Christmas means family!

I have been in Texas this last week. It has been wonderful. As we started getting closer and closer to Fort Worth along I-30 I started screaming and yelling at everything wonderful that I saw; at every minute memory of a park visit or a family mini-trip. And as we got closer to my dad's house I was just out of control. I was sure Mitchell was going to kick me out of the car for being so loud :) He told me to unroll the window and scream out the window but he soon changed his mine and told me that that just made me louder.

I love getting to see my family and everyone. I love every moment of the holidays and getting to see everyone.

I will post more later about how awesome Christmas is! Love you all!

What does death even mean?

How do you say goodbye? I don't mean like when you move far away or travel across the world. I am pretty good at saying that kind of goodbye. These last few days have been surrounded by thoughts of death. On Friday I was told that my step mother's father had some serious medical issues that was most likely cancer. On Saturday a dear friend asked us to pray for her uncle who is only 25 and has prostate cancer. That night she got the call that he had died. Today my father told me that the surgeon that Grampy's problem is inoperable. People who have similar issues general live for three weeks to three months more.

I just sat down and wrote a letter to my Grampy and Grammy and it was hard. How do you say goodbye? I don't really know how but God gave me some things to write. It was hard because I don't think I think the same thing about death as others.

I believe that God's timing and plans are perfect. I believe that death on earth means life in heaven. I believe that absence from the body is presence with God.

I believe Paul's writing in I Thessalonians 4:13-18

"But I would not have be ignorant, brothers, concerning them who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words."

I believe what Paul says in Philippians 1:21

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"

I don't know if I would have the same convictions in the face of my own coming death but I believe that I would. The pain involved in dying is kind of scary but the moment that I am present with God will make all of life worth it.

I think of the Chris Tomlin song "How Can I Keep From Singing" the line, "I will sing with my last breath sing for I know that I will sing with angels and the saints around the throne"

But how do I say that same thing to someone on the cusps of death. How do say these things without sounding insincere or naive or strange?

My God is amazing. He makes the hard things easy and comforts us in the times that feel like they may crush us.

*Update: Last night, Monday the 1st, my grandfather walked through the pearly gates healed and whole around 10:30.

Hoping Place

I wrote a little while back, after I got back from Uganda, about the direction God is directing my life. I wrote about how I now understand that my purpose in life is to make my house a home that is open to anyone that needs a home. I have these big dreams about creating a nursery for when we are blessed with children to love and about designing a super cozy guest room for anyone needing a place of respite. I can see Mitch, Theo and I playing with our children at the park. I see all of these things. I imagine me cooking up a big meal for people who need some food. I hear a tea pot whistle on the stove as I set out some big tea cups to have heart felt conversations on the couch.

It's kind of strange. I see the finish line and I see where I am now. I am doing my best to take steps forward yet there are somethings that only God can do. It is kind of like the "waiting place" from Dr. Seuss' "O The Places You Will Go", kind of. But I am not just waiting on a train to come... or the wind to blow... I am more so in a "hoping place". I have faith that some day soon. I will put to full use all that I have been prepared to do. The bible says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Hebrews 11:1.

That is where I am. To the rest of the world that is rushing by at a million miles an hour it may seem like I am standing still and sometimes that makes me feel a little foolish or dumb but it really shouldn't. Does a butterfly feel foolish when it is in a cocoon? Does a seed feel dumb as it slowly grows even before it breaks the soil? No... they somehow understand that this time of hoping, this time of faith, is molding them to be stronger and to bear much fruit. I am not the first to be in this waiting place where faith is required, no, where faith is all there is.

Hebrews 11 tells of many people who only had faith and hope to spur them forward. I want to highlight some of them here. Noah had great faith when he, bearing the scorn and shame of those around him, built a giant boat on his dry land and proceeded to fill it with animals even though there was no sign of rain. I kind of feel like that. I am preparing my home for that which there is no sign of. Abraham and Sarah had great faith when they trusted that God would give them a child even though they were very old and yes they strayed from their faith and doubted and Abraham had a son with his handmade but they soon realized their error and put their faith back into God and He blessed them with Isaac. It says of Sarah that "she judged him faithful who had promised". I love that. She weighed what she had been told against what she knew and what she had seen in her life and around her and knew that God would be true. I feel like that sometimes, like nothing around me should give me any hope towards my dream but I know God and what he has done for me and how he has poured his love out onto me beyond measure and I know that he will sustain me. Hebrews also speaks about Jacob who praised God even with his dying breath. And of Moses' parents. I cannot imagine what I would do if God told me to go set my child into the Allegheny River, let alone the Nile (it has crocodiles), in a basket. I would think I had lost my mind. Surely God wouldn't ask me or call me to do something so bizarre. Yet that is what they did. They laid their new son into the Nile River in a basket and had faith that God would provide and he did. The baby was pulled out of the river by the Pharaoh's daughter. Mind blowing!

