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.