Today we spent pretty much the entire day at a choir performance for all of the primary schools in the district. It was hot and crowded and looong and the chairs were terrible, and it was awesome :) Like Jaynie said today, "There's not a child in this country who's not pitch perfect with great rhythm." It was soo fun to see them sing and dance and be so animated! It was also pretty interesting when Pastor Sam would explain to us what was going on (most of it was in Ateso, the local language).
I haven't been to any elementary performance in the US in a while, but I remember all of mine being about baseball or princesses and fairy tales. Today, theirs were about HIV, government corruption, women being taken by rebel soldiers, and witch doctors kidnapping kids for child sacrifice - all real happenings in Uganda's recent history. It's just crazy... I cannot imagine understanding and thinking about any of that as a child or having to be a parent to a child who is exposed to those things and having no way to protect them... It's certainly a while different world over here.
My favorite parts of the day - Job, a boy who we met on our first trip who is also a neighbor to Amelia in her village, was one of the main characters for his school. He is so cute and so fun to watch - really animated and a great dancer :) Loved him!
Thennn, another school got up to perform and my Diana (the girl I met on my first trip who I'm sponsoring and have been hoping to find) was front and center! We made eye contact and both got the biggest smiles on our faces. THen she got the attention of Agnes (her best friend who's being sponsored by my best friend) and she got a huge smile on her face too! After they got done performing, they ran over to me and gave me huge hugs and said a quick hello.
After the choir performances, there were a few students who got up to do speeches. And my Diana was one of the kids talking... She was soo good and she was one of the few kids who actually talked loud enough to be heard over the crowd. I was like an excited mama about to burst with pride because of that sweet girl! She ran over to me again afterwards and we were able to talk for a little bit longer. She told me she would be at church on Sunday so we could talk again... I'm so thankful that the Lord brought us together when I really had no idea who I would find her! :) Eyalama Yesu!
Headed to bed now, I don't know why I'm alwaysss the last one up! Sorry there aren't any pictures again tonight :/ But I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the day...
After getting dressed this morning, Christine (our cook and super great caretaker) told me that I looked very smart today (which apparently means I looked cute :). So i was pretty excited that a Ugandan liked my outfit and was feeling pretty good about myself. Then, ten minutes later, Pastor Sam came to the compound to take us to watch the performances. As soon as I walked out of my room, he said, "You're ready to go? You look like a Jew..." Everyone started cracking up and I said, "What in the world does that mean?! Is that supposed to be a compliment??" He just responded by saying, "I like the Jews, the Hebrews are a nice people." Soo I still actually have no idea what he meant by his comment, but I guess I have no choice but to assume it's the nicest compliment you can give someone in Uganda ;)
Love you guys!
Caitlin
ps - Kati and Amy... Cecilia was also part of the performances today. She was the female lead in two or three of them actually! She got to wear some beauuutiful outfits and did a great job :) I'll try to post pictures for you guys another time!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Just another day in Africa...
Seriously, when will I learn to not skip a day of blogging??
So last Saturday when we were in Soroti, three of us were in the car while the other three went into a store. Joseph (the native Ugandan who takes care of us) pointed at someone on the street and said, "Hey, another Mzungu!" I looked up and realized it was Amelia - a woman from the States who teaches English in a village 20 minutes north of our village who we had been tyring to connect with since we arrived. I jumped out of the van as quickly as I could and we got to chat with her for a little bit and exchange numbers.
So on Monday, she came to visit us in our village and stay the night with us. Amelia is an amazing source of wisdom and information on Uganda and its culture, not to mention a powerful woman of God. She sat in on our meeting with the pastors and leaders of the village and helped up communicate with them soo much more clearly than we would have by ourselves and also helped us to understand which ideas would work and which would not. Luckily, we were able to provide her with something too - we got to spend time praying and singing and fellowshipping together - something she has missed doing with other Americans for over a month now! She'll be back again tomorrow to spend the weekend with us and we're all so excited to get to see her again :)
So yesterday, we finally got to dive in to the a lot of our work. Heather and I went down to the care point to see all of our orphans getting fed and also to start providing first aid to the kids. Like our last trip, we were swamped with precious children who had all kinds of dirty, infected, uncared for wounds. One of my goals for the trip was to train the disciplers (the adults who look after the children as they're being fed) on providing first aid. Yesterday, they were busy at the beginning but came over to watch what we were doing later on in the hour. I had been a little concerned that they didn't seem very interested in learning and was also trying to figure out how I would get them to sit and listen to what we had to say! But when we were finished for the day, Joseph, one of the disciplers asked us, "So are you still going to teach us to do this soon?"
