Medical and emotional update

As you probably know, the reason I am here in Georgia is to see a doctor about my tongue. When I scheduled my flight I had an appointment on January 2, but that had to be rescheduled to January 8th. At that appointment the doctor will determine the next step. At my appointment in June and through email we have discussed that the next step will probably be a Mohs procedure, in which they remove the abnormal tissue a little at a time until they get clear margins (normal healthy tissue around the edges.) The doctor won't schedule a procedure until he has seen me first, which sounds like good practice, but they will leave a spot for me in the OR (operating room) schedule so that things can move quickly after my initial visit. So in answer to the many questions about when I will have a procedure, "I don't know."

It has been interesting to talk with people here and realize that one way God has changed me over the last 6 months is that I am much more comfortable with not knowing. Life in Uganda is generally so unpredictable that plans are often irrelevant. When I heard that my appointment was bumped to 6 days later, it didn't actually bother me that much. My biggest anxiety about this whole thing with my tongue is that somehow the progression of this problem with my tongue would require me to move back to the states for an extended period of time, taking me away for the ministry, the people and the country that I have grown to love.

Please don't misunderstand, I am so thankful for the time that I have here with my family, friends and church family. I have been thanking God that this medical problem gives me the opportunity to spend time with so many of you! But these six months in Uganda have confirmed even more that the work at Good Shepherd's Fold was what I was created for. I absolutely love the children there and miss my toddler neighbors who braid my hair, aka tie my hair in knots, daily. I love teaching the missionary kids who have such an amazing perspective on life. I love holding and kissing the babies who don't have a mom to hold them. I love worshiping in the village with JaJas (grandmothers) who cannot talk to me, but love God with their whole heart and pray earnestly for me and my family in their own language. I love going to the hospital in Buikwe, and praying with those who are sick as we all learn that each moment of life is a gift from our Lord. I love to see my children's hearts growing in compassion for those in need. I love to see how God is working all things for the good of his children even when we don't understand it. I love living in a place where I feel the need to pray about everything because we realize that we are not the ones in control. I also love living in a place where everything is green and usually warm and there are monkeys in the trees and we can go on safari for family vacation, but that is a bit more of a selfish reason.

So as I was trying to explain to my community group friends my mixed emotions of wanting to be with my friends and family here and wanting to be in Uganda at GSF, one friend teased me saying, "So what you're saying is that you want us all to move to Uganda? Don't you think that is a little selfish?" Exactly. So when is everyone coming?