I said a teary goodbye to my brother Owen today and will take a bus back to Litein on Monday morning. I had a wonderful time with him and am greatly encouraged by the time we shared together. Some highlights:

- We visited a Compassion International (Owen works for them) project where the sponsored kids come each Saturday to worship together, study God's Word and eat nutritious food. The project we visited was at Kampala Baptist Church. I sat in on a health class for 16 year-olds and was so impressed with the volunteer teacher, Abraham, who taught it. As he taught them about preventable diseases he interacted with them in a way that showed he valued each child and his role as a teacher in their lives. One of the girls in the class was the youngest of 9 children in her family and was from Rwanda. Her entire family, with the exception of her mother, were killed in the genocide. I was greatly encouraged as I watched her interact with other kids and worship the Lord in song and dance.

- Owen took time each day to pray with me and reminded me of the importance of fellowship with believers. I certainly have many Christian friends in Litein, but it often takes time to build relationships that foster accountability and mutual building up. I am challenged to go back to Litein and to be more intentional in my relationships there.

- We had the great blessing of eating dinner on a boat on Lake Victoria under a beautiful full moon. God's creation glorifies Him but people are specially created in His image to glorify Him on a different level than other aspects. As Owen told me: "One day the moon and Lake Victoria will be no more, but every person will exist forever either in eternal glory or eternal anguish".

I continue to need your prayers!

- Language school or teacher for Kiswahili, probably in Nairobi because I have a place to stay there.

- Direction and wisdom in making future plans. I am also trying to make Christmas plans with my boyfriend, Michael and would appreciate your prayers for that!

- Patience and trust in God's timing. It is very difficult to be in limbo (at least, it feels like I'm in limbo, really God is perfectly in control of all things) and I struggle to be content where God has me right now.

Thank you all for your encouraging emails and for your prayers and financial support. I have been blessed by your service and pray that God's grace will dwell richly in your lives.

On Safari

First, I apologize for not keeping this blog current. I cannot use the internet in Litein without great expense. I am now in Kampala, Uganda visiting my brother Owen, who is here on business with Compassion International. I've spent the past week visiting community development programs in Nakuru, Kenya and have been greatly challenged and encouraged. One of the programs was at the city dump where 120 families live in either caves or makeshift houses just on the edge of the site. Kenyans from a local church have been ministering to the children there by providing counseling, shelter and meals. Later I visited a Kenyan friend, Josephine, who has a ministry to orphans and their caregivers. I had the oportunity to "preach" to their fellowship meeting and thought about Jesus' reaction to the poor and hurting.
Jesus was close to "the least of these" - fisherman, lepers, tax collectors, and even the promiscuous. The suffering that he saw in this world led him to compassion and then to action. I am greatly encouraged to see the Kenyan church caring for the poor and suffering within her. Please pray with me for the Kenyan Christians in their ministries.
I will be spending a few days in Kampala and then returning to Litien to wrap up my time there. I have applied for a resident permit to my new destination country and may wait up to 4 months for that to be processed. PRAY THAT I WILL GET THE PERMIT IN A MONTH!! I am excited to begin working in my new location in East Africa and struggle to remain patient. God is teaching me what it means to wait on Him and that His plans are better than my plans. I'd appreciate prayers for trust in the Lord. As I wait for my permit, I will try to go to language school in Kenya so that I am prepared for work when I arrive in my new city.
God has greatly blessed my time here thus far and I much appreciate (and need!) your prayers