June 19
What a week! Last week nine people from Plymouth Heights CRC in Grand Rapids arrived. They are one of Tim and Angie’s supporting churches. It is always a blessing to have people from home visit. We had them over one night for supper to share with them who we are and what we do. We also saw them on and off throughout the week – taking them to meet the blind, playing goal ball with the blind, teaching with Josh… Ernie, one of the guys on the team spent a day at our home helping us with some home improvement projects. He is nice and super helpful. One girl, Stephanie, is staying longer and will be teaching Avalien and Grace for a few weeks. Unfortunately, someone on the group got sick so that was a bummer for her. Right now they are all on safari in Muchenson Falls before they fly home.
We are thankful we were able to be somewhat involved with the Plymouth group, but most of our time we were busy with another group. Calvin Christian High School came for four days. Larry Klien is a teacher at Calvin Christian and for the last five years has taken students to Kenya. This year when we were home we talked to Larry and Linda Klien (they go to Ivanrest one of our supporting churches) about adding Uganda into the trip. We are so thankful it all worked out and they came. We had a great time! They were so easy to work with and fun to be with. They invited us to eat a lot of meals with them which was great because it allowed me to be involved and we were able to really get to know them.
We had nine going-to-be seniors, Larry and Linda, Carole from CRWRC, and our family. Sunday they went to church with us. They gave greetings, testimonies, and some of them helped Josh with children’s church. In the afternoon Sam came and spoke to them about when he was captured by the LRA. It was pretty eye opening and touching seeing as he was a teenager just like them. That evening they hung out at our house playing games and we had a grill out. Josh and I were able to share our testimonies and what we do here. Monday Josh took them to meet the blind and visit an orange orchard. In the afternoon we went to the blind school. The team brought bug nets for them and school supplies. The blind sang for us and showed us their school. Then we played goal ball
together. What a riot! It was so professional at the school. Their team came in second in nationals last year, so let’s just say we got beat. But we sure had fun! Everyone was cheering and laughing. It was great. That night Saul, a guy here who makes paper bead necklaces, came and everyone learned how to make magazine beads and made their own necklaces. It was a full but great day.
Tuesday morning they climbed Soroti rock for a beautiful sunrise. Then they visited the Bible College and met our team out here. In the afternoon we toured the Hindu temple with our friends from OM supermarket. It was our first time too. It was interesting and brought great conversations with the kids about idol worship. And we went to Amecet to see the babies and play soccer with the older kids.
It was a whirlwind few days, but it couldn’t have gone better. I so enjoyed it. They were a great group and it was fun to get to know them. We appreciated their generosity and flexibility. They loved our kids too. I am always thankful for that. Lydia loves people and needs their love. They were great with our kids. It was so encouraging and a blessing for us to be with them. We can’t wait till next year when they hopefully come again.
Now we are getting back into our routine. It is quiet and I was a bit sad but it is still good. I am thankful. Amos, the Calvin Seminary student with us for two month, also stayed with us in the mist of groups. We enjoyed having him live with us. We had a nice new day bed with a trundle bed underneath made for the guest room. Amos is great with kids and our girls loved when he read books to them every night. I like that he appreciates food. It makes it fun to serve a good meal.
June 22
Josh and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! Wow. It has been a pure blessing. I give all the thanks to God. What a joy marriage centered in the Lord is. I am so thankful for my husband, our marriage, and God’s faithfulness. Josh has been the best gift God has ever given me. He is a man of God. He has loved me everyday of our marriage. I made Josh a book with pictures that journey through our ten years together. It is so fun looking back and seeing all we have done and been through. So glad we can celebrate it all. We didn’t go anywhere or do anything for our anniversary this year seeing how we have a baby I can’t get too far away from, but we look forward to a nice get away when we are in Michigan in November/December. Mine as well celebrate as long as we can!
We did however go away this weekend as a family. For Mo
ther’s Day Josh gave me a night away in Mbale so we did that. We left Friday morning and went to Sisyi Falls. We had never been there and it wasn’t too far out of the way. It was beautiful! The gardens around the falls were so nice. I could have stayed there along time just relaxing in the peacefulness. The falls were impressive too. We walked as far as we could then you had to climb a few rocks to get right by the base of the falls. Josh and I both did in shifts because the kids couldn’t do it. Nothing like being sprayed by a 100meter waterfall. There isn’t a ton of water coming over but it is still captivating. God’s creation is SO awesome! His beauty is all around us. Thank you God!
