Friday, December 26, 2008

Thoughts from the season


Assembling our Christmas tree


"Safari Ants" invading our neighborhood




Here are some random experiences and thoughts from this wonderful Christmas season…

Through our regular family devotions we have been reading different scriptures surrounding the birth of Christ. Recently, as Toby was reading to us from Luke 2, we discovered that the angels were part of the “heavy host” and that the shepherds “wildly made known” what happened in the fields. When your 7 year old is reading there are always some mistakes, some more entertaining than others.

After the laughter died down from the “heavy host” reading it was rewarding to hear the children say “Mommy and Daddy this has been the best Christmas yet”. Comments like that might make it sound like the presents they received were many, but in reality a simple Christmas rooted in Christ’s love is really enough to satisfy the heart of a child. The few presents they received were only a bonus and what can be done with less than $20 a child is beautiful.

As the tradition goes here at Kasana we have a service on Christmas day. This year was very nice with children reading scriptures and Toby was one of those. He did a great job reading the first 7 verses of Luke chapter 2 and what a joy it was to see our boy standing before the congregation! sorry no picture :-(

Also, Geoff received a surprise as we were getting on in the service and Uncle Jonnes announced that it was time to hear from the word of God that Uncle Geoff would bring…This was a plan that somehow Geoff completely missed but seemed to handle well as he stepped up and preached a great message. God tells us to be ready in season and out, thank God Geoff was able.

After the service the tradition is that all of us who remain on site over the long holiday, approximately 80 people this year, have a great meal together. We were in the shade as the temp reached 100+ degrees. Volleyball and great fellowship finished out the day.

We pray you all had a wonderful holiday and that you are able to go deep in your relationship with God this next year!

Oh yeah, you cant forget the safari ants that have attacked our compound the last few days. They come with aggression and you better get out of their way, they really hurt when they get you. This picture shows them attacking a neighbors sauce pan, they literally ran them out of their house for a couple of days.




Thursday, December 18, 2008

NO ORDINARY DAY


SANTA IS THAT YOU???

Today was not a typical day for most vacations. We started the day out here in Kampala sleeping in (normal enough) with plans to go to a children’s Christmas party at a local hotel. The paper advertised it beginning at 10am with a bounce house, games, food and a visit from Father Christmas. Being versed at things here in Uganda we didn’t leave the house until 10:30 (things NEVER start on time) and of course we got a little lost (no street signs in Uganda) finally arriving at 11:30. To our expectations the lady at the desk tells us well we aren’t quite set up yet, you are welcome to wait and the kids can play. Our better judgment told us that might not be a good idea, maybe we will come back. We decided to drive across town and get some Chinese food (very good, but a little pricey). Finally we make it through traffic and arrive back at the party around 2:00 and we were still numbers 9, 10 and 11. It was great fun, but let me tell you, my definition of a children’s Christmas party can never quite be the same. Sodas all around, loud rap music and a 13 year old Ugandan school boy dressed as Santa. The only thing missing was some snow and real Christmas carols. The kids had a great time, made some new friends and came home with some fun toys. But I must say the expectations of a couple of hours of fun and then come home were not met. It is now 8:10, that translates to nearly 6 hours of children’s Christmas party, some times here in Uganda time is irrelevant. The main goal is to finish the program.


ACACIA'S EXCITEMENT

Oh yeah the final leg of our adventures today was to get some ensenene, or in English grasshoppers. Acacia has loved them since 2006 when someone gave us some as a gift. It is now the season and the neighborhood we were in is famous for the being the place they are harvested. So I spent $3 for a bag of raw grasshoppers with the wings removed that we came home and roasted in a frying pan. Mmmmmmm :-)


YES GRASSHOPPERS!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Junior








We have three children ages 7, 6 and 4. God gives us His grace to train them, love them, care for them and help them to know God's love for them. A friend once told me that I don't need to worry about the challenges that will be presented to me five years from now or ten years from now in regards to raising these children--God's grace is perfect for this moment and this stage. Having said that, we have also been given a very deep love and specific grace by God for a teenager named Junior in David family (pictured). Over the course of this past year we have walked through many difficult times with him and God's love for him has become deeply embedded in our hearts. He is a special son to us.



