A Little Bit Of Cleavage And Some Hair On The Chest

This conversation took place between 4:35pm - 4:40pm while I'm taking a shower (listen...let's focus more on the fact that I actually got a shower instead of the time the shower took place):
Areyna: "Mom, Zeke really got hurt!"
Me: "What happened?"
Areyna: "He fell and hurt his chest!"
Me: "Is daddy with him?"
Areyna: "Yeah, but he's still crying.  But daddy said it was okay because it would put hair on his chest."
Me:  (giggling)"Really...is that good or bad?"
Areyna:  "I don't think it's very good..."

This conversation took place between 4:55pm-4:59pm after taking my shower:
Me:  "Zeke, buddy, why in the world are you still crying?  You are going to be fine.  I don't even see a mark."
Zeke:  "But daddy said I was going to get chest hair like him.  I don't WANT CHEST HAIR!!!!" (as the tears and sobbing continue)

HAHAHA!!!

When I was growing up my family always had this thing we used to say:

"Oh, stop fussin' about it.  It'll put hair on your chest."

I guess since the first two of my parent's children were of the female gender that didn't go over so well because eventually it turned into:

"Don't worry about it.  It'll give you cleavage."

I'm sure the first time Josh heard this he was wondering what in the world we were talking about, but it didn't take too long to rub off on him, seeing as he is telling our children the exact same thing:)

PS-I don't know about you other ladies, but no matter how hard I tried this, "It'll give you cleavage", thing, it has really been a let down, ha!

So...How Was Your Trip?

I've been having a really tough time morphing back into life here at home.  I don't know exactly what it is.  The only way I can think to explain it is that I have so many different thoughts and feelings that I can't seem to cram them all into my head in order to process it all.

So, when people ask, "So...how was your trip?", I don't exactly know where to begin.

First of all, I stare into space and try to figure out if the person asking the question is truly curious about the details of the trip, just being friendly, or really curious about the DETAILS of the trip.

I mean, what part do you want to hear about?

The way I watched 4 movies on the airplane rides trying to stay awake the whole way there...
The part about the change of plans from getting a full night's rest at the "hotel" before heading the rest of the way in the bus, to just going ahead and making the full trek in the middle of the night...
The fact that I kept forgetting to brush my teeth with bottled water instead of tap water...
The way the kids in the first village totally rushed us every time we came into sight...
The beautiful huts made out of clay and straw that they keep so clean...
The smells...
The way the Ugandan's drive as if the painted lines on the roads (the ones that actually have lines, that is) are merely suggestions...
The animals...
The hurting people...
The hope of the story of Christ that we brought...
The demon(s) that were cast out of the woman...
The evil spirits that were cast of the home of a woman and her two children who were being strangled at night by them...
The evil spirits that were cast out of the home of another family who had lost 5 children to witchcraft...
The way I smuggled a little girl, who had become attached to my right hand for two days, a baby doll and watching her eyes light up, knowing that this was probably the only toy she had...
Having just the right size shoe in my pack for the preteen girl who had no shoes at all...
The tears I shed as I tried to encourage a young, single mother with 2 sick children...
The friendships I made among out team...
The way the Lord scripted out the perfect messages among us, his servants...
The heaviness I felt in our room that one night.  So heavy, in fact, that I was crying out of fear and couldn't even close my eyes because of the evil images and Josh literally read the Bible out loud until we could sleep...
The fact that almost everyone else on the team experienced the same evil presence in their rooms at around the same time, that very same night...

Sharing my testimony to inmates, wondering how in the world I could ever possibly relate to them, when in the end they ALL chose to follow Christ...

The people...

The fact that 3 of us came to each other one morning with the same message with a different twist to share with the ladies in the village that morning...

The way the keyboard player spends half the song tinkering around, note-by-note, trying to find the key the singers are singing in:) (this one is a personal favorite of mine)...

