Another year older...another year ending...a new year dawning.

It's New Years Eve, and yesterday was my birthday.  As I have been reflecting on the past year I am once again amazed at what God has brought me through and allowed me to experience in my life!  There have been times of great joy, and times of disappointment and sorrow.  Many things did not go how I expected or planned, but God has been faithful through it all!  I became an Aunt to the most amazing baby boy  and little heart warrior ever!  I was able to return to Uganda for a second time and fell even more in love  with that country than I already was!  My hopes of adopting have been put on hold, but I am at peace with it now.  So many things He has had his hand on in my life throughout this past year.  Is my life where I thought it would be as I turned 33 yesterday?  No, not exactly, but in many ways its been better than I could have imagined.  True there have still been disappointments, but I'm learning more and more that God's plan is Always better than my own, so it's much easier to just let Him have control in the first place!  So, as 2014 approaches, that is my plan...to let Him be in full control!  I am human so I am sure there will still be times I will try to hold on for dear life to "my plans", but I pray as I enter this new year I will be more open than ever before to where he leads and wants to do in my life!  I am so excited to see where God leads me in 2014, and am ready and willing to go and do whatever he has in store!  So, farewell 2013, you've been great...hello 2014 lets see what you've got in store!! 

The day I met Jesus through a little girl...

I have been back from Uganda month now and the ache to go back hasn't faded a bit!  But, since I can't ho back right this minute I have been trying to keep it fresh in my mind by looking at pictures and recalling all the wonderful memories and experiences! I want to share one of those experiences with you today.

It was October 14th, exactly one year ton the day since I had first stepped foot in Uganda! It was sort of a bittersweet day for me because we had driven right by the home Rose is at and I was so sad I was so close and couldn't see her again. I was also missing Bobby because our time there had ended the day before and I knew I wouldn't be able to see him again.  That day my team went and visited the Home Again Ministry's Bethel School which is in the Karamajong village. Home again was a ministry my previous team actually visited and worked with, but I had not been there because it was the day I was flat in bed all day with a back injury and unable to go with the team. But I had heard great things and was excited to see it for myself! Just as some background, the Karamajong tribe is a group of people that were nomadic refugees from other parts of Uganda and East Africa and have been very isolated because of ethnic reasons. They are poorest of poor, and many families are single moms with many children and little to no income to support them. Hope Grafted In, the organization I went with this time, had helped raise funds and provide a grant for Home Again Ministries to build this school, so we went to see the new school and hear more about its progress. While we were there we had about an hour to just play and interact with the school children. These kids don't see many muzugus (white people) and they swarmed us!! They wanted to touch our white skin, and feel our hair. They loved just holding on to a finger or hand or just having their arm on ours. At on point the kids were all distracted by candy, so I decided to walk across the school yard to find a shady spot to stand for a few minutes. As i was walking, I felt a little hand grab ahold of mine and gently tug. I looked down and there stood the sweetest little girl of about 6 or 7 years old with a front teeth missing smile looking up at me! She motioned for me to bend down so I knelt to her level and in the sweetest voice she introduced herself and asked me my name. Honestly, here is the hard part, to this day I still don't know her name because I never understood quite what she was saying. I so wish I did though! I told her my name and she sweetly looked up to me and said "I love you Auntie Kristin! Sank you for coming to visit me!" (And no that's not a typo, she said thank you with a lisp because of her front teeth missing). I can still hear that sweet, soft voice now! We walked over to the shade hand in hand and as if that wasn't enough to melt my heart she turned to face me, took both my hands in hers and asked if she could pray for ME!  I nearly burst into tears right then!!  But, I held it together and listened to this little girl pray the sweetest, most heart felt prayer of blessing and thanksgiving over me I have ever heard!!  Right there in that moment I knew I was meeting Jesus in the flesh of a little girl with a toothless smile and cute little lisp!! It brings me to tears right now even thinking about it!!  I was humbled to the core, and my heart burst wide open right there in the middle of a school yard!!  The love I experienced and felt at that moment is like none I've experienced before.  It was truly and completely unconditional love!! This little girl had no idea who I was, she was just grateful that we came to see her and her school, and knew we had a small part in her being able to even go to school.  Any sadness about not seeing Rose, or missing Bobby was gone!!  This little girl had been Jesus to me and opened my eyes to what it really means to love and be Jesus to others!!  I then prayed for her as well, not nearly as eloquently I'm sure, and we spent the rest of my time there side by side. I think about that little girl often and wonder what sort of impact she will have in her village.  I wonder if she will ever have any idea how much she impacted my life that day!  And I pray she continues to grow and learn, and know Jesus well!! Here are a couple pictures of her.

