We have arrived! I apologize for the
delay in an update, but we have had quite the past few days. Our
travels went completely smooth with easy transitions and layovers. On
Sunday we had a 10-hour layover in London so we got lockers for our
carry-ons and went out to town! We took the tube (subway) and met
Arthur (France) and then Collet and Ian – a nice couple from
Scotland – who knew the history of town and showed us around a bit.
They were such a blessing to us and were excited to hear about our
trip, so here's a shout out to you, Collet and Ian! Thank you for
everything!
We got into Uganda on Monday morning
(midnight CT) and Nate and Rhoda were there to pick us up. The drive
to Jinja was one I will never forget; we had to drive through the
capitol city of Kampala and there are no rules! There are no lines on
the roads so the vans, motorcycles, bikes, and people walk
everywhere. I was shocked people weren't dying. It's like nothing
I've ever experienced before.
Jinja is a beautiful town. It's very
lush and bright – green grass and a million different trees, birds,
and flowers galore, of every color! The smell is sweet and fresh. We
are staying in a house of a missionary family that went back to
America on furlough – such a blessing! – a few miles down the
road from the Jores, and we pass Lake Victoria (the source of the
Nile) on our way. We have three dogs, a grounds-keeper, three night
guards, two cats, and a huge front yard with a mango, lemon, and
pomegranate tree, and who knows what else! I cannot even express how
beautiful it is here. And the fruit – oh the fruit. It is so sweet.
Nothing in America will ever compare again!
So far we have spent most of our time
with the Jores – Nate and Rhoda have been so good to us! They have
five children: Elijah, Judah, Hannah, Jeremiah (Jay), and Julia that
we have absolutely loved spending time with. We have gone into town a
few times, eaten from the street vendors (rolex: chipati bread with
egg, tomatoes, onion, and lettuce. So amazing!) and today went to the
market!
We have talked about what we would like
our schedule to look like with Rhoda a bit so now it's just getting
contacted with people about where we can plug in. This first week is
pretty busy with settling in and playing with the Jores, so we're
hoping to get into some sort of a routine next week. Our hopes are to
help at an orphanage once or twice a week, mentor a few girls from
the pregnancy crisis center, and help Rhoda with the kids. I (Kate)
would also like to help at some of the hospitals/clinics and maybe
shadow a missionary nurse, just something to get my feet wet with the
medical side of missions. Courtney is hoping to look into one of the
Christian coffee shops in town as she's always loved the idea using a
coffee shop as a ministry.
How can you be praying for us? Thanks
for asking! Here are a few ideas:
- Clear direction from the Holy Spirit as to where we can be used most effectively
- Health wise – we have both been blessed thus far with little issues so far! I did have an upset stomach this morning, but now am feeling much better. Pray that will continue as we adjust to the diet here
- Finances – our living expenses are a little more than we anticipated, so pray that God leads the right people to donate. We understand that you may not have the resources yourselves, and we hate asking for money, but we do want this to be your contribution to supporting the mission field here. If you are willing and able, you can send checks paid to AFLC World Missions with either of our names in the memo. The address to send them to is …... E Medicine Lake Blvd, Plymouth, MN 55441.
- Adjusting to culture – we are not unsafe in any way here, but there is a need for wisdom in interacting with the people of Uganda, especially strangers. This may not make a lot of sense, so for instance: eye contact and a smile to a stranger on the street may encourage unwanted attention here whereas it's just Minnesota-nice at home. Something that is common curtesy to us is hard to flip the switch without feeling that we're being rude, but it is needed for safety. I hate not smiling!
We thank you so much in supporting us financially and through prayers! We have definitely felt the effects of your prayers as our weekend of flight/site-seeing went so much better than anything we could imagined, neither of us have gotten sick, and everything has gone so smoothly thus far. We miss so many of you in the States, and to our friends across the world as well, but are excited to be used by the Lord here!
To God be the glory,
Kate and Court
No comments:
Post a Comment