I wake at 6:30 or 7. The boys laughter keeps me awake. I lay on my back for a while, before lifting my mosquito net and climbing out. I have until 8:45 to dress, eat, Facebook... At 8:45 I head downstairs for preschool I sit with the two year olds. Half way through the two year olds are dismissed and we head to another building where we read, color, practice colors, and play. At 10 I have a break until 11. Drink a coke, listen to audiobook... At 11 we head outside and play with the kids, at 12:15 I go back with the girls and they eat, bathe, put diapers on and then go down for nap. I'm free from 1:15- 4:00. We sometimes will go into town, or just take a nap and hang out. At 4 I have one-on-one time with one of the kids, OR I'm outside doing activities with the kids. That last for two hours, and then it's dinner, bathe, diapers, pjs, brush teeth, bed, and then the mosquito nets go over the beds. There are 16 girls, most of them are still crawling age. I was the only volunteer in the girls room for the first 2 weeks and it is so wonderful to have another volunteer helping. Bedtime is the craziest part of my day and I walk away so tired. For dinner I have top ramen, cookies, toast, banana, pineapple... Whatever I feel like making. And then my day is done. It's a rewarding day.

If you have never come to Africa you are missing out. I am falling in love with this place. It's outside my comfort zone for sure. Some sights you see makes you shake your head and say "this is Africa..." like storks in a dumpster, a dirty boy in a suit, a boy sleeping on the ground... The potholes in the road. I was asked by a teenaged boy to buy him some food, and being told that there are ministries and these street children choose freedom over filled bellies, I told him no. I also recognized him from begging before. It breaks my heart to walk away, but I know they know/think that they can trick mzungus (white people) into buying food. So I walk away and leave him to beg other people. While Jesus says to feed and clothe the hungry, I don't think He met to give free handouts and make teenagers believe they can get through life off of tourist. Over lunch today a small boy was watching us eat, his empty eyes and tore clothes showed us he was truly living in poverty. We offered him a piece of flat bread and he thanked us and began to eat it. There is something about these street kids that intrigue me... How can I say no to one boy, and yes to another? If the mzungus began to hand out to the kids it would eventually be like setting a Seaworld dolphin into the ocean after years of having every single meal brought to it... It would starve and die not knowing how to fend for itself. It's finding balance here, yes, I wish I could sit down and buy all these street kids meals, but there are ministries who know of a better way to care for them and if they wished to they could go have a meal and a place to sleep.... But it still breaks my heart. And that's a good thing.

Most years on Easter I am home making a copycat recipe of cinnabons. Most years I eat candy until I am ready to burst. This year is the first year I haven't spent it with my family. Today I went to church service held outside with the sun beaming down on me (not many can say they went to church on Easter Sunday and got a tan) our opening song was sung in Lugandan so we clapped our hands instead. We sat on the red benches and listened as this Pastor talked of that glorious day so many years ago. The translator spoke in Lugandan to the men and women around me. I serve the same God here that I do at home, but in a way I feel like I don't. At home God is used to fix my problems, but here I am dependent on His strength. I wake up every morning and grab my Bible because I know He will give me the perfect passage for that day. Before I fall asleep I do the same. And this God -this God I have served for years is showing me more of Himself. Whispering to my soul. Some moments are hard here, but the joy I have recieved and am continuing to recieve reminds me of how great His love is. At the end of the service we walked around to a wooden cross, we placed flowers upon it and suddenly this cross, this cross standing on the roadside in the middle of Africa, this cross standing in the midst of a street filled with dirt and garbage suddenly became beautiful. As I continue to learn about Him, I'm learning that's what He does, every time we are graced with His presence. He continues to bring His glory to our faces, He puts songs in our hearts and joy in our eyes, even though we stand in a world filled of dirt and sin. He makes us beautiful.

I wake up to the sound of the dog barking, rooster crowing, kids crying or some obnoxious bird. Most mornings I am already sweating or will soon be. As soon as I walk outside I have red dirt on me, and the bottoms of my feet are never clean. I read to 12 two year olds and wonder if I am mostly reading to myself. But it's when their tiny fingers reach out and touch the pictures that I am reminded. It's when she extends her hand and practices the proper English greeting "Hello, Auntie. How are you?" we shake hands and it's repeated twenty more times before I sit among them. It's when her deep brown eyes tell me she just needs to be held. It's when I have many babies wanting in my lap and I try my hardest to make room. It's when she lays in my lap being shy to the visitor, but in the short few days I have known her I know she is anything BUT shy. It's when her hands are folded and eyes closed and this small child leads her sisters in prayer. It's when they all sing 'He's got the whole world in His hands..'. It's when I tickle them and they giggle contagiously. It's when he picks me pink flowers. It's when we walk hand in hand along Lake Victoria talking about crocodiles. It's when I kiss their cheeks and get warn smiles. It's when their hands are tucked into mine. It then that I remember. THIS is why I traveled 35 hours to sleep under a mosquito net and live on the equator. THIS is why I gave up all familiar and gave into the call of Jesus. They are why, and they are worth it. They change me, day by day.

