Time of our lives!

"This is where the chapter ends, a new one now begins.....We have had the time of our lives, And now the page is turned, the stories we will write. We have had the time of our lives, And I will not forget the faces left behind. It's hard to walk away, from the best of days. But if it has to end, I'm glad you have been my friend, in the time of our lives."

-Tyrone Wells 'Time of Our Lives'

My sweet Irene will always have a very special place in my heart!

It is hard to believe that I have been back in the States for almost a week and a half! The transition was hard, leaving my "home" for the past 2 months and coming home to Opelika. I think about Uganda everyday and I miss it so much! I will never be able to put into words just what this summer has meant to me and how much God has taught me but I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to go.


I have been busy with the fast-pace American world since being back and didnt get to blog about our last few days in Uganda so here it goes...


We all decided as a group at the beginning of the summer that we didn't want to give things to the children. This seemed challenging at the beginning of the summer but proved to work and made our relationships stronger with the children because they knew that we were there to make relationships with them and get to know them better. As the summer progressed, we saw that most of the children did not have a personal bible and many didn't even have a bible in their home. We decided that we would purchase bibles and to give to the children that we made strong connections with and who would understand and benefit from having one.
So 2 days before I left, I gave Irene a bible. She was so excited and thankful to have a bible of her own and continued to thank me.The appreciation she has for her bible is more than I have ever had for my own. It was such a humbling experience to witness and I have such a greater appreciation for my bible now.

Everything this week was our last...
-Last trip to the land. We got to know Christine and her daughter Gift during the past couple of trips to the land and when we discovered that the roof of her kitchen hut had caught on fire, we wanted to help her. Christine rode back to Gulu with us on Monday, got the bamboo and supplies she needed to fix the roof, then on Tuesday we brought her and the supplies back. Christine does not have a job, so she has very little income and a trip to town would be very costly especially coming back with all the supplies. I am so glad that we were able to help her save some money and provide her with the transportation needed so that she could afford the supplies needed for the roof!

-Last day in Gulu. As you can imagine this was a very hard day! We got up and walked the kids to school for the last time then headed to the Coffee Hut to have a group breakfast date. It was so surreal that this really was our last full day!

I hate that this picture is blurry!

We started/finished packing while the kids were in school then headed to the village for the rest of the day. Irene gets home from school earlier than Winnie and Charles because she is in P2, so after lunch I headed to spend the day with her.  I wanted to soak up every minute with her! We took pictures and videos, did chores, read her bible, ate corn, sang songs, and had so much fun! I miss her so much already!!!

Once the other children got home from school, we played futbol (soccer) and helped with chores while trying to deny that I would have to say goodbye to them that night. When the sun was beginning to set and the time had come for us to have to say our goodbyes, I fought to hold back tears. These children have such a special place in my heart and it was so hard to think about leaving them! But we said our goodbyes and I told them all that I would be praying for them. It is times like this that I must trust in the Lord for he is the only one who knows what the future holds and who will be able to be with them while we are gone.

It was an emotional night, telling the children bye but also having our last devotion and having to tell Jamie bye. (She and Virginia stayed in Gulu while Matt and the boys took us to the airport) Goodbyes are never easy but especially when you are so close to someone. The interns really became a family this summer and we were led by the best "parents"! Matt and Jamie are such wonderful people who are simply following God where he leads them. Being around them all summer, I learned what a Godly marriage looks like and how that relates to raising children in a Godly home. They were both great role models for us all to look up to and I cant wait to see them again...in America AND in Uganda!

We left Gulu, early Thursday morning to go on a SAFARI! It was hard leaving Gulu for the last time but we were all excited to go on a real African safari. The safari was a lot of fun and it was really cool to see the animals!

 After riding through the gamepark in the bus, we caught a ferry to take a boat tour. We got to see more animals and also got to see Murchison Falls. The waterfall is so beautiful and and a large source of water that feeds the Nile River.

We could not get super close because the current of the water is so strong.

We all went to Friday Market in Kampala on Friday and got to do some shopping and I had a wonderful surprise- I got to see Tessa!! Tessa Bailey along with 2 other girls (one from Troy and one from Berry College) were also in Uganda for the summer working with a ministry in Pader. Tessa is one of my sorority sisters and a great friend. We talked in the spring before we left, that if we got to see each other over the summer that we would probably cry....and we did! I didn't think we would actually get to see each other in AFRICA but God had a way of working. I so excited to get to spend a few days with her when I am in Troy next week for internship training so that we can share stories and relate to one another!

Tesssa!