I was pretty excited that they were asking to learn - definitely an answer to prayers. So today, Heather and I did some demonstration for them and then they both got to work on their own and did a really good job! I'm so excited to see them learn more, care for the kids in this new way, and to take this over as their own thing :) Eyalama Yesu!
Brian and I (mostly Brian) also started working on starting up a soccer league to build community between the kids here. It turns out they've actually had a league before but it kind of feel apart because of a lack of organization and funding and resources. So there were eight teams in place, all with coaches and Pastor Sam was willing to be the point person in charge of all of it. Once again, it was definitely God going before us and making a path, preparing leaders before we got here - something we prayed over and over before we left. So eyalama Yesu - again!
It's a pretty interesting experience to be a female Mzungu over here. Women here are not honored and respected in the way that they should be, but Mzungus are honored and idolized in a way that they should not be. It seems like the men and older boys don't really know how to treat me.
As I would sit with the group of elders or teach the soccer coaches first aid, they were attentive and respectful and seemed very appreciative of the work I want to do. But as I was providing first aid for some of the soccer boys yesterday after a game, I had a crowd of about twenty boys and men surrounding me and watching me (talk about pressureee). I could tell they were talking about me several times and I don't think they were complimenting my excellent nursing skills - I would hear a sentence with "Mzungu" in it and then all of them would start laughing. It was a pretty awkward and intimidating situation and I really had no idea how to react to what was going on - from one extreme to the other.
I definitely haven't processed what all of that means yet or how I should behave and interact with the men here. But I know the men and boys of this village need prayer - that they would be men rooted in the Word of God, leaders who honor women, care for their wives and children, work hard, and protect the most vulnerable around them. So would you join me in praying for them?
Thanks guys, miss you and love you all!
Sorry, no pictures today but I'll try to get some good ones for tomorrow :)
Keep praying,
Caitlin
So last Saturday when we were in Soroti, three of us were in the car while the other three went into a store. Joseph (the native Ugandan who takes care of us) pointed at someone on the street and said, "Hey, another Mzungu!" I looked up and realized it was Amelia - a woman from the States who teaches English in a village 20 minutes north of our village who we had been tyring to connect with since we arrived. I jumped out of the van as quickly as I could and we got to chat with her for a little bit and exchange numbers.
So on Monday, she came to visit us in our village and stay the night with us. Amelia is an amazing source of wisdom and information on Uganda and its culture, not to mention a powerful woman of God. She sat in on our meeting with the pastors and leaders of the village and helped up communicate with them soo much more clearly than we would have by ourselves and also helped us to understand which ideas would work and which would not. Luckily, we were able to provide her with something too - we got to spend time praying and singing and fellowshipping together - something she has missed doing with other Americans for over a month now! She'll be back again tomorrow to spend the weekend with us and we're all so excited to get to see her again :)
So yesterday, we finally got to dive in to the a lot of our work. Heather and I went down to the care point to see all of our orphans getting fed and also to start providing first aid to the kids. Like our last trip, we were swamped with precious children who had all kinds of dirty, infected, uncared for wounds. One of my goals for the trip was to train the disciplers (the adults who look after the children as they're being fed) on providing first aid. Yesterday, they were busy at the beginning but came over to watch what we were doing later on in the hour. I had been a little concerned that they didn't seem very interested in learning and was also trying to figure out how I would get them to sit and listen to what we had to say! But when we were finished for the day, Joseph, one of the disciplers asked us, "So are you still going to teach us to do this soon?"
I was pretty excited that they were asking to learn - definitely an answer to prayers. So today, Heather and I did some demonstration for them and then they both got to work on their own and did a really good job! I'm so excited to see them learn more, care for the kids in this new way, and to take this over as their own thing :) Eyalama Yesu!
Brian and I (mostly Brian) also started working on starting up a soccer league to build community between the kids here. It turns out they've actually had a league before but it kind of feel apart because of a lack of organization and funding and resources. So there were eight teams in place, all with coaches and Pastor Sam was willing to be the point person in charge of all of it. Once again, it was definitely God going before us and making a path, preparing leaders before we got here - something we prayed over and over before we left. So eyalama Yesu - again!
