Big Day

As I look at the clock today, it reads 1:45 am, June 30, 2008. This is the day that I will be beginning my journey to the next season of my life. I have spent the past few weeks meeting with friends and family in anticipation of this day. In approximately 12 hours, I will be on the first of 4 legs of my journey to Uganda. I can't believe that this day is here. It seems like only yesterday when I began to tell others of my intentions.

I can honestly say that the last two weeks have been a rollercoaster ride. I have stressed over getting my house fixed up. I have been sleepless on many nights...like tonight. I have downloaded The Office (seasons 1, 2, 3) and Lost (seasons 1, 2, 3) onto my external hard drive. I have laughed; I have cried. I think the most difficult thing is leaving family. I balled when my mom left on Thursday...seven times!!! I won't see her for at least six months. But more than just that, I leave behind my Christian family. People who have watched me mature into what God has made me: a missionary. Tonight I write from the house of a family that adopted me 5 years ago when their oldest was in 6th grade. The joke was that I was called the "#1 adopted son". It's from some movie that Bailee saw. The point is that these people mean the world to me. But as "mom" (Susanne) said earlier tonight. There's comfort that I'm coming back in January.

So friends and family rest assured, I'll be back...I love you all. Keep reading the blog as I will update it as often as I can.

T minus 4 months

It seems like the year has just zipped past me as I try to accomplish many things before I leave for Uganda. So here's the update. What have I been doing this school year so far. Well, of course, everyone knows that my full-time job is teaching. In addition to that, I had to continue work on  "clear" credential. What does that mean? My teaching credential is currently called "preliminary". It is good for 5 years from the date that I completed that work. After that, it expires. That means that when I returned at some point after a few years in Uganda, I would no longer have a valid teaching credential. That limits the pool of potential jobs. As a result, four more classes at Azusa Pacific University. The bummer is that those classes unlike my previous classes weren't offered during the week. They were only online (that's good) and 3 Saturdays (blah!!!!). There goes my weekends. Okay, so I'm teaching and going to school. I quit my coaching job at Oaks Christian High School knowing that I would need more time to focus on fundraising, etc. Did that stop me from coaching? No, I'm a sucker and Hillcrest convinced me to coach the Middle School Boys Basketball team. It was a good season, but took up a LOT of my time. On the recreational side, I was able to receive a season pass to Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe for my birthday. That means a lot of days on the mountain. I think I've already tallied 15 days already. However, that's a long drive from Southern California. Another time sucking activity.

All in all, the point of this blog is that I'm just now starting to raise the support I need to move to Uganda. First letters went out this weekend. So please pray that God will provide the means to be able to live in Uganda. Other things that I need to work on before I leave are cleaning up all the junk in  my house, fixing it up and renting it; learning to play the guitar (I've had one for over 5 years and still...nothing), learning more of the Ugandan language, Luganda; and saying bye to many friends and family before I leave. All this and only 4 more months in the U.S.!

Adjustment

Well, I don't know if people are still reading this journal, but I just wanted to continue to update it and the process as I move toward leaving for Uganda. I'm fully back to the swing of things here in the U.S. I'm not yet sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I can tell that I'm much more hurried in life already. It's made me appreciate all the down time of Uganda. I miss not having TV and that temptation. I miss the people and of course I miss the food. I think I gained a few pounds out there.

Since I've been back, I've been trying to set things up for returning to Uganda. I've talked to a few missionaries to find out what obstacles I might face. The biggest obstacle at this point is to figure out if I need a sending agency or if I can go under the covering of Buyamba.  If I go under Buyamba, the next obstacle is to find out the cost of insurance for each year. I think that will be a major cost for me. There are many other things to think about.

The personal items to deal with are my house and my teaching credential. I need to get my house ready to rent. I'm not sure if my roommate is going to continue to live here or if he is moving out in the next month. If he chooses to move out, I will be looking to speed up the process of renting out my house. That means some landscaping in the back yard and a few minor repairs on the house itself. If it wasn't for the house, I could leave soon, but there's work to be done. Secondly, the teaching credential I have in California is good for 4 more years, then it will expire. I am trying to find out what steps I need to take to clear my credential so it is good for life. That's another big hurdle for the year. I am waiting also to hear about that.

So continue to pray for God to open and close doors in preparation for what His will is for my life.

Also please pray for the upcoming camp for the students in Uganda. It is like any other camp...a life changing event where many will hear the gospel for the first time and begin to devote their lives to Jesus Christ. I heard so many stories about how students became Christians because of this camp.

Back in Cali

I am now officially back in the U.S. I arrived in New York about one hour ago, but not without complications along the way. Let’s just say that I’m not real fond of airline personnel or security at this point of my day. One good thing came about, however. I was able to upgrade my seating assignment to business class thanks to some trusty frequent flier miles. That was a blessing because you know what it’s like it economy/coach. I had a nice sleep during my 8-hour flight from Brussels to New York thanks to a seat that completely reclined flat!!! Movie selection on American leaves something to be desired though. I did watch most of Breakfast at Tiffany’s since I had never seen that before…it’s a little shady!