 

 

 

Kristen, AJ, me, and Tessa at Friday Market

We spent the rest of our time in Kampala sight seeing around town and got to visit the Speke Resort before heading to the airport. We walked around the resort and got to spend time hanging out together before we board our plane for about 24 hours of traveling.

So many beautiful flowers!

Lake Victoria

We ate dinner then headed to the Entebbe airport. It was hard saying goodbye to Matt and the boys but we had to get on the plane as much as we didn't want to! After a day of travels, we arrived in Atlanta Sunday afternoon with warm welcomes from our families.
The past week and a half, I have been adjusting to the time difference, fast-pace American life, and the abundance of choices and opportunities available. It will continue to take time to adjust back to the American life but I think that is best. This summer has taught me so much and I don't want to forget all that I have learned.

I thank God for this wonderful opportunity this summer and for all of your prayers and support! Not everyone can go but everyone can pray. I ask that you continue to pray for Matt and Jamie, Abaana's Hope, and Four Corners Ministries. God is doing amazing work and I pray that this continues.

This is a link to FCM's webpage with a video that captures some of the stories from this summer and a trip to South Sudan. http://www.4cornersministries.org/media/videos/2393/change-there-brings-change-here/

Meet Virginia

Proud big brothers meeting their baby sister for the first time

Virginia Lee East was born Thursday, July 19th at 5:52 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. She and Jamie are both healthy and are doing great! Here is Jamie's blog with Virginia's story and more pictures http://mattandjamie.4cornersministries.org/  We are all so excited to have her in the world and all be able to meet her before we leave.


This past week has been our last full week here in Gulu. We will be leaving early Thursday morning to go on a safari and head to Kampala before leaving Entebbe on Saturday. This week has been filled with so much fun! We went out to the land Tuesday and Wednesday and got to explore and meet some great people. We met some of the workers families and other people in the community and also got to see the progress on the construction of the first caretaker's house. It is amazing to see how much work they have done in just a few days...and ALL by hand!

Bricks are laid!

 

When we woke up Thursday, Matt told us that Jamie was in early labor but that we would probably have a baby by that night. We were all so excited!! We already had planned to go to Andrea and Jesse Kruze's ministry in Adok, so we spent our afternoon with them. Their ministry works with the people in the Adok community to help them become more sustainable. They have built a medical center that will be opening next month, building a rice mill and storage area for community members to store their crops, and are doing some vocational training. It was neat to see their ministry and to hear how the Lord has worked through the ministry in the past 3 years.


While we were in Adok, we also go to help with a children's program. There is a primary school right across the street from where their ministry is located so we got to work with about 100 students from the school. They hold the program each Thursday and get a chance to sing, dance, read the bible, and learn about God. They let us come up with the plans for the day and we did many of the activities that we did when we did the VBS with the children in the village. We sang songs, shared about how God loves each one of them and loves them, then we played some games. The children were so fun and loved learning how to play musical chairs!

They got very competitive!

We got back from Adok around 4:00, and Mimi told us that we were probably an hour and a half away from having the baby! We kept the boys occupied by taking them into the village and then at 5:52, sweet Virginia Lee was born! We have all loved having her here and especially seeing the boys love and care for her. Please continue to pray for the whole family during this transition period but especially for Jamie and Virginia.

As our last few days come to an end (so hard to believe!) please pray for all of us as we soak up the last few moments here, but also pray for our hearts as we prepare for leaving Uganda, the people, the culture, and returning to our lives in America. I have had the most amazing summer here and learned more that I could have imagined. I pray that I will continue to learn from the Lord when I am home and that I will be able to be a light to others.

I read this verse this morning and it is comforting to know that even when I am not here, the Lord will continue to work in these children's lives. For it is not my work but the Lord's!

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6

"Let me wash your feet"

The past few days have been so much fun!

Thursday, the team from Tennessee came and we all went out into the village across the stream from where we have spent most of our time ministering. We got to meet several people/families and learn more about them. I met a very nice man named Charles who had the sweetest family. He and his wife Rose have 5 children and they are all in school. When we were introducing ourselves to each other, I told him my name is Sara and he immediately answered (before even telling me what his name is) with "I'm born again!" This was the first person that I have met to be so bold in their faith and proud to be a Christian. We had a great conversation and I was so encouraged by his boldness.

The village had a natural spring that they use to wash their clothes and dishes. It was so neat to see it fill up immediately after we got water from it! (So yes the water is clean even though there is algae growing)

We had planned to go to the music festival on Friday, but it ended up getting moved to Saturday so we all went into town and spent the day being tourists. We went to Uchumi (grocery store), the market, bookstore, and ate lunch at The Coffee Hut. We ordered some bibles from the bookstore and fingers crossed, they should be in sometime this week so we will be able to give them to some of the people we have made strong relationships with. I am really looking forward to getting Irene a bible and teaching her how to use it!