It's a pretty interesting experience to be a female Mzungu over here. Women here are not honored and respected in the way that they should be, but Mzungus are honored and idolized in a way that they should not be. It seems like the men and older boys don't really know how to treat me.
As I would sit with the group of elders or teach the soccer coaches first aid, they were attentive and respectful and seemed very appreciative of the work I want to do. But as I was providing first aid for some of the soccer boys yesterday after a game, I had a crowd of about twenty boys and men surrounding me and watching me (talk about pressureee). I could tell they were talking about me several times and I don't think they were complimenting my excellent nursing skills - I would hear a sentence with "Mzungu" in it and then all of them would start laughing. It was a pretty awkward and intimidating situation and I really had no idea how to react to what was going on - from one extreme to the other.
I definitely haven't processed what all of that means yet or how I should behave and interact with the men here. But I know the men and boys of this village need prayer - that they would be men rooted in the Word of God, leaders who honor women, care for their wives and children, work hard, and protect the most vulnerable around them. So would you join me in praying for them?
Thanks guys, miss you and love you all!
Sorry, no pictures today but I'll try to get some good ones for tomorrow :)
Keep praying,
Caitlin
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Long day!
Sorry for my lack of updates and stories, friends! It's been a looong day and my first one without any length of a nap - so rough, especially for a Hamilton :) But we got a lot of good work done today, the most we have so far, so eyalama Yesu :)
Sunburned and wiped out... I'll try to write more tomorrow!
Keep praying, we are still so in need of your prayer!
Caitlin
Sunburned and wiped out... I'll try to write more tomorrow!
Keep praying, we are still so in need of your prayer!
Caitlin
Monday, July 26, 2010
He Reigns!
So remember how I asked you all to pray for rain yesterday? The Lord was faithful to answer our prayers :)
Just before I went to send my email, the six of us sat and prayed for a while - for a steady, life-giving rain. Deb, Heather, and Dustin went to bed while Jaynie and Brian waited for me to finish my blog. About ten minutes later, we realized it was pitch black outside when it had been pretty well lit from the almost full moon and clear skies. The clouds had already moved in!
As I was trying to send out my email, it started to sprinkle and Jaynie said to me, "Uhh Caitlin, do you think you could speed it up a little bit?? Jesus is trying to tell you he's gonna answer our prayers but he's trying to be considerate of the computer!!" :)
So the three of us went inside and Brian played his guitar as we sang. After we sang all the songs that Brian had music for, we sang any songs we could think of that had the words rain or water in them and after we exhausted THOSE songs, we started making up new lyrics about rain to other songs (it's kinda been our favorite past time since we've been here to make new lyrics :)
So after all of this, we realized it was about 2:30 in the morning, but as we listened to the wind and the sprinkling, we weren't ready to go to sleep. We kept praying and petitioning and praising until we decided we needed to go outside and do a rain dance (a dance for Jesus, not to be confused with a pagan rain dance :) So we jumped and ran and danced as quietly as we could, but it was hard to contain our excitement as the rain kept coming harder and harder. We finally went inside when we started getting soaking wet but it was pretty hard to go to bed when we were so happy, even if it was 3:30 in the morning.
I know that it's never as exciting to hear a story second hand and there's always doubt that starts to creep in, saying that this was a coincidence and it just happened to rain on this night. But I can stand firm and know that Jesus heard our cries and took joy as we praised and sang and danced before Him.
So eyalama Yesu, thank you Jesus for the millionth time and certainly not the last. God is so faithful to answer our prayers. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" - James 5:16. Not that we are righteous because of something we have done - "None is righteous, no, not one"... but we receive "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." - Romans 3:10,22
I'm so grateful to receive the righteousness of Jesus, to be able to come straight to the Father and to be able to call out to Him. And then to have our prayers heard and answered - how blessed we really are and how great is the love of the Father!
So keep praying my precious prayer warriors. God is hearing us and our prayers are working. Pray for a life-giving rain here, the perfect balance of rain where the crops are sustained, but the roads are not washed away!
A couple more pictures for you guys :)
(Sorry about the picture mix up yesterday, by the way... Again, in a rush because of the rain:)
A picture of the rain from last night...
