Got any tickets?

Bus Lady: 'ello.

Me: 'ello. How are you?

Bus Lady: I am fine, and you?

Me: I am fine. I have a question about the bus to Mombasa. It leaves at noon tomorrow, yes?

Bus Lady: Yes.

Me: And it gets in to Mombasa at 6 am, yes?

Bus Lady: Yes.

Me: And about the return trip. What time does it leave from Mombasa to Kampala?

Bus Lady: It leaves at both 11 AM and 6 PM.

Me: And when do they arrive here?

Bus Lady: The one gets here at 8 PM and the other at 6 AM.

Me: (so confused.) Hmmm... ok. And the price is...

Bus Lady: 70,000 for business, 90,000 for first.

Me: Ok. Thank you. I need to SMS my friend, since the price is more than what we thought. (text Betsy, wait for response) Thank you, nnyabo. We will take two seats on the noon bus.

Bus Lady: Sorry, no. That bus is full.

Me: Ok. Then there is the 6 o'clock bus Monday night and the noon bus on Tuesday, yes?

Bus Lady: Yes.

Me: And the evening bus gets in to Mombasa when?

Bus Lady: It arrives at 4:30 pm.

Me: Are there business and first class seats on that bus too?

Bus Lady: Yes.

Me: And what is the difference between the first class and business class seats?

Bus Lady: One is big and comfortable. Also, you might sit alone. The other is smaller and with two people.

Me: Would it be ok if I looked at this bus (just outside) and look at the seats?

Bus Lady: That is alright.

Me: (look at seats, there isn't much difference between first and business. Text Betsy. Trying to decide if we should wait until Tuesday noon, or go Monday evening... Go back inside.) Ok, may I get two tickets for the Tuesday noon bus?

Bus Lady: To Mombasa?

Me: Yes.

Bus Lady: That bus is full.

Me: (kind of laughing to myself) Ok, is the bus full for the evening? The 6 pm one?

Bus Lady: No, but there are no first class seats.

Me: That is fine. I will take two seats in business.

Bus Lady: Ok, Tuesday evening bus? That will be 140,000.

Me: Ok... Oh wait, Tuesday? I'm sorry, can we go on Monday?

Bus Lady: Let me see what is open...

Me: (thinking, "Oh Uganda!")

Bus Lady: There are four seats open. Which would you like?

Me: (pointing) How about these two?

Bus Lady: No, you don't want those. They are at the back. You want these. (pointing)

Me: Well, isn't that on top of the wheel?

Bus Lady: No, no. Only this one (points to left side of the bus, up one row and across the aisle from us) is on the wheel.

Me: (thoroughly confused at this point... How is there only one seat that's above the wheel? Aren't there wheels on both sides of the bus?) Ok, nnyabo. Thank you!

(Get tickets. Boda home. And this is only the beginning of the adventure!)

Come let us worship the King!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope that your day was full of family with lots of love, warmth, and joy. Wishing you all many blessings this Christmas.

In Uganda, it's been a very different sort of Christmas for me. Most years, Christmas has been about getting everyone gifts, going to several holiday parties, attending school holiday events, being a part of Christmas pageants at church, and spending time at home with friends and family.

With the exception of attending school events, I didn't do any of those things this year. Yes, I skyped with everyone (and their mothers!) at different times and across the many, many time zones, but it still didn't feel like Christmas has usually felt... which has been ok.

This Christmas, I had to decide to celebrate the 'true meaning of Christmas' to borrow the colloquialism. It's not about my feelings, the traditions, or the people. It's about how Christ came to Earth, choosing to take on our flesh, to come as a baby and show us how to have uninhibited access to our Heavenly Father.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf." ~ Hebrews 6:19-20

...

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body..." ~ Hebrews 10:19-20

...

"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be the glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." ~ Revelation 1:5b-6

During this past semester, my 6th graders have been doing devotions on the various names of Christ used throughout the Bible. As Christmas is the day where we remember Jesus's birth, here are some of the names used to describe Him and what He did for us!

Truth ~ High Priest ~ Intercessor ~

Bread of Life ~ Messiah ~ Savior ~ Friend ~

Right Hand of God ~ Atonement ~ Teacher ~

Emmanuel ~ Precious Son ~ Living Sacrifice ~

All in All ~ Head of every man ~ Redeemer ~

Salvation ~ The Lamb

~

• Come, let us worship the King
• Jesus the Savior is born!
• For the Lord will reign over all the earth
• Come, let us worship the King
• Jesus the Savior is born!
• For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised
• Through all the earth
• Let us worship the King.
• ~ Sandi Patty

Especially now, in this season of being far away and without the normalcy of a usual Christmas, I've found so much comfort and joy in knowing that this is what it's all about.

JESUS is what it's all about.

But... I do miss everyone back home. I am constantly praying for you, and praying the Lord would be working through you in whatever situation or circumstance you find yourself in. I'm also praying that He's stretching you and calling you to step out in faith for His Glory!

Thanks to everyone for their Christmas emails, Facebook posts, Skype chats, etc. (oh, technology.) I also LOVED getting several family's Christmas cards via email. What a BLESSING to read them!

A big thank you to Ash and Dani and the other FF Fuller family, for letting me sit in via Skype on your Christmases yesterday :) LOVE YOU!!!

would Christmas be different?

Whew! What a busy day! This isn't going to be very long, seeing as how it's 11:15 and I've got to be up early tomorrow to go photograph a friend's wedding! Speaking of which... I better make sure my batteries are charged... Hmmm....

This afternoon, I was babysitting for a family from Heritage whose parents are both super-involved with Watoto Church here in Uganda. Dawn is the Creative Director and Doug is one of the Worship Leaders for the different teams the church has. Tonight, their kids and I had a special opportunity to go to one of the shows of the Watoto Christmas Cantata - playing yesterday through Thursday. They're performing something like 30 shows in 7 days!

