Praise the Lord? Not feeling it.

Yesterday, I snuck out of mine and Anna’s bedroom at 5:30 AM, eager to go for an early morning run before she woke up.

But, this was not to be.  

She began crying, then screaming!  (Why did she wake up?)

I told Heather we would try that evening and then went to calm and console Anna.  I put her in my bed and wrestled with her for an hour.  I feigned sleep, trying to convince her to go back to sleep.  I quietly sung songs, trying to lull her to sleep.  She flipped and flopped, twisted and turned; pausing just long enough between pirouettes to make me believe she was going to sleep, then dashing that hope by flipping upside down in the bed.  

Finally, an hour later, I conceded defeat and we both got up.

I was frustrated.  Not at Anna, but at my present situation.  All I wanted was some time alone.  Time to run, time to drink coffee, time to read my Bible.  I was willing to get up extra early to make that happen.  But No!  I couldn’t even get that.  And this was the second day in a row she had woken by 6 AM!

I was having a pity party by myself in my head as Anna ran around squealing and chasing some kittens on the front porch.

I decided I would do a quick devotion on the front porch.  So, I sat down with Anna beside me, using an out of date devotion book by Dr. Charles Stanley.  The passage was Psalm 150.

I told Anna, “We are going to read from the Bible.”

I read out loud: (my thoughts in parenthesis)

Praise the Lord 

(Okay, typical way to start a Psalm - still not happy)

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power; 

(okay, sure, but why can’t He act and make Anna sleep longer?)

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with the tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 

(Anna was bouncing up and down at this point)

praise him with the clash of  cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

Praise the Lord.  

(Let EVERYTHING praise the Lord.  Well, that’s me.  And I am not.  So, let’s try)

I told Anna, “We are supposed to praise the Lord.  Hallelujah”  

She started singing, “Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord”  This is one of her favorite songs.  (The kid gets it, why don’t I?)

Anna wanted to swing.  I grabbed my journal and put her in the swing.  I decided to praise the Lord while she was swinging (Gotta multi-task with a two year old).  I decided to list praises to the Lord, to fill a sheet with them.  This seemed like a daunting task - a whole sheet of praises?  (Not feeling it!)

Here is my journal entry:

Psalm 150 says that in everything I should praise the Lord.

• Praise the Lord for this child I am swinging as I write this entry.
• Praise the Lord for this child that woke up at 5:30
• Praise the Lord for this child that wants to cuddle
• Praise the Lord for this child that sees the world with so much wonder and excitement
• Praise the Lord for this child that loves and trusts me.
• Praise the Lord for the privilege of raising this child.
• Praise the Lord for the blessing of this child.
• Praise the Lord for her smile.
• Praise the Lord for her great hugs.
• Praise the Lord for her sweet voice when she sings.
• Praise the Lord when she practices her words at 6 AM “green, red, up”
• Praise the Lord when she uses my belly, legs, arm, head and feet as a pillow
• Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord

I could have kept going, but the page ended.  My attitude was changed.  My heart was not in a pool of pity anymore, but seeing the blessings God had given me.  The blessing I had listed were just about Anna, nothing about the rest of my life, I could have filled a book with the blessings I have in the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Field Day, goats and naps

What do goats and football (soccer) have in common!  Not much, unless you are in Uganda.  Then, the goats are tied around the field.  Oh, and there is a goat for the winning house to roast and eat!

Christine, Doreen, Beatrace and Rose

We traveled to Jinja yesterday to visit with our Senior 1 students.  They are attending a high school there while we work on opening a High school at the VOE next year.  ( I talked more in depth in a previous blog).  We believe it is important to support them in their efforts while they are studying away from "home".

John, Isa, Rodgers and Hassan

The school had a field day so we went to support our students.  There was Bible trivia competition, Egg races, water races, soccer games and netball games.

Heather, Anna & Beatrace

We arrived late, missing the Bible trivia and races, but we were there for the soccer and netball.

Me, Beatrace and Anna

We had the privilege of getting to watch  6, yes 6! soccer games!  Oh, joy!

John, head butting the ball

The high schools here have "houses" which compete all year (think Harry Potter).  At this school, there are 4 houses - not Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, etc, but Isaiah, Elijah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel house.   Each house is a different color too.

