Life 'n' Things

I was reading a friend's blog today and was struck with the thought "hey maybe I should write a blog post." So here I am. I'm sitting in Pete's Coffee with a delicious sugar free soy mocha listening to Death Cab for Cutie and thinking about what should I write. Maybe about the stuff in my life... eh that's not terribly exciting these days. About deep thoughts... not really anything comes to mind. I guess what I am finding more and more is how much I enjoy the little things, like the smell of freshly brewed coffee or a nice Facebook wall post from a friend. I know God is doing big things in my life and the life of everyone around me, but He is also there in the small things, telling me what it is to live and be and I thank Him for my senses, my sensibility and His goodness. Maybe there will be more to come soon... or maybe not, but this is enough for now.

Prayer Update #8 (Last Uganda/Poland)

Hello everybody!!

I know this has been a long time in coming, but I've finally gotten to a place where I can sit down and reflect on what God has been doing in and through me.  So without further ado, my *last* Uganda update: 

 

Trip to Gedeon's Village

My fellow intern Jill and I visited Gedeon's (one of our guards) village in the west of Uganda near Kasese.  Over the 4 days we were there, we visited a salt mine, fishing village, the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park where we came up close to a family of elephants and a few waterbuffalo (we sent the kids back to the car because they couldn't run as fast ...scary!) We also went to a football (soccer) game in the village where it was hard to tell whether the football or a couple of muzungus (us white people) drew a larger crowd.  The rest of the time was spent in a sitting room in Gedeon's house where we would have occasional visitors, but little conversation because most of them would only know a little English and we only knew a little Lukonzo (the local language). On Sunday we went to Gedeon's church and were treated as guests of honor.  To raise funds for the church, people bring different goods which are auctioned off at the end of the service. That night all of Gideon's extended family came over and we had a large dinner and took pictures with each generation.

This trip was very cross culturally stretching and although not easy, I really value the lessons and friendships made and deepened with Gedeon and his family.

 

Uganda Wrap-Up

As I look back on my time in Uganda, I am so thankful for what God did in me and thru me, it was wonderful to get to use my technical skills to serve ministries and to come alongside Ugandan christians to encourage them in their walk and in turn be even more encouraged in my own.  I treasure our times of sweet worship and fellowship and hope to soon return to that beautiful country.

 

The Interim / My job!!

Since returning from Uganda last July (wow), I had a few months of rest and adventures including church family camp up in Yosemite and hiking in Bryce Canyon.  And for those of you that don't know, in October God provided me a job from my very first interview with a company called MakeItRight, Inc.(www.makeitright.net) I found out about the company because Brad's (one of the EMI staff in Uganda) brother-in-law is the founder.  We are a structural engineering firm that design specifically for hospitals in California.  Our main office is in Arcadia.  I really love my job and the cool people I get to work with everyday.

I have also moved out of my parents house into an apartment in Pasadena with some dear friends from college.  So far I really enjoy Pasadena and have a enjoyed time spent with the good number of friends from college in the vicinity.  Also, there is an awesome swing dancing venue down the street that I have been taking full advantage of. It has been wonderful seeing how God has provided for me and is continuing to provide for me wherever I am!

Poland

I may live in Pasadena, but I still "commute" 45 minutes to my home church, Calvary Church of Placentia where I have been involved in the young adult group. In light of our commitment to taking God and his Word seriously, our group is preparing to take a mission trip to Poland in July to work at a Bible Camp. Why Poland and why this camp? In short, our church has a developing relationship with some of the leaders in the Evangelical church in Poland, and after meeting personally with the camp founder this past year, we were convinced that it was a place for us to serve. Poland is one of the most unreached countries in Europe, with only about .1% of the population being Evangelical Christians. Only twenty years removed from the dominance of communism, Poland is now ready for a harvest. The camp we will be serving at is a discipleship camp for young adults. We will be working with a group of young adults who crave relationships with other Christians their age. Since there are so few Christians in all of Poland, they rarely meet with others. We will be assisting in teaching, recreational activities, worship and also helping with some work projects around the camp.

