Job

Sometimes God will tell me to do something and it freaks me out.  I start to analyze why He is asking me to do something, or that he is preparing me for some catastrophe, so I will spend more time thinking about it then actually doing it.  He wants me to go through the book of Job.  Excuse me God?  Um... that is like the last book I'm really interested in.  Doesn't a lot of crappy stuff happen, his friends give him bad advice, and Job cries and screams and whines for about 37 chapters?  I have done a pretty decent job of avoiding that book, so why mess that up now?

Like most things God wants me to do, once I actually do it I am blessed beyond belief.  Of course, now that I am reading through it I have more questions, which is something I think God wants.  If we never ask Him things and go deeper how are we going to grow?

There is always hurt and pain around us, within us, and if it isn't happening to you now you can bet it will.  I have learned some things about why I have really avoided the book of Job.

1) I don't want to see God let bad things happen to good people.

2)  Job is really honest with God, and that would intrude on the act I know I sometimes put up that everything is OK all the time.  Honesty hurts sometimes.

Yesterday as we made Christmas cards with our homeless friends Edwin, Ivan, and Bwanika.  They told us about how the police were "cleaning" up the streets for Christmas.  This basically means they go around to collect the street kids and put them in prison to make the streets more presentable.  That's why when we got to church all three of the boys were sound asleep in the classroom.  As we patted their backs gently to wake them up, my first thought was- "I wish I was waking them up in their own bed, in a warm and safe house to tell them breakfast was ready."  I don't care that I am in a 3rd world country where that isn't normal.  I want my kids to have that one day.  Kids are still kids, they still require great love and care no matter where they are.  As the boys talked to us about the ruff night they had, we felt pain and confusion.  I thought back to when I was their age, I can't imagine going through the things they go through.

Painful stuff is happening to my friends.  Sometimes we get mad about it, sometimes we look up to the sky and wonder what to do next, sometimes we cry, sometimes we just sit with them, pray, and encourage them that God has BIG plans for them and everything will be set right (even when we aren't sure HOW or WHEN they will be set right).

As I looked at the boys yesterday I saw Job.  I saw a deep and honest pain.  But I also saw chapter 42 verse 10.

"After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before."

Job suffered a lot. And that's real stuff.  We live in a broken and fallen world.  We are going to suffer.  But it doesn't end there.  We can't focus on the chapters of pain.  God is getting to chapter 42 in their life.  I found a lot of hope in that yesterday.  Even as we talked about the pain happening NOW, I could see the LATER.  I think they could too.  Their chapter 42 is well on it's way.

I have learned that we have to be honest about our pain.  It is real and God is aware of that and he feels it too.  If you want to cry out, cry out.  If you want to ask questions, ask them.  But always have hope because your story doesn't end at chapter 37 because God will answer you and you will be restored.  Our friends will be restored.  We take hope in that every single day and so do they.

God is God.  God is good.  God has a plan for you whether you are starting out in chapter 1, you are in the middle of the book, or you have reached chapter 42.  He is there in all of it.  We are learning every day what real pain is, real honesty is, and real hope is.  The life of Job, the lives of Ivan, Edwin, and Bwanika are stories of hope.  Your life is a story of hope.  Even in the midst of the pain we can remember that.

"So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth."  Job 5:16

NewSpring church has a great sermon series about Job.  Check it out, I'm learning lots through it :)

http://www.newspring.cc/series/the-life-of-job/

Phillipo!

The sun is going down and Phillip is giggling as he swings back and forth in my hammock.  Some of the other kids are looking slightly jealous and definitely confused at the fun we are having.  But neither of us really notice or care because we are content and having fun.  I'm not suppose to have favorites, but sometimes I slip up and it happens.

We met on Sunday when we arrived here at Buyuobe to set up another week of camp.  He mostly stayed at a distance and didn't speak much.  We were quickly told that he was "crazy" and needed to be left alone.  Once camp started on Monday Philip was hanging around the drum circle watching intently.  I didn't like the way the other kids (and many adults) treated him as if he was wasted space, like he wasn't worth the time or effort.

I am in no way qualified to diagnose anyone, but I have spent some time around kids with special needs.  So, quite unofficially, I think Phillip may be autistic.  Doesn't matter anyway, if you ask me.  All that matters is that he smiles all the time, loves to ride bikes, and has proven his drumming skills this week.

It was difficult to keep myself from getting angry with the villagers, students, and teachers when they would say mean things and push him away.  I had to remind myself over and over that they didn't know.  They didn't know Phillip had trouble expressing his own emotions and feelings and that at times he may feel trapped within himself, unable to say what he wants.  They didn't know, so they just brushed him off as crazy.  I can't imagine what that must be like.

I have a big sister with Down Syndrome.  I have seen the expression of pain on her face when she has been pushed to the side or made fun of.  For all the times I wasn't around to stand up for Tiffany, at least we were here to stand up for Phillip now.  That is what Tiffany would want, and I owe that to my big sis.

So, the team did a little educating to the kids and we explained how Phillip isn't mulalu (crazy)...I think I misspelled that.  Mallory will correct me later.  Phillip is different, but it doesn't mean he is dumb or worthless.  He understands your words, but that his brain is wired in a way that leaves him unable to express everything like we can.  I couldn't help but let the tears run down my face when I thought about all those times Phillip had been made fun of along with everyone else who is simply misunderstood.

So while I can't tell you what Phillip's "condition" is, I can tell you what his heart is like.  He is one of the first Ugandan children to not shout "Mazungu! Mazungu!" at us because he doesn't see our color or difference from everyone else.  He just sees me.  He pumps water from the well for 2 hours for the smaller kids, he really likes music, smiles more than any teenage boy I know, and loves high fives.

Once the other kids saw that we treated Phillip as equal, they caught on.  Phillip was the first at camp every day, and the last to leave.  He was the last face I saw as we were driving away.  I learned so much from that boy this week.  I learned something new about what it means to truly be free, to serve others because it's fun, and to just take time to stop and listen from a busy day.  I'm so thankful for the way God loves Phillip and the way Phillip sees that.  Thanks Phillipo.

