Day 15 in Africa: Finally Settled In

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Today is a cooking and cleaning day! Our room is mostly cleaned, the kitchen is swept, and the smell of bread has made its way into the sitting area in the main house. Ruth and Hannah are sitting with me, uploading pictures and entertaining an MA couple's precious baby girl. Hannah and Bekah are still getting over a cold/some other type of disease, and Hannah's voice is hilarious. It sounds like what a guy's voice on helium would sound like or Hannah Montana. Take your pick. ;)

It's been a long time in coming, but I am finally feeling settled in here. Ruth and I are getting more familiar with the MA's here, the missionaries and their kids. There are 4 other MA's besides Hannah and Rebekah. Leah Hopp, the sister of Ben Hopp, who is in Haiti with his family, is a community health instructor. She goes around to different villages around Nakaale (where the mission is) and teaches people about how they can prevent getting sick. Shes been living here for about 7 years now. Taryn Deekman is a preschool teacher in a school right next to the clinic that Dr. Knox works in. She's been living here since 2013 and goes back to the US to visit family during the summers. Chris and Chloe Verdick have been here for about 3 years, 11 months of which have been with Carmel. Chloe is the money lady and keeps track of the money the visitors spend in groceries, room and board, and little things we buy. Chris is a little bit of an everything man, but mostly, I think, he supervises the Karamajong people the mission has employed as guards or other things.

There is one visitor at the moment besides Ruth and I named David. He is a 23-year-old former homeschooler who is studying to be a doctor and just completed his first year of medical school. He and Ruth both help out Doctor Jim Knox at the clinic during the week.

In about 3 weeks, a team of 9 will be coming from South California. If I am not mistaken, all of them, with the exception of one, will be doing some type of VBS thing with Pastor Al Tricaroco and Pastor David Okken at the schools around here. One of their guys will be joining Hannah, Rebekah, and I on the construction team.

At the moment, the MA's, Ruth, David and I are fed dinner on Mondays at the Wrights, Tuesdays at the Okkens, Thursdays at the Tricaricos, Fridays at either the Knox's or the Verdick's, and Saturdays is a combined dinner with all the families at the Tricaricos. Sundays and Wednesdays we make dinner for ourselves in the kitchen in the main house that is connected to the Tricaricos place.

 It will be interesting when the team comes because on these days we will have to coordinate food and who does the dishes with them. It is kind of hard with 6 people as it is; I guess we will have to get more organized. :P On the other days of the week I think we are taking turns with the California team going to the different missionary families' houses so we don't overwhelm them. Oh, and when the Tricaricos minus Pastor Al leave tomorrow to visit family and friends in the States for two months, I guess Pastor Al will keep cooking for us on Thursday and maybe we can cook for him on Saturdays.

I am excited to meet the team coming, and I am also a little apprehensive. I'm sure we would all appreciate prayer that we will all get along with them in the small space we have to share and that, above all, we would all be lights to each other.

I was surprised in coming here that we seem to have more interaction with each other, especially on the weekends, than

we do with the Karamajong. I have found that to be the hardest part of being here, since I am already so familiar with Hannah, Rebekah and Ruth. The time I have have spent with Jesus has been wonderful, but I am finding out that I have so little time to myself during the day that if I don't actively make time by giving something up I will get to the end of day after exhausting day without opening my Bible. I would greatly appreciate prayers for wisdom in what I can give up and what would be best to give up. It can be hard sometimes because a lot of that time is time getting to know the missionaries and MA's better. Saturdays and Sundays we have more time to ourselves and with each other since we only have a half day on Saturday for work, so it is easier on the weekends.

I am so looking forward to a full day of rest tomorrow and worship in the church with the Karamajong in Karamajong songs, a sermon by Pastor Dave and Sunday school with Pastor Al. Then there's evening service later and more singing, this time in English :) I love Sundays.

Please pray that God's Word would be fruitful here and that the nations would be glad and sing for joy, in Uganda, at home, and all around the world.

Psalm 67:4