Christmas at GSF

There are going to be a lot of pictures on this blog because I know you all want to see more of these adorable faces! 

Christmas was a wonderful time here at GSF!! It was very different than any Christmas season I had gone through before though… I went to no shopping malls bustling with people with Christmas music playing overhead, there were no houses with Christmas lights, and no holiday programming on tv. 

However, this Christmas was filled with love, family (even if its not by blood), laughter, excitement, and most of all Christ! 

A lot of our children were home with extended family for Christmas, so we had a much smaller group of kids than normal here to celebrate with. Our Christmas Eve service was a wonderful night of singing, a story about the meaning of a candy cane, and Silent Night by candle light. Hearing all the children's voices come together and praise God… Children that you might at first think should be sad around this time, or not joyful… But no! These children are so thankful and so joyous! They quickly answer the reason we celebrate Christmas- because Jesus was born! 

Most of the lovely girls! 

Dayna, the other AIM nurse, Richard my man, and Sam! 

Silent Night by candle light. So beautiful!!

After singing, each child received a stocking full of snacks, a new shirt or dress, a water bottle with a flavor packet, and small toys! Even the toddlers handed us their chips or popcorn right away so we could open it for them to enjoy! 

Helping the toddlers open up their stockings

Daniel and his chips from his stocking

Christmas day started with a wonderful brunch and gift exchange with the other missionaries. After some rest, we prepared to pavilion with all the gifts to be handed out that day! All the children, workers, and missionaries gathered together for a delicious traditional Ugandan lunch. We ate matoke (an unripe banana mushed up like mashed potatoes, this is one of my favorite Ugandan dishes!), irish (what irish potatoes are normally called), rice, beff (killed here at GSF!), pork (raised and killed here at GSF), and chicken. I'm getting over being picky about the meat here haha It was all very delicious! 

Yummy meat! 

After the delicious lunch, each kid received their gifts! I'll just let you see all the adorable pictures :)

Daniel and Micha infront of the Christmas tree

Some of our special boys- Sam, Matthew, Micha, and Elijah 

Me and my man Richard

This is my Ugandan little brother, Eric! If I could adopt a little brother, he would be it!

Richard opening his new motorcar!

All the kids opening their gifts

Efrance and her new baby doll

One of the other girl, Alana

Lily and her new doll (picture courtesy of Eddie, my photographer haha)

Even though I was away from loved ones, it was a wonderful Christmas full of new experiences and fabulous people! 

Adoptions, Baptisms, and (almost) Burials

Adoptions:

GSF does do adoptions to US families. Although there are not many Ugandan laws about adoption (which will be changing very soon), GSF is very strict on who they allow to apply for adoptions. You most have a personal connection with someone at GSF, be a very strong Christian family, and a great match for the children that are available for adoption. Many of our kids are no available to be adopted because one parent or family member still has rights that they will not relinquish, even though they cannot care for the child. 

I have had the privilege of getting to know one of the families that just went through the adoption process for Annett, a 4 year old girl here at GSF. Chris and Star had already begun the long adoption process here in Uganda when I arrived at GSF 5 weeks ago. After a long and detailed process on the states side, the process seems to become even more uncertain here in Uganda! After a few weeks, Chris had to return to the states to take care of their other children, while Star stayed here to continue the process and get to know Annett even more. It was such a blessing to have Star part of our team! She is an amazing women of God and handled all the uncertainty of the adoption with such faith and patience. Her dedication to letting Annett get use to being with her in her own time was so incredible! Annett is just a little more reserved then many of our children, so it really took pursuing by Chris and Star to make Annett become part of their family. All of us, Star included, were able to see a better picture of what it is like for us as Christians to be adopted by God, to become children of God. We are not always easy to love, but God continues to pursue us even when we a stubborn. 

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" John 1:12

Star and Annett, her new daughter!

Baptisms 

It was a big day on Friday for seven of the children here at GSF, many of the villagers, and ME!! The village church that we are a part of held baptisms on Friday in a near by sugarcane field. The entire experience really made me feel like I was living in Africa. We piled two vehicles full of kids and adults, and I mean like kids were on top of the van, sitting on the hood, hanging out the back, etc haha We drove about 20 min into the middle of a sugarcane field where canal/ditch/rivers had been dug. We had to stop this vehicles about 50 yards before the ditch because the road kinda became a river. The place for the baptism apparently had stronger water that day then days before. It took three men to help do the baptisms just to make sure people didn't wash away! Seven of our GSF children and about 20 villagers had decided to be baptized and had attended the classes and interview. It was a beautiful sight to see all theses people outwardly dedicate their lives to Christ. The very first person to be baptized was a jaja (grandma) that almost got swept away by the water! So happy for her! 

