When Problems Rise, God Rises Higher!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

 

 

 

Scenario Number One:

      Since the first week of arriving in Uganda, I have been getting eaten away by bugs. My entire body is covered in bites. Everyday I seemed to be getting more and more. I applied bug spray multiple times a day, but that didn't seem to help. This past Thursday night, I woke up at 1:30am and discovered a small bug crawling up my arm. I began searching my bed for more bugs and found three more just like the one on my arm. I captured them in a small plastic bag and was told Friday morning that I had bed bugs. The interesting thing is that no one else in my family has bites nor have they ever had a problem with these bugs. Apparently bed bugs are a huge epidemic and my mother was told it wouldn't even be safe to bring my suitcase home. It is extremely difficult to get rid of such bugs in the states with the heightened technology let alone getting rid of the here in Africa. I was highly concerned and was at a loss of what to do to get rid of them.

 

 

Scenario Number Two:

       I found the bed bugs Thursday night and so Friday night, my friend Andrina and her family so kindly allowed me to sleep at her house for the night. In the morning, I was going to start scrubbing all my belongings and spray everything clean. Not even half way through the night, I had to wake Andrina up to escort me to the latrine (bathroom) outside. I no sooner made it outside and started throwing up. From Friday night until Sunday morning I was extremely sick. I couldn't drink water without getting an upset stomach let alone look at food. Consuming any type if food this whole weekend was a huge no no. I felt very weak. I wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep, but I couldn't because of my bug problem.

Meanwhile, my family woke up at 5:00am Saturday morning, carried out everything from my room and began scrubbing it all in boiling hot water. When I came home and they found  I was sick they wanted nothing but to comfort me. My sister offered me her bed. They made me food, despite me being able to eat. Thankfully, my brothers and sisters were able to eat it for me. All day long they catered to me. I started to doze off on the couch and my mom even told my sisters to go outside so they don't desorb me. My parents had an event to go to during the afternoon and weren't expected to return home until later in the night. They arrived home a little after 7 just because they wanted to make sure I was doing well. Two of my friends from America bought me juice from the market and came over to sit with me as well. I was a mess all weekend. While I was a sick mess and in the midst of an extreme bug problem, I had amazing family and friends there to pray for me and comfort me.

I felt so bad because I couldn't help clean my things or help with chores around the house or even eat the food or drink the tea they prepared for me. If I wasn't sleeping or talking with my mom on the phone, I was reading my bible and spending time in prayer.

God's Provision:
       I am 100% sure that God has called me here to Uganda at this time. I have never been so sure of anything in my whole life. He has so much in store for me here. The Bible says that every good and perfect gift is from above and it doesn't take an Einstein to recognize that bed bugs and sickness aren't a good or perfect gift. John 10:10 says that the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy. To me, I think my weekend issues seem to fit more into that category. As I spent time in the word and praying, God reminded me that he cares and comforts me even more than the ways in which my family and friends were comforting me. God loves me so much and would not have sent me to Uganda to make me sick or cause any other problems. I am walking in my destiny and Satan is trying to snatch that away. I refuse to keep my eyes focused on these earthly problem. I fix my eyes to the heavens and I know that God has the power to transform anything. "Do not be anxious." "Rejoice always." "Present your requests to God." "..a peace that passes all understanding."

     This morning I woke up a still a little sick. By the time church was over, I felt so joyful and healthy! I don't have any new bug bites! I was able to eat breakfast and drink tea! I am not bound by sickness and God power is greater than my mind can comprehend. When you stay fixed on Christ, Satan knows he doesn't even have an opportunity to mingle into your life. There's a joy and peace found in the Lord that can't be found anywhere else. Today, I feel so incredibly loved. I feel so secure in the place where God has sent me. Tomorrow can worry about itself. I know my God and I know of the works he is capable of doing. It only takes a little faith and little drawing near to the heart of our Father to shut the Devil down. Today, I will rejoice, and if I ever find myself troubled, I will again rejoice, thanking God for all of His goodness.

Per usual, I know many of you have been praying for me and  I am so incredibly thankful. I am praying for you all daily! Stay loved and stay blessed! ....And don't forget to rejoice!

Also, for everyone's pleasure here's a glimpse of my 4 year old sister dancing. She's usually much more into it, but she got a little camera shy :)

SEVEN SECOND VERSION!
My weekend sucked. Sick. Bed bugs. But God is faithful, always faithful. When you rejoice in Him, nothing can get in the way of his peace and blessings.

