A First Annual Reflection . . . .

One year. Twelve months. 365 days. Our lives reordered, lessons learning and finding our way. New home, new friends, new schedules and new responsibilities. Another culture, another language and another set of mores to learn. One year from 24 August 2012 to 24 August 2013. Whew!

And all of a sudden, just like that, here we are reflecting on our first year of living in Uganda. How is it possible a whole year has gone by? How is it possible that it has only been 12 months?

We still don’t have the house completely in order; the kitchen hasn’t even been repainted yet. Seriously? A whole year has gone by?

But then again, the hours of slugging away trying to understand a new language that is so different from what we have heard before and the myriad of days wondering what we are supposed to be doing and how will we know when we are doing it make it seem so much longer...like we have been here for so, so long.

All of this and so much more comprise our first year in Kampala. What an adventure it has been! Here are a few lessons learned...

• Squash doesn’t grow very well in our little garden. So sad.
•  If we lean just right while on our upstairs veranda we can see a finger of Lake Victoria. That little veranda is our home sanctuary. So nice.
• It really, really matters how you pronounce words in Luganda. Missing the correct emphasis can really, really miscommunicate. Maybe that contributes to our timidity in using the language.
• God is at work in Uganda. So great!
• The enemy of our souls is bold and active, seeking to kill and destroy. So tiring is the battle!
• Loving on missionaries is such a happy thing! Enjoying helping whomever whenever we can is so life-giving!
• Living generously brings great freedom and makes any personal sacrifice seem non-existent. So freeing!
• Prayer matters. Prevailing in prayer is absolutely necessary for survival.
• African grey parrots are so cool, and they are loud. Our spirits still thrill to see them flying overhead or sitting in the neighbor’s tree. Parrots are cool!
• Kampala isn’t a bad city, as far as big cities go…unless you factor in the traffic. And the best thing is, our God is the God of this city. So grateful!
• We can do this. We can learn many new things all at once. We are not too old to change everything and still be useful. A very good thing to know of oneself.
• It is best to take exercise walks early in the morning. The lower altitude here should make it easier than it was in Kenya to push up the hills, but the vehicular air pollution later in the day makes it harder.
• Plantain eaters make us laugh every time they cackle to announce their arrival in the tree whose branches touch our upper veranda wall. Such funny birds!
• Nearly every Ugandan who has shared some of their life story with us has life chapters that involve hunger, war and death of loved ones. Sobering.
• Skype is our new best friend in technology. It has helped minimize our lesson on just how very, very far away our families live.
• Grief is painful no matter where we live, no matter who is grieving. So tired of facing this lesson.
• Hearts of gratitude enable us to neglect wrongs and appreciate all the rights so much more. So grateful!
• It is best to choose to stand tall and bloom right where we are planted. (This lesson illustrated to us by our sunflowers out front of our house. They are so cheery and colourful!)
• But sometimes we need help to keep on standing tall and keeping our heads up. (Also illustrated by our flowers. As their blooms became heavy they started to bend so they are now anchored to the porch railing!)
• We can’t do this alone. We don’t want to. We are completely dependent on God and His people.
• The people in the Body of Christ who are our “senders” are THE BEST and we thank you so much for giving us this privilege. So blessed!