 

I truly appreciate all your prayers and financial support of all my endeavors over the past few years.  For this trip I ask for your prayers and am excited to tell you that since I now have an income I am going to pay my own way.  I feel so blessed through God's provision and plan in my life.

 

If you want to get information on-line, our college and young adult group as a blog that provides updates regarding our entire trip to Poland: http://ccpfellowship.wordpress.com.

Also, I have posted all my Uganda Updates on my blog (http://hahaheather.blogspot.com).  God has taken me on a wonderful journey so far, and I believe there are many more chapters to come.  Thank you for all the ways you have supported me, I could not have done all I have done without you.

In His Grace!

Heather

Uganda Prayer Update #7 (sent 6/24/08)

Hello everyone!

It struck me that I only have less than one month left here in Uganda! As usual time certainly flies and as with most transitions in my life I am approaching this one with a number of different emotions: excitement, sadness, and anxiety to name a few, but I definitely will leave a part of my heart in this red soil. I want to thank you all for praying with me for my time here and for the work that I am doing, I feel so blessed being here. This email is a bit long, I have been delightfully busy since I last emailed so feel free to skim or skip down to prayer requests.

Iganga Project Trip
About 2 weeks ago, I went on my third EMI project trip. Our team consisted of interns Jill, Greg, and myself and a new summer intern Jared, staff members Janet and Brad, and volunteers from the states Joe and Kelly. For this project I worked mainly structural with Brad and electrical with Joe. The ministry we worked with is called Abundant Life Ministries and they are planning to build a secondary school in Iganga, Uganda. The ministry is supported by Ernest and Thelma Howie from Northern Ireland and they are working with Pastor Dan and his wife Florence who stay in Iganga and John Faith who is their Ugandan counterpart. The Howies have come to Uganda a number of times to do crusades and teaching pastors and they have a great vision for growth in this country. The team stayed with Pastor Dan and his family in their compound that has a hole in the ground for a toilet and bucket baths. I was glad that my hair was in braids for the trip which means that I didn't have to wash my hair.

This being my third project trip, going into it I knew what to expect and wasn't worried or anything and I think that allowed me to really put my whole heart into being present with the people and with our team more so than on previous projects. On our first day, some ladies were dancing in the compound we were staying in, so I went over and asked if they would teach me, well one thing led to the next and I ended up dancing with the choir for the church service in front of a congregation of about 150 laughing Ugandans. I really thank God for this experience and just being able to enter into Ugandan culture in a new way that I hope really blessed those that were there. My relationship with the ladies of the choir continued as Greg and I met with them nearly every evening to teach them new English songs. After one night, Nora translated I Will Worship into Luganda and we were able to learn it and sing with the whole team and choir together. I also really treasured our time together as a team, everyone got along remarkably well and we were able to design a school that will be an asset to the community. During this trip I really felt the prayer covering that I know has been with me and it was an incredible blessing that no one on our team got sick and we were able to make a lot of progress in such a short time.

Life in Kampala
Since coming back to Kampala, I've been trying to find a way to get more involved in the community here and I went to a choir practice at Amazing Grace (Janet Strike's church that is mostly Ugandan) where we learned the song Hallelujah, Salvation, and Glory it was really fun to sing and dance with the Ugandans and I hope to go back soon, although scheduling has been a bit difficult because of other commitments. Jill and I are going to visit Gideon's village near Kasese in the west of Uganda on Thursday until Monday. Gideon is one of our guards and he invited us to go and meet his family and spend some time in the village with them. I am really excited to get to experience a bit of village life because I know it will be very different than life here in Kampala. I'm not totally sure what to expect, but I hope that I can connect with the people in the village and get a taste of what life is like and whatever else God has for me there.

It has been fun getting to know all the new interns and having more extroverts around. Having them around has shown me a lot of things that I have learned about being here in Uganda because they are always asking questions. Also, they have a new perspective on things that I have gotten used to. For example, one night we were served whole fish and I didn't think anything of it but everyone else was like whoa there is a fish head and tail and then I remembered that it wasn't normal. I think this may be a preview of how weird it will be to adjust to being back in the States, it is amazing the things that you can learn to take for granted.