All this is mostly written out for me to process this strange place that I am in. I suppose that I have been in this "hoping place" since returning from Uganda. While in Africa I had a specific purpose and I knew what I had to do I was constantly surrounded by it. Here I am waiting. Here I am building a boat in the dry season. Here I am trusting he who has promised. Here I am putting all my love and joy into a basket and praying for the best (figuratively of course).

Maybe you are in this place too... just like me. I want to encourage you. God has done amazing things in my life. He has pulled me from dark places. He has blessed me beyond belief. And He has used me in amazing ways to bring glory to His name. I have fed and held the orphans of Africa. I have clothed those without clothes. God has used me to love and to teach. Have faith and God will use you in ways that at the end of the day leave you exhausted, humbled, in awe and completely excited for what comes next.

"In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began"

Titus 1:2

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith;"

2 Timothy 4:7

"Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it"

1 Thessalonians 5:24

"And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Galatians 6:9

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by an action, is dead."

James 2:17

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently"

Romans 8:24-25

"You are my refuge and my shield. I put my hope in your word."

Psalm 119:114

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"

Roman 12:12

Soul Searching

Something that I was reminded of yesterday in church was that our relationship with God isn't just a *poof* now you understand everything. It is a wrestling, like Jacob in the desert. The hard questions and even harder answers grab onto you and wrestle with you all through the night and just as you think you are getting the upper hand the question reaches down and hurts your hip (well maybe not exactly but something like that).

I think that if all of us would be a little bit more real and actually embrace that we have questions and really allow our selfs to soul search for the answers we might all be a little better off.

So many questions run through my mind all the time that I don't know what to do with. I don't know how to interpret them, process them, and share them.

Questions like:

God why do you allow people who were so close at some point in time to walk so far away from you that just by being out of your light they seem like totally different people?

God why don't I always feel held and understood?

How is it that coming to You and following You has put me in such lonely places?

and even questions that I don't feel like even really talking about like:

God why do you allow women to get pregnant that are just going to have an abortion or who aren't going to properly care for their children when there are so many women trying desperately to have their own children?

Will it all be worth waiting for?

I used to even wonder if I was going to get bored in heaven. I used to wrestle with that question. I used to say, in my head, well I like living for Jesus but I don't know about that whole eternity stuff, it just seems to long. But I wrestled with it (more so it wrestled with me) and as I read a book, The Shack, I started realizing that heaven is about unity it is about the opposite of loneliness it is fulfillment and family and togetherness.

Or when Norah came to Acacia Tree just a frail skeleton with baggy skin who if you would try to look at her, her eyes would roll back in her head and she would shut down I really had little hope. I would question God. How could you let her suffer like this at the hands of those who are supposed to love her? How in the world will she ever make it? Because to tell you the truth to me she looked more dead than alive. I carried her to the hospital and as I was sitting in the van waiting to take her in I heard wailings start, the wailings that are called out when someone dies. Then they rolled the body by the car covered with just a sheet. The pavement was very uneven and I could see the now lifeless body shake with each pot hole and divot in the road underneath it's improper covering. I saw his empty feet sway from side to side. I saw them bring out the bed the now dead man had been lying on and place it in the sun to disinfect it. Just like that he was gone and the hospital was making way for the nest sick patient. At the same time I saw a big black bird land on the ground at the hospital which in Uganda is an omen of death waiting to take someone away, as I was told by Diana. I was terrified. Everywhere I looked it seemed that death was coming down around this little girl. I didn't understand. I wrestled with the seeming injustice. God if she isn't going to make it just call her home so she won't have to suffer anymore.

Yet we covered her in prayer. As I tried to feed her I prayed that she would take the milk because most of the time she wouldn't. As I held her or tried to even look at her I prayed that God would renew her spirit within her to have even a shred of hope. As we would bathe her we prayed that the terrible memories that seemed to be making her scream in terror at the thought of being around water would leave her alone. As I would lay her down to sleep I would pray that the demons that were surrounding her thanks to her island's witch doctor would stay away from her dreams to allow her to sleep in peace. We hoped against logic and prayed against seemingly insurmountable odds. Add this amazing and tiny little girl slowly began to thrive. She doubled in weight. She began to smile and laugh. She began to not only drink milk but to eat solids. She started sleeping well, the bad dreams were gone. She even was able to bathe without screaming in time. And now praise to God she is home with her family that now has seen the love of Jesus first hand, Jesus brought their daughter back from death. I had already left Uganda by the time she went home but I saw the picture on the Zemba Kids facebook page and the look on her father's face is priceless. The suffering is terrible but the joy in healing is greater.

