Petty Problems and a Big God

I have been reading John Piper’s Let the Nations be Glad, and the beginning talks about God’s glory and how He deserves it.  I have been dwelling on that subject- God’s glory.  And the more I turn my focus towards it, the more I am faced with the realization of how small i am and how BIG He is.  He is so majestic, so holy, so perfect, so worthy of our praise. 

Today I was reminded of just how much He cares for me.  I sat thinking about how petty my problems are.  My feelings of loneliness and insecurity are so small in the grand scheme of things.  Thinking of a big God and then thinking about my little problems left me thinking that I just need to deal with it.  Get over it Samantha.

Slowly but surely, throughout the day the Lord comforted me in each of my hardships.  He cares for us.  And not just a little- but to a great extent!  He cares about the details in our lives, the little things that we think we just need to get over. 

Woah! This God who is full of glory and is so high above everything would care for me? Every time it hits me I am amazed.  Why? How? Me?

Thank you Lord, You deserve the glory once again.

Mutungo

On Thursday, I went to the Mutungo village for the first time.  It is about 20 miles from where I am living, so the pastor and I rode in his car there. Cars are not common; very few people have them because they are too expensive.  There is pretty much one paved road that goes from Entebbe to Kampala, the capital city.  So we start out on that, and then it gets fun.  We turn onto a dirt road and it gets bumpy. REALLY bumpy.  I have never been on a road quite like it…there are not little repetitive bumps, but big bumps and potholes all over the road.  It kinda feels like how an amusement park ride does, where you get thrown all over the place.  Eventually we get to the village.  It is so sad, and so different.  I can see poverty all over the place. Children play in the dirt with clothes that are torn; people live in dirty small brick structures, have little to no electricity and no cars.  As we get to Morning Star Christian School and the church, I feel relieved that I am finally here.  I am finally to the place that my heart has yearned to be for so long. 

As we get out, the children who are not in class giggle and run to me and touch whatever part of my arm is showing.  Syliva, the head teacher of the school, greeted me and showed me around.  The school is not like ours by ANY means.  The floors are dirt; the students have no desks, just plastic chairs.  They have chalkboards and a sponge to erase.  Some of the classrooms have no doors. The students have no textbooks, just books of paper with newspaper folded to make a cover and one pen.   

As Sylvia brought me to each class, the all stood up and said “You are most welcome” then sang me a welcome song.  Class upon class had a different song-they love to sing.  After going to each class, they were dismissed to go to the church and put on a small performance for me.  Some students went on stage and sang for me- complete with choreography!  I loved it!

Afterwards we had lunch- teachers ate beans, rice, and chicken, and the children each got a cup of porridge, which they do every day.  Porridge is a mixture of flour and ground up corn mixed with water to make a watery white paste.  After lunch Sylvia asked me to teach. Haha she really wanted me to start right away!  She gave me a book of their curriculum and gave me a lesson to teach, so I went to 2 different classes and gave them an English lesson.  They are all excellent students (at least so far haha), and VERY respectful to their teachers. 

I am trying to learn their names, but it is hard! Their accent combined with some names that I have never heard before made it difficult.  Ha, many times I have to ask them at least 3 times, where eventually we just laugh because we are not getting anywhere.  I am praying that I can learn every name as quickly as I can.  As my dad said, “One of the sweetest sounds is the sound of your own name.” 

After school was over, Sylvia brought me to their other garden to dig up some sweet potatoes, or “Lumonde” …I think.  It was about half a mile uphill and around corners of houses (if you can even call them that).  They do not have a basket to carry them down in, so they have to use a sack.  I am amazed at how they make things happen with having next to nothing. 

As it was getting dark, Sylvia decided that I should join the church worship team, so she took me to practice at church. Oh. My. Goodness.  They are SO joyful, and it shows through their singing.  We learned a few songs, and after that we added “creative dance”.  By the end of the night, we were singing so loud and dancing so hard! We laughed a lot and had so much fun.  I guess have become that one white girl in the gospel choir…

Let the adventure begin...

