servinginuganda

New Blog

2008-05-28T05:51:00.001-07:00

This blog has obviously not been updated for many months. I now have a new blog that is more recently updated and will be updated frequently.

please visit www.weneedrealhope.blogspot.com

Random Pics

2007-11-16T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is the Gray family being prayed over at their goodbye party. Many people gathered to appreciate them and their service in Bundibugyo. It was hard for many to say goodbye. Please continue to pray for the Gray family (Wendy, Rick, Aidan, Grant, and Chase.

Julia Myhre and Myself at the Gray party smiling big for the picture.

Baby Chase is a well loved child. At the party so many people wanted to hold him and he was being passed around from person to person. Please continue to pray for him as he undergoes many tests and please continue to pray boldly that whatever the problem is that is keeping him from developing at the normal pace is minor.

On the 31st of Oct. we had a fall festival and invited some of our Ugandan friends. We decorated cookies, ate yummy food, and had lots of fun.

This was taken on the airstrip right before Scott and Amy left. Scott was around as the only single guy with many single women for most of his time in Uganda, so of course we had to take a picture of Scott with the single women.

Fun and Games

2007-11-12T04:22:00.001-08:00

Some of you might remember using something like this in your own elementary PE classes. Of course the kids here had never seen something like this before. It was a blast to see them laugh and play and work together to keep the ball over the parachute. Their excitement and enthusiasm is so contageous. I continue to enjoy each moment I have witht he children at St. Padre Pio.

Gulu

2007-10-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

My time in Gulu was a wonderful experience with great company, new sites, and an opportunity to see hundreds of people come together to show that they desire to work together to keep peace in northern Uganda. The Guluwalk started with a 2 mile walk around Gulu town ending in a big open field. We gathered in the open area to hear various speakers, listen to musicians, and watch some dance groups. All of this was put together to remember the war that took place for over 20 years in the north, to celebrate how far they have come, and to show that people are continuing to commit to work together so that future generations of children no longer have to fear every time they put their head down to go to sleep. Thank you for praying for our safety as we traveled and for our time and experience in this new place. Enjoy the pictures below.

Hundreds of people came out to show their support in this event, both to walk and to cheer as spectators.

If you look closely you can see me and my teammate Pamela among the walkers.

My teammates and travel companions Stephanie and Pamela

This group of children were walking in front of us and later they performed durning the program which proceeded the walk.

Along the route that we walked many signs like the one above were posted.

These are some of the children who wrote the messages written on the signs like the one above. They each got to read their statement aloud during the program.

One of the dance groups that performed. They had such great energy

People signed this baord to show their committment to peace.

Only in Uganda

2007-10-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

A few things have happened recently that have made me think to myself “only in Uganda.” Now by no means am I trying to give Uganda a bad name, and these things don't really only happen in Uganda. I am sure things like the following happen in a lot of different places and for me they have only brought great stories, cultural experiences, a reminder that I need to have a good attitude about the unexpected, and lots of laughter.

A couple of weeks ago I was traveling back from the town of Fort Portal, which is on the other side of the mountains from Bundibugyo, on public transport. I had a front seat in the pickup truck, which is usually more comfortable than the back and more spacious. We were about 30 minutes from home when the truck broke down. Now the breaking down I was not surprised by, it happens all the time and usually people know what to do. However, because we were not moving I decided to get out and stretch my legs. As I got out of the car and looked to the floor of the vehicle where my feet were, there sticking out of a black plastic bag was the head of a goat. Oh yes, the head of a goat. I actually tried not to have too big of a reaction because for everyone else traveling with a goat head is not a big deal. I was thankful that I did not know that I was sharing my leg room with a goat head until the ride was almost over. And yes, I did get back in the car, but I made sure my feet were as far away from the head as they could be.

This story isn’t as bad, but still funny. To travel back to Kampala from Gulu we took a bus. Any time you travel on public transport long distances in Uganda they have periodic stops where the bus pulls to the side of the road and venders run up selling meat on a stick, corn, fruit, and other Ugandan food. This is what we call “the fast food of Uganda.” Well during this trip I saw a couple of venders selling live chickens. I guess people were buying these to eat later. I didn’t realize that the person sitting behind me had purchased one of these chickens until my feet felt some feathers under my seat. Throughout the rest of the trip the chicken kept scooting further and further forward until it was pretty much right under my feet. I continually tried to gentle scoot it back with my foot, but wasn’t too successful, I don’t think it liked it too much either because it kept making squawking noises.

There is one decent movie theater in Kampala. The only problem is power in Kampala is not reliable. We were about an hour and forty minutes into the movie when the power shut off. We were told it would come back on in 5 minutes, but the 5 turned to 10 and then 15 and finally people decided to leave and get free movie ticket. The funny part is that we decided to go an eat dinner and come back to the theater to catch the end of the next showing. We arrived a little early and watched about 15 minutes we had already seen and then it finally got to the part where it shut off and guess how much was left? Two minutes! It did shut off on a very suspenseful part and we would have always been wondering.

As I write these stories I am realizing that most of them are about animals. Am I am magnet to livestock or something? Well, this one isn’t about livestock, but it is about a furry creature people don’t want to run into too often, if at all. The other night we went out to dinner in Kampala and the restaurant we chose was what you could call an open air restaurant. Our food had just arrived when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something darting towards me. My reaction was not fast enough and so this furry creature, which ended up being a small rodent, ran over my lap and onto the floor. I will admit a small scream did escape my mouth. We did get some free drinks and a discount on the bill because of it.

A Colorful Day

2007-10-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I went to St. Padre Pios Primary School and taught an art lesson. We talked about the story of Noah and what a rainbow symbolizes. Many, if not all were hearing the story of Noah for the first time. To help the children remember the story we made windsocks and drew rainbows on them and other things we see when we are outside. I knew that this activity would involve a lot of effort on my part, but it sure did wear me out. I forget that children here do not know how to use glue sticks and even their ability to draw and color is limited. They are used to copying things from the board and so when they are asked to think of things on their own and use their imaginations, they don’t know what to do. The children worked hard on their windsock and were excited to see the finished product. It is not too often that they have a work of art, in which they have created. Their beautiful creations now decorate their classroom and can be a reminder to them each day. I am really thankful for these opportunities in which the Lord is providing to visit schools and teach some lessons. I am realizing more and more how much effort you have to put into a lesson if you want it to be engaging, hands on, creative, etc. I probably glued over 70 windsocks and also tied string to each one. What would maybe be an hour lesson in the states turned into a two hour lesson here. As I prepared to teach the lesson again on Friday I sharpened over 100 colored pencils by hand and I have the blisters to prove it. I just wanted to shout, “Where is my mechanical pencil sharpener!!” The children are worth the blisters though. This experience is helping me think through how to work with teachers; even if the resources were available they would have to be taught how to use them and how to teach the children how to use them.
Below are some pictures from Thursday. Enjoy!!