Dawn and Doug have actually two-handedly (does that make any sense?) created and managed the entire Cantata production. I was so amazed at what they were able to do, not only with the lighting and costumes and dancing, but also the MUSIC!!!

Here's a chorus from one of the songs for you to watch. Isn't it neat?

Dawn also wrote and arranged two of the songs in the production, one of which was a ballad that she and Doug sang together. It was so moving, I was definitely tearing up. Their youngest daughter, Mileana, who's in Kindergarten, looked up and asked, "What's wrong? It's just Mommy and Daddy." :)

I can't remember the exact lyrics, and don't want to butcher them with an attempt, but the theme was asking the question, "Would Christmas be any different if Jesus weren't a part of it?" Which made me think... Would MY Christmas be different? How am I showing Christ's love? Do people see the JOY and Thanksgiving I have for the One who came for me to this world?? Do I greet others with warmth and glad tidings? Have I shared the "reason for the season" with anyone?

Think about it...

Would your Christmas be different if Jesus weren't a part of it?

Or would we do the same things we're doing now?

Anyway, bed time. Thank you, God, for the blessing of your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for willingly leaving your throne and taking the form of a babe, coming to save me, in full knowledge of what Your Cup was going to have in store... Thank you.

hands and feet

Yesterday was amazing. God was so good, and He blessed me so tremendously.

My 6th grade students and I had the chance to go to Hospice Africa yesterday afternoon for a few hours. In my last blog update, I said a little bit about what Hospice Africa was and how we had made Christmas cards in our class to take to the kids. Honestly, though, no matter how many times I've seen children with physical deformities, being with them still makes my heart break for them. How these little small creatures are surviving through their lives, unable to see or eat or speak or walk ... and it's all curable. The doctors we talked to yesterday said that most of the cancer these children are suffering from could be cured with treatment.


My kids and I talked on Friday morning and on the way home on the bus about some of the verses that being with those kids made us think of. We talked about how embracing children and loving them is one of the things that Jesus did. We talked about how Jesus came into our world in order to heal and help those who were the poorest in the community. And he told us to do the same in Matthew 25... whatever we do for 'the least of these' is actually doing something for Christ Himself.

As we were talking, the song, "Prayer of the Children" came to mind, and I shared the lyrics with a few of the kids.

Can you hear the prayer of the children
on bended knee, in the shadow of an unknown room?

Empty eyes with no more tears to cry
turning heavenward toward the light.

Crying," Jesus, help me to see the morning light of one more day,
but if I should die before I wake,I pray my soul to take."

Can you feel the hearts of the children
aching for home, for something of their very own.

Reaching hands with nothing to hold onto
but hope for a better day, a better day.

Crying," Jesus, help me to feel the love again in my own land,
but if unknown roads lead away from home,give me loving arms, 'way from harm."

Can you hear the voice of the children
softly pleading for silence in their shattered world?
Angry guns preach a gospel full of hate,
blood of the innocent on their hands.

Crying," Jesus, help me to feel the sun again upon my face?
For when darkness clears, I know you're near,
bringing peace again."

Keeley (our principal, who also came to the hospice care) and I were talking afterwards, and she made the comment, "Whenever I see that, I can just imagine WHY Jesus wanted to heal people everywhere he went. You see those kids and those men and women and you WANT to do all you can to heal them... I only WISH I could heal them."



A few of my kids were really affected by the kids in hospice care too. One of them, Ella, told me, "I just feel like God has given me so much, why can't I just give some to them? I have two legs, two hands, and my body works... And those little babies are just so tiny..." Amy, another one of my girls, was talking with a little boy and asked, "Would you mind if I pray for you?" She laid her hand on the little guy and started praying over him. I pretty much lost it; the sunglasses came on, but the tears were falling fast. I was moved to tears so many times, not only by talking to the kids and adults suffering from the tumors and cancer, but also to see the students' reactions and their love, care, compassion, and sympathy.







We also had the chance to take all of the gifts that Heritage has been collecting and give them to the kids. We took a few hundred kid's bibles and gave them away too. After dropping off the presents and bibles, my kids were able to play in the bounce-house-thing where a lot of other kids were playing. The director of the program told us that most of the kids playing on it were siblings of the hospice patients, but that a few were survivors who had been able to receive treatment and a few had only recently been diagnosed or were in the early stages, so they were still physically well for right now.

another broken heart comes in to view
why can't I do the things I want to?

I want to be your hands

I want to be your feet

I'll go where you send me

And I'll try to touch the world like you've touched my life

And I'll find my way to be your hands.

... I finally have a mission I promise I'll complete

I don't need excuses when I am your hands and feet!

excerpts from "Hands and Feet" by Audio Adrenaline

Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings you've given me!

I want to be Your hands and feet.

weebale nyo (thank you very much)

oh man, this weekend was great. volleyball. french toast. great conversations. christmas music. sleeping in 'til noon. soooooo good.

minor problem? didn't get a thing done for school, and we were supposed to have our final exam study guides turned in on Friday so all the kids could start studying (yeah, right anyways... those kids were not going to study this weekend.)

...which is why I'm up right now! Almost 1:00 am and I just finished my final exam guides and have a pretty good grasp of what I want the tests to be next week. I cannot believe we're already through half of the school year! Some days it feels like I just got here, and others it feels like I've been here for a very long time. Anyways, it's been a restful weekend and I'm feeling really refreshed going into this week.

This weekend was also fun because last week was so CrAzY.

I think that I might have just over-committed myself to too many events on one day... scratch that. I absolutely over-committed myself to too many events on one day.