I really wanted to workout today so I got to go for a two mile run and do a little ab workout. Sweating was gooood for my soul, but after the rain, the paths were a littleee muddy. I might have wiped out :)
Love to you all :)
Caitlin
Just before I went to send my email, the six of us sat and prayed for a while - for a steady, life-giving rain. Deb, Heather, and Dustin went to bed while Jaynie and Brian waited for me to finish my blog. About ten minutes later, we realized it was pitch black outside when it had been pretty well lit from the almost full moon and clear skies. The clouds had already moved in!
As I was trying to send out my email, it started to sprinkle and Jaynie said to me, "Uhh Caitlin, do you think you could speed it up a little bit?? Jesus is trying to tell you he's gonna answer our prayers but he's trying to be considerate of the computer!!" :)
So the three of us went inside and Brian played his guitar as we sang. After we sang all the songs that Brian had music for, we sang any songs we could think of that had the words rain or water in them and after we exhausted THOSE songs, we started making up new lyrics about rain to other songs (it's kinda been our favorite past time since we've been here to make new lyrics :)
So after all of this, we realized it was about 2:30 in the morning, but as we listened to the wind and the sprinkling, we weren't ready to go to sleep. We kept praying and petitioning and praising until we decided we needed to go outside and do a rain dance (a dance for Jesus, not to be confused with a pagan rain dance :) So we jumped and ran and danced as quietly as we could, but it was hard to contain our excitement as the rain kept coming harder and harder. We finally went inside when we started getting soaking wet but it was pretty hard to go to bed when we were so happy, even if it was 3:30 in the morning.
I know that it's never as exciting to hear a story second hand and there's always doubt that starts to creep in, saying that this was a coincidence and it just happened to rain on this night. But I can stand firm and know that Jesus heard our cries and took joy as we praised and sang and danced before Him.
So eyalama Yesu, thank you Jesus for the millionth time and certainly not the last. God is so faithful to answer our prayers. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" - James 5:16. Not that we are righteous because of something we have done - "None is righteous, no, not one"... but we receive "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." - Romans 3:10,22
I'm so grateful to receive the righteousness of Jesus, to be able to come straight to the Father and to be able to call out to Him. And then to have our prayers heard and answered - how blessed we really are and how great is the love of the Father!
So keep praying my precious prayer warriors. God is hearing us and our prayers are working. Pray for a life-giving rain here, the perfect balance of rain where the crops are sustained, but the roads are not washed away!
A couple more pictures for you guys :)
(Sorry about the picture mix up yesterday, by the way... Again, in a rush because of the rain:)
A picture of the rain from last night...
I really wanted to workout today so I got to go for a two mile run and do a little ab workout. Sweating was gooood for my soul, but after the rain, the paths were a littleee muddy. I might have wiped out :)
Love to you all :)
Caitlin
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wel-a-come, wel-a-come to O-dee-tel, in da name of da Lawd :)
I should have never gone a day without blogging... Now there's just too much that happened! I'll try to keep in concise :)
We got to the village yesterday and as soon as I stepped out of the van, I almost stepped right onto Max's little boy from our first trip - Bruno, or Mzungu as he's known to all the other kids. Mzungu is actually what they call white people, but they call him that because he loves white people so much :) He's about 3 years old and the cutest little peanut, he hasn't left my side since we got here. But Max must have spoiled him on our first trip - he'll push and hit and whine until he gets next to me and he's constantly grabbing my camera to try to use it! Thanks Max :)
I also found Grace yesterday, one of the kids my family is sponsoring. She's pretty shy, but when I got a translator to tell her today that my family was sponsoring her, I wish you could have seen the look on her face. She dove at me for a hug and it was all I could do to not burst into tears. Grace is also in the girls' choir that performs every Sunday at church and boyyy can that girl worship. She sings and dances and keeps up with girls who are twice as old as her... Makes me burst with pride!! :)
Church today was wonderful... I love the River and I love our worship, but when that congregation starts clapping and dancing, my inner ghetto-Kalamazoo-Central-gurrrl is just dying to get out! I practiced the moves that I learned today in front of the Mission 6 and there's a pretty good chance I will be joining in on the dancing on an upcoming Sunday :) Don't expect any evidence though... I WILL be hiding every camera before the service!! Also, they kept the service short for us, just under 2 1/2 hours :) We only had three people speak (Brian being one of them), and they cut out the other two people who were going to speak, because as Bishop John Charles said, "Westerners start checking their watches after 30 minutes of preaching" :)
Besides a bout of homesickness today, I feel like Uganda really does suit me well - precious children all around, flowy skirts, simple living, and minimal bathing ;) I think we're all excited to finally get to work and start getting after all those goals we set! :)
Prayer requests - eyalama Yesu, they're almost all praises :)
-My tummy has been doing much better than I expected. I really haven't had any problems, something I was pretty worried about after our last trip. Apparently, doxycycline suits me much better than malarone!
