angelina. she is not married and has no children of her own. she is the care-giver to fourteen children living in Masese- some with family, some orphans. she watches over them day after day, provides food and clothing and gives them her own bed to sleep in at night. she sells hand-made jewelry and soaps to support herself and the little ones she is a mother to. 

Angelina has a huge heart and her love for God just shines through her smile. 

the other day, when Jill and i were leaving Bible study, Angelina came up to us and placed a necklace in each of our hands.

"for my friends!" she beamed.

i am being so blessed here- meeting and befriending people like Angelina. 

giving this to God

lately i have been feeling discouraged and confused and cannot pinpoint an exact reason as to why i feel this way. all i know, is that my heart is feeling torn in several very different directions - back to all my friends in Ethiopia, to those i love in TN and now, here with the people in Jinja. the thought of where i am supposed to go next has been burning in my mind and has me stressing about my future. what next? what should i do? should i go to school? do i need more experience with teaching? what about this summer...what are my plans? where will i be years from now? 

all these questions i havent one answer to - and i am now realizing - that is okay! 

God is slowly but surely teaching me to let go of everything and cling to Him. to hold onto His promises. to trust in Him and His plans for my life. to live in the here and now! 

this is it - teaching in Jinja, Uganda! building and investing in friendships in this place. right here, right now. 

i realize now that from the moment i stepped off that plane in Uganda, the enemy has been seeking to distract and discourage me from doing what God has me here to do. to keep me from serving and loving with a full heart. 

in Jesus, my eyes have been opened, my spirit renewed. i am giving this (my present and future) to Him. and may whatever He has in store for me build His kingdom and bring glory to His GREAT name!!!  

please continue lifting me up in your prayers daily......the Lord is at work in this place and the spiritual warfare is real. 

preschool

i'd like to introduce you to my preschool class here at the James' Place! 

they are Isaiah, Desire, Makyla, Joseph, Hope, William, Nacatu, Bobbi, Shanana, Brighton and Emmanuel! 

some days there are more kids, some days not many show up. but whatever the number of students, we always have a blast with whatever we do! 

these kids have stolen my heart and are such a bundle of energy and joy! 

i could not teach without the assistance of two AMAZING teachers, Jackie and Aisha...they invest so much into this class and inspire me greatly!

the more i teach this class, the more i am convinced that this is definitely what i want to do with my time! 

oh and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!! this morning we celebrated with tons of stickers and Valentines....sang songs, made several different heart crafts and colored in our Valentine coloring books! what fun! 

news! news! tell us news!

