Papa was spending the day with the van in the metal fabrication district, while they fixed a roof rack, and the seats for the van. Momm, Robyn and I were waiting to see the finished van, but of course we are in Africa so it took longer then expected. Momm had gone down to the work area full of men and came back with some sort of depressing news. She told us that they had put 4 rows of seats in the van but it was very jammed and possibly too tight for such a long trip. Our discussion led in the direction of the three of us not being able to attend with the men on this adventure. Both Robyn and I have verbalized how badly we wanted to go and neither of us were going to so easily give up. I reminded them that these people travel very tightly all the time, so why be comfortable now? Of course that was a selfish thought but then I went on to say that I think we all need to go and we are not willing to say no. We weighed our options and just decided to leave it up to Papa, the decision maker. When Papa returned home and Momm shared with him her thought about us girls remaining, he almost immediately said "of course not" and reassured us that we must go. He actually said something similar to my own words about them traveling squeezed. I smiled and thought to myself how great minds think alike. The distance to Mbarara was long, although with three girls 12 boys we did nothing but laugh and get to know each other and some sleeping here and there. Five days in Mbarara with Solomon and Lilian Carter, gave us a huge opportunity to grow as a family. Solomon laid down the rules of the house including prayer at the end of every day, then prayer and worship at 6am every morning no matter how late our days went. He was stubborn and it was good for us. Our first place of ministry was at a medical school and it was fantastic. The Dove Voice Band was phenomenal as they shared their music and worship to God. Our uncle Jeff Kasigwa was a great leader in worship. It had been a long time since I last listened to Papa preach, and I admired his preaching that night. I love watching him let God use him. He wouldn't be so cool if he wasn't a son of God.Papa was real and enthusiastic and totally comfortable sharing the truth of God with the people of the school. As each day went by, our development in ministry continued, but our development as a family was unstoppable. I loved spending time with Solomon and watching him relate with everyone. He took some special time to talk to Robyn and I which showed how much he cared for us, and it really touched our hearts. We were instantly apart of his family and accepted into their hearts and they love us as their own. When we traveled to Kamwange, we were already a different group, changed people, we were a family having a good time and sharing the love of God. Kamwange was a great time for us to learn rather then teach. Papa taught the boys about responsibility, the guys taught Robyn and I about being open and trusting. We all learned something valuable. It was purposeful of God to put us all together at that time, with those people, doing what we did. Each day we grew closer to each other, learning more, and giving more. I learned so much about the Holy Spirit and about myself. My uncle Jeff taught me so much that I could write a whole other post about it. I love Jeff so much. After traveling for 12 days, Robyn and I came home completely unaware of the major change that took place until we were challenged weeks later.
to be continued ;)
