Catching up...

I must apologize, I usually like to have more pictures in my blog, but I haven't been slinging my camera like I usually do. I will get more for you.

Monday June 28

I found out last night that today is the day that we start our older kids's bible study. I would be lying if I said that I was totally ready for it. However, in his usual way, God gave me the words to speak in front of around 150 children. Natalie Caminiti and I are leaders for the older children in a study on the life of David. It was really neat to get the children in the church and have them so attentive... I wasn't surprised at their attention, but it was cool. I cant remember ever being in front of that many people and not being nervous either.

I hear that the container is now 150 miles away from the orphanage, and we can expect it as early as tomorrow. That would be really amazing to see it come in. The stoves for Lira are on the container. We need to have it here before we can go. I never thought that it would get here this early when they told us where it was. That will be a HUGE answer to prayer.

Construction went well today. I stopped around 1:00PM for lunch, then worked on the bible study material, but while we were working, I got to work with the nationals leveling dirt inside the foundation walls so that they can compact and prepare it to pour a slab. I got to meet Pastor Jackson's daughter Elizabeth for the first time. She is a really sweet girl; lots of fun to work with and talk to. She has no accent. I felt a little weird, almost out of place talking to her because my natural Uganda enunciation comes out when I talk to people here. I don't have to worry about it with her. Its pretty impressive that she is so fluent, then I learned that she doesn't know Luganda all that well (still way better than any of us...), and has spent most of her life in Texas. It doesn't change the fact that she is a cool girl.

Levi and Winnie are very excited, Levi has been working with the US Embassy to get Winnie a visa, but it has been a very up-hill battle for him, so that would be a great thing for you to pray for. Pray also for the container, and for God to use me for his purposes.

Tuesday June 29

Had some more great progress at the work site today. We have gotten to the point where, in the Ugandan construction process, where we are placing large pieces of quartz into the floors. That the slab is going to be poured over. I guess they do this to fill space and conserve on concrete costs... who knows. So whenever we walk from the orphanage to the hotel with some of the interpreters, we inevitably end up getting scolded more or less to watch out for Boda-bodas. They tend to drive extra close to you. It gets annoying sometimes, but today I got nailed by a handlebar or a mirror or something. The guy on the bike flew past me, and he had a ton of room on the other side which makes me believe that it may have been intentional. Basically it made me bleed a little bit at the elbow, but turned out to be just a scratch that bled pretty well... Now I have a huge band-aid...

Wednesday June 30

Today was so tiring. I just felt drained all day. This usually happens to me at some point on the trip. There is always a day when the work that you have been doing catches up to you and you get slammed with the desire to sit in the shade and nap. You are tired, just from working every day, the sun is extra hot and saps your energy, didn't get a ton of sleep the night before; basically its a perfect storm. You just are dragging all day. I still went out there and tossed rocks around, then went and did my P5(4^th Grade) bible study. The study went well despite my sleepiness. The children learned about how God wants to be their friend forever. We told them the story of David, how God gave him a friend he could trust through difficult times like when King Saul was trying to kill him. We had delicious Uganda BBQ tonight again. It was awesome, as usual. I had 4 pieces of steak, and 2 pieces of chicken. I also have been wrestling with the hot water here at the Hotel. When the power goes out, which is all the time, we lose our water heater for a couple days. I have a hypothesis... a breaker gets tripped and they just don't go and turn it back on... so then when you are just about to go to bed, you are thinking you will take a shower and be clean, you have to take a freezing one.. its a real downer.

Thursday July 1

Have you ever traversed treacherous rocky landscapes with a wheel barrel full of concrete on a wooden plank? ...I have. There is a decent concrete mixer right in the middle of the worksite and we transport the concrete to the edges of the building with wheel barrels. ...and I swear, if the wheel barrels were Go-Carts, I got the bad one. It felt as if there was a break engaged at all times. Try pushing that full of concrete over a few boards that are teetering on big quartz rocks. It was an experience to say the least. ...”its all for Jesus.” That's what I keep saying in my head. =)

Friday July 2

I had a neat God moment that began yesterday. I was talking with Joan (my sponsored child). She was telling me that one of her older sisters had a problem with her eyes. So I asked if they were pink, and she told me they were. I thought about it real fast and I remembered I had pink eye a few months back. I went to Dr. Bruce and he got me a prescription for some pink eye medication, and it was a decent little bottle; not one of those 2 drops each eye, each day for 3 days kinds of prescriptions. It was a 4 drops, each eye, each day for 2 weeks kind of prescription. I remembered holding it in my hand and contemplating whether or not I should be packing it in my bag; whether or not I would even need it. Well, I did; I put it in my little first aid kit. So when Joan told me about the problem, I immediately remembered it and thought, “God is amazing.” I knew I put that little bottle in my bag for a reason. So today, first thing, when Bus 1 got to the orphanage I went straight to her house. To my surprise, not 1, but 4 of the girls had the nastiest looking eye infections that I have seen. I gave them each a drop in each eye 3 times during the day, and by the end of the day their eyes looked exponentially better. I left the bottle with their Mum, Annette, and said 2 more drops in each eye tomorrow and Ill be back on Sunday to check on them. I felt like a doctor. I then learned later that evening that those 4 girls were out of around 40 children that were infected... so Bruce hooked me up with some more eye juice to take to them. What are the chances...

Team 2 arrived tonight. I cant wait to meet up with them. I also had a small world moment; I learned that one of the ladies (Linda, formerly Bergstrom) on the trip used to spend time with my Uncle Jim Wright when he was just a little guy. She knew all about my past, and kind of blew my out of the water when she told me. She said that she remembered praying for my siblings and I when we were younger in her prayer group.

Container is in Kampala right now and may come to the orphanage as early as Saturday!!!