Friday was my 6th grader's Chapel day, where we get to give a lesson for the K-6th grade. My kids were really excited, and after our success with our movie for the Rain Festival back in October, they were keen on the idea of doing more movies, the only question was what to do? So, we came up with this news broadcast idea, and we would pre-record all of the interviews and then make it seem like a real action news show. We called it BBU Action News - Bringing the Bible to U ... clever, eh? :)

We had a lot of fun video-ing it around school, trying to wait for the guys with the saws to be quiet enough, waiting for the preschoolers to walk past us and stop shouting, and, of course, finding places to actually film the scenes. We did old-time renditions in real-time news of stories like David and Goliath, the battle of Jericho, Miriam saving Moses in the Nile, and Lazarus being raised to life. The kids really came through with shining colors!

(p.s. we also included several puns into our skits, like, "Who is the richest woman in the Old Testament?" answer: "Pharoah's daughter! She went down to the Nile and took out a little prophet.") hahaha

Basically we prepped for Chapel ALL week long. Then, I had also said, "OK" to the music teacher who had asked me to direct my kids in the Christmas Program at school. When I had agreed to it, I didn't know the extent of involvement it was going to require!

My kids wanted to make a whole band-like performance, since so many of them play instruments... and can I also say that they have almost perfect pitch? They're soooo in tune. .I. .love. .it.

So, four of the 6th graders brought in their guitars, one played the flute, one the ocarina, and another the violin, while everyone else sang in the choir. We performed "What Child Is This?" and it was definitely a success! The kids practiced almost every day during their recess to make sure they had the right chords and tune and everything. They're such a great group of kids!!

And the Christmas Program was on Friday night at 6. Went home around 3:30, took a little rest, got ready, and walked on back down to school! Hence, why I slept in till noon on Saturday. I was exhausted in that "I have used so much energy but it was completely satisfying but now I'm going to collapse" feeling :-/

Such an eventful, busy week. But it was so great and I'm so glad that not only me, but my kids too, pushed ourselves and made everything the best it could be, all for the glory of our God!

And the Lord has definitely been my Protector these past few weeks, since my near meltdown. He's sent me people to uplift and encourage, friends to walk with me through it, and kids to make everything seem joyful and amazing.



Thank you for Your Work in me and in my situations.

Ok, going to bed. Almost 2:00 now... G'night!

hospice AFRICA

It seems like everywhere I turn, it's Christmas already! I don't know how it is in the States right now, but there are Christmas trees in almost every home I've been to in the last few days, there's a tree in the lobby at school, and all of the classrooms seem to be learning Christmas-y things. ... I can't help but think - it's only December 2nd everyone!

One wonderful part of it being December already is that it means we're closer to the Hospice Africa Christmas party. Hospice Africa is an organization that helps children who have been diagnosed with cancer here in Uganda. They provide treatment, support, food, and resources for the children and their families as they go through different treatment methods. The kids range in age from about 4 til their teen years.

A few weeks ago, we had two ladies come to Heritage from Hospice Africa to talk to the students about what exactly it is they do, and how our kids can help them. As a school, we've decided to bring in gifts that will then be delivered to the kids at Hospice Africa at their annual Christmas party, which is next week. I'm so excited for this...

The kids come from all over, not only in Kampala. Once a week, the organization sends out the buses to pick up the children and bring them in for a 'real' meal to help provide nourishment for their healing. The ladies who came to our school told us that, a week before, their buses had broken and they weren't able to make the rounds to pick anyone up. Most of the kids still walked the entire way from their home and village to the center, so that they could receive that one good meal. They told us that one boy walked for 3 1/2 hours to get there.

My heart has been so touched by our kids' responses to all this. The 6th graders were emphatic and excited about going out and buying presents for these kids who have so little. In order to get pictures for the yearbook, I actually get to go along with one or two kids from each grade level and present the gifts to the children at their Christmas party. I can't think of a way that I'd rather begin this Christmas season.


~

In an effort to keep the kids thinking about and remembering those kids who are sick, and those who this might be the last Christmas for, we've been typing letters to the Hospica Africa kids in Computer lab. I've been doing this with the 2md, 3rd, and 4th graders. My 6th graders and I have our class on Monday set aside to make lots of decorations and gift cards for the kids too.

I thought several of the 2nd graders' letters were really sweet, so I thought I'd share a few excerpts with you :)

Merry Christmas Jesus LOVES YOU AND SO DO I. God loves you Forever.
From Adam


Merry Chrisemas!
GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!~~~~~~

JESUS LOVES YOU!!!!!!~~~~~~
From:Harim
To:Hospice Friend


Hello! I am Shanil! I am so sorry that you are sick and I am 7 years old and I am Filipino.


I live in Kampala, Uganda. My favorite game is soccer my favorite color is silver merry Christmas! Jesus loves you and so do I!

From wasswa


Dear friend
hello!
How are you? My name is Sonya. Do you have a brother or a sister? Do you have a pet ? one time I saw a cow on the road! I hope you have a merry Christmas! I have two brothers. We love you. From Sonya.

Hello
My name is Matthew Ho sorry you are sick, I am 7 years old. merry Christmas!!! My favorite color is gold my favorite number is 100 my favorite game is tag



HELLO MY NAME IS JAMES. I AM SEVEN YEARS OLD
I LIVE IN Uganda MY FAVORITE game hide and seek.
My favorite COLOR IS BLUE. What is name?*** My FAVORITE FOOD IS PIZZA

Merry christmas!
From James sentiba jonathan

~

May we all be remembering the true meaning of Christmas as we get closer and closer to it...

my portion and my cup

Well, these past few weeks have been challenging to say the least... hence why I haven't blogged since the beginning of the month. I've been struggling with choosing JOY amidst the every day burdens and problems that arise here - problems that wouldn't be an issue in the US, but are common here... At school, I've encountered problems with stealing, intrusions, low student expectations, lax student discipline, and just a whole bunch of other barriers that have kept piling up over these past few weeks.