So, before even coming to Uganda I was thinking a lot about my own baptism. I was baptized in the Methodist church during 7th grade confirmation by being sprinkled with water. Although I knew Christ at this time, my relationship with God really changed when I was about 21. Thats when I was really changed by Christ and started to grow in my relationship with Him. I have thought about being rebaptized after this change, but was never really sure. However, everything just really lined up and I knew God was giving me the opportunity to be truly baptized here in Uganda! So this past Friday, I was baptized to  outwardly show the amazing things God has done inwardly! It was an amazing experience and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity publicly declare my faith.

"Go therefore and make disciples of  all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20

The drive to the baptisms... oh yeah, those are people on top of the beast! We fit them wherever we could!

The baptism site... good thing I put sunscreen on that day!

Pastor Sam speaking before baptisms began

Joel, one of our older boys, getting baptized 

I'm getting baptized!!!! (See more pictures of all the baptisms on Facebook!) 

(Almost) Burials

Although it was a sad time, I had an amazing lesson in Ugandan culture this week! Two of our primary school student's mom and our maintenance worker's wife passed away from advances AIDS on Friday. I got to know the younger of the girls, Patience, a lot during my first few weeks here due to a finger injury and her HIV status. She is such a sweet girl! So on Sunday at church the pastor announced that the burial would be a 4pm in the village. I wanted to go love on Patience, so I went Julianna, our head of the house mothers. We took a very short boda ride to the next village over, then walked back into the village through the forest. There were probably a hundred or more people all around a few of the village houses, eating rice and beans, and just sitting on the hill. First off, I was the only muzugu (white person) there and one of the really little kids screamed and cried when she saw me haha Apparently I'm not the only muzungu she's afraid of though haha After only a few minuets of Julianna speaking in Luganda to some of the other people there, she said we had to go because a riot might be breaking out! It took a lot of questions, but I finally figured out the whole situation…let me explain:

When a man marries a women here in Uganda, he pays a bride price to the girls family. If that price was not paid (as it was in this situation) when the woman dies, the women's family has the right make the man pay to have to women's body taken back to her families village to be buried. This is not a cheap process. Also, the family sometimes takes the children away from the father, since they do not recognize that he has rights over the children. In this case, the man does not have enough money to pay the transportation for the women. Also, all the people here that knew her really want her buried here! So apparently the women's family was threatening to cut down trees and burn the houses if the man, who went into hiding from the family and took the children, did not pay the price. So to get far away before any cutting,burning, or fighting started, we quickly left! 

Some of the people who knew the family are mad about the situation and others are saying that is was always to be expected when the wife passed away since he never paid the bride price… so interesting!! As of Monday, 4 days after the death, there has been no change…still waiting on someone to give in. 

Please pray for this family, especially the two girls that lost their mother. It must be hard enough to lose your mother, and so much worse to have all this confusing and fighting over her body. 

Other wonderful pictures:

Funny face time with Solomon... mean face!

Homemade chips and salsa all from scratch! Who thought the first time I would learn to make tortillas would be in Uganda?! 

Staff Christmas party! Lots of singing and dancing!

Prayer requests:

Patience's family, recovering from the death of her mom

Continued health for Richard

Safety for all the children going to visit family for the holidays. Pray that they would return safely home to us!

My health...nothing bit yet, but I'm fitting a nasty cold! 

Thank you for continuing to read my blog and support me! 

Everlasting Joy

In this post I want to share about a few specific people here at GSF and talk about an amazing thing God has been reminding me of!