Once again, the despair and emptiness of the "orphaned heart" has threatened to overtake him. He is wrestling with issues of mistrust, unforgiveness, abandonment, fear, a fierce fight to maintain his own control and independence. He admitted to us tonight that he has not been walking with God these past few months. This is no surprise to us as the circumstances of his life have been on a downward spiral and in the past week have unraveled at an accelerated pace in the midst of his poor judgment and misguided behavior. Yet, the fact that he is maintaining communication with us and admitting his struggles is hopeful. Geoff had already met with him this afternoon to talk some things over, yet Junior came again tonight and stayed long even though we were very "in your face" in our discussion with him about his choices, perspectives and behavior of late.



Please pray with us for him. We are considering prayerfully whether or not we will bring him into our home this next year. There are many children here needing discipleship, yet we can not intensely disciple all of them. Junior is one to whom God has knit our hearts and with whom we have a grace to "go deeper." So, pray for Junior's heart to be opened to God's love for him and pray for us to walk in God's wisdom in our relationship with Junior. Thank you to those of you who take this on and stand with us in prayer!

Monday, December 1, 2008

November flew by...

Acacia and some friends at her 6th birthday party!
L to R & F to B: Vicki, Barbara, Anya, Acacia
Millie, Stella, Kasana, Toby & Kevin
A little American football to round out a super Thanksgiving together

Never open a HOT soda (left in a car in blistering heat ALL day!)


Kids making a regular trek to the secondary site to visit our new family, Tal and Tiffany Anderson and their 5 kids! We are so thankful to have them here at New Hope!



Geoff killed this snake at a neighbor's house and the kids enjoyed examing it!




I can't believe we've rounded the corner to December!!! Living out in the bush far from the "big" city creates a cocoon which shields us from the onslaught of Christmas decorations, billboard ads and hoopla to buy, buy, buy! That part is nice, but the lack of visual stimuli in conjunction with 100+ sweltering heat stirs up a need to be proactive in Christmas activities and attitude!!!!! The kids are really enjoying our advent calendar which has a daily Bible verse in each box and when the Christmas songs popped up on the computer Saturday in the midst of Acacia's birthday party, I suddenly realized, "Oh yes! That IS appropriate! EVEN though it feels like July!!!”
Acacia turned 6 on Saturday and she was thrilled with her princess party (we played “Pin the tiara on the princess” and ate strawberry cake—yum yum.) Directly after the party we piled in the van and trekked down the road to the vocational school where a huge Ugandan lunch was waiting for us courtesy of the tailoring and weaving students! Then Geoff and the boys took a motorbike home while Acacia and I went to the local open market and bought some used dresses. Wasn't quite like the mall, but she loved it still! Today when we read our advent calendar verse (James 1:17--"every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights") she jubilantly announced, "Hey! I am wearing a gift from God!!" (she has on one of her "new" dresses today.)
Two days before, we had a Thanksgiving to remember as all the Americans (and a few British) played American football and then sat down to a huge potluck meal! The kids will always remember the turkey desserts made of ritz crackers, hersheys kisses, candy corn and chocolate icing thanks to Katie Herbst’s mom and the her friend Jen who brought the ingredients with her from the states! Geoff's memorable moment, however, is not a happy one! The sodas for the occasion had been left in a hot car all day long and when he tried to open his, the bottle cap shot off and hit him square in the nose! It made such a loud noise that all 40 people in the noisy room stopped and turned to see what had happened! God's mercy kept the cap from hitting him in the eye!!! Had that occurred we'd have spent our Thanksgiving in the hospital and Geoff would have most likely lost his eyesight!
We walked a few minutes down into the valley yesterday to visit with Joyce and her family. While the kids played soccer we visited with Joyce and her mom and introduced Joyce to the idea of interning for a year at our baby house. She didn't make it into secondary school and this opportunity will give her some basic skills in the caretaking of babies. Complete with a certificate at the end of the year, she may be able to work in any number of baby houses throughout Uganda. She seemed very receptive to the idea. It was the first BIG smile regarding her future that we've seen since she received the news that secondary school was not going to be an option.
The New Hope kids will be starting their holidays on the 15th. We will be getting away from the 10th - 17th.
We pray you are able to enjoy these days leading to Christmas and that God's power and blessing will shower you with joy this season.