At first, it wasn't a huge deal; little frustrations and inconveniences came here and there. I feel like I prayed half-heartedly about them, thinking that they'd just go away... not realizing that this was going to be a big way that Satan was going to wear me down and tear me away from God.

It wasn't until the middle of this past week, after a good conversation with Mom followed by a good conversation and prayer with our principal, Keeley, that I began to feel the Spirit moving and working again. I realized how much I hadn't been giving my burdens to the Lord and how I had been allowing my unhappiness and discontentment build - all of which inhibited me coming before my Savior with a pure, open, honest heart.

I've been (slowly) reading through Elisabeth Elliot's "Keep A Quiet Heart," a compilation of short stories and letters she had written. She continually references Psalm 16:5 which says, "Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup," and asks how we respond to that... Do we embrace whatever comes our way with a "I'll take it, Lord. YES!" attitude? Or do we prove our distrust that HE is in control, has every detail planned out, and has allotted us every event and circumstance we find ourselves in?

I told my mom when we were talking that I don't just want a better attitude to 'deal with' these problems; I want to WANT to be here! To have to confront and work through these situations solely by depending and relying on the Lord. To have to pray steadfastly and continuously for the strength that it'll take to make it through. I want this to be a life-changing time for me... not simply another 'neat' teaching experience.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:8-9

...Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

And he goes on in verse 11 to talk about how he has learned to be content whatever the circumstances he is given.

I found myself not focusing on the truth or the purity that I could have sought these past few weeks, and I for sure haven't learned to be content with whatever cup I am given in these different circumstances. I can only pray that I will choose to respond in a similar way that both Paul and Elisabeth Elliot did...

My portion. My cup. My lot is secure. My heart can be at peace.

Shall we not gladly take [this cross] and say "I'll take it, Lord! YES! I'll trust you for everything. Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances ~ Phil 4:11b

Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you ~ 1 Corin 7:17a

and they will know you by your fruit

Love - for those who we don't always want to love; yet, we're called to love them anyways with a pure heart... my prayer is that I would WANT to love them

Joy - in those moments when the world has sucked all of our energy, to CHOOSE to find my joy in Christ

Peace - to know the peace that passes understanding, even when sometimes I wonder why the Lord has apportioned me with this Cup

Patience - loving others even when plans change, people go back on their word, or situations arise that are out of our control; I know there is one who is in CONTROL... so help me to remember that in those times of struggle.

Kindness - I want to want to react in kindness, and not be easily angered or frustrated. I want to treat others with sincerity and love, and from that, kindness will come.

Goodness - To have such a heart like Christ's that there are good intentions and purposes behind every action, every word that is spoken from my mouth.

Faithfulness - spending my time with my Savior who brings that peace and love and compassion; to be so faithful that I'm filled by His love so that it can't help but overflow.

Gentleness - keeping a quiet spirit, serving others in a gentle and calm way.

Self-Control - not yearning for the things and people I don't have, but instead keeping my mind fixated on the One who matters and the Plan he has for me and my life and my time.

Oops... Did I mention I cut my hair?

I finally cut my hair!

Thanks to everyone's input from Facebook, I decided to attempt the middle top photo :) It came out a little shorter than the picture, but you know what - hair grows!

I really like it, and everyone at school has said really nice things too. I also figure, it's November now, so by the time I go home, it'll be long again, yay!

Here are a few before and after shots:

blast from the past

So, today is Halloween. Not that we really celebrate that here in Uganda, but we do what we can!

Yesterday at Heritage, we had our Rain Festival. All week long, we had been preparing for it, doing various activities throughout the week. Monday was Decorate Your Door Day, Tuesday - Create Your Class Movie, Wednesday we presented the movies, Thursday - Draw Your Costume or something, and Friday was the actual Rain Festival.

Oh yeah, did I mention my 6th graders won the Video Contest? They were so great, and got SO into the movie!. I'll try to post the video as soon as I have a chance, but it's 700 MB, so it'll take a while with my Internet! But worth the wait, I promise you!

What's up with the name? The Rain Festival is basically like a lot of the Harvest Festivals back in the U.S., where churches just want to have something fun to do that isn't based on ghouls and goblins and witchcraft. Hence, the name.

It was a busy school day, frenzied set-up, and a crazy, fun evening - and it was all worth it. The kids had a great time, I had a blast, and even though I am EXHAUSTED simply thinking about everything that we did to get ready, it was definitely a fun memory to add to the books! One particular reason it was busy for me was that I had to try and run my 6th grade booth, take care of the sound/music that we had for the evening on my laptop, take pictures here and there for the yearbook, and oh yeah - GET THROWN IN JAIL and BE PUT IN THE DUNK TANK.

Now, when I say "jail," I mean the soccer goal post that had the net draped on both sides :) And when I say "dunk tank," I mean a shower nozzle that the kids get to turn on for 10 sec. intervals if they pay 1,000 shillings. Needless to say, I was thrown in jail within the first 5 minutes of the Rain Festival beginning and I had 10 kids pay to 'dunk' me... but only 9 of them actually got it (I didn't realize the last kid was waiting, so I left - oops!) ... it was awesome.

We also had a little get-together tonight, just a little hang-out Halloween party to carve pumpkins, eat desserts, play Monster MadLibs, and eat roasted pumpkin seeds. Yum!

Jill (the cat) and me (Little Red Riding Hood)

Blast From The Past...



All the festivities this week made me miss SLO a lot. Last year was just an amazing time of fellowship, friendship, and community in general. A few of us dressed up as pirates and invaded Grace's Harvest Festival... and then got thanked for 'helping' in the bulletin the next week. We tried to set the record straight and say that we, in fact, played the games alongside the kids, but our picture still stayed in the bulletin for many weeks to come. We were also supposed to have a softball game (since last year, Halloween was on a Friday night = SLO Softball) but the other team forfeited. So, after we bombarded the kids at the Harvest Festival, we all headed over to Greg & Bonnie Johnson's house for some amazing soups!






