hello to all back home who are reading this... greetings from Africa!
It has been awhile since I have blogged, I know. I have been busy nearly every night this week OR the power has been out when I have had time. We have reached the halfway mark of the semester yesterday, and feelings amongst the group are mixed. I still have so much more I want to do before I leave, and I love my roommate and friends here- so it will be painful to leave. BUT happily there is STILL HALF a semester yet, so there is no need to feel sad!
The picture posted is me in a town called Jinja, which is the Source of the Nile. It was beautiful! We had an Honors College Retreat there last weekend, which really helped to break the ice in our halls between UCU and USP students. I made an awesome friend named Rose, who lives on my hall. I really enjoy her, she is so wise and funny. We even have a special handshake / inside joke! :) At the retreat we were divided into groups and did Bible Studies and shared Testimonies within them. It was really cool to hear/ share our stories and also get different perspectives on the Bible. I am hoping to still join a Bible Study with some of them because I have really missed that dynamic of closeness and accountability.
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POCAHONTAS comes to life! :)
Kimber and sarah and I shared a hut on the outskirts of the resort, it was cozy and beautiful! One afternoon I took our straw mat to do pilates in the open air. (Note: There is no fence or boundary surrounding the resort.) As I was doing pilates, the children were going to gather water from the Nile and passing on a trail that had an unfortunately good view of me on my mat. This one girl stopped and stared at me, I waved so she would leave, but she kept like hiding in the bushes, it had to be like three solid minutes, still watching me and starting at me… I felt like John Smith did in the movie, when all the natives hid and gawked at the white guy. I just had to laugh out loud because it was such an out of body experience!! But it was sufficiently awkward and got old really fast!! I must confess, sometimes I would hear them coming and pretend like I was sleeping so they would keep walking and not stare long! :)
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On a more serious note, it is so humbling for me to hear close friends, and even my home stay family, express their need for school fees (which I think averages $200 a year). A friend came to visit me last night and said she was sent home because she needed to get her fees. She has not idea where she will get them or when. But despite how unfortunate it is, she still believes and trusts whole-heartedly that God will provide fees for her. WOW such faith! She is also inspiring because she has a heart full of love for Jesus and for suffering children. She has a dream to start an NGO for children all over the world, and I have seen her start putting feet to her dreams. She can’t even afford to go to school, yet she is so willing to give all to others… :) Please pray for her that she would continue to seek God’s specific guidance for the ministry, and for resources and planning to continue. She really has a vision for Trinity Global Child.
Life has been busy, and there seems to be no end in sight. We go rafting tomorrow (eek!) and rural home stays start next Friday. And when we return it will already be November. WOW! I miss all of you and thank you very much for all your prayers.