Pump Your Breaks.

I like to do fun things.  I like the sunshine, dirt roads, beautiful Ugandan babies, playing guitar, drumming, laughing, and so on.  So when I have these days where I feel off, when I am grumpy, when I am missing out on all these great things around me… something isn’t right within me.  You hear people in ministry talk about “burn out” sometimes..  I guess it happens for lots of different reasons.  I think a main cause is forgetting WHY you are where you are and WHY you are doing what you are doing.  We get caught up in the details, we get caught up in ourselves, we get caught up in the madness around us, and we start to fixate on how we are going to solve the issues and fix problems.

I don’t realize I am doing this of course till I am on a boda in the middle of Kampala and I want to punch everyone I see.  What is that about Katie?  I can do very few things really well on my own, one of which is being a real jerk.  I am good at that by myself.  I woke up this morning knowing that some things have to change.  There are so many “things” that need to be done, but if I am not looking to the one and only God that can do any of these “things” then our cause is hopeless.  Not just hopeless, plain DUMB. 

I am young, naïve, with not a whole lot of experience in ministry.  I have so much to learn.  I didn’t want to admit to myself or God that I could possibly be nearing “burn out” after just 2 months of ministry here in Uganda.  How could that be?  Am I really that stinking weak???  Yup.  I sure am.  Hunger and death and poverty and need and sickness are that strong and evident here that they beat me down when I do ministry by myself.  And it happens quickly.  PRAISE GOD.  I prayed not too long ago that God would help my stubborn heart realize how I need him for everything.  Another prayer answered as always.

  I am weak and I need God for everything.  EVERYTHING.  I need him to get out of bed in the morning, I need him to give me compassion and love for the people around me, I need him to help me not want to punch people that yell at me on the street, I need him.   I will rejoice in my weakness.  It is through humble eyes that we can only see Jesus.  Without Jesus ministry is dumb and no fun.   

At times I am in the word and I ask God to give me revelation, greater insight, and new vision.  I think- “Man, if I can just learn more, then things will make sense and I will feel right again with God.”  This morning I am reminded of the foundation that Jesus has taught me and wants me to remember- 1) God is real.  2)  I am not dead anymore, so why would I act defeated?  3) There is power in the name of Jesus.  4)  Ministry is hard, but Africa is fun, and telling people about Jesus is fun  5)  Jesus is everything- believe, know, and act on that.

I am praying for all of us to realize our great need for Jesus to invade our lives.  To break down the ideas that we have about God, and learn more about the heart of Jesus.  To be alone with our Maker and rest in his divine presence.  To have fun, play, run around, laugh, maybe cry, work hard, and then repeat.  We need him, and when we lean on that everything does change.  Fill us up God.  

Timothy

When we met Timothy, he came to Buganda field where we were having street reach. He had malaria and was shaking so badly, Katie could barely get a thermometer in his mouth. We ended up taking him to the clinic to get him treated for malaria. So began our friendship with this beautiful boy. 

A couple weeks after we met him and we had been watching him at several different programs, We decided that we really wanted to sponsor him and put him in school in January. He’s a brilliant kid. Whenever they have lessons, he’s the one telling the kids around him to behave and shush, so that he can listen. He is the homeless kid who puts money in the offering on Sundays at church. 

We had decided to sponsor him and put him in a boarding school in January, but we hadn’t told him that yet. The day that we wanted to tell him, we had no time, there were too many kids around - too much going on, no translator. 

That same day we hadn’t told him yet - Mallory found herself walking with him and a group of kids through the slum, and the conversation went something like this...

Timothy: When I go back to school in January...

Mallory interrupts: You’re going to back school in January? 

Timothy: Yeah, I am

Mallory: Who is putting you in school?

Timothy: I don’t know

Mallory: Well how do you know that you are going back to school? 

Timothy: God told me. I was praying about going back to school, and God told me that someone was going to put me in school in January. 

The Holy Spirit moves through this boy. 

He drops everything to be in church on Sunday, even if that means not going to collect scrap and make money. 

2 weeks ago, he didn’t show up to the program. We asked Bwanika where he was, and he told us that TImothy had gone home. We were both confused and worried. 

The following friday, Timothy shows up to our tutoring session with his brother and his mom. 

His mom wanted to speak with us - at first we didn’t know if she was angry or thankful - but we were leaning towards angry. Turns out, she was thankful. She confirmed Timothy’s story that he told us, that his dad abused him, and she had been gone for awhile and while she was gone Timothy ran away. 

She asked us to meet with her and their pastor the next day. To make a long story somewhat shorter: We meet with her and her pastor the next day, and the pastor translated more so we could really find out what was going on. Mom had been looking for Timothy for awhile, but couldn’t find him. The pastor had been working with this family for years now, the dad is terribly abusive and the pastor told us that it was a good thing that Timothy ran away when he did, because if he hadn’t he probably would have died. 

Humbly, his mom asked is we would still be willing to sponsor Timothy into school. We told her that we still wanted to. 

She asked where he would stay on holidays, could he stay with us? 

Both of us, at first were confused and maybe a little upset. We don’t want to be the mzungus that get taken advantage of, and if a kid can be at home - then he should be at home. 

Then we realized that this mom loves her son so much that she doesn’t want him on the streets. 

She also loves her son so much that she knows that he is not safe at home. 

She loves her son so much that she knows she wouldn’t ever be able to provide for him on her own. 

Together with their pastor, a loving and unselfish mother, we made a plan for our friend Timothy. The next month and a half he will be at home - where he will stay with lots of prayer and lots of places and people to go if things turn bad. Then boarding school with a home to stay in over the holidays, where mom can come visit as much as she wants. 

