I'm Back!

Actually, I've been back for a few days, but I seem to have hit the ground running.  I thought I would have some time to recoup and gather my thoughts, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Anyway, I thought I better do an update for my 1 or 2 readers that I have :)  I don't think I could ever write about everything I saw, experienced and felt during my time in Uganda.  Instead, I will just tell you that never before in my life have I seen God move so QUICKLY, so FORCEFULLY, so AMAZINGLY, so INCREDIBLY, and so VISIBLY in my life.  God was AWESOME and VERY present on my trip!!!  Mountains were moved, enemies were crushed and chased away, hearts were changed and MIRACLES happened!!  YAY GOD!!!

One of the biggest and most amazing miracles for me was God leading me to our new daughter!! 

 That's right, I said new daughter.  God had Kaysia Elizabeth James (called Elizabeth by the orphanage) picked out just for our family and made sure EVERYTHING would fall into place and NOTHING would stop me from beginning the process of adopting her into our family and setting the path to bringing her home in His time (hopefully soon, if it is God's plan).  People ask how I "picked" her, but I must quickly correct them because I did not pick her, God chose her for our family and led us to each other.  He gave me some very clear signs that she was my daughter - like her calling me daddy when putting her to bed one of the first nights and her running and finding me after me asking God for my child to come to me (no other kids came to me that day!!).  

God is SO good and I praise Him for all He did on this trip!  I am so humbled that He chose to use me to serve the people of Uganda.  I am forever changed by what I saw there.  I am SO blessed by the people I got to serve and serve with.  What a Uganda Go team!  What an AMAZING group of guys from African Hearts ministry that we got to work with! AND what a BIG God that came through time and time again for us while we were there!!!  Thank you Jesus!  And thanks to all of you who prayed for me while I was gone!  Your prayers were felt constantly and were very real to me!!  Maybe when you have time, I can tell you some more stories.  

Teach

All Set

Well, it is finally May 27 and I am ready to go on an adventure of a life-time!  I have dreamed of this day for a long time and now God is allowing me to fulfill this dream.  I don't know all the He has in store for me but I know that I will never forget it!  I can't wait to meet the child God has picked for us at Sanyu.  I can't wait to do the work that God has planned for me there and I can't wait to get home and share my adventure with my family.  

I have a lot of emotions right now: excitement, nervousness, sadness (I will miss my family and especially my wife!), anxiousness to get there and get started, happiness and a whole pile of others.  I have never been away from Cheremi since we were married.  Even through my cancer treatments, she was always there.  I know she is going to do great, but if you think of it, can you pray for her?  I would appreciate it and I know she would too!  Could you pray for me too?  Thanks!  God bless!  Here I GO!

Teach

Something a little different...

I've been posting so much about my upcoming trip to Uganda lately that I thought it was time for something a little different.  Cher and I are working on finishing a new table for our family.  We've always had kind of a small table - it barely fits 6 people around and then there is no room for the food to sit on the table too.  The table we are finishing is a lot bigger and has 2 additional sections you can ad to extend it.  

I love this table and all it stands for in my mind!  It means we can actually have friends and family over and all sit at the same table, with the food there too!  It also means we have space for many more kids :)  I don't know how big God wants our family to be, but I'm pretty sure we could fit 12 people around this table, so I think we're ready for more!   It also stands for something Cher and I are doing (and in the future - did) together.  I love doing projects with my wife!  The stuff that we do together just comes out better.  I don't know what it is, but I know that we work well together and I cherish the memories of the process with her.  That's kind of how it's been our whole marriage.  The process of things we do together just seem to work out better.  Isn't it amazing how God can bring two people together from totally different backgrounds and up-bringings and have them just fit and complete each other?  Cher is definitely someone VERY special to me and I am truly blessed to have a wife like her!!  So, this table is more then just a table to me, it is a journey and a process I get to share with my wife.  I love you, Cher!  I can't wait to share many memories with you (and our family) around this table!!

