Getting Down and Dirty

Today looked different for us, in a good way. Pastor Moses asked us to help dig out and level the lot that he and his co-pastors want to build a primary school at.  

Digging and leveling is nothing new for us, we did the same thing on the roads of the church and school that we served at in Uganda. We love getting down to the grind and we're not afraid to get dirty.

Construction in Africa looks completely different than it does in America. Instead of having power tools and bulldozers we were equipped with simple shovels and hoes. Shoes are never required in African construction sites, so some of tried to fit in with the other workers by ditching our shoes but it didn't end great for the white people going barefoot.

We felt so blessed to be able to help Pastor Moses out with his dream and we went hard in the paint for the day with digging, hoeing, picking, and leveling. 

Life here in Kigali

Rwanda has been so amazing for my teammates and me. Ministry has been different every day considering we go door to door through the villages striking up conversations with whoever we come across.

It's crazy how the gospel speaks for itself . We just make sure we can share it with as many people as we can.

Our host, Pastor Moses, keeps inviting us to speak at his church and share our testimonies and the word of God. It's awesome that he trusts all of us to do a good enough job at his church, Gospel Center. 

I was able to speak to his congregation yesterday, I loved being an instrument for God's word! I spoke about how Jesus never told his disciples that it would be an easy road following in His footsteps and how the same goes for all of us, His followers, here on earth. It's so true though. Living in the world but not being of the world is one of the most difficult things to do, personally speaking, because it is so easy to get caught up in the earthly things like self-image, wealth accumulation, partying, addictions, etc. I felt so blessed to be able to encourage Pastor Moses' congregation to stay strong in God's word and to remember that absolutely nothing can separate us from God's love.

Hope all is well back in America! Thank you so much for checking in with me by reading this, love you all.

Romans 8

Me speaking yesterday, Sunday, at Gospel Center in Kigali.

Rwanda: living the good life

The view from the patio of our new home!

We have been upgraded once again, this time we have a toilet AND a shower! It's crazy how we have been going without these luxuries for 40 plus days and we didn't even realize we were going without until we moved into our huge new home which had such accommodations!

Ministry is awesome so far. Yesterday we were able to go door to door throughout the villages in Kigali, the nation's capital, and see if anyone needed prayer or wanted to accept Christ.

Our team is still very healthy! No one has malaria yet and we are all fully participating in every ministry opportunity our new pastor has set up for us. 

More information coming soon!

Summing Up Uganda

As we have our last couple of days here in Mukono, Uganda, I thought that our last few weeks here deserved a summary. It has not only been the most amazing time of my life here, but it also has been quite the adventure. So here we go.

Our stay here in Uganda has consisted of:

8 tattoos
2 hospital visits
11 stool samples given
9 finger pricks for malaria
3 blood draws
1 toenail in the Nile River
3 baptisms
3 rap performances
2 healings
2 backflips, 1 faceplant
6 bottles of BBQ sauce
5 jars of peanut butter
6 weave extensions
3 western union trips
5 cups of porrage per person
2 raft flips
2 of the most amazing pastors in the world
12 Mzungus (white people)

Our time in Uganda... PRICELESS. 

Sunday Funday

Today was awesome! At the Christ Ambassador's Service, the church our hosts established, we were able to lead the worship and do the Everything by Lifehouse skit (check it out on youtube). Doing the skit was so powerful because we weren't sure if the congregation would be able to receive the message of Jesus pursuing us through all of our flaws, sinning, and addictive tendencies but they understood what we were trying to convey (noted by the fact that they were going nuts by the end of it). I also had the opportunity to give a message to the congregation and I decided to talk to them about how God calls us to be bold in our faiths and how it is our responsibility to make sure that nobody misses His beautiful Grace.

I used the verse from Hebrews 12 to get my point across how we, as Christians, must make sure to spread the Love and Grace of God to everyone and not just our church and bible study friends.

Hebrews 12: 14-15

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

I am so happy that I had the chance to be an instrument for God's work and talk to the people of Mukono, Uganda about being  Bold in their faiths. I'm definitely not the perfect example for being the most bold, but I am always making efforts to grow in this aspect of my faith.  That's all for now! Love and miss you all! Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

Rafting the Nile River!

