Updates

I got to Google+ Chat with my family last weekend and that was a real treat even though it exhausted all the internet time that I was suppose to have for all month. It was fun to see everyone's faces, and of course play around with all the web-effects you can do with webcams. (We are all just big kids at heart)

It isn't very hot right now unless you are out between 12-3pm. Every couple of days it rains and makes things a bit humid, but unlike Kansas it doesn't stick around really, so that's nice.

Akiki had to come to Kampala for something this last week so I got to see and talk to her in person. For some reason its a bit harder for me to follow the accent when I am on the phone. I am much better at communicating in person. I guess I must be a lip reader or something. Anyway, it was good to see her. Julius is her manager for the clinic and he is going to try and help me with the visa so I can work there. I still have to get everything for my license squared away, and my interview is next Wed, so you could pray for that. Whichever way it works out I have confidence that God's will be glorified.

I am probably going to be part of the medical support team for an annual conference that the church in Bugolobi is putting on this next week. I'll leave from there to go to the interview, and then head back after that. The conference is like a miniature Faithwalkers from what I've heard in the past, so I'm interested in seeing what I think of it. :)

We have been eating a lot of fresh pineapple, which is simply amazing! Also, come to find out, they have really good carrots over here! (it must be something with the soil. who would have thought it?) We got lunch at a place in the mall one day that had a salad bar, and I really liked one of their salads so i've been making it a lot, and its a big hit with my housemates! Basically its just tomatoes, peppers and red onions with a little pepper and Italian seasoning. Super simple, almost like eating garden salsa, but its really good. Also, I got coffee yesterday from a place that roasts and brews their own local coffee. God really knew what He was doing, because African coffee has the exact taste that I really love in coffee. That couldn't just be coincidence, could it?

The other day they gave me some banana cake, and it tasted almost exactly like Mom's Famous Banana bread. It surprised me at first and then filled me with a teensy bit of homesickness.

Its been challenging and encouraging to share with my friends from the Bugos church. I don't know how many times now we've just been talking about something around the house and have to pull out our Bibles to argue our points from Scripture. It's pretty encouraging. They made me do a skit for church the other day about faithfulness in the workplace. I had to play the mean boss. Not my cup of tea, but I think we still pulled it off fairly well. The hard part is that when I am trying to portray emotion (and in front of people), I end up talking faster which makes me a lot harder to understand (having an American accent as I do...).

As far as what God's been teaching me, its been a bit all over the board... As you all well know, I am not good at dealing with disappointment, and so hitting constant setbacks on the road to trying to get things so I can work has been really hard. I know that the devil doesn't want me to have smooth sailing, but sometimes its easy to fall into the mindset that this is "just my luck", or something of that nature and forget that everything we do in following Christ is surrounded by a spiritual battle as well. I need to remember that more and trust God more that He causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Other than that, since I've had a lot of down time, I've been going through the end part of Ephesians and just started on Philippians. Ephesians 6:10-20 has been really good at sharpening my perspective for the above mentioned struggles. Its funny how God often has me read something that is exactly what I need for the day. But I'm sure He does that with all His children.

Blessings to everyone back in Kansas! Love you all!