gracious and abundant…

God has continually, and ever faithfully shown me His perfect sufficiency in my life during my time here- and not just in my life….but in the lives of many people I have been around.  I am so thankful for experiences to look back on in my own life that clearly demonstrate the character of God.  It’s one thing to read stories of His faithfulness in His Word, or to hear about it from other people….but entirely something else to be able to point to a time in your own story when He proved Himself faithful to you!  I am SO thankful for that!  
And- as in awe of that as I am……it gets better- God has not just been sufficient….but graciously, and abundantly sufficient!  That is a beautiful thing about the God that I serve…..He does not do just what He has to, but far exceeds in every way!  God is SO good….and I am blessed to be His child!  

 

 

 

 

This week has held a lot of emotions in getting ready to leave……saying goodbyes already to friends and people that I have gotten to know while being here.
We finished up full time school on Thursday- and I think we ended on a really good note.  The kids have learned a lot and are doing well, so that is good and encouraging.
We went to co-op on Friday and I was totally blessed by the moms there- remembering that I was leaving……having a really sweet card that all of them signed and a gift, and having their kids make cards for me- and lots of hugs and well wishes!  It’s been fun to be apart of that….and I was totally blown away by their kindness to me!

It seems absolutely CRAZY that in just a few short days I will be HOME with my family!  Can’t even express how excited I am to see them!  

And- I get to have a bit of an adventure in London on my way home….so that is happy!

The next couple days will be hard goodbyes- to the kiddos at the Baby Home, and to the Fowlers…….so I ask for prayer just for a really special last day in Uganda!  

winding down:

22 days left in Africa…..

I am feeling very reflective about things right now….and my time here.  Crazy how quickly it all seems to be coming to an end.  It is bittersweet for sure….thinking of all that I have learned and experienced here, and all the amazing people that I have met during my time here.  Saying goodbye to the kiddos makes me sad just thinking about it.
With so few days left….I feel like they will be full and busy.
My friend Katy left this past week, and Rose leaves this week- so time is running out for lots of us.

2 years ago around this time I was graduating from Bible School and was challenged by one of our teachers to finish well…….it’s always easy to start things, but finishing them is much harder and takes a lot more character.  So, I am challenged in that right now as well…..part of my heart feels so ready to move on to things back in America- but I know that I need to be present here and will trust God to be able to do that!

Lately I have loved the verse in Isaiah 25:1 that says:

“O lord, you are my God, I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago!”

Water balloons during PE……thanks for sending them Mom!

Learning about marsupials in animal science class for co-op…..I had the kids make really cute little kangaroos with joey’s!

Today in church we sung a song by Matt Redman that I really loved called “Never Once”….here are some lyrics from it:

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us
Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Happy Sunday.
~Amy

play-dough and coffee…..it’s the simple things in life:

This week when I went out to the Baby Home- I decided to make play-dough for the kids…..just as something fun to do while I was there.  I got there just as they were waking up from their naps- and they were happy to see me!  I told them I had a surprise and they all sat down at the table…..I gave them each a bit of play-dough to play with…..and they were just sitting there not doing anything.  The younger set of twins started to touch it and the older kids slapped their hands and said, “No!”  I was like, “No, it’s okay….zannya (which means play in Luganda)….it took a little bit, but finally Nakoto put her little hand on it, with a big smile, she said, “Yay!” and began clapping her hands!  It was adorable, and I was so happy that it was a fun thing for them!  Play-dough, who’d have thought?  

Yesterday, I went to Kampala to stay the night with my friend Rose before meeting the Fowler’s at Co-op this morning…..It was so fun, and definitely an encouragement to spend some time with her!  We know several mutual people and had a mutual experience of working at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je in Colorado!  But, it was just a fun and relaxing time.  This morning, she had to go to work around 8:15 and I didn’t have to be at co-op till 9, so to kill a bit of time, she told me about a good coffee shop and the boda driver dropped me off there….It was lovely.  Not quite Starbucks or anything….but a nice little atmosphere, very calm, nice seating, good service, and delish coffee.  It was a great way to start the morning to have my devotions there and to just enjoy a nice place to drink coffee.

So you see…..it’s just the simple things in life that can sometimes make it so lovely.  
Enjoy your day….even for just the little things!