Alrighty people. I can’t really remember what’s been said and what hasn’t. So you may have to suffer through some of this. I have soooo much on my mind.

Well, at the end of this week, luxury is gone. It’s time for the real deal. We’re traveling 4 hours to the Promise Land, another rescue unit. It’s on an island and from what I hear it’s even more poverty stricken than where we are (hard to believe…) and that there are kids EVERYWHERE. We’re going to help with the boot camp they put on there. It lasts two weeks and it’s a little hard to explain, probably because I don’t really fully get what it is or what we’re doing there. Basically young adults come and are trained for 2 weeks and then sent out to be missionaries and serve in various ways for like a month. We were informed today we’ll probably be teaching classes to help out, thing is, we don’t know what to teach. Like we’re doing drama and puppets and music….I think….so we may have to get a little creative if no one has time to teach us what to teach….hahah. I totally believe that God will prepare us and if it falls on our shoulders to teach those things He’ll make sure these teams go out equipped with what they need. We’ll just try to be vessels of His goodness and trust Him to provide. But yeah, we’re going to have to cut back a lot. We’re going to cut back all of stuff to the bare bare bare necessities now. We’re each taking a backpack for the 2 weeks. We have to pack a tent in one of those (probably mine cause mine is the biggest…). So we’ll be sleeping in a tent and rainy season has begun…and when it rains here it gets very cold. And now we’ll be having to fetch our own water and no electricity. So you can be praying that we would keep good attitudes, learn a lot and keep each other lifted up and not get worn out staying in one tent with little space. Also, we’ll be gone on Christmas. At first I was really really not happy about that but I talked it over with God and was reminded that it was my choice in how to handle it so I think we’re all ok with that now. We’re planning a post Christmas Ugandan adventure so we’ll have that to look forward to. :)

i just found this out:

marlee & me-music class

mckenzie & me-puppets and drama (mckenzie is in charge but i'm supposed to be helping out)

marlee & sometimes me- Miss Piggy (go around and find which team is the neatest and the dirtiest and the dirtiest has to clean the latrines....)

me-in charge of over-seeing them all writing home...not really teaching, just watching them. haha.

Ok, so I’ve told you some about Isaac…but there’s another Isaac. Big Isaac we call him. He’s called that because he’s real stout, fit, muscular. He’s 38 and is one of the funniest people. He makes me laugh all the time. The thing is he doesn’t think he’s funny. He’s extremely humble. He told Peter, one of the leaders here, that he knew he wasn’t as gifted academically but that he was a good worker and was willing to serve God in that way. Then the other day we told him he would make a really good king because of how he stands and such and he responded “I don’t want to be a king in this world. I just want to be a servant of God.” I love this guy. Now to fully understand how funny he is you would have to see him walk and hear him talk. He’s really mumbly. Like you can’t really understand him unless you listen really closely. We’re getting better at figuring out what he’s talking about but it’s still really funny. And everywhere he goes he like marches, wish purpose and direction, straight to where his next job is. Such a hard worker. His favorite job is the cows. He loves those cows, especially the milking of them. He takes great care in those cows…it’s like his favorite subject. Here’s a little example of a conversation we had with him today:
Marlee: Isaac, would you ever like to visit america?
Isaac: Well, right now I need to fix my tent and milk the cows…
*every one looks at each other confused*
Marlee: No, not now, like in the future. Would you like to visit.
Isaac: I’m busy this week.
Linus: Let me try to explain me try to explain what they want.
Isaac: Yes.
…
Linus: Do you have visions of going to America?
Isaac: I have visions, but they are for me and God. I can not tell you them.
Marlee: But will you ever come to America? Ever. When you’re not busy?
Isaac: One time. One day. One year.
Later
Isaac: how much do cows cost in america?
TJ: I don’t know.
Isaac: Is there enough grass to feed them?
TJ: Yeah. We have grass in America…
Isaac: Do you have cows? If I visit you will there be cows?
TJ: Nope. I don’t have any cows.

Isaac: hmmmm….. Sigh. Well how much does it cost to take care of a cow every month in America. Like food, water….TJ: Dude Isaac. I don’t have cows. I have no idea….
Isaac: hmm. Ok.
*Isaac rises and marches away to wash his dishes.*
It’s so hard to properly describe him. Just know everyone should love him. He constantly keeps us laughing and loves to laugh right along with us. And loves to try to teach us how to milk those darn cows.

