A Quick Hello!

I have been hoping to post for about a week now, but it always gets bumped down the list. The update on the presentation that Autumn and I are doing for our church is that it will happen on August 9th at 7:00pm. Pray for us from now through then as we put a program together that will highlight the work that God is doing in Uganda. The healing that has come through COTN is amazing and I still can only wonder at the greatness of the God we serve. Here are a couple more pictures from the trip. I am so thankful and blessed to have served with you guys. I recently vistited my journal and it started to open a part of my heart that I sealed shut when I got home. I think about talking in front of people and I can already feel the tears well up. I am such a weeper. There has been a good bit of interest in our trip and that is why we are doing th presentation in a public way. People from our old church and current church have shown much interest, as well as people who do not go to church at all. Pray that God works in mighty ways through all of this! I will be trying to publish an announcement in the paper, we'll see how that goes. It is a small town and that means we can get good exposure pretty easily. I received an updated picture of Felix, one of the kids from my group at Abia. I have to say it about knocked me over. It was more real to me than my own pictures, maybe it is a reminder that it was not just a dream after all. I hope you guys are being blessed like we are! God used us all in amazing ways and I think that I have been affected by you guys as much as the Ugandans. I am rambling now, so that means it is time to quit...

Peace Be With You,

Aaron

Hey beloved Uganda 9!!

So, I've been avoiding posting a message because I felt I didn't have much to say. My transition has felt a little dry and empty. I haven't been emotional, weepy or anything. Sometimes it bothers me and I feel like I'm calloused to what I experienced. I havne't had thoughts of Uganda running through my mind like some of you have mentioned. I think I put those thoughts on a back burner til "later", but I'm not sure when "later" will be for me.

I have been blessed, though, with people in my life genuinely interested in my trip and my experience. About a week after we got back I was doing chair massage at this Christian company where I used to work and so many people asked me about my trip. They were so sincere in their interest, but after going into more detail with a few, I got worn out and began to give simpler answers, which felt so shallow to me, but was the best I could do. I haven't been annoyed at the question, "How was your trip", but have felt more at a loss for how best to explain it. Words just fail me sometimes in trying to explain what happened and I end up resorting to cliche statements, like, "it was amazing and transforming" - but what does that really mean for me? I'm not sure yet that I have a clear answer to that question. Hopefully, it's still evolving and being revealed.

One thing I have felt soon after going back to work was a sense of discontentment. Usually I have a fairly high level of satisfaction with my work and how I'm contributing in the world, but I've felt like just giving a massage is somehow "not enough". It seemed like a temporary fix on a more superficial level, when really I want to be digging deeper and help people heal and transform their lives. Helping people relax is great and valuable, but I want something more... I'm just not sure how to go about doing that,

I've also felt a little bit lost coming home. Even before Africa I've been wrestling with staying in San Diego or moving somewhere else and those thoughts came back but in full force. I felt like I wanted to crawl into a cave for a few weeks and not come out. I just wanted to flee to anywhere but here. The introvert in me just wanted to shut out the world for a time so I could process, reflect, and figure things out, but daily life demands are such that I can't just do that right now. So, my spirit feels a little crushed by the routines of life.

Nancy (mom), I'm praying for you and the decisons you have to make about Africa in your future. I'm missing you and your sweet, encouraging spirit. I wish I could run to the warmth and safety of your embrace. Also, I have a Doula client that should be giving birth any day now. I'll let you know how that goes. Jon, I'm thrilled with the outcome of your time with Miriam. You did the right thing and sought her out!! Any new updates? Sonja, how are you? How was the rest of your trip? Aaron and Autumn, how did you presentation go at church? Greg, we should get together sometime. I still need to give you my pictures, which I've been lazy about doing - sorry!

Well, I miss you all and hope you're doing well. Have a fabulous week!

Camille

Hello, My Friends!  

     I hope you are well, and enjoying your summers.  It is a beautiful 70+ degree day here in Maine - not a cloud in the sky!  Wish you were here!  

     If you send me your personal e-mail addresses, I will send you my pictures, if you would like.  I would really like if you could send me your pictures, as well.  Autumn, I especially would like to have the pictures of the baby I was holding at the Abia camp, if there's any way to forward those to me.  Thank you so much!

     Thoughts of Uganda and our time together haunt me day and night, and I wonder how you and  all the people we worked with are.    Autumn and Aaron, how did your talk at your church go?    I hope it was received well, and that God used you both for His glory and to help educate others to the needs of the dear people of Uganda.  

     I have had some difficulty getting my e-mails to Pastor James and a few others to go through - has anyone else had trouble with their e-mails to Uganda lately?  I'm hoping  it was just a temporary glitch, and I will keep trying.  