Trying to figure out where to start…

Oliotya- means hello in Luganda

Saying goodbye and leaving all that I have ever known was hard.  I mean just plain hard.  Of course I’ve been gone for weeks before, but never months, so this is a totally new experience.  I kept repeating to myself “I am weak but He is strong” and asking the Lord to carry me because I felt I could not walk.  We left the Dulles airport for roughly a 6 hour flight then when we got to Heathrow in London, we had a 15 hour layover until our flight to Entebbe.    We wanted to leave the airport, but that would require Sam (the pastor I am with) to get a visa for England, plus we would have to drag around our carry-on baggage (mine consisted of a guitar and a backpack that no doubt weighed at least a million pounds). So, that option was out and we were at the airport all day, which in reality wasn’t all that bad! Some people get bored really easily, but God blessed me with the ability to entertain myself.  So, yesterday consisted of a lot of sleeping, people watching (my fav thing to do), language listening, eating, watching Alias on my computer, walking around, and watching planes.  It was funny, because Sam took me to this place tucked away from most of the madness of the airport, and told me that “this was his favorite place.”  He showed me how he likes to set up the chairs to get comfortable, and had so much fun trying to guess the gate we would be in before the screen showed it.  It made me laugh so much because he was completely wrong and was positive it was C66 or C67.  It was A15. Haha okay maybe I am going into too much detail. If I keep this up, I will be writing all night!  Anywho after the airport, we went on our flight to Entebbe, Uganda which was roughly 8 hours long.  So all in all we were travelling for over 24 hours.  But I love airports and planes for some odd reason, so I didn’t mind it, but I was relieved to finally arrive!

As I looked out the window of our plane upon our descent into Africa, I saw the most beautiful things.  The hills were all green and it literally looked like I was seeing ocean waves that were frozen. We landed, got into a taxi, and headed to his home.   Good gracious the driving here is crazy.  I mean I have been in countries with crazy driving, but the thing about here is that there aren’t as many cars, but people walking and a bunch of motorcycles.  It made me laugh when we were later driving around to get some things, and the pastor said people thought he was a good driver.  He has never hit anyone or any car, but I was quite…frightened.  Plus they drive on the left and the steering wheel is on the right.  Quite a new experience!

I was excited to leave America and I wanted to get uncomfortable, but now that I am here I am …uncomfortable.  Being here is unlike anything I have ever experienced.  It is thrilling, but also very difficult to adjust.  I can tell this will be quite a transition. 

My room is small and I have nowhere to put my clothes, so they will stay in my suitcases.  My suitcases are stacked because there is not enough space for me to put them down separately.  I have one table and a bed on a concrete floor.  We got a mosquito net (or as they say, mosqwito…makes me giggle every time) and I am now lying under it.  It’s kinda cozy, but I am paranoid that a mosqwito will make it in here and give me malaria.  I am constantly having to remind myself that God is in control.

I haven’t bathed in two days and was looking forward to a shower this evening after a sweaty day.  Well, that was a new experience.  They have a shower and running water, but no hot water.  Julia, Sam’s wife wanted me to have hot water, so she gave me a bucket with a little hot water in it and told me to mix it with some cold water and bathe out of it.  Now I am starting to realize just how spoiled I am.  I had to stand in the bathroom for a few minutes and try to strategize how I was going to do it.  Needless to say, I have never had to bathe out of small bucket.  The food here is different too.  For lunch we had rice, beans, and “matoke”, which is a fruit that is a mix between a banana and plantain mushed up.  For dinner we had rice, beans, and “pocho”, which is ground corn and flour mixed into a dough-like consistency.  I think I will learn a new perspective about food while I am here- as a necessity and not a sport haha. 

Despite my shock in living conditions, the people here are so so sweet.  If I didn’t mention, Sam Kisembo is Ugandan, so I have had no interaction with any Americans!  Julia is Sam’s wife, and is a very gentle and mild mannered lady.   When he told me that he had 14 kids I was a little freaked out and was trying to prepare myself to live with 14 kids, until he told me that only his 4 biological children live with him! Phew!  The others he helps provide for (some to live with their parents and some to go to the university).  His youngest girl is Michele, who is 2 years old.  So stinkin cute, and she loves to listen to music and dance.  Next is Isaac, who is 7, and was shy at first, but warmed up to me after I played soccer with him and gave him candy haha.  Shamah(boy) is 9 years old and absolutely loved my guitar and could barely give anyone else a turn!  Shalom(girl) is 10 years old and very mature and has such a gentle and quiet spirit and a beautiful smile.  Shoot, all of them are very mature for their age.  America, step it up! ;)

Jackson and John live in the security gate house.  They have a wall around their house for safety and there is a gate house by the entrance.  This “house” is probably about the size of my bathroom at home.  These two boys are some of the most gentle and sweet boys that I have ever met. 