This Monday, we had the priceless opportunity of river rafting on the Nile River! It was our day off and we knew it would be worth the money and the drive to Jinja, where the rafting company launches from. The rapids were awesome! Class 5 and Class 6 rapids were what we were up against the entire day and it was definitely an experience I will never forget. Even when our raft was flipped after going down a waterfall, I was smiling the entire time. Our guide, Sedat, was what really saved us but we still were so stoked to be working together as a team to paddle our way through 9 ft tall rapids crashing down our raft. I'm officially hooked on rafting and I can't wait to get at it again back in the states!!

Mukono, Uganda

Day 9 here in Mukono, Uganda. This place is the exact opposite if Satiman, Kenya. Here in Mukono, we are constantly being stimulated by the busy urban market areas, the high energy church services, our always on the move host and hostess who are both pastors, and the non stop playing with the kids at the Christian school and church that our hosts established 5 years ago. We hardly have any free time now, which is a big change from Kenya but I am really enjoying all of the amazing ministry opportunities that God is placing in front of us. 

The pastor and his wife who are hosting us are so amazing in every way. They are completely dedicated to the Champions Christian Kindergarten through 7th grade school they started here along with the Christ Ambassadors Church that they are the leaders of. The community they have built here is so full of God's love and light and I have been filled with the most joy and happiness that I have ever received from fellowship. 

Pastor Joseph gave me the priceless opportunity of accompanying him at 5:30 in the morning on Monday to pick up about 70 young students who attend his school. He picks them up every morning in 3 loads. If they weren't picked up by him in the morning, they wouldn't be able to come to school due to either their distance, disabilities, or they are just too young to be walking by themselves to school.

Our home here is so great! We have showers, rooms with beds, a security gate, and yummy food! The first 20 days spent in Africa with sleeping in tents, going without a single shower, and never having a roof over our heads are definitely at a stand still for now.  We might be back to the camping life in Rwanda though, we aren't sure of anything yet. For now, I will appreciate every moment of living in this more westernized style of living and I won't take anything for granted, and that includes being able to do the dishes with running water. 

I will continue to soak up the view from our homes front porch. It consists of lush green hills fled with red tiled roofed homes that almost have a Tuscan look to them. After being in the bush of Kenya, it's crazy to see homes built from materials other than mud and grass. 

God has continually blessed me while being in Uganda, I'm doing things that I never thought I would do! Please continue to pray for safety and health of not only me but the entire team! Have an amazing Fourth of July! Blow some fireworks off for me!

African Expedition Part 1: Satiman, Kenya

These last 2 weeks have been so amazing! My team and I were staying in Satiman, Kenya which required us to take a 4 hour off-roading adventure into the Kenyan bush near Mt. Kenya  just to get there. The family and their friends who graciously hosted us were all so humble, loving, beautiful and filled with the holy spirit and they instantly became our new found family. Worship services, teaching at the local primary school, and village to village ministry spreading the gospel is what took up the majority of our time in more than rural Satiman. We had the rare privilege to stay among the Maasi tribe and people which seemed to be a dream at times while we participated in their traditions and coming of age celebrations. We camped under the stars for 2 and half weeks while going the whole time without showering! At this point, while still not having showered, I have replaced my old daily routine with one that now consists of putting on bug spray, taking baby wipe showers, and tackling the squatty potty. God has really blessed us by keeping us all healthy and and strong! More stories and updates to come after the 24 hour bus ride to Uganda where I hopefully will find an Internet cafe!

First day in Kenya!

We just got into Nairobi last night and we drove 3 hours to Nanyuki where the pastor of African Inland Church graciously hosted us for the night. We got a few hours of sleep and we are now getting groceries and heading out to the more rural areas that we will be setting up camp for the next 2 weeks. We probably won't have any internet or reception so this will be the only time I can post for awhile!

Thankfully, we were able to come to a cyber cafe and get 15 minutes to check facebook and what not.

So far, Kenya is amazing. The people are all so generous and full of smiles and I can't wait to see what God has in store for both African Expedition teams here.

First day in Kenya!

We just got into Nairobi last night and we drove 3 hours to Nanyuki where the pastor of African Inland Church graciously hosted us for the night. We got a few hours of sleep and we are now getting groceries and heading out to the more rural areas that we will be setting up camp for the next 2 weeks. We probably won't have any internet or reception so this will be the only time I can post for awhile!

Thankfully, we were able to come to a cyber cafe and get 15 minutes to check facebook and what not.

So far, Kenya is amazing. The people are all so generous and full of smiles and I can't wait to see what God has in store for both African Expedition teams here.

Last night in Washington!

The best people ever! Love them all :) They're the best for doing my last dinner with me on the waterfront. Really going to miss them. Love you mom!