After the waterfall we went into Mbale. The kids enjoyed swimming all afternoon (okay we all did). We also played mini golf – just like a real summer vacation, right? Our friend Julia, from Indian in Soroti for a few months working with an NGO, came with us too. Julia has fit very well into our family. The girls love her and she is great with them. So at night Julia watched the girls while Luka went on a date with Josh and I. We went to our favorite Indian restaurant but for the first time they asked if we wanted to sit on the roof. It was wonderful. We had our ow
n romantic roof top meal over looking the city and Mount Elgon. The sun even set while we were there and all the lights added to the romance. It could not have been better. I were so thankful to find somewhere in Uganda to have a romantic ten year anniversary dinner with my husband.
The next day we took a ride up Mount Elgon. There were beautiful waterfalls and a great view. It was like we were in the mountains of Central America or something. The rest of the day we played by the pool. It is so nice to be away and have fun with our kids. To be away from the to-do list and enjoy. I love my children’s smiles, laughter, their imaginations, and care free joy.
I met another Indian man the other day at a new pharmacy and he was so friendly that I have gone to visit him a few times now. I brought him a Hindu Bible one of the times I visited. So the other day when I stopped to say hi he went right to his desk to grab his Bible and show me he has already read half of it. I was thrilled! I pray God touches his heart and changes his life as he reads God’s Word. He has lived in Uganda for 18 years. His wife died and he has one son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. He has a home in Kampala too. He is very proud of the fact that he is from Calcutta where Mother Teresa was. We hope to get together with him this week.
Our kids are doing well. They loved having all the visitors. Well Grace is shy at first but then fine. It does throw their schedules off quite a bit though. And when everyone leaves it seems there are more tears around our house, but only for a couple days. Adjusting to all the hellos and goodbyes can be a lot for little ones. Everyone talked about what a happy baby Luka is. They wondered if he ever cried (he does). He is very good and especially with all the commotion. He just smiled and kicked his legs through it all. He is rolling now and eating baby cereal. He learned to do “raspberries” (you know when your lips come together and you make noise or spit a little). He thinks it is pretty cool cause he does it a lot now. He found his toes a couple weeks ago and has fun getting them to his mouth to suck on. We helped Josh celebrate Father’s Day. The girls made cards with their pictures on and helped me make cherry cheese cake. He is worth celebrating! What a great Dad!!!
What a week! Last week nine people from Plymouth Heights CRC in Grand Rapids arrived. They are one of Tim and Angie’s supporting churches. It is always a blessing to have people from home visit. We had them over one night for supper to share with them who we are and what we do. We also saw them on and off throughout the week – taking them to meet the blind, playing goal ball with the blind, teaching with Josh… Ernie, one of the guys on the team spent a day at our home helping us with some home improvement projects. He is nice and super helpful. One girl, Stephanie, is staying longer and will be teaching Avalien and Grace for a few weeks. Unfortunately, someone on the group got sick so that was a bummer for her. Right now they are all on safari in Muchenson Falls before they fly home.
We are thankful we were able to be somewhat involved with the Plymouth group, but most of our time we were busy with another group. Calvin Christian High School came for four days. Larry Klien is a teacher at Calvin Christian and for the last five years has taken students to Kenya. This year when we were home we talked to Larry and Linda Klien (they go to Ivanrest one of our supporting churches) about adding Uganda into the trip. We are so thankful it all worked out and they came. We had a great time! They were so easy to work with and fun to be with. They invited us to eat a lot of meals with them which was great because it allowed me to be involved and we were able to really get to know them.
We had nine going-to-be seniors, Larry and Linda, Carole from CRWRC, and our family. Sunday they went to church with us. They gave greetings, testimonies, and some of them helped Josh with children’s church. In the afternoon Sam came and spoke to them about when he was captured by the LRA. It was pretty eye opening and touching seeing as he was a teenager just like them. That evening they hung out at our house playing games and we had a grill out. Josh and I were able to share our testimonies and what we do here. Monday Josh took them to meet the blind and visit an orange orchard. In the afternoon we went to the blind school. The team brought bug nets for them and school supplies. The blind sang for us and showed us their school. Then we played goal ball
together. What a riot! It was so professional at the school. Their team came in second in nationals last year, so let’s just say we got beat. But we sure had fun! Everyone was cheering and laughing. It was great. That night Saul, a guy here who makes paper bead necklaces, came and everyone learned how to make magazine beads and made their own necklaces. It was a full but great day.Tuesday morning they climbed Soroti rock for a beautiful sunrise. Then they visited the Bible College and met our team out here. In the afternoon we toured the Hindu temple with our friends from OM supermarket. It was our first time too. It was interesting and brought great conversations with the kids about idol worship. And we went to Amecet to see the babies and play soccer with the older kids.