Alright, last story for this blog. The other day we went to town and on our way into the internet café we noticed a really cute little girl begging outside. After I finished on the computer I ventured out to find her. There was a small group of street kids standing around and I played with them for a little while. They multiply rather rapidly when they think they might get something and before long there were like 7 and so I went back to the café because it was a bit overwhelming. Later the three of us went out to wait for Camille and the group came back. This time there were even more. It breaks my heart. You want to give them something but you know you can’t give them all enough to actually help them and most of them are forced by their parents to do what they’re doing so the locals don’t like you to support them. It’s so hard though to walk by. They sit there crossed legged with their hands out and cupped and they look at you. Most of them seem to be sick and have skin problems, runny eyes and noses and a cough. All of their clothes are the wrong sizes and torn and dirty. Any attention they get lightens up their faces. One of them was toting a rather young baby with her. I asked if I could hold her. I wanted so bad to take that kid with me and I had to pray over her and trust she was in God’s hands. God is constantly teaching me 1) how blessed I am and 2) how to trust him and let him take those things. It’s so easy for me to get bogged down wanting to hold and comfort every child and God keeps telling me, “Give them to me TJ. I love them and can comfort them in ways you can’t even begin to. Pray for them, love them, hold them, tell them I love them, and have faith in me.” And so that’s what I try to do. It breaks my heart but I truly believe God is going to move in Uganda. He’s going to take this next generation where the last one couldn’t have dreamed or imagined. I know there is so much hope in what seems like a hopeless situation. Please please pray for these people. Some times you can just look into people’s eyes and see the weariness, the hopelessness. Also, pray for us that we would continue to look to God for the answers. That we would grow discouraged. It’s funny how when I think about that, six months doesn’t seem nearly long enough.

wow. sorry this is so long. hope you enjoy it brings some smiles to your faces, informs you how to better pray, and touches your heart with what we're seeing here.
Well, this is it till after Christmas more than likely so MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! We love you guys. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support

the info you just have to know...

Hello to blog readers young and old.!
…Hopefully you are many in number. We like to think that there are people are actually reading these…
Our adventures in Uganda are finally becoming routine. I think it’s safe to say that we all three feel a sense of familiarity. We know our surroundings. We know the people. Though on our guard, we trust both. Nowadays the three of us venture around unattended in Jinja, the second largest city in Uganda. Besides being white, I think we do a good job of laying pretty low under the radar. The only time we are ever approached is when we pass by the boda-boda drivers (motorcycle drivers…it‘s like a taxi service) who are beckoning us to let them take us wherever we need to go. The market in Jinja is the thickest taste of authentic “African” culture one can experience. I think you would be impressed with our street credibility. Ha. But really, we’re learning the in’s and out’s of the economics here. It’s a good thing we have the BMW students to tell us how much we should pay for certain things. That helps.
Speaking of BMW students, I feel like there are some gaps that we need to fill in for you guys.
Right now, Tj, Mckenzie and I are living at a Teen Mission Base in Nakabongo. Teen Missions is a world-wide missionary organization that trains teenagers to become missionaries. Go figure…J There are different “bases” all over the world, and several of them are spread about the continent of Africa.
Basically the base is like a private compound….it’s secured and enclosed by a big rock wall. The property stretches back into the bush where there is a rescue unit, but it’s far away and we haven’t yet had the chance to explore that far back, so I’m not sure what the rescue unit looks like. I think there’s a church and a school because often times I hear loud drums and people singing. We are itching to visit it, but there are many things here to occupy our time.
Camille Hadlock (whom we have mentioned a few times before) is the director of Teen Missions here in Uganda. She is our main connection and Mckenzie knew her from her previous Teen Mission trip.
Camille is wonderful. Loves the Lord with all her heart. She’s a hard worker with a lot on her plate, but she has a big house here and has allowed us to stay in one of the rooms. She’s an American too, which is important to know, and after living here for so many years she is able to tell us how to adapt into the African lifestyle. She has been such a blessing but is definitely not holding our hand and walking us through each day. Sometimes we don’t even see her because she is constantly running errands and is so so busy.
Besides Camille’s house, the Base is also home to a Bible school. The students here are called BMW students. Bible Missionary Work students. Most of them are college-aged, so we really enjoy their company. They pay their own tuition, live in a small dorm (one for men/one for women), and help with the chores to help keep things at the Base running smoothly. Besides finishing school, the students are required to complete an internship of their choice, which can be any kind of service that they feel the Lord has put on their hearts. That generally lasts for about a year. Chores include an array of jobs such as tending the flocks, kitchen duty, keep the garden(s), washing clothes. SO many things and since many of the students are gone for the holidays, these are the kind of activities Tj, Mckenzie, and I have participated in during these last couple of weeks.
Sorry that was kinda long and boring but I just wanted to try and paint a picture of where we are and who we are staying with because I felt like that might have been cloudy for some.
NOW. What I really want to get at is this:
This past week has been a little rough. Not rough as in too much to handle or we’re desperately homesick and want to fly home. It’s just that reality is setting in that this is our life now. It’s amazing and we realize how fortunate we are to be here and we truly are happy. But the 10 day mission trip is long over and the fact is, we aren’t coming home for a very long time. We’re trying not to focus on petty things like food and comfort, but we’re girls. American girls. It’s easier to want clean clothes that smell fresh, than it is to want to help herd goats and pick up rocks. : ) yes, today Tj and I had to help herd about thirty goats while simultaneously digging up bricks and stones which were supposed to help make the foundation for a new kitchen. Don’t get us started as to why it makes any sort of sense to move one pile of rocks from one unfinished work project site to another….we asked….it’s just they way they want to do it. So, we laugh and spend half our day transferring rock piles. We’ve been working hard. Actually, we call it man work. You’d be surprised at how intense some of our jobs have been. We’re definitely not used to it. But that’s what it’s all about. It feels good to work hard.
So in light of that, I want to thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. A few days ago I was sharing with some of our new friends about our friends and family back in the States supporting us. As they were looking through some pictures from our prayer meeting/sendoff at the coffee shop, they were amazed at how many people were backing us up. One person even said to me, “I am so encouraged that all these people are praying for us.” It really made me realize how blessed we are to have such a power house prayer team back home.
Prayer is so powerful. Every morning before breakfast everyone gathers together for about thirty minutes of worship and Isaac gives a brief word to encourage us. Recently he preached from John ch. 16 vs. 23 & 24.
“ ‘(23)In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. (24) Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.’ ”
He reminded us that we have access through Christ Jesus to come before the Father and ask of Him anything. The word says “Until now you have asked nothing in my name.” Until now. Basically Christ is saying, your needs are easy to our Father. It does not strain Him to answer you. It’s nothing for the Creator of the universe to bestow favor and blessing on His children if we will just ask. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Have we prayed enough? Do we seek the Father enough? Are we burdened for each other enough? Every time we come before Him, it’s like we’re presenting new requests. God wants us to come before Him now. Yesterday is past. Tomorrow isn’t promised. Until now.
His word is living and present. It’s a “now” Word. The Bible is living and active. Hebrews 4:12. AMEN!
So, thank you for interceding on our behalf. Be encouraged! God is faithful and continues to provide for us so many things. We want to continue to pray for safety, good health, and for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so that we can better serve as Christ served. Even though things may get harder, we want to remain confident that He will supply us our strength as we take each day one day at a time.
Everyday we are praying for our friends and family back home! You are so dear to us, and we love you so much. May you continue to be at peace in the Lord Jesus.
Love,
Marlee