When it all comes down to it. None of this really shakes my faith for long because as I look back to my past and the way my life has gone I know that nothing but the blood of Jesus has protected me and blessed me in uncountable ways.

It's not a sin to question and wrestle and figure things out. On the contrary, I believe that it makes your faith stronger because then it isn't just answers from the preacher it is answers from within yourself that have been tested with fire.

I boldly follow God because He boldly leads me, there is no other way to follow Him.

Visiting Africa

Though I am thousands of miles away I visit Uganda frequently. When I lay waiting to fall asleep at night I find myself on the red dirt roads. I find myself smelling the mix of muchomo, flowers, and fruit that flood the streets of Entebbe. I even smell the stinky silver fish and miss it. I practice walking to different places in Uganda so that I won't forget and will be ready to hit the ground running if ever I go back. Some nights I go through my small repertoire of Luganda and beat myself up when I can't remember a word (for example last night I couldn't remember the word to stand up). I think of a specific time that I said every little word that I can think of.

At night I walk through the markets and go to the beach. I sit by the pool and watch the kids play in the water. I think of Benja's sleepy smile. I think of Norah's infectious smile. I think of Sadie's tootsie roll legs. I think of Sarah Bella crying at the dinner table after she said something that we all thought was funny. I think of Rayah prancing around in a tutu and her clappy shoes. I think of Robin and Blessed and Sarah cracking jokes and eating popcorn.

I know it is silly, maybe, but I can't help but go back there. I can't help but dream of holding the babies. I can't help but love them and pray for them and dream about them. Something about being there and giving special care to these children and learning about the culture and seeing all the beauty that God has put in Africa has my heart kind of stuck there.

Pittsburgh is a place

With how many delays Mitchell and I had I wasn't sure that Pittsburgh really existed.

We have now been here for 2 weeks. I have been busy unpacking, all but about 5 boxes are unpacked now. I have also painted the master bed room a delicious chocolate brown (or Michelle-Obama-nude if you heard about all the hub-ub about her state dinner dress being called "nude" by her designer)

Our yard is a bit out of hand but I am working on it. I have also planted basil, cilantro and garlic.

Today I ran errands then made boiled eggs, pasta sauce, tuna salad, and hot sauce.

Our first Sunday we tried a church that was almost 200 years old. The community was great as well as the message but there wasn't anyone around our age or stage in life. This Sunday we tried a church that had a "self-help" message, as I like to call it. The community seemed good and they have a great children's ministry but I don't think it is the church for us.

On Monday night Mitchell and I went to a Bible study at the In the Blood Tattoo Parlor in South Side on Carson Street. It was very encouraging and we met two young married couples and few single people too. We are going to go to the church that they are associated with, Hot Metal Bridge. I am excited about the possibilities here.

Please pray that God shows us a church group and friends to have. Also please pray that He shows me my purpose here. I have good days and bad days. Today was a good day but yesterday...hmmm... not so much.

I love you all and miss you.

I will end this post with one of our sweet babies from Uganda that I miss severely!

Post Something

I haven't posted... so I probably should... I don't know what to post so I think I will just post pictures that I like.

Train outside of J Cafe in Portland, Oregon last fall

Door at Jump Theatre in San Antonio

Sweet baby River at the theatre... very sophisticated young man (son of this lovely lady)

Our future home with shutters and flowers in Pittsburgh, PA .... if everything goes well

Sweet Emanuel from Nuevo Progresso, Tamualipas, Mexico last year. His big brother Cesar gave me a yellow and white bracelet that he made

Painting I did last fall. It was inspired from a painting that I saw in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.

Caroline with her sweet new rescue puppy, Rascal.

Pretty architectural detail in Tolar, TX.

Cloth diapers hanging on the line in Entebbe, Uganda.

This June!

So June has been pretty crazy. We were supposed to get to Pittsburgh on June 1st but have been delayed until the 21st. Therefore we have had lots of free time.

We stopped in Hico, Texas (on Hwy 6) on a trip from San Antonio to Fort Worth and found this awesome Dr. Pepper wall painting.



We went to the Kimbell Art Musuem and the Amon G. Carter Musuem and took a picture of each other but it was too bright to open our eyes.

We went on a date day to the South Lake Town Center where we shopped, had dinner, listened to live music then drove back to Benbrook bought some nail polish, had a milk shake and then played on the swings and merry-go-round at castle park.



And one day when we were going to see my sister we stopped in Tolar, Texas (on Hwy 377) and took some pictures by some dilapidated buildings.



Most of all I have loved seeing family; parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, grandparent's twin, cousins, and most exciting SISTER!

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Luke 19:37-38

So what...