Harriet is the “maid” in the house, and helps out with cooking and cleaning.  I have not gotten to talk to her much yet, but I look forward to getting to know her better.  Lastly is Sylvia.  She is the head teacher at the school and is such a kind and happy woman.  She took the day off to meet me, and run around to do some errands with us.  We get along pretty well despite the fact that we can’t understand each other half of the time! That is true for many other people too…between their strong accent and me using words they don’t know, we sometimes have a hard time understanding each other ( I said peace and Julia thought I said pigs),  haha which of course makes it more fun!

Uganda is very different from what I know, but I like it already.  I may not be comfortable and may have a hard time being away from my best friends and family, but by clinging to my Bible and praying constantly, God will prove that He is all I need.  In our long wait in the airport, Sam asked me what my desire or goal was for my time here.  He shared that his goal was to bring either 10,000 or 10 million (I can’t remember which one) people to Christ.  Either way, that’s a lot! He also said that he wants to share the love of Christ to everyone he comes in contact with.  I told him that our goals are similar-I desire to learn to love deeply and have the opportunity to tell many people about my precious Savior.  I want to build strong relationships and learn to live as they do.  I am asking Jesus to guide me, know that He is now all I have to cling to.

So Soon!

My life is about to change. Big time. I am going on an adventure.  An adventure where I have so much ahead, yet one that asks me leave so much behind.  In one month and 2 days, I will be heading to Entebbe, Uganda to serve my sweet Jesus for 8 months.

I am sitting here trying to decide how to start this first post.  I think I'll take you to the beginning.  I was born and then...hehe just kidding. My jokes aren't funny, just to give you a heads up. Bear with me:) I graduated from Princess Anne High School in June and decided to take a year off to do mission work before I began college. I felt no peace when the time came to choose a college, and at that same time was introduced to the idea of taking a year off.  After a lot of thought and prayer, I decided to do it.  I remember laying awake at night, being so fearful for my future.  It is all so unknown, and definitely a little frightening! I looked into mission organizations, but was disappointed time and time again. Nothing was working out.

I decided to give it to Jesus and wanted to give up when He started paving a way for me.  The missions minister at my church told me about a pastor from Uganda who was in the states.  He offered to help me meet with him.  I did, and let me tell you, the Holy Spirit was there. As we talked, I felt so much peace and joy. This pastor was willing and excited to let me serve with him for 8 months. Who the heck would welcome me,a silly little American girl, so quickly?  The things I had been worried about were perfect.  I was worried about a language barrier: 65% of them speak English, it is their national language.  I was worried about safety: the place I am going is safe.  I was worried about money: I won't need an outrageous amount.  My parents were hesitant about me going with an organization I found online: they got to meet him in person!  Blessing on blessing on blessing.

I went home and prayed about this opportunity and felt led to pursue it.  Doors were open and I was going to walk through them until one closed( nothin' yet!).  So, as of October 15, 2012, I am going to embark on a journey that will change me.  I will be teaching English in a school and ministering to some orphans that are housed there.  I expect that it will challenge my way of thinking, my comfortable lifestyle, and the way I view Jesus.  I am excited. I am scared.  

It's starting to hit me, I'm realizing just how long I'll be gone.  I am in the process of slowly saying my goodbye's to my best friends and my family.  I have never been away for such a long period of time, and it stirs in me a mix of emotions.  I am SO thrilled that God has called me to this place, challenged my faith, and has pushed me to love Him more. At the same time, leaving the only place you've ever lived is hard.  So soon, it is so soon. 

 "If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."  Psalm 139:9-10

I made this blog to share what God teaches me and what experiences I have.  I am definitely not the most eloquent when it comes to writing, but I will do my best for ya!:)  

Below is a picture of the kids  in the school I will be teaching in.  They are celebrating the completion of a project of building toilets (outhouses) for the school.  Humbling, huh?  Seeing their little faces makes me even more excited to meet them!