monkeys...

it's tj again. i don't have very long to write this.
the only thing i really feel like telling you is about Isaac.
he is on staff at teen missions. he is amazing. i can not do him justice.
this past week we started sitting at his table with him where he usually sits alone. we totally took over of course. at first we were worried he might get annoyed. but he hasn't. in fact now it's ritual. and he loves it. it sounds really conceited to say this, but really, he loves us. he laughs with/at us all the time. we tell him about all our adventures. the best part though is when he imparts some of his wisdom and faith to us. he has a complex knowledge but a simple faith. he just believes. with all his heart.
an example:
we've heard rumors of monkeys. but had had yet to see any. we tell isaac of our delima and he stops. prays. and points his finger at us and goes, "tomorrow. tomorrow you will see the monkeys."
so the next day all day no monkeys. we eat a late lunch (like 4 o'clock) and talk with him for like an hour just about not worrying and putting our faith in him and how faithful God is. it was one of the most encouraging talks i've ever had. i needed it so bad and he just ministered to my heart.
after the talk winds down i was feeling a little frustrated. i wanted so much to have faith like isaac but i knew i couldn't conjure it up. i needed to surrender to God and put my trust in Him and stop trying to do things on my own might but i didn't even know where to begin. i know, it's simple. but i was all caught up in me. So marlee asks isaac if we can go feed the fish with him. we walk down the path and it crosses my mind that we never saw the monkeys...and i'm starting to feel all bitter. silly, i know. but i did. and we're feeding the fish and isaac looks into the trees and goes, "the monkeys. they're over there. i see a tail." and we watch for a second, and sure enough, the monkeys climb up where we can see them. it almost made me cry.
but yeah. he's amazing. he's started joining in on our never ending musical and when we're at the table he'll sing along. it's really funny. i can't even begin to tell you everything about him. more will come later though. :)
yeah besides that we've been working hard...doing clothes...hahah. in buckets and drying on the line...well on the line when the cows don't pull them off and try to eat them...
oh, and the boda-boda....we road one. or three. they're motorbike taxis. i loooooove them. it's my favorite. a little scary at first, but once you settle in and find your balance, it's wonderful and exciting. and we're figuring out about the streets a little bit so we don't get ripped off cause we're white. working on our street savyness. :)

anyways. that's it for now. expect more soon.

the pineapple is great.

