Love

This last weekend was filled with playing soccer with the kids at Smile, doing laundry by hand (see picture below), visiting Pastor Ruth’s house, eating at a new friend’s house, and going to church. Definitely a wonderful and refreshing weekend.

Pastor Ruth is the person who started Smile. She cooked a wonderful meal for us on Saturday night and shared her testimony with us, which was so inspiring. She is a humble woman who has done incredible things for God and gives Him all the glory. She listens to the voice of the Lord and takes leaps of faith before the provision comes. People think she has a large bank account to be able to pay for everything, but she states that her bank account is in God, and every time that she needs to pay for food for Smile, beds, clothes for the babies, etc., she receives the exact amount of money that she needs. So cool to hear her faith and how God has worked in amazing ways in her and through her.

We also had the opportunity to go to Pastor Amos’s church last Sunday. We were thoroughly welcomed and sat at the front of the church (by the pulpit, looking out at the congregation!) and we each shared a little bit of how God had been working in our lives recently. Once again, I was completely humbled by the way these people praise Jesus. Below is a little snippet of their worship. Afterwards, the church served us lunch… such hospitality!

Here's a picture of us with the pastor and some of the members of the church after lunch:  

The last few days at Smile have been good as well as crazy. Before I left, I was so excited to simply love the kids… what I didn’t realize is that sometimes, loving them would be hard! More and more, I’m seeing the need for the Lord to love through me because in and of myself, I cannot love these children as they deserve.  Today, two of the kids were in a fight. They both grabbed these large rocks and were ready to throw it at each other (stoning happens a fair amount at Smile.) I stepped in saying “hapana!” which means “no” in Swahili and started to grab the rocks. The kids then proceeded to bite me and continued to try to throw the rocks at each other. It’s times like these where I am at the end of my own human capabilities to love, and I need to depend on Christ to love through me. The fact is, these kids are only imitating what they have seen in the past. I also learned this week that some 4 year-olds at Smile were caught having sex in the fields! They have no idea what they are doing, it’s only what they have seen from their mom doing before. It’s only when I start seeing these kids with Christ’s eyes that I am able to love them.

Other updates… I got my first proposal this weekend. I guess the guy wanted mixed babies? We got a toilet paper holder in the bathroom, which we are pretty excited about. And, two of the girls on our team have malaria. Pray for them as they are feeling pretty miserable. Also, I’m really praying that the rest of us do not get malaria. The girls have gotten 3 shots in the rear end plus an IV… don’t know if I can handle that.

Love and miss you all!



Smile Africa

Today, we completed our 4th day at Smile Africa. It has been both wonderful and exhausting. There are over 400 kids at Smile Africa, all dying to be loved. The moment we enter the gate, the kids swarm the "mzungus", wanting to be held. I just wish that we could pour into each and every one of them, yet there's only a handful of them that I can hold and play with throughout the day. The past couple days, a few of the kids have called me "Stacy" instead of "mzungu," which made me pretty excited, yet the Lord keeps pressing it upon my heart to get them to know His name, not mine... because it is He that is going to stay with them after I leave; He will never leave them.

Yesterday, a couple of the teachers handed their classrooms over to Michelle and I. Yikes! In one class, we were supposed to teach handwriting. The teacher told us to just write something on the board and have the kids copy it. We did this using the verse, John 3:16, and the kids wrote it down. Then, we probed, trying to see if the kids could actually read the words or know the vocabulary... but the kids didn't know what any of the words meant, and they weren't able to read either. They simply knew how to copy the words on the board. Then, we took over the P3 class. This class is for the older kids who aren't sponsored. The hope is that the kids will be sponsored and hopefully be able to catch up with their peers. We read the story of David and Goliath, had the kids summarize it, wrote it on the board, read our summary together, and had the kids write about their hero. At first, the kids were very confused by this whole "apply your learning" aspect, but soon, they understood. Their heroes were Jesus, John the Baptist, and God. It was so precious reading what they wrote.

Today, there was a boy named Habuchi (who's probably 3 or 4). He was coughing really bad, and then threw up all over his shirt. I went to go get him a new shirt and was told by Bri (the short-term missionary who's been here since Januray) that his mom would most likely take his new shirt, sell it, and use the money for alcohol. Heartbreaking. There are so many precious, precious kids at Smile who deserve to be loved and cared for, yet no one even looks their way.