As this Halloween has come and gone, hectic as it was, I still found myself missing that fellowship that we had last year. I love these kids here, please don't misunderstand me. And maybe it's just the exhaustion speaking here, but I have been missing SLO a lot. Please pray that I'd love and cherish the memories that I have from there, but that I'd be content and desiring to really BE where God has put me!

oli otya

this is a phrase in Luganda asking, ''how are you?'' right now, I would answer... only ok.

~

Today especially I've felt very much under spiritual attack.

I know that might sound strange to some who are reading this, so I'll explain just a little.

I know that God called me to come to Uganda and work and minister to these kids and be a part of their lives. I have had days when I KNOW Jesus is right alongside me in the classroom, and the Spirit is speaking through me in a conversation. There are also days when I feel discouraged, regretful, and tempted to give up. Especially here in Uganda, there is evil very much more prevalent than I've ever felt in the States.

~

I've felt discouragement, heartache, and loneliness in America too, don't get me wrong. But here, it comes on swift and strong, and literally knocks you down and has made me physically overwhelmed. Today, I just felt very much attacked.

~

Without going into a lot of detail, basically a parent of one of my students told me I was unfit to be a teacher, that I hated her daughter, and that she was going to get me fired. And while I know that none of that is even remotely true, it is still hurts my heart to hear those words.

Alicia, a friend and teacher at school, told me that when she's had confrontations like that, it reminds her to think of how much Jesus had to suffer when he came to save us; how people mocked him, called him names, hated him... and how he responded and still loved them. His grace and His mercy are boundless.

~

I would just ask for your prayers and encouragement in this area right now, that Satan wouldn't have a foothold in the school and that I would seek the Lord to be my ever-present help in times of trouble.

Love you all.

Psalm 23

these are all plants and wildlife from Sipi Falls!

sipi falls

mmm... an amazing resort for a weekend retreat from the crazy city life of Kampala.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, after a LONG day. Woke up around 5:30 am. Showered. Finished packing for the weekend. in one backpack. Met the girls at the boda stage at 6:30 am. Grabbed a matatu (taxi type of ride that can ALWAYS cram more people inside... there's no such phrase as "there's no more room!" in Luganda!) into downtown Kampala. Walked over to the bus park, where basically lots of bus drivers wait around until their buses are full, and then leave whenever they feel like it. We asked the driver and made him promise to leave by 8:30... it was 7:15 at this point in time. He said yes. 8:30 came and went... surprise, surprise. We're in Uganda, people. Come 9:30ish, some of the girls 'threatened' to leave and demanded their money back. Basically, this is the only way to actually get Ugandan bus drivers to actually keep their word, otherwise you, as a mzungu, may be waiting there all day until every last inch of space is taken up, and you'll never reach your destination!


9:45ish... we leave the bus park and start heading to our destination. (The name of the city was like Mbumi or Mbazi or something... oops.) After multiple stops of letting people on and off and the lady behind me incessantly grabbing my hair, we finally were driving out of Kampala. Unfortunately, around 11 or 12, there was a noise and all of a sudden, our bus moved over onto the 'shoulder' of the road. That's right, we had a flat tire. Everyone piled off the bus and several went to use the restrooms... That's right, they squatted on the side of the road. Many didn't even bother moving out of eyesight. They were about 5-10 ft away from the bus and just stopped and dropped their trousers, or pulled up their skirts. Oh, Uganda.



After waiting probably 30 minutes, we decided to grab another matatu and head on down the road. We arrived to the city that I can't remember the name of an hour or so later. Then, we met up with the driver we had made an arrangement with to drive us up to the lodge. A few short 60 minutes later, we had arrived.


Although it was only Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning that we stayed at the lodge, it felt like forever. Watching the rain come down, hiking amidst the lush green tropical plants, having some fun girl time just praising the Lord... it was blissful and relaxing, and exactly what I needed after a kind of stressful, busy week at school. I'll be sure to blog more about the amazing scenery and experiences we had there and the people we met at the top of the waterfall and all of that later...

but for right now, I'll just say that God is so good.

What an amazing Creator, Architect, and Designer we have!

number the stars

Today, I really enjoyed my sixth graders. On most school days, I simply just love teaching them, along with the fact that I get to get them excited about spelling, reading, and using really cool vocabulary (dogmatic, ambiguous, discerning, etc.). And I know they think I'm a goof; just the fact that I get excited (yes, very excited) when they use advanced, specific vocabulary to describe something or provide me with a very well-articulated sentence. I love these kids.

Today, we had finished their Spelling and DOL tests, and were working on our 'Plot Chart' for the Lois Lowry story, "Number the Stars" about a girl who lives in Denmark during WWII and her plight to save her best friend's family, who were Jewish, from being captured and taken by the German soldiers. It's a wonderful book; we read it last year during my 6th grade student teaching assignment, which is why I decided to do it again!

After we filled in the Main Characters section and the Setting section, we filled in several of the key events that have happened so far. Long story short, in the second chapter, the girl, Anne Marie, remembers how her father had told her once that he would gladly die to protect their king, the king of Denmark. Two of my students were WAY off in their one-sentence summary of this chapter, so we started talking about why Anne Marie learning this news was so important. You see, as we read in the third chapter, Anne Marie draws the connection to protecting the king of their country and being willing to protect the people being oppressed within their country.

We then started talking about being willing to lay down one's life in order to save or help someone else. It just made me think... what an amazing gift we had in Christ being willing to lay down his life for us, to knowingly go into a situation for us and say, "No, take me instead." Forget even for the moment that He was the Perfect Son of our Holy Creator. Even the fact that he was, as a man, willing to be sacrificed for someone else to LIVE is mind-boggling and forever humbling.

