Feeling more settled

Ironically, as we are preparing to move again, I am already feeling more settled about our housing situation. As we have been discussing all of our upcoming moves with our team, they sensed our need to feel more "at home" someplace here in Uganda. Moving every few months makes it hard to feel settled. So the team at GSF asked  if we might want to just move into house 1b and stay longer term, hopefully until our house is built on campus. I was very excited about the idea of being able to settle in a bit more. 

House 1b is half of a duplex located directly across from our school room and next door to the toddlers' house. Yay! Our commute will change from a 45 minute drive to a 45 second walk! Although it is quite a bit smaller than where we are currently staying, our children were very excited about the idea of staying in 1b. I love how they adapt so well! When we went there to start cleaning, they were immediately making plans for sleeping arrangements and building forts. It has a nice open floor plan which we really like. 

Here is a photo looking to the left from the front door. Off of the living area, there are three bedrooms a shower and two toilets and sinks. The half bath looks a bit more like a closet and it is through the small bedroom on the right. The bathroom with the shower is through that middle doorway next to our bedroom. The hot water only lasts a few minutes so we will all learn to take quick showers. :) 

As you look ahead and a bit to the right you can see our kitchen/dining area. And the walls our green like our kitchen in Georgia! We are thankful for all of the light from the windows since the power goes out pretty often and it helps to get a breeze through. 

Even though this house is smaller than other places we have lived with four children, we think it will be great! Most of our time will be spent outside anyway. And as we look around us at the homes of many Ugandans, we are reminded that we have so much more than we really need. Four or five Ugandan families would be happy to share this square footage and would be glad for any indoor plumbing. That helps to keep things in perspective. 

I am very excited to have a place that feels like our home. I even bought a painting to hang. I'm sure moving here will bring some challenges, but I am very excited that we will be living on campus and will have a place to call home. And Lord willing, in another year or two we will be living in a home that will be built for us on campus. We have plans to meet with someone from eMi (engineering ministries international) on Tuesday about the schedule for beginning building. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel to Kampala for that meeting.

For now, we are still in our Jinja house for two more weeks, just eating lunch and spending Wednesday nights at our GSF house so that we don't have to drive in the dark after team devotions, and are beginning plans for our house yet to be built. But as we think about our many houses here on earth, we want to remember to keep our focus on our eternal home, living for God's kingdom and His glory!