Big Picture

Today has been a really good day.  Currently, I am hanging out at a “camp” right outside of Nairobi, Kenya.  By camp, I mean miniature resort… and there is actually carpet in my room!  I’m here to visit my beloved friend, Alicia, whom I have shared the last 5 years of my life with prior to moving to this massive continent.  Seeing her is seriously a dream come true!  Now, my friends in Rwanda are fantastic.  I love them OH SO MUCH!  But there is something special about seeing a friend from home, someone who was with me while I was praying about coming to Rwanda, while being in Africa!  The two world’s merging together = complete bliss. 

I took a short 1.5 hour flight to get to Kenya, and because I haven’t been in an airplane since I arrived to Rwanda, I experienced many flashbacks of feelings and apprehensions that God has certainly calmed and reassured since my arrival.  He has brought me a long way, geographically as well as spiritually.  I’m not sure God will do one without the other.  When the plane took off this time around, I realized it was the first time I had flown over Rwanda during the day and in a window seat!  It is such a gorgeous country.  The green rolling hills that inhabit millions of people in only 10,000 square miles.  Think of how many stories of redemption there are within those hills.  Where there is much sin, there is even more grace.  When seeing Rwanda from a bird’s eye view for essentially the first time, I realized something.  God not only cares for you and I individually, his love encompasses the nations. 

He oversees and controls the the weather, which affects if crops will grow, which also affects the state of the economy, which affects the well being of his people.  We can’t control the weather—we can predict it, but never can we turn on the rain or stop a horrible storm.  God not only controls the weather, he created it.  It has purpose.  It reflects God’s power, sovereignty, and creativity.  Sometimes the weather that comes into our lives seems like a practical joke.  I’ve had many moments in which I I felt God handed me the short straw.  You want to know the reason I automatically go to that conclusion?  Because I’m looking at the situation in a zoomed-in lens.  My thought is that I have somehow earned the right not to have to do or deal with x, y, or z.  I was reminded today that even though through my zoomed view everything seems unfair, at a bird’s eve view, it will make better sense.  Remember when Jesus came to serve, not to be served?  How can I expect God to hand me a platter of fairness when what happened to Jesus wasn’t fair- but it was necessary.  Necessary for whom? You and me.  He wasn’t thinking about himself while he was being mocked and spat at.  He was thinking about you and me and how much he cared for us.  When I am concerned about me me me, I lose the ability to reflect upon Jesus’ plea for us to share His unfailing love with the nations!  The BIG PICTURE!  It feels like a huge boulder is removed from my shoulders when I forget the idolatry of self gratification and remember the mission Christ set out for me to think of others above myself.  In that, life no longer seems “unfair”; rather it brings forth meaning and unspeakable joy.  I know I want to experience more of that!  How about you?

Holiday Journey in Uganda

I’m not even sure how to begin to tell you of all the adventures I have undergone in the past two weeks.  If I told you everything, you’d probably start getting a finger cramp from having to constantly scroll down the page to continue to read more.  I won’t do that to you.  But I will tell you that we traveled to 5 places in Uganda and each trip has its own story.  We shall start from the beginning:
Rafting the Nile River

I’m not really what you would call a “risk taker”.  Ever since I was a kid, I have usually taken a lot of thought into decisions that could physically cause me harm.  I went back and forth on the decision to go on the white water rafting trip in the never-ending river known even in Moses’ time as The Nile.  I strangely imagined little baby Moses floating through these Grade 5 rapids in a small woven basket.  His mother must have thought he’d be toast!  Or she probably trusted that God’s provision would override the raging rapids, like I did when I stepped each foot into that yellow, seemingly trustworthy, flotation device.  There were a couple of moments that I regretted this decision. 
One: right before we went over a 18ft waterfall (which is shown in the picture above…note my facial expression). 
Two: right before we went on a grade 5 rapid called “The Bad Place” and were told we have an 80% chance of flipping or getting thrown out of the raft. 
I lived to tell you about it, so you know that once those terrifying moments were over, I no longer regretted partaking in this incredible experience! 
Sipi Falls

If you look at this picture carefully, you can see 3 waterfalls (bottom left, middle center, and top right).  On Christmas Eve, we hiked to see each of these beautiful sites.  We stayed in a resort that was situated right above the biggest waterfall.  It had no electricity and the showers were heated by a wood burning stove.  Let me tell you, I don’t really miss 5 star hotels after staying in places like this that are accented by nature.  Sure, it’s not as convenient or fancy, but the beauty is in its simplicity and how that places the focus more on God’s creation than man’s.  Walking through this rural village to get to each fall, it was clear to me that God has blessed everyone in different ways.  If I was born in a rural Ugandan town, I may have never had electricity growing up.  Would I have thought this meant that God hadn’t blessed me? Of course not! I would have gotten to see God provide through the rain, sun, and vibrant people around me.  Blessings look different depending on where you’ve come from and where you’ve been.  Those who don’t have as much seem to appreciate all the little blessings in life that I take for granted. 
Kampala

Monkeys try to attack me with their friendliness

From this video, you can observe my conflicted feelings about monkeys.  I think they are adorable, yet they are wild so might contain certain diseases… so I am also terrified of them.  Oddly enough, this video reflects my struggle with sin as well as my struggle with cute animals in Africa.  Some sins seem innocent and harmless because of their attractive façade, but if I got too close I could get bitten by it, and have to live in misery with the consequences.  You can clearly see that the temptation to touch the monkeys was potent.  However, the reality of getting a disease outweighed the desire to cuddle with a cute face.  Is that always how I weigh out the decision not to sin?  Well, maybe if I was perfect.  I needed a friend to remind me of the monkeys’ diseases before I really took a step away from the cuddly creature.  Sometimes accountability is the strongest tool God gives us to withstand tantalizing sins. 
Along with the monkeys, Kampala has a lot going on.  We went into the city to find a legit shopping mall with a movie theater, an arcade, a bowling alley, a food court, and a supermarket with the audacity of Wal-Mart.  I felt as if I leaped into another world.  Big City, Africa is an interesting site to see.     
Queen Elizabeth National Park

People who say God isn’t real probably haven’t been to a place called Queen Elizabeth National Park.  Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and The Lion King do a pretty good job explaining the wildlife in Africa.  What they don’t do is display the magnitude of its authentic beauty.  Maybe I didn’t watch these channels that closely, but it never occurred to me that animals from all different species would be hanging out together on the shore:

(Hippos, birds, crocodile, elephants)

It seems as though animals get along better with other species than with their own!  To my understanding, these guys are fighting over that lady elephant in the back, who seems super enthralled by their brawl over her.  I was teased over taking so many photos of these animals… but honestly, how could I take enough pictures of God’s craftsmanship that walk parts of the same earth you and I reside? These are some of my favorite photos that shows God’s sense of humor pretty well

Awkward elephant. 

Best friends.

Warthogs eating on their elbows/knees.
Lake Bunyonyi

Our final destination of our trip was on a lake near the border of Rwanda.  The first night we spent in tents on stilts.  Classy, eh? We relaxed on hammocks, out on the dock, and up by the fireplace.  After a week and a half of traveling and high thrill adventures, it was time to cool down.  The second night, we stayed on an island for New Years Eve.  We stayed up until midnight thinking we’d be funny and lame with our party blowers in an empty restaurant.  However, lame turned to awesome when the staff came out with drums and energy to sing and dance once the clock struck 2011. 

 

So, there you have it!  Seriously, I have loads of stories to tell about this trip, but they would be better told with you sitting next to me!  Which reminds me, I am officially coming home this summer from June 2 – Aug 4!  We can have story time then.