Please be praying for our friend Timothy. For discernment, for safety, to continue to growing into the man of God that he is. For his mom, that she knows that she is beautiful and treasured and that God will provide everything that she needs. For his dad - for conviction and change, for gentility and love to overflow out of him. For a sponsor for our friend Timothy to go to school. For relationships with that family. For their pastor, who works closely with them. For HOPE. For all 7 of Timothy’s brothers.  For God to love that family exactly the way that he wants to. 

We also ask that you pray for us to have discernment and wisdom through all of this.  Above everything though we don’t want to put limits on how Jesus loves.  His love is like a sea without a shore, and we are supposed to be like Jesus.  He brings restoration and life, and we will continue to live in that promise and proclaim it to this nation. We are new at this whole thing, heck we are new at life, and we realize our great need for Jesus in EVERYTHING.  We are thankful for you friends, for your prayers, for the fact that you are reading this, and fighting for love, mercy, and justice.  It is worth the fight. 

Prom

We’re just coming out of the rainy season here. The rainy season is the Ugandan winter, so for the Ugandans this means sweatshirts,  heavy coats, snow pants, definitely some knitted and crocheted hats, and sometimes even boots during this chilly 70 degrees F weather. For the Americans, this means slipping awkwardly in public places, many dirty falls, heavy prayers on boda rides, daily changes in our schedule due to torrential downpours, hiding in random huts when the floods start coming, getting stuck in the mud while you are walking-to the point of having to abandon your sandals and try to pull your legs out of the mud, and anytime you leave the house with clean feet you don’t make it to the gate before they are dirty (unless you are Ugandan, they have this ability to walk in the mud and not get dirty, I have yet to acquire this though).

A few sundays back, we walked into the slum we work in and Katie and I were there early for the program. She started doing medical and I ended up playing football with the boys, when the sky opened up and the rain started coming. This is usual a funny moment, because every Ugandan runs for cover like high school girls on their way to prom when it starts raining (except for the 4 naked children who decided to make a muddy slip and slide on the soccer pitch). We all huddle in this classroom, 2 mzungus and a bunch of rowdy kids who are terrified of the rain. It soon becomes a game of trying to throw each other outside of the classroom into the rain coming down, which leads to everyone getting soaking wet, to dancing in the rain, to playing in the rain. The church’s gutters are gushing water and many of the boys are huddled around it washing their faces and splashing each other. By this time, I was really muddy, and I walked up to the gutter with the intentions of joining in the fun...but as soon as I got there the 4 boys there grabbed my feet and started scrubbing. I mean, SCRUBBING. These kids for being street kids and living in the dirt, are some of the most peculiar and particular kids I have ever met when they set their mind to it, and they decided that my feet were going to be clean.

I’m standing in a slum in the pouring rain having my feet washed by homeless kids. 

I don’t have some huge analogy or revelation about what this meant to me. There was actually not a lot of words that I could say to describe it. I have been feeling a lot that way lately, no words are sufficient. All that comes to my mind, is THANK YOU.

I wouldn’t be honest if I said that being here I am constantly overflowing with the Holy Spirit and everything is perfect, I would actually be blatantly lying. However, a couple of weeks back I wrote this is my journal:

“Jesus, thank you for where I am. The ultimate trust is when you are in a bad place and you can say thank you for where you are because you are trusting in the rescue.” 

Mark 6 has been coming up a lot - I’ve preached on it, constantly turned to it in my quiet time, talked about it with my friends, and then have listened to several podcasts on it. There are so many things I could touch on that speak to me, so many different aspects of feeding the 5,000. The one that truly gets me every time is this verse:

“Taking the 5 loaves and 2 fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and broke the loaves.” 

All that Jesus did before this miracle was give thanks. 

So when I feel distant from God and I find myself asking God, “Who are you? Where are you?!” I give thanks. 

When I walk into the slums and see kids that are so sick and hurt that they can’t move or walk - I give thanks. 

When I watch a kid who is 13 and doesn’t even know all his letters trying to learn the alphabet - I give thanks. (side note - 3 weeks later, this kid is reading SENTENCES. My heart explodes with joy every time I hear “The cat sat on the mat” or The pot is hot” or “Where is the box?” or “Why are you sad?” 

When I see homeless kids putting money in the offering at church - I give thanks. 

When I see street kids too ashamed to come to church because they are filthy - I give thanks. 

When I see the boys that we are sponsoring into school in January and get frustrated because they are still on the streets and every time I walk into the slum I don’t know if they will still be there - I give thanks. 

When I am overwhelmed by how busy I am - I give thanks. 

I am often overwhelmed by NEED. The kid who needs a home. The kid who needs hope. The kid who is starving. The kid who I have never seen smile and who needs a good laugh. The needs we have for ministry. The need for sponsorship. The need for rest. The need for intimacy with the Lord. The need for my heart to be humble and wise.  The need for chains to be broken and lives to be healed. 

I look at the dying and the dead, and bow my head to pray for redemption and healing and LIFE and Joy and provision...but every time, all that comes out is thank you. 

At first, I wanted better words than that. Slowly, God is showing me that that is all I need to say in those times. 

Thank you for where I am (1 Tim 6:6) 

Thank you for the rescue that’s coming. 

At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. - Ephesians 5:20

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. Philippians 4:6

Have the roots of your being firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:7 

For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be thrown away or refused if it is received with thanksgiving. 1 Timothy 4:4

Thanks.

I’m sorry.

 I’m sorry I haven’t written down every precious story, moment, and miracle that I have seen here.  I am sorry that you aren’t here because even though I am going to attempt to write some cool experiences down, I could never do them justice.  But, God is telling me to get off my lazy butt and try.  

Today is Thanksgiving.  That super-cool American holiday where all of your crazy family gets together, eats way too much, laughs a lot, watches some football, and then passes out from gluttony-exhaustion.  For us here in Uganda some things were different, some the same.  We started out the morning with some serious cooking.  I am close to a lot of folks that can cook.  My Mom is a master.  My cousin is literally a chef.  Mallory can bake the pants off of Martha Stewart.  And then there is me.  I mean… I got by in college, I can manage to throw stuff in a pan and it still be edible after all is said and done.  But, the art of cooking does not come easy for me.  I like to watch and eat.  It was a lot of fun to all be together in the kitchen, laughing, talking about family tradition, and trying everything as soon as it was done.