Visit at Shalom School

2007-10-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

While in Kampala I went to visit Shalom Primary School where a friend of mine teaches the preschool age children. We recieved a very warm welcome from both staff and students. Groups of students would take turns coming out to greet us and sing a few songs. And of course as visitors we were expected to give a few words to each group of students. We even taught them the song "I've Got Joy." I love the schools in Kampala because they are always brightly colored which create an inviting feeling. Shalom school is a very inviting school. Below are some pictures from our visit.

Juba

2007-09-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Juba is not the kind of place that I would want to spend more than a couple of days in. I did however find that people were very friendly and helpful, which is a huge answer to prayer. The conference that I went to was very informing and even though it has now been 2 days since I have returned back to Uganda, I still feel overloaded with information. I left Juba feeling like I still had a lot to learn, but not feeling discouraged. Because there has only been peace for about 3 years a lot of the mission workers and Sudanese church leaders are just beginning their ministries again and trying to figure things out. Through the conference more clearity has come that Mundri, Sudan is where God desires for me to serve next. Please continue to pray with me as I continue to pursue this desire.

This is the Toto Chan conference center where we met each day from 9am-5pm. I was definitely tired of sitting by the end of the day.

This is our meeting room. There were between 30-40 people there throughout the 3 days.

This is my lovely tent where I spent my 3 nights. I was one of 2 guests and so I felt very catered to. My evenings were spend hanging out with the staff.

Here is one of the staff members who took good care of me.

This is Custom market, which was not far from the camp where I stayed. Many of the things that they sell in the market have come from Uganda and also the prices are doubled it not tripled.

They do not have paved roads in Juba. It was very hot and dusty during my visit. When I would talk to people who lived in Juba they would always say, "Juba is not a town it is a village."

Here I am standing at the bottom of a little mountain, which you will see in the pictures below. People collect rocks from these mountains to use for construction and I was told some people even climb them for enjoyment.

Again, I praise the Lord for my time in Juba. I was well taken care of, I learned a lot, I learned that I still have a lot to learn, I made some great connections with people, and the Lord brought more clearity through my time there. Thank you for your prayers!!

My Visit to St. Padre Pio's Primary School

2007-09-16T05:27:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I went to visit St. Padre Pio's Primary School. I had a blast! I taught the younger group of children, who probably range from age 4-6, Lions and Kobs. Then I taught the older kids link tag. This is St. Padre Pio's first school year and so they only go up to P2, which is the same as 2nd grade. I talked with some of the teachers during their break time and I am very impressed by the program here. I have decided instead of trying to move around Bundibugyo to see as many primary schools as I can, to just find a handful that I can invest some time in. I would love to continue to participate in school days with more games, crafts, songs, object lessons, etc. and continue to develop relationships with staff. If you have any game or activity ideas, especially those that teach the gospel please comment to this post or e-mail me. I would love to hear your ideas.

This is just a random picture from one of my village visits. This is me and baby Davidi who is only about 2 months old. He is so precious.

Mundri, s. Sudan

2007-08-10T05:27:00.000-07:00

Our trip to s. Sudan was full of unexpected happenings. Our already short 3 day trip got shorter even before leaving Uganda. We could not fly out from our airstrip because of water and mud. Because of this we had to drive 2 and a half hours to another airstrip halfway over the mountains. We arrived in Mundri 3 hours later than originally planned, but again the Lord is not limited by time. He used every minute and moment we had.

When we first arrived we had to cross the river to the Mundri town side. The bridge is in the building process and so at the moment the only way across is by the boat that is pictured above. Notice the thick rope that is tied from one side to the other and the guy pulling it across. You can't tell from the picture, but the current is pretty strong, so it is not an easy thing to pull the boat back and forth.

Pat and I enjoying the boat ride across, oblivious to what lies ahead. We were only planning on being in Mundri town for the rest of the day and then heading back across to the Lui town side to stay the night. The Lord had other plans. The river ended up rising because of all the rain and flooded so that they no longer could take the boat across. We were stranded with no luggage and no way to communicate to those that were preparing for us that evening. But we were also in the hands of very friendly and hospitable people who were ready to care for our every need.

When we got up Tuesday morning we decided to take a walk down to the river. As we were walking we noticed that everyone was brushing their teeth; people standing on the side of the road, people on bikes, even those driving cars. Everyone was brushing their teeth. Some with a tooth brush and some with a stick. We obviously did not have our tooth brush handy, but we were very excited to learn about the stick method. After 5 minutes of stick brushing my teeth actually did feel clean. Fresh breath on the other hand, not so much, but hey I can't expect too much.

This is one of the local primary schools. When we first arrived the children we already done for the day.

We went back the next morning to see some of the students. The is one of the younger classes. They have no desks and a classroom that is not conducive to the rainy weather. However, I did not notice any complaining eyes or faces, only smiles and enthusiastic hearts.

Here is Bethany and I in our Hobbit Tukul. It offered a pretty comfortable nights sleep.

This is part of a health center in Mundri town. One of the medical assistants took us around and answered all our questions.

We got to visit many schools on our trip. Here we are at another primary school. I was happy to find that their were a lot of female staff, which is not common in Bundibugyo. I am standing with one of the teachers in the above picture.

Because there are so many classes and students and not a big enough physical structure to hold them all, some classes meet outside. This is a picture of one of the classrooms under a tree and some eager boys who wanted their picture taken.

We survived! It is the end of the trip and we are about to get back on the plane to head to Bundi. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to go to Mundri, for orchestrating all that happened, the conversations that took place, and all that we experienced and saw. We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do next. Please continue to keep the process of launching a new team in your prayers.

