God is just so amazing, even when you least expect it. He has just picked me up and cradled me in His arms the past few days. I am so glad our God hears the cries of our hearts.

Uganda is amazing and heart-breaking all at once. Every day, I see people I want to help, people I want to love, people I want to influence... and yet, my hands are empty. I can only pray that God uses what little I have, for the glory of His name and to better His kingdom.

I am sooooo glad I am spending the first two weeks at the childrens home. They are just so beautiful - even more so than I remembered. I've formed some amazing new bonds too, which is awesome. I can't take enough videos or pictures to capture these children the way they have captured my heart.

Things I never want to forget:

Warm, long hugs from Chris
Kisses from Sharon
Shafiga's dancing
Mercy's singing
Laurence holding my hand
Eron's eyes
Charles' creativity
Teddy's dimples
Shoulder rides with Henry
Esther's wordless conversations
Joseph's aray of sound effects
The way Michelle says my name
Peter's smile
Margaret's cuddles
Playing games with Carol
Bena's laugh

And most of all?

Being warmly welcomed home each day with hugs, kisses and smiles.

The mind is a funny thing,,.

What a rollercoaster ride! Today was an amazing day, filled with laughs, surprises and love... and yet, right now, I feel so discouraged. I'm not quite sure how to describe the feeling, but it woke me up from  my sleep... and I can't settle back in again. It's almost like I feel I'm not doing any good here. I know there are people who would beg to differ... but the feeling is resting heavily on my heart. I can't seem to shake it. I know Jesus is my portion... and I don't need to feel discouraged when He's with me. I need to keep reminding myself of that...

Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart feel lonely... and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow... and I know He watches over me.

Please pray for me... I love you all. <3

What a lovely day!

I had such a lovely day today. Mercy told us on Friday that she had a toothache... so today, we took her to the dentist. Coz there was such a long wait, Mama Sherry said Hannah, Ruth and I could go to the African Market and do some shopping. I bought some lovely things... but still have so much more shopping to do. Haha!
Then, we went to the new school to drop off some cleaning supplies and check on how the cleaning was going. It smelled and looked so lovely! Then we came home and I got to play with the kids. It was sooooo much fun. I love these kids so much. It will be so sad when I have to leave.. but I am so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with them. They are beautiful and I love them lots. Right now, they girls are standing here and teasing me for typing so fast. Haha... it's funny xD I really love being here, it's so much of a blessing and the girls and boys are so beatiful/handsome. Anyway, time for me to sign off because I promised that I would go and hang out with the girls before bed time. Lol. Goodnight everyone, love you all. <3 xoxo <3

It pays to remember what you learned at home...

(For those wondering, the title is a song that the kids sang at a performance we watched.. and it's been stuck in my head and Hannah's head ever since! Argh!)

Oliotya Mukwano?! (How are you, good friends?)

I am having such an AMAZING time. I decided to start taking a note of the fun things that have been happening each day, so I don't forget. Here's a little run down.

Saturday:

• Chris gave me his ring, which he promptly told me I MUST wear until I leave. So cute!
• Getting ready to go out with the kids - Mercy braiding my hair. Randomly seeing Laurence dance while he was looking in the mirror.
• Going to see the new land with the kids. Hilarious bus trip down. Chris singing "Our land is full of fruits, flowers and JOYYYYY!"
•  Watching the kids pick mangoes from the tree on our newly purchased land. Henry hanging from the tree like a monkey. Peter falling asleep in the tree. 
• Watching the kids performance at KBC. Chris was so proud I was there and kept smiling and waving at me. 
• Peter falling asleep in my arms on the bus ride home. <3
• After getting ready for bed, Chris saying "Goodnight Aunty. I love you." with hugs and kisses. FIVE TIMES.

Sunday:

• The girls telling me I look beautiful and "very smart" when they saw me dressed for Church.
• Piling 17 children and 7 adults into a taxi, to get to Church.
• Sitting with Sharon in Church and having her hold my hand.
• Standing up and telling the Church I'm from Australia, which was met with Ooohs and Ahhs.
• Playing "Memory" with Camber and Chris.
• Getting beautiful necklaces from Chris and Peter as presents.
• Laughing with Hannah about last years trip and injokes, during nap time.
• Worship with the kids - Creating dances during a song called "Jesus #1"
• Hanging out the with boys and the girls in their rooms at bedtime.
• Ugandan Chai Tea! Yummmmmm!! <3

Monday:

• Going to New Creation Centre. Amazing worship! Seeing Betty being an awesome prefect and worship leader!
• Hanging out with Simon Peter, Enoch, Jordan, Edward, Frank and Michael. My amazing boys!
• Talking to Michael and finding out he's ridiculously shy.
• Walking to the new school
• Playing high jump
• Frank and his crazy dancing
• Injokes with Mama Sarah
• African Market City
• Getting beautiful notes from the kids when we got home and lots of hugs and kisses.