We set the table for the multitude of Ugandans coming to eat with us.  Set out the food, explained what it was, prayed, and ate.  I would say for the most part the mac and cheese was a hit, along with the rolls…green bean salad totally freaked them out.  I felt like I was sitting with family, like I was around my crazy aunts and uncles, all laughing and just enjoying being with each other.  Being that our team wanted everyone to know the true historical facts of Thanksgiving; we decided nothing would do better than Charlie Brown’s “Origins of Thanksgiving.”  After that history lesson we made hand turkeys. Thank you Charles M. Schulz and every 1^st grade teacher that ever lived.  In short, today rocked.

I know that it is cheesy to make a “thankful” list on Thanksgiving, but who cares I’m thankful. 

I am thankful for…

1.      I ate mac and cheese today.

2.      That my best friend Mallory is patient with me, even when I set things on fire during the cooking process.

3.      That we set a table for 12 people today, and every seat had a beautiful person in it.

4.      That no Ugandans were fatally harmed after eating American food.

5.      That I got to skype with my family in America! 

6.      The thought of having even more chairs at next year’s Thanksgiving extravaganza.

7.      The fact that I couldn’t ever come up with a life as cool as mine, Thank you God.

8.      That no matter where I am on the globe, my Daddy in Heaven is there with me.

9.      That I am never lacking another hand to hold.

10.  That the sun rises and sets and I have nothing to do with that.

Anywho… I miss my family back home, and that’s always going to be the case because I love them.  But, as I looked around at our crowded table I couldn’t help but smile and well up with love and thanksgiving.  I also couldn’t help but think about all our brothers on the street- did they have anything to eat today?  Did those boys with the fevers feel better? 

I seem to have all these ideas about how I want my life to look.  Today I just kept thinking- “I just want a family.  I want a husband after God’s own heart, I want to cook for my children, I want to tuck them in and baby them when they get sick, I want them to have a bed to lay in, I want them to lay their heads down at night without fear, I want to say bed time prayers with them, I want them to wake up in the morning and trust they will continue to be loved and cared for.  I want them to smile, laugh, and be silly just because they can and because they are kids.”

I want simplicity.  I want the same things for my children that my mother and father want for me.  I am thankful God has given each one of us the ability to love.  I am thankful that he taught us how, through his Spirit and Truth.  I am thankful that when I am not the best at loving, he shows me further still.  I am learning more and more what it means to give thanks to God.  I learn it through the weak, the hungry, the poor, the meek and young.  I learn through Timothy who worships with all his heart, gives what little he has in the offering at church, and protects me as we walk down the "not so nice area" of Kampala.  I learn it through every child that bows their head in prayer before their meal of the day.  I learn it through the other believers here that pour out themselves daily for individuals in great physical and spiritual need.  

My prayer for our world is that we can offer ourselves to God because we are thankful, and we know  the safest place to be is in His arms.

“Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.  I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.” Psalm 37:23-26

Wednesdays

Last Wednesday was a weird day. It started off beautifully, with a little shopping and a visit to our friends Mark and David’s house. But as the day went on, it was just one of those days where the little things started piling up. We did a ton of walking and were all just hot and ornery and then we got rained on, and then we had forgotten some of the money we needed for the day, so we weren't sure how we were going to get home, and then a bird pooped on us...(pause. ok so uganda has huge birds, and I am NOT fond of birds. these birds are evil. like they swoop down like they are going to pick you up, and I think they are about katie's height so i think they could. so anyway we are walking, already not too happy, and this bird drops a doozy, and it landed in maria's mouth, on mallory’s head, and katie's arm....it actually was kinda funny afterwards, made us giggle really hard, but at the same time....SERIOUSLY?!) then we got to the slum we were working in and so many kids were high in a small room, i felt like i was getting high, they sniff chenga chenga (petroleum) it's nasty, then i lost the button on my pants....it had been strugglin for awhile, and then i spilled hot soup on me and a kid.

So we got to church, and I was not in the best of moods. As we were worshipping, we were singing the song i can only imagine and the line came on "will i stand in your presence or to my knees will i fall, will i sing hallelujah, will i be able to speak at all?" and it really convicted me. very rarely, do i have little to say. i can always talk. sometimes i choose to be quiet. but in many situations, i always have something to say. there is going to be a day, when i am standing before the Lord and i'm not going to be able to speak,  and all day long i have been wasting my speaking on complaining about little things, when i could have been praising Him. Ok so i bird pooped on my head, when was the last time i laughed that hard? my button fell off? at least my pants didn't! I spilled hot soup on a kid...at least there weren't a lot of kids there that day and he got seconds! 

This Wednesday was a weird mixture of emotions - most of them praiseworthy. This morning I woke up and kicked off the Thanksgiving feast with some apple and pumpkin pie making. We finished up our turkey day shopping and then Katie and I headed to the slum to Mark and David’s program. 

I wasn’t at church on Sunday because I had a fever, and today Fred came up to me with  a letter for me telling me that he was praying for me and that he missed me. 

Today, I had the chance to talk to Mark and David and just had the best spirit filled conversation. They get so excited about what we are doing, and always asking how they can be praying for us. 

There was a boy who dressed up today and put on a stethoscope, who we thought was a doctor when we got there, but then found out he was just playing dress up. 

We found these cool things called earth bag houses, check em out :)

http://earthbagbuilding.com/index.htm

Katie walked away from the nurses station today for 2 seconds to get tweezers and came back to find them going at a splinter with a scalpel....ummmmmm. 

Timothy came to church with us tonight and he is so beautiful. This is the street kid that puts money in the offering plate on Sundays. He sings his heart out to every worship song. He has a hankie. He’s excited about church, because he’s excited to dance, he’s excited to sing, but he’s excited to be in God’s refuge more than anything. 