A Walk In My Ugandan Shoes...

I've been in Uganda a little over 2 weeks now. While I am finally starting to grasp come cultural concepts, others seem as far fetched as finding a Dunkin Donuts around the corner of my house, and no one in Uganda even know what Dunkin is so you could see the potential problem here. Before I go on to explain some of those cultural details, I want to tell you how my typical day looks.

From Sun up to Sun Down

     - I wake up at 7 in the morning, get dressed and head outside to brush my teeth. Then I walk back inside and get ready for tea time (breakfast). My breakfast is served with tea and varies from the world's best eggs to bread with butter or peanut butter to "donuts," which is basically a kind of cake.
     - After tea I head off to school. It's an all up hill walk which usually takes me about 12 minutes unless I walk Ugandan speed. Then, it takes a little closer to 20 minutes. I mostly have classes in the morning. Lunch is served at 1 (beans, rice, matoke, and pineapple if we get lucky!). After lunch, if I don't have class, I do some homework or walk to the market. I return home anywhere between 6 and 7.
     - As soon as I get home, I bathe before the sun goes down. Then it's tea time again! After tea, I hang out with my family, neighbors, or other relatives. Sometimes, I even help cook dinner! (I hope you're proud of me Mom!!) Before dinner, we gather together as a family and read scripture and pray. For all my family and friends, my host family here always prays for you! Dinner is served anytime between 10 and 11. After dinner, I brush my teeth and head into my room to get ready for bed.

On Tuesdays, my day is a bit different. At 1:30 I leave campus and go to my practicum site. My site location is called Off-Tu Missions. It's a mission organization ran by Germans. The goal of the mission is to take children off the streets in Uganda and give them a Christian environment to live in. Some of the children were abandoned as infants while some slaved daily to find work in the slums to eat left over food from the plates of local resteraunts. The organization is also closely connected with local churches and community events. My first time at Off-Tu was last Tuesday. In America you often see commercials or compassion adds for children such as the ones found in this organization. It's one thing to sit in your home, on your comfortable couch and see the faces of these children through the screen of your television, but it's a completely different atmosphere when these children are actually sitting on your lap sharing the true heart-felt stories they call their lives. My job at Off-Tu is to be involved in as much as possible, playing with the children and getting involved in schools, churches and the community.

  **AS A PRAYER REQUEST**
    The children at Off-Tu are very few compared to the children that are still abandoned and left in the slums of Africa to fend for themselves. If you happen to get a chance to pray for the children of Off-Tu and those not fortunate enough to be pulled from the slums, I would greatly appreciate it. One day justice will be served for these kids, but for now, all they need is love and for some, the only love they'll encounter is the love of Christ. Thank you.


Before I go home, I do have some goals that I want to incorporate in my typical day...
     - I want to be able to fist bump the security at the entrance gate to campus. So far I've only gotten to greeting them in Luganda.
     - I want to be best friends with the ladies at the fruit stand. They give you the best fresh fruit salad for only 1,000 shillings..which is less than 50 cents!
     - In Uganda, the phrase "What's up" is typically only used for people who have "swagger," so I want "what's up" to become a normal greeting in my family.

Cultural Confusion

Many times I find myself conversing with a Ugandan and have to use all the power that's within me from getting up and leaving the conversation. In one of my classes, I've been learning about the way Africans view themselves. They have a spiritual connection with every living and dead thing. For everything that happens, there is an internal motive behind it. For example, I heard a story about a tree falling on top of someone's car here in Mukono. The American response would probably be something like, "Oh dang! That person has really bad luck!" But here the typical response would be something like, "Oh wow, he must have done something to make the ancestors mad!" or "A witch doctor must have put a curse on him.." The way African perceive the world in which they live is extremely spiritual and some what philosophical. I am partially really intrigued by it but mostly I am utterly confused.

 

This view of oneself plays out in many of my conversations here with Ugandan people. For example, so many people have asked me if Obama was really a devil worshiper. My 17 year old sister accused Hannah Montana of being a devil worshiper as well. Many believe American hip-hop music is music worshiping the devil. Also, the terrorist attacks of 911 were brought up and my sister said that America must have done something really bad to make the possessed men drive planes into those 2 tall buildings. As I try to explain that Obama and Hannah Montana aren't in fact "devil worshipers" I see confusion all over my family's faces. It seems that here, there is a strong distinction of either being Christian or being of some dark forces from either the devil or your dead ancestors. Even typing out this blog post, I am finding difficulty in explaining the cultural differences. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life living in Africa and still not fully comprehend the cultural lenses they are looking through.