Something that is always strange to me about coming back from someplace else, be it Africa, or Oklahoma, or an awesome worship service, or any place else that not everyone understands is figuring out what it all means.

I must admit that once I got off the plane in the states I went into a type of recluse mode. Everything around me was too much to understand; affluence, waste, frivolity. I have for the most part only seen family and I spend a lot of time outside. I can't seem to get myself to stay inside or places where I have to interact with others for very long.

Why? Why I am having so much trouble "adjusting"? I think that some of the issues that I have been having are stemming from the fact that I haven't been able, nor am I capable of telling everyone how amazing Africa was. I suppose that it will help me to tell at least the followers of my blog of Uganda, of Africa, of the babies, of Lake Victoria.

What an average day looked like: I would wake up in the morning and get dressed. Then Sarah or I would make breakfast, usually eggs. Then everything would start the babies would come into the main part of the house once their morning baths were over and each would be put into their respective seats. After the messy and loud and hilarious meal play time would begin. I would either go outside with the children or sit inside and fold laundry (and believe me there was always laundry that needed to be folded). Mid morning was snack time and the younger babies would have a nap. Around noon was lunch. Then potty time for the big boys and nap time for everyone. During nap time I sometimes got bored since there wasn't always something to do. The cat there did learn a lot of dances during nap times though.... okay this is getting boring...

Fridays were medical outreach days. Mitchell and I would board a wooden boat which often had leaks. The boat used a 25 hp engine to propel nurses, doctors, teachers, and us to various islands on Lake Victoria. On the lake we would all be served tea and samosas or chapatis (pretty funny if you ask me). We would land at the island and unload the boat of medicines, vaccines, and supplies for Kids Club. The Ugandan team of nurses has been going out to the islands since 2006 and is the only team that has consistently provided medical assistance to these unreached people. Mitchell and I would sit at the medicine table and count out pills. The poverty on these islands was often overwhelming as well as the odors in the small buildings that we would provide medical assistance. On the islands it was not unusual for little kids to see our light skin and start crying because they has never seen anyone without dark skin.

Other things we did: hold babies at the doctors office, change lots of diapers, play with kids, Mitchell was the go-to-guy for pushing the swing, I killed a snake.

Highlights: if I had to break down the trip to one word it would have to be children. The children is what made all of it worth while. Seeing the change that just love and food made in the lives of the children at Acacia Tree Uganda was astonishing.

For example one Friday while Mitchell and I were on the sand island of Lake Victoria we saw a mother walk in with the most malnourished child I had ever seen in person. I knew that that little baby girl needed our help yet my Luganda was not good enough to express my desire to the mother. I prayed for God to help us to help her and through his wisdom he enabled us to bring the baby that we came to know as Norah to Acacia Tree to be nourished and helped. When she first arrived she didn't cry at all even to pain from shots or anything else that would make most babies cry. And if anyone would look at her, her eyes would roll back in her head and she would close her eye lids. We really would watch her just shut down completely. She would go somewhere else within herself. When she would sleep she would often wake up screaming and crying seemingly from bad dreams. Her skin was reminiscent of the Golden Book "The Saggy Baggy Elephant" since there was nothing beneath her skin save bones and she would often wring her hands and scratch at her inline tube that was put in for medicines. Yet with love, prayer, and food I am elated to say that Norah became one of the happiest children at Acacia Tree within a few weeks. Her smile could light up the room and she doubled in weight during the two months that we were with her. Her cheeks filled out and her eyes are now wide open and shine very bright. She stands and crawls and laughs. Her story is just one of the many that I now cherish within my heart.

Her story is just one of the many that has changed my life, my outlook, my desires, and my dreams.

So what... what has changed? I now have a focus for my life. The amazing thing to me about what we were doing for the children wasn't the food on the table or the toys to play with or clean clothes but rather was the love. It was the love that I am sure did more for them than any meal could have ever done. It was the love that we gave because we were first shown love by Jesus. He stepped down from heaven into earth to show us love, on a much grander scale than me stepping down from the comfort of the US into Uganda. The love that he continually pours out on me enabled me to pour out love onto these needy children who really didn't know how to be loved.

This has given me a focus for my life, a focus of love. I have decided that my home will be a place of love for anyone needing love, for anyone needing home. I have decided that my life will be like a servant host. My home will always be open as well as my arms for anyone that needs love. Because love isn't just lacking in Uganda it is lacking here. People walk around not understanding what home means. I want to show people what love, what home means because Jesus showed me home. God showed me that safe place of protection where the rest of my problems don't matter.

So if I ever seem stand off-ish know that it is not because I am not excited to see you. Know that within me my thoughts, actions, and words are in the process of realigning to this new north of love. My entire life plan is in the process of shifting and changing.