Many of us would say that we would die for those we love. Many of us would also say that we'd "step up" and interject if we witnessed a crime being committed against someone else. It makes me think of a sermon Francis gave at church, a few years back now, about stepping out in faith. He told us about how one of the pastors at Cornerstone had witnessed an old man being beaten violently in his car on the side of the road by another man. The pastor didn't know either of the men, but he acted and became involved because it was the right thing to do: to protect someone who was helpless and needed saving. (Not a key element of the story, but our pastor took the bad guy out in one punch.) Francis asked everyone, "Would you be willing to punch someone out if you saw someone else who needing saving?" Almost everyone replied in the affirmative. Of course we would. What a thrill to save someone! But the next question that followed was, "What if you see someone sitting alone at a restaurant? Would you be willing to step out and go share the message of Jesus Christ with them?"

That one had hit hard, and still makes me stop in my tracks, even today. The point was that most of us would act without a moment's hesitation in the first circumstance... but when it comes to interactions of eternal significance, we stumble on our own insecurities and wonder what others will think of us, which hinders our willingness to step up and out and simply share with others the love that we've been so freely given.

In "Number the Stars," Anne Marie wonders, "Would she die to protect them? Truly? ... there in the darkness, she wasn't sure. ... She admitted to herself that she was glad to be an ordinary person who would never be called upon for courage."

Oh, but I am an ordinary person who has been called upon by my Maker to be courageous! To step out in faith, even when I don't want to talk, even when I want my alone time, even when [insert excuse here]... because our time on earth is precious and it's gone like a vapor in the wind.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous!

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged.

For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!

~ Joshua 1:9

think blue.

The Tale of Yesterday.



7:30 am . Wake up for school. Little later than I thought. Oops.
8 am – 3 pm . School. I miss all of the Dodger game. Bummer.
3 pm – 4 pm . No Soccer practice. Kind of glad. Thunderstorm.
4:30 pm . Fall asleep. Oops.
7:30 or so pm . Wake up. Again, oops.
8 pm – 10 pm . Watch a movie with Jill, Shanna, Betsy, Jenna.
11 pm . Jill and Shanna go home
11 pm – 1 am . Photoshop. And Facebook.
1:30 am . Dodger game starts. Think Blue.
2:15 am . Ethier hits a home run. I want to cheer out loud.

Sometime after that, I begin fading in and out of sleep...

3:30 am . Probably need to go to sleep. but I want to finish the game.

A little while later, I wake up and realize the game is over. I missed the amazing 9th inning comeback! But I am able to quickly re-watch it since GameDay is still open and running.



The Dodgers have done it! YAY!!! Loney (and Pierre pinch running!!), Casey Blake, Belliard, my man Russell, and Loretta... it couldn't have been any better.

And then I went back to sleep. The End.

soccer! err... football!

My little kiddos had their first game on Tuesday of this week! They played a good game, but we ended up losing 3-0 to this team from another international school called Rainbow. My guys were so funny, running around the field, going the wrong way, taking the ball from each other, using their hands to stop the ball... you know how they play! Although, I didn't have a single kid picking daisies, which I was thankful for.

I coach the under 7 team, which means I have 2 four-yr olds, a couple five-yr olds, several six-yr olds, and one seven yr-old. My littlest ones (Jogi and Graysen) were so precious. Any time it was time to sub out players, Jogi would run off the field and jump into my arms and cheer! Graysen decided that he needed a drink while he was on the field, so he just ran over to his mom (Alicia, whose other son, Jonah, I blogged about a little while ago!) on the sidelines. He hadn't a clue in the world that he was supposed to stay on the field.

On Monday night, I went down and played with Alicia's kiddos (Brody (gr. 4), Jonah (gr. 1) and Graysen (gr. K)) since they live a couple compounds or "houses" down from us. Alicia invited me to stay for tacos - which were AMAZING - and before we ate, Jonah prayed for us... I can't tell you how much I adore this kid! Here was his prayer, "Dear Jesus, thank you for today and school. Jesus, I pray that we play well tomorrow in our soccer games. Please let us only lose by one, or win by a lot. [here, Brody added, "Or tie, Jonah!"] Oh yeah, or tie. Thank you Jesus, and please bless this food to our bodies. Amen." love it.

One of the other first-graders, Emmanuel, came running over to me and said, "Miss Fuller, I need a rest," but he was our GOALIE! So I sent him back out. Yep, I'm a meanie. It was really cute, though, he was trying to drop-kick the ball and it went right back over his head into the goal. Oops! More to work on in practice :)

Most of my players have very Ugandan names, and honestly, they all look similar when they're in their uniforms and on the other side of the field (with the exception of my three little white kids!) I really do have a hard time getting their names right sometimes! Here's our roster: Jogi, Graysen, Sirafumu aka Joshua, Wasswa, Ndemi, Emmanuel, Jowell, Paul, Jonah, Rueben, Akutch, and Calnan.

My kids are so great! We had practice cancelled today due to thunderstorms and rain... minor details. But, our next game is going to be on Tuesday!

real friends write threatening notes

this might sound like a strange title, but it's true :)

I had a lot of firsts this week...

• first time I was proposed to
• first time I drove a car (all by myself and at night - yeah!)
• first time I had all of my kids get at least an 80% on their spelling & DOL tests (wahoo!)
• first time I went venturing out into the marketplace with nowhere in particular to go
• first time I made pancakes here!
• first time I bought some clothes in Uganda
• first time I received a package!
  

and (obviously) I'm still here, so each has been a fun experience and I'm feeling more and more confident and adventurous as the days go by.

Now, on to the meaning behind the title of this blog...

