Jetlag, Boda-boda, and Gilmore Girls

(view from MAF porch)

It has been a few days since I arrived in Kampala. The jetlag hasn't been quite as bad as I thought it would be, but I did wake up from 1am-2:30am my first night here even though I was completely exhausted. Even now there are random times during the day when I am hit by exhaustion and times that I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like it should be morning.

Uganda is lush, green, and beautiful. It reminds me a lot of Brazil. We are staying at the MAF guesthouse which is quite a way from the city, so I have had the opportunity to take public transportation to Kampala a few times. We take a bus part of the way (which is more like a 15 passenger van that they manage to fit even as many as 20 people inside), and then we take a boda-boda the rest of the way. It is basically a motorbike that seats the driver and a passenger behind him. I am not a fan of motorcycles in the US, so I wasn't too excited about taking the boda-boda. In addition since women are usually wearing skirts, you ride sidesaddle. Once the driver explained to me where I needed to put my feet, we were off! We all made it safely, and it turned out to be a pretty pleasant ride.

After Kim and I arrived here in Kampala, Larissa, Ian, and Kyle joined us at the MAF guesthouse. It has been great to get to know them, learn their sense of humor, and hear about their experiences thus far in Sudan. These few days have been pretty relaxing as Kim and I get over jetlag and the others spend some time on the internet and phone since the connection in Kampala is much better than it is in Sudan. I have also been really glad to be able to email and chat with friends online and talk to my parents on the phone here in Kampala.

Tonight I had a little bit of extra unexpected joy when I got to watch an episode of Gilmore Girls with some wonderful ladies! Many of you know that I have seen every episode and own all the DVD's. I was sad to have to leave them in the US. Well I found out that the team has all the DVD's! It was a great unexpected surprise.

Tomorrow we will go back into the city to handle some necessary paperwork. Please pray for all of these details. In Kampala so far I changed money, got a cell phone to use in Uganda and Sudan, and checked out the local mall to see what I could get here in terms of supplies. Everything has gone smoothly. This morning we headed back to Kampala for church, which was wonderful time of worship and a beautiful reminder that it is all about Jesus.

Those are just some of the details of the last few days. I am really excited to be heading to Sudan later this week!

From Uganda

Kim and I both made it to the MAF guest house in Uganda with most of our luggage, and Kim's last piece has been located and should make it here on Monday. We were both eager to to shower and change after two full days of traveling. There is a beautiful breeze through the house, and now that I am clean and wearing cooler clothes, I am tempted to go to sleep. Hopefully I will be able to stay awake until tonight seeing as it is only noon here.

Traveling

I am on my way to Sudan! Praise God! I am just over 100% pledged support. Thank you for all your prayers!

I have been traveling a lot over the last month, and I have learned to just go with the flow of unexpected delays and take advantage of the time to pause and reflect. I journaled on a rainy day while sitting in my car waiting for the mechanic at a rest stop in NC a few weeks ago, and today I am here still in Richmond writing on my blog while I wait for the train that I was rescheduled to take to Philadelphia.

After one last stop in Philadelphia, I will be on my to Sudan later this week! I will be meeting Kim in London, and we will travel the rest of the way to Uganda together. From Uganda we will meet the rest of team and head to Sudan a few days later.

Once I got permission to buy a ticket to Sudan, things started to move quickly. I spent two great weeks at home with my parents in Florida. I came through Richmond for a few days to say goodbye to a few friends and to be commissioned at church. I also had the opportunity to attend Sudan Christian Fellowship last night and worship with them knowing that in a little over a week I will be worshiping in their home country.

Now I have all my bags mostly packed, with the exception of a few last minute details. I am very excited to be heading to Sudan this week. There are moments though, when the sadness of leaving my family and friends overwhelms me and I shed a few tears, especially my departure date approaches. Moments like when my pastor was speaking the benediction using the same words he always uses and I remembered that I would not be hearing those words spoken in the same way for a long time are sad. When I call home to ask a quick question about packing or get some advice and remember that communication, although possible, will be much more difficult, I also get sad.

Time has come now to head back to the train station. Please pray for me and Kim as we continue to travel over the next week.

Serving God Alone

Today is my last day at CIT. It has been such a wonderful experience. I wanted to share with you one particular experience that helped to bond the 8 single women missionaries who attended this training session.

One of the staff at CIT had a special session to discuss the unique issues for single women missionaries. We all went out to dinner together, and about half way through our discussion she suggested a devotional for single women missionaries. I am sure it is a wonderful devotional, unfortunately, the title is pretty discouraging (but also hilarious). "Serving God Alone" ... that word Alone. The title became a running joke between all of us. And the reason it was so funny was that it could not be further from the truth.


We are NOT serving God alone! God is with us always! God will never leave us or forsake us! We are also all joining teams of missionaries on the field. We have the support of family, friends, and churches at home praying for us. You are all a part of our ministry. We are not alone.

The running joke about the single women "Serving God Alone", which was shortened to SGA over the weeks, was a constant reminder that God is with us.

God is good

God willing, I will be leaving for Sudan in less than a month! Thank you so much for your prayers. God has provided in amazing ways! I have a seat on a flight to Africa reserved, and a date set to be commissioned at my sending church.

Right now, I am finishing up my last week of language acquisition training at CIT. I am not exactly sure what the next few weeks will look like, but I'm excited!

Bittersweet. I think that is best word that I can come up with to describe how I feel. Amidst the excitement and joy of leaving for Sudan, I am also sad to leave friends and family. I am also nervous to be leaving for a continent I have never seen, to learn a language I have never heard, and to serve as an engineer in an environment I have never experienced with new and different criteria and resources. But I know that I can (and must) rely and depend on God. If I ever doubt God's faithfulness or provision, I can just look back at how he has worked in my life over the last year and be sure that God is faithful!