In the office, I've really enjoyed working on the structural design with Brad. He has been really good about explaining what he is doing and I've been drawing up everything in AutoCad. We've been through many iterations of the drawings (I've gotten used to looking at a lot of red pen) and have been getting close to completion. We are about ready for the whole project review on July 3^rd. I have enjoyed having a lot to do and trying to get everything to a good point before my dear friend Martha got here!

Martha has come to visit me here in Uganda and arrived on Thursday! She is volunteering with the PeaceCorps in Tanzania where I visited her after my last project trip and now she has some time to visit me. It is still a bit surreal that we both happen to be in East Africa, but it is good to get some Harvey Mudd flavor even on this side of the world.

Some of What I Have Been Learning
I have been thinking recently about what God has been teaching me over my time here in Uganda. It has been a little overwhelming and is still a process but here are a few of my thoughts. One thing that God has really been teaching me is how important our heart posture is before him and other people. I feel that it is really easy for us as Westerners and "missionaries" to place ourselves above those that we serve, but that attitude can really get in the way of building meaningful and lasting relationships and being really able to help people in a sustainable way. It is only when we humble ourselves and let go of "our way" that we are able to enter into the struggles of others (especially cross-culturally) and allow God to use us. God has also been teaching me to trust Him, both with my circumstances and who He has made me to be. There have been times when I have felt uncomfortable or unsure, but God has always brought me through and I am learning more and more not to worry about what is going on. I have been learning to trust Him with myself and being able to put myself out there and let go of some of my pride and self-image. It has been in the times when I have most lost myself that I have felt most alive and most myself. One of the mysteries of life I suppose.

Praises:

· Praise God for a really great project trip!!

· Praise God for bringing the new interns and the relationships we have been able to build in such a short time.

· Praise God that Martha is here!

· Praise God for His amazing provision and blessing!

Prayer Requests:

· Safe travels for when Jill and I visit Gideon's village on Thursday.

· Safe travels for Martha to get back to Tanzania.

· Continued involvement in Amazing Grace choir.

· That I will have/take time to process more of what God is teaching me and remember it.

· God's direction for the next chapter of my life.

· That God will use our plans for Abundant Life to serve the people of Iganga and glorify Himself.

By His grace,

Heather

Uganda Prayer Update #6 (sent 5/18/08)

Hello everyone!

Things here in the Kampala office have been somewhat "back to normal" recently. We've been chuggin' away at the Mt. Meru Project and have recently sent them a 85% version for their review. I've been busy working on the water, wastewater, and electrical drawings along with the occasional architectural spreadsheet. I have enjoyed working on the different aspects of the project and seeing more of the big picture of all the systems that go into a building (or many buildings). The personnel here is in the process of changing: Christoph left Uganda last week and Greg, Stephanie, & Heather Peeler are all leaving in about three weeks. Also Megan arrived Wednesday, she will be serving as the intern coordinator for the next year, she was an intern last spring and fall and I got to meet her when I was in Uganda last October. Also the summer interns are coming on Tuesday, there are 5 of them, 1 girl and 4 guys, we are all excited for them to come, although it will be a little crazy logistically for the first few weeks they will be here. Please pray for everyone to adjust well to the changes that are happening.

We had a day of prayer two weeks ago where we all took the whole day to pray together and worship and lift up our goals and vision for EMI as a whole and specifically the East Africa office. It was a really great day and we had some personal time where I specifically wanted to ask God to show me more of a vision for my life (aka if missions is what He is calling me to long term). Well, I didn't receive anything as specific as I wanted but I felt that God was impressing one word on me and that was hospitality. So I have been thinking about what that means or could look like and I think at least for now, no matter where I am or end up, I want to welcome people into my home and basically just love them, which I suppose is pretty simple in theory and more difficult in practice. I've also been realizing recently how selfish I am, so I have been looking out for ways to serve my housemates and people around me (I'm planning to do the dishes after finishing this update). But I know that I can't change myself, only God can really change my heart and make it a lasting transformation.