The reason I say that real friends write threatening notes is because I received a package from Danielle and Jess this week. Though they mailed it mid-August, it just arrived on Oct. 2nd. (calculation: 1 1/2 months) However, I firmly believe that one of the main reasons why it was not stolen or taken was 1) they only declared "3 candies" very small on the customs form, 2) they wrapped the box with an inside-out paper bag & wrapped it shut, and 3) they sent a threatening note inside.

I got such a kick out of this! Both girls had told me that I'd laugh when I saw what they'd written. I was really confused when I looked at the outside of the package, because it just had my name and address written on it... and then I opened up the package and busted up laughing.

I have really cool, awesome, and stealer-forgiving friends :)

it's been a long week... and it's only Wednesday!

Maybe it's just that this Monday we had a 'staff development' day, but every teacher in the school is exhausted! I know, I know, welcome to the life of teaching: awful, boring staff 'training' events that tell you exactly what you already know and make you play SuDoKu for 3 or 4 hours... or maybe that's just me :)

BUT I have been so happy, regardless of my tiredness, to be back and seeing all my kiddos again. I really missed them! Even when they're talkative, kind of rude, or just bouncing off the walls, I love being able to see the goodness in their hearts and the innocence of their ways. One imparticular 1st grader comes to mind, a boy who is also on my soccer team. His mom, Alicia, the Kindergarten teacher at Heritage, picked me up as I was walking to school the other morning. When we got to school, it was Jonah's turn to pray, so we all bowed our heads and folded our hands, and his prayer was just beautiful. It went something like this:

Dear Jesus, thank you for this day and that we get to come to school again. I just want to pray that we all have a good time at chapel today and that all the kids would be good. Jesus, I want to pray for the teachers here, that they would teach all the kids really good. Thank you for everything you give to us. Thank you for Mom and Dad and Brody and Greyson too. I just want to pray for a good time today, Jesus. I love you so much. Amen.

He was so precious. He's one of my favorites. That is, of course, if I had favorites!
Love these kids, even when I'm tired.

say cheese!

I love being the Yearbook Advisor! First, no one questions why I'm taking pictures of everything. (not that I've ever needed a reason...) Second, all I need for the kids to pose is to ask them if they would like to take a picture for the yearbook - and they all gather 'round! And I just love making layouts, playing with backgrounds and designs, and editing all of the photos. Granted, my 9th graders who are in the Yearbook class are having a hard time understanding "consistency" and "themes"... especially since I told them they can't use clip art. We'll see if I end up making the whole yearbook or if they are able to start grasping the concepts. I just gave them an assignment of making their own personal books using what I've taught them about margins, picture placement, framing, text, color schemes, etc. Time will tell how it's going to go!

Anyways, I wanted to let you all know that I have another website that I've been posting some pics of my kiddos to. I'm not planning on posting them on facebook or anything, and I wouldn't have the time to wait for all of them to load individually on blogger (it takes forever with our Internet here!!) SO my solution was to upload them to one of my shutterfly websites.

My site with my Uganda pics will be: http://www.kristi1.shutterfly.com/

My site that has my 'professional' pictures has been: http://www.kristifuller.shutterfly.com

praying that you all have a blessed Sunday!

AND a special Happy Birthday to Mom today, Danielle yesterday, Jess on Friday, and Grandma Shirley tomorrow!

and the adventure continues!

I headed out of LAX late Saturday evening, after a wonderful last day in Cali...

I finished packing everything (peanut butter, chocolate, and all!) in the morning, then Casey and I went to the Dodger game (vs. SF Giants) and we won 12-1! sorry, Brandon! It was an awesome game; Kemp and Loney hit back-to-back home runs, Belliard hit a grand slam, and we got to see Brad Penny (former Dodger who we didn't think was all that good) not pitch very well. :) Randy Johnson (not the one from Simi) also came in to pitch. I don't know why, but I really like him!



*sidenote* I think that I might just like Randy Johnson because when I was in 4th grade, at the Father-Daughter dance at Hollow Hills, I won three packs of '89 and '90 baseball cards, and one of them was of Randy Johnson pitching. I really liked the picture of him; his arms were completely stretched out as he was rotating through his pitch... And other than the Sammy Sosa rookie card, that's the only other card that I can actually remember from the hundreds that I had. Hence, why I like him. *end sidenote*



The game was followed by dinner with Aunt Jacque, KK, Mom, Kell, Dillon (and Casey & I) at the Cheesecake Factory. Mmm... nothing like a piece of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake before an 11-hour flight. Then, Mom, AJ, KK, and Kell took me to the airport and (after a few problems - what else is new?) I boarded the plane! I must say though, we were quite a spectacle going through the terminal; me with 3 huge bags of luggage, my carry-on bag, my laptop bag, and my purse; and my four weirdos behind me: waving, hollering, jumping on each other's backs to wave, making faces ... I'm even surprised they didn't detain us :)



Made it through security in about 30 minutes; everyone says you have to be there several hours early, but it has never taken me more than 45 min. to get through and be sitting there waiting and waiting :) knock on wood. Anyway, so I waited with a lot of other people for our flight to London. The couple sitting next to me only spoke Italian, so they were confused by the boarding procedure. I'm sure it was kind of comical to see me using my hands to motion that their row had been called and they could go board the plane. Once I boarded, I got to sit next to an older man who was also Italian. He made many motions as well, which I took to mean that he didn't speak English either. Our flight, therefore, was a little sparce on conversation, but excellent for sleeping! We had the seat in between us open, and I asked (by gesturing) if it would be okay if I put my feet on the middle seat. He nodded yes, so I was able to cuddle up and conk out for the rest of the flight (with the help of NyQuil).

And then, all of a sudden, I woke up and we were getting ready to land! I did have a six hour lay-over in the Heathrow airport, and since I didn't venture into the city, I made myself comfy at one of the eateries and ordered some chips. that's right... french fries! The prices were kind of outrageous, and I really didn't want to convert too much money into pounds, hence the french fry dinner. I lounged about, walked up and down a few times to check out the duty-free shops, and watched a lot of the planes take off, land, and taxi around. Then, I just cuddled up again in a really comfortable lounge chair and got some more shut-eye.