Safari with the Interns

2007-07-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Each time we drive to the southern part of the country we get to cross the eaquator. You can see that I am standing in both hemispheres.

We encountered many wild animals on our game drives, from wart hogs to elephants. We even saw the same male lion twice!

Lydia and I are ready for another game drive

When you go on game drives you have to go at dawn or dusk because that is when the animals start moving around. I am always amazed at the sight of the sunrises and sunsets in Africa.

Here is some of the crew with our elephant friend. We never had to worry about this one trampling on us :).

Home visit

2007-07-01T04:40:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I went on a village overnight with Lydia, one of the summer interns. We went to the home of Jennipher, who is in her second year at Christ School. Here are a few pictures of our time their.

This is one of Jennipher's many cousins. He was very shy at first, but then finally warmed up to us.

One of Jennipher's cousins is cutting up a Jackfruit. It is a very sweet, leathery fruit. It tastes pretty good but the gruit itself does not smell very nice once it has been cut open.

Here is Lydia and Jennipher enjoying some Jackfruit.

While we were there we learned how to make Sombe. In this picture I am pounding the leaves.

Here is what it looks like once the leaves are all pounded. It doesn't look like it will be very appitizing, but let me tell you, it is. Sombe is one of my favorite local dishes.

On the Way to School

2007-07-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

Each morning when we walk to school we never know what we might encounter. Today was a very exciting day of meeting various things on the road.

Running into a herd of cows is not an uncommon occurrence. These are not your typical black and white milking cows either. You can see that they are a pretty intimidating herd with their massive horns :).

I wish I had gotten a closer picture, but didn't. If you look really closely you can see a small structure in the middle of the road. This is what we call a duka or a small shop. They are small sturctures that are not perminantly settled in the ground. The owner of this one decided that they wanted theirs in a new location. We could tell by drag marks that they had come a long distance.

This is Bethany and Amy. The man behind is moving a couch frame to a new location.

What you are seeing on the back of this bike are many local brooms. The local broom is made with many try reeds tied together at the bottom.

Thank you for enjoying the walk to school with me :).

Werkok

2007-06-03T04:52:00.001-07:00

Back to the middle of nowhere. In Werkok we were welcomed by the Mueller family who live alone in this desolate place. They were very happy to recieve vistors. While we were in Werkok we got to experience the two extremes of s. Sudan weather. The first two days we were dying from the heat and the next day it was raining buckets (from the high 90s with around 48-60% humidity to 80s and 99% humidity). We did not travel far from the Mueller compound while there because of the lack of transport. I still enjoyed all the sites around, seeing a local church, and two local schools.

This is Zion Church. If you saw an areole view you would see that it was built in the shape of a cross. This church was built within the last 15 years. There is a great story behind it that involves the Lord calling one man to burn all his idols and spread the message of Jesus Christ. Many excepted Christ and joined in burning their idols. Through this many came together and built this beautiful church.

You can not see it in this picture but within 10ft from this puddle their is a bore hole that is no longer functional. When the bore holes stop functioning people get their water from these muddy puddles of rain water. Clean water is up there as one of the biggest needs of s. Sudan.

If you ever find yourself without an oven, try this method. This is one example of a local oven. I tasted the bread that was baked in this and it was delicious!

This is one of the classrooms at the local primary school. It rained heavily the day before we went there. If you look closely you will notice the wet and muddy floor. Some children are sitting on canisters, but some are also sitting in the mud. In a couple of the classrooms walls were caving in because of the rain. It does give me hope though that some children do care enough about their education that they are willing to come to school, even in these conditions. I can't even imagine what it must be like to try and learn in that kind of an environment.

Hmm.. which way should we go? When it rains the soil in this area turns into muck and it becomes very challenging to get from place to place without rubber boots, which I did not have. I felt like a frog leaping from one lilly pad to the next.

Even though the ground was soggy and the rain was a little unpleasant, the Lord reminded us that He is still present along with His beauty in s. Sudan through this amazing sunset.

Rumbek

2007-06-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

Rumbek is the next NGO central after Juba. We went from one extreme to the next, very rural to busy roads. The UN has a very strong presence in this place and it was very evident because certain things were very expensive. In Rumbek we met up with People from Across. They were very kind to adjust their schedules and take us around to their different ministry sites.

These are the four bondas that we stayed in at a guest house right in town. We were within walking distance to the market.

Rumbek was the target of much bombing during the war. This is just one of the many ruins that still remain.
This is the Across site in Akot, which is about a 45 min. drive from Rumbek town. They have developed a training center for health workers and teacher training.

We got to sit with some of the students and answer their questions. along with hearing feedback from them about their studies.

I am standing with Judy who is the principal at the training center. We are standing in front of her beautifully decorated Tukul.

Many Dinka gathered under a large tree on Sunday to worship together.

Goli at a Glance

2007-05-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Goli on April 19th. It did not seem too different from Uganda. It was green and there is a lot of vegitation there. Goli is near the big town of Yei where I almost went into shock because I found Mt. Dew. In Goli we stayed at this large training center. Even though the students were no longer present, many others were gathered for a training seminar. Within the first day I was meeting new people left and right. I met this gal Jen from the states who came to Goli to start a school. This school is not yet a formal primary school, but it is preparing the children for when it does become formal. I got the wonderful opportunity to teach with Jen. She was going to have no help during the time I was in Goli and was preparing to teach 80 children on her own. It turned out to be a challenging and rewarding experience.

In February a bush fire came through the training center compound. Many tukuls (huts) were burnt. The Lord really protected those around because no one got hurt. They are now in the process of building new classrooms and housing accomidations.

These are the outdoor showers. I really got used to the outdoor shower in s. Sudan.

These boys are ready to go back into the classroom after their recess break. One of them is enjoying a mango. The mangos were unbelievalbly plentiful in Goli. I have never seen such ripe mangos.

This is one of the classrooms. I taught in here most of the time with the younger children. The children the attend this school range from age 4-16.

Jen and I right before I took off for the airstrip. I thank the Lord for all the people that He brough into my path while I was in Goli.

Roughin it in Malwal Kon

2007-05-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Malwal Kon on Wednesday April 25th in the middle of a wind storm. As our plane landed on the dry dirt airstrip the wings were tilting right and left. Our welcome committee was holding their breath as the wheels hit the ground. When we got out of the plane I was surprised the the gusts of wind and dust. I definitely felt like I had arrived in another country.

