Just when you think it will be easy...think again.

You know collecting mangoes is not as easy as it sounds. There are two people that are involved. One person has the roll of being the ladder for the other person and collecting the mangoes, then the other person is the monkey that climbs way to the top of a towering tree shaking the branches for the mangoes to come tumbling to the ground. Last time I collected mangoes, I was the ladder. As I struggled to get my sister Rose to the nearest branch, she swung her leg up with amazing grace. Now the person at the bottom...watch out...when the climber in the tree says heads up...MOVE! The mango is coming straight for your head. At this point in time, Rose was at the top and throwing mangoes down one by one. She would say, "Watch out!" and I would dodge as if it were the bombs of WW11. Picking up the mangoes was a stick mess. The juice slithers out on to your hand and makes them feel sticky and gross. After we had collected the delicious fruit, Rose on her way down said, "Oh gosh, I don't know where I am stepping, oh gosh I don't know what I am doing." The she finally made it to the starting branch as I am there arms full of mangoes waiting to catch her in case anything goes wrong. She ended up getting her foot stuck on a part of the tree and was doing the pretty much the splits. I can't remember when I last laughed that hard. She made it down with a plump and we both were exploding with joy and laughter. Its times like these when I say to myself, "Just when you think it will be easy...think again."

My home is now in Arua, Uganda. I am really loving it here. The ministry is amazing and this is where I feel God needs me. I go home in 10 weeks. It is a bitter sweet thought to think about. I am so excited to go home, but I will so miss the sweet people of Arua. God is working, developing, and loving me to this day. My ministry is leading worship for the base, working with the deaf, kids story time, teaching exercise classes, and different jobs around the base. God is so good and carrying me through to the end.

A New Chapter

So my DTS is now done!!! Woo hoo! I am in a new chapter and phase of my life. God is so incredibly good. I am on the Evangilism  Team and working with hospitality on base.  My weeks are filled with lots of ministry in prisons, hospitals, and around base with the people  . My first hospital visit was last week and it was so hard.  The place filled with the smell of urineand blood. There was a lady there who was having major stomach problems and was rushed to surgery, but at that moment the power went out. So she had to wait to have the surgery until it came back on which could be the next day. The nurse informed us that many patients die because of the power going out in the middle of the surgery.  It was so hdifficult to look at this poor soul who was in so much pain. I guess we take for granted our hospitals and medical treatment. In the same place, there were so many people with severe burns and babies with flesh eating diseases. The things I saw that day were so intense that I could barely sleep that night. I did get to pray for almost all of the patients therre and you know what...the power came back on just before we left. Praise God. He gets all the honor and glory. He is in the midst of you and me, but also in that hospital.