Nurse Ruth is the Ugandan nurse on staff at GSF. She has worked there about 5 months, and started when another AIM missionary was there. She is 23 years old and from Kampala. She has an amazing memory about all the children and their medical/social history! It is very impressive! Sometimes we do have different opinions about when to give medicines, and which kinds, but overall it is such a blessing that she is here! On our down times we talk about culture, our walk with God, about our boyfriends, and laugh at the cute kids :) It blows my mind when I realize she is just a year younger than me and how different our lives look... She lives in staff housing at the orphanage without electricity, washed her clothes by hand, cooks in a pot outside, and does not own any form of transportation. However, she is always so put together! Ugandans really like to look "smart", or well dressed, with whatever is their very best clothing. I'm learning from her to be a harder worker in life... how often do I complain about doing laundry when I have a washer and dryer?! How often do I take for granted my microwave, stove, and fast food?! So thankful to have a friend who I can work alongside with at GSF!

Nurse Ruth and little Teddy from the babies house

Now time for you to meet two of our special kids! Moses is a teenage boy with special needs. I have never met someone with a better smile! He was seems so happy and loves to interact with you! Every time I come by he likes to pat right next to where he is sitting and say "here! here!" He loves for you to sit by him and he loves to look in my nurse purse haha I gave him a pen and paper one day and he went to town! He likes to play with Matthew, another little boy with special needs. He definitely brightens up my day whenever I see him! 

Moses

Lily is a teenage girl who lives in house 3. She also has a wonderful smile! She loves to ask how you are and likes to hold your hand. You can always find her just hanging out with the younger girls, playing, painting nails, or swinging. I love the hugs she gives whenever I see her! It really makes me feel loved :)

Lily

So, as I have said before, I am learning to enjoy each moment, and whatever it brings even though it might not be what was planned. I realize that that is not coming from myself, but from Jesus. To make me even realize it more, during our Wednesday night devotionals, we listened to another part of a John Piper series that spoke on the pleasure of God. He talked about the fact that only the only true, everlasting joy can come from Christ. That God wants us to be so joyful in him, that he gives us HIS joy! We cannot do it on our own, and obviously God knows that. God desires for us to be truly happy, truly joyful, so he guarantees it by giving us his own joy!

John 15:11 

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 17:13

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

Matthew 25:23

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.

(you can read the whole parable to get the full understanding)

How thankful I am that my joy can not only be in Christ, but my joy is Christ's! My joy is not dependent on my circumstances, my health, my money, my life... my joy is dependent on Christ, and He never changes.

Wonderful Experiences

Well, I have now been at GSF for two weeks! I am very thankful that I have many more weeks to go :)

There is so much I'd like to share, so this is just going to be a mixture of different things!

First let me show you my house and tell you what a "normal" day looks like here!

My living room. I live with 3 other missionary women

Mine and Dayna's Room

Our bathroom...even with 4 min of hot water :)

The day starts out at 7am with rounds to each house. Luckily, Nurse Ruth and I have realized that she likes morning more than I do, so she normally does morning rounds and I do afternoon rounds. Doing rounds means going to each of the 6 houses and asking the children and their house moms if anyone is sick, giving morning medications, and rechecking on people who were sick before. I love doing this in the afternoon because it gives me time each and every day to see almost all the kids and talk with the house moms. I learn about peeling matoke (an unripe banana), making mats out of reeds, cooking all different kinds of foods, and such! If I'm not in a hurry its a great time to get to know everyone and the culture better! 

After morning rounds we eat a little breakfast then head down to the clinic. We pass out medicine to the house moms if there were any new sick children that day, we organize the clinic, read up on new information, see school children who are sick, or take groups of children to get immunizations or to special clinics. However it seems like its takes a very long time to accomplish things here… or things just don't go as planned!

For example: Wednesday, we needed to take some of the newer children to Buwikwe Hospital to get HIV tests, and other children to get their routine immunizations. Nurse Ruth and I took 8 children total, with six other helps! I was the oldest person to go and none of us were moms! Haha We got there around 940 and immunizations were suppose to start at 10. We all went and set on these outside covered benches. Most of the waiting area of the hospitals are outside, even the table to do immunizations- all covered though. We took some of the kids to get their HIV tests, only to find out the hospital was out of the necessary equipment. Then around 1040, we asked about the immunization nurse and were informed that they changed to schedule and we could only get immunizations on Thursdays…. so we just all loaded back up and when home… with nothing accomplished haha The Lord has been so great and blessing me with much patience and grace! I am learning that plans do not always have to work. I enjoyed getting to know the teenagers who helped out more, getting to play with the children outside of GSF, and seeing the hospital. I am learning to just enjoy the moment, and realize the blessings in each situation. 

