week one

I arrived safe and sound in Uganda accompanied by the ugandan little league team!!! (I actually sat next to them which made for a fun flight!!) This first week has been one of reacclimation and logistics in the capital, Kampala. I have also been able to spend a lot of time with Daniel (which is AMAZING) and get to know his world here in Uganda. It has been a blast!! It's so fun to get to know his teacher friends and people from the church, Sojourn, he attends.

On Friday and Saturday, I was able to help chaperone a school camping/hiking excursion with daniel, another staff member and 12 ugandan students. We hiked over 23k (13 miles) over the course of two days through villages and sugar plantations. It was a bit of a stretch for some of the students who hadn't ever camped before, but they all made it. There were some incredible convos about God that occurred that night which was such a treat!! Although Daniel teaches at a Christian international school, not all of the students have a relationship with God. It made for some very interesting conversation :)  It was so super to be able to connect with some of the students personally and watch God use Daniel in powerful ways throughout the trip!!

The initial plan was to move out to Jinja this weekend, but that will not be the case. I will hopefully move the end of this week or early next week, but that it yet to be seen!! haha (TIA) I am learning so much about myself and God in all of it though. Lessons about patience, reliance on God, dying to self, defining myself by who I am in Christ and not what I do, etc, have been humbling and necessary. God knows best. He has be here for a reason. He has a purpose for me here. It is NOT ABOUT ME! I am not good at sitting still which, to a great degree, is not a good thing. Although I accept the grace of God for my sins, I do not always actively live out of his grace. I still strive. I want to do more and be more. I am proud and want to be seen as competent, good and tough by others. I am my own worst critic and hold myself to an unrealistic level of expectation and achievement. Sitting still means that I cannot define myself by what I do and must rely on who I am. My identity in Christ needs to be enough. I am his beloved, his child, his daughter. His grace is enough.  Nothing I do is going to make him love me more. He does not need me to change the world—and I cannot change the world. HE is the one that does that. It can be so easy to say, but for a driven perfectionist, it is soooooo hard to do. In time, I pray that I learn and grow in these truths. 

So I shall leave you on a lighter note and show you some pics: 

after the 15K hike :)

dinner prepared by my AMAZING man!!!