Pockets of Grace

I wanted to thank you so much for your prayers! It’s been such an encouragement to me and God has been faithful in listening and answering them.

I’ve been here for about 3 months and to be honest—it hasn’t been easy. But God has been good and at the right time, when I’m feeling the most discouraged and disheartened He’s provided me with pockets of grace to sustain, encourage, and uplift (is this the right word!?) my soul to Him. So thank you for your prayers & encouragement. He hears and answers. He is good. 

Some pockets of grace:

SAVED! 

2 kids (I guess one is technically an adult) at GSF accepted Christ into their lives!!!! God is working here in the kid’s hearts & I pray he continues to work in their hearts & I pray that their faith is genuine (they grow up in a Christian environment, sing songs, go to church/Sunday school but yet they don’t truly know Him).

Esther-One of the girls who accepted Christ

20^th Anniversary at GSF:

GSF’s 20^th anniversary was awesome. I met some old GSFers and was able to hear their testimonies and how God has been working in their life and using them to further His kingdom. Crazy encouraging seeing the fruit of his labour.  

 

GSF's Hosanna Choir

Missionaries with founder Wayne Walker

Old and New GSFers 

Photographer is advertising someone's wedding picture at the anniversary.
Ryan was an excuse to take a picture of the photographer advertising

Hosanna Choir

Anniversary Lunch

AIM crew -My Short term coordinator and Unit Leader: Cassandra and Linda

Some of the GSF girls 

Me & Danielle 

KFC:

I asked Danielle what was one thing she wanted to do in Uganda before she left. Anything. She said she wanted to go to Kampala to eat at KFC and eat a good piece of cheesecake. So we did just that. 

She's easy to please. 

when you ask for a knife..they give you a knife

Fries and a chicken sandwich 

cheesecake..didn't taste like cheesecake

KFC!

Mutiny: 

So I decided to take 2 of our special needs girls on a walk around campus. We sang and stomped around the campus grounds (singing I'm in the Lord's Army...let me rephrase--me singing I'm in the Lord's Army). I think they mutually decided not to go back to their house and to walk in the opposite direction when we were done with our walk (they are pretty strong…strong willed and physically strong). I am a weak, weak person. I had to run and get another girl to bring them back…But it was fun walking with them & I enjoyed that time with them.

Kathy

Reunited and it feels so good: 

We brought in another child! Her name is Anisha! She's such a sweet girl and is adjusting to the changes well! I had to poke her twice while testing her for malaria and felt so bad I gave her candy. Now she associates anything with needles = getting a sweetie. We were also able to reunite her with her brothers! Such a sweet moment!

Anisha and her brother Bahati reunited and cuddling it out

Eye can see clearly now…

Some of the kids have gone… to an optometrist. It was cool. Also fun spending time with the kids. Our car overheated on the way back.

Eye exam

Stranded while fixing the car

Waiting for the car to cool off

White Ants:

Peer pressured to eat a white ant. Tasted crispy and like oil.

white ants 

Danielle eating a white ant

white ants

Irish Jig

Irish students came to visit GSF. The kids and students had a dance party (kinda)…. It was pretty entertaining.

dancing

Hospital: Disclaimer: don't look at the pictures if you don't like wounds

For the next 8 weeks (4 now) I'm in Jinja for my hospital internship.  It's been quite an experience (definitely a sanctifying one):

1) I felt like I went back in time. I wear an all white uniform dress and a little hat. The first day I wore it I got a splotchy brown/red stain on it--not from blood but beans!
2) I fell in love with a little boy who came into the hospital after being abandoned and locked up in his father's house. He was diagnosed with severe malnutrition, cerebral malaria, pressure sores, and he was  severely contracted. He was just learning how to speak again!
3) I saw what would happen to child when an injection goes wrong
4) I saw many bones coming out of people's legs
5) I saw many burn victims
6) I saw many people admitted into the hospital that were bashed in the head by a machete/some weapon
7) I saw a "dog bite" (although we really don't think it was a dog bite but abuse).
8) I made friends with a 5 year old girl who swallowed a 3-4inch nail.

the hospital building

ward 4

ward 3

Helen-She made my uniform 

Oral morphine in a tinted water bottle

Injection gone wrong

Samuel

ward 9

Dog Bite?! You can see the skull

Antibiotic bottle galore 

Swallowed a 3-4 inch nail

Entertaining this boy while doing dressing changes

Faith-the girl who swallowed a nail

Healthcare is very limited here. I respect the healthcare staff that do what they can do to make things work and make do when they are very limited in resources. It's been a learning process and an emotional roller coaster ride.  I keep wishing and feeling that I should do more for these people. Wishing that I could pay for everyone's scans and x-rays just so we could have a better and accurate diagnosis to treat them and prevent further things from happening. Wishing I could pay for medications, especially pain medications when we are out so that when I do dressing changes or when a patient has a fever I can give them something. Wishing that I didn't know what we COULD'VE  done to sustain a patient's life and keep them alive.
But thankfully I was reminded (& still being reminded) that God is the GREAT PHYSICIAN and He is SOVEREIGN. He is in control of their lives and no matter what we try to do He is the one who heals them or allows them to die. He is sovereign. He is also the one they need spiritually more than any healthcare and physical healing anyone can ever give. He is their greatest hope and need and what is lasting.  So even though I can't speak Luganda or Lusoga that well (besides greetings) I'm trying to be intentional and pray for some of my patients and show Christ's love to them. 

Fishermen's Lights & Fishing Village: 

Fishing Village

I went to visit the fishing village nearby the place I am staying at. Also Carly (a girl I met who just left to go back to the states) and I went to watch the fishermen fish at night with their gas lanterns. It was pretty cool and nice after a long day of work.

Fishing Village

Watching the lights on the lake

Carly and I watching the fishermen with their lanterns

Special Olympics:
We took some of our special needs kids to a sports day for special needs kids. It was fun and cute.

Spam:
Almost everyone thought I was gross for liking Spam! So I introduced the other missionaries to the goodness of Spam. GOTCHA now--take that! It's totally better than cow innards!

Jungle Cruise:
Okay more like we went on a forest trek (wilderness adventure) in the backyard of GSF. We were led by our tour guide, Titus (whose 12 years old). Basically, he used a machete to hack at the forest to kinda make a path for us. First time getting a leech on my arm and stepping in many knee-high swamps (halfway through I realized I punctured a hole in one of my rain boots).

our group minus one-we wanted a boy band picture

entering the forest 

going through the first swamp--her socks were white

hacking the forest for a path and crossing the swamp with a tree

Kaitlin (an intern) and I after almost falling in a swamp

Got to the other side of the forest

Deciding which way to get back into the forest to get to the other side

And then some... I've been going back to GSF on the weekends. It's been good seeing the kiddos and hanging out with them. I do miss them when I am gone! 

So thank you for your prayers, keep 'em coming especially for the remaining weeks at the hospital and for my time at GSF (now that  Danielle left and I am the only American nurse)