Ants In My Pants

(written at 11 a.m. today)

Ants… everywhere. No escaping them. They is always one on me. Pretty sure there is one in my hair right now as I type this. They are in my food. When I’m eating and I see one, I don’t even care anymore. I scoop up the next bite of food with the little black ant right on top and put it in my mouth. You could become a little paranoid if you picked every ant out of your food and were constantly looking for them. I’ve learned my lesson more than once to not leave anything out. I left a jar of honey out with the lid on and not long after it was covered in ants. As soon as I got them all off I opened the jar and they had managed to get into it! Unbelievable! 

So what’s been happening? I’ve been planting beans every morning with Julius and then he leaves and Justus comes and helps me. Julius is also part of the water sanitation team at SHIM so he has had a lot of clean water seminars this week. Almost every day. I got the first draft of the ag business plan submitted (killed another ant on my arm just now) to Andy and Julius last week. Andy handed is copy back to me last night with all of his inputs and comments. I created the start of a planting schedule for Julius. We just need to sit down and list all the things we plant and when we plant them. I also want to create some good record keeping forms for them so they can start recording what they are planting, when and how much and where they put it. They can then also record anything that happens during the life of the plant and how harvest of that plant turned out. (Another ant on my leg) We will be traveling to Mbale on Monday to pick up our new goats. We are going to purchase a buck and try to get an already milking doe. We are also going to stop and check out a ministry called One City run by a couple named Mike and Deb. I met them at the ECHO conference in Florida. They just happen to be about 15-30 minutes off the road we are taking to get the goats. I want to check out their aquaponics set up and see if I can go stay there a week to do some work with them. They are a really nice couple and I’m excited to see what all they are doing there! 

I finally have been getting some sleep. It has been awesome. I’ve been listening to Phil Wickham before I fall asleep and I think it has just been helping me be peaceful at night. His song True Love has been in my head and heart every day and I love that song. You should check it out if you don’t know it! I also have been slowly letting go of my work mentality. I realized, things are going to move like I want to around here and I won’t be busy all the time. I need to take advantage of the times of rest and just chill out. I find when I have no physical work to do I can research something for Julius or read. I’ve read 4 books already since being here, which if you know me that is really stinkin’ crazy. I RARELY ever finish a book. FOUR! I started another one yesterday. 1^st book was The Knitting God, thank you Momma Fry from Waco, TX. It was about how creative God is and there is no way we didn’t have a creator. Everything is so unique and intricate. (Ant on my foot) Next was Bruchko, a story of a 19 yr old guy who left for South America with no plans but to evangelize to the Indians. It was a page turner and an incredible story. I highly recommend it and it is amazing what this guy went through. Next was China Cry a story of a girl growing up in Red China as a Christian. Incredible story. Next was Left to Tell, a story of a woman who survived the Rwanda genocide cooped in a 5x4 bathroom with 7 other women. Now I’m reading Port of Two Brothers a story of two brothers who move to the amazon with their wives and your kids, even little babies, to be missionaries. This one is full of hilarious stories. So that’s what I’m doing around here. 

I was trying to decide how to introduce this next story but I’m afraid it’s terrible no matter how I try to ease it to you. So on this island there are 3 villages. My village has the secondary school (high school) and the village I go to often has the primary school (grade school through junior high). The headmaster at Lingira primary is an absolutely awful man. He has taken many wives that are uneducated and made them teachers at the school. For years he has been raping the boys at the school. YEARS. So kids come out of that school and to our secondary and they are so uneducated and not ready for high school plus some of them are a complete wreck inside. The level of sexual abuse here is so unbelievable. The numbers of rape are through the roof. Anyway, this man finally got transferred out of that school the other week!!! Praise the Lord he is gone! They brought in a new person and we are hopeful and confident for this new headmaster to turn things around. BUT, this means that other man is now at another school somewhere in Uganda and will probably continue to do what he has been doing. So pray that he would come to know Jesus and repent and that he would stop what he is doing to these children! 

On another note, my body is riddled with mosquito bites. I hope my malaria meds hold out for me, which I forgot to take yesterday but took it today… whoops. (another ant killed)

(Continued at 5 p.m.)

So this morning I had talked with my mom and I also talked to momma Fry on Sunday about feeling so discouraged in this place. I also talked to my good friend Elizabeth about it as well. That I don’t see what I could ever do in this place. Jesus used my time with him and these people in my life to point me back to Jesus and his grace. Momma Fry encouraged me to keep my eyes on Him and I know is continually praying for me and this island. My mom simply said, “Just preach the gospel whenever you get a chance.” Ok, I thought, I can do that! That’s all I have to do anyway! Just tell people about Jesus and what he has done for all of us! That’s easy right?! I was getting all worked up over nothing, just an attack of the enemy to discourage you from sharing the light of Christ. 

This afternoon I went with Justus to a prayer meeting in Katonga village. I was told stories of how incredibly dark this village used to be. That even the churches wouldn’t reach out to them because it was a scary place ruled by a witch doctor. Remember me talking about that witch doctor? Does a crocodile ring a bell? Some women in the village as new believers stepped up and started a prayer meeting that happens every Wednesday afternoon. It is now led by a man named Phillip, he is an elder at the Lingira church and pastors the believers there in Katonga. Michelle also came with us. Her and her husband Bob and 4 kids are missionaries in Jinja. I talked about staying with them the other week. She is visiting here on the island for a few days. I didn’t know what to expect at the meeting. Only 4 people came plus the 3 of us. It’s farming season so people are in the fields. We started with introductions (This is customary at ever Ugandan event, meeting, social gathering. It’s very important.) and then started worship. Then Phillip said that Michelle and I had a word to share. Haha. What? Ok, I guess we do? Michelle shared Psalms 67 as a blessing for their village. I shared Hebrews 10:10-12. How are we holy? How do we become holy? Well, there is nothing we can do. Jesus Christ does that in us. Because he is holy and we have him, we are holy, not because of any work we can do. The ancient Hebrews had a priest that sacrificed for them day and night. His work was never done because sacrifices were always needed to be made on behalf of the people. But when Jesus came and paid the price once and for all, he SAT DOWN at the right hand of the father, declared it is finished. So when we accepted Jesus, we are automatically, without anything we have done, declared holy. No need for sacrifices anymore, no need for cleansing rituals, or all that work work work, but we have grace. That when we stand before the father, he sees Jesus and that makes us acceptable to Him. It felt good to share of Jesus. Then came a time of questions and it was fun to watch them ask questions and answer each other from the word. I loved it! We then prayed together for a while and parted ways. I definitely know I should go back there every week. I feel so encouraged by the Lord and by fellow believers. I feel at peace again.