I am going on another project trip starting on May 23rd until June 1st. This one is inside Uganda near a town called Iganga which is on the road between Jinja and Mbale. We will be designing Abundant Life Secondary School. We (Janet, Brad, Jill & I) got to go and meet with the ministry this past Monday and Janet and I stayed around afterwards to do the survey of the site. The main couple behind the ministry is a retired couple from Northern Ireland, Ernest and Thelma Howie. Thelma was telling us about their experiences with the IRA and the bombing and death threats they experienced. I loved hearing their accents and hearing about their home because it reminded me of all my dear friends from Northern Ireland and it was easy to see how their struggles and difficulties in the past have prepared them for the work they are doing now in Uganda. One thing that will be different for this project is that I will be working primarily on the structural with Brad. I'm excited to focus on something different and learn more about the structural side of things. After we finished surveying, Janet and I went up to Mbale to have a meeting with Bushikori Christian Centre (clinic, primary school, & sponsorship program), the site of my first EMI project, it was really great to see people who recognized me and to see one of the buildings we designed that has been built.

On another note I got my hair braided a few weeks ago, its pretty crazy and hurt at first and itches but I enjoy it. Here is a link to some pictures. Also, thanks everyone who sent me an email, I really appreciate hearing from you and hopefully I will soon get better at replying! It is almost surreal that I will be back in SoCal in just two months! Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Prayer Requests:

- Pray for all those in transition in our office and quick adjustment.

- Pray for Abundant Life School and our team to have safe travels and meet with God in a unique way.

- Pray for Bushikori Christian Centre as they are in the process of fundraising for adequate facilities.

- Pray for my continued processing as I seek to follow God in the next steps in my life.

In His grace,

Heather

eMiea Intern

www.emiea.org

Uganda(& Tanzania) Prayer Update #5 (sent 3/29/08)

Hi everyone!!

Sorry for the long delay and the length of the email, I have been in Tanzania for 3 weeks with very limited internet access and have a lot to update. I am now back in the office in Kampala and getting back into the swing of things.

Project Trip
The first week and a half in Tanzania was on a project trip to Mt. Meru University near Arusha, Tanzanina. This was a great time of getting into the work that I came here to do. We had six people from Kampala fly down, Chad, the project leader and director of eMi East Africa, Zach and Jill, other interns, Liz, a long term volunteer architect, and Lexi, a graphic designer that recently moved here with her husband. The rest of our team was comprised of volunteers from the states, Richal, structural engineer, Glenn, civil engineer, Willie, surveyor, Stew, young petroleum engineer that helped out with the surveying and civil and his wife Jess who is a teacher and taught some classes in English as a second language. We had a great team and one of my favorite times was our team devotions in the evenings. During the day, I was mostly working with Glenn collecting information on the water, wastewater, and electrical systems.

Mt. Meru University started out as a Baptist Seminary in the 1970's and have recently expanded to include a school of business and education. Because of recent efforts of the Tanzanian government to increase university education, they have made loans much more accessible and the student population has grown exceedingly. Our team designed a new academic centre and new dorms for the growth of the university as well as recommendations for all the utility systems. We were heartily welcomed and taken good care of (there is nothing like African hospitality) and quickly got to see some of the vision of not just a good university, but one that emphasizes bringing the Christian life into areas of business and education through a dedication to student discipleship. The leadership of the university has a great vision for the future of their institution and are all dedicated to do all that they can to further that vision.

Visit with Martha
After the trip, I had the opportunity to visit my dear friend Martha from college who is teaching secondary school in Manyoni, Tanzania with the Peace Corps. It was a rather long bus ride to get there, but it was lovely to see her and meet her students and fellow teachers. She teaches chemistry and physics at a catholic girls boarding school and her house is inside the nearby convent. A big highlight of my time there was teaching some of the students how to cha-cha, polka and do the Shim Sham (a swing line dance which is the first swing I learned when I was a Junior in High School), the students certainly laughed at us a lot but I think they had a good time and then they taught us some of their dances too. I also attended 3 catholic masses in Swahili which was a very interesting experience. Even though I couldn't understand what was being said, it was good to be in God's house and hear people praising Him and the music was incredible! Overall it was a very enjoyable visit and I especially loved being able to spend Palm Sunday and Easter with my dear friend.