      I send you my love and prayers for Gods' best in your lives  - Nancy

I OD'd on Africa thoughts/talk today

Hey Friends!

So word to the wise, be careful to not shut out thoughts of Africa for two days and then purge. Thursday and Friday I completely blocked out thoughts about Africa. Friday night I went and saw The Last King of Scotland at a friends house. Today I woke up thinking about people in Uganda, I then received an e-mail from Hudson (actually he spells his name Hardson). I replied to his e-mail and then sent an e-mail to Christopher. Afterwards, I went to lunch with a friend who had been in Malawi for three months about transition and then proceeded to talk with another friend in detail about all the counseling details of the trip (she's a fellow MFT student). By the time by brother took me to dinner, I was spent. It was not only exhausted from all the stuff, but emotionally, I was a wreck. All the details of the trip were flooding my mind.

However, if you want to have a sharp remembrance of the people, the experience of the camps, you can catch the experience through invisible children's website with video feeds. Follow the link and click the Video diary link in the header, and watch the videos:

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/displaceMe/

I watched days two and three and I was joyed and also pained with the memories of our times in the camps with the people. I mentioned you all today multiple times and I miss you all. Jon, I know we were only roomies for 2 weeks, but gosh I miss our good conversations before bed. Hope you are doing well buddy! But I seriously love you all and wish I was living that intensely again with all of you. Nancy, I have been praying for you and God's will, if it includes long term missions in Uganda. Uganda9, you are all wonderful. - Greg

My first blog too!

Greetings to you all!

This too is my first blog and I'm rather excited! I've enjoyed reading what people have posted so far and it's good to know the 'funk' is normal.

The Monday after we returned I definitely felt it--okay, it could have been a little jet lag too but...I told Aaron that morning that I didn't want to do anything that day. I didn't feel like unpacking, cleaning the house and I didn't even feel like 'doing nothing'. Of all the things to do, I guess work seemed like the best option because it at least got me started back in my routine again. And then all the 'how was your trip questions'...by the time Sunday rolled around I didn't even feel like staying after to talk about the trip with people. I have my two or three sentences I say but how can you really share with someone about it if you can't sit down with them, tell the history of Uganda and of what the kids have gone through or the greatest part--how God is and always has been present in their life. I am looking forward to our presentation though so we can share the deeper story.

I hope you all are well and that you are feeling better Nancy. Way to go with the girl Jon! Camille, I have the pictures and just need to get them in the mail. Greg, happy birthday a little late! I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip Sonja and I'm on the wait list at the library for The Number One Ladies Detective Agency. And last but not least, Aaron--so, what's for dinner?!

Have a great weekend!

Autumn

My Dear Brothers and Sisters:

     Yesterday was difficult for me - the same "weepy" feelings you have experienced without being sure why, and not able to get those dear Ugandan people out of my mind.  My pastor preached a sermon recently about "holy discontent" - knowing there is something that God is urging us on to do, and being restless until we find it.  I'm thinking about this a lot in relation to our past trip, as well as my feelings that God is calling me to long-term ministry with COTN in Malawi, perhaps Uganda.  Honestly, I'm wrestling with my own selfish reluctance to give up the comforts of my western life to be uncomfortable for His sake. 

      I'm reading a great book called A Distant Grief by Kefa Sempangi, about Uganda in the 70's and the persecution of Ugandan Christians under Idi Amin.   I have only read the first four chapters so far, but have been so blessed by it.  Sempangi chronicles his work in establishing an orphanage in Kampala in the 70's, and shares about his frustration and despair in light of such overwhelming need - a feeling we have all shared.  He writes:  "I stared at Florence (an orphan he had just rescued), and in the deep silence of my frustration I heard the convicting voice of Jesus:  "Kefa, you are not the Messiah.  You are not in charge of my vineyard.  You are only one small worker, and this is the task that I have for you.  This is the child I want you to take."  In this humbling service of collecting orphaned children, God taught me of my own expendability.  The need was far greater than all my resources and my limitations in light of the enormity of evil haunted me.  I felt useless in God's Kingdom.  But in this brokenness I learned that it was not I who was sufficient but God.  It was He who had provided the vision and it was He who would provide the ability.  From the beginning to the end it was His work."   I think we have all shared this brokenness, and the realization that Sempangi came to - that we are supposed to be faithful sowers of the seed, and He will reap the harvest, as He wills.  All He asks of us is to be faithful servants, broken bread and poured out wine.  There is pain in the breaking and pouring out, to be sure, but "joy comes in the morning"!  May we be faithful in the night, knowing that the morning is coming!   Certainly, our burden is light in comparison to the suffering we have witnessed, yet God cares about us, as well, and desires to use us for His glory - isn't that amazing?!   