Church is always fun, we got friends. 

Katie: Mallory, what do I do that gets on your nerves the most?

Mallory: When you leave the bathroom door open when i’m on the toilet. 

M: Katie, if you had to pick one moment that is the funniest thing that has happened since you’ve been here, what would it be? 

K: the night we slept on the streets and the boda driver posed on his boda for us for like an hour and a half

K: If you had polyjuice potion tomorrow, and you could be any street child for a day - which street child would it be and why? 

-Katie answered her own question- 

K: Bwanika, because i would want to see if I bossed people around if they’d do what I say and I could wear 80’s acid washed jeans and have a mohawk. 

K: Can you think of a moment where after it happened you thought “I could live here?”

M: I think I feel that every time we are in church. Typically, families sit together in church, but our family takes up four rows, all combined of: street kids, kids who were once on the street but now in homes, and uncles and aunts who work with all the different programs. 

M: If you could take one boy from New Life Homes and give him the chance to talk to any of the street kids, who would they be and why? 

K: Vincent from New Life Homes talking with a boy named Ivan - because Ivan is one of the older boys and he doesn’t really feel like he is ever going to get off the streets, and Vincent because he has one of the most caring spirits and I feel like that would be good for Ivan to see that in a man of God. 

Timothy, Bwanika, Edwin, Ivan, and Fred!

There are several kids that we wish to sponsor for school starting in January. You can read about these kids below! They are street kids, who we have been working with to help transition into school and/or a home. Every kid’s story is different, but every one of these kids desperately wants to be off of the streets and into school. 

When you help sponsor a child, this child will be taken from the streets and put into a home or a boarding school. This means for the first time in a long time, they will be getting three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over their heads. 

Sponsorship is $50 a month per child. 

We would love for you to partner with us! Whether that is through prayer, monthly giving, or a one time gift! 

You can mail donations to:

River Community Church

att. Jeremy Cook

1200 Miracle Rd

Cookeville TN 38506

The memo line needs to read: Katie Cartwright/Mallory Short

We understand that many want to give, but they can’t right now. We are also starting a fundraiser. We will be selling jewelry made by the street kids. You can start a fundraiser to help support us in your church, your school, campus ministry, or just amongst your friends. All you have to do is, e-mail Mallory Short at mshort32@gmail.com and let her know how many necklaces and bracelets you think you can sell. We will then send you the jewelry, and once you have sold the jewelry, we will give you the information about where to send the money. 

We can feel your prayers! Thank you for your love, and thank you for pouring out God’s love on to us! 

This is Timothy. He is 12 years old and has been on the streets for over a year now. He ran away because he was being abused at home by his step mom. We met Timothy when we took him to the hospital to be treated for malaria.  God has blessed us so much through his strong, quiet spirit.

This is Bwanika! He has been on the streets for 6 years. Starting next spring, Bwanika will be home schooled. He was born in Tanzania, and when his parents divorced he stayed with his dad in Tanzania. After being abused there, he left to find his mom in Uganda, only to find himself in another abusive home. He is now 13, and very behind in school, but ready and willing to learn. This kid makes us laugh like no other. He's a handful, but has the sweetest heart behind his mischievous grin. 

Here we have Edwin! Edwin will be going into P4 this year. He has also been on the streets for 6 years. He was resettled once (taken back to his home) but the home situation was still abusive and he came back to the streets. Edwin has been asking to be back in school since the day we met him, he is ready to get off the streets, and he tells us that he knows Jesus will do it. 

Ivan!! Ivan has been on the streets for 4 years. He also left an abusive home, and is very behind in school. He will be home schooled next year, trying to help him reach a class closer to kids his age in school. Ivan is an older boy, but has this innocence about him that is rare on the streets. 

This beautiful smile is Fred. Fred is 10 years old, and has been on the streets for 4 months. The first week we met him, Katie and I looked at each other and said we have to do something about this. God has just paved a way for us to do this too. Fred's dad left when he was young, and his mom died as well. He lost his only brother soon after that. His brother was taken to be sacrificed to witchcraft, given sedatives, but then they released him. When they released him, he was so drugged he got hit by a car and died. Fred went to live with his aunt, who tortured him and then kicked him out of the house.   He has been through so much already but when you are laughing and playing with Fred you can see that hope that only comes from Jesus.

Hopin and Prayin

Hope is a beautiful thing. I see HOPE every day. I see hope in every pair of eyes I look into, even the kids that are flyin higher than a kite, there is still a desperate plea for hope in their eyes. We all look for it. We all desire it. I've been finding myself praying out of it. Praying and hoping that God will be faithful to my prayers. Here's the thing. God is faithful. I should be praying out of faith and trust, not out of hope.
I dont' want to pray - "Jesus,  I pray you change this kid's life." Then leave it there and hope that He cares enough to do something.
What happens when the believers start praying out of faith?
What happens when we believe and trust that God is faithful?
What happens when we know that God's will is SO good that we don't have to hope that he's faithful?

I don't need to hope that God is faithful.
I have hope BECAUSE God is faithful.

We've been spending a lot of time with a kid named Bwanika. Katie and I like to call him Peter Pan. He was born in Tanzania, and when his parents divorced his mom left for Uganda. He tried to live with his dad and stepmom but was abused badly, so he came to Uganda to try and live with his mom. His mom had also remarried and when he began to be abused by both of those parents as well, he ran away to the streets. He was 6. He is now 13, and has been living on the streets for 7 years.

He is by no means an "easy" kid to get off the streets. An easy kid, would be a seven year old who wants to hold your hand and snuggle and smiles a lot and has only been on the streets for two weeks.

He is that kid who jumps at any chance to start trouble. He flaps his arms and squawks like a bird half the time you try to talk to him. He is the kid that will lie down in the middle of the sermon, just because he knows it means I will have to walk over there and tell him to sit up. He speaks good English, but only speaks to you in Luganda. You may have heard me mention him in previous blogs - most days he makes me want to pull out my hair, or he is really pulling my hair trying to brush it out. 