Back in the Office
I came back to Kampala on Monday evening and it has been good to be "home." There are a few things here that I have been missing, especially our times of singing praise songs together and being able to practice guitar. It has also been good getting into more work on the project for Mt. Meru and having plenty to do. It has also been a blessing hanging out with my housemates and all the interns here.

Fully supported!
So after a long and prayerful journey, I am now fully supported financially!! I praise God for answering my prayers and all of yours and for confirming His call to come to Uganda. Thank you everyone who has given toward my trip, I greatly appreciate your partnership in His work.

Prayer Requests and Praises

1. PRAISE God I am fully financially supported!!
2. PRAY that we would give a good and useful design to Mt. Meru University.
3. PRAY for funds for Mt. Meru that they would be able to begin construction as soon as possible.
4. PRAISE for a good and encouraging time in Tanzania.

Thanks for reading this long email and I'd love to hear how things are going for you! I miss all my dear friends all around the world and I hope that it will not be long until I see you again. Praise God that He is Risen and that we can look forward to living with Him in eternity!!

In His grace,
~Heather

Uganda Prayer Update #4 (sent 2/3/08)

Oliotia! (Hello and how are you?)

I've been practicing my Luganda.. but I'm still not very good. I'm getting really excited for our trip to Tanzania in just a week and a half. We are working through a few logistical issues, but for the most part all our preparations are going as planned. Another team from our office left for Kapchorwa (eastern Uganda) on Monday, so you can pray for them as they are working on a large water distribution plan. One of the team members on that trip is Ian Pringle who was an intern with me in Colorado last semester. It was really encouraging to see him again and be reminded of all the fun and growth that we experienced last sememster. I also wanted to share a cool story with you, it happened a while ago, but we've had some power issues recently.

One day, Chad, Zach, and I went on a site visit to a ministry called Sufficiency of Scriptures (SOS). They want to build a theological school on some property they recently aquired about 3 hours north of Kampala and to help the immediate needs of the community, they also want to have a primary school because there isn't one within 5 kilometers and there are a number of children that don't have the means to go there. Because of the number of organizations requesting eMi's services, a full team won't be able to go out until September at the earliest, so our job was to get a preliminary GPS survey of the site and help them decide where to build the staff houses and infrastructure so that they can begin to live on the site and the eMi team will have a place to stay while they do their work. After we had walked around most of the site, we were walking down the road back to where our lunch was and there were a number of families on the other side of the road. I was contented to wave and say a quick hello to the people, but Shannon, the director of SOS went in to each yard and shook hands with all the family and talked in broken Luganda. He noticed that one of the little girls (named Betty) had something in her ear and through the help of a translator heard that she had been having pus come out of her ear and he asked the mother if he could take her to a doctor and bring her back in a few days. After making this clear and discussing it with the father, it was agreed that we would stop by to pick her up on our way out. We then continued along the road and many of the children, including Betty's brother Patrick. After finishing lunch and a bit more looking around the site, we stopped by and picked up Betty and Shannon also asked if Patrick could come too. Betty was assigned to my lap, since I was the only woman on the trip and she eventually fell asleep (see picture). It turned out to be just a really bad infection and she was taking medication for it. Shannon is headed back up there today and will see how she is doing.

It really touched my heart how committed to that community Shannon is and how quickly he was willing to do everything in his power to help this little girl. It is encouraging to see God's love in the people eMi serves and I hope that God will continue to grow this compassion within my heart for the people around me.

Please pray for:

1. Betty that she would be healed and feel the love of God
2. Shannon that he and his family would continue to be filled with God's love and serve this community.
3. the eMi team in Kapchorwa, that they would be unified and able to finish the large water system plans.
4. the logistics and prepartions for our trip to Tanzania and spiritual preparation for the team.
   

