3 Weeks, 2 Days

3 Weeks, 2 Days to go until we are on the plane headed for Uganda.
That is not very much time. Of course, it doesn't really matter how much time is in front of us, I don't think it would ever seem like enough time to complete everything that I need to do. Every time we cross one thing off the to-do list, we add at least one more. A couple of days ago a friend asked how I was doing. The first thing out of my mouth was that I was about to have a meltdown because there wasn't a place of calm in my house. There are boxes everywhere, some sealed and ready to send to storage, others still open and partially filled. Our family room is overtaken by all the contents of my kitchen cabinets (when else would be a better time to have work done in the kitchen?)

But enough of the whining. I am so excited about life right now!

For my non-Facebook friends, I am going to copy a post about the generosity of the Raincross Quilt Guild ladies:

Definition of generous
a. characterized by a noble or kindly spirit : MAGNANIMOUS, KINDLY; a generous heart
b. Ladies of the Riverside Quilt Guild

I went to my last meeting of the Raincross Quilt Guild this evening and was overwhelmed by the generosity shown to me. My guild friends kept stopping by where I was sitting and handing me boxes and bags of sewing supplies to take to Uganda. They gave me notes of encouragement. And I can't forget the cash people kept handing me to purchase anything else needed. Friends. Generous.


Yesterday I was once again thinking about the Raincross Quilt Guild, thanking God for each lady who gave. I began thinking about how to best spend the donated money ($420 total!) and grew excited about the many sewing supplies that could purchased and taken with me. I knew could buy more than enough to fill a duffle bag to the brim. This led to the "I wonder how much I can buy and not exceed what we are allowed to carry in our luggage?" question. But then ZOOP! A thought rushed into my head - why not use the money to purchase 2 treadle sewing machines in Uganda? I had a friend (Pam) who had already donated enough money specifically to purchase one machine already. With the addition of these machines, I would be able to have 3 ladies using machines at one time. Amazing to think that one area of our home could be designated for community sewing. Such a blessing!

Come and visit us! We have space!

You might wonder about having enough space in our home to house three sewing machines. I had shared with many friends that I was picturing us living in some sort of small abode, and was praying for running water and a flush toilet. Well, very early one morning about a month ago my phone started exploding with text message notifications. Then photos began popping up on my phone. Unbeknownst to us, Adam (a pastor from our church in Riverside who was chaperoning a group of high school students) teamed up with Pastor Martin (who we will be serving with in Uganda), and did some reconnaissance on housing for us. They found three potential places, all with running water and flush toilets. The choices included a small 1-bedroom furnished apartment, a cottage, and a large unfurnished house.

I struggled with the decision. I do not want to be one of those "rich Americans" who flaunt their wealth. I had thoughts of not deserving such a nice place since, after all, we were going to serve in a sacrificial manner.  It just didn't "jive" with what I had thought that our living situation would be and was resistant to choosing the large house.

But then a couple of things happened that changed my mind. The first was that Pastor Martin, a Ugandan who is held in high regard in Gulu, recommended that we select the large house. He said that we would not be perceived as the big ugly wealthy Americans, but as people who were willing to care enough about the area to establish ourselves with esteem. He also expressed that we could use the extra bedrooms to house visitors. I could use some of the space for sewing classes.

I was reminded of the verse in Isaiah that that says God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 58:9). I was moving to Uganda with my idea of what things would be like. While I was open to helping in whatever way asked, I had placed a limit on my thinking.  I had a paradigm shift from going out and being visitors in the community to becoming a part of the community. A larger home would allow us to invite people in and show them hospitality. We could use the space for classes and gathering times for the ladies. The extra bedrooms could be put to use by pastors visiting from out of town for training. So we chose the larger home.  Yes, larger. Four bedrooms plus a guest house with an outdoor place for gatherings.