Maybe I will start off by saying I don’t like writing for the public. You see what ends up happening is I will write something and then decide I don’t like it and will redo the entire thing. I also don’t like it because its very permanent and I’m not sure I like the idea of having my ideas permanently displayed.
Marlee and TJ say that we should write about everyday. I think that makes for an extremely long blog. Since they gave me all rights to this blog I’m going to do it as I like. Hopefully it will be as interesting as theirs.
Alright.
This story number will be called “Our First Work Day”
On this particular morning we woke up a bit earlier to get a head start on the day ahead of us before it got to hot. Today we would be weeding the pineapple and banana garden. Issac, one of the staff members for Teen Missions, took us down to the garden and showed us what to do. For some reason I imagined us getting down on our knees pulling up weeds. Well it turns out I was wrong about that. They call it digging because pretty much you dig up the entire ground with a hoe and leave just the pineapple and banana plants. Well we ventured down to the “garden” (if that’s what you want to call it…if you asked me I would tell you its more like a giant field with the occasional pineapple and banana plant). Issac told us that when we got tired we could go back to the house. We assured him we wouldn’t get tired and that by the time he came and got us the field would be completely void of any kind of weed. You could say we were a bit optimistic. At first it wasn’t so bad, but then the sun rose higher and the shade grew smaller and consequently everything eventually got harder. As TJ whacked away at the larger than normal weeds she started talking about all the things she wanted to “weed” out of her heart. After she finished Marlee took a turn at it. After Marlee finished they wanted me to do it. Quite honestly I didn’t want to. I thought it was semi silly and all I could really concentrate on was the very large and somewhat impossible task ahead of us. They continued to pry at me and finally I agreed to do so. I listed some of the things and then went on my way. They then started talking about all the things they were thankful for. I continued to dig and listen to what they were saying but I couldn’t stop thinking about all the stuff that was clouding my heart. I guess sometimes people really need to see a visual picture of something to get the point…well Jesus I got the picture. For most of the time we were gardening I was silent. You could say my soul was a bit downcast. I prayed a lot….not just for the strength to get through the actual gardening of the field but also the courage to give all of the yuck I had in my heart over to the ultimate Gardener, if you will. Then as if divinely destined Marlee and TJ started singing. Okay. Let me rephrase that. 1) they always sing so its no real surprise 2) they were probably already singing I just wasn’t paying any attention. Anyway we ended up singing and praying with one another. For me it was a huge encouragement and it definitely lifted my spirits. Anyway we weeded for like 3 ½ hours. We didn’t finish the field but we did make a pretty big dent. It was a great time together and when it was all said and done I was really proud of the work we had done as a team. Most importantly for me it was a chance to really give everything over to Christ once again. When we were done we prayed over the land that it would be fertile and yield the very best fruit. In Isaiah 61: 11 it says “For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations“. AMEN. That is what I’m banking on, that’s the kind of God I will put my hope in. After lunch we went around the house and scraped paint from the windows. There’s nothing really too exciting about that except for the giant spiders our hands came in close contact with and the God awful screeching noises one of the paint scrapers made when it came in contact with the window. We did that for a few hours and then called it a day. Actually Ben Bennit called it a day (he’s this crazy African student who is obsessed with playing the guitar …especially with marlee and teej…and no matter how hard I try I can never seem to understand what he is saying ) So that about sums up our work day. Honestly if we hadn’t done those things somebody else would have eventually. But I have decided it didn’t matter because we came here to bless these people and make their work load a bit lighter and today I felt like we did just that…even if we didn’t accomplish everything we set out to do.

(Before) (After)

Alright story number two shall be called “Thanksgiving in Africa” (aren’t you glad I have really interesting/creative titles)
Okay so this was our first major holiday away from home. The day before we bought some stuff from the supermarket in Jinja after we went to an internet café. After lunch we went into our room and set out our coke, vanilla cookies chocolate cookies and lemon cookies, chocolate candy bar, and some bread and herb crackers (we also had a pineapple but we didn’t get to it). We sat around the middle of our room and gave thanks to the Lord. It was a really wonderful time. I was so thankful for the girls sitting around me but most of all for God’s provision and faithfulness. It was by no means like the thanksgiving we celebrate at home but it was a very special time together. We told some of our friends at the base that it was Americas thanksgiving and they got really into it. They wanted us to sing our anthem and then they wanted to learn it. One things for sue…I’m super thankful for the people we have met here. They are odd but wonderful. They are so full of joy and life and love for the Lord. It was kinda strange not being around our family during this holiday but for all of us it didn’t really feel like that time of year. There isn’t any kind of advertisement of course and besides the turkey that roams around outside there wasn’t anything to really remind us of the holiday.

There’s a lot that I haven’t talked about…this is for two reasons. 1) you have a life and you shouldn’t be spending all your time stalking us…that is unless your name is Jake Akin and 2) I’m kinda lazy and would rather you call us to inquire more information ;)

I think I will end on some interesting facts about Africans. I will call this story “Funny African Stories”
A) Everywhere you go you are welcomed. When you go and sit down at a table, when you enter a room, and perhaps my favorite….when you arrive somewhere like home. What is funny about the last one is that not only are you welcomed by the people who stayed at the base but you are also welcomed by the people you were traveling with. Usually it’s the person sitting right by you who will do it. Once you cross through the teen mission gates like clockwork they will turn to you and say “welcome back”.
B) Okay so I don’t know what the deal is but everyone here picks their nose…in front of you…with their finger…and no Kleenex. At first I thought it was just a few people but then we went through town and notice that its not just a few people…its everyone. They are totally comfortable with taking their finger and sticking it right up their nose while talking with you.
C) Okay so another funny thing that they do is when they talk they make really funny noises. I guess it’s the equivalent of Americans saying “umm…well ummm”. I cant really type out the noises so you wont be able to get the full effect but its kinda like a long drawn out moan but not like a painful moan just a space filler “mmmmmmhhhheeeee”.
D) So today was our first experience riding into town without Camille. We are staying in Nakabongo which is about 8 kilometers from Jinja where they have internet cafes. Okay so one of our friends told us just keep walking if you cant get a ride on a boat (a small bus type thing that transports not only humans but various animals and food). Don’t worry we aren’t being stupid its just as safe as walking through main street ;) okay so we start out on our way and walk maybe around 3/4ths of a mile until we hit Namalasa where they have a little bus station. While we were walking we tried to flag down a bus but none stopped…probably because they were full. Anyway we make it to the “bus station” and try to find a bus going to Jinja…when we find one we load onto the bus. Im going to guess there were about 35 people on a bus that should have only held maybe 20. Don’t worry they don’t only transport humans here…they also transport chickens which they put under the seats and huge bags of food. The people stink, the seats are slanted at like a 45 degree angle and are falling apart, somehow you end up by a mr. smiley who wont stop staring at you…and you run the risk of having a chicken peck at your toe…its really great! Thankfully we made it into town safe and sound and found our way to an internet café. On the way back we will take a bus and then hop on a boda boda (motorcycle) to the base. Im sure we will have funny stories to tell you about our experience on the way back.
Well I failed. This ended up being longer than I had hoped.
I love it here.
Im encouraged daily.
I cant wait to see how God will provide and use us.
Love,
McKenzie the muzungu (white person)

