Jesus Babies

HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER KIMMY!!!!!!!! I love you! Dad, Mom, and I have been talking about how much we would love to have you here with us. We miss you and hope you have a great birthday and a blessed 23rd year.

Lacey, thank you for your last post. I enjoyed reading that perspective of the widow. I am continuing to reflect on that passage to grasp the full meaning that God has intended for me. It is so fun to see how God works in our lives with these intricate details.

My parents have arrived! My camera battery has stretched its life to give me a few great pictures of the kids with Grammy and Grandpa. (Jessica, your insight into the converter/adapter was extremely helpful....thank you so much!)
Christopher immediately went to my mom and dad. He gave them big hugs and was filled with lots of giggles. He rarely chooses to leave my arms. However, he kept reaching and whining for my parents. If my mom would hold him, he would then lean to my dad. As soon as my dad took him, Christopher would lean back to my mom. He could not get enough of them and could not decide who he wanted. We did a lot of passing back and forth for the 3 hour trip back to Jinja. Katie does not do well in cars, but this was the first time she did not get sick! WooHoo! Because she doesn't feel well in the car, she was fussy and clingy. Today, however, she has been full of smiles and giggles. Dad pushed C & K on the tire swing for awhile, and they absolutely loved it. I got some great pictures that I will post soon. This afternoon, Grammy and Grandpa got to take a special outing with C & K (or as my kids like to call it...C & K got to go on a "date" with Grammy and Grandpa). They got to give C & K ice cream, and then we all went on a boat ride. C & K loved it and were pointing at all the birds. We got to see many monkeys, and they kept saying "monkey" and pointing. It was a special time together.

Tomorrow we are going to a village called Kayunga, with Tender Mercies Outreach. This is through a connection I made with Prichard. (Nadine, thank you for setting up our meeting!...I believe meeting him was a divine appointment. He has so encouraged me about sicklers and is a great new friend. Also, he is friends with Terry, who is someone my parents were supposed to meet with upon arriving here, but they didn't have his number or anything! God is so good! We also met Charles, another Ugandan, who was wearing a "Billings Central High School" shirt!) I am planning on taking more supplies/gifts to Kayunga to distribute to the students. There are about 33 students in this program, all of whom have AIDS, sickle cell anemia, or are HIV positive. I believe this has been scheduled by God, so I am looking forward to our time in Kayunga. This particular village is dominated with witchcraft. Pray that we continue to shine the light of Jesus, share the gospel, and for Tender Mercies Outreach to have a major impact in the lives of this village. To God be the Glory!

Jaden, Kellen and Sage...you will have to tell Mamaw to make lots of banana bread...Christopher and Katie LOVE banana bread too! I received my pictures, paintings, and letters that you sent me. I have enjoyed each one and have them hanging around my hotel room! I think of each of you ALL the time. I just know that you would love it here. There is a really big swimming pool with pretend crocodiles! You could ride on the back of a boda boda all by yourself! You could carry babies on your back like the other 5 and 6-year-olds do! You could play drums, sing and dance, play soccer, catch lightning bugs, and learn to carry things on your head! Give Daddy a great big, super-duper hug from Mommy. XXOO

I am having a great time and believe that God is continuing to direct my time here and use it fully for His purposes and glory. I received word today that our written ruling should be finished tomorrow and ready for pick-up! That would mean that we could start out Monday by traveling to Kampala to get the passport process started. Erryn and I are feeling the time crunch, but are believing that we will finish in time to make our flight home. We are counting on your prayers. We have already witnessed so many answers. Praise God!