In His grace,
Heather

Uganda Prayer Update #3 (sent 2/3/08)

Greetings! (Sorry for the double email.. for some reason half of it got cut off in the first go)

I hope that this week has treated everyone well! Thanks everyone who has emailed me, I love hearing from you! Things have started to settle down a bit here, as it was our first week of working in the office. Until our project trip in early March, we will not have terribly much to do. So in the meantime I have been reading books, cleaning out my inbox and other such things. I am living in the same compound as our office so to get to work I have to walk approximately 10 ft. My roommate is another intern named Jill who is an architect student at Kansas State. My other housemates are Liz Lee from New Zealand, a long term volunteer architect, and Heather Peeler, a teacher at the local international school (she has been here for a year and a half). Our other housemate is a cat named Oreo. On Saturday, Liz and I worked on our little garden and played some American football at Heritage with some other ex pats.

On Sunday, we went to church with Janet, a staff civil engineer, where she is the only regular attender who is a mzungu (white person). It was a really fun service with alot of singing and dancing. There were a number of songs in Luganda which we couldn't understand, but also songs that I knew, including "Trading My Sorrows" and "Amazing Grace." When we sang "My Redeemer Lives" I could feel how much everyone really believed! After the service we were invited to Mama Eunice's house for lunch. When we got there, we fit 8 people sitting in a concrete block of about 5ft x 7ft. It was rather tight, but Mama Eunice got us Cokes and rice and we had a lovely time chatting with the neighbors. It was a great day to see the joy of the Lord in His people!

Praises:
~God is at work!
~We get to see it!

Requests:
~Continuing to grow in community in our house.
~Continued financial support.
~That God would show me the best place for me to serve the community here.

Thanks for reading and God Bless!!
~Heather

Uganda Prayer Update #2 (sent 1/27/08)

Hello!

After what felt like many days of travel, we have all arrived safely here in Uganda! The three other new interns and I arrived in London after a red-eye from Denver around 10am on Tuesday and met up with a long term volunteer named Christoff that will be here in Kampala with us for 4 months. We then got to see some of the sights of London on a lovely sunny day. After another red-eye flight, we arrived in Entebbe, Uganda on Wednesday morning and thankfully so did all our luggage! It was nice to see everyone at eMi again (I had met most of the people here on my previous trip) and settle into our rooms. We have been going through more orientation, getting to know Ugandan culture, our office, our coworkers, and Kampala, as well as getting over jet lag. Yesterday we went white water rafting down the Nile... it was a truly thrilling experience! When we were on the bus on the way back from rafting, we passed by many villages. We were at least some kind of spectacle for the average Ugandan as a bus full of Mzungus (white people). The children would yell and wave at us or be too busy playing football (soccer) to notice and the adults would mostly just give a blank stare. It made me wonder what they were thinking of us, spending money on a thrill while most of them only have enough to take care of daily needs.

Praises:

~We have all safely arrived in Uganda!

~All our luggage safely arrived in Uganda!

Prayer Requests:

~Continued adjustment to the new environment

~Financial Support (I will get updates once a month because of the difficulty to access the Colorado network from here)

~Continued building of relationship with other interns and housemates

For His Glory!

~Heather

Uganda Prayer Update #1 (sent 1/21/08)

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from Colorado Springs! I have been here for the past week for intern orientation with eMi (www.emiworld.org ). Orientation was a great time to meet the new interns and see a few of the old. We heard testimonies of the staff and discussions of the role of the church and world poverty. Going through the second time, I retained more of the information we were given. I was especially struck by the talk on poverty and our discussion of the best ways to help people through building relationships and serving with an attitude of humility. I get on a plane for Uganda in a few hours and I am so excited to spend this time there and see what God will do!

Please pray for:

-safe travels for me and the other 3 interns with me. Also that all our luggage will also arrive safely.

-our group of interns to get along well and grow together as we live in community.

-a spirit of humility and grace as we enter a new culture.

-avenues to build relationships with Ugandans.

-financial support ( I currently need $6591.80)

Thanks to everyone for your support, both in prayer and finances, I greatly appreciate it. Praise God that He is working and that He uses us.