 

Apart from the view of oneself, there are many English phrases which have totally different meaning in Uganda that caused for much confusion my first week or so. For example..

 

     -"Let me come" = "I'll be back"

     -"No, That's ok" = "Yes" or "Good"

     -"What course are you taking" = "What is your major"

     -When you ask someone how their day is and they respond with "fine" it really means they've had a great day.

     -There's also no such thing as saying "hello" in Uganda. People will automatically ask "how are you"

 

As the days continue to fly by, I am finding more and more joy in being here. While it is still a rough road, God has and never will give me more than I can handle. I want to challenge you all to think of the blessings you have in your lives, and when you feel you have little or feel you need more, remember that the fact that you have a home with walls and windows with glass, a bed, cold water and family and friends that love you. Here in Uganda, the people realize they may not have much, but they do know they have the presence of the Lord and that He is with them daily. I've been realizing that the presence of the Lord is truly all we need. No "thing" can compare to what the Lord has done and given to you. I am praying for you all daily. I miss and love you!

 

 

SEVEN SECOND VERSION!

I have a daily routine. Pray for the children. Ugandan culture is mad weird.



How To's and Hot Not To's

I've been in Uganda a little over a week now, and in just that short amount of time I have learned many of life's skills needed to survive here. Before coming to Africa, I thought the African people lived such a simple life, but now that I'm here I am realizing that life in Uganda isn't so simple. In fact, everyday life in the states is truly the simple life. Below I have listed some of the "how to's" and "how not to's" that I have learned thus far!

How To...

- How to wash your clothes with out a "machine"

          First you fill three basins with water. You put all your dirty clothes in one basin you begin to soap up one article of clothing at a time. Then after you finished soaping that piece of clothing, you take it to the next bin and scrub the living daylights out of it. After about 3 shirts, you hands begin to get rug burn! Then, you put the piece of clothing in the last bin to start rinsing. After all your clothes are washed, you empty the soaping and scrubbing bin and fill them with clean water. Next, you use those two bins to continue rinsing the soap off your clothes. Finally, you hang them on the line to dry. By the next day, they are ready to be taken off the line to iron. Ironing is a must because parasites may find their way onto your clothes and the heat kills them off. Also, Ugandan people value appearance, so going out in public with wrinkled clothes is a big no no!

 

- How to wash the dishes

          Washing dishes is done very similar to washing clothes. You need three water basins. The first one is used for soaping and the second 2 are used to rinsing.

 

- How to make the world's best chai tea

           First you get yourself a nice pot of milk, preferable fresh from the cow. Then you cook it over the charcoal stove until it starts to boil. Then you add your tea leaves and a few spices. Finally, you top it off by adding the sugar. It's a simple recipe, but I have never had chair tea like Ugandan chai tea in my life. It's wonderful.

 

- How to cook

           This is an overview on how my family typically cooks our meals. Everything is cooked over a charcoal or wood burning stove. Meats and fish are bought fresh from the market. Vegetables and fruit are all picked from the garden or plantation outside. Our eggs are collecting from our hens and our milk is gotten from the cows. Clean drinking water comes from boiling the rain water over the stove. To prepare an average meal, you will need at least 2 hours of cooking time.

 

- How to get to places without your own vehicle

            The simple answer to this is that you walk where ever you need to get to. If the distance of over an hour long, a taxi (or in Luganda "matatu") is your best bet. Boda Boadas (motorcycle taxis) are available but very dangerous. As an insight, I recently went to the capital city about two hours away and it only coast me roughly one American dollar.

 

 

How Not To...

- How not to drop your cell phone down the 40 foot hole where you go to the bathroom

           Don't take your cell phone to the bathroom with you.

 

- How not to step in goat poop

          Use your headlamp at night and scan the entire surface your about to walk on. Flip flops are also not the ideal shoe to wear when goat poop is around.

 

- How to eat matoke (cooked green bananas) without feeling like your going to gag

         When given a plate of sloppy vegetables, dip your matoke into the "sauce." It adds good flavor and takes away the bad flavor!