The round structure in the back ground is called a Tukul. The missionary families that we stayed with live in these local mud houses. I was amazed at their rough living style.

Scott Myhre is taking a turn at the boar hole. Many local people travel a good distance on foot to get water from dispersed boar holes.
At first glance you might think those are monkeys in the tree, but no, look a little closer and you will see that they are children. They are trying to collect the fruit from this tree and having a little fun in the process.

Eating out in Aweil town about an hour away from Malwal Kon. We got bread with various mystery dipping sauces.

Walking to visit some of the neighbors.

In Aweil town you will see lots of donkeys and horses pulling carts Acacia Masso is ready to move to Sudan just for this reason. She recently wrote a research paper on donkeys.

These ladies have made natural peanut butter from ground nuts. The whole process seems very labor intensive.

There are more Sudan pictures to come, so stay tuned...

Jars of Clay

2007-03-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkenss," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
2 Corinthians 4:6-11

Education Crisis

2007-03-04T03:40:00.000-08:00

I want to share with you a small snippet of an article that was shared with me by one of my team mates. The article is titled “Education Crisis in Southern Sudan,” and it is written by Tim Brown who is a UNHCR Education Officer in Yei, Southern Sudan.

“John Garang spoke of his ambition to ensure universal primary education in south Sudan within six years. However, the legacy of 21 years of conflict and underfunding is daunting. Fewer than 200 of the 1,600 schools in southern Sudan have permanent buildings.[i] Most classrooms have only a board and chalk. According to UNICEF just one in five children of primary school age is enrolled,[ii] dropout rates are high – especially for girls – and only one schoolchild in eight continues past grade four. Half of the region’s teachers have received no professional training and most have themselves completed only about four years of primary education. According to the USAID-funded Sudan Basic Education Program,[iii] a mere 2,500 children – in a region larger than most countries in the world and with a population estimated to be 7.5 million – complete primary school each year. Only 1% of girls complete primary education and only one schoolchild in four is a girl. The lack of female teachers – just 6% of the teaching force – reinforces this gender imbalance. Ninety per cent of women are estimated to be illiterate.”
[i] The south Sudan statistics quoted in this paragraph do not cover the garrison towns formerly controlled by Khartoum.
[ii] www.womenwarpeace.org/sudan/docs/baseline.pdf
[iii] www.careusa.org/careswork/projects/SDN093.asp

When I read this paragraph my heart breaks. To think that only 2,500 children in Southern Sudan finish only primary education, meaning the number for completing secondary education is even lower. The Lord tells us that “children are a gift” (Psalm 123:3) and that we are called to “train them up” (Prov. 22:6). If we train them through the Lord at a young age, the knowledge of Him and desires to live by glorifying the Lord in all we do will be engrained deep within. Even as I watch the children that I am surrounded by here in Bundibugyo, it is painful to think about their lack of a good education. They attend schools where the teachers do not show up, where they just sit in class and copy notes from a board, and where they are set up to fail. Sometimes Hope feels lost here, especially hope in Christ. I do believe that there are some teachers in this district who do care about the success of their students. The Lord has blessed Christ School with teachers that care. But these teachers are a rare gem.

Now, you may be asking yourself, why is Kim telling me all of this? I want to plead with you to partner and commit with me to pray BOLDLY for the education in East Africa, and more specifically in the rural areas of Uganda and in Southern Sudan. Pray that the Lord would provide permanent buildings for schools to meet. Pray for teachers who desire to see change and are willing to undergo any necessary training. Pray for more female teachers. Pray for people to care. Pray for more girls to be encouraged to go to school and make it to university. Pray for the Secondary students in levels 4 and 6 who take exams at the end of the school year, where passing is crucial for them to be promoted. Pray that the necessary funds would be provided for building projects and school resources and supplies. Pray that this number of 2,500 would increase rapidly and in a miraculous way. Pray that hope would be found in Christ. Pray that when changes do happen and numbers do increase that God would be given all the glory. Pray that people would see that this kind of change is not possible without the hands of our Father. The prayer needs could continue, so I just ask for bold prayers. I believe that prayer can move mountains and this is a big mountain to move. A mountain though, that is not too big for God.

World Harvest Mission continues praying, seeking, and trying to develop a vision for how they can assist with this education crisis. Christ School is an answer to that prayer in Bundibugyo. Another way the Lord has answered this prayer is by connecting our East Africa director to people and organizations who are starting to conduct teacher training seminars. Our East Africa director is partnering with some of these organizations to help put on a training seminar in Goli, Southern Sudan. This seminar will be taking place during the week of April 17-24. As soon as our team found out about this training, because of knowing my heart for improving education, they came to me and asked if I was interested in attending. Of course my immediate response was yes. I wasn’t sure though if it was going to be possible for me to go because of my commitments in Bundi. But the Lord is good and He is making it clear that He desires for me to attend. Please pray for my heart as I begin to prepare for this trip. I am not exactly sure what my role will be when I get there, but pray that I am willing to fill whatever role the Lord desires for me to fill.

I have been praying that God would provide an opportunity for me to visit Southern Sudan and that He would show me the desire that He has for me in that place. A huge reason why I decided to extend my time in Uganda is because of my growing desire for improving primary education. I stand in awe of how the Lord is already providing this opportunity to go to Guli and observe teachers who care about being trained on how to develop education. I would also like to travel, when time allows, to primary schools around Uganda. This would allow me to see what kind of programs are out there and which ones encourage and assist students in succeeding and thinking BIG. When I started the process of joining World Harvest and committing for two years to serve and teach in Bundibugyo, I never imagined that I would be given this desire.

As I was writing this, a song by Jeremy Camp came on called “Take a Little Time.” In the chorus he says:

“Take just a little time to give your hands. To see the world, and take just a little time to try and understand, That there is more going on than what these eyes can see.”

Later on he adds:
I know it all seems complicated, there is nothing more that could be stated. Now is the time to kneel, reaching out for what is real. Many times I’ve hesitated, how much I feel, my heart is aching now.”

So, please reach out for our real and true God, “take just a little time” to kneel, lift your hands, look to the Father, and pray BOLDLY for this education crisis.