the walk...

this is long but it's a couple days...

Jambo!
There are a few things in need of discussion. First of all, God is at work. Big time. He’s pulling weeds like I’ve never felt/seen before. I’ll explain later…
He’s allowed us to see a lot in a short amount of time. This is our fourth day in Uganda and already we’ve been exposed to the culture in many various ways.
Perhaps the most interesting event thus far was our first church visit to Victory Baptist Church.
Let me tell you something…I’ve never experienced anything so long in my life.
We were told that this Sunday was going to be “special” because it was the 16th anniversary of the church‘s existence. We really had no idea how special it was going to be. Not only did we have regular church, but there was also a two hour testimonial commemorating the actual anniversary, followed by the celebration of a wedding….that had actually taken place 16 years earlier. Ya. From what we understand in Uganda if your parents consent, you can move in together and you’re married. But maybe this couple wasn’t saved when they first started their lives together….? I think. So they wanted an official wedding to declare to their church family that they were lawfully wed. Something like that. But boy did they make up for lost time. The whole reason the testimonials took so long was because the bride was getting ready. And getting ready. And getting ready. Meanwhile, the pastors were desperately trying to fill the time with testimonies. What’s funny is that one of the deacons felt the need for interpretation of each testimony, so it doubled the length of everything. I guess it didn’t matter though because the bride was ….you guessed it…still getting ready. I think finally the head pastor told someone that she had one minute before they were starting the wedding. I’m not kidding. BUT, luckily for me a small child decided to sit on my lap. It was really cute, until I discovered she was holding a grasshopper which by the end of the message she had completely dissected. Not so cute anymore. First went the legs, then the wings, and that would have made for a good snack had she not dropped it for the toddler next to her to stomp it to death. Thank you Lord, for providing me entertainment.
So finally, after much anticipation (BTW McKenzie, Tj, and I keep checking the time because we didn’t eat breakfast and we were sure that since it was one o’clock we were going to eat pretty soon…right?) the wedding commences. It’s interesting how things are done here. I really believe that the bride and groom had no idea everyone was as hungry and as restless as we were. But that’s ok. At least they were happy to finally get this thing finalized. After 16 years? Can you blame them? The bride was preceded by her seven children. Now I have to try and explain something very difficult, but it’s very important for you to be able to understand what we witnessed. Ok. So first was the flower girl and the ring bearer. After much coaxing to come on through those double doors, the cutest little African girl you’ve ever seen *slowly* ventured out onto the white butcher paper covered aisle. I need to establish the fact that by slowly, I mean it took her as long to cover two feet of ground as it’s takes me to cover two separate subjects in these blogs. Basically, it was slow. After them, the bride and groom’s twenty children (not really) simultaneously swayed to the alter. We call it “The Walk”. It’s kinda like you take a step, rock back and forth on the leg that’s in front, and then you switch, and eventually you make some progress. It’s hilarious. So funny. And we aren’t just weird American white people who think it’s funny. There was a row of guys in front of us imitating the walk and laughing. I guess since it took so long, it spread to the whole church and many different people of all ages tried out their Walk.
Ok. Long service…it’s about 4:30pm and finally lunch time. We get ushered to the front of the line, despite our protesting, where the servers piled heaps of unidentifiable substance onto our plates. We were excited. Before we went back to our seats, I asked Camille where the forks were and she told me to just use my fingers. I looked at all the food and thought to myself, “Uh-oh. This is not finger food.” But we weren’t wavered. We boldly marched back to our seats….no fork, no napkin, and lots of food. It was awesome.
Here are a few things that our plates consisted of:
Goat meat
Goat intestine sauce
Rice
Triangle Tortilla Thing
Yellow Yam
Fried Yam
Mashed Yam
Potato
Mashed/Fried Bananas
Millet Bread
For those of you who don’t know, or haven’t ever tasted, or heard about millet bread, let me enlighten you. Looks like refried beans, tastes like moist cardboard. Feels like sticky play-dough only you have to chew it longer. Slightly gritty, relatively tasteless. Really hard to get down.
Long story not short, the wedding (feast and all) was an experience not soon to be forgotten. Actually, it turned out to be a blessing because we were able to spend a lot of time with kids who definitely appreciated genuine attention from three goofy mozungoos (ps that’s the renown name for white people around here). And it brought us immense joy to lavish our love and share our laughter with them. We might not have gotten home till 7:30 that night, but it was definitely worth it. We discovered the culture. We entertained and held children. We learned that food isn’t always satisfying. We learned a lesson in patience and accepting anything and everything set before us. And we laughed. A LOT. It was totally worth every second, and we wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world.
OK NEW WRITER-TJ’S TAKING OVER THE LAP TOP
(Sorry, I am not as witty as Marlee but I’ll see what I can do.)
November 23rd, 2008
Well yesterday (the 23rd) was market day. Get excited.
Camille, three other women from here, and the three of us all loaded up in the truck and headed to Jinja. First stop was to fetch our luggage that was once lost, but had been found. Yay. After that me and Marlee rode in the back with the bags and let the ladies sit up front. It was awesome. Bumpy roads + 4 bags + two people in the back of a covered truck thing = lots of laughs, (when it’s me and Mar) lots of singing, and a few bruises. The thing is I really liked riding back there. Like a lot. Meanwhile McKenzie was making friends with Faith, one of the ladies we’d brought along. She’s from Uganda, she’s really sweet, and she loves Jesus.
After trying to figure out some internet stuff (by the way people, we only get it every couple days so we write these and up load them whenever we can), we moved on to market. Camille went to go get some stuff and Faith was put in charge of us seeing as we’d never been to market and we kind of stuck out…she was awesome and got us good prices on our stuff seeing as she is super street savvy. She picked out our pineapples for us (so so so so good….) and helped us with some other purchases we needed to get taken care of. Then we headed back to the vehicle to wait and sing/talk some more. After that we proceeded to the super market for bread, fresh COLD water, some crackers, lemon cookies, and a big big coke. The water and crackers are for whenever, the coke and cookies are for the most amazing Thanksgiving celebration ever…since that goes down in a few days I think.
You just need to know this one thing. We’ve turned our world into a Broadway stage. It’s brilliant. It started with a little ditty I sang for Marlee about the need for water. After that, we just couldn’t stop. It was like, impromptu songs about everything, all the time, everywhere. Thing is, we’re good at it. We rap, we sing, we dance….really, it’s a beautiful thing and helps when you’re starting to feel a little tired/hot/hungry/whatever…
Anyways, at like 4sh we headed home…yay for bumpy car rides…to eat some peanut butter…
(has anyone noticed how much of your blogs are about food? Cause I have…sorry). Then there was dinner, of rice and beans, and then, we led worship. Yes, you heard me right. For those of you who have heard me and marlee play, you know why this would be amusing, but somehow, because God is good, it worked. It ended up going better than expected out of His mercy and that alone… His presence was definitely in the place, and that’s all that matters. No amount of skill on our part could have produced worship, but worship happened. It was beautiful.
After that, McKenzie decided it was Ice Age time so we crowded around the TV. I don’t think they got all of it, but over all, I think it was a success. We definitely had some good laughs.
But yeah, that was our day. It was pretty joy-filled if you ask me. Thanks people for all your prayers, we feel God’s hand everywhere we go. We know that things would not be going this smoothly if was not for God’s blessing and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are so so so thankful. I know this probably sounds like a list of what we do but really, we are so blessed, we are enjoying rich fellowship with one another and the people here, and we are daily learning and excepting some good life/Jesus lessons. I think that we are blessing the people here as well, if not with anything else, with our laughter. :)

