Handfuls of Blessings

 How privileged we are to be able to be here in Uganda as they celebrate 50 years of independence.  We have been praying, planning, and preparing for this day for nearly three months.  This morning we had a special service at Masaka Independent Baptist Church with a specific outreach to the lost.  By 12:30 the auditorium was packed! We were praying for 200 people.  We ended up with 173 adults and at least 50 children.  We gave away 6 Ugandan flags as part of the prizes.  For the first hour, we had a time of Uganda trivia with prizes. We gave away 2 quilts, 2 solar-powered-fixed-frequency radios, 6 Ugandan flags, and 5 Ugandan lapel pins.  When we went shopping in Kampala two weeks ago, we looked everywhere for Ugandan decorations and gifts.  We found the flags and lapel pins being sold by a hawker on the street and the balloons in the store (although only one store in the whole city had the black). That was all the Ugandan items w...

She has been counting down the days with stickers on the calendar for the past month.  She has been so excited for her birthday to arrive. And now?  My "baby" is 5 years old!  She has inherited her parents' height, so the ladies at church were having a hard time believing that she was ONLY five.  Savannah is such a joy to our family and keeps us laughing.  She loves to steal "my honey" from me and lavish him with hugs and kisses in an attempt to make me jealous.  She is determined not to let her status as a girl hinder her from competing with her brothers, but then at other times she tries to play the baby-of-the-family card to get what she wants.  She is very devoted to her sister and strives to do things that will please her.  No matter what I'm doing, she wants to help, so I often keep small jobs tucked away in the back of my mind for her times of needing to feel helpful.  We are very blessed to have this bundle of joy in our ...

When we first came to Masaka several years ago, we were the only white people.  Now, there are so many that we don't even know them all.  There are two families that periodically attend our church - an English couple and a Greek/American family.  Two weeks ago the Greek family was moving to a new house, so Keith and the boys went to help