Volcano Plans

Volcano eruption is increasing! So here is a short list of our plans (some in jest, some less in jest than they were yesterday and more of a joke than they will seem tomorrow):
a. fly to South Africa and hop the 20 hour flight to DFW...but that costs $4000 per person
b. fly to western Africa then get a cruise back to the States
c. hop on a Maersk ship as a stowaway behind a shipping container (hopefully full of gently used mattresses)
d. fly to South America then rent a car (can we rent a car and drive across continents)
e. fly to India and go the other way around the world
f. charter a yacht at prices ranging from 29000 to 70000 euros per week
g. somehow combine all or some of these plans to come up with a superplan
h. wait it out, see if KLM succeeds in convincing the Dutch officials with its test flight data

10 Days

It is hard to believe that we will be leaving Africa in just 10 days. These three months have been amazing. Norah is at 7 kg now! Theo is so talkative and will mimic anything you say. Jonathan will smile every now and then. It is precious. Baby Sadie got her ears pierced and is growing and growing. Benja says my name now and I can't get enough of it.
Last week a little boy named Mayor came. His adopted mother Salem has been trying to get his visa for over two months now. She had to go back to the states so he is staying with us for now. He seems to be adjusting well. Keep the 20+ children also in his visa situation in your prayers.
I will see everyone soon.

Come on a safari with me

We have been very busy here in Uganda. Two Fridays ago a new baby boy came to Acacia Tree. His name is Jonathan and he has Downs Syndrome. He is three years old but very very small and malnourished. On Tuesday Robin learned that he has blockage in his small intestine. He needs surgery but with his frail stature and compromised immune system the surgery is very risky. Pray that God gives wisdom to Robin and the doctors as they decide on a course of action.
Norah and Theo are both doing great. Norah’s last weigh in was at 6.4 kg and Theo’s outfit today is size 18 months, his actual age. Both have been crawling a lot, Theo for the first time and Norah for the first time since she started losing weight. Norah has been pulling herself up and I think she may be walking again soon. Theo loves standing at the toy drawer and looking at himself in the mirror. He very much so resembles Gary Coleman.
On Tuesday Mitchell and I left for a three day safari to Murchison Falls. It was amazingly beautiful. Our room at Paraa Safari Lodge overlooked the Nile and while sitting at the pool we could hear the hippos below. We went on a game drive and saw so many animals. One of my favorites was the baby wart hogs. They would run and jump around, very cute. The giraffes were amazing and the elephants were huge yet graceful. We also went on a boat trip up the Nile to the base of Murchison Falls. I didn’t know I was afraid of crocodiles until I saw one in the wild. We also went on a chimp track through the Budongo Forest. Completely awesome!

Gaining weight and snakes...

Thank you everyone for your prayers. God has been faithful and good. Theo is up to 9.10 kg from his initial 6.7 and Norah weighed in at 5.18 kg on Sunday. Her skin is looking healthy, she is happier, and she is getting some fat in her cheeks.

Today Blessed killed a snake that the kids found. She gave him a good hard smack and then I hit him with a board that had screws in it. We also found some snake eggs. Yuck!

Norah

Norah is slowly getting better but she wants to be held constantly, which isn't too bad considering she is only 10 pounds. Today she seems to having nightmares every time she tries to sleep. Pray for God's peace and protection.

Theo is doing great he is more happy and is talking a lot. Just today when Mitchell put him in his bed he said "thank you" He makes the funniest faces too.

Sadie is growing big and fat. She loves to be sang to. Her favorites include "Sadie, Sadie (Bicycle built for two)", "Don't Stop Believing"and "Sadie Fit the Battle of Jericho

Pics

Here are pics of Theo and Norah

Baby Norah

We got a new baby yesterday. She is the most emaciated little thing I have ever seen. Pics may come soon but She needs lots of good food and prayer. Her family was feeding her only water and sugar. We found her on the islands during the medical outreach and the parents both agreed to let Diana and us take the baby to Acacia Tree. She is 14 months and weighs 4 kilos or 8.8 pounds.

Rainy Season!

The smell of rain is amazing. So crisp and clean. When we first arrived I noticed that it smells sweeter here. I don't know if it is from the fruit or the flowers but it is amazing.

Last Friday Mitchell and I went to the medical outreach. The little kids were so precious. As we were setting up a young boy was dancing and singing for me. We gave out the hard candies that Greg Tunnell gave to us at our going away party and the kids loved them.

Please pray for our health. It seems that every week either Mitchell or I are sick or injured or something like that. Also pray that all of the paperwork that Robin has to get filed goes well.

Thank you for all of your prayers over baby Theo. He is gaining weight, though he is still underweight for his age. He is very irritable and hard to keep happy. Please pray that we all have patience with him as he is learning how to be loved and taken care of.