I can officially say this is my second favourite place in the world. My first, of course, being with my family. These kids are some of the most adorable and kind hearted kids you will ever meet. I am blessed just to know them, let alone have their love.

God Bless Uganda, land that I love...

Oliotya!

Well, I'm finally here! It is so good to see all my friends and see the children again, who have grown so much! I arrived yesterday (Thursday) after a very VERY long flight (11 hours to Dubai, then 7 hours to Entebbe) at around 2:45pm. I came straight home to the childrens home and saw all my beautiful kiddies... so awesome! I was so tired that we had dinner early and I went straight to bed... at 7PM! Aaaahhhh!! I woke up at 5am to go to the airport with Mama Sarah, to pick up Hannah, Mama Sherry and Ruth. It is SO amazing to see Hannah again... Definitely my long-lost sister. xD

Today was an action packed day... filled with laughter, which was even better. We went to have pizza for lunch, went to the African market, then it started raining HARD, so we went to pick up Camber <3. Then we went to visit the children at the New Creation Centre and tell them a new place had been found for their school, as the current lease runs out very soon. After going to view the new property, we went home and had a dinner of beans and rice. I actually LIKED beans, to my shock and awe. Right now, the kids and I are watching movies, as it's Movie night for them! Yayyyy Goofy! Haha!

Tomorrow we are going to see the new land for the cluster homes, clinics etc... then the children are performing a skit at Church. I have to make sure I take my camera tomorrow!

So, in the style of the beautiful Camber...

Things I'm thankful for:

African rain
The children of New Creation Home
Seeing old friends again (love you, Camber and Hannah)
Mobile phones, so I can keep in contact with my Mum
Comfortable shoes
Cold showers, in this hot weather.


And quickly before I go... Happy Birthday, Mum. I love you sooooo much and although I can't be with you physically, I was with you in heart. <3 xoxoxox <3

Mukama akakume (God bless you!)

Jesus in their eyes...

With less than a day until I leave, I wanted to share a little of my story about how I came to have a heart for Uganda.

It was early in 2010. On a Saturday night, I had a dream about two small African children, unloved, unclean and unfed. One was a boy, no more than 9 or 10, who was lame and couldn't walk. The other was a little girl who had severe burns to her face... she was ashamed of the way she looked and was outcast. In this dream, they reached their tiny hands out to me... they begged me, with tears streaming down their faces, to help them. They called me Mama. I held my arms out of them and they ran into my embrace. I held them tight until my arms hurt. Then, as dreams do, they faded away... but the image of them stuck in my mind.
The next morning, I was at church when a lady named Mercy stood infront of the congregation and told about how she went back to her home in Ethiopia, to do some missions work. She mentioned a small boy, who was 9, named Michael Peter, who had Polio, thus having problems with his legs, stopping him from walking. I was totally surprised by this and spoke to Mercy at length after the service about Michael and what I could do to help.

To keep a long story short, Michael was sponsored by someone in our Church and is now receiving physical therapy for his condition.... However, this started something moving in my spirit that I could not keep still. So, I started looking into short term missions. At the time, I had a sponsor child in the Dominican Republic, so my search began there... but it soon moved to Africa. Uganda was a very common result in my searches... and as I read about it's history, it stuck on my heart. I found Loving One by One Ministries, quite by accident... and when I watched the video about how Sherry began her ministry, I took a hold of her heart and her vision. I signed up to go on a team with my Dad.

A few days before leaving, I started to have doubts. I started not wanting to go at all, I would cry myself to sleep and wish I hadn't done it. This was definitely something designed to stop me from going and doing what God had planned. Once I arrived in Uganda, I remembered why I had originally felt called to come. One look at those children will change your life. One hand in yours, one smile, one "I love you" uttered from their lips will dive straight into your heart.

I will always love Uganda and it's people. I will always feel like a part of me is there. I have new additions to my family, now. I am so blessed to have met them and spent time with them.

Oh Uganda, may God uphold thee. We lay our future in thy hands. United free for liberty, together will always stand.

Counting down...

Oliotya!? (How are you? - Ugandan greeting)

My name is Kristal and this blog is going to be all about my trip to Uganda in June 2011. If you're at this blog, I'm sure you know me... and I want to thank you for your prayers!

Well, it's only 3 days until I leave for beautiful Uganda again. Ever since I got back from my trip with my Dad in 2010, I have felt it on my heart and longed to go back, to see my new friends and serve again. However, in saying that, I will definitely miss home. Without the support of my beautiful parents and my friends, I would never have had the strength to make it this far! Thank you! I love you all!

I will blog as much as I can whilst in Uganda, but remember, it is a third world country... so access may be restricted. I will keep you all as up to date as I can with stories and pictures. Please keep me in your prayers for the 4-5 weeks I am away!

Mukama akakume! (God bless you!)

Kristal.