Better Late Than Never

2007-01-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday afternoon I play basketball with some of the girls from Christ School. It is fun to be able to take them away from the stresses of school and through the ball around.

I invited my cell group over to my home for some Mac'n Cheese after our hike to some waterfalls.
Michelle with some of the neighborhood kids who like to come and visit
This is the church and community center that World Harvest planted many years back and continues to grow.
Giving and recieving is a big part of friendship here. The chicken that I am holding was a gift given to welcome my mother to Bundibugyio.
You never know when you are going to run into a herd of cattle in the middle of the road
Carol, Michelle, and I with some our the neighbor kids out on our front porch
Here I am with my beautiful roomies; Carol, Stephanie, and Amy

Random August Pics

2006-09-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

The picture above is of the road going out of Bundibugyo. You will notice how windy it is because it goes around the mountains. It is the only way in and out of this district.

This is the market in Bundibugyo town. I am standing with Pat and Joyce.
These are some of my P7 students. It is late in the afternoon and many of them have already left for the day. This is the second to last week of the school term.

This is one of the beauties of Uganda. Murchison Falls is one of the most amazing waterfalls.

Here I am pointing to our small country of Uganda on the big world globe.

Some of us brave couragious women took on the Nile river. It was quite the adventure. I am the second one on the right.

Summer Fun

2006-07-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

This is just a glimps of our summer, but it is the best that I could do. The first few pictures are at Christ School Chapel. Here we are singing and dancing.
These are some of the Christ School students singing praises.

These two pics are from our hike over the Rwenzori Mts. We hiked from the Bundibugyio side to the Fort Portal side. It was an 8 hour hike and pretty challenging, but well worth it.
Below is a picture of all the interns with some of the singles from the team at the equator.
This is where Bethany and I waited for public at one point during our trip to Lira. We waited here for quite awhile before a vehicle finally past that could squize us in. I will never forget our different modes of transport on that trip.
This is part of the Rachele Rehabilitation center. This is one of the new little boys that came two days before our visit. He was still a little unsure about things and is choosing to eat by himself. Before we left Bethany and I got him to smile by taking his picture. He really enjoyed seeing it on the digital camera. There was one more pic of the center that I tried to put on here, but I don't know if it made it. I am still praising God for that experience. Please continue to keep these children in your prayers.

Together With Family and Friends

2006-06-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Each Day at the retreat different teams got to share pray requests and then others would gather around the team and we would have a time of prayer.

This is a really random picture, but I just had to throw is in because I think it is funny.

At the Acropolis, standing on Mars Hill. I can't even describe how amazing this was.

Me with my roomie. Monica works at the sending center and she helped put the entire retreat together. It was a blessing to get to room with her.

New friends. Two of these girls serve in Spain and the third serves in London.

Our team photo at the reatreat.

Our main mode of transportation on our travels. We spent two nights on a ferry.

Touring the old city of Dubrovnik.

Pigeons in Venice. Part of my family originated in Venice and there is even a palace there that was originally owned by a Stampalia and is now a museum. This made the trip here even more memorable.

A Weekend of Bliss

2006-03-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

The awesome singles went to Bushara Island for a weekend away. This island is located in southern Uganda near the Rwanda border. When we arrived at the island there was an orphangage visiting for the day and they did a dance performance. The last song that they performed was a simple song in English with funny motions, so they asked everyone to participate. It was a lot of fun.

On of the days we traveled by boat to another island where we were going to go to a well known market but instead we were led to a pygmi village where another dance performance took place. It was a day of the unexpected but a great adventure.
Below is a picture of the old pygmi man that led the way on our long hike to his village. Keep in mind we had no idea where we were going. How could you not follow such a cute old man though?

Many islanders use these dugout canoes to get from one island to the other. Let me tell you they are nothing like our canoes in America. Also, when they say dugout canoes they mean it.
On our way early in the morning to meet our matatu for our 11 hours back home to Bundibugyo.
I couldn't leave this picture out. This is of an island called punishment island. Many years ago they sent unwed pregnant women here to basically die. Pretty sad. I am glad they no longer practice that way of living.
I hope you enjoyed.

Come Together and Worship

2006-03-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

A couple of Sundays ago some of the young girls in church performed a special song and dance. Dancing is a big part of this culture.
On our way to worship in Bubandi.
This is one of the church plants in Bubandi. It is not too far from the mission, maybe a few miles. The building looks small but I can tell you it is definately alive. This church is full of passion. They have started a building fund so that they can add onto their existing building.
These are some of the local children. Some of them attend Bubandi. The children come flocking when they see a Mujungu.
Heading home feeling blessed by the people in Bubandi and the message that was spoken through Bewah.

The Celebration

2006-02-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

What a day of celebration. Everyone wanted to come and welcome Pat's visitors. It was like a huge party in front of our house.

This is Scott Will and Pat watching the festivities. Below part of the Masso family is also enjoying the dancing.

I am always amazed at the way that they can move their bodies and feet. Believe me, they can shake their hips. I have tried and it is not easy.
Maybe I will try to dance for you when I return. :)

My Journey

2006-02-21T03:56:00.000-08:00

Above- Pamela and Joy, the two newest members of our team about to get on the MAF plane to head to Bundibugyo. Below- The Coast of Kenya

Lucky me. I was picked to help with a demonstration of what a witch doctor does. Quite and interesting experience. Dinner on the train. My first overnight experience on a train. It was a lot of fun.

The next two pictures are from the Christ School teacher retreat. I had a blast getting to know a lot of them better. Here we are at the source of the Nile.

Christmas

2005-12-30T04:03:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures that I took on Christmas Day. In my update letter I wrote about how one of the traditions here is to decorate the front of the houses and trees in front with different plants and flowers. If you look closely you will see the trees decorated with balloons and plans and then in the other picture the children have collected different flowers for decoration.

Everyone was dressed up so beautifully on Christmas day. Most of the girls had on nice dresses. Some of the boys had on nice suits. This is the one day of year you will see that they really care about wearing really nice clothing.
The next few pictures are from our team celebration. We had a nice mean together and a gift exchange.

Liana, Louisa, and Gaby opening their gifts.