A while back I think that I blogged about a little boy that was here for one night named Asheraf. We found out that two Fridays ago he passed away. He was born without a valve between his right atrium and ventricle (or something like that, I am not a doctor). His short 9 month life was full of witchcraft and superstition and a drinking mother that didn't take care of him. Even though his death his untimely and tragic I rejoice that he is in the arms of our Savior. Like the song says "In the arms of our dear savior o there are 10,000 charms"

One Month

We have now been in Uganda for one month. Somethings are like I expected other things are harder others easier. I would like to share with you some of the things that I have learned.

1. Do not run during the rainy season, in Crocs, on slippery cement steps, holding a cat. Reason: just ask the rainbow colored bruise/abrasion/knot on my knee.

2. Anti-malaria meds make for really bad dreams.

3. A lie that the Devil tries to tell us is that places are different. I remember thinking as a kid that as we drove to Missouri to see my great grandmother that things were going to be so strange in Missouri. I was certain that the grass was going to be different colors, or the sky, or the people would look different or something. The truth, however, was that Missouri wasn't much different from Texas. As we were preparing for Africa a similar feeling was within me, that Africa was going to feel different. But here there are birds, there are trees, there are people, just like in America. They all are created by God and they all are loved by God. That is the truth that people the world over are all the same. God loves his African children as much as his American children as much as his Russian children as much as his Chinese children.

4. I have also learned how to roll out chapatis!

Africa

Here are a few pictures of the babies and the scenery.

There are more pics at zembekids.blogspot.com

Growing Fatter

The day after baby Theo came two more babies came. One of them, Asheraf, was not well and was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. Last we heard he had been transfered to a heart specialist. The other baby, Moshe stayed with us for a few days before he went to his grandmother's. When he had first came he clung to me and I prayed and sang over him as I held him.

Theo is getng more and more happy, fat, and strong.

As some of you may have heard Mitchell was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University for their Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD program. Pray that God guides us into the next phase of our life, be it there or somewhere else..

Baby Theo

Last night a new baby came to Acacia Tree. Robin has decided to call him Theo, meaning gift from God. Pray that he grows in size and strength. He is one and a half years old and only weighs 6.7 kg. Right now he is taking a high caloric drink every few hours to give him much needed nourishment. There are a couple of other babies that may be joining us very soon.

Theo is adjusting very well. Please pray for all of the other children that are a little confused by the new baby. Also pray that when the new babies come that God shows us what they need most.

We will post some pictures soon. Thank you for all of your prayers!

Island Ministries

Cassidy and I went out to an Island on Lake Victoria yesterday. We got to the church at 8:00 AM and didn't push off until 10:00. It rained for a good part of our trip so we sat on the boat under a tarp for almost an hour of our two hour trip on what just might have been the slowest boat on the lake still powered by a motor. It was awesome though. We were on a rickety boat with visible leaks and water in the bottom, crossing wakes that were similar in size to our boats. While on the boat we were served tea and samosas. When we got the island, Cassidy and I were responsible for sorting out the medications that were prescribed by the nurses who did the consultations. After an hour or so of that Diana, director of the island ministries, walked us an another muzungu around the island. While on our walkabout we encountered an illegal tilapia stash. These fish can grow to be around 400lbs and the fish we saw weighed in around 8-12 ounces. We then approached a house with a stark naked baby outside who, when he saw us, got up and ran inside crying. I guess we were the first buzungu he had seen and we were still a little scary. After this we encountered a group of children leaving the bible club that was held on the island during the clinic. Each of the three muzungu had children clinging to a finger or two. It was an awesome day but the trip back felt even longer.

Uganda

Mitchell and I have been busy. On Tuesday we went into the capital city, Kampala. All of the people, cars, and motorcycle taxis called botas can be overwhelming, especially since traffic laws and right of way seem to be novel ideas.

The children here at the baby house are precious. During the day a two and a half year old named Deborah comes. The first day she kept looking at my funny skin. Benja is two and lives here. He is such a happy little boy.

We have also started trying the food. Two nights ago we tried motoke which is kind of like mashed potatos but it is made from bananas.

Tomorrow we are going with a woman named Diana to the islands for medical outreach. Also this afternoon we may be going with her to take pictures of ten children who all need surgery of different kinds that would only cost about fifty dollars.

Prayer: please pray for the outreach on Friday and that who needs the help is there. Pray that Mitchell and I continue to adjust well. Pray that God gives us great strength and endurance to do all the things we need to do.

I love you all and thanks for the prayers.

We are here!

Thank you for all of your prayers! We are safely here. Last night we got in around 9 at night and all of our luggage was there.

Today Mitchell slept until 3 and I woke up at 10. The children are precious! I will update more later!