Now that I’m back here, I’m reminded that U.S. is full of distractions and things that we don’t’ need. I think I enjoyed my simple life and even got used to the cold showers after a while. I am still very sad missing my friends in Uganda, but I’m looking forward to many reunions in the U.S. It will be a busy month as I try to reconnect with friends and get ready for the school year (we have homework that I’ve been avoiding!) I thought this would be a good time to review the things that I will miss and not miss about Uganda.

Things I will miss:
    The people! (on my way to the car, I felt like a rock star being mobbed by many students who wanted to say goodbye. Bless their hearts!)
    The simplistic life
    Taxis
    Walking around
    Learning Luganda
    Stories from Pastor Richard
    Pastor Dongo & his family
    All the delicious food & people cooking for me!
    The praise and worship of the students (I can sing worship in Luganda)
    Bible study with the students
    Daily letters from students

Things that I won’t miss:
    Cold showers
    People asking for money
    Not being free to do what I want when I want
    Uganda time (everything is slower there and nothing happens when you schedule it)
Needing to ask others for help
    Slow internet and not having easy access when I wanted it.
    Not being able to understand conversations in Luganda
    Dogs! They bark all night long
    When the power goes out for more than a day!
    Kids asking me if I know someone in the U.S.

The Last Night

This morning was a sad time as my friends from the south left to return to the states. I'm going to miss them so much. They were all like little sisters that I had to watch out for. They also blessed me so much by spending time with me and making sure that I ate breakfast each morning. I hope that those friendships will last through the ages.


Today I spent time furnishing the guestroom that I will be staying in when I return. We bought a couch, two chairs and a coffee table. In addition, I am having a hot water heater installed. One of the only things I really miss about living in the states is hot showers. This will allow at least a little warm water as i bathe. There are still many things that it needs such as a refrigerator and a stove, but it's looking more and more like home. Now I just need to return to raise the support to be able to stay here for a few years. I can't wait and the students here are also very excited!

Well, this will be my last post until I return to the states. I can't wait to greet all of you upon my return to share stories, pictures and video. Please pray for my travel. Bless you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

Tuesday 7/31 journal

It is Tuesday afternoon and as I told you that I had been fighting off an illness of some sort starting on Sunday. I tried to spend time with the students at the high school yesterday, but I could easily tell that I was still ill. So I went back to the primary school where I sleep to rest. Slowly word got around that I was not feeling well. It got to the point where I did not eat dinner. Since I was at the high school earlier in the day, I realized that it was not a good idea to eat. They always spoil me here with food, but I definitely did not enjoy that lunch. So when I went to evening prayers, many students had been praying for me. My stomach was upset, but I went to prayers anyway. Many students laid hands on me during prayers and I slowly could feel the pains in my stomach dissipating. After prayers were done, I felt healed, but me being the skeptic didn’t want to claim that just yet. However, I can truthfully say that God healed me due to the intercession of his servants – these children. I am so blessed to be here with them.

Today I had the opportunity to meet Rogers’ mom as she traveled one 1 and a half hours by taxi to be interviewed by me. What a blessing it was to capture her story. I can’t wait to finish it to share with all of you on the upcoming DVD to promote Buyamba and the sponsoring of kids here at God Cares School! Keep praying for me. The team from the south is leaving on Thursday morning…it will be a sad time of saying goodbyes for myself as well as all the children at the school!

Monday night 7/30

So I draw closer to the time that I will be returning to the states. It is Monday night and I have been fighting a cold/flu off for the past few days. Today, I didn’t do much because I felt so ill in the afternoon. Yesterday even at worship, I felt like I was going to pass out. However, God is good and the students prayed over me during praise and prayers, and almost immediately my stomach pains went away. Praise be to God for the faithfulness of his servants.

I have yet to sit down with Pastor Dongo about the costs of living here. There is a guest house at the school. This is where I plan to live when I come back to Uganda. It has two bedrooms, one of which will be mine, a living room, bathroom and a small kitchen. However, it is not like what we think of as a kitchen. Right now, it has a sink and a small counter, but that is it. The biggest benefit to living at the school is that they can cook for me every day. I haven’t really missed the food in the states much since I have been here so I think I’ll be okay. However, I do miss having a hot shower in the morning. There is no hot water unless you boil it. Therefore, no hot or even warm showers. I guess it helps to wake you in the morning.

Other things that I miss are my friends and family. It will be difficult to be far from them physically and not be able to hang out with them. I get to communicate with them online as in this journal, but it doesn’t always meet the need of first hand communication. I also miss baseball and if it was basketball season, you know I would miss my Tar Heels. Otherwise, I don’t miss television at all and I especially don’t miss being overly busy and running around town constantly.