Reflections on CIT

It is hard to sum up the impact of the past four weeks of cross-cultural training on my life. It was so much more than just cross-cultural training. It was overwhelming at times to just scratch the surface of topics that I wanted to explore in more depth. These four weeks have challenged my assumptions, and showed me how much I must rely on God. I also have felt so loved here in a community of people who are all experiencing the same challenges and transitions. Some of the best moments of my time here happened when I was having dinner with my new friends, working on homework in the student center, or just sitting around after class talking about the things that we are all processing.

I didn't realize how tired and exhausted I was after the last year of working, learning about Sudan, raising support, studying appropriate technology in engineering, moving, and sharing my heart with my friends and family. Being here is a breath of fresh air. As much as I was processing the new things I learned in class, I was also processing the ways God has worked in my life over the last year.

In class we discussed topics including ethnocentrism, suffering, humility in service, learning a culture at a heart level, the role of women, the definition of truth, spirtual warfare, security and risk management, culture shock, dealing with transitions, and team interactions.

Am I completely prepared for everything that might happen in Sudan? No, but I am more aware of the difficulties and blessings of cross-cultural ministry, I have new resources to consult in different circumstances, and most of all I have been reminded of the Truth of the gospel and its impact on every aspect of my life and even the way I serve as I an engineer. I am not completely prepared to leave, but I am preparing to leave. I am excited, and not at all anxious.

On Monday, I will start the second class I am attending with will focus on language acquisition.

Pray for Sudan

You may have read about Sudan and the ICC in the news over the last week. Please pray for peace and justice in Sudan.

Our team leaders' comments are at the following link.
http://whmsudan.blogspot.com/2009/03/icc-warrant.html

Lyrics

Today at CIT I had the opportunity to share my testimony. I ended up just telling the story of God's grace and faithfulness in my life, but early in the week, in an attempt to be creative, I had selected song lyrics that expressed the lies I had believed, God's truth, and other aspects of my testimony. Below are some of those lyrics. I hope they can be a reminder to you of God's love and grace.

I wish I had what I needed
To be on my own
'Cause I feel so defeated
And I'm feeling alone
And it all seems so helpless
And I have no plans
I'm a plane in the sunset
With nowhere to land
And all I see
It could never make me happy
And all my sand castles
Spend their time collapsing
Let me know that You hear me
Let me know Your touch
Let me know that You love me
And let that be enough
(Let that be Enough, Switchfoot)


Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my opening mind
The world would have enthralled me
To heavenly glories blind
(My Lord I Did Not Choose You)


I hear it all depends on my faith
So I'm feeling precarious
The only problem I have with these mysteries
Is they're so mysterious
And like a consumer
I've been thinking If I could just get a bit more
More than my 15 minutes of faith,
Then I'd be secure
(Shifting Sands, Caedmon's Call)


I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all ends up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide
With a world I try so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
to give and die
(Worlds Apart, Jars of Clay)


O how great Thy loving kindness.
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.
(Jesus, I am Resting)


Put down your paper plate
Come to the table made
Deep blue china
Found on the table by the wine
So fine
It brings out flavor
Like You bring out color in life
Oh, I miss You so
The feel of forever
Oh, that taste I know
It hurts to remember
(I miss You, Shane & Shane)

Provision

I wanted to post a quick thought on provision. Through various conversations I have with other missionaries at CIT, I have been astounded by the stories of God's provision! God has provided for each of us in different ways. I have raised support so imperfectly (even that seems like an understatement). God has provided perfectly and will continue to provide for me perfectly. Thank you again for all of your prayer and support!

Humility

At the bottom of this post are two examples of the things we have been discussing and praying about at CIT. I have heard similar examples and thoughts before, but they are still challenging and heartbreaking. (Watch the video if you have a chance, I think it is worth it.)

I pray that God will work in my heart so that I might be the kind of missionary described in Philippians 2 (text below), considering others better than myself in humility. I often I operate out of pride and think that I have the answers and can solve problems. I even got a degree in engineering to learn how to solve problems. I considered the culture, took classes on appropriate technology, and learned about better answers for Africa, but all of this was done with out ever going to Africa to listen and learn. I knew that I had a lot to learn about engineering in Africa, about missions, and about sharing the gospel in another culture before I got to CIT. Now 'a lot to learn' seems like a huge understatement.

One of the books I read last week has this to say about cross-cultural ministry:
"We must consciously release our attachments to home, income, security, convenience, significance in work or ministry, and even comfort of family. We must enter a new community of strangers, often without many if not most of the comforts and symbols of home, and begin as children, learning at the feet of those we have gone to serve. We must be willing to become world Christians. The challenges will shape us; the changes will trouble us. Our bodies will get sick, our minds will suffer fatigue, our emotions will sweep us from ecstasy to depression. Yet the love of Christ will sustain us so that we can identify with Paul who said, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessing" (1 Cor 9:22-23)" ~ Ministering Cross-Culturally, Lingenfelter

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I think the video is worth watching and it is only about 5 minutes long. It is promotional trailer, but has many clips from the series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg_zPsElsK4&feature=related

"...if there are two qualities that mark North Americans, it is your ability to solve problems, and your assertiveness. You are quick to speak your mind. But your greatest blessing may be your greatest curse. Because when you come to Africa, you want to fix Africa. Well, you can’t fix Africa. You must learn to come as listeners and as learners. I often say to American missionaries on the continent of Africa, “When we go into this meeting, please do not say anything. You see, the reason is that you come from a dominant culture. And when the American speaks, the conversation is over. So do not say anything. Instead, listen and learn.”" - Oscar Muriu, transcript Urbana 2006

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Philippians 2:1-16

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.