The first day at Smile, the kids were sort of playing soccer with a ball of garbage. The second day, we brought 2 soccer balls, and it was like Christmas. Since then, many games of intense, fun, and sweaty soccer have come about!

By the time we head home for the day, we are sweaty, exhausted, and fulfilled. We take bodas back to our hotel, and often times end the day with a fanta (so refreshing after a hot day!) Yesterday night, we had "pizza" for supper. Definitely different from American pizza! Yet the hotel staff was so great to prepare it for us :)

Jambo

A couple days, I had my first boda ride... one of my new favorite things!

The internet cafe that we typically go to has a large porch. The other day, I got to have a good conversation with a man named Jude. He was talking about how anyone who believes in a God can go to heaven, and then he asked me what I believed, and I was able to share. These are the opportunities we pray for! We also got to hang out with some sweet kids. From what we heard, the kids were all watched by one man who was sort of a father figure for them. It's so sad. The other day, we were walking down the street, and a little boy just walked up and held my hand. They're looking for any sort of love. Here's us singing a song... such a sweet sound!

The last couple days, we have been at Smile Africa Ministries. It has been both wonderful and heart wrenching. There is so much joy, yet pain. Sadness, yet hope. Violence, yet love. These are some simple things I have learned:

1. The kids are FASCINATED by watches.

2. Start a circle with 3 kids, and you will soon have 40 kids who are forever entertained by ring-around-the rosie and duck-duck-goose.

3. The kids are also fascinated by the fact that I have white hair on my arm.

4. Any time you want to be surrounded by a crowd of kids... bring the children's Bible! We have had so many opportunities to read the Bible to the kids. Most of the younger ones (10 yrs. and under) speak mostly Swahili, but they still like listening. We have been asked to read a Bible story in the classroom 4 times so far, and then we have a translator, which helps :)

5. Singing songs is a wonderful thing!

6. One of the greatest gifts to give one of the children is an empty water bottle. They use it for games, to make clay (in which they build these extensive houses). It's really amazing.

There has been so many other things that I've seen that have either made me smile or broke my heart. Some of the kids have no clothes and just run around naked, whereas others have clothes with dirt and holes all over. Today, they handed us their clothes at shower time to wash them. They were so excited, even though we only had dirty water to wash them in. I told someone that I wasn't going to remember the names of the kids when they changed clothes... however, I didn't realize that they don't change clothes ever.

Well, internet time is just about up. I will update more later! As of now, please pray for energy, as we are exhausted after the day is done. Also pray for the Lord to supernaturally love through us and that every child will know the love of Christ.

Thanks. Love and miss you all!

Tororo

After a five hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Tororo, Uganda! We met up with Brianne and Amanda, a couple girls who have been at Smile for 5 months, and they have been great about showing us around the town. I am getting used to responding to "Muzungu!" which is a respected term for a white person. Everywhere we go, people are calling us this. Boda (mopeds/motorcycles) stop everywhere, wanting to give the Muzungu a ride. It makes me so happy to be able to make a child smile so big simply by waving at them. I don't think I will ever grow tired of it!

This morning, we went to church. It was a long service on hard benches, but the church was filled with such beautiful people. I was completely humbled by the way these people worship. Woship is a way of life for them, and praise seems to naturally tumble from their lips. When the singing would stop, everyone would just start praying, adoring their King of Kings with praises. Such a beautiful sound!

The hotel we're staying at is nice... we even have a flush toilet! And we have a beautiful view outside our room of the Tororo rock!

Tomorrow, we will start at Smile... mostly observing and playing with the kids for the first few days. We would love prayer for wisdom, for love, and for boldness. Thanks so much! Love and miss you all!

This is Africa

So after boarding the plane in Amsterdam, I realized I had forgotten my Bible and journal in the airport's waiting area. As soon as I discovered this, I started crying... trying so hard to not lose it. But then the guy next to me asked me if I was ok, and I lost it (at this point, I had been awake for 24 hours). Started sobbing saying, "I lost my Bible!" He wasn't a believer, so I think he thought I was crazy becoming unglued about a lost book! But we ended up having some good conversation, and I was able to share a little bit about the Lord with him. It's crazy how the Lord is already challenging me to trust Him more thus far... and I am sure that is only continue more! And, I had all my letters that many of you wrote, and I was SO encouraged. Plus, you guys provided ample Scripture for me to read while in the plane :) They had me laughing/crying (which probably made the guy next to me think I am even more of an emotional wreck!) But thank you all so much who wrote to me. It was such a blessing to me.

