So, this whole living in Africa thing...not as effortless as I remember.

        I would be lying if I said the past few weeks have been a breeze for me. Our primary ministry (hut-to-hut evangelism) is long, hot and repetitive. The food although quite good, doesn't even come close to my Mom's homemade Blueberry Muffins or my dad's Chicken Parmesan and the fact that every inch of my body is routinely covered in a mixture of sweat and red dust is more than slightly disgusting.

     Life here is not easy.  Rather, it IS easy to get discouraged. It IS easy to be concerned about falling into the middle of a local church's "Numbers Game". It IS easy to miss home.

     But then I remember,  I didn't come to the middle of nowhere Uganda to choose what is easy. I came here to be challenged. I came here to grow, to love and to bring Kingdom.

     So, I rejoice in the fact that I'm hot and tired. I rejoice in the fact that I'm hungry and I miss my family. I rejoice that God is breaking me down to utter reliance on Him and despite all that, in His most generous way, He never misses an opportunity to show me how much He loves me.

    A few days ago, my team and I had a small squatty potty problem. Without going into details, let's just say it was a bit inconvenient. At one point, I complained in a huff, "Father, I don't think I can use a squatty anymore. I just can't do this for four more months." It was a small moment of frustration that I later forgot about. But He didn't.

   Fast forward to last night. My team and I were exploring the darkend hallways of our new location in Tororo. Head lamps lighting the way, we cautiously pushed open doors and peeked around corners. Then we saw it. A toliet. A real, white, Western tall toliet. My frustrated words from a few days earlier echoed in my head and I laughed. God is funny indeed.

    No. Living in Africa is not easy, but I'm not doing this alone. My Father is with me. He sees me, He hears me, He cares about me. And, every now and then, He gives me a toliet. Amen to that.

Much Love,

Colleen