Elf Boogie and World AIDS Day

2005-12-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

One of the team meetings at the beginning of December the kids and teachers performed the Elf Boogie coriographed by Matt. In honor of his birthday and just to be silly. The kids had a lot of fun and the parents loved it! I tried to get a couple more pictures of it on here but no luck.
These are pictures of some traditional dancing. This took place at the WORLD AIDS Day celebration. The pictures continue on the next post. I don't know why the one pic copied so many times.

Dancing

2005-12-24T04:18:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from the World AIDS Day celebration. There was a group that came and performed some traditional dancing.

Pat had a table set up that promoted fighting AIDS. A lot of the women who have HIV made some beaded pins that mean Fight AIDS that were being sold.

Above is a picture of some of the mountains that are on one side of Bundibugyo. Below is a picture of some twins we saw when we were waiting for some bikers in the bicycle race.

Amy and I in the MAF plane. We just arrived right outside of Kampala. Boy were we happy to be on the ground.
Last Friday at the hospital in Bundibugyo town we had a Christmas celebration with the support group that Pat meets with each week. All the people in this support group are infected with HIV. We sang and even did some dancing. I got up with Biwah and did a little dancing myself. It was a lot of fun. Well, I hope you enjoyed these pics.

Grasshopper Pizza

2005-12-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Pat, Amy, and I with some of the Christ School teachers.
Pizza night. check out the grasshopper pizza. I actally ate a piece too!

Pics! Pics! Pics!

2005-11-15T04:04:00.000-08:00

Its about time that I updated this blog! Here are a couple of pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

These are some pictures of when we stopped at Emberaro Lake on our way home from Kampala last month. There were so many zebras. Amy and I decided to ride on the roofrack so that we could spot the animals easier, plus it is just more fun.
Here is what we call the single group of the team, which will soon expand by two people in the next two months.
These are some of the Ugandan girls that come and visit us often. Left to right: Ida, Asha, and Ida. They speak a little English but not very much. This picture was taken down at the creek. This is where everyone baths.
This is a picture of one of the babies at the health center. He is 6 months old and is way under weight. This is a basket which they use to weigh the babies. If a baby is extremely malnurished He or She will stay at the hospital until they have gained a little weight.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I have tried for over a week to get them on here. I know that it is nice having visuals though of what I talk and write about. I hope that you are all doing well.

Trust in the Lord

2005-10-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

I am finally updating my blog. It has been a really long time. I just returned to Bundibugyo from Kampala one night ago. The team here had an extended weekend so that we could all go into the city and take care of some business. It was nice to get away but at the same time leaving Bundibugyo really made it clear that it is starting to feel like home. I am glad to be back. I did get some down time on our trip. Kampala is never relaxing because it is a busy and crazy city. But on our way home we stopped at a small National Park and stayed the night. I got to see zebra, lots of different antelope, wart hogs, and a hippo. That was pretty cool. I also got to spend some time overlooking a beautiful lake and reading God’s word. The Lord has really been teaching me how to study His word and not just how to read it. I have been praying a lot about how the Lord wants me to use my time here. I also pray for wisdom daily. I have an opportunity to take over a Bible study for the women teachers at Christ School and what is called a Cell group (a small group of Ugandan girl students), which is kind of like a discipleship group, but I do not yet feel ready. Please pray that God will show me when I am ready and that I am patient for His timing.
Each day I am meeting new people. I will admit too that sometimes someone will say have you met him/her and I really can’t remember because I have met so many people. You can also pray that I remember names and faces because that can get really hard and I feel really bad when I do not remember.
I have been here only a short time and I already feel the Lord working in me and strengthening my faith. Recently the Lord has lain on my heart Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
This applies to my life so much right now because not only am I trying to understand God’s word and how to share it but I am also trying to understand a new culture. The Lord has been showing me that I need to trust in Him and His wisdom to show me and guide me in the direction that He wants me to go. I also want to see the culture here not through my own eyes but through the Lord’s eyes. God is amazing and it is so wonderful how He can change a person in such a short amount of time.
I know the Lord is doing great things in all of your lives and I would love to hear about it. I know that I say that all the time but I just love to hear about your lives and the great things the Lord is doing. Please feel free to leave a comment or to write me an e-mail. I love you all very much.

Love,
Kim

Culture Talk

2005-09-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

Once a month we have a culture discussion and last night was my first. We talked about culture and Christianity and what to do when something in the culture goes against how the Lord calls us to live our life. We talked about lot of things that I never thought of before. The people here sometimes have what is called an underground culture. They hide things that they think others might condemn or laugh at. They especially hide things from us because they know that our beliefs and ways of living are very different from theirs. A question was raised as to how this should be addressed in the church. Many of the missionaries right now feel that many people do not feel like they can open up and be honest as to how they live and want to live. Men who have many wives or people that believe in witch doctors do not feel welcome in the church. These are such hard topics to deal with, especially since we are not of the culture here. Please pray for the elders of the churches that have been planted here and that God would give them wisdom as to how to reach out to more people without judging the way that they live. Please also pray that when people do come to church and except Christ that the Spirit would move in them and would guide them as to how one should live a life that follows the Lord. Also pray that we as missionaries would not be biased of our own culture and that God would help us to understand the culture here and the purpose He has for it.
My eyes have been open to so many new things here. There is definitely a spiritual battle going on. The Lord is my strength each day and He guides my steps. I hope that you received my brief update and the pictures from my camping adventure.
I know that the Lord is working in all of your lives and I would love to here what He has been doing. I send my love.

Kim

Bajungu, How Are You?

2005-09-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

The title above is how we are greeted by all of the children we pass when we walk down the street. Bajungu is what they call white people.

