It's all about love...it's all about people... it's all about love for people :)

What a week! Where do I begin??

Our classroom teachings were awesome! I was reminded of the amazing relationships I have back home and the amazing mentors I have! I'm truly blessed and stand in awe of the incredible plans God has for my life. Going all the way back to Genesis with Adam and Eve. God made Adam, hand-crafted and designed him; He didn't "command" Adam to be formed like other creatures/creations. Then, He didn't just say "peace out, Adam" and leave Him on His own to figure things out. No, God provided a home in the garden of Eden, supplied Adam with food (lots of fruits), gave him a job/responsibility of tending the garden and then later naming all the animals, and then created a perfect helpmate companion, Eve. Just reminding myself of all these truths which are found all the way back at the beginning of the Bible...how God hand-made Adam and didn't leave him to figure things out on his own...how He tended to his needs and created him for purpose and relationship! (God loves people!!) This was part of a devotion that the Lord really spoke to me about personally...this doesn't even touch on some AMAZING teaching we got this week on worship, Paul/Timothy dynamic duo, understanding the meaning of salvation, and discernment!!!!

Ministry this week was awesome! We went to 2 new places this week, the Remand Home and Wells of Hope Academy. The Remand Home is basically a detention center or juvenile prison. However, it's VERY different from one you would find in the States. They don't treat the kids as prisoners. In fact, we are reprimanded if we use that term to or around them! They facilitate an environment of respect and change...it's quite an interesting program they run. Kids are there for various amounts of time, depending on the severity of the crimes, some have robbed, others involved in gang violence, others have murdered. Our team was split into groups and we had a "program" for them including, praise/worship, a skit, memory verse, special song, message, prayer, and played a game. We had a central theme, but had never practiced (rehearsed) anything together as a big group. However, it flowed together amazingly and I do believe these kids were impacted!!
We left straight from there and headed to Wells of Hope Academy. This is a small "boarding school", which takes in children whose parent(s) are in jail, and they have noone else to take care of them. The school actually just opened several months ago. We got a quick tour and were able to see where the kids sleep. The boys room is about as big as my apartment living room and holds 15 kids, and only filled with triple bunk beds in which 2-3 kids sleep in each bed (the kids are aged 4-15 years old). Food supply is minimal. The bathroom is ummm.... less than ideal. But the alternative for these children would be a life on the streets!! Not entirely sure why, but immediately after stepping off the bus, I fell in love with this place! My group (consisting of 11 people) had the primary 4 class, which were 7-9 year olds, and there were only 7 people in the class....so we outnumbered them...but had the best time!!! Taught them a dance and song, played 2 games, shared a Bible story, a memory verse, and prayed with them....and almost got left by our bus because we were in there so long :) It really made me miss teaching Sunday school!!!! Really, really, really, really loved this place!!

I also got to attend a real African wedding ceremony this week...how cool is that!! Don't worry, I was not the bride :) It was an amazing experience and pretty cool traditions to see. Really felt blessed to be able to attend it and may be able to integrate some things into my own wedding or maybe my sister's wedding that's coming up ;)

Continuing to meet new people at our guesthouse! Right now, there are 2 different ladies from Missouri staying here that are in the process of adopting. They were staying at the orphanage with the kids, but are now at our guesthouse with the kids. The little girl is 9 months and little boy is 12 months. For someone who doesn't like babies...wow I've fallen in love with the little girl!! If they weren't adopting her...I might just be coming home with a baby :) She is beyond precious! I've spent a lot of time talking to the ladies about the adoption process, their families back home (how much they miss their husbands and other kids), why they are adopting from Uganda, their churches, etc. The little girl, Izzy, was found dumped in a bush (just after birth) with the umbilical cord still attached, so if she wasn't rescued and brought to the orphanage, she would have bled to death. She is the sweetest thing!! She's always smiling, giggling, cuddles with me, and when I hold her, she's so content...and nestles right into my chest. Seriously glad she's being adopted because I'm not sure I would be able to leave Uganda without her...she would be coming to the States with me or I would be staying in Uganda permanently ;) Soooo cool the people we even get to meet just at our guesthouse! (Also just met a missionary from the Netherlands whose on some big missionary board and a guy who's stationed over here from the US army). Soooo cool!

It truly is all about LOVE and all about PEOPLE! There's no doubt I'm in this amazing place and at this amazing stage because of the Lord and the work He's doing in me and through me, and continues to faithfully do! I'm being changed minute by minute into His image, and don't even realize it...I have a new love, a new outlook, a new boldness, a new purpose...whether these are new or renewed...not sure, don't care. What I do know, is that there's no other place to be than walking hand in hand with Jesus, in His Presence, living out His Will!!!!


PS Had a "chill night" last night after a long day of ministry...we played cards and watched "Taken" on a netbook computer. Yep, 8 of us gathered around to watch Taken...not quite the same effect on a Netbook, but it was awesome!!! We spent an hour afterwards talking about human trafficking. One of the guys of the team said he's never seen anyone react to the movie quite the way I did...get more on fire for the Lord...motivated to more mission work and a righteous anger well up in me...hey, noone said I was "normal"! We had such a great night!


Living to Glorify Him,
Michelle