Sometimes you have time go by so fast you didn't blog about it.

Sometimes, your 16 year old will ask you, "Do you have a cockroach in your room? Because I need one." Sometimes your very very imaginative and active 12 year old will invent a new language. Sometimes, when you are with your 13 year old if someone asks you something like 'how are you?', she'll answer for you in the complete opposite of what she knows you'll say. Sometimes, your 6 year old will tell you "thank you for making cookies, God is going to bless you."

Sometimes, as a person I lack the words (or forgot to take photos) to describe moments like these. Being here, working with these kids, with my fellow staff members, is full of these sorts of moments. God has taught me so much through everyone here, and also through each one of you. I am so blessed (like, I don't know if it's actually water in my shower, or blessings in disguise as water.) I'd like to take this moment to thank all of those that have helped me achieve it. My family, for helping me to save and plan and pack and to make a portable washing machine (thanks Dad), and for sending me help and financial support (to all my grandparents, I couldn't have been here without you and your prayers and love and support - personal and financial.) My friends for supporting me and being excited with me. My Aaron, for those trips to Walmart or Sam's Club to be sure I have everything, and for being strong enough and having faith and trust in God to make it through this time of being apart. To Calvary Chapel North San Antonio, for not even having known me so long but just welcoming me as well as my family and being so excited and kind and willing to help and support me and pray for me, for the women's bible study, for all your help in getting me this far, and just for showing the love of God to me. When  I look back on the months and years, basically, my whole life before moving here, I am just amazed to see how God laid everything out perfectly.

School went back in session the very beginning of February, and with that comes another aspect of the job. Here at Redeemer House, there is one of our children who has more need of one-on-one teaching and instruction time, so that means I get to play teacher, and with all the other events I wrote about, (buying land, hosting a team, I'm not sure if I've mentioned any new four legged additions, but we've had about 4 baby goats born in these last two months) but with all this excitement, I get to about 9:30 when the kids are finished with homework and can't figure out the words to describe it all, (let alone stay awake long enough to think and look for the words.) With school continuing, some kids who have been under the care of Redeemer House are now in boarding school, in particular two girls in a boarding school very close to home, just down the road from here. Myself and two other missionaries have began a bible study for all the girls that are at that same boarding school. It's been really exciting and great to see God open up doors for ministry even beyond my work here at Redeemer house.

I cannot say enough, or take enough photos to explain and show how great God is showing Himself to be here, but all I can see around me is just evidence of God's work. I want to thank you for partnering with me in all this. You can be assured, I will not return the same, and by God's grace I hope he can use me to leave Redeemer House in an even more better state than when i found it, (and it was really great then, and I know none of this work is really done by me, but by God's plan.) I would just ask that you could continue to pray for us, for me, for my fellow staff members, and of course of the kids. Thanks very very much. :)

               Some of our young boys learned the art of building cushion forts, and our living room is no longer the same.

           The kids at our boarding school outreach all enjoying a game of freeze tag with a twist, no unfreezing.

            Two of our four new Redeemer House "kids". They are just so cute, I can't help but hope they stay little.

 Where there is no Michocana, (San Antonio Mexican bakery and grocery store) you have to make conchas (pan dulce) on your own. Kids who have never seen mexican pastries before just call them cookies, but enjoy them just the same.

                    This is the street on which we are located, just this week. It rained flowers, how cool is that??

 

These are the girls we have in boarding school, it's definitely different without them around the house, but we go visit and do bible study every week. 

My Heart is Full (If my Heart Was my Stomach, I have Just Come From a Buffet)

Happy New Year 2015 from Uganda! It has been such a full year for the short days we have had so far, and all I can see is the providence of God every day.
The day after Christmas, ( i kid you not) we received a very unexpected donation, with which we were able to begin on some much needed repairs around the house. That was such a huge blessing to us, as we were wondering when we would be able to fix those things (leaking water tanks, re-cementing walls/floors, broken tiles.....none are good, all are worse with kids around.)
Then, we had on the 3rd a mission team come to visit! They are much more part of the family though than "short term mission visitors" and everyone really enjoyed having them around! This team was a family from eastern Oregon that has been here to Redeemer House many times. (They also take requests before they come if you are needing anything, or even just craving junk food, haha. Too bad a Whataburger restaurant can't fly in a person's suitcase...hmm.)
We started building a chicken coop, one of our goats had a baby. and we intend to be getting more chickens in the next months or so. (WooHoo for available eggs!)

One big, giant, HUGE thing that happened is that we now have our own land!! Yep!!!!!! Redeemer House now has 4 acres on which we will be able to build and expand as they have been praying for since way before my arrival. It was so cool to be able to tell the kids/staff when we got back from all the meeting and signing, everyone was the most excited!

School will be starting back up in February, for the beginning of the school year (it's closer to the calender year than what I grew up with, but makes sense, with one school year being in an actual single year.) So, if I could ask for your prayers as these kids (and the children we sponsor for school in the local and Kampala area) return, please remember them. One other thing is that at Redeemer House we have one boy in particular who has been in homeschooling for the past year,  and i'll be having a small role in that. It's funny how things will be changed and not what you thought it would be, I never thought I'd be a teacher in my life. But God is good, and that's His nature. It's amazing how it was all worked out so well.

Above all, I'm still just thrilled and surprised to be here and be part of what God is doing at Redeemer House. I'm also just confronted by His grace everyday as I realize just how big my transgressions have been and how it is definitely not about my worthiness of this or that, because, (to quote Lecrae) "If we fought for our rights, we'd be in hell tonight." Thanks so much for how huge of a help you have been to me, and for your continued support! There's just been so much happening and I sometimes am short of words, mostly for being too excited, but I will definitely have many more updates to come!                                                                                                                                                                                  

This time for Uganda, here's how I see it so far.

Christmas photos, the area, some of these are taken by the kids. There will be more to come, though!