God whispers to my soul when doubt arises. He whispers sweet words "I have great plans for you." He reassures me as I doubt that everything I grasp so tightly is from Him. Yes, this is my reality. Yes, this is true. I want this for you. I let the word form on my rounded lips, then go to the back of my throat and finish on the tip of my tongue- U-gan-da. Uganda. Such a foreign place to me. Such a scary place to those who have heard only of war. Of rebellion. Of Kampala bombings. Of children forced to kill. Of refugee camps with PTSD. Of prisons filled with young boys. Of starving to death people. Nobody ever hears the beautiful part. The part where the American and Ugandan laugh together and worship the same God together. Where the orphans find hope in the smallest blessings . Where there is a longing for a new beginning after so much death. A people starving for truth.

U-gan-da. It makes me smile. I've purchased my plane ticket. 6 weeks in that foreign land awaits me. When God whispers come dare I say no? When I see new beauty in the land in which He has chosen for me to serve? A land where 2 years ago I would have been afraid of? Dare I say no? come. What do you say when God asks of you what others see as scary, as unreal? What do you say when all you see is beauty in the answer to His question. Will you serve me? I will go with you. Yes. All I see is beauty. All I hear is the beauty in those whispers come.

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. -Dr. Seuss

I lay in bed at night thinking of how many more days. How much longer until I board a plane and travel across the world for this place God has chosen me for. Yes, I have fallen in love with a country across the ocean. Yes, I may be a tad bit crazy. But I am helplessly in love with the Creator of the universe and the Savior of the world. come.

Update on Fundraiser!

*The puzzle has been finished!!!*

So, if you haven't read about my upcoming mission trip you can go here to read. My first fundraiser is this puzzle of the US. Each piece is a $30 donation (paypal button on right side), it gets me closer to purchasing a ticket to Uganda, and makes my cute little ticker on the right side go up. Your name will be written on the piece you choose (it doesn't necessarily have to be the state you live in either), and pictures will be posted of our growing puzzle. I'm now OVER 2/3 of the way there!

West Virginia, Hawaii, Missouri, Oklahoma, Michigan, Idaho, California, North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia, Washington, Alaska, South Carolina, North Dakota, Kentucky, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Utah, New Mexico, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Ohio have been claimed!

The 10 remaining states are: South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

Thank you to all of you who have been supporting me (through prayer and donations), you all are a blessing to me! I thank God for you.

AnnaBanana

Guess who's 4 years old today?

Yep, this little girl.

I met her when she was 6 weeks old but was utterly clueless to the fact that one day she would be my little sister.

She is super duper silly sometimes. Sometimes she says silly things. Like crying over the fact that we were having pizza soup, when really I said pizza SOON. We laughed and laughed about that one. She has so many stories to tell and keeps anyone entertained when they are over... whether they like it or not.

Anna has mastered the cute, sad, pouty look. Kind of Shirley Temple-ish. She uses it to get her way... no one can say no to that...Can they?

She had a big year! But I think her adoption was the highlight! She looked so beautiful in her new fancy dress. Even though she danced around the court room and wouldn't hold still, wrote a 'letter' to the judge on his notepad, spoke into the mics, and crawled under the table...the judge still thought she was cute. Anna made it a day to remember. Oh, Anna.

Anna is loved. I won't ever forget the nights I bounced her to sleep. When I kissed her chubby baby cheeks. The day she left us. The nights I cried myself to sleep, praying she was safe. The day we got the phone call about her. The night she returned, we slept 3 hours and then got up to watch Curious George. The hours I spent teaching her how to crawl and eventually walk. The court days that brought that nervous feeling. Then the day last November...we all curled our hair, got into beautiful dresses and went off to the courthouse. Anna Victoria-Merciful victory. You are our victory, you are the victory God planned for us. After 3 years of blood, sweat and tears, you are here forever. You are loved. You are loved by Him, it is evident in your story. You are loved by you 7 sisters and 3 brothers, it is evident in the way they kiss your chubby little cheeks. You are loved by your mommy and daddy, it is evident in the way they fought so endlessly for you. You are loved.

You are one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.

Latest Update on Fundraising

The puzzle has been finished!!!!

So, if you haven't read about my upcoming mission trip you can go here to read. My first fundraiser is this puzzle of the US. Each piece is a $30 donation (paypal button on right side), it gets me closer to purchasing a ticket to Uganda, and makes my cute little ticker on the right side go up. Your name will be written on the piece you choose (it doesn't necessarily have to be the state you live in either), and pictures will be posted of our growing puzzle. I'm now 2/3 of the way there!

West Virginia, Hawaii, Missouri, Oklahoma, Michigan, Idaho, California, North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia, Washington, Alaska, South Carolina, North Dakota, Kentucky, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Utah, New Mexico, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland have been claimed!

Thank you to all of you who have been supporting me (through prayer and donations), you all are a blessing to me! I thank God for you.