Saturday morning we rode bodas into town to go to the watch Kasubi Central compete in the music festival-they did SO good! I felt like a proud mom watching them perform! There were 6 other schools that competed and they all did a great job. They are all so talented! We got to watch them perform Western Style pieces (in English), the speech competition, and native pieces where they wore native clothes, dang in Alcholi, and danced. Such a entertaining morning!

Kasubi Central performing their Western piece

They sounded so good!

Yesterday we walked to church with some of the children then I spent the afternoon with Irene and Winnie. We had to take some vegetables to a lady across the stream then ended up playing in the stream for about an hour. We ran and jumped through the tunnel, waded through the water, laughed and sang. It was all so much fun but my favorite part was when sweet Winnie decided to wash my feet. She said, "Sara, let me wash your feet!" then took my chacos off, washed my feet then washed my chacos. I then washed Winnie and Irene's feet and told them about how Jesus washed his disciple's feet. We are going to read the story in John chapter 13 this afternoon to help them understand more. The girls were living examples of Christ without knowing it and this was such a sweet time that I will never forget!

The water is not as deep as it looks!

Today was our last day to spend at Kasubi Central... sad to think about! This is our last full week so many things will be our last. We ended school on a great note! I spent time in a P7 math class before break then P2 with Ms. Vickie (my favorite!) We told the all the teachers during break that today was our last day and they were all so appreciative of us but I am also thankful to have had the opportunity to get to spend time with them.

I have talked about Ms. Vickie and her class in previous blogs, but she really is such a great teacher! She loves her job and especially her students and it shows through her teaching. She did her lesson and I helped check the student's work then when it was time for me to leave they sang a goodbye song and I got to tell them bye. I have really enjoyed her class and learned a lot from Ms. Vickie that I hope to use in my future classroom!

Singing "Bye, bye, my teacher bye, bye."

Pray for the remaining time we have here in Gulu, that we will make the most of every moment for the glory of God. Also continue to pray for Jamie and the baby, we are hoping that the sweet little girl will make her arrival this week!

An Orphan Heart

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."

John 14:18

This week during devotion we have been talking about the orphan heart and how that relates to the people we are working with but also to each one of us. When most people (including myself) think of what it means to be an orphan, the answer is usually something like "someone who has no parents." After spending the past 3 nights learning more about the orphan heart my definition and mindset has changed. The orphan heart is in everyone because we are all fallen people. It is a fallen human heart and my heart needs to be healed just as much as these children's hearts need to be healed. We learned a lot about the characteristics of an orphan heart and it has been very helpful in trying to understand the children's actions, feelings, and backgrounds. It has also brought to light the characteristics I have in my heart, I pray for God to work in my heart with these struggles. I also pray for our team as we continue to spend time and minister to the children. Our mission is to work with these children who are fatherless and vulnerable and who need to know the love of the Heavenly Father. My prayer is that we continue to show the Father's love each and every day through our actions and words.

Yesterday, the team from Tennessee came with us to the land, all planned to do a VBS with the children. When we pulled up to the land...there were no children. We had prepared for this because you never know if things will actually go as planned. So instead of doing the VBS, we showed the team around the land and got to see the progress that has been made on the ground breaking/construction preparation for the first structure on the land- a caretaker's home. 

Ground is broken!

Making progress!

After we showed the team around the land, we decided to set out and do a little exploring. We are still trying to get our bearings of where everything is out there and we figured that with a larger group we might could get some of this accomplished. We walked around for a while and ended up having a group of school children follow us. (The children were sent home because their schools fees had not been paid) We continued walking with the children and decided to stop and spend some time playing with them. We all had so much fun!

We ate lunch then were headed out to do some more exploring when the team's bus hit a pot hole and a rock got wedged in the bumper. Everyone got out of the bus to try and figure out what to do about it...which ended up with the guys pushing the bus. This was the first of a few more adventures with the bus for the day! It broke down a few more times but thankfully we all made it safely home!

Push!

We stopped by the school near the land before heading back to Gulu. It was lunch time so many of the children came and played with us. Anna and I spent most of our time singing and dancing with some of the children and got a definite workout! Dancing and jumping for about 30 minutes straight but SO much fun!!

We went to Kasubi Central this morning and we are all looking forward to attending the music festival in town on Friday to see "our" students compete against other primary schools! Each primary school will have around 50 students competing in several different categories to win the title and move onto the next step pf competition against the winners of other regions. They will compete in singing, dancing, speech, drama, and music. We are all planning to attend Friday morning to support them then spend the afternoon in town. 