-My tooth is feeling better day-by-day, although the neurotic side of me will be happy when I can chew with both sides of my mouth and be symmetrical again :)
-Our team has had great unity and fellowship with one another and we've all been completely healthy - such a relief after all the trials we had before our trip!
-The village has not had rain in about 3 weeks and things are getting a little dry again. I know your prayers are powerful when it comes to the rain here, and Jaynie mighttt have promised a priest that we would make it rain within the next week... So let's make that happen :)
-Would you also pray for continued team unity/health, that we would be diligent workers, that the Lord would bless the work of our hands, and that above all else, His will would be done?
Some pictures for you guys...
Bruno, that sweet little boy, cracking me up as he plays the drums :)
My sweet little Gracie :)
One of the many pets in our compound - Dingo the antelope, not to be confused with a gazelle!
Thank you for your prayers - we can literally feel them surrounding us! Please feel free to comment or email me, I love hearing from you guys! Love and miss you all dearly :)
Cait
We got to the village yesterday and as soon as I stepped out of the van, I almost stepped right onto Max's little boy from our first trip - Bruno, or Mzungu as he's known to all the other kids. Mzungu is actually what they call white people, but they call him that because he loves white people so much :) He's about 3 years old and the cutest little peanut, he hasn't left my side since we got here. But Max must have spoiled him on our first trip - he'll push and hit and whine until he gets next to me and he's constantly grabbing my camera to try to use it! Thanks Max :)
I also found Grace yesterday, one of the kids my family is sponsoring. She's pretty shy, but when I got a translator to tell her today that my family was sponsoring her, I wish you could have seen the look on her face. She dove at me for a hug and it was all I could do to not burst into tears. Grace is also in the girls' choir that performs every Sunday at church and boyyy can that girl worship. She sings and dances and keeps up with girls who are twice as old as her... Makes me burst with pride!! :)
Church today was wonderful... I love the River and I love our worship, but when that congregation starts clapping and dancing, my inner ghetto-Kalamazoo-Central-gurrrl is just dying to get out! I practiced the moves that I learned today in front of the Mission 6 and there's a pretty good chance I will be joining in on the dancing on an upcoming Sunday :) Don't expect any evidence though... I WILL be hiding every camera before the service!! Also, they kept the service short for us, just under 2 1/2 hours :) We only had three people speak (Brian being one of them), and they cut out the other two people who were going to speak, because as Bishop John Charles said, "Westerners start checking their watches after 30 minutes of preaching" :)
Besides a bout of homesickness today, I feel like Uganda really does suit me well - precious children all around, flowy skirts, simple living, and minimal bathing ;) I think we're all excited to finally get to work and start getting after all those goals we set! :)
Prayer requests - eyalama Yesu, they're almost all praises :)
-My tummy has been doing much better than I expected. I really haven't had any problems, something I was pretty worried about after our last trip. Apparently, doxycycline suits me much better than malarone!
-My tooth is feeling better day-by-day, although the neurotic side of me will be happy when I can chew with both sides of my mouth and be symmetrical again :)
-Our team has had great unity and fellowship with one another and we've all been completely healthy - such a relief after all the trials we had before our trip!
-The village has not had rain in about 3 weeks and things are getting a little dry again. I know your prayers are powerful when it comes to the rain here, and Jaynie mighttt have promised a priest that we would make it rain within the next week... So let's make that happen :)
-Would you also pray for continued team unity/health, that we would be diligent workers, that the Lord would bless the work of our hands, and that above all else, His will would be done?
Some pictures for you guys...
Bruno, that sweet little boy, cracking me up as he plays the drums :)
My sweet little Gracie :)
One of the many pets in our compound - Dingo the antelope, not to be confused with a gazelle!
Thank you for your prayers - we can literally feel them surrounding us! Please feel free to comment or email me, I love hearing from you guys! Love and miss you all dearly :)
Cait
Friday, July 23, 2010
My cup overflows
Eyalama Yesu! Thank you Jesus! My cup has been overflowing with joy the past couple of days. All of the worries and stresses from before we got here have completely melted away...