The night where we were invited over to the director of Arise Africa's home to visit with his family.  We all watched him turn from director to daddy as he joked with his kids and made-up songs about staying away from hookers (I guess you had to be there for that one, ha!)...
The fact that we have the power to make people feel valued and unforgotten...
Seeing those kids in the orphanage...
Tickling and playing with those kids in the orphanage...
Loving on those kids in the orphanage...
Kissing on those kids in the orphanage...
The food...
Walking along a dusty road and handing out suckers to little kids...
The conviction I'm feeling in my heart...
The way I got SOOOO sick the last night there...
The fact that I watched a total of 6 movies on the way home because I had butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of seeing my kids again and simply couldn't sleep...
Saying "yes" to God, but wondering what exactly the next step is...

Really, I could go on and on.

So, if you are really wondering about my trip, could you please be a bit more specific.  I'm having a bit of a hard time processing it in my own head, much less trying to explain it to other people.

Not Me Monday

Since Josh and I got back from Africa our children have been extremely a little clingy, especially Micaiah, who is dealing with the worst case ever a mild case of separation anxiety.  Because we are nice parents we have just let it slide and tried to give them our undivided attention all weekend long, thinking that it would eventually die out.

Being the patient mom that I am I have just come to a realization that this is the way life is just going to be from now on.

I would never deem today as "Time-Out" day.

Nope, not me.

I'd never lay down the law first thing in the morning, detailing every circumstance I could think of  and the consequences that will follow.  I mean, who would start out the day like that?!


Not Me!

I always give warnings and second chances, even in tough predicaments like this, IF they were to actually occur.  I'd never send the child straight to "time-out", even when I'd clearly mapped out the consequences at the beginning of the day.

Nope, not me!

Furthermore, I'd never clearly explain to the kids at the beginning of the day when mapping out actions with consequences, that mommy and daddy were going to come across as mean and harsh today but that we do love them and that this was for their own good.  What parent actually does that?  What parent wants to be the bad guy, going as far as to actually tell the kids that they were going to be?!

Not Me!

Resting In His Arms

This is Shabila.  I fell in love with her

as soon as we walked up the steps of the orphanage

and she held her arms up for me to pick her up.

As a matter of fact,

she wouldn't let anyone else hold her or pick her up.

I quickly realized that I really needed to get to work

so I brought her over to Josh

thinking maybe she's find some comfort in his arms.

She went right to him! 

She became more than comfortable with him.

In fact she had a death grip around him

 as she slept safely in his arms.

*****************************************************

I'll be giving full reports throughout next week as I am still trying to process everything in my head.  Right now I am drinking lots of coffee to stay awake and spending every minute I can with these three children of mine that have been attached to us like extra limbs since we walked in the door from the airport:)

Have a GREAT weekend, I know I will!

The Day I've Been Waiting For

This didn't post yesterday before we left, but here it is...a day late:)

I've been waiting for today since we got here in Uganda.  We are headed to the orphanage to play with the children today.  We sponsor one little boy named Saffiki and we get to meet him TODAY!  Rainy and Zeke picked out some toys to give him and I can't wait to see his face when we give them to him.

Pray for Kelly and I as we work one-on-one with each of them getting current pictures and information to give to their sponsors.  There are about 50 children so we have a full days work ahead of us.  Pray that we can communicate well together with the kids and that they open up to us quickly.

Also, pray for Faima, one of the orphan girls.  Last night she had a very hard fall and had to be rushed to the doctor.  She lost consciousness and several of her teeth.  The last I heard she had woken up and was doing much better, but the doctor had not examined her face yet.

**I'm bringing an empty bookbag today in hopes that I can sneak one of the littler ones inside to bring home;)**

_________________________________________

So, we made it back from the orphanage.  Kelly and I got through 30 children and only have 17 more to finish up tomorrow.  I am more exhausted tonight than I have been any other night since we began our ministry here.  I think we all shed more tears today than any other day.  The children were so sweet!

