May 1, 2009
So I need to start with the most exciting thing that has happened lately. I talked with the President of Uganda! Can you believe it? Today is International Labor Day and to celebrate President Museveni was coming to Soroti. We decided to go see the big event because there was a marching band and our girl wanted to see it. I was surprised when we got there to see all the people, police everywhere, and everyone had to enter through security. At first we couldn’t even get close. Usually at these events we are ushered to the front so I wasn’t use to being in the back. I guess they take things pretty serious when the President is involved. It did give me a new understanding to be a Ugandan. We just kept walking hoping to see something and to keep our girls entertained. We got to a roped area and for some reason they started letting people through to the seats under the tent (I think they wanted people to fill the open spots). Being white they allowed us through with others then ushered us to the tent with all the high ranking police officers. We watched some traditional dancers, listened to the band, and waited for the Presidents arrival. When he came I realized he was going to walk right next to us. He came in a truck standing outside the sunroof waving at everyone. Then he walked past us shaking the hands of the vice-president and other high up people. They went behind us to plant a tree and start a building. Then he walked past us again but this time he waved to us and stopped and asked me where we were from. I was so shocked! I told him we were from Michigan but now lived in Soroti. Then he walked on. Josh even got a picture. Josh and I were so excited and surprised. We just looked at each other and laughed. Josh said it gave a new meaning to how Zacchaeus must have felt when Jesus stopped to talk to him. Your so surprised someone important is speaking to you that you don’t realize what just happened. Our kids weren’t too impressed and just wanted to go home for lunch. But I feel pretty special anyways. It was fun. Not everyone gets to say they talked to the President.
Two other thoughts from today, I can see how easy it would be for a Ugandan to want to be an important person. Everything they have and do is so nice. The president flies in on a helicopter, rides in the best vehicles, and gets the royal treatment everywhere he goes. Even the other “big” people have it pretty good. Even I was impressed by it all and wished I could ride in a nice truck like theirs. My other thought is, important people are just people. It was exciting seeing the President but really he seemed like just a normal guy. Really they all are just humans, people like us. I guess it made me much more excited to meet my King someday. The Lord of all Lords, Creator of all, Messiah…wow! Now that will be meeting someone important.
We had a great team spiritual retreat in Jinja this week too. We had so much fun. We stayed at the King Fisher Resort on Lake Victoria where the Nile River starts. It is so beautiful and peaceful. I just soaked in God’s goodness. Our kids loved swimming, okay we all did. The pool there is really fun with a small slide and three different levels of pool. Lydia and Grace were literally in the pool for five hours one day. We had wonderful worship times. I love singing praises to God. I was struck by the beauty of the words and how great our God is. He is so worthy of our praise. Karen, Sarah, and Josiah all are ta
lented in this area so it is a real blessing. Josh and Josiah led us in three lessons on the Holy Spirit – emptying ourselves, filling up on the Spirit, and following and doing His will. It felt so good to be all together and grow in worship and in God’s Word. We also had a boat ride and ate really well. The only down part was we waited up to three hours for our food at restaurants – can you imagine? I think the kid’s attitudes were better than mine at that point. I am still working on being filled with the Holy Spirit J. I also got sick the last day. I was so bummed. I felt awful and hate traveling sick. But I am still very thankful for a wonderful team retreat.
Our kids are doing well. Lydia is doing great in school and seems to really like it. She is doing first grade and got 100% on her first test. Karen, her teacher, is a blessing to us. Lydia told me the other day that she loves our new home. I think we all do. It is a blessing to feel at home. Grace surprised us and spelled her name the other day. She also learned how to do computer games. She knows her colors, shapes, and numbers. Now we need to work on letters and their sounds. Luka had a rough couple weeks sleeping. It was hard because he had been sleeping all night. We think he was hurting because we now have more medicine (Zantac for reflux) and he slept all night again. Yeah! He takes his pacifier quite a bit now. If he doesn’t have that he loves to chew on his hands. He can now reach for toys and put them in his mouth. He even sits in his walker now with blankets to support him.
He is so strong. I weighed him the other day and at he is 15lbs (75% same since birth) and is about 25inches long. People here think he is big but I know he is perfect. He sure smiles a lot and we even get a few laughs now and then.
Pastor Patrick preached at our church Sunday. He talked about when the rebels came to his house when he was a teenager. He said they took their dad and mom and made them lie down and beat them. He thought they were dead. His brother ran out of the hut and they beat him too. To this day his front teeth are missing. Patrick though he was the only one alive. But everyone lived and they praised God after the rebels left. Praised God? Wow. I was struck by their faith. Would my first response be to praise God after my family was hurt so badly? We may not understand all their ways here in Soroti and we may get frustrated by what we think is uncommitted Christians, but when I hear and realize what some of them have been through and they are still praising God I am humbled. I am a committed Christian but I have never been through hardships like these people. I am thankful God challenged me and made me think through Patrick’s testimony. We can all learn from each other and encourage one another in our walk with Jesus.