BUT - 

He's also that kid who came to me and asked me to bring some clothes for his friend Timothy, because he really needs some. 

stubborn. impossible. too old. trouble. 

those are words that I have heard people describe him with. 

Today we met Bwanika and two other boys at Calvary Chapel. When we got there, the first thing Bwanika shows us is a very swollen hand.
The conversation went something like this:
"Did you punch something?" -Katie
"Yeah" -Bwanika
"Was it a person?" - Katie
"Yeah" - Bwanika (with a big sheepish smile)
"Then did you run?" Katie
"Yeah!" -Bwanika

At the end of this conversation, Katie's mad, Mallory's disappointed. It was that sinking realization of maybe you haven't changed as much as I thought, or maybe you will never change.

Then Bwanika added that the man who he punched was strangling him. People here see street kids as nothing - as something to get rid of, so he punched, then he ran.

Yeah, he's not an easy kid, but he's still a kid and no matter what I can provide him with, at the end of the day he still heads back out on the streets to survive.

I'm watching God change this kid's life, and I'm learning about how much God loves me. How even when I frustrate God, irritate Him, drive him up the wall because I don't listen - I can still make him smile at the end of the day. He loves me that much. He cares for me infinitely. He cares for Bwanika infinitely. God doesn't want me to hope that He might change Bwanika's life.
He wants me to believe and be joyful that He is being faithful to what He has promised. (Jeremiah 33:3-12)

I have been convicted over something I have been praying.
I've been praying:
God, love me in a new way today.
God, let me see you in a new way today.
God, let me worship you in a new way today.
God, let me delight in you in a new way today.

God doesn't want to love me in a new way, He wants to love me in every way. He wants me to see Him in every way. He wants me to worship Him in every way. A new piece of God will not satisfy - but all of Him will.

I feel like this blog has grown a little scatter brained and maybe not straight to the point. So I'm gonna end it.
Good night world - may God love you in every way He wants to.

You are good, You are good

I read something the other day, that really hit home. I am too lazy to get up and actually and find the book that says it, so i shall summarize: 


It essentially says that honesty and humility are the same thing. In order to be humble, you have to be honest - about what you are struggling with, about what your trials are, about how messed up you are... 
And in order to be honest, you have to be humble. 


Honesty and humility are holy, and they can't dwell in the same house as pride. 


Over the past months, I've been learning a lot about coming to God with an honest heart. Telling Him exactly how I feel, even if that means at the moment I am telling Him that I don't believe what He has promised me. I can't give Him a lot, but I can always give Him honesty. 


These past couple weeks have been a trial, looking for our friends Mike and Steve. They were arrested and put in jail, for no reason other than being homeless, and we have been trying to find them. We have been to police station after police station, and jail after jail. 


At the beginning of our search, I was praying "God I pray that we find them God and we can get them out of here and take them home!" 
....and I was disappointed in God every jail I left. 


I began to ask God, for a burning conviction that He is good!!! Cause He is....
When I walk into a jail, I want to be proclaiming "God you are so good!" 
And when I walk out of the same jail without finding them, I still want my heart and my mouth to be saying "God you are so good!!" 


God has given me this conviction of His goodness. With that, He has also shown me the humility and honesty that come with that, by showing me that His will is GOOD, so so good, better than I can ever imagine. When I am walking into a jail, I shouldn't be praying that we find these kids. I should be praying, "Let Your WILL BE DONE!"  


On another note, yesterday was an awesome day. We had Bible study with the Abaana staff in the morning, and it was just ballin. No other word to cover it. God was there, He was present, and He was working! We then headed out to meet with the secondary boys in the New Life Homes, which is always encouraging. 
We popped two tires. One on a boda boda. One on a taxi. Keeping our American stereotype going strong... 
We went to the discipleship house last night to hang out with our friends there, and just be in His presence with them. 


I love where I am.  


Friends, praying that You yield to His Spirit today. Let Your will be done Daddy God- for it is sweeter and better and more Holy  than we can ever imagine and YOU ARE GOOD GOOD GOOD! 

Where are my swimmies?

When I was 6 I desperately wanted to learn how to swim.  My mom and dad would teach me how to move my arms, float, all that good stuff.  One day I'm leaning over the deep end, and...SPLASH.  I fall in.  My first instinct is, you guessed it, sheer panic.  I look up to see my mom standing there and I am sure she is about to put her arms in to save me.  To my unpleasant surprise she just says- "Swim up!  Swim up!"  It's like I knew how to do it, we had gone over the motions, but once I was head under I froze, scared out of my mind.

A little over a year ago I became so hungry for the Word.  I wanted to learn more about Jesus, and what the scriptures really say about the way a Christians' life should look.  I felt like I learned so much by just opening my bible every day and asking God to really show me, teach me, love me how you intended to.  And so He did.  Because that's what God does when you ask.  He gives.  Passages about the oppressed, injustice, the homeless poor were some that I really wanted to dive in to.  Anyone can look at our world and see that it is broken, but I wanted to know how to react to that.

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh and blood?" Isaiah 58:6,7

The scriptures were certainly alive to me on my college campus, but as we walk the streets of Kampala I see more clearly the homeless poor and my own flesh and blood staring me in the face.  God has taught me, has given me revelation, and showed me His ways.  I feel the need to be honest with anyone who might be reading this.  God has taught me how to swim. But sometimes I feel like I'm in the deep end, and I've forgotten how to move my arms.  I'm scared to think that God could really be calling me into the most desperate situations possible to take off my swimmies, and jump.

Lately, I have gotten caught up in the question- "Well God you haven't shown me exactly what I'm supposed to do here after 6 months, so what is it?  Huh?  Huh?!!!"  When I read Isaiah 58 last night under my little mosquito net, God told me something.  He said it very clearly, without a doubt.  He told me to share my bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into my house.

