Busy, busy, busy....AKA: sorry for the lack of posts!

Well, as you may have noticed, it's been 3 weeks since my last post! Holy cow...time flies!!! I apologize for the lack of posts for you all but the good news is that the reason for not updating you is because I am so busy. I've been really stressed lately and feeling homesick and have just felt burnt out and there is a constant cultural adjustment going on everyday (I'll discuss this more in my prayer requests!).

So either way, I've been busy. We are constantly learning and taking classes at ABIDE. I can see all of us (me, the new short-term missioner named Jake, and the Ugandans - Samson, Patrick, Obadiah, Mehdard, and Amos) becoming better and better disciples of Jesus. There is SO much to learn, in fact, that I fear we can't possibly retain it all. I'll mention another book we are reading called In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen. It's a very short book and an easy read, but there is a lot to take away from it. It's about the future of Christian Leadership and what a Christian Leader should look like. Interestingly, Nouwen is a Roman Catholic Priest and he works at a handicapped facility for the mentally disabled called L'Arche. I've loved reading it, especially since there is a stereotype in the U.S. about Catholics. Many people say that Catholics aren't Christians and I can't help but be disappointed when people say that, acting as if they have the authority to decide who is and isn't a Christian. I know plenty of protestants who don't always seem like Christians (and that includes myself). You have to judge a person's heart...but can you judge another person's heart?

Either way, Nouwen is a Christian and he says in the book, "I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant (i.e. die to oneself, or give up on the idea of being "cool and popular") and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God's love. The great message that we have to carry as ministers of God's Word and followers of Jesus is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life." Amen.

I am also teaching a computer class here. I've been faced with the problem of trying to teach computers to the students when some have NEVER touched a computer. I had to start from the very beginning, giving a little history of the computer and then explaining the terms - such as hard drive, RAM, laptop, desktop, processor, programs, software, etc... . It's been a challenge, but now all of them have email addresses and most have facebook :)

So, that's my quick update this week. I also have MORE PICTURES!!! WOOHOO!!! These are pictures I uploaded (another vocabulary word!) onto facebook. They are pics of my house, yard, and rooms. If you don't remember, I live just outside of Mbarara in Southwest Uganda in a neighborhood called Nkokenjuro...good luck pronouncing that one! Here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183650&l=af38b&id=19226300

PHOTOGRAPHS!!!

Hopefully this works, but I uploaded photos onto facebook and I wanted to share them with everyone who doesn't have facebook! So here is the link to some of the albums:

This album is from Kishanje in Southwest Uganda. It is just a few miles from the Rwanda/Congo border. I went there with Matt Kehn (the pastor at JAM and creator of the ABIDE Discipleship Program I'm helping to lead) just a few days after I arrived in Uganda. Kishanje is known for its large, rolling hills and its lush farmland. You can see from the pics how gorgeous it is.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178677&l=b42e4&id=19226300


This next album is from my first safari! It was at Lake Mbaro, about 45 minutes outside of Mbarara where I live. Lake Mbaro is known for its zebra's and antellope. There are no lions in the park (much of the wildlife was killed off during the Idi Amine years), but plenty of wildlife to go around! Warthogs, birds, zebra's, antellope, and much more. The other people in the pictures are fellow missionaries.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178540&l=61407&id=19226300

That's it! Enjoy!