The goodbyes were said last Monday afternoon. I was an emotional draining day but the Lord has definitely been giving the team the strength that they need. It was cool to see the MAF plane come (it is a small 4 seat plane). We have a long grass airfield here in Bundibugyo. I should get the chance to ride in one of these planes sometime while I am here. Since Monday I have just been teaching, doing team stuff, talking with neighbors, etc.
Since I do not have a lot to right about what I have been doing I thought I would write a little about what the culture is like here. In one of Michelle’s comments she asked me if I have met any Christian people and if I could tell whether or not they were Christians. I have met many Christians at church and some neighbors that are Christians. It is not easy to tell because for one I still do not know very much Lubwisi and because of the culture. Ugandans in Bundibugyo really struggle with changing the way that they live even if it goes against what God asks us to do. As you may know polygamy is extremely common here. It is very rare that a man only has one wife. Usually if a man only has one wife that could mean that he is a Christian but not always. The churches here have lots many leaders and elders because of polygamy. You can only be an elder if you agree to only take one wife, if you take a second wife you may no longer be a leader in the church (which is a very good and necessary guideline). Also, ancestry worship is huge. Some people have small little huts behind their house where they make sacrifices to their ancestors. They do this to protect their family from being cursed by other families. Many babies and young children where beads around their wrists and waists as a form of protection. Some people will not admit that they worship their ancestors because culture is changing but they still do because they are afraid not to and its what they have been taught to do. They also believe in witch doctors here. If someone is really sick some people will take that person to a witch doctor before taking them to the hospital. I still do not understand a lot of the culture and I have a lot more to learn, so keep that in mind when you read this.
Yesterday I met with Jennifer, one of the team leaders to talk about things and to pray. We will be meeting once a week. Her and her husband Scott are the two team doctors. Jennifer works at the health and nutrition center and Scott works and both the hospital her in Nuhuka (the area of Bundibugyo where we live) and the hospital in Bundibugyo town, with the pregnant women. Jennifer was telling me how she has already lost two children this week to different illnesses. She talked about how one of the mothers was so hysterical. I could not imagine being Jennifer and having to see this every week. She told me that when some dies at the hospital the family carries the body home to burry there. I could not imagine having to walk down the street carry my dead son or daughter. I have not seen this yet but Jennifer said that I will. I do not know how I will react when I do. It sounds like even the missionaries here have gotten used to death being extremely common here. I have not had to deal with very much death in my life so coming to a culture where people you know die all the time is very eye opening.
As I continue to write each week I will continue to share with you new things I learn about the culture and people here. Please keep all of these things in your prayers. I know that the Lord is working here and he loves the people here very much even if they are not living the way that He would like them to live.
I hope you are all having a good week so far and I would love to hear how you are doing.

Love,
Kim

Wonderful Weekend

2005-09-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a great weekend. On Saturday I went to this waterfall. We were going to rock climb to the top but It started pouring buckets of rain and all of the rocks got extremely slick. It was still an adventure because we got part way up to the spot where you need equipment and waited there for about 30 min. It poured for about 20 of those minutes so we were dripping wet not to long after it started raining. There is also a little pool at the bottom of the fall, that all of the kids jump into. I jumped off this rock a couple of times, since I was already soaking wet anyways. On Saturday night we had a goodbye party for Bethany and Rachel. The missionaries have a tradition here when people leave to make up skits about them and perform them. Amy and I got to be a part of one that was about Bethany, it was a lot of fun. Tomorrow is going to be a sad day when they actually leave on the MAF plane. Today at church they prayed over Bethany, it was beautiful to see. It is so great to worship with the people here. There service is a lot longer than ours. It is about 2 ½ hours. I love their music and how they are so passionate about singing praises to God. They have a time where you can go up in front of everyone and sing a song for the Lord. Two girls went up today and sang a couple of songs in English. They also have a time of sharing prayer requests and then a time of prayer for the requests. I am really excited to learn more of the language so that I can understand more of what is being said. After church today four ladies from the church came over, so that Bethany could give them a gift before she leaves. They are such kind women, they also prayed for Bethany, and it was extremely obvious that she will be missed. Watching this gets me really excited to develop these wonderful friendships with the people here. Before the women left they were calling Amy and I their friends as well (this of course was all in Lubwisi, so Bethany was translating what she could).
Tomorrow will be a short school day because we will be getting out early to go see Rachel and Bethany off. If you read this on Monday, please keep Rachel and Bethany in your prayers, along with everyone else. It is not easy to say goodbye, especially when you have known a place as your home for awhile.
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Please let me know how you are doing either by posting a comment or sending me an e-mail. I love you all!

Kim

My Living Quarters

2005-09-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of where I live. I will not always be able to put pictures on my blog because it took a really long time. This first picture is a picture of our Cho or otherwords it is our bathroom. This is located behind our house. You may be asking youself, Where is the toilet? Well, that is an excellent question. You see the little purple stick. If you lift that thing up, there is an extremely deep hole. It is quite an experience. I have to squat to use the restroom everyday. The funny thing is that we are the only house left with a cho. The rest of the mission houses have toilets inside their house. It is not so bad. The worst part is going at night and walking to it after it just rained, like this morning, in order to get to it I had to walk through 3 inchest of rain.
These next few pictures are of my house. The shower room, part of the living room area, the kitchen, and my bedroom. I tried to download a picture of the front of my house but it did not work, maybe next time.

Weel, I hope you enjoyed these pictures. Sorry that there is not very many. It is going to be hard for me to get pictures of Bundibugyo and the people because they do not like cameras here. They think that we are taking pictures so that we can sell them in the U.S. Well, my time is almost up. I hope you are all doing well. I am about to head to our team meeting which we have every Thursday. Until next time.

Love,
Kim

2005-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures. It will only let me do a coupld at a time. One is a picture of the front room of our house. This is for when we have vistitors. The other two pictures I took on my way to Bundibugyo from our vehicle. They are of a small market that we passed. I hope I am able to download a couple more before my time runs out but if not today, then tomorrow.

Wesaayo (good afternoon)