     So, for me, I think my feelings have been about guilt that I am here, in such comfort and wealth, in comparison, and feeling unsure of having done anything in Uganda to really help those people.  But God is so loving and faithful to speak to me through this book, and to remind me, yet again, that it's not about me - it's not about me!  He sees the bigger picture, and to Him be the glory!   I love you all and pray for you often  -  Nancy  

     

Kope Ngo?

I should be writing a grant right now, but find myselff thinking about Lira and our trip there. I think that today might be another emotional one. Autumn and I are thinking about our presentation at church ant trying to decide on when and what, etc. I find myself overwhelmed. I think that jumping into work was a blessing as far as getting back into the time zone, but the busy schedule has allowed me to avoid thinking too much about the trip. Here are a couple of pics from the cultural center that I really like. God Bless!

Aaron

My First Bog Post!

My Dear Friends: Believe it or not, I have not had the opportunity to use a blog before, so I hope this is the right way to do it, and that you will get this message! It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but I'm learning, and will get it eventually! I am back into the routine of things, working full-time and being a mom, trying to fit in all the details of my life, and dreaming of Africa. I am finding that it's hard to answer the question "How was your trip?" with much clarity or accuracy, and even the people who are really interested can't quite get it. I know it's unfair to expect them to understand unless they've been there. I do have a friend who is actually my son's pastor in New York who has gone to Uganda - Gulu - a few times before, and actually left for another missions trip to Lira this time on the 9th. He and his team focus mostly on clean water systems, and have gone to Lira this time to learn more about that. I gave him Ed and Sue's number there, and hope they will be able to connect. I can't wait to talk with him when he returns! I also have a friend here who is a counseling psychologist and specializes in emotional trauma who goes to my church who I will be meeting with next week. She is very interested in our work in Uganda, and is praying about possible ministry with COTN on a short-term trip next year. It will be neat to talk with her and see how God leads in the future. I hope you are all well, rested from the trip, and rejoicing in all God has blessed us with on the trip. Sonja, I hope you are back safe and sound, and that you enjoyed your time with your friend. It was a blessing and privilege to have served with all of you - you each blessed me in many ways, and I am a better person for having known you and shared this wonderful experience with you. I send you my love and prayers for God's richest blessings - and that we would never be content with just "$3 worth of God"!

Love, Nancy

Transition Funk Hits

Greg Says:

So today I took off work for my birthday and woke up with a little funk. So part of it could have been the Tylenol PM to get me to sleep because of the headache, but it was also just a wake up to the feeling like there was less of a point and I was going to be bored with life. I missed Africa and feeling like I was making a significant difference. I was pissed off that I felt like there are less opportunities to make a difference and more time to just do meaningless toil (aka, projects for work). And strange as it was, I was weepy all morning. The worst part about it was I couldn't connect it to much of anything. It was nice to talk to a friend who had visited Africa and laughed as he remembered having a similar transition response and described a similar response from another mutual friend. So if you feel weepy about almost nothing at all, it's alright, its normal.

Its been hard to feel like the mold I used to fit in at work, school and all of life. It made me want to change something drastic instead of pushing out the boundaries of the molds I have.

I heard a good message about courage from my pastor on Sunday. It was pretty good. He asked us to think about our biggest fears. I left thinking about how traveling to Uganda ended up taking a chunk out of many of my major fears. That wasn't why I went. At decision time, it was simple obedience what God was calling me to. And now, I'm going through the thick of the transition. This should be interesting..... More to come.

- Greg

More Housekeeping...

I promise that this is my last post today...maybe. Here are a couple of pics from Lira, Uganga. We did some medical work as well as counseling . The top photo is the "clinic", which is really just an empty hut, with the usual line to be seen. The bottom photo is the group of boys that were in a counseling group that I was a part of. What a blessing that was!

Aaron

Here is the team!

From Left: Camille, Sue, Autumn, Ed, Aaron, John, Greg, Sonja and Nancy

The Nine are Online!

Kope Ngo and Welcome to Uganda 9!

This blog is designed to be a post-mission journal for nine souls reflecting on a life-changing trip to Northern Ugands; Lira to be exact. We came from all over the states to form a team that God used in amazing ways to help the hurting children of northern Uganda. As victims of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), most of the children we encountered have been through the very worst that men can do. After living with these people for three weeks, I can say that all of us were amazed at the resilience of the human souls and changed in ways that we are still figuring out. That is why this is here, for us to talk it all out amongst ourselves and, hopefully, be able to engage others in conversation about the things we have seen and learned.

Thanks for Visiting and God Bless!

Aaron