Ok so this was written in London but due to a faulty plug at the star bucks there it was never up loaded.
Greetings from London!
So far, so good. Praise Jesus. After saying our last goodbyes in Austin, we safely flew to Chicago, and after landing approximately an hour ago, here we are at the London/Heathrow airport. It is 1:30pm UK time. 7:30am US time.
We are all perfectly safe and sound. Mckenzie and Tj sat next to each other, cramped, for seven hours….while I stretched out onto the two vacant seats next to me. No pity. I told them I would share. You have to seize opportunities in life. Needless to say, I feel rested while I’m afraid my compadres are slightly sleep deprived. But they’re ok.
Oh…something interesting.
I think I always knew that we were different. That we sort of stuck out.
But now, I’m sure of it.
Everywhere we go, people can’t help but stop and stare. Maybe I’m exaggerating. Maybe you think I’m over exaggerating…. but trust me. Im not. It could be due to the fact that we sing everywhere we go. It might be because our joy can’t be capped and we are constantly making a scene with our obnoxious laughter. Perhaps it’s because we’re carrying guitars and so people have to make way for our wide load, lest they get smacked in the head…not to mention Mckenzie’s bag that continually waylays innocent bystanders every time she turns around. But the most realistic option, of course, is because we are constantly radiating beauty. No makeup, travel weary hair, and baggy clothes tend to intimidate even the most experienced of travelers. They’ve never seen anything like us.
The good news is that this airport has some wicked cool modern furnishings which will serve as an aesthetic aid for our “we have 8 hours till our next flight and nothing to do” music video.
Basically, fellow prayer warriors, things are going smoothly and according to plan. We are so blessed. Keep up the prayers……we still have to get through the Ugandan airport with all our luggage. Not to mention the remainder of our six month stay. But the Lord is Faithful!
When we took off on our first flight to Chicago, I was overcome with emotion and I felt extremely desperate. But the Lord directed me to Colossians ch. 3. It talks about putting on the new self. Setting your minds, to things above. And fear, I reminded, was not from above. It goes on to say: (vs. 14-17)
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hyms and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
YES! I love how-to’s like this in the word, so when I freak out, there’s direct instruction as to how God wants me to handle it.
Ok. This is kinda short, but short is good. There are plenty of stories ahead, I’m sure.
We love you all, tremendously, and remain amazed that God has got us this far. Getting there is half the battle. But not for our God.
Pray for our sustained stamina and continued optimistic attitudes, so that we are in high spirits when we enter Africa. First impressions are everything.
Don’t know when we’ll have access to internet again. But of course, when we do, we’ll keep you posted.
Peace be with all of you, and with us also.
In Christ,
TMW (THREE MIGHTY WOMEN) 2Samuel 23