We spent all day yesterday with Joseph and have got to spend the morning with David today. They are SUCH a blessing to us and make my heart so glad... Every time I hear David say "shoo-ah" (sure) and "Kalamazooooo," I can't help but smile! And my favorite part about them is that they are such powerful and dedicated men of God, men who believe the Bible and who are diligent to do His work. So good to see them again...
This morning we got to sit and pray with each other and enjoy breakfast. Then the storm clouds came in and poured down rain for almost an hour. The Lord has continued to provide rain for Uganda and David said that the rain they have been getting has been a very good amount for the crops. So keep praying for rain here, your prayers are being heard!! Today we'll spend some time resting and then going to Soroti to buy some of our supplies for the village. And then tomorrow we will finally head out to meet up with our people!! I'm sooo very excited to see all of my babies that I met last time and the ones that are being sponsored by my family :)
Here's a couple pictures for you guys...
Brian getting fancy with his new lens in the rain :)
And here is the sneaky little kitty cat who somehow manages to always get into the house... After luring him out of the house four times by pretending that I like him, he apparently thinks we're friends and this is him jumping up on the window behind me just to hang out. Actually, as I'm writing this, he got into the house AGAIN and rubbed his dirty little kitty body all over my legs!
One request for you guys - my tooth has been doing pretty well, it's not aching at all and the sensitivity is gone. I was told to only chew on the right side of my mouth, which I've been doing, but sometimes when I bite down the teeth on the left side of my mouth hit together and it does NOT feel good... So praise that I have not had complications, but would you pray that all of the pain would be gone and that I would have no more issues with biting down?? Thank you! :)
Love you guys, wish you were here with us!
Caitlin
We spent all day yesterday with Joseph and have got to spend the morning with David today. They are SUCH a blessing to us and make my heart so glad... Every time I hear David say "shoo-ah" (sure) and "Kalamazooooo," I can't help but smile! And my favorite part about them is that they are such powerful and dedicated men of God, men who believe the Bible and who are diligent to do His work. So good to see them again...
This morning we got to sit and pray with each other and enjoy breakfast. Then the storm clouds came in and poured down rain for almost an hour. The Lord has continued to provide rain for Uganda and David said that the rain they have been getting has been a very good amount for the crops. So keep praying for rain here, your prayers are being heard!! Today we'll spend some time resting and then going to Soroti to buy some of our supplies for the village. And then tomorrow we will finally head out to meet up with our people!! I'm sooo very excited to see all of my babies that I met last time and the ones that are being sponsored by my family :)
Here's a couple pictures for you guys...
Brian getting fancy with his new lens in the rain :)
And here is the sneaky little kitty cat who somehow manages to always get into the house... After luring him out of the house four times by pretending that I like him, he apparently thinks we're friends and this is him jumping up on the window behind me just to hang out. Actually, as I'm writing this, he got into the house AGAIN and rubbed his dirty little kitty body all over my legs!
One request for you guys - my tooth has been doing pretty well, it's not aching at all and the sensitivity is gone. I was told to only chew on the right side of my mouth, which I've been doing, but sometimes when I bite down the teeth on the left side of my mouth hit together and it does NOT feel good... So praise that I have not had complications, but would you pray that all of the pain would be gone and that I would have no more issues with biting down?? Thank you! :)
Love you guys, wish you were here with us!
Caitlin
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Good thing I showered BEFORE my appointment :)
After getting a cavity filled last week, something didn't seem quite right and I decided I should go back in to have it checked out - which turned out to be a good idea. Unfortunately, the only open appointment was Tuesday at 9 am, three hours before we were supposed to leave for Africa. So Monday night, I stayed up really late, got everything ready that I could, and hoped for a quick fix.
Ten minutes after my hygienist took an x-ray, she came back in to tell me I was going to need an emergency root canal and they were going to send me right over to the endodontist. Between my lack of sleep, anxiety about my trip, and horror stories about root canals, I might have accidentally had a minor melt down as I drove from one office to the next. I pulled it together enough to tell my team what was going on and put some powerful prayer warriors to work before I got called back.
