Uganda Update #5.5 (from Leah's eyes)

This is an update from Leah on my team. Several of you have asked
about her, Rob, and their baby, Abel. I thought you might enjoy
hearing her thoughts of the trip so far...

Jenelle

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Hello Everyone,

It has been good here in Gulu.

The good stuff:

1. I love being able to get to know the staff. They are awesome.
They challenge me with their worship, love, hospitality, and outreach.

2. We are filming interviews of different people on staff in charge of
the various ministries. It is so exciting to hear their visions and
the impact they are having. I have heard about these ministries for
so long but now I feel like I have a better understanding and can see
how they are actually being carried out.

3. I am blown away by Favor of God Ministries, the stories I've heard,
how much they love, how much they sacrifice, how much they trust God,
how the community and government looks to and respects them. It's
incredible and such an honor to be a part of.

4. Now Ugandans have the kind of music you can dance to! Actually,
you can't help but dance. I love worshipping with this culture.

5. The House of Hope Children's Home is a place of peace. We went
there last night, and I felt so refreshed. Those kids and house mamas
really know how to have fun. Also, it truly is a home for these kids
to experience childhood, be loved, and grow in the Lord. I am so
proud of this part of Favor of God.

6. Abel is enjoying the many new people. Everyone LOVES him and can't
get enough. He is doing really well.

7. Wow, it's amazing to see Rob with the Favor of God staff. They
love him, and he fits right in. I think this is my favorite part of
everything. We would have never ever thought up this job for him 2
years ago. He is perfect for this job and does it so well. He
interacts with all the Ugandans as if they were his best friends. I
don't think he has any kind of comfort zone. God has built him so
amazingly.

The challenging stuff:

1. I did have one day that was very hard. It was a day where Abel was
a hand-full, I felt some culture shock, and I didn't feel like I was
able to connect with the Ugandans. I am feeling much better. Thank
you for your prayers! It's amazing how much I can tell people are
praying for us. I am connecting a little bit better with the
Ugandans, but it still is hard. I get intimidated and don't feel like
I have anything to talk about. The rest of our team is doing much
better with this though, so I'm trying to follow their lead.

2. I am sometimes overly concerned with staying clean and healthy
probably mostly because of Abel. I sometimes get uncomfortable when
people and kids want to hold him or when he gets really dirty. I just
have to remember that God had all these details in mind when he led us
to bring our family. Just pray for strong immune systems.

3. I am being challenged spiritually, but I think there's still so
much more that we could see. I still want our eyes opened even more.

4. It's very hard for me to understand my environment. We have
poverty all around us. I still can't comprehend how what I'm seeing
can possibly exist at the same time as what I will experience when I
get home.

5. One of my huge dreams for this trip is to grow in love and respect
for the Ugandans. I think very highly of our Ugandan staff. But, I
want to be able to look at every other person and also see their
value. I want to be able to see the poorest, dirtiest, meanest,
laziest, most uneducated, most unattractive person and see them with
God's eyes. I want to see each person and honor them above myself.
This is very hard for me.

6. Rob has some very important meetings, discussions, and decisions to
help with for Favor of God Ministries. This could be a heavy burden,
so we need to pray that he can do it with God's strength and give it
all to God to carry. He has a board meeting tomorrow. Pray for that.

So, please just pray from these things that I've shared. Continue to
pray for safety, health, spiritual protection, unity, passion, and
open eyes. By the way (mom and dad) I feel very safe here. Traveling
is probably the most dangerous since driving is crazy! So, you can
pray for that. But still don't fear for us, if God told us to come
here, then he has it all under control. You can trust me that I know
he told us to come. No worries!

We love you!

Leah