Pray for continued health and that our jetlag is done with. Pray that God uses us while we are here.

We leave today!

I didn't get to blog yesterday... I almost blogged everyday last week. 

Yesterday I gave Mitchell a hair cut. It is the shortest I have ever seen it but it will be good since he won't have a hair cut for three months. After Salon de Cassidy we ran last minute errands. We then began the daunting task of packing all of our bags the way that they need to be packed for our trip. Overwhelming to say the least. 

Last night my dad and Lisa through a going away party for us. It was really great. Meemaw and Peepaw were there, so were Grammy and Grampy. Aunt Caren came as well as Brad and Tammy Carlson. And Meredith and Andrew brought baby Wesley. It was really fun and I had some great food!

Our flight leaves DFW at 1:20 p.m. We are going to be leaving the house at around 10 to make sure we have plently of time to check in all of the things we are taking to orphanage (including two high chairs)

I really cannot quite comprehend that I will be leaving in three hours to the airport to leave to go to Africa for three months. I have no idea what that even means right now. I suppose that that is a good thing though because I had no trouble sleeping last night and I feel very much so at peace.

Thank you for everyone's continued prayers.

If you think about Mitchell and I in these next 30 hours please pray for our traveling and that we have no problems getting all the supplies to the orphange. Pray that we have no problems clearing our luggage and getting our visas once we get to Uganda. Pray for favor as we travel and that we have as few issues as possible. Pray that the security guards don't stop us to go through our bags because I painstaikingly packed them and it would be quite difficult to get everything to fit in them again! Pray that I don't go stir crazy on the flights. 

I love you all. Next time that I blog I will most likely be on a different continent! 

Praise God for the work he is choosing to do through Mitchell and me!

Lazy Days

Mitchell and my dad's new dog, Molly.

Today was a wonderfully lazy day. I had lunch with my mother and my sister. Then Mitch and I went and tried to run some errands, but the Half Price Books that we were trying to go to was closed. We did get to go walk around JoAnn's Fabric a little bit. There we got some canvas to make Mitchell a cloth belt for Uganda. There was a huge selection! I loved it!

Back at home I napped, played cards, WiiFitted? for an hour and studied the Luganda language. Pretty awesome.

For dinner I put some of my studying to good use. I had a baga (burger) with chipusi (chips or french fries) and amazzi (water). For dessert we had more of the pie that Caroline and I made. WONDERFUL!

Last night I felt very stressed out so Mitchell and I read Galatians. I love how tangible that book is. It blatantly tells you the fruits of the spirit, that is how we should look as Christians, as well as the armor of God, that is how to prepare yourself for battle. Daily I have to remind myself that this life is a constant battle. I have to beat down distractions and focus on the prize.

Pie.. 3.14159265358979323.....

Today my sister and I made pie!!!!! Delicious, wonderful, French silk pie. It was amazing. We danced around the kitchen to my ipod, more like me dancing and Caroline laughing at her fool of a sister. We also made a mess because my mixing bowl at home is taller.... I guess you had to be there to understand. It was so much fun. It is moments like that that stay with me. It is things like that that I will think of when we get to Uganda and when I miss my family.

Before the pie making commenced we went and ran some errands. We got bed sheets for Uganda that are zebra print and awesome. We also got some carabiners to attach extra things to our backpacks, more bug spray, seasoning spices (we were told the food is very bland in Uganda) and oxiclean.

This afternoon we met up with my grandmother, aunt, and cousin. I helped Grace Elizabeth on her homework in which we counted by tens. Counting by tens is hard work but somebody has to do it.

I have decided that I am going to keep a daily journal while I am in Uganda so that when I am old and gray I can look back on these wonderful memories, many of which I probably will have forgotten by then. I will do my best to blog as often as possible but with everything to do there I am not sure how much blogging time will allow.

Today's prayer requests: I keep thinking of last minute things that we need to get so please pray that God focuses my mind and that I don't forget anything too important, pray for Rebecca and Robert as they prepare to move on Thursday, and pray for our upcoming flights.

Iowa is far away....

Last night Mitchell and I went to First Baptist Church of Smithfield for a going away party for the Ragsdales. Rhonda Ragsdale is a super power house of a lady that organizes the yearly trips to Mexico, of which I have gone on seven. She is such an inspiration of a servants heart. Her husband, Dave, is one of the funniest people I know and has helped me realize that there will never come a day when I stop growing as a Christian.

Paul talks about our Christian life as a race, something that requires endurance and patience not as an on and off switch. I don't instantly become Christ like. I have to put myself into His hands, let Him mold me at the chosen pace (art takes time), and let Him constantly change me.