My endodontist and his hygienist turned out to be great... I told him about my trip and he told me we were of the "same accord" - he goes on dental mission trips a couple times a year to Honduras. He wished me well on my trip and promised to get me out of there quickly and without too much pain. He managed to keep both of those promises :)
As I write this now, flying safely over the ocean, I can see a million stars outmy window and the sun coming up out of windows on the other side of the plane... I'm full of peace and my hindsight is 20/20. It seems pretty silly to have worried at all... To paraphrase my eloquent and sympathetic friend, Adam, "See? What did worrying do for you anyways?" :)
But it's true - I do believe that God works all things for good, that we are never out of reach of His sovereign hand, that by worrying we will not add a day to our life, and that if God has called you to something, He will go before you and make a way.
Knowing how things work in Uganda,I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities where the rubber will hit the road, to show that I really did learn from my little slip-up, to not just be a hearer of the Word, but a doer. I just pray that the Lord would fill me with peace that transcends understanding, joy despite circumstance, and trust in His plan. And I pray all these things for you, my sweet friends!
I'm sorry if this all seemslike incoherent ramblings - I'll blame it on my tylenol/codeine kicking in :) Love you all and I'll update as soon as I can after we land!!
In His grip,
Caitlin
Ten minutes after my hygienist took an x-ray, she came back in to tell me I was going to need an emergency root canal and they were going to send me right over to the endodontist. Between my lack of sleep, anxiety about my trip, and horror stories about root canals, I might have accidentally had a minor melt down as I drove from one office to the next. I pulled it together enough to tell my team what was going on and put some powerful prayer warriors to work before I got called back.
My endodontist and his hygienist turned out to be great... I told him about my trip and he told me we were of the "same accord" - he goes on dental mission trips a couple times a year to Honduras. He wished me well on my trip and promised to get me out of there quickly and without too much pain. He managed to keep both of those promises :)
As I write this now, flying safely over the ocean, I can see a million stars outmy window and the sun coming up out of windows on the other side of the plane... I'm full of peace and my hindsight is 20/20. It seems pretty silly to have worried at all... To paraphrase my eloquent and sympathetic friend, Adam, "See? What did worrying do for you anyways?" :)
But it's true - I do believe that God works all things for good, that we are never out of reach of His sovereign hand, that by worrying we will not add a day to our life, and that if God has called you to something, He will go before you and make a way.
Knowing how things work in Uganda,I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities where the rubber will hit the road, to show that I really did learn from my little slip-up, to not just be a hearer of the Word, but a doer. I just pray that the Lord would fill me with peace that transcends understanding, joy despite circumstance, and trust in His plan. And I pray all these things for you, my sweet friends!
I'm sorry if this all seemslike incoherent ramblings - I'll blame it on my tylenol/codeine kicking in :) Love you all and I'll update as soon as I can after we land!!
In His grip,
Caitlin
Friday, July 16, 2010
Crunch time!
I can’t believe there’s only four days left until we leave! Fortunately, when it comes down to the wire, that’s when I do my best work :) So here we go, here’s my last ditch effort, my plea for help! My fundraising has gone well so far and I am so so very grateful and blessed and amazed to see how generous people have been in donating to my trip. Unfortunately, I’m still about $900 short of my goal right now. A good chunk of that money is needed to buy supplies for the work that I’ll be doing, both for nursing and for the soccer league. The rest of the money will go towards things like food, lodging, travel expenses, and insurance. Would you consider making just a small donation, $10 or $20 to help me purchase my supplies? Here’s an estimated breakdown of the things I still need –
Gloves – 10 boxes x $5 each
Gauze - $20
Tape - $20
Bandages – 5 boxes x $5 each
Children’s blood pressure cuff - $30
Stethoscope - $40
Thermometer - $10
Scale - $15
Soccer balls – 5 x $15 each
Pinnies – 2 sets x $15
Ball pump - $10
Total - ~$325
If you’re able to give, the best ways to donate now are to either use my PayPal “Donate” button on the right side of this screen or to give me your check/cash in person. Thank you again for your support of me on my trip, I have been blessed beyond what I ever imagined by you guys!!
My one last request – that you would be praying for me and my team members. We have all been feeling under attack over the past couple weeks with multiple illnesses, obstacles, and frustrations. So please be praying that we would be strong, well, and protected. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Love you all!
Caitlin
Gloves – 10 boxes x $5 each
Gauze - $20
Tape - $20
Bandages – 5 boxes x $5 each
Children’s blood pressure cuff - $30
Stethoscope - $40
Thermometer - $10
Scale - $15
Soccer balls – 5 x $15 each
Pinnies – 2 sets x $15
Ball pump - $10
Total - ~$325
If you’re able to give, the best ways to donate now are to either use my PayPal “Donate” button on the right side of this screen or to give me your check/cash in person. Thank you again for your support of me on my trip, I have been blessed beyond what I ever imagined by you guys!!