~Heather Martelle

Entebbe (but not the airport)

So this last weekend we went to Entebbe to visit the botanical gardens and a nice pool that was only 5000 shillings at the Lake Victoria Hotel. It was a fun day! I got a bit sunburned, but we got to see pretty flowers, birds, a monkey, the lake, and a horde of dragon flies that followed us around. We took a metatu ("taxi") which is like a minivan fitted up with 14 seats that is always pretty crammed and had a bit of an adventure finding the botanical gardens, but we made it and wandered around. We found this jungly section and I took an awesome picture of Jill and Liz playing Tarzan (yes, Liz's legs are in the air).


Then we met up with Christoff and Zach and ate some lunch and then headed to Lake Victoria Hotel. We had to ask 4 different people where to pay in order to use the pool, but we eventually worked it out and swam to our hearts' content. Here is a picture of the pool. It was really nice to swim about and dive off the diving board (although I did it when no one was looking ;D). We also played with this kid's ball, but the mom told him to let us play with it, so we did and then we eventually gave it back.


Today, Jill and I took a picture from the trip and made it into an album cover. My bandmate is Christoff and his hair really doesn't look like that yet, but we're working on it. Our band's name is Splash and this cover is for the album Mango. We are kinda emo/indie rock with an African flair, look out for our new single "Wange (what?)".


Pictures upload rather slowly, so I'll try to put up as many as I can. Just don't get your hopes up.

Back in Uganda!

After many hours on a plane, I am back in Uganda!  It has been wonderful getting to wander about Kampala and rafting down the Nile near Jinja.  I am staying in the room that I spent my first night here in the office compound, along with another intern named Jill.  Our other housemates are Heather S, a 1st grade teacher at Heritage International School and Liz, an architect and long term volunteer with eMi, and Oreo a black and white kitty.  So far, I have really enjoyed getting reacquainted with Uganda, but every now and then I find myself thinking "I'll be here for 6 months? Dude, that's a long time."  But I am excited for my time here and the things that I couldn't learn anywhere else.  Praise God that He is here and has been here long before I came and will be here long after I leave!

Truly Honest Abe

"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions with humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by his divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown.

We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelt in heaven. "

1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln

It strikes me how little America has changed in the last 144 years. We are still self centered and egotistical over our success and prevalence. May this Thanksgiving be a time when we can humbly thank God for all He has done and recognize our own fallibility.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."
~2 Corinthians 2:14

Adventures in Uganda!

Village Woman in Mbale wearing a traditional gomeza(sp?) with her son and her goat.

Through eMi, I was able to go to Uganda for three whole weeks! Now that I am sufficiently recovered from jetlag and a cold, I would like to share some small bit of my experience. I was on a team of 9 people, 3 eMi staff: Scott Powell (POW), our team leader, Laura Powell, his wife and eMi's HR department, and Steve Hoyt, an architect and staff based in Uganda; 3 interns: myself, Mike Ng, construction manager from Cal Poly SLO, and Lennell Perry, architect from Oklahoma State(interning in Uganda the whole semester); 3 volunteers: Scott Bradshaw (BAM), civil engineer from Montana, Danny Sze, architect from London (originally Hong Kong), and Clifton Stark, surveyor from Little Rock Arkansas.

Our team with Anne, her son Matthew, Esther, and Barbara.

Our project was to design a Master Plan for the Bushikori Christian Centre (BCC) in Mbale, Uganda. BCC was founded in 1981 by Pastor Sam Wandendeya after he miraculously survived a death camp during Idi Amin's Reign of Terror. Pastor Wandendeya knew that God saved him for a purpose. Now BCC sponsors 400 children, providing school fees, clothing, and other necessities, they run the Joshua Primary School that serves lunch to the children everyday, and they run a community clinic with subsidized drugs so that the local people can afford it. They do all this on a small piece of land that is only 4 acres! Also they want to do more, they want to add two more classrooms to the school so that it can go up to P7, they want to expand and improve the clinic up to Health Centre 4 ratings and 40 beds, they want to add a community library and a boarding school and a house for a clinical officer.

The kids enjoying some camera time.