That's life for us here in Gulu!

Ugandan Krispie Kreme

It is so hard to believe that it is already July 6th! The past month has been filled with more memories than I will ever be able to fully explain but I have loved ever minute of it here. Thank you all for your prayers for us and I ask that you continue to pray for the remaining 3 week that we have here.

Sunday morning, the 5 of us walked through the village and invited some of the children to come to church with us. We ended up having a pretty large group with us and had a GREAT time worshiping together! I was so happy to have Winnie and Irene come with me and to get to see the joy they had on their faces during the service. They both said that they really enjoyed coming with us and I am hoping that they will be able to come to church with us for the remaining Sunday's we have with them!

 

 

 

Headed home from church

 

Schools in Uganda are different from schools in America for many reasons: very large classes with very few teachers, no set schedule of classes for each day, but what is so hard for me to understand is how they handle school fees. Each school is run similar to the way an American private school is run, in that each student has to pay for school fees (tuition), uniforms, supplies, and books. If the student has not paid or does not have the proper supplies, the child is sent home from school. As I was sitting in a P4 class on Monday I witnessed just how this happens. The teacher started calling names (I thought he was calling roll) and after each name was called the child picked up their books and headed home. It hurt me to watch a class of 111 students slowly dwindle to about 45-50 student...over half of the class got sent home! Even though I do not fully understand this, God has taught me so much and I have become more thankful for the type of school system that I grew up in and will be entering once I become a teacher.

I can now say that I have ridden a "boda boda" (Motorcycle in Uganda)! On Tuesday, Rebecca and I went into town with Annet to go to the market and grocery store. It was such a fun afternoon! We rode bodas into town, went to the market, Uchumi (grocery store), and even had a coffee date at the Coffee Hut. Rebecca and I both found some cool new shorts and enjoyed spending time shopping with Annet!


Yesterday we spent the day at the land and ground has officially been broken for the first building! The workers are working on getting the foundation set for the first building which will be a family caretaker's home. It is so neat to be able to see the progress on land and to know that in just short time, Abaana's Hope will be up and running and making a huge impact on the community all in the name of the Lord!
We spent most of our time walking from village to village spreading the word out about the VBS that we will have next week. We will have the 3 new interns and a group of 9 from Tennessee with us to do a VBS next Tuesday and Thursday for the children who are not in school. We are planning for it to be similar to the VBS that we did at the beginning of the summer in the village. I ask for your prayers as we prepare for next week and that it would not be our words but God's words that speak to the children.

This morning, Anna, McCamy, and I attempted the our great idea of making homemade doughnuts. We made the dough and icing last night and were set to go this morning to cook them. We put the oil in a pot and waited for it to get hot....and it did! We put the first doughnut in the oil it was so hot that we couldn't even see the doughnut because of all the steam. Let's just say that the first doughnut came out looking like charcoal but we got better with practice! The doughnuts ended up turning out great and tastes so good! "Krispie Kreme can't even touch ours"

Final Product

Master Chef's

The 3 new interns will be here this afternoon and we are all excited to meet them and get to work with them for the next 3 weeks. I pray that God will continue to lead and guide us in the relationships that we have formed and will form and that we can be a light to others that we meet!

I've got JOY down in my heart

This past week has been filled with so many great moments and memories that have filled my heart with JOY!!

Tuesday we went to the Abaana's Hope land and got to be there for the bore hole dedication. It was so awesome to see the how proud the workers were of their work that they put into making the bore hole and to know what an impact it will have in the community. These men are so dedicated to their work and work hard at what they do!

Us with the Abaana's Hope workers

We brought our new friends from Gulu, Sharon and Joyce, to the land and they helped translate for us with the people that we are forming relationships with. Having a language barrier makes it so hard to communicate with the people so we were all so thankful to have Sharon and Joyce come with us. These 2 girls are so sweet and both love the Lord! They are such a help and I look forward to getting to know them better as we spend more time at the land.

Joyce, Me, and Sharon

We also we went to the land again on Thursday with the goal of driving around to get more of an understanding of what is available in the community (drug stores, markets, doctors, etc.) We drove around for a while and discovered a drug store that was run by a woman who is a nurse runs. She was very nice and informed us that the local government run health center send patients to her for better diagnosis and for medicine... kind of ironic but definitely information we needed to know. We continued to drive some more and stopped to eat our lunch at the church/community center that is across the street from one of the primary schools. We got there right before the school let out for lunch and being that a group of muzungus (white people) are always an attraction, we attracted a crowd of students. We finished our sandwiches and started playing games and singing...which turned into dancing. It was so much fun being surrounding by so many children FILLED with joy! I love hearing African music and songs but especially when they are worshiping the Lord!

