Search me, God, and know my heart.

"I wanna feed the hungry children and reach across the farthest land. And, tell the broken there is healing and mercy in the father's hands." - Britt Nicole''

That's my cry today. The last few days have been filled with lots of different emotions for me. Moments of laughter and moments of tears. I'm perceiving that life is going to be that way quite often this year.

Flexible is a term that I've been well-aquainted with my first week here. Last Thursday Carolyn, Cassandra, and I were transferred to a differnet inn because more missionaries came in to stay at Matoke Inn. I don't try to understand African logistics, and instead, just do what I'm told.

Moving to the inn up the way was definitely good for my legs in the multiple times I've had to walk from there to Matoke over the past few days. The first time I rode up there in a vehicle I was literally a bit scared that the SUV would topple over backward. The slope was that steep. This morning I was also reminded of how steep the hill was when I slid down it, injuring my purple painted big toe and giving me the first strawberry on my knee in a long time. It wasn't pretty. A local man walking up the hill at the same time had to have had a good laugh.

After settling in to the new quarters Thursday evening, Carolyn brought to my attention the slight slope in my bed. The bed legs at the head of my bed were a good 3 inches taller than the ones at the bottom.

The elevation ended up being good for my allergies and a nice little incline for bedtime reading! As we climbed into bed that night, I thought I heard the sound of rain outside. I thought to myself, what a joy it would be since I sleep so well during storms. However, with a little exploring, Cassandra discovered that it was no storm, but rather the leak of the water tower outside of our room. Not a good thing when you have a limited water supply. I kind of wonder if that directly related to the trickle that flowed from our shower head the next few nights...

Friday, we went through some more inland orientation and spent time in fellowship with the other missionaries staying at Matoke Inn. Since we girls were staying at the other location up the hill, we were instructed to make the trip back before dark. One thing about being near the equator is that you pretty much have a consistent 12 hours of sunlight a day. 7 a.m to 7 p.m. It gets dark early and when you have inconsistent electricity, sometimes when it's dark, it's dark. At about 7:30 Friday night I had to have an intervention with Carolyn and instruct her to get out of bed.

Language learning began Saturday morning and the rest of the day was truly full of rest. Good African Coffee is becoming a place I dream about during the day. I miss Scooter's, and it's the Scooter's of my African living!

Through orientation and language learning I've had the blessing of making a great friend in a local Ugandan woman. Sunday she invited us to go to church with her, and what a blessing it was! University Community Fellowship made my day. I was blessed with great fellowship and solid Biblical teaching.

Sunday was also my first day of learning how to ride the boda side saddle due to my skirt. The local girls make it look so elegant and easy. In my head, I looked that way too. Don't listen to any other stories. Fortunately, I was able to effectively communicate to my driver to drive slowly. He listened and it made for a delightful little joyride! After a very nice lunch at Javas, we had to leave Kampala and head back to Lubowa. The best and safest way to get back is by taking a taxi. However, in order to get to the taxi park, you have to make your way through some of the lower parts of inner city Kampala. A taxi in America looks much, much different than a taxi in Kampala. It's not a private hire, but a public taxi.

The sights at the taxi park are unbelievable. Yesterday, it was the sight on the way to the taxi park that continues to haunt me. There are some things on earth that can break your heart at the sight of them and I experienced a little bit of that Sunday afternoon. What breaks my heart break even more is the fact that I've seen such a small percentage of hurting and suffering in the world. It's everywhere. And, if you think America is exempt from that, you are living in a lie.

By the time we got to the taxi park, I was a little shaken up, and the taxi park isn't the ideal location to catch yourself in when you're feeling that way. It is mass chaos. If there are any traffic laws down there you wouldn't know it. It's a bump and grind of multiple taxi vans. Bumping the vans into each other is really no big occurence. Just keep moving. It's the motto for the vans, and what I have to tell myself when I'm down there. As a muzungu (white) in the inner city, people fight for your attention. It's a little sickening, which didn't help how I was already feeling. Thanks to the two teammates we were with, Carolyn and I were able to safely make it back to Lubowa.

Last night contained one of my favorite moments. When it was time to clean up after dinner, Jacob (a fellow Nebraskan!) and I took on the dishes. I'm not exactly sure what spurred the conversation on, but for some reason Jacob asked if I knew of the "Tush Push". For all of my country line dancing friends reading this, can you guess what happened?! Jacob and I broke out into the tush push there on the kitchen floor. Another missionary, Harrison commented, "Now this is the kind of thing I was talking about when I asked what you do in Nebraska!" Ah. It was definitely a moment I needed and am cherishing that I got to experience on Ugandan soil.

Another comical moment from last night happened back at our lodging place up the hill. Carolyn and I were having some quiet time in the room, when we heard Cassandra on the phone on our balcony say, "Okay, I'm going to have to let you go. There are bats flying around my head." With the door open, I am praising God that one of those creatures didn't make its way inside.

We happen to be settled back in at Matoke Inn now due to a few other reasons, and it's nice to have a generator, consistent shower and internet access.

In spite of all the light-hearted moments including one like the sign below,



the past few days have been a strong reminder to me about how no matter where we are in the world, we are all hopeless without a Savior.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6

Jesus is the only hope for the world.

"I am the vine; you are the branches If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Of this truth, I am constantly reminded. Apart from Jesus I can do nothing.

This week will be my last in Kampala and on Friday I will finally move to Mbarara. I'm so excited to begin what will be my life there for the next year. I would definitely appreciate your continued prayers.