this blog post's title comes from one of the games we play in the preschool class here at the James Place. one child says, "news! news!" and we all reply, "tell us news!" then the child continues with a story - and the rest of the class has to decide if it's good news or bad news.
this post is definitely good news! i do apologize it's only words and no pictures. i've been so engulfed in the activities of the day that i completely fail to whip out my camera and take photos! another excuse is that in most of the areas outside of the compound, it's risky to carry any belongings with you, so most of the time i don't have my camera with me.
life of an intern here with HEAL is a busy one -  but i am loving every minute of it! really happy i am spending three months in Jinja...i am finding it somewhat difficult to connect with people here, so having a lot of time will give me a better chance to build some strong friendships. the staff here at the James Place is nothing less than incredible. so much of their time and energy is spent serving these children and women, and they do it with huge smiles on their faces. i have fallen in love with the class - they are the sweetest kids! my favorite part of teaching them (so far) is hearing their little voices singing "Jesus songs"...one song in particular just melts my heart! i will try to upload a video of it soon.
saturday we had kids' club at the James Place, which was a blast! we had over 150 kids show up, all smiling and ready to play! the front yard was covered with little brown bodies running everywhere, countless soccer balls being kicked around, frisbees flying in the air and lots of laughs! i had a group of kids surrounding me the whole three hours, all holding my fingers and touching my hair. i think at one point, i was kicking and throwing eight soccer balls all at the same time - in a few weeks, i will have mastered the art of multitasking! after an hour or so, we all gathered into a gigantic circle and sang a bunch of praise songs. after that, we separated the kids into four age groups - i sat with the youngsters and listened to Aisha (a staff member/teacher) read them the Bible story about Moses parting the Red Sea. we sang some more songs and then they had boiled eggs for snacks. my white t-shirt was not the best choice to wear that day - it was completely covered in dirt! i cannot wait for next saturday's kids' club!!! definitely a highlight of last week!
i've visited several other ministries in Jinja, close to the James Place...
yesterday i and the other intern (Jill) went to Canaan's Children Home, where we led a Bible study for about fifteen of the older girls living there. at first, it was hard connecting with them - just because of the language barrier, and it was almost as if they weren't taking us seriously. but the longer we were there, the more they opened up. i'm excited to get to know these girls and hear their stories. most of them have family, who they go to stay with during the holidays twice a year (for Christmas and Thanksgiving) and then come back. we were told that once these kids hit adult age (18 years), they can no longer stay at Canaan. i'd really like to see more organizations like HEAL, that teaches sewing classes, English lessons, agricultural classes, etc. so that these adults can make a living and support themselves and their children.
we went to a crisis pregnancy center in town - this was definitely a place of hope and healing. the girls i met are my age and younger; most of them were taken advantage of and left pregnant, to take care of their babies all by themselves. this ministry holds classes on different subjects - for example, today, we sat and listened to the instructor teach all about different kinds of parasites and worms and how to prevent catching and treating them. another teacher spoke on the importance of using your gifts for yourself and for others. a few weeks ago, a young volunteer who went to cosmetology school came to the pregnancy center and showed the girls how to apply make-up professionally. two of the girls in today's classes were all-dolled-up with their eye shadow and mascara, looking beautiful! i love this organization because it reaches these girls on so many levels that are all important.
in a different part of Jinja is Masese - the poorer, slums living area. it reminds me a lot of Korah (in Ethiopia), the poverty here is extreme. we were told that Masese is a more dangerous part of Uganda - especially at night. one girl told us she cannot walk home in the evenings because she fears she will be raped. from what i understand, Masese is split up into four sections - in one of these parts, Jill and I, along with two of HEAL Ministries' staff members, Regina and Rebecca, all drove into the center of the slums and held a Bible study under a large tree. children gathered around and quite a few women as well, as we began to sing. then we played some games with the kids and did a Bible study in Genesis 22 with the women. when they stood and sang Ugandan worship songs, the Holy Spirit flooded that place. i couldn't understand a single word, but that didn't matter - we were all praising the same God. i really loved being in Masese today...looking forward to going back this week!
i know i've said this before, but i am so thankful and blessed to be here - and i thank each and every one of you for supporting me financially and through all your prayers!!!
pictures to follow...

day one

today my heart was touched in only ways Africa can get to me...

this morning i got to see more of Jinja with Jill (the other intern and my new sister) and Trey (the director's oldest son who works here). we ate breakfast at a small cafe on the main street, went to one of many local grocery stores and stopped by the bank to exchange our few hundred US dollars for thousands and thousands of shillings. 

Jinja is so beautiful...everywhere i go i am surrounded by trees and flowers. it definitely has that Africa vibe to it and feels like we're in the jungle...we drove through a rain forest and i cant begin to describe how good the air smelt! 

when we got back to the James Place, i was instantly surrounded by the most adorable bunch of youngsters ever! i got to sit in and observe the preschool class and can i just say- i am beyond excited to start teaching next week!!! 

the kids sat on the floor at a coffee table and practiced writing their ABCs, 123s, became mezmerized during story time, sang "Jesus songs", ate lunch, napped, ate icecream cones and topped the school day off with pool time in the sunshine! 

i about passed out for a few seconds in the afternoon in the eighty-nine degrees, completely failed at a game of volleyball with the James Place staff, got my hands soaked in icecream and somehow had red dirt/clay smeared down my back. 

but you wont hear me complaining - i enjoyed every minute of this day. and i couldnt be more excited to spend three months here, doing what i love the most! 

in Jinja!!!!!!!!

i woke to the sound of birds, monkeys and children. 

being here is like being in a dream. i cannot believe i am back in Africa - my second home - getting ready to step outside and build His kingdom here!