Teach

Counting Down...

T minus 12 days and counting!  I cannot believe how fast the day is approaching for Uganda!!  The list I have of things to do doesn't seem to get any smaller.  In fact, it seems like it is growing as the day gets closer.  All the little details that need to be taken care of, it's enough to drive a person crazy!!  The more I can get done, in terms of the adoption paperwork, the better and faster the process will go in Uganda.  I am praying that God make things like only He can and that He help me not to forget or neglect anything!!  Sometimes it is hard to just let things go and TRUST Him for everything - that is something I have be working on in my life - trusting God.  It is one thing to say you trust God, but another thing to then actually live like you do.  

On a VERY positive note, we had our last meeting for our homestudy done last night, so a big YAY GOD for that!!  I always hate being under the microscope like that and having a complete stranger ask you questions that really are none of their business.  The process is getting more intrusive then when we first did it with our oldest, and the questions far more personal.  This time seemed different too because we are not using a Christian agency (long story) to do the homestudy BUT this is one area I do trust God in.  I know that He will make the homestudy how it needs to sound to bring our child home to us.  

Anyways, just a few thoughts again today from this lowly teacher.  Blessings!!  Praying for God to work in me TRUST in HIM!

Teach

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

Tribute to the best Mom!

I hope I don't offend anyone reading this, but I am posting this because my wife is the BEST mom.  Today we had the first part of our homestudy.  As the social worker was going through her questions, I couldn't help but think that not only do I have the BEST wife, but my kids have the BEST mother.  Yeah, there are good moms out there, I will not deny it, but my wife is the BEST mom. 

So Cheremi, here's a tribute to you!

Cheremi (mom) is:

affectionate, beautiful, caring, diligent, engaging, friendly, great, honest, industrious, joyful, kind, loving, marvelous, nice, organized, patient, quintessential, role-model, selfless, tactful, unique, vital, warm, eXcellent, youthful, zealous (about her family).

Love ya!

Teach

Malaria Pills

Okay, so my last post sparked some discussion about malaria pills and I think that I will definitely NOT take Lariam and its "cousins".  So, I actually have 2 other choices that no one has mentioned yet, and want to know if anyone out there knows about the downfalls to either of these.  The first is Doxycycline (Vibramycin, Vibra-Tabs, Doryx) and the second choice is Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone).  I have a sheet that list some side effects, but it also said that night mares was low risk for the Lariam, so not sure how much I trust it.  Anyone with real experience with these two drugs for malaria, I would love your comments!

Teach

OUCH!!

I think I am officially immunized with every major disease out there.  Today I had my "health consultation for international travel".  I went fully expecting to get a couple of shots - one for yellow fever, one for tetanus, and Hep A & B (wasn't sure if it would be one or two).  Anyways, apparently Uganda is a "hot spot" for every major disease the world has ever known - Polio, Typhoid, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Influenza, Meningitis, Diptheria, Yellow Fever, Hep A & B just to name a few.  Those are all things that I am now immunized against!  8 shots in all!! My arms are sore right now.  =(  AND, as soon as I see my Dr. to get my pills, I will be "safe" against Malaria and armed with a general antibiotic to do "self treatment of severe diarrhea" caused by bacteria too.  My goodness!  Health nurses are VERY good at convincing you that you are going to die if you go to a third world country without being immunized for EVERYTHING!  On top of that, I need to "watch out" for biting insects of EVERY kind including ticks, chagas (kissing bug) & mosquitos, and also little parasites like hookworms and schistomomiasis.   With a list like that, I'm not sure how anyone can live in those countries! 

Boy, those nurses have a way of making you paranoid!  I know it is good to be concerned about health and make sure you wash your hands, eat well cooked food and drink only safe water.  But honestly, I walked out of there feeling like I'm a goner (not really, but you get the picture).  Anyway, I'm hoping I can lift my arms tomorrow because they are sure sore right now!

Teach