 

 

In general, I am having a great time. There are still moments I find myself imaging waking up in my own bed back home, or playing with my little sister, or spending the night laughing at the simple things with my friends as Messiah, but those thoughts and temptations aren't coming from God. God reminds me daily that I am where He wants me. I believe perseverance leads to breakthrough, so I promised myself that I am going to keep persevering through the hard times because at the end of this season, the breakthrough is going to be amazing. I find comfort in the arms of Christ and His love and joy continue to invade my life even when the enemy is telling me otherwise.

I have included a picture of my home. In that place, I am starting to find comfort and the true beauty of Ugandan culture. I've also begun to find lizards on the wall and spider friends in the corner, but all is good :) As always, I appreciate your prayers and encouragements. To my family and friends,  I love and miss you all tremendously. I am praying for you all daily. God bless!

Seven Second Version!
   Everyday life is not so simple. Be careful what you take to the bathroom and where you walk. Above is a pic of my home. Jesus is still good!



Mzungus, Boba Bodas and Matoke

I’m in Africa y'all! 

It’s been super rough, but I’m doing better..thanks to Jesus of course! I arrived here Thursday the 3rd super late at night. I spent the night in a hotel, woke up for breakfast at 8 and headed off to the town of Mukono, which is where I live with my host family and where my school is. I pulled up to the gate where my family lives, and 4 little kids came running out to great me and grab my stuff. I had to use all that was in me not to cry. The little boys were the cutest things in the world and the girls had the most precious smile.

Let me just interupt by saying that I cannot tell you every detail of what happened, but in only the four days I’ve been here, I am changed forever.

So anyways, I walk through the gate to my new home and right away im surrounded by children. There were so many precious faces! I believe my family (the Kitto family, pronounced "Cheeto") has 6 kids, but I’m not sure. There are many kids living in the house and all day long kids are coming in and out of the gate. All of the kids are wonderful and so energetic. The 6 kids are from youngest to oldest, Jonathan, Deborah, Ruth, Bengiman, Dickson and Ireene. Johnathan is 2 and all the does is rub my skin. I guess they don't see many "Mzungus," which is what white people are called here. Everywhere I go, all the children point and yell "MZUNGU!!!!"

So what exactly does my home in Africa look like? Let me tell you! I do have a room to myself, which makes me feel bad since all the children are crammed into only 2 bed rooms. have a room to I'm basically living out of my suitcase and a few nails are in the wall to hang some of my clothes. There’s electiricity some of the time and some of the time there isn’t. There are no toilets or showers. The if I need to use the bathroom, I use the latrines which are tiny rectangle holes in the ground. I bathe outside too..from a collection of rain water that I poor into a bucket. Dinner is served between 10 and 11 at night. Then we go to bed.  I’ve been eating the weirdest food. Some of it is good, and some I’m already sick of. The most interesting is called matoke. Everyone here has a “garden” of banana trees, so to make matoke, you cut down banannas and then cut down the bananna leaves. You take the banannas and lay them on the leaves. You then take bananna fibers that you peel from the leaves and tie the leaves around the banannas. You cook that over a stove for an hour and then you squeeze all the juice out. You cook it for another hours and squeeze the juice again. Then you eat it! It taste good, but I can’t eat too much of it.

Honestly the heart of the people here is beautiful. They have nothing compared to the lives we have. The children have been wearing the same clothes since I got here. But every night we pray, and spend at least 20 minutes thanking God for all the blessings in our lives. The Kitto family is always smiling. Despite their “poor” life, these people are extremely rich with qualities of life that Americans don’t have. My first night with my family, I cried myself to sleep. The first time I called and heard my moms voice I cried like a little baby. I’m not really sure why I keep cried so much though. Part of me thinks it’s because I miss home, part of me thinks it’s because I know this is where God wants me, part of me thinks it’s because I’m seeing how blessed I am, even by the simple things.

Overall, I’m having a great time and as always, Jesus rocks. On my flight here, I felt Jesus telling me that during my time here, I’m really going to be seeking deeper levels of the his heart, so I’m excited to chase after that!

As always, I appreciate all your prayers, and likewise I am praying for you all daily. God bless!