 

One of my favorite things to do is to walk the children from the village to school each morning. We get up and head to the village around 7:00 then walk about a mile down the road to Kasubi Central Primary School where most of the children attend. I walk with Irene, Winnie, and Charles and the time that I have walking with them is so sweet. We get to sing songs, learn bible verses, and just get to talk each morning. I continue to pray for this time that we will be able to use it for God's glory and get to learn and grown together.

Me and my sweet Irene

I love walking to school with these sweet siblings!

Today has been a lot of fun! We all spent the day in the village helping in the gardens, washing clothes, fetching water and doing other Saturday chores. But today was also hard because it was the last full day with the 5 June interns. They are leaving early tomorrow morning to make their way back to Kampala before flying back to the US on Tuesday. God truly blessed this group of girls this past month! We all bonded instantly and have learned so much from one another. Each one of them has different talents and interests but they are all such strong Christian girls. I have been encouraged by them daily not only in the words, but also by the way the life each day. They are all living examples of Christ and servants of Him. I will miss these girls but look forward to seeing them in the fall and I also look forward to to having the 3 new interns join us next week.

We love you girls and will miss you so much!

Please pray for the safety and travel of the 2 teams during the next week. Also continue to pray for Jamie and the baby. Little girl should be arriving any day now and Jamie asks for your prayers: that the midwife will be bale to get here safely and in time, that we will have power, that her anemia will not cause any complication, and that she and the baby will remain safe and healthy through it all.

My Vision of Womanhood

During our devotions this week we have been talking about contentment, singleness, and womanhood. We spent a lot of time in scripture and learning what the Lord commands of each of us in being a woman of God. We were all assigned with the task of defining womanhood and writing our own visions for our personal womanhood. Before this assignment, I had never really thought about what the definition of womanhood is, what it really means to be a woman, or at what point in life do you become a woman. I know women who I view as "women of God" but when I sat down to write out what it means was rather challenging to put it into words.

I am so glad to have taken time and spent time investigating myself and what has called me to be as a woman. It is my prayer that I will stay accountable to my vision and be encouraged by reading it. I would encourage each of you, man and woman, to write your own vision to manhood/womanhood and seek what the Lord has planned for you as a man/woman of God.

My Vision of Womanhood

I will accept who I am in Christ, for I was chosen by God and made in his image. (Genesis 1:27) I will choose to seek Him daily (Isaiah 55:6) and maximize my time with him so that I can have an intimate relationship with Him and reflect what it means to be a woman of God. I will choose to be content with my life and not compare it to others. (John 17:26, Galatians 6:4, Philippians 4:11-12) I will not fear or get discouraged because I know that God has planned each day of my life (Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 29:11) and because of this I will relax in His presence and choose to make the best of every situation. I will seek wise counsel from people who will tell me the truth and push me in my walk with Christ.

 I will seek to follow God’s model for womanhood even in today’s ‘modern culture’ and will teach it to younger woman and live as an example to younger women. (1 Timothy 2:9) I will choose to be kind, humble, eager to work, trustworthy, modest and extend compassion to all that I meet. (Proverbs 31:20,26, 1 Peter 3:8) I will seek to serve others before myself (Proverbs 31:17,19, 1 Peter 3:8) and will be a woman who is quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry and will keep no record of wrongs. (James 1:19) I will forgive those who have wronged me and take full responsibility of my wrong doings. (Colossians 3:13, James 5:16) I will be a diligent worker each day and focus my work on the glory of God, not man. (Proverbs 31:17,19)

If it is the Lord’s plan for me to be married, I will work together with my husband to reflect the glory of God. (Colossians 3:17) I will choose to humble myself, honor and submit to my husband. (1 Peter 3:1, Genesis 2:18) I will seek to have a gentle and quiet spirit as I respect his authority as the head of the household and will encourage him daily to help him reach his God-given potential. (1 Peter 3:4, Ephesians 5:22-24) I will work to communicate with him and not hold things inside my heart. 

If it is the Lord’s plan for me to have children, I will be a Godly example for my children to look up to. I will demonstrate and teach my children how to love the Lord with all their hearts, minds, and strength and will train them to respect authority and live responsibly. (Ephesians 6:1, Luke 10:27) I will work with my husband to show our children what love is and that there is no greater love than the love of Christ. (John 15:13) I will cultivate a peaceful home where all who live there and all who visit will sense God’s presence not only through acts of love and service but also through the pleasant and grateful attitude with which I perform them.