It's go time, so to speak.  God hasn't just taken my swimmies off, He has popped them.  SPLASH.  :)

"No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62


"If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to  return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:15,16


"Katie, what about our lives has ever looked normal?!  Sometimes you just gotta jump."  -Mallory Short

10, 10, 12, 10, 10, 10

(Note-not in any particular order...i.e. I do not miss purple gatorade more than I miss my family) 

Top 10 beautiful moments our hearts have seen: 

1. Movie night with our homeless friends Mike and Steve. We had a picnic dinner at church, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, shared popcorn, watched The Encounter, watched them recognize the similarities between the movie and the good Samaritan, and then they walked us to our taxi. Every church should hang out with homeless kids. 

2. We had to take our homeless friend Bwanika to the clinic to get tested for malaria, which he had. After his doctor's appointment and getting his medicine, we took him out to lunch. As we are sitting at the table, he addressed us each by name and said thank you. 

3. When we slept on the streets, a little boy named Wilson who slept next to Katie played with her arm hair all night. 

4. When we slept on the streets, Katie looked at an older boy sitting next to her, and asked "Are you going to take care of us?" and he said "yeah" 

5. Fahad. The face he made when he saw us for the first time back in Uganda, and the excitement he had. As well as, the shock on his face after he found out we had slept out on the streets. 

6. Katie singing This Little Light of Mine at medical, with a bunch of kids who couldn't speak english, but they knew that song. 

7. Mallory praying at the beginning of the week to run into her friend from the last trip, Edward. On Friday, she literally ran into him on the streets. They were both shocked and overjoyed. 

8. Our night at the discipleship house. It's a house with 4 former street kids, who now live in a house sponsored by our church. It was amazing to see God's fire in those boys, and their desire to live out his Word. 

9. Just walking into the slums, and having 30 boys run up to you and give you hugs. 

10. Not fixing problems, but just living beside the broken. 

Top 10 mzungu mistakes: 

1. Do not get off of the tax before you are supposed to

2. The ground here moves, which leads to our mzungu feet slipping a lot and busting it in the mud 

3. Trying to learn Luganda in a tax when your translator is making you say 'I am hairy' and then the whole tax busts out laughing

4. Handing your money to a man who is not the conductor on a taxi

5. Freaking out when you see monkeys for the first time, getting out your camera, screaming - while all the Africans look at you like Americans would if we had just seen a squirrel. 

6. Forgetting that bathrooms don't have toilet paper here

7. still addressing people with a "hey ya'll!!"

8. Amazzi and mazzi are not the same word. One means water, the other is a not so nice word for poop

9. Forgetting your raincoat and wearing a white shirt

10. Calling a kid "Larry" for 2 weeks when his name is Derrick. 

Top 10 funny and potentially dangerous moments: 

1. Getting on the boda with an elderly man wearing a helmet, who had to have a sidekick give him a pep talk before we took off.

2. We went to the jail way up in the country side to look for our friends. Katie got hit with the runs. Katie and Maria walked twenty feet down a hill, Katie dropped trousers, and looked up to see a small, elderly village woman who had plopped down on the ground at the top of the hill to watch the show. Mallory, being the good friend that she is, sat next to the woman and laughed as the woman watched the most exciting thing she would probably get to see for the day. 

3. The day a man tried to buy Mallory from our translator. 

4. The day Katie almost punched a street vendor in the face for trying to kiss Mallory through a taxi window. 

5. The day a goat farted. 

6. Katie making faces at people when they stare too long. 

7.  Boda Boda men trying to kidnap Ryan 

8. Our entire ride to the the sleep out on the streets. Peter trying to take us up a one way street three times in a row. 2 Irish men bantering in the front seat. A boda boda man posing on his boda boda for a straight 30 minutes while we tried to sleep next to homeless children...still not sure why he thought that was attractive.

9.  William's ring tone is Barbie girl...were not sure if he knows it yet. 

10. Irish people and Americans ate an Italian restaurant in Uganda - how's that for culture? 

11. There are many primal, tribal, and instinctive things about Africa. We have harnessed all three traits when a large bug finds its way into our room, or when mosquitos attack right before bed time. You have never seen Mallory or Katie embody such a desire to kill. 

12..(yeah we know we said 10 but we're funny, so life with us is funny) We take 2 kids to the malaria clinic, and while Mallory is sitting in the lab of all the patients who have malaria and are getting their blood tested, there is a mosquito flying around her head. 

Top 10 things we miss from home: 

1. Purple gatorade 

2. The fact that in America there is a frozen yogurt place on every corner

3. COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE...real, delicious, ground coffee...not instant

4. Harry Potter weekend on ABC family. It's been weird not going back to Hogwarts this year...we are hoping to make a quick trip to the Burrow to say hi to our friends over christmas time. 

5.  people we love

6. Katie misses running without the fear of being chased 

7. English (or being able to speak to the people you meet)

8. Gum

9. Mouth Wash

10. Sonic 

Top 10 favorite things about Uganda:

1. Holding orphans' hands

2. Pineapple 

3. Bananas

4. Posho and Beans

5. It's home

6. walking down our dirt road in the village while seeing monkeys and eating sugar cane

7. we have a really Godly, beautiful, fun, funny community around us

8. Everyone here knows how to drum -Katie's pretty happy about that one

9. The noises africans make 

10. the sketchy frozen yogurt/custard place outside of the petrol station next to the slums 

(note: 4 of the 10 are food items....we do still hold some american identity) 

Top 10 prayer requests: 

1. a burning conviction that God is good

2. a passionate and thankful heart that God has raised us from the dead and that Jesus died for us

3. more of God, no matter what the cost

4. our friends Mike and Steve, they are in jail, and we have been trying to find them

5. more of God, no matter the costs

6. yielding to the Holy Spirit

7. camp is coming up! prayer for discipleship classes and for our campers

8. we are sending some kids to school in January - so provision, favor, and their desire to persevere and learn (Fred, Timothy) 

9. that the boys in the New Life Homes know who Jesus is and fall madly in love with HIM

10. that the street boys will find deeper freedom in God than they ever will on the streets 

We're giving God many HALLELUJAHS for being here. 

slumber party

In my blogs, I don’t usually like to give a play by play of what is going on day to day. But I think the past 24 hours deserves it. In Kampala, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of kids on the streets. Every kid has a story. Most people can’t even imagine life as an 8 year old being homeless. We can’t even wrap our minds around the details or the little things to think about.