My one last request – that you would be praying for me and my team members. We have all been feeling under attack over the past couple weeks with multiple illnesses, obstacles, and frustrations. So please be praying that we would be strong, well, and protected. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Love you all!
Caitlin
Monday, July 12, 2010
My yoke is easy and My burden is light
Let me give you a little preface before you start reading my innermost thoughts :) I’m not a writer, writing is actually one of the most difficult things for me to do (just ask my sweet sister who patiently coached me through writing my support letter :) I really am capable of forming logical, coherent thoughts, but if I have to put them on to paper, it becomes a painful ordeal involving a lot of procrastination. That being said, I really am going to try to post here regularly, even if my mom and Katherine and Kati are the only people who are actually interested in what I have to say :) So here it is!
Now that our trip is quickly approaching, my anxiety and worry has started to go up. I’m worried about getting all my work done that needs to get done before I leave, about not forgetting anything when I pack, about accomplishing all my goals while I’m in Uganda, anddd about how I will eat the same meal twice a day for a month straight :)
When I have anxiety in my life - when there’s work to be done, or something that needs to be fixed - my tendency is to start striving – making endless to-do lists , putting pressure on myself to get it all done, and to do it all just right. I wind myself up so tightly thinking about all that needs to be done, I get to the point where I’m completely overwhelmed and paralyzed to actually do any of it. This always culminates in me crying out to Jesus, usually literally crying all the way through worship on a Sunday morning.
I think to myself, “I can’t do this. It’s too much work. I’ll never get it done and if I do, it won’t be done right.” Fortunately, the Lord is patient and gracious and time and time again He says to me, “Caitlin, why are you navel-gazing? Why do you look to yourself? You’re right, you can’t do it. It’s too much work for you. Why do you think your striving and worrying will accomplish anything for My kingdom? You have to lean on Me, trust Me, seek Me. You know that My yoke is easy and My burden is light…”
So that’s where I’m at now – giving up the fight against myself and giving it over to Jesus. It makes me think of a line from one of my most favorite hymns, In Christ Alone –
“What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease,
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand”
I don’t think I’ll ever understand it, but I’m always amazed at how one of these mini-revelations, this little shift in my way of thinking can totally alter my work. I got home from church yesterday and I had the motivation to really get things done, to do research, get things organized, send out emails, make phone calls, to actually accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, and all with a quiet and peaceful spirit. So eyalama Yesu – thank you Jesus – for giving rest to my weary soul!
Caitlin
Now that our trip is quickly approaching, my anxiety and worry has started to go up. I’m worried about getting all my work done that needs to get done before I leave, about not forgetting anything when I pack, about accomplishing all my goals while I’m in Uganda, anddd about how I will eat the same meal twice a day for a month straight :)
When I have anxiety in my life - when there’s work to be done, or something that needs to be fixed - my tendency is to start striving – making endless to-do lists , putting pressure on myself to get it all done, and to do it all just right. I wind myself up so tightly thinking about all that needs to be done, I get to the point where I’m completely overwhelmed and paralyzed to actually do any of it. This always culminates in me crying out to Jesus, usually literally crying all the way through worship on a Sunday morning.
I think to myself, “I can’t do this. It’s too much work. I’ll never get it done and if I do, it won’t be done right.” Fortunately, the Lord is patient and gracious and time and time again He says to me, “Caitlin, why are you navel-gazing? Why do you look to yourself? You’re right, you can’t do it. It’s too much work for you. Why do you think your striving and worrying will accomplish anything for My kingdom? You have to lean on Me, trust Me, seek Me. You know that My yoke is easy and My burden is light…”
So that’s where I’m at now – giving up the fight against myself and giving it over to Jesus. It makes me think of a line from one of my most favorite hymns, In Christ Alone –
“What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease,
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand”
I don’t think I’ll ever understand it, but I’m always amazed at how one of these mini-revelations, this little shift in my way of thinking can totally alter my work. I got home from church yesterday and I had the motivation to really get things done, to do research, get things organized, send out emails, make phone calls, to actually accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, and all with a quiet and peaceful spirit. So eyalama Yesu – thank you Jesus – for giving rest to my weary soul!
Caitlin
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