Uganda!

We are here! As we landed, it was wonderful to look out the windows of the plane and see the beautiful, lush, green landscape. It is crazy that we drove to the airport in snow a few days ago and now we are back in our tropical climate here in Uganda. I did enjoy seeing the beautiful snow, but I am happy to be back in my sleeveless shirt and skirt. 

Well, it has been a long several days of travel, but the adventure is not quite over. When we landed we realized that our bags did not make it on the flight. I have been told that they will be on the next flight coming from Nairobi which arrives at 2:30 this afternoon. I hope that will be the case. As I filled out the forms, I thought I would go out quickly to find David and ask him if he was ok with sticking around for that. 

As I walked out I didn't see him anywhere. I had to figure out how to get my Ugandan SIM card back in my phone and buy airtime so I could call him. Finally I was able to call, but he did not answer. He called back a few minutes later and found that the van had broken down on his way to come get me. After getting himself and 3 kids out the door by 6am in order to pick us up, he then ended up stranded on the side of the road. He was able to get in touch with a mechanic and our friends, the Lawsons to borrow their van. I don't know how long he was stuck on the side of the road, but he is now working his way through Kampala in heavy traffic to come get us. 

When he arrives we will still have 3-4 more hours to wait until our bags arrive. Kampala traffic is notoriously bad on Friday afternoons, so we will probably have a long ride home too. 

But in the midst of all of this, I am thankful. Thankful to be back in this country that I love. Thankful that I don't have any more overnight flights scheduled for a long time! Thankful for this nice fan and a chance to sit and drink some cold water and for Ezra to have a Mirinda fruity again. Thankful that my family is safely on their way. Thankful to have a mechanic and friends who could help David out today. Thankful that I am able to get my phone working so quickly. Thankful for pain medicine as I am still healing. But mostly, thankful for my God who loves me, has made me his daughter, and is using these trials to teach me. 

Our "stuff"

Well, we have our boarding passes and are ready to board the Kenya Air flight to Nairobi and now there is a questions out our bags. British Air allowed us 3 bags each since we had a humanitarian ticket. But Kenya Air only allows one bag per passenger. So I am praying that they will accept our checked bags which are already checked, but I don't know if they are here being loaded or not. I apparently need to speak with Leah. So please pray.

 It is just stuff, but I brought back stuff for our school and our family and I really hope it arrives along with us. I feel like God has given us enough "growth opportunities" and I would love for this to be simple, but I am praying that I will glorify God in whatever situations arise. Here is Ezra resting while we wait. I took a nap in a similar situation earlier today. 

Lessons from a 5 year old

While it is true that both Ezra and I are short on sleep, he seems to be handling it a bit better than his mom. As we ate lunch together using a voucher from British Airways, he told me how wonderful it is to have this delicious food for free. Then he told me that the man at the ticket counter was "very generous to let us have an extra stop in a country that we have never been to before and still help us get home." I am thankful for his sweet enthusiastic reminders to see the blessings in the midst of every situation. 

For me it is a discipline to "rejoice always" and "give thanks in all circumstances." For Ezra's adventurous heart, it is just natural. I am so thankful to have such a joyful, sweet traveling partner. Each time I have begun to get a bit teary, this precious boy gives me a big hug and kiss. I do have much to be thankful for! He has his moments of difficulty, as we all do, but today I am reminded that "children are a blessing from The Lord!" 

Too late

Since our flight left Atlanta about an hour and a half later than scheduled, our transition here in London was going to be tight. We made up some time in the air, which still made catching the flight to Entebbe, Uganda theoretically possible. Toward the end of our flight from Atlanta I asked a flight attendant if there was anyway we could get out of the plane quickly in order to have time to catch our connection. For the last 20 minutes we were able to move up to Club World to sit near the exit. Yay!

When we landed there were ground crew members there to help us to our connection. Even with all of that, we missed the flight to Entebbe. So now we are here in London Heatheow for the day. We are going to catch an overnight flight to Nairobi, Kenya on Kenya Air, then have a short layover and flight to Entebbe, Uganda, also on Kenya Air. 

I am scheduled to arrive in Uganda around 9:15 am local time, which is 8 hours ahead of eastern time. Ezra and I are both pretty exhausted and I have started crying several different times in the airport here. Please pray that I will persevere and remember the truths that God is working for my good, even in this situation. I know that in my head, but I am still pretty discouraged right now. 

When I am sad or discouraged, I generally try to spend some time thanking God for things. So right now I am going to thank God for this playground at the airport. Ezra is playing and happy even though he has only had about 4-5 hours of sleep. I am also thankful that there is a way for me to get to Uganda tomorrow morning, so I do not have to wait another full day to be with my family. Well, I think we will try to go get some lunch even though it still feels like nighttime to me. 

Snow Adventures!

Yesterday afternoon snow began to fall in Athens, GA. Ezra and I were excited to see the beautiful snow, and Ezra enjoyed eating snow, making snow angels, having snowball fights and jumping on the snowy trampoline. His friends all got out of school early yesterday and today, so he has had playmates for all of this snowy fun! 

The downside of this snow storm is that the Atlanta area is not equipped to handle 2" of snow since it happens so infrequently. Many highways are completely closed, so getting to the airport may be a bit of an adventure. 

I have been staying with our dear friends, the Irwins this past week. Chris has a 4-wheel drive truck and knows many alternate routes around Atlanta because he grew up in that area. So this afternoon, around 2:30-3:00, Chris will attempt to get us to the airport. And if you know Chris, you know that he intends to win. 

As of right now, British airways says that my flight might be slightly delayed and we should be departing Atlanta around 9:26pm. The stated arrival time in London leaves me less than a 1 hour layover in London before we get on another plane to Entebbe, Uganda. If that is the case, I will not have time to post an update until we land in Uganda. Thank you for all of your prayers for our safe travel. I will keep you updated as much as possible. 

Fish Family GSF Video Update : January 8, 2014

In my last blog post I included this video at the end of my power point presentation, but I have heard that some may have had trouble viewing it. The video is of some of my students singing the song, "I have a Father." Claudia's daughters (on the left) have never had an earthly father, but they love to sing of their Heavenly Father. There is also a slide show of photos from our first six months in Uganda. Special thanks to Harvey Kirkpatrick for putting it all together. It is only 2 and a half minutes; I hope you enjoy and are encouraged!

Post-op meeting with the surgeon

Today I met with the surgeon to clarify the post-op report. He did confirm that at the end of the procedure there were clean margins and normal tissue. Praise God! But he also wanted me to know that the high-grade dysplasia (pre-cancer) was discontiguous, which means there were areas of normal tissue in between areas of high-grade dysplasia, which apparently means I am more likely to develop dysplasia again. I am supposed to have follow up care every 3 months in order watch for this. Obviously, that is not very convenient since I live in Uganda. So when I return to Uganda next week, David and I will discuss a plan to responsibly monitor my tongue while still doing the work that God has called us to do at Good Shepherd's Fold.

This morning I woke early and had some time to read some in  the book of 2 Corinthians. There were several passages that were particularly encouraging to me today. 

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

I hope you are also encouraged today by things that are eternal. Today I am resting in the eternal love of Jesus Christ. His power is perfect in the midst of my weakness!