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Refuge and Hope

^ The organization I am working with.

The Center of Hope

^ Where I am teaching.

 

My NEW Everyday, Ordinay Life

I am a college graduate.

I am unemployed - but I like to see it as employed by Jesus.

I am a teacher.

I am HAPPY :-)

Most of you are probably wondering how teaching for me is going. Well ..... it is going AMAZINGLY! I am in love with it. I have been teaching the Reading & Writing class for the past few weeks. I have about 20 students. 9 of my students are related. They are all either siblings or cousins. That half of my of my class is Somalian. The other half is Sudanese, Congolese,  Ethiopian, or Eritrean. I love my students and I love teaching. They are all eager to learn because they so desperately want to learn.

I will admit though - it has been MUCH harder than I thought. When I started my first thought was " I have been speaking English my whole life - sure I can teach it to some foreigners". But no.... it has been much harder than I expected. Especially since I now realize that I just speak English - and most of the time I don't speak it well. I had no idea how to teach these students how to READ.  When they don't know a word ... I just tell them it. But that is not helping them. So It has been MUCH harder than I had ever thought it would be.

Looking back on my schooling, I remember the sense of achievement that I received when I finished a book. It feels so great to know that you have finished a task such as reading a book. So ..... I have purchased Charlotte's Web. I am in the process of making them all a copy of the book so that they can have it in front of them as they read. My hope is to read the book together as a class by Christmas. Then hopefully they will feel the happiness that I once got as a child when I finished my first book.

Life as a teacher has been fun. I love serving in this way. I am much happier with GOD's plan than I was with my plan :-)

Therefore, my NEW everyday ordinary life is still placed before God as an offering. I am still taking my life and taking what God has done for me to glorify him in every aspect of my days. I am simply doing something different with my time spent here in Uganda. Instead of empowering children though bible stories, songs, and games.... I am now empowering young students through teaching and through love.

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it." 

                                                   Romans 12:1-2 (The Message) 

Prayer Requests:  

* For me to be filled with knowledge of how best to teach my students. 

* For walls to be broken down and doors to be open for me to get to know each one of my students better.

* For stress of financial issues to leave me. Because of lack of funds, I often find myself stressed more than necessary. Please pray that God will do something huge in this area so that I may focus solely onto the work He has brought me here to do.

* For my Dad,Mom, and sister (Brandi) back home. The lack of contact with me due to internet access worries them. Please pray that God will give them peace and comfort as I finish out my time here in Uganda.

Proverbs 19:21

"Many are the plans in a person’s heart,but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails"

                                PROVERBS 19:21

How stupid could I have been? I planned my tirp here to Uganda. Sure, I prayed about it….but ultimately it was my plan. But God is good. He has bigger and brighter plans for my time here. I had “many plans in my heart” but it is totally “the LORD’s purpose that will prevail. "


I am in Uganda for God, not for myself. I am in Uganda to be a light to people here. I am NOT in Uganda to be comfortable at all. 

Unfortunately things have come up to where I can no longer stay with Empower A Child. I do not have enough money or support to stay there.  I am not going to be able to finish out my time with them because of expenses. 

But ....  I am leaving in GOD'S TIMING and  for GOD'S PLAN.

 I took about 2 months to pray and seek God's council as well as the council from different spiritual leaders in my life. In that time, I reached out to a sister in Christ who is a missionary here in Uganda. I had met her a few years ago when she was a youth paster and had brought her youth to a TEAMeffort camp that I had be running in New Orleans. She encouraged me to come to a center where she teaches English. 

I had no idea what I would be getting myself into. But I took a leap of faith and went for it. I visited the Center of Hope last week. The second I was there, I began to feel a sense of peace. This center provides English Education to refugees. They teach students from Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Erirtea, Congo, Rwanda, and more. These students are here in Uganda because of war or something else going on in their home country. They struggle here because they do not know Luganda or English. So this center is helping them learn the basics of English. This is also a Christian organization. Their goal is to help the students with English as well as other skills such as cooking, sewing, and other trades of that sort. The organization also reaches out to them in a relational way. The teachers build relationships with the students so that they build a  level of trust with them and in turn can tell them about the TRUTH of Jesus. They also have bible studies on Wednesday nights that they invite the students to.

I was able to sit in on two of the classes while I visited the center last week. I absolutely fell in LOVE with the classes and the students. The organization is in need of a new teacher as well........ SO I will begin teaching on Tuesday !!! I will have 20-25 students from all over the world and I will be teaching them in a Reading and Writing class. 

To work with this center, it is totally free and I have an opportunity to have free housing. So God was able to take an unfortunate situation and completely turn it around to be wonderful. He took my plans and showed me what HIS plans where for me while I was doing  HIS work here in Uganda. 

So as of Tuesday, I will no longer be reaching out to Children with Empower A Child, I will be a teacher...teaching English to refugees from all over the nation. 


I will be sure to keep you all updated on the way that God will work through me as a teacher for these next few months :-) 

Ethiopia

Sudan

Eritrea

Rwanda

Congo

Somalia

 

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
 "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:13-16 (The Message)