Home.

Home is amazing.

I came back to Chicago four weeks ago with very little planned except visiting family and friends. I am not sure who I think am, but I half expected to be bored during this visit with a lot of time on my hands to read and relax. Clearly I need a reality check. With two weeks left of my trip, I feel like I am going to need a week to rest before heading back to Uganda. This trip has been absolutely amazing and the complete opposite of boring. In fact, I have been running around non-stop, from place to place and loving every minute of it.

The truth is that I have never felt so loved by family and friends in my entire life. I know you come to miss your friends and family when you spend time away from them and typically you get a deeper sense of appreciation for them when you spend months without them, but I could never have fathomed the feeling of being reunited with them. I know this – God is good and God is Love and I see and feel it every moment. I look around at these people who have such a deep and real love for me and I can barely grasp it, it is hard for me to understand their love. But then I think about how their love is a sliver, a tiny fraction of the love God has for each of us and I’m blown away and overwhelmed by the thought. I need to spend more time thinking and praying about that truth. I know our human minds will never be able to understand and comprehend the love our Father has for us, but there is power and freedom in mediating on that truth.

I may go back to Uganda a bit physically and mentally exhausted but I am going back emotionally and spiritually renewed. I have spent endless hours with genuine, loving, wise people over the past four weeks and have had some of the most powerful and amazing conversations of my life.

I leave for Arizona on Monday and am absolutely thrilled about visiting the friends and ministry partners down there. It is truly amazing to be in the company of people that have a similar vision and passion.

And with all that said, April 16^th will be a good day – the day when I am back with my kids and friends in Uganda. I miss them. I miss them all dearly and cannot wait to be covered in kids, several beautiful, laughing, joyful kids.

As I wrap up the entry I will leave you with a few prayer requests.

Please pray for Sharif. I have written about Sharif in previous entries. He is my dear boy who keeps running away from the school and going to Kampala. Please pray that Sharif would realize the love and care we all have for him at the school. Please pray that any anger or anxiety he feels would be lifted. Please pray that my role in his life would be made clear and that God would give me wisdom on how to work with Sharif during this hard time. I have never been a parent and I really do not know how to handle this situation.

Second, as time goes on and my life becomes more and more involved in Uganda, I will soon reach a point when I need to raise financial support to be able to continue living there. My savings is nearly depleted but I am not worried. I know God will provide. Please pray that I would have discernment over raising support and wisdom on how to spend the money entrusted to me.

Thirdly, please pray for our community. Please pray that we would be able to continue to meet the needs of our people, both physically and spiritually, we live near. Currently we have a large need to expand our church building. We have outgrown our church space and have nowhere to meet as a congregation. Please pray that the funds would come through for us to be able to double our space and bring in new people.

Lastly, please pray for Uganda as a whole. Please pray for the leaders in government, police, church leaders and people of influence. Please pray for their wisdom and guidance in leading the people of Uganda. Please pray that Uganda would be protected from violence and war and that God’s hand would be guiding us all.

Thank you all my dear friends and family.