The van of children and helpers...there are no such things as carseats or seat belts here

Waiting in the immunization area... we all become moms that day!

My little kiddos for the day! Elijah and Godfrey, our youngest at 7 weeks old

The evenings consist of afternoon rounds about 4-5, then feeding Elijah dinner. He is still on a special diet for a couple more weeks. After feeding him, I've tried to go and spend some time with the older girls. They are so much fun! I have learned to dance, chase monkeys, the ninja game, and to just enjoy being outside. They love to look at my pictures and ask me about America and a lot about my boyfriend haha I love the opportunity to talk with them about Godly relationships and what that looks like for their future. Corinne, one of the other missionaries, and I and planning on having some special sessions with the older girls to talk about anything and everything Christian teenage girls should know! So please be praying for that! 

Last Sunday I was able to experience the new church in the village. Church use to be held here at GSF, but then the Ugandans had a heart to start a church in the nearby village. There have only been two services there so far! So last Sunday I helped carry the toddlers to the church… this meant a 20 min walk through the forest with a toddler on my back, in a skirt, in the hot sun! Haha I definitely got a taste of village life! The church is very new so there is still a lot to figure out. I enjoyed the very festive worship! Watching the Ugandan worship reminds me that sometimes we, as Americans, forget to be excited about God! He has given us everything, loves us so much, provides everlasting hope! So we aren't we more excited? Don't get me wrong, sometimes we are…but is sometimes enough? We need to learn to celebrate more!! Hey, if you want to know more listen to the recent sermon on celebrating from the Paradox Church :)

On Sunday, I also had the amazing opportunity to teach the teenage sunday school… this was a last minute decision since Rob, who normally teaches it, left for Kenya a day early. I have never taught teenagers…or Sunday school! Haha luckily, God provides in times of need! We went over James 1 (a recent study in my own bible study lol) and talked about trials and temptations. I was humbled by their honesty and knowledge. Many of these teenagers that grew up here know their bible very well! We had a great discussion about the reality of temptation and how to keep it from turning into sin: 

Pray and read Gods word Matthew 26:41

Have memory verses to speak to yourself when faced with temptations Psalm 119:9-11, Romans 1:2, James 4:7

If that fails, remove yourself, run! 2 Tim 2:22


I feel like I have so much more to tell you all about, but I think I'll stop here for now :)

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."Romans 8:38-39

What a whirlwind!

Let me warn you... this is going to be a long post :)
I'm going to talk about my exciting, crazy, adventurous, scary, filled week since arriving at GSF.

First, let me tell you what a wonderful place Good Shepherd's Fold is! It is a orphanage that houses 83 children at this time from birth to 18. There are 6 houses for all the children, split by ages and gender. There are also house moms in each house that take care of the children. on GSF property there is a primary (preschool-7th grade) school as well that children come to from the local villages. That means that GSF is very busy during the week! I only have one picture from GSF right now since I have been gone most of the time since arriving there (I will explain below!). I will do a later blog about each house and what my living situation looks like! I live in a house with Dayna and two other missionaries. They are all wonderful!

View of my house (right) and the GSF kitchen (left)

So Dayna and I arrived at GSF on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 230 am. The orphanage is about 2 hours from Kampala. Thursday was a wonderful learning day with orientation at GSF and a trip into Jinja, a large town about 30 min from GSF. Later that night, Corinne, another missionary at GSF, updated me on two little boys health conditions. One boy, Elijah, has had problems with constipation and rectal prolapse. He had a surgery done in Jinja to put a stitch in his rectum to help with the prolapse. However, this caused him not to be able to pass stool and he was is a lot of pain! The second boy, Richard, has sickle cell. He had been in and out of different clinics in Jinja and Kampala for almost 3 weeks, never getting the right treatment. Corinne and I decided that both boys really needed to go into Kampala to SAS clinic, where there is the best medical care.

