A good Saturday!

    Since I now leave the house for "work" at 7am and do not return until 5-6pm on weekdays, Saturdays are often pretty busy with the details of life. But yesterday was a good balance of productivity and fun family time. In the morning I planned the meals for the week. Meal planning takes a while because I then need to make a list of what ingredients can be bought at the supermarket, like flour, sugar, etc., and the fresh ingredients which are only available at The Market, and the miscellaneous ones which are only available through a group of vendors along the side of a certain street. This took a great deal of time originally. And even so I would often have several items that I thought I would be able to purchase, but could not find. 

     Now that we have been here for over two months, I am starting to get better at meal planning. I wrote out the plan for the week, wrote the shopping lists of ingredients, and headed out with my oldest two children. David stayed home with the younger boys so they could play.  Elijah and Esther thought that everything was taking a long time, but I was able to find everything on my list at only two supermarkets, two roadside stops, and a trip through the Market. I felt very pleased that I was able to do all of that fairly efficiently and even paid the same amount as what my Ugandan friend thought I should pay. 

     While I was out a young man named Hassan found me. He is a street vendor. He told me that he used to just beg for money, but he is now working in order to earn enough money to pay for a place to live. I wanted to encourage him to continue to work for his income, so I "supported him" as they say, by buying some items from him. Since I have bought items from him twice, he now finds me every time I am in town. This Saturday I purchased some mugs from him. I really like the mugs, and they only cost 2,500 shillings each, which is a little less than a dollar. Best of all it helps to support my new friend. Here is a photo of my new mugs. 

     After my shopping we stopped at the post office and found a letter and a package slip! It was so exciting to get notes and treats from friends and family! It means so much to us! 

     Then after Zeke's nap we went over to our new friends', the Lawson's, house for the evening. The kids played soccer and Legos, we all ate a delicious meal including homemade tortilla chips and salsa, and after dinner, the kids watched a movie while the parents played a game of Spades. It was a fun relaxing evening! 

    Overall it was a very good day. We accomplished the tasks necessary to plan for the week ahead and still had some fun with friends. Most days here in Uganda, the task list cannot be completed for one reason or another. God is helping us both grow in patience, but it is still nice to have a day where life goes more smoothly. 

   Today in church the pastor said that "happiness is related to our circumstances, but true joy only comes from the Lord." He also quoted Nehemiah 8:10, "The joy of The Lord is your strength." Please pray that would be true of our family. Pray that we would have joy through Jesus and that would be the source of our strength everyday, whether it is an easy, fun day like today, or a very challenging one. May the joy of the Lord be your strength too!