In more mathematical terms many people think of themselves as 1 dimensional, a solitary point in space without interaction. These people tend to be very sad because we were not designed as individuals, but rather as parts and pieces of a larger body. Others view themselves as 2 dimensional were they interact with those around them but nothing above. These people will often find themselves unfufilled because they don't yet comprehend that God wants a relationship with them. There are also people who live in 3 dimensions, acknowledging themselves, others, and God yet they don't search much deeper than that. There are people who live in 4 dimensions who allow God to interact with them and not just "church-God" but the living all powerful creator of the earth God who wants to completely shake your world into something amazing.

I hope that I am living in the 4d, though I know often I just live 3d. I aspire to one day live 5d, 6d, or more. What that really means I don't yet know, but I trust that as I chase after God, He will reveal Himself to me in amazing ways.

Tonight I ate dinner with the Dunlap's (now technically the Dunlaps and Whitings since Becca got married and changed her name). This week Rebecca and her husband Robert are moving to Iowa. It was great to get to see them one more time before she leaves. Becca and I have known each other since 7th grade.

Prayer Requests: That my nephew Wesley starts to feel better, that I have time to accomplish everything that I need to, and for traveling mercies.

Uptown Girls!

Yesterday was such a wonderful, relaxing day with friends and family. In the morning Mitchell and I played Wii Fit during which I learned my "body age" is 27. Then we went to my Aunt Lisa's house and played with my cousin Grace. Grace gave me her school picture and together we placed it into my planner so that I will have it with me in Uganda. FYI Grace decided it should be in the bottom left corner of the inside cover.

In the evening Mitchell and out friend Matt Berger went to the Cowboys game. While the boys were off being boys, Matt's wife and I walked around downtown Fort Worth. It was such a great evening of friendship! Nicole is the coolest. We were regular uptown girls, walking around the shops and hanging out at Starbucks for an hour just chatting!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us yesterday. I got a text a few hours after I posted the last post saying that the pipes unfroze at my dad's house and that they didn't bust! What a blessing.

Church this morning was amazing. I love all kinds of praise and worship music but there is just something about an old hymn that gives me peace like no other. As I sat in church I just absorbed the words "Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in His wonderful face....... The things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace". It is so strange looking back to the way I used to think about life and the world and comparing it to the work that God has done in me. I am not worried that I only will have 1 skirt, 3 dresses, and 1 pair of pants for 3 months. I am not worried about the lack of AC or consistent water. I am not concerned about leaving the comforts of malls and fast food and constant electricity. I am not concerned about the language differences. Just like in the song, when I focus on God everything else pales in comparison.

God is something that I couldn't understand until I just sat at His feet and let Him guide me. It seems contradictory but there is so much freedom at the feet of the Lord.

Please pray for continued peace and focus. I praise God for this week of hopeful relaxation I will be able to enjoy before heading out on our big adventure!

One Week

Today is exactly one week from our departure date. As I type I am exactly one week, to the minute, from our boarding time.

Last week I started to get a little anxious about everything but through God's help and everyone's prayers I am feeling quite a bit more relaxed. We met with Kendall yesterday morning as we left San Antonio and he gave us vitamins to take over to the children. I think that this last week is going to keep me so busy that I won't even realize how quickly the 16th is coming.

Last Sunday Mitchell's parent threw a wonderful going away party for us. We got to see family friends, kids from church, and even some of our friends like the Nicole and the Canales family. It was a complete blast.

My goal is to blog everyday this week to let you know what I am thinking but most of all to send my prayer requests out to you. Even in the days of the new church the body would share it's prayer needs with the rest of the body. Prayer needs for today: Pray that God gives me a clear mind so that I can get everything into order, pray that the pipes at my dad's house thaw so that they can have hot and cold water, pray for the orphanage in Uganda and the preparations that are being made on their end for our arrival.

To read more about the orphanage where we will be and to learn more about the children check out their blog at www.zembakids.blogspot.com

The picture is from our road trip yesterday. Cold, no make-up, and tired!

11 Days

I can hardly believe that Saturday the 16th is almost here! Every time that I try to sit and think about where I am going to be and what I am going to be doing I get a little bit overwhelmed. It is so amazing that God has chosen little ol' me to fly across the world to care for his children.

I try to imagine what it will be like to walk down the streets of Entebbe. I imagine the monkeys that I have been told about and the big birds that are everywhere. I imagine the warmth of the sun on my skin. I imagine myself trying to communicate in the market. I imagine myself holding the children and playing with the children. I imagine the beautiful eyes of the kids as they look at this crazy muzungu walking through the city.

I know that no matter how much dreaming and thinking that I do, God is going to blow my mind. Every plan that I have ever made that I have given over to Him, He has turned my so-so into amazing. I am on the title page of the next chapter of my life and cannot wait to read the beautiful poetry that El Shaddai is going to write on these pages.