Here’s some quick fun stuff!
There are monkeys on my campus
 I woke up to a HUGE beatle being eaten by ants next to my bed. YUK!
The tea is delicious! It's made with the cows milk owned by my family.
 I have a 15-20 minute walk to school..all up hill
Boda bodas are motorcycle type things..they’re scary and everywhere!
Cows are like deer are in the states..they’re dang everywhere!
Church here is AMAZING! So much dancing and singing :)

 

 

 

Seven Second Version..

I'm in Africa! My first night sucked. But now I'm happy and am surrounded by beauty. Yay!

Hello all my wonderful family and friends! 

As you all know (or will soon figure out!) I am going to be studying in Uganda for the next four months. To be more specific, I am going with a program called Uganda Studies Program, which is run by Best Semester, and I will be attending school at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Uganda. I leave January 3^rd and return home May 1^st. I am in an Inner Cultures and Missionary Program where I will be staying with a host family in the village of Mukono and learning about missions and culture throughout Uganda (super exciting!).  I have told some of you that I am going to try my best to keep you all updated on my time there, so I’ve created this: my clever-titled blog! Our great God has a lot in store for me during this season of my life, and I hope you all can find some inspiration and enjoyment through my updates. Meanwhile, here is my quick background story on how the heck I ended up going to Africa!

I love Jesus. I love spending time with him. I love following his word and learning his plan for my life. For a long while now, I have been struggling as to where He wants me and where I could live out my fullest potential in him. Do I really want to be a school teacher? Or do I want to be a disciple of the nations? Can I do it all at the same time? When is my time? ..Kinds of struggles like that. So one day, just a few months ago, I heard him tell me to study abroad in Uganda. This was the first time studying abroad in Africa had ever crossed my mind, and quite frankly, I thought the idea was whack and impossible.  Don’t get me wrong, Africa has ALWAYS been a place of interest for me. I knew I would one day find myself there, but didn’t realize it would be so soon! Anyways, I listened and found out the application was due exactly five days from the day I felt led to study there. I prayed like I’ve never prayed before, trusting in what I felt the Lord was telling me, and I told him that if he did not want me in Africa at this time then he better find a way to stop me. Well, to make a longer story a bit shorter, God opened doors that I didn’t ever realize were closed. Financially I have been blessed beyond belief! Classes became available at the university for the first time ever…classes that I NEEDED to take in order to graduate on time. And most of all, my PARENTS GAVE ME THE OK! It was a tough tackle, but I never once heard a “NO!” (Thanks Mom and Dad! You da best!) The application was handed in on time, and here I am now, just hours before my flight takes off declaring the faithfulness and love of our Father!! I’m going to Africa!

So how am I feeling about all this? Being away from family and friends for four months? With no “western facilities” (cough, Mom!)? With knowing not a single person? With being thrown into a completely different world where heavy diseases are present and culture being unlike anything I’ve ever experienced? I’m feeling absolutely fantastic! Not a single worried, nervous or anxious bone in my body! Why, you ask? Jesus, that’s why! Jesus tells us not to worry (Philippians 4:6). Jesus tells us he is our healer (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus knows me when no one else does, and knowing him is all I need (John 10:14-15). How can I be anxious, nervous, scared, etc., when I know Uganda is the place where he is calling me to be? I'm simply stepping into my destiny. The atmosphere God has prepared for his children is one of joy, peace, love and comfort. I’ll be darned if I chose not to live in such a place. In the book of John, it is written that “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” I am God’s beloved. He loves me more that I can comprehend. His love is nothing less than perfect, so I have not one thing to fear. 

As I continue down this amazing path Jesus has prepared for me, I will be praying for you all and hoping that you, too, will be living in the atmosphere freely given to us by the most astonishing creator. Mom and Dad, especially, I love you, but you do not have to worry about me. The Big Guy upstairs got my back! To all, I sincerely appreciate all your encouraging words and prayers. It means more than you know. I wish you all the best New Year, and too all my friends, the best semester! Continue representing the King!

I will update you all again as soon as I hang up the phone with Mom and Dad and get a chance!

PS. Sorry this was so long. Just wanted to give you the background story! I’m new at this blogging thing, so don’t expect me to go all Perez Hilton on you! Also, sorry to all you grammar police! I grew up in Schuylkill County. We ain’t always the most intelligent ;)

SEVEN SECOND VERSION!!

I’m going to Uganda. Jesus rocks. Y’all rock. I’ll keep you posted as much as possible!





Later Gators!