Well, for some a lack of communication could mean there’s not much going on to write about.
Or the author doesn’t feel life has been particularly note worthy of late.
For us, it usually means B U S Y.
The fact that I haven’t completed an official newsletter in almost six months is showing neglect at this point.
So, when I get to these points, I would love to share some details and thoughts, but since there is much to tell, it usually get compacted into a brief note which may or may not be of particular interest.
Christmas decorations got put away as school started back up for the girls—and they weren’t too happy about the fun festive additions being put safely back away in trunks. They had one week back at school while we were busy hosting a dear friend from Princeton days who was here with some members of her church—and a pre-planning trip for the IWC (International World Changers) mission trip coming up this summer. After that one week we were off to a trip out of the country.
What compact few days of refreshment and encouragement for Misti as one of her friends was able to see my weekly process for washing clothes, live with a very limited water supply (ie. infrequent flushing and short showers!), meet some awesome Ugandans, see some amazing projects here with various organizations, and most of all: walk in the steps we walk in, smell the smells, see the faces and homes and lifestyles, hear the awesome worship and even taste some local food! We were able to talk, laugh, pray and even shed a few tears together.
International World Changers is a division of our mission agency that targets students high-school to seminary, as well as adults who serve in leadership roles. We have a request for an IWC team to come for 10 days in June-July to work in Kampala. Individual students, friends, youth groups, seminary students, adults, a worship leader, crew leaders—are all needed to make up our team this year. We have a request for a group up to 50 people! It’s a massive undertaking logistically, but it is awesome to see what God can do through so many vessels, feet, hands, hearts, smiles, hugs, mouths… If you’d like more information about this highly organized program, let us know! We’d love to tell you more about it. (see www.TheTask.org) So, our Ministry Coordinator and Project Coordinator made their pre-project visit to see all the places and people we will be targeting.
Then, 11 days into January we took off driving to Kenya and Brackenhurst Conference center just north of Nairobi for Strategy Leader training…a 3 week training conference! Our 14 hour journey was long and grueling, but thankfully uneventful. The girls do pretty well to travel that far in one day! The following day Misti flew out to attend an IWC conference…in Prague! WOW was it cold after living on the equator for 2 ½ years! It was beautiful and a wonderful opportunity to see a little bit of Prague and try authentic Czech food, but also to meet and talk with workers this half of the world and get a glimpse into their lives. There are only 2 IWC project requests on the continent of Africa out of the 30 projects represented outside of the Americas.
And then, a stop-over actually made the plane ticket cheaper and I was able to stop in Holland to visit the girls whom I taught with in Uganda 10-11 years ago and hadn’t seen since. I celebrated my 24th birthday with them in Kampala, and then was with them again for my 35th birthday in Holland! They took me out for Dutch pancakes-mmm! My 2 ½ days there was short, but was certainly a blessing to see them again, each of us married now with children, and much more grown up than we were all right out of college trying to learn how to relate to different cultures (and many times doing it all wrong). I had a wonderful time renewing our friendships, meeting their kids and husbands, and even a bit of sight seeing.
I did, by the way, start crying when I ate Burger King at the Amsterdam airport. Why? The people sitting around me probably wondered the same thing. Something so simple…that we have been dreaming about on occasion for 2 ½ years…and I felt guilty for sitting there eating it without my husband. (I did take a Quarter Pounder with cheese back for him that I got just before I boarded the plane!!)
I have lots of thoughts as I traveled to 1st World Europe: organized, no potholes in the roads, plenty available, etc and then back to East Africa. I counted some blessings that I had perhaps started taking for granted. I enjoyed immensely the chance to get away for a few days (and even dress in winter clothes!). I was also very happy to be back not only with my family, but to a culture I have come to love, and to a work that amazing.
So, now we are near the end of Strategy Leader Training. It has been long days sitting in chairs, but productive. We are ready to get back to work refocused and renewed with some new ideas and reminders of things forgotten or neglected. It has been good to see what others are doing, and see a bigger picture of how God is moving among His people across East Africa. Accountability is always productive. We appreciate our organization which provides training for us, whether across to other continents, or to the country next door, or within our own team.