Richard, almost 3, on the was to SAS clinic 

So Friday morning, we load up the van with the two boys and get dropped off two hours away at the SAS clinic. On the way there Richard was quiet but didn't seem in much pain. However, I believe God was closely watching over us and gave us the perfect timing for helping this poor. Just during the two hour ride he began to show a little bit of pain, and by the time we made it to the clinic he was crying and screaming in pain. Let me explain if you don't know much about sickle cell: the go into crisis sometimes that causes severe severe pain, breathing problems, heart problems, stomach problems, kidney problems, and more. We were seen quickly at the clinic and Richard was given a shot for pain. Blood was drawn and an IV started with fluids. We quickly got results back showing that Richard needed a blood transfusion and we would need to stay the night in-patient at the clinic. Richard has relief from his pain medicine, but still looked very very ill. We were not prepared at all to stay the night, but knew we had no other choice! So here I am during my first week in Uganda, in charge of Richard not only for his medical care, but playing mom as well for what ended up being 3 (!!!!) nights at a clinic. I am SO thankful that Corinne, who knows the healthcare system and culture in Uganda much better was there as well. I want to share some differences I have learned about staying in-patient here that I different than the states:
-The do not provide food or drinks for the patient or the family
- As far as I saw, the idea of something being an emergency did not exist at this clinic
- The family members/care takers provide a lot more care to the patient than required in the states

Things I am thankful for that happened while staying in the hospital:
- We met a wonderful nurse named Finoa who only took care of us the first day, but checked on us every day! We prayed together and laughed a lot when we could. We talked about differences in culture and truly made a Ugandan friend.
- Most doctors that saw Richard would talk about how they were praying for him, how he was covered in the blood of Jesus, or such. It was very uplifting!

So this is the story...
Friday:
We got admitted and went to our room. It was almost 5 o'clock and we needed food, supplies, etc for the night. Elijah still needed to be seen by the surgeon who was running late. Corinne stayed at SAS, and I ventured out for the first time by myself in Uganda! I caught 3 different bodas all by myself, went to two different places to buy food and supplies like soap (which is not provided!) and such. God was totally watching over me! That doctors that night said Richard was going into failure... He looked like death... I don't know another way to describe it. He grunted when he breathed and he screamed in pain a lot. Corinne and I cried a lot that night praying that God would heal and protect Richard. I am use to being a nurse, I am use to taking care of very sick kids...however I am not use to being their main caretakers, their mom, the one who holds them when they cry... That night we tried to sleep a little, myself in bed with Richard and Corinne on a bed/chair with Elijah.

In-patient at SAS clinic

View from Corinne's "bed" in the in-patient room to show the door to our bathroom

Saturday:
After his transfusion and pain medicine he seemed only slight better. I was happy he made it through the night. I read Psalm 27 to him and myself a few times...
"I believe that I shall look upon fthe goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
His kidneys were failing, his breathing was horrible,  and his abdomen continues to grow in size. Again, we prayed and prayed and prayed... 
Finally after medicine for his kidneys, abdomen, a blood transfusion, and LOTS of IV fluids, Richard began to improve. 

Sunday:
Richard smiled!! He laughed! He wasn't great but he was getting better! We were so thankful! Corinne and I continued to learn to navigate Kampala, taking turns to go to church, go eat, go escape for a little bit. I was able to go to Watoto Centeal and LOVED the worship. I was an amazing reminder of God's greatness throughout EVERY nation... I worshiped with hundreds of Ugandans excitedly praising God's goodness. Again, Corinne and I both really this boost! The preacher also said something that stuck with me
"As Christians, when we go through the fire we will not get burned, we will only get refined."
What a wonderful reminder, one that I really needed through this time! 

Richard and I when he was finally able to sit up!

Monday:
We finally we able to go back to GSF!! After many more boca rides throughout Kampala looking for many types of medicine that Richard will need to stay on, some forever, I feel like I have become a boda expert :)  

During this time Corinne and I survived on two pairs of clothes, which we slept in a washed in the bathroom sick with a bar of soap. We had someone from GSF bring us some supplies on Saturday but had no idea we would be there 3 nights! We made friends with Nelson, who worked in a local restaurant and helped bring us drinks and food. I am learning that people are so much more relational here. He checked on Richard every day, as did many others. I feel like people take time out of their lives here to really stop and care for others... even though we were just customers or patients. 