Alrighty. Well here we are in Africa! Wow. God is so good and we are continually amazed at what a miracle it is that we’re here.
So travel to this point: there was like a 2 hour delay leaving the London airport. They had loaded us all up on the bus and then found out there was a problem with the aircraft so we drove around for a while. We sang and talked of course, despite the fact that no one else did. So after a couple rounds about the airport they un loaded us off the bus and we sat around for a bit longer. We actually met a woman who asked us if we were Christians. She said she had recognized some of the songs we were singing on the bus and informed us that she was headed to Jinja to see her daughter who was doing mission work there.
Anyways, we did finally board the plane and take off for our final destination. So long Western world! We had some time with Jesus and slept mostly. Not going to lie, I (TJ) did have a moment of panic but as soon as we landed in Africa it was gone. Now we just had to make it through customs and such…..
When we went in a lady who worked there informed us that only one of us had to go up to get our visas while the other two could go get our bags. We ended up with all of Marlee’s bags, none of Mckenzie’s and one of mine. We went and sat around waiting for some help and a very kind woman started helping Mckenzie sort through trying to find where our luggage had disappeared to. Marlee was reading her Bible and watching our other luggage when a man approached her. The name on his name tag read “Jackson.”
“I see you are reading your word. I am born again also.” (please keep in mind he had an awesome accent that I won’t murder by trying to type…)
“That’s awesome. That makes me really happy.”
“Yes, washed by the blood of the lamb!”
At one point Jackson asked if Marlee was worried about our luggage.
“No,” she responded, “be anxious for nothing…”
He finished with, “but in everything, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your request be made known before God.”
Good word.
So after they told us they would call if they received our luggage, we headed for customs, aka, three desks, two of them with no one at them at all, one covered in all of another woman’s stuff and a group of customs people chatting off to the side. They didn’t seem to notice us so after standing there for a second or two we just walked out, no questions, no passport check…nothing. Thank you Jesus.
After that we met up with Camille Hadlock, the missionary we’re staying with for these first two months. She’s wonderful. Very sweet and helpful and understanding. We’re so happy to be staying with her. Uganda so far is beautiful. Hilly, green, hot but not too humid. There are lots of people and it feels busy, but not like in America. It is of course, a very poor country and it broke my heart to drive down the street and see naked children, garbage (or rubbish) everywhere, shanty little houses…but what is truly needed is salvation, not money.
We loaded up and headed to a clay factory to get some clay bricks and tiles for the roof. We stuck out quite a bit…being four white females. It was a little intimidating at first, but after a while we got used to it. They wanted to know if we were “Obama’s children….” haha. Well yeah, I mean we’re from America…
After that we got food and we met Hope, a friend of Camille’s. Marlee and her are already like best friends.
----CHANGE OF WRITERS, TJ WENT TO TAKE HER FIRST SHOWER. MARLEE IS NOW TAKING OVER---
That’s because we’re both in love with hymns and could sing them till we die. Anyways, she’s a sweetheart. 28 and newly married. As in, she’s been married for a little over a week and when you ask her about it she is GLOWING. So happy. And so in love with Jesus. Very thankful, and doesn’t complain about anything.
When we arrived in Nakabongo we were able to unload our junk and get settled. The accommodations are more than we expected. Running water. Spacious bedroom. Three beds. And we share the house (which is massive and blue) with many other BMW students….(Bible Missionary Work Students). It’s awesome.
Camille took us into Jinja, which is like ten minutes away from Nakabongo, and we were able to pick up a few things such as:
A phone
3 pillows
A water basin
Toilet paper
You know….necessities.
When we got back, we ate dinner (noodles, beans, rice) and somehow someone started playing a guitar and before we knew it there were three guitars and the tuning began.
It’s not a big deal or anything, but tj was trying to help tune their old guitar and one of the strings popped off. GOOD thing we had extra. But she had to learn QUICK how to re-string a guitar….with an audience. I give her mad props. She got the job done.
That’s pretty much it.
Except for one thing.
We all slept beautifully. But upon making her bed, Mckenzie found a long weave track thing in her bed. As in, a string of someone’s hair was in her bed.
I think we were prepared for spiders and bugs. But we couldn’t ever prepare ourselves for finding someone’s hair….in our beds. Ya. EWWWWW.
Tj’s verse for this trip has been Phil. 4:6. She says it always, during everything, all the time. So much, that I’ve started saying it thus the ex. above with Jackson. It’s starting to be funny, just because I know if anything unexpected happens, it will be followed with Tj saying:
“do not be anxious for anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
I think I’m going to adopt the next verse and tack it on whenever she says that, because it’s really good….and it will shake things up a bit. :D
Phil 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
So I’ll leave you with that. Thanks everyone for praying. Keep it up. Your faith increases my faith. Peace to you from our Lord Jesus who is the CHRIST! AMEN! I love you all.
In Him,
Marlee
Ps- Tj demands that you all know 1 giant spider and 7 big spiders are crawling on our ceiling. If reading that disturbed you, or helped make your life better in any way, prove me wrong and give us all your sympathy. I’m sure Teej would really appreciate it. Holla!