Sadly, Pastor Sam passed away a few years ago and now the director of the ministry is his wife, Anne. Anne served us so much while we were there. She moved out of her home and into the garage so that we could have the house to work and stay in. She made sure we had wonderful meals everyday and was always there to answer any questions. While we were there, her brother-in-law died and even in her grief and in planning the funeral she did nothing but give of herself to ensure our comfort. Hearing of the trials she has gone through and seeing her immense faith was so inspiring to me and leads me to praise Jesus for the work that He has done and is doing in my dear sister.

Beth(volunteer at BCC), Laura, Anne, and yours truly.

Somehow, our team managed to fit in most of what BCC wanted into the site.. it is pretty tight, but hopefully the consistency of the design will open up the space, and of course the kids still have a half-football (that's soccer) field to play on.

The Master Plan.

The last week in Uganda, I spent in Kampala at the eMi office there. Most of the time, Mike and I hung out with Lennell who was able to lead us around pretty well. Let me just say public transport in Kampala is pretty crazy. Lennell also had many episodes of "The Office" on his computer so I watched a bunch of those too... we really didn't have much to do. The last few days we got to go on a safari at Murchison Falls with more of the interns in Uganda. It was really fun to stand up in the van and scan the horizon for any animals... we saw a bunch of giraffes and antelope and a few elephants, but unfortunately no lions or leopards. We also went on a boat ride to the falls where there were many hippos, water buffalo, and crocodiles.

Big Croc Daddy.

Well, I must be off... but there shall be more tales from Uganda and Colorado to come.

More Colorado Adventures!

So, I've now been in Colorado for almost a month. I've been rock climbing twice, bouldering once (low rock climbing without the ropes), backpacking, hiking, golfing, saw a baseball game (minor league team), played ultimate and volleyball, wandered around downtown Denver and Boulder. I've seen two kitties (daily), herds of elk, a goat, some marmots, and a few dogs (owned by the eMi staff). Overall a very good month. I've also had a number of bible studies, prayer times, worship sessions, and deep conversations with my fellow interns. I've baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, a broccoli cheddar bacon quiche, chocolate chip banana bread. I've had Korean food twice with the our two lovely Korean interns.. I learned to say thank you in Korean and then forgot it. I got my bass and will hopefully purchase an amp this evening. I decorated my cubicle and used up my Starbucks cards. I hope everyone reading this is as happy and contented as I am. Here is a picture of all the interns from orientation right after we went rock climbing!Here's one of us girls bouldering(that's Jane about my head):


Not to mention I am leaving for Uganda in A WEEK AND A HALF!!! It's starting to hit me how soon that is. I'm getting my shots today.... scary. Although the diseases they prevent are decidedly more scary.

Some Things I've Been Thinking About...

So over the past while, God has put a few things on my heart that I would like to share and invite discussion over. One of the big topics roving through my head is the idea of advocacy vs. empowerment. To explain, advocacy is when usually Westerners come into a place, see a need and do something to fix it. Empowerment involves building relationships with locals and helping them to identify needs and ways to accomplish them that will work well in the context of that community. From my limited view, many organizations and relief efforts practice more of an advocacy attitude that can sometimes be rather ineffective. I do think that in the case of people in need of immediate relief effort, such as in the aftermath of a natural disaster, this method does fill basic need. I feel that the idea of empowerment is a much more Christ-like perspective. It is also much more costly, causing the person desiring to help to humble herself and recognize that she doesn't have all the answers and to pour into and partner will the people she is trying to help. It has been really encouraging for me because this idea first presented itself after my work with OCCCO over the summer and a similar idea was introduced at a talk during our eMi training. I was really encouraged by this because the work we do at eMi utilizes Western learned skills, eMi emphasizes working with and listening to the ministries we serve that have been a part of the communities they are in for many years.

Another thing I have recently appreciated is fellowship with Godly women. One of the wives of the eMi dudes is very pregnant and due in September. We had a baby shower for her yesterday and getting to meet many of the other wives there was very encouraging. This wasn't your typical baby shower, we didn't play silly games, but we listen to Jessy's(the pregnant one) testimony of how God brought her husband into her life and listen to the other women express their appreciation for them as a couple and their excitement to see them as a family. We also prayed over her for health and God's guidance in little Faith's life. It was a beautiful time and I hope I get to know these women better.