That time, I only slept for a half-hour or so... the airport isn't the most conducive place to sleep! I grabbed a Starbucks (and they took my Starbucks card; I was excited) and then sat to wait and see which terminal my plane would take off from. I did enjoy, during my short stay, the round covers on the ceiling that hid the ugly wiring and piping. It definitely made the place look more modern, in addition to serving a good purpose. The Air Traffic Control tower was also really neat. I've seen my fair share of towers, but this one just looked really cool. It was extremely narrow in the body, and the control room itself was longer and more narrow than any I've seen. My picture of it doesn't do it justice; I didn't have a chance to get the angle when we landed, which is when I thought it looked so neat.

It was also awesome to see some of the London countryside as we flew beneath the cloud cover and into the actual city. I REALLY REALLY want to extend my lay-over there on my return flight so I can explore a little bit... I'd love to see some of the countryside outside London, and maybe take a few days to visit France too!

I met some awesome people while waiting for the flight to Entebbe: twelve Americans from Washington, D.C. who were coming to 'the bush' to build a new church, three British plastic surgeons who were coming to train Ugandan surgeons how work on children with elefantiasis and clubbed feet, and three Americans who were coming on a medical missions trip to go up to Northern UG and disperse some medications and teach them how to prevent different infections. A very neat group of people!!

I didn't really sleep that much on this 10-hour flight, mostly because I had slept so much before - oops! I did get to watch three movies and some tv shows, though! I also was able to see the most amazing sunrise out of my window.

I probably took 20 pictures that showed the progression of the sun rising over the horizon in the sky; it was absolutely amazing! I just kept thinking, "Thanks, Lord. What a cool gift to get on my return here!" I chose this one just because of the sun's reflections, but the others were so vivid and colorful... so breath-taking. Such an awesome (literally) earth that we live in, to have so much beauty surrounding us!!!

Ok, well, that's about it! I made it back here and started teaching the next day! It's been a long week, and I am very excited for the weekend. But we're all back in the swing of things here!

one year...

"but in the twinkling of a moment,
before the chance to say so long,
you were taken from our world and now you're gone.

but I'll see you when I get home in the street by and by
and we'll walk along the streets of gold with angels by our side
and time will have no meaning there, in the land of no good-byes
it's good to know, I'll see you when I get home"

"When I Get Home" by 4Him

"greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city"

"God of This City" by Chris Tomlin

"Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea. Listen to my cry, give ear to my prayer,
for it comes desperately, desperately I come to You, You're my rock and my strength.

Jesus, I lift my eyes to the heavens, where does my help come from? You, Oh my Lord!
My heart has a thousand words to say, please Lord, turn burdens into praise!"


"Jesus, I Lift My Eyes" by the Pat Little Band

"I know You're there, I know You see me, You're the air I breathe, You are the ground beneath me, I know You're there, I know You hear me, I can find You anywhere!

If all I had was one last chance, I would take it, I would stake it all on You..."

"I Know You're There" by Casting Crowns




"but it's the memory of the place you've brought me from
that keeps me on my knees, even though I'm free...

heal the wound but leave a scar, a reminder of how merciful you are.
I am broke and torn apart; take the pieces of this heart,
heal the wound but leave a scar."

"Heal the Wound" by Point of Grace

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

Your perfect love is casting out fear.

And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life,

I won't turn back, I know you are near.

I will fear no evil, for my God is with me!

And if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear?

Oh Lord, you never let go; through the calm and through the storm.

Oh no, you never let go, every high and every low!

Oh no, you never let go; Lord, you never let go of me!"


"Never Let Go" by Matt Redman





"My heart and my soul, I give you control... consume me from the inside out, Lord!
Let justice and praise become my embrace to love you from the inside out!

Everlasting, Your light will shine will all else fails!
Never-ending, Your glory goes beyond all things, and the cry of my heart is to bring you praise from the inside out, Lord my soul cries out!"

"Inside Out" by Hillsong

sitting with my puppy

Right now, I'm just sitting here with my puppy, Coda, and doing lesson plans. I'm planning on heading out to the ranch in a little while, probably go for a hike and visit with Grandma for a bit.

Mostly, I just wanted to post and say thanks for all of the outpouring of love and support. I don't think I can say it enough.

I am so thankful for the friends and family I have, here in California, and all over the U.S. for that matter, and over in Uganda. As I was doing my lesson plans, I chose a new 'Name of Christ' for devotions with my 6th graders... I don't know who's teaching them right now, but I really hope they are still enjoying delving into the different names of Christ that we've been looking at.

I couldn't help but choose "A friend who sticks closer than a brother" for this next week. It just seemed to fit. In Proverbs 18:24, it says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” In my lesson plans, I wrote out: Explain that in our Lord, we have a friend… not a school friend, or someone we see every once in a while, but a friend who will always be true and faithful, who never leaves us. Isn’t it crazy how the King of the entire universe, instead of making us only be His servants, has ALSO given us the title ‘friend’?!? Oh Jesus, may we live up to the honor and calling that you’ve given to us.

And I couldn't help but be still and wonder at it. How many times have we called on our Lord as the King of Glory, the Creator, the Provider, the Comforter, our Shield and Strength, the Omnipotent, the Beginning and the End, and yet... He is also our Friend.

Thank you, my Friend, for being with me, for providing and comforting and caring, but mostly for being here to talk to, for never letting me feel alone or abandoned... for consistently showing up right when I need you... for being a shoulder to cry on (and weep on), to laugh at my clumsiness when no one else is around and I know you're the only one watching, and to make me excited and joyful about the little things in life. Thank you.