2005-09-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

It feels like forever since I have gotten to write an update. Things have been so crazy. I want to start out by saying that I finally got my bags. My trunk came to where we were staying in Kampala on Monday. It was pretty much destroyed but everything was in it. I ended up getting money from the airline to make up for the damages and for losing my bags. My clothes bag ended up getting delivered to Bundibugyo on Wednesday night which is pretty amazing in itself because no one in there right mind really delivers things to Bundibugyo, especially when we gave them the option of leaving it in Fort Portal which is an easier town to get to. I am very happy to have my bags though; it definitely has helped me feel more settled now.
We left Kampala on Tuesday morning. You may remember me saying that I thought it only took a few hours to drive to Bundibugyo, well I was so wrong. We left Kampala at about 9am and got to Bundibugyo around 6pm. The drive was so beautiful. I will admit that I did fall asleep a little at the beginning because I had not been sleeping well the couple of nights before but I did see most of the ride. I said in one of my previous blogs that it is extremely green here. It is a green that I have never seen before. It is nothing like Washington. Everything is so luscious here, it is hard to describe. When we left Kampala we got to drive on a paved road until Fort Portal, which is the last descent sized town closest to Bundibugyo. From Fort Portal to Bundibugyo it is all dirt. This drive was about 3 hours because of the road. The road did not start off to bad but it got worse and worse as we went. I would say that it is definitely worse than even Mexico roads and many of you know how those are. In order to get to Bundibugyo you have to go around the mountains so we went around some crazy corners and a couple of times I feared for my life, well not really but we did get close to the edge a couple of times.
I was so excited to finally get to Bundibugyo and to see where I would be living. I am not going to go into a lot of details of what my house looks like because I hope to put some pictures on my next entry. I can’t wait to show you. I have been trying to think of ways that I can describe to you what it is like here. What it is like to walk down the road, to go to the market, to visit people at their homes but there really are not any words that can fully describe the experiences I have been having. The missionary houses are not really on a compound where it is just missionary houses. We are kind of spread out and we have Ugandan families living all around us. For the most part, everything is within walking distance. I walk to school, to the market, and to the health clinic. I will definitely be getting my exercise, especially since it is really hot here. I already have tons of bug bites all over my arms and other parts of my body but nothing I should be worried about.
Not as many people speak English here as I thought they would. The only phase the little children know is “How are you?” which they repeat all the time and then if you ask them how are you they know how to say I am fine. It is so cute and the children are so beautiful. I had my first language lesson today. I learned how to say good morning, good afternoon, what is the news, how are you, I am fine, goodbye, welcome, thank you, and what is you name and my name is. I will share some of these with you but I do not have my paper with me right this minute and I do not want to spell them wrong. I also was taken to the market to practice. It was a lot of fun.
I have started setting up my classroom; school starts next Tuesday which seems so soon. My schedule is pretty crazy because I am teaching young kids and older ones. I will describe more to you about my teaching schedule and the MKs when school starts and I get going. Every Thursday evening we have a team meeting where we study the word and pray for one another. We also make pizza and have fellowship till pretty late in the evening. I really enjoyed getting to know all the missionaries more. Well, I could definitely continue writing but I feel like I have already written a novel. Ask me any questions that you think of or let me know what you are curious about. Again, I hope to have some pictures next time so that you can see where I am living and what I see on a day to day basis. It is still unbelievable that the Lord has brought me here but I am so thankful. I hope you are all doing well, let me know how you are doing and what has been going on in your life. I love you all and you are always in my thoughts.

Christ’s Humble Servant,
Kim

I am in Africa!!!!!!

2005-08-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

I did not think I would get a chance to update this but I found a computer that will allow me, yeah. As you all hopefully know I arrived safely on Friday afternoon(Uganda time, which is ten hours later than westcoast time). Unfortunately my bags did not arrive and I still do not have them but hopefully I will get them tommorrow. It has been amazing being in Kampala, which is the capital of Uganda. There are so many people. It is also very green. Driving around the city is crazy there are so many people on the streets and cars on the road. They drive on the opposite side of the car and street here. That will take a little getting used to. When I cross the street I still look the wrong way before crossing, lets hope I don't get myself killed since pedestrians definately do not have the right of way here. I have been spending a lot of time with the Myre family (Scott and Jennifer and there children Luke, Caleb, Jake, and Julia), Amy (the teacher I will be working with), and two other teachers Matt and Bethany. It has been a lot of fun seeing the city. Amy and I went shopping yesturday for all of our groceries that might have to last us up to two months depending on when we can come back to Kampala. The people are so helpful and friendly here. Today we went to a big church in the city. It was so beautiful being able to worship with hundreds of Ugandans. I am getting a little anxious to get to Bundibugyo. I really want to see where I will be living. And I know that it is going to be so different from the city. We are going to be leaving Tuesday morning and driving the three hour bumby road treck to Bundibugyo. God has been so good and he continues to make it evident that this is where I am supposed to be. I know that there will probably be some hard times but I also know that He will get me through them especially since I have so many prayer warriors back at home. Thank you all so much for your prayers for my safe travels. I love you all and miss you all very much. I wish you could all see God's beautiful creation over here. Hopefully soon I will learn how to download pictures on to here. Please let me know how you are doing and don't hesitate to write a comment.
Until next time.

Love,
Kim

12 hours in London

2005-08-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it to London. I did not think i would write on here again until I got to Uganda but I have twelve hours to kill. I would have left the airport except I am traveling alone and I do not want to risk missing my flight. God has been so good to me even on my travels. My trunk was a couple of pounds over but the lady let it slide. Also, on my flight to London I got the window seat and the middle seat was empty. It made the flight ten times more comfortable. My next flight is a ten hour flight. We'll see if I luck out again. It is so weird to be here knowing that it is the middle of the night in Seattle but already almost 10am here. I hope you are all doing well. I look forward to you comments.

Love,
Kim

In Philly

2005-08-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am currently at the sending center taking care of all the legistics. My travels yesturday took a little longer than planned because of a storm in Georgia. They ended up closing the airport for about an hour so I got to Philly two and a half hours later than scheduled. But I did make it safe and sound and for the most part I did get a good nights rest last night. I am always well taken care of when I am here. I leave the sending center in about 3-4 hours and get on the plane at 7pm to head to London, where I have a 12 hour layover. The next time you will probably hear from me is when I reach my destination. I am getting more and more excited as I begin to realize that I am actually going. I thank you so much for your continued prayer.

I love you all very much!!!
Phil. 1:3-6

Kim

I Can't Believe It!

2005-08-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Time has gone so fast. I am leaving in 5 days. I am leaving from Seattle on Tuesday the 23rd in the morning. I fly from Seattle to Philly where I will go to the sending center for my deployment. I leave Philly the evening of the 24th. From there I go to London, then to South Africa, and then finally Uganda. It will be an extremely long trip.

It still hasn't quite hit me that I am going to be leaving that soon. I have set up this blog so that I can write about some of my experiences. I will update it has much as I can. This also gives you a chance to write messages yourself if you choose to do so. Well, this first message is going to be short. I do want to say though that I am going to miss you all very much and that I love you all very much.

Love,

Kim