God taught me many things during this time... I had to trust in His goodness despite the circumstances. I became better at turning to him with my worries, frustration, praises, and everything really! I became dependent because I had nothing else to depend on! Because Corinne and I had to be mom over these 4 days, I also learned about my selfish desires! When I became responsible for feeding and taking care of these children every second of the day I realized how much sometimes I just wanted to sleep instead of play, or didn't want to get up at 4 am to give medicine... However with MUCH prayer God provided me with continued patience, grace, and peace. Parents- I have a new respect for you!! Hahaha

Please contine to pray:
- Richard's health. It will be a battle for his entire life to stay in good health. He must now be on many daily medicines to prevent such a severe crisis again. Richard could use another sponsor to help pay for life saving medicine, so if you feel it on your heart that you would like to help please email me and I will connect you with the sponsorship program! JulieMatthews8@yahoo.com
- Rest for Corinne and myself as we catch up from 4 days away from GSF
-Elijah's health as he has another small operation to help correct his bowel problems 
- The aunties at the toddler house- that they would be able to provide the much needed care to these two boys 

Closing note, which of course I read this morning in my devotional... God has amazing timing :)

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and  hope does not put us to shame, because God's love ihas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Romans 5: 3-5

I ivisite

Ric

TIA (This is Africa!)

I don't know how I have only been here about 72 hours... I guess when every single part of the day is new and different it makes it seem much longer! In a good way of course! 

Let me catch you up to speed on the last 3 days. 

Day 1) Dayna and I arrived in Enteebe, which is about 30 min south of Kampala. We took a private hire taxi (you will understand the difference later!) to the Matoke Inn. The Inn is run by AIM missionaries and in the same compound as the AIM office. Our way to the inn was full of new sights and sounds including 3 monkeys on a fence right as we left the airport, and plenty of other animals running around along the sides of the roads! The inn is a beautiful very homey place where multiple missionaries and friends/family stay when they arrive or on off days. 

Sunday morning we went to Watoto church on Sunday morning which was fabulous! It is a very large english speaking church with multiple campuses throughout Kampala. It was started my a Canadian couple, but the campus we attended was run by all Ugandans. It was beautiful worship, not much different from home actually. The series the church is doing this month is 'A Blessed Family'. I enjoyed the very biblical message about marriage!

Today (Monday) was a very exciting day! It was our first day to actually go into Kampala, verses being on the outskirts. Words will not be able to describe all that I saw and experienced! It was amazing! There are three primary forms of public transportation here: Boda boda, taxi, and private hire taxi. A boda boda is a motorbike with a driver and you get on the back. I'm so sad I forgot to take a picture! There are thousands of them all around and they zip in and out of the CRAZY traffic here. Scary but so much fun! A picture will come later...

Taxis operate more like buses, but are large vans. There are no designated stops, you must know where you are going and let the driver know when you would like off. The best part about the taxis is the taxi part in downtown Kampala! Its where all the taxis hangout until they are full. I thought the driving and roads all around Kampala were busy, the taxi park is a huge maze of vans! Also, pedestrians have no right away, its taxis then bodas then people. This causes crossing the street to be a death trap! We got more comfortable with every cross though haha 

 Taxi Park

Inside the taxi- they fit ~14 people

I was so thankful for our wonderful guide Rhona who works at the AIM office. She explained everything but didn't baby us one bit haha. We stopped for some yummy ice cream during one of our long walks around the city. She is an amazing woman with a beautiful testimony showing how it doesn't matter what you've done or or what you are currently seeking in life, God can call you to himself and transform you! It was very encouraging that she was so honest about God's work in her life. It reminded me that I should never be ashamed to truthfully tell where I was before I knew God, and everything He has transformed!! 

Rhona and Dayna the other nurse that will serving at GSF 

Overall the last few days have been full of learning and more learning. Sometimes it has felt overwhelming, sometimes I feel like I will never catch on. However, at all times I remind myself that God is very real and present here, and I am not expected to be an expert at anything! God's purpose is able to be accomplished even through my weaknesses :) 

Becoming one of my favorite verses:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

Thank you for reading! Please see my updated prayer list to the top right!

In God's Love,

Julie

What a send off!

This past weekend was an amazing reminder of all the wonderful people in my life. My parents drove all the way up from Houston to help me put all my stuff in storage. (its a strange feeling that all my worldly possessions fit in a 5X10 storage unit...) Justin and Michael sacrificed their time and arms to help move all the heavy stuff! Paradox, my church, showed their love and support by commissioning me off with an amazing prayer (see pics below!). My friends Katie and Laura threw me a fabulous send off party where I got to see so many wonderful faces! Thank you all for the amazing send off.  It actually made it harder to leave though since I was reminded how many wonderful people I would be missing! You should all just come visit Uganda :)

Well, I have at least made it out of the country! I'm sitting here in the Qatar airport 24 hours into traveling and only 12 more to go. Woo hoo! I have met up with the other nurse Dayna, who will be starting at Good Shepherd's Fold with me. Its so nice to have someone to do this all with!