So I need to start with the most exciting thing that has happened lately. I talked with the President of Uganda! Can you believe it? Today is International Labor Day and to celebrate President Museveni was coming to Soroti. We decided to go see the big event because there was a marching band and our girl wanted to see it. I was surprised when we got there to see all the people, police everywhere, and everyone had to enter through security. At first we couldn’t even get close. Usually at these events we are ushered to the front so I wasn’t use to being in the back. I guess they take things pretty serious when the President is involved. It did give me a new understanding to be a Ugandan. We just kept walking hoping to see something and to keep our girls entertained. We got to a roped area and for some reason they started letting people through to the seats under the tent (I think they wanted people to fill the open spots). Being white they allowed us through with others then ushered us to the tent with all the high ranking police officers. We watched some traditional dancers, listened to the band, and waited for the Presidents arrival. When he came I realized he was going to walk right next to us. He came in a truck standing outside the sunroof waving at everyone. Then he walked past us shaking the hands of the vice-president and other high up people. They went behind us to plant a tree and start a building. Then he walked past us again but this time he waved to us and stopped and asked me where we were from. I was so shocked! I told him we were from Michigan but now lived in Soroti. Then he walked on. Josh even got a picture. Josh and I were so excited and surprised. We just looked at each other and laughed. Josh said it gave a new meaning to how Zacchaeus must have felt when Jesus stopped to talk to him. Your so surprised someone important is speaking to you that you don’t realize what just happened. Our kids weren’t too impressed and just wanted to go home for lunch. But I feel pretty special anyways. It was fun. Not everyone gets to say they talked to the President.
Two other thoughts from today, I can see how easy it would be for a Ugandan to want to be an important person. Everything they have and do is so nice. The president flies in on a helicopter, rides in the best vehicles, and gets the royal treatment everywhere he goes. Even the other “big” people have it pretty good. Even I was impressed by it all and wished I could ride in a nice truck like theirs. My other thought is, important people are just people. It was exciting seeing the President but really he seemed like just a normal guy. Really they all are just humans, people like us. I guess it made me much more excited to meet my King someday. The Lord of all Lords, Creator of all, Messiah…wow! Now that will be meeting someone important.
We had a great team spiritual retreat in Jinja this week too. We had so much fun. We stayed at the King Fisher Resort on Lake Victoria where the Nile River starts. It is so beautiful and peaceful. I just soaked in God’s goodness. Our kids loved swimming, okay we all did. The pool there is really fun with a small slide and three different levels of pool. Lydia and Grace were literally in the pool for five hours one day. We had wonderful worship times. I love singing praises to God. I was struck by the beauty of the words and how great our God is. He is so worthy of our praise. Karen, Sarah, and Josiah all are ta
lented in this area so it is a real blessing. Josh and Josiah led us in three lessons on the Holy Spirit – emptying ourselves, filling up on the Spirit, and following and doing His will. It felt so good to be all together and grow in worship and in God’s Word. We also had a boat ride and ate really well. The only down part was we waited up to three hours for our food at restaurants – can you imagine? I think the kid’s attitudes were better than mine at that point. I am still working on being filled with the Holy Spirit J. I also got sick the last day. I was so bummed. I felt awful and hate traveling sick. But I am still very thankful for a wonderful team retreat.
Our kids are doing well. Lydia is doing great in school and seems to really like it. She is doing first grade and got 100% on her first test. Karen, her teacher, is a blessing to us. Lydia told me the other day that she loves our new home. I think we all do. It is a blessing to feel at home. Grace surprised us and spelled her name the other day. She also learned how to do computer games. She knows her colors, shapes, and numbers. Now we need to work on letters and their sounds. Luka had a rough couple weeks sleeping. It was hard because he had been sleeping all night. We think he was hurting because we now have more medicine (Zantac for reflux) and he slept all night again. Yeah! He takes his pacifier quite a bit now. If he doesn’t have that he loves to chew on his hands. He can now reach for toys and put them in his mouth. He even sits in his walker now with blankets to support him.
He is so strong. I weighed him the other day and at he is 15lbs (75% same since birth) and is about 25inches long. People here think he is big but I know he is perfect. He sure smiles a lot and we even get a few laughs now and then.Pastor Patrick preached at our church Sunday. He talked about when the rebels came to his house when he was a teenager. He said they took their dad and mom and made them lie down and beat them. He thought they were dead. His brother ran out of the hut and they beat him too. To this day his front teeth are missing. Patrick though he was the only one alive. But everyone lived and they praised God after the rebels left. Praised God? Wow. I was struck by their faith. Would my first response be to praise God after my family was hurt so badly? We may not understand all their ways here in Soroti and we may get frustrated by what we think is uncommitted Christians, but when I hear and realize what some of them have been through and they are still praising God I am humbled. I am a committed Christian but I have never been through hardships like these people. I am thankful God challenged me and made me think through Patrick’s testimony. We can all learn from each other and encourage one another in our walk with Jesus.
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