Do you see it? Do you see Jesus in her eyes? Because I do! Every time I see her face I see the His Love looking back at me!!

Being "Home"...

So, finally, here is an update after my recent trip back to Uganda.  I wish I could put into words what this trip was for me, and "how" this trip was.  That's the simple question most people ask, and yet I rarely have much more of an answer besides "great", or "amazing".  There are times I truly cannot find the words to describe how amazing this trip was, or the things that God did.  God showed up in some pretty amazing ways, and I will share more in some individual posts, but to say that God went before our team, and with our time there would be an understatement!  Being in that country again with those beautiful people again was, just as I imagined, like being home!  The moment the plane started the approach into the Entebbe airport and I looked out the window and saw those beautiful red dirt roads I immediately felt like I was back home!  Leaving that place and coming back home to the U.S. was even harder than I could have imagined!  I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest and left behind!  Coming home and being home has been pretty difficult for me.  I will be completely honest and say that boarding that plane to come back to the U.S. this time was one of the most difficult things I have ever done!  I felt like I was leaving the place I'm meant to be!  I know that must sound crazy to a lot of you, and that I may have officially gone off the deep end, but everything about Uganda feels so normal and comfortable to me!  God made some things pretty clear to me while I was in Uganda, and one of those things is that He just confirmed even more that my heart is in that country and with those beautiful people, and I will go back!  There is no doubt about that in my mind at all!  That may be pretty hard for some people to understand.  Some may question "Kristin, how can your heart be there, when your friends and family are here? Do you love those people and that place more than you love your own family and being near those you love?"  And the answer to that is No...absolutely not!  I love my family and friends here more than I can put into words!!  What I can tell you is God has placed Uganda and the people there on my heart for a reason!  The comfort I feel there, the love I have experienced there, and the joy I have there is certainly God given!  When you have the opportunity to bless an elderly couple and their family with just a small gift of food, and then see complete joy and gratitude exude from their faces it stays with you!  When you meet people who have absolutely nothing of monetary value, but can teach you what it truly means to be Rich it blesses your soul in a way I can't describe.  Being there with those amazing people and giving back even just a little of what they give me is what makes that place so amazing!  I think this quote states it pretty well!  "You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere.  That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."  I realize unless you have experienced falling completely in love with a completely foreign place like I have you will probably never understand how torn your heart can feel even when you are in your home town with the family and people you love.  I feel really blessed that God has grown my heart so much to allow two completely different places with completely different people to completely fill it!  I am humbled that He choose me to go to that beautiful country not once, but twice now, and more I'm am certain in the future!  It really is humbling and amazing to think that God picked me...this city slicker of a girl who will barely use a port-a-potty and can't stand bugs, to fall in love and feel so completely at home and comfortable in a place SO far out of my comfort zone!!  People who know me well, will understand how true that statement is!!  But, it just proves how God can take anyone, anywhere to places only He can imagine!  When you are willing to take a leap of faith, and step out of your own little world God can take you places you never dreamed!!  I am so glad I listened to His calling a year ago and let Him take me to places I never could have dreamed!!  If you would have asked me 3 years ago if I ever thought I would be completely in love and feel at home in a country in Africa I would have said you were a crazy person!!  But now, Uganda truly is my second home!! 

Going Home...