Isa played goalie

Hassan, kicking

 Each house played every other house in soccer and netball, so 6 games each, luckily, the games were 30 minutes each, but still - 3 hours of soccer!

Anna got a little bored. So, we met a goat.  A billy that was happy to visit with Anna.

The goat was tied by one leg.  So, Anna could control the distance.

She loved it until the billy tried to head-butt her!  That made her a bit more nervous!  (No harm was done to the Billy or the Baby)

Anna, about to get head-butted!

We watched more soccer.

Then we went in search of the bore hole.  It was hot, we were thirsty.

More soccer. . .

If you are already bored with these pics, think how we felt!

Six games later, we had lunch.  I ate my lunch with Anna on my back.  It was well past her nap time, and I was pacing back and forth trying to get her to fall asleep.  After about 45 minutes of pacing, it worked!

We watched 3 games of net ball and decided that since it was 5:00 and we still had to visit their home and then go to Jinja to buy groceries, we should head out.

That is Rose in the blue shirt!

Doreen is in the red shirt, white skirt, center of the pix

Rose is about to get the ball

We arrived at home at 9:00 PM, tired, dehydrated,  and sunburnt; but happy.  It was a great day. The kids loved having us there - we were the only visitors!  They were like celebrities!

And, the school teachers were bragging on our kids, saying how intelligent they are, how they are disciplined and arrive on time!  Woo hoo!  One point Village of Eden!

Running Club

Our Village of Eden school has started weekly clubs.  We have Soccer, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Computer and Running.

For the month of March, the kids get to rotate around and try a different sport each Wednesday to see what they like best.  Then, in April, they have to choose one and stick with it - at least til the end of term I.  This past week, I had 7 kids.

The Coaches - Running, Soccer, Netball, Volleyball, Basketball

I am the Running Club Coach.  Just call me RCC. (Actually, don't).  For the picture above, Heather told the coaches to hold the ball of their sport.  Well, I couldn't just stand there empty handed, so I held my running shoe.

I know running is not as exciting as the other sports, but it can be!  So, I am trying to make it fun.

First, I timed them on how fast they could run a kilometer (6/10 of a mile).  The ones that really enjoy running were excited.  A few were skeptical and one just flat out refused to run (the one on the right int he photo above).  It is obvious she will not choose running as her sport - she will probably end up in computer class.

The average time was 5 minutes for one kilometer.  One kids was running in his shoes, but stopped mid way to kick them off - they were slowing him down.  (Uganda life)

After a timed trial, I talked to them about the importance of keeping our bodies fit and healthy because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  They seemed to be getting me because they were all nodding their heads in agreement.

Then, we played the best running game ever - capture the flag.  Nothing like sprinting, dodging and lunging to get that heart rate up. They loved it. (I did realize during the instructions that most did not understand English, so I had one boy translate -so much for the Bible verse earlier)  

We laughed.  I fell. They laughed.  We ran. We sprinted.  We gasped for air.  It was a great time!

This week, I have 20 kids in my group.  Should be great!

Rioting in the streets!

I woke up at 4:45 this morning to a "bam, bam, bam. . . "  and thought, "Mom is walking on the treadmill.  That's great!"
Then I realized that Mom is two continents away, in the USA and I am in Uganda.
"Bam, bam, bam, woo hooooo!"
"Oh, it is a party, funeral, remembrance day, wedding, or something else."
Why do Ugandans feel the need to play the music so loud and all night long?
It is at least 2 - 3 times a week that we have music all night long - loud, annoying music.
My questions each night as I try to sleep through the noise:
1.  Why does it have to be in the middle of the night?
2. Who is awake to attend these things?
3.  Why does it have to be so loud?
4.How do the children sleep?
I have some other thoughts, like cutting the wires to the speakers or . . . . we won't put those thoughts out to the public.

Anyway, Heather and I got up to run at 5:30 AM.  We were walking to the front gate where we either go left or right down the road.
 Lightening was flashing.
We also realized there were two parties going on - one to the left of the property and one to the right.
 I expressed my dislike in running around drunk people.
She pointed out the lightening.
 I mentioned the possible rioting in the streets. . .
We turned around and went back home.  Maybe tomorrow