So today, we have just had more on-site training about the culture of Uganda... definitely informing. And then we will leave for Tororo tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. We are all so excited to finally be with the kids! But we won't actually start until Monday. We would definitely appreciate prayers for us to be God's vessels, energy, and for Christ's love to pour out of us. Thanks!

in the land of tulips

All of you Orange Cityer's... be proud. I am in Holland! Here's a picture of the sunrise flying in... wonderful :)

I am currently in the Amsterdam airport, getting ready to board in a little less than an hour to AFRICA! I never thought this moment would actually be here... but it is.

Already, the Lord is teaching me a lot. On the flight to Amsterdam, I got in a pretty intense spiritual conversation with the person next to me. He was an atheist, but saw my Bible and started asking me about it. He was very curious as to why I was so confident about my faith. These are opportunities that I pray for! Afterward the conversation though, I started analyzing everything I said, thinking, "I should've explained this better", "I can't believe I didn't talk about that!", and "I don't know if I really answered his question about this." The list goes on.

The Lord keeps gently prodding me that it is ok that I don't speak as eloquently as I think I should because when I am weak, HE IS STRONG. It is not my speaking that does the work, it is the Holy Spirit. Even though I am a bit of a talking mess at times... that means the more glory to HIM because I can certainly not claim any credit for myself.

And did I see any fruit? Not really. I suggested that he try reading the book of John this summer, but he said he probably wouldn't. But what peace I can have knowing that I can only plant the seed, but God does the work, and He is faithful beyond comprehension.

Side note: Amsterdam is SUPER expensive! I am kind of embarassed to say I spent $13.50 on a slice of pizza and pop... but on the positive side, there are tulips everywhere!

in New York!

Well, there's not too much to tell, but I figured I would give everyone an update while I knew the internet was still reliable :)

I got to AIM headquarters in New York yesterday after a long day of travel. I was almost sure our plane was going to crash as we were landing, but the Lord is faithful and I am still alive! The last couple days have been filled with getting to know our team members and seminars preparing for our upcoming summer.

It's been such a blessing to be surrounded by people who have the same passion and are excited about going. The Lord's really used it to give me peace, and once again, I'm ready to hop on that plane! Speaking of that, we will be boarding our plane tomorrow at 6:10. We'll first have a 8 hour flight to Amsterdam, a 3 hour layover, and then a 11 hour flight to Uganda :) :) 2 days from now, I will finally be in Africa!

And here are all my lovely team members at the AIM headquarters! From left to right: me, Kim, Michelle, Dani, and Laura
Love you all!
Stacy

less than a week?!

So I was starting to get nervous with 41 days until the trip... well, now I'm REALLY starting to get nervous because it's less than a week away! I don't know if I've ever felt such a mixture of nervousness and excitement before in my life.

With this week, I'm feeling nostalgic about everything... the lakes of Minnesota, going biking/rollerblading, having bonfires, etc., etc. Two verses have come to mind as I prepare to leave:

"Another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" -Luke 9:61-62

and

"In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." -Romans 8:37

The Lord has been assuring me that I have nothing to fear because He goes before me and He is with me. And in Him, I am more than a conqueror. I want to cherish my last few days in Minnesota with my family and my friends, but when I am in Africa, I want to be fully there. Of course this doesn't mean that I'm not going to think about all the people I love back home, but it does mean that I will be fully present and working on building relationships while I'm in Africa.

Here are some prayer requests for this upcoming summer:

• We will know the voice of our faithful Shepherd and be willing to follow wherever He leads us.
• Our team will be one just as the Father and Son are one.
• We will be filled with boldness and love
• We will become less and He will become greater- that in everything that happens this summer, we will be able to say, "only God could've done this!"
• There will be a few specific people at the orphanage/in the community that I will be able to pour into as well as learn from.

Thanks so much for praying! I am so blessed by you all!