Where He Leadeth...

These last couple weeks have not been easy, in fact they have probably been the hardest 2 ½ weeks of my life, but I finally feel like I’m over the worst of it. Have my circumstances changed? In some ways, yes, in others, not at all; yet something has shifted. My heart, my perspective, my priorities…I know it’s maybe a little premature to go on about how much this trip has changed me, but I have been humbled deeply - I see and feel evidence of that daily - and I have come to a better understanding of what it means to trust. My dear friend, Patty, said it perfectly when she expressed that it is “such a growth experience to not rely on feelings but on His precious Word”. I am an emotional person and I have made the grave mistake of relying on my feelings time and time again. If I had continued to do that here, I would have crumbled, I would have lost hope, I would have let bitterness grow in my heart. The situation made it such that relying on His Word, His grace, His compassion, His sovereignty was imperative…it was all that I could do. I feel stronger and I feel that I have a deeper understanding of what it means, not only to trust, but to display the love of Christ in all circumstances because that is what I’m here to do. This is not about me. That’s maybe the biggest lesson of all.

As I’m writing, this song just came on (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfy2JVLaCTw&feature=related). I’ve sang it in the past with another dear friend of mine, David, and I forgot how wonderful it is. My heart sings along now…gosh, I will miss leading God’s people in worship while I’m here.

Notable events from this last week? Well, we’ve had two new volunteers come; one from the States, one from the UK. The latter came on Friday; her name is Georgina and she likes Top Gear so we’ll get along just fine J. It’s been really great getting to know her actually and I’ve loved playing tour guide in Jinja.

I have a bad head cold that’s kept me from spending much time with the kids these last 4 days…arg.

I saw my first monkey.

Nam ate a bird. Let me explain...16 year old Nam (http://ekisainternational.blogspot.com/2011/08/beauty-in-broken.html) is very pregnant (it’s been any day now since I got here) and has been having the usual cravings; in this case, meat. So when a little sparrow-like bird flew into the outdoor kitchen, she utilized the moment. She caught this little bird, killed it, plucked it, roasted it, terrorized the mzungus (white people) by waving it in their faces (unfortunately I was in the shower and missed all this) before literally biting the head off and eating it in front of everyone. I am learning to expect anything here.