It was a whirlwind few days, but it couldn’t have gone better. I so enjoyed it. They were a great group and it was fun to get to know them. We appreciated their generosity and flexibility. They loved our kids too. I am always thankful for that. Lydia loves people and needs their love. They were great with our kids. It was so encouraging and a blessing for us to be with them. We can’t wait till next year when they hopefully come again.
Now we are getting back into our routine. It is quiet and I was a bit sad but it is still good. I am thankful. Amos, the Calvin Seminary student with us for two month, also stayed with us in the mist of groups. We enjoyed having him live with us. We had a nice new day bed with a trundle bed underneath made for the guest room. Amos is great with kids and our girls loved when he read books to them every night. I like that he appreciates food. It makes it fun to serve a good meal.
June 22
Josh and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! Wow. It has been a pure blessing. I give all the thanks to God. What a joy marriage centered in the Lord is. I am so thankful for my husband, our marriage, and God’s faithfulness. Josh has been the best gift God has ever given me. He is a man of God. He has loved me everyday of our marriage. I made Josh a book with pictures that journey through our ten years together. It is so fun looking back and seeing all we have done and been through. So glad we can celebrate it all. We didn’t go anywhere or do anything for our anniversary this year seeing how we have a baby I can’t get too far away from, but we look forward to a nice get away when we are in Michigan in November/December. Mine as well celebrate as long as we can!
We did however go away this weekend as a family. For Mo
ther’s Day Josh gave me a night away in Mbale so we did that. We left Friday morning and went to Sisyi Falls. We had never been there and it wasn’t too far out of the way. It was beautiful! The gardens around the falls were so nice. I could have stayed there along time just relaxing in the peacefulness. The falls were impressive too. We walked as far as we could then you had to climb a few rocks to get right by the base of the falls. Josh and I both did in shifts because the kids couldn’t do it. Nothing like being sprayed by a 100meter waterfall. There isn’t a ton of water coming over but it is still captivating. God’s creation is SO awesome! His beauty is all around us. Thank you God!
After the waterfall we went into Mbale. The kids enjoyed swimming all afternoon (okay we all did). We also played mini golf – just like a real summer vacation, right? Our friend Julia, from Indian in Soroti for a few months working with an NGO, came with us too. Julia has fit very well into our family. The girls love her and she is great with them. So at night Julia watched the girls while Luka went on a date with Josh and I. We went to our favorite Indian restaurant but for the first time they asked if we wanted to sit on the roof. It was wonderful. We had our ow
n romantic roof top meal over looking the city and Mount Elgon. The sun even set while we were there and all the lights added to the romance. It could not have been better. I were so thankful to find somewhere in Uganda to have a romantic ten year anniversary dinner with my husband.The next day we took a ride up Mount Elgon. There were beautiful waterfalls and a great view. It was like we were in the mountains of Central America or something. The rest of the day we played by the pool. It is so nice to be away and have fun with our kids. To be away from the to-do list and enjoy. I love my children’s smiles, laughter, their imaginations, and care free joy.
I met another Indian man the other day at a new pharmacy and he was so friendly that I have gone to visit him a few times now. I brought him a Hindu Bible one of the times I visited. So the other day when I stopped to say hi he went right to his desk to grab his Bible and show me he has already read half of it. I was thrilled! I pray God touches his heart and changes his life as he reads God’s Word. He has lived in Uganda for 18 years. His wife died and he has one son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. He has a home in Kampala too. He is very proud of the fact that he is from Calcutta where Mother Teresa was. We hope to get together with him this week.
Our kids are doing well. They loved having all the visitors. Well Grace is shy at first but then fine. It does throw their schedules off quite a bit though. And when everyone leaves it seems there are more tears around our house, but only for a couple days. Adjusting to all the hellos and goodbyes can be a lot for little ones. Everyone talked about what a happy baby Luka is. They wondered if he ever cried (he does). He is very good and especially with all the commotion. He just smiled and kicked his legs through it all. He is rolling now and eating baby cereal. He learned to do “raspberries” (you know when your lips come together and you make noise or spit a little). He thinks it is pretty cool cause he does it a lot now. He found his toes a couple weeks ago and has fun getting them to his mouth to suck on. We helped Josh celebrate Father’s Day. The girls made cards with their pictures on and helped me make cherry cheese cake. He is worth celebrating! What a great Dad!!!
Congrats on 10 years!
ReplyDeleteDon Buist
Congratulations on 10 years and thanks again for sharing!
ReplyDelete