It is finally feeling real as I sit here in a foreign country knowing that in 12 hours I will finally be in Uganda. I am so excited to meet all the people I have had contact with and have heard so much about!  I am nervous about what to expect and I wonder if I have forgotten anything... However I am remembering my purpose for all of this: to serve God! I am excited for this opportunity, even though sometimes I'm not sure what I'm doing haha I'm sure that will just add to the adventure though :)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 
Joshua 1:9 

Its getting close!

16 days until I get on a plane! Eeeek!

Things are really starting to roll now. I had my last day of work at Cook Children's for 7 months. It was very exciting but sad at the same time. I woke up this morning, realized I didn't have to work at all this week, and felt very weird. I guess its a good sign that I will miss work!

I'm leaving tomorrow to make my last visit back home to Houston. It going to be my last time to see some friends and family for over 6 months. Crazy! I've started packing my apartment, and packing my bags for Uganda.

Overall, it feels like it is really about it happen!! :)

I don't feel too nervous right now, just very excited! I'm nervous about getting all my papers and packing stuff together. I'm nervous about overpacking or under packing, or forgetting one document and not being allowed in the country... thats what checklists are for though right?!

About the actual idea of being in Uganda though- I am nothing but excited! When I sit and think about the last year I am in complete awe of God's provision during this entire process. How one year ago this wasn't on my radar. Actually, I had a very different life planned out before me. I remember roughly a year ago praying a prayer (in not a very nice attitude) that if God didn't want me on the path I was on, that He would have to rip it from me, because I thought it seemed quite wonderful and I didn't feel like changing it. I specifically asked Him if my small amount of discontent on my current path was that he still wanted me to go to Africa. If that was really what he had planned for my life then He would have to force my plans to change because right then I thought the plans I had made were just right... Never forget the overwhelming power of prayer! Never forget that when you honestly, even if begrudgingly, pray that you want God to take control, He WILL listen, and if you open your heart to His paths, he will guide you.

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11: 24

Humility

While going through my short-term missions workbook, I read a scripture passage that has really impacted me.

1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testify of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in far and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 

Wow, how humbling. This is Paul speaking, the brilliant scholar, man who met Jesus in person, missionary to thousands... and he witnessed to the people not in power or intellect, but in weakness. Paul's goal was not to gain fame as a great missionary, or to have the people trust in him, or "save" so many people to report back to his home church about what an amazing job he has been doing. His goal was to have people rest in the power of God.

How did he accomplish this? First, he trusted the Holy Spirit. Over the past year I feel like my understand of the Holy Spirit has grown immensely. At first I thought it was just a strange coincidence that multiple sermons I listened to focused on the Holy Spirit, and that I was given books to understand more, and that my home church was really pushing an open discussion about the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives.  I see now that God was strengthening my understanding, and therefore my need and reliance on the Holy Spirit before I set out on this journey. Paul, right here says that it is through the Spirit, that he is able to demonstrate the power of God. It is through the Spirit that he is able to humble himself for God's glory.

Curious to see other things that Paul says about the Holy Spirit, I looked up some verses. Below are just a few:

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Ephesians 1: 13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

So, what I am learning from this is that I can't go to Uganda thinking I can fix the people there. Or that I am going to do amazing things and change their lives, the entire country of Uganda, forever! However, I can go to Uganda believing that God CAN do amazing things, and God CAN fix people and change the entire country of Uganda forever.  I can believe that God CAN work through the Holy Spirit in me to accomplish His will. I can believe that if I humbly seek direction, through prayer, from the Holy Spirit that I can participate in God's work.

Sometimes it is hard to have this mindset...this heartset. Here in Texas as I nurse I must rely on  my knowledge, my decisions, my education. In Uganda, although I will be working as a nurse, my true intention is to lead people to trust in God's power, not my own abilities. Please pray that I remain humble while preparing and throughout my time in Uganda. God will do amazing things, I just hope I don't try to steal that show.