Today I spent most of the day doing things to get ready for my trip back to Uganda.  This morning I had an appointment at a travel health clinic to get a prescription for my antimalarial medication and ended up having a really great conversation with the girl that runs the clinic.  It was so fun to meet someone who really was a complete stranger but so interested in my trip and excited to hear about it!  Then, this afternoon and evening I went shopping with my mom for some last minute items I needed for the trip.  We even picked up a couple little things to take to Bobby!  This day has been full of getting things ready and as I have been preparing for this trip I have been feeling more and more as if I am getting ready to go home!  I know that may seem weird to a lot of you, but this huge piece of my heart is there and I feel like I'm going back to where my heart is!  Please don't think that I don't love it here and love my family and friends here, because that is just not the case!!  My heart is here with my family too!!  But, ever since leaving Uganda almost a year ago now I have not felt as "at home" here.  Almost as if my heart is split in two and it will never be the same again!!  I know I will probably leave an even bigger piece of my heart there this time so forgive me friends if it takes me awhile to get back to "normal" here.  I can't wait to put my feet back on that red soil and once again see some of the people who have changed my life forever!!  I am so excited to see what God has in store this time and how He will continue to wreck my life in a beautiful way because of those beautiful people and that beautiful country!! 

Ten days and counting...

I leave for Uganda in 10 days!!  Yes...just 10 days!!  While I'm really excited, I have been feeling a whole range of emotions the last few days!!  Everything from excitement to sadness and extreme nerves!  Why would I be sad when I have been looking forward to this trip for so long?  As you may remember there was a little girl, Rose, I really connected with on my last trip to Uganda.  As I've been thinking about going back and preparing I've been thinking a lot about Rose!!  The thing that I am sad about is that I won't be able to see her when I go back this time!  I miss her, and her beautiful smile and vibrant personality!  The fact that I will be so close and yet not be able to see her breaks my heart!  I pray that she knows I haven't forgotten her and that she knows how much she is loved!  I pray she learns to know our Savior and His love most of all, and I hope she saw His love through me those few days we spent together!

 

The nerves have been kicking in a lot the last few days too!  I'm nervous I will compare this trip to my last one and it won't "measure up", or it will be more and I'll forget things about my previous trip.  And, while I cannot wait to see Bobby and wrap my arms around that sweet baby I am also very nervous about seeing Bobby again...excited, but very nervous!  I've had all these thoughts going through my head like "what if he doesn't like me?" or "what if he's afraid of me?" or "what if the connection I think and hope is there isn't?".  I was talking to a couple friends last night and tonight about all my fears and they both had some great words of encouragement!  First, in response to some of these nerves and fears my dear friend had these wise words to say: "That's your chance to show him Christ love for him and your love for him. How many times does do we turn our backs on the comfort our Father wants to give us. I think if you focus on sharing the love of Christ no matter what you won't be disappointed."  What a great way to look at it!!  It's not about Bobby loving me or having a response to me, it's about Him knowing Jesus through me and knowing God's love as a result (even in small part) of allowing God to love him through me!  What a great change in perspective!  My other friend gave me some great encouragement about the trip as well: "God has called you to Africa for a reason Kristin!  That very reason could be for Bobby, or it could be something else He reveals to you this trip!  The God of the universe has a HUGE thing for you!"  I'm so grateful for friends that speak truth like this into me and encourage me when I'm struggling or feeling unsure about things!! 

 

The thing that has been hard for me that I've been wrestling with knowing that this trip is coming up soon is knowing I will be gone during my nephew's open heart surgery.  God has clearly opened all the doors for this trip and made things happen to allow me to go that would not have fallen into place without His hand in it!  But, my heart still wants to be here for my nephew and my sister so badly!  I have prayed many, many prayers asking God to make it clear if I should cancel the trip, and He hasn't.  He has continued to whisper in my ear to just Trust HIM!  So, as hard as it will be to be half way around the world knowing my nephew is fighting through such a major surgery, I have to just lean on God's promises and Trust that He has Bryson in His perfect hands!!  I am sure that my heart will feel completely torn those last few days of my trip, but I have to also remember (as hard as it will be) that God has me in Africa for that specific time for a reason and I can't let my worry about my nephew hinder His work through me there!  So, friends...I'm asking you to come along side me and pray for me during this trip.  Pray for my spirit and that my worrisome nature won't get the best of me while I am in Uganda the day of my nephew's surgery.  Pray for the children and ministries I will be visiting!  Pray for Bobby and for him to know God a little bit more as I allow God to love him through me!  And finally, please pray for my nephew, my sister and brother-in-law, the rest of my family, and the doctors on that day of my nephew's surgery (Oct 17th) and the days following!  Thank you friends!!