Last night, a team of 7 of us went out and slept on the streets with our friends. There were many reasons why we did this. We were filming footage for a documentary about the night of a street child and what they have to go through to survive. We also are spending most of our time doing ministry to street kids and in the slums, but none of us have ever experienced anything like that. But last night we did, we spread out a cardboard box and had a slumber party with about 20 homeless kids. 

To rewind a little bit, when we were getting ready to go, Katie looked at me and just said 

“There are a lot of things that I imagined for my life, but sleeping on the streets with homeless kids in Uganda was not one of them.” We didn’t really go in with too much of a plan, other than that there were 6 mzungus, 1 translator, 1 abaana staff member (Peter), and our friend Robert going out. Peter and Robert had picked out a place for us to sleep. It was on the sidewalk, in a well lit area. When we got there, there were already loads of kids sleeping on the street. We picked our corner and sat down, making friend with the kids around us. We actually didn’t know most of them. 

The first two hours, were so funny. There was so much shock. The shock pretty much lasted the entire night. You would roll over from sleeping and open your eyes, and there would be just a small crowd of people standing back staring at you. 

I saw so much Jesus last night.

First of all - I have been cursing the tower of Babel lately. It has been such a hard thing to be living somewhere and not know the language. You never know if someone is telling you that your pants are on fire or if they are hitting on you. As well as, I just want to know these kids so much deeper and I am tired of having to ask somebody to constantly translate. But last night, I learned that love transcends all languages. You want to love someone, meet them at their lowest point, somewhere they will be shocked to EVER see you there. That’s how you love. It’s not whether I can have deep conversations in Luganda or in English. It’s about meeting them in the ugliest place where they are at.

Secondly, our friend Robert just straight up showed me Jesus last night. Robert works with the street kids and used to live with them on the streets, but now has a home where he keeps many of them. He is familiar with the streets, and he can handle himself. I’m not gonna lie, there were parts of our night that I didn’t really know how to feel. There were times when I’m sitting there thinking - um maybe I should feel scared right now...like when the boda boda man just sits there for 40 minutes after you’ve told him to go away and is staring at you while blowing kisses, or when the police come and try to kick you off the streets, or even sleeping openly in a place where we are the only white people doing something that Ugandans have never seen before. All throughout the night, Robert was shoo-ing people away from us, and constantly checking on us, and protecting us. I constantly heard his voice, I knew he was protecting me, and I trusted him. Then the next morning I found out that he had turned down the money offered to him to do that, and had done it for about 5,000 shillings which is about $1.77. 

He stayed awake all night long to watch over us...for nothing?! Talk about a watchman.  Last night, Robert paid the price so I didn’t have to. Jesus paid the price so I didn’t have to. 

Thirdly, most of the night I slept like a baby. 

Fourthly, I felt like I belonged there. Find the least of these, and that’s where God dwells. “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for their is the Kingdom of Heaven.” I was in the Kingdom last night. 

I would do it all the time if i could, sleep on the streets that is. That is love. Straight up, real love. The kids are so unreached too - the 20 that slept near us were unfamiliar with all three organizations that we represented, and we were able to connect them with places they can go 4 times a week to get food and get in the WORD and to be loved. A lot of the kids we work with have been on the streets for awhile, and so they know the programs. The kids we slept with last night were the babies. The 10 year olds, the 8 year olds, the 12 year olds...the kids who are still scared to sleep on the streets because they haven’t adjusted yet. The kids that are still wearing the shirt that they were wearing when they lost their home. We were even able to talk to one kid who has a good family, but got left on the streets by a neighbor and can’t make his way back home. Tonight, he is in the Abaana boys home. Monday, he is going home. 

In one night, so many lives were changed. Mine included. I’m tired of being selfish with my life. I’m tired of having these human eyes that sleeping on the streets of a foreign city with hundreds of orphans and homeless people is dangerous. Jesus didn’t love cautiously. I have a love worth dying for.  A love that is worthy of me dying to my selfish self, and getting dirty as I go and meet someone that is so lost they can’t even see a path ahead of them. 

In the morning, we woke up and we went and collected bottles and scrap metal with the boys. We spent two hours collecting bottles, and each boy made about 500 shillings, just enough to buy themselves breakfast. Most of them collect all day, so that they can afford to eat during the day. Then they go back to the streets at night. 

Last night, I did something that I had never done before. Last night, I did something I never thought I would do. Last night, I suffered for Jesus. 

All day today, I have felt the urge to complain about how tired I am. I just keep thinking about every single boy that slept next to me last night, as they go back to the streets tonight. As they sit there amongst the heavy stench of gasoline and fuel, as boda bodas zoom by, as the police come by and kick them out of wherever they are sleeping, as the light from the stores shine right into their eyes, as the clubs and restaurants pound music all over the city, as they shiver (yes, it was cold) because they have nothing to sleep on or under - yeah, I’m about to get in my bed. 

Please be praying for our friends we made last night. That they will find our programs and God will start transforming their lives. I’m watching Him do it every day in the kids around me. I’m watch HOPE be born and HOPE move and HOPE create and HOPE change and HOPE be rejoiced in. 

“The righteous give and don’t hold back” - proverbs 21:26

I always tend to think of this verse in money or material things. 

What about myself? What about Mallory? What part of Mallory am I holding back from God, and from the world? I can’t give only what I want to give. Jesus didn’t pick what he wanted to give. He gave it all. Then sent EVEN MORE in his Holy Spirit to come abide with me and love me. 

God, sow righteousness in us.