One little girl found me as soon as I walked up the stairs and stayed with me for a majority of the day.  She even took a nap on Josh's shoulder...

Pray for our last day of ministry today.

To my own babies, mommy and daddy will be home soon!
I miss them so!!!

Not Me Monday - Ugandan Version

When the Ugandan children began looking at me and giggling I got very offended and became self-conscious, wondering what they were laughing at.   How rude;)

And seeing as how uncomfortable these children were making me feel, I would NEVER sit down in the middle of them and begin giggling along with them.


No way, not me.

For starters, the ground is way too dirty and there are far too many diseases that could be caught.

And since I definitely didn't just sit down in the middle of them, they wouldn't have followed my lead sitting almost on top of me and pointing and laughing.

Since this never happened I surely didn't pick up on their cues and realize that they were laughing at my skin color and how different it was.

After not realizing this, I would never hold my arms out and begin placing their little fingers on my freckles and veins.  That would be entirely too weird and my personal bubble is much too small for that!

I'd never allow that, not me!

I'd certainly never allow it to get as far as allowing dozens of little Ugandan children then explore the hair on my arms, freckles, fingernails, toenails, veins, knees and bottoms of my feet.  I mean, that's just weird!  I could just never go for that!

Nope, not me!

But if it were to happen, I'm sure they would love every minute of it and want to just sit there for over 20 minutes and laugh and giggle with me as we point out the amazing differences that God created between us.

Just Another Wild Day In Uganda

I don't have time to give all the details.  I'll just be sweet and leave you hanging;)

Yesterday was just another normal day here in Uganda, full of casting out demons, sneaking baby dolls to a little girl that befriended me throughout the day and literally speaking words given from the Lord to a large group of ladies.

You know, just one of those "normal" days.

I'll give you more details later.

We're headed out to Arise Africa's church plants to minister this morning.

Prison Recap

Going to the prison yesterday was a surreal experience. We received a letter from the warden stating that we could not enter the prison so they brought some of the prisoners to us in the village church.  There were 14 of them.

They came in and could not even make eye contact with us.  They were full of shame and guilt and had no hope.  You could just see it in their eyes and the way they carried themselves.

We sat down together and I got to share my testimony of how the Lord has worked in my life.  I don't know if my heart has beat so hard in my chest before!  I was so nervous.  I had been praying all the way there about what I could share to these men.  How I could encourage them.  I don't have a clue as to what they have done or what they are going through, but I felt the Holy Spirit speaking through me.  It was like nothing i've ever felt before.

I talked about choices and the consequences of my choices and how my choices not only effected me, but my entire family, my friends and my relationship with my future husband.

But I told them the hope that I had in the Lord and the relationship I now have with him.  I told them that having him in my life doesn't make my life easier, but now I have the Lord to help me make better choices.

Josh then brought the gospel.  He did a great job!  By the end all 13 prisoners had received this free gift of salvation!  It was incredible.

After we finished talking we handed out gifts to them, toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap.

Then, our translator, Pastor Timothy, whom you wouldn't want to get caught alone with in a dark road (he is a HUGE black man...but really a gentle teddy bear) gave his testimony of when he was in prison and how the Lord changed him.  He shared in the most gentle voice I've ever heard to these men were in tears in the end.

What a wonderful day!  We did some hut-to-hut when we got back to the village and got to hold some newborn babies and love on their mothers.

It is good to be here!

Puffy Sleeves And Arm-Mouth Aliens???

10/01/10

I love seeing how our kid's art has morphed over time.  Areyna's "characters" look more like people than blobs with sticks.  Zeke's art, just in the past two weeks, has actually started resembling something other than spiderwebs, ha!

And no, Areyna's little family are not well-endowed...they have puffy sleeves:)  I was very quickly corrected.  Zeke did have a story behind his little creatures, but I can't, for the life of me, remember what he said they were.  Any suggestions?