If you want to send us letters:
For these first 2 months, so don’t send any past January 2nd
Name
P.O. Box 1920
Jinja, Uganda, East Africa
Our latter address will be put up later….and if you try to send a package you should probably wait and send it to that one cause it might take a bit. And just so you know what you send may or may not make it.

its official...we have our plane tickets!!!

Thats right. Monday October 20, 2008 will forever be remembered as the day we purchased our plane tickets to Africa. here is our itinerary.


DEPART: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
American Airlines 5156..... (AUS) Austin, TX.....(ORD) Chicago-O'Hare
Wed, Nov 19 ........................depart: 5:05 PM........arrive: 7:50PM

B.A. 296 .....(ORD) Chicago-O'Hare....(LHR) London-Heathrow
Wed, Nov 19 ................. depart: 9:45 PM ............ arrive: 11:35 AM

B.A. 63 .........(LHR) London-Heathrow .....(EBB) Entebbe, Uganda
Thu, Nov 20 ........depart: 8:55 PM ...................arrive: 8:20 AM


RETURN: Thursday, May 21, 2009
B.A. 62...... ...(EBB) Entebbe, Uganda...... (LHR) London-Heathrow
Mon, May 18 .........depart: 9:10 AM............arrive: 3:55 PM

Overnight Required
B.A. 297................(LHR) London-Heathrow .......(ORD) Chicago-O'Hare
Thu, May 21 ..................depart: 3:35 PM .................arrive: 6:05 PM

American Airlines 5045...(ORD) Chicago-O'Hare......(AUS) Austin, TX
Thu, May 21 .......................depart: 7:40 PM ...........arrive: 10:20 PM


We're leaving Austin airport at 5pm so if you want to see us off you'll have to be there before that, like 4 maybe? We return on the 21st of may at 10:20 pm, or at least, that's what they say, you know how flights are.

God has been super faithful in providing the funds that we need. We are really close to the goal amount!!!!!! It's hard to believe that a couple months ago that goal seemed so impossible but God loves to bless His children and it's all to His glory!!! Thank you everyone for being so willing to help us out even when the economy is crashing. We know it took some faith on your part and we pray God returns that blessing and rewards you for your faithfulness.

If anyone has sewing supplies or cooking supplies they wanted to donate that would be awesome. That includes like scraps of fabric, needles, whatever. Also if someone feels led to donate a guitar, a group of bible students would really like to learn and we would love to be able to teach them and leave a guitar for them. There was also a request for snake bite kits and anti venom stuff.......so if anyone knows about that that would be awesome. Our goal is to bless the people we're staying with and these are some ways we could. Our space is limited but we're trying. Thanks.

Oh, and we're teaching English and some other things so if anyone has ideas on that or supplies to donate that would be amazing. We will have very little there supplied for us so we have to take that stuff with us and be very creative with very little.

Prayer requests (the basics)-
-that our flights will go smoothly and all our luggage will show up where we do.
-that we will handle any complications maturely and calmly, with lots of faith in Jesus
-that we would be in tune with the Holy Spirit and He would guide us, not the wisdom of man
-for health and safely
-that we would walk in boldness, bringing the light of Christ where ever we go
-that we would bless the people we encounter, whether it's on the plane for a couple hours or in the village for months
-that every decision would be made with God's wisdom and not out of fear or doubt
-that we would be filled with compassion and God would prepare our hearts for that
-that we would be ready to live out the gospel and pray for healings, His Spirit to fall, and his word to be made known in powerful and practical ways
-that we would not grow weary in doing good, and encourage each other continuously
-unity

Ok, well that's all for now. Thank you again!

T-shirts for sale!

We are selling t-shirts not only for a fundraiser but also for awareness about our trip. If you are interested in buying one please contact us by email (uganda0809@gmail.com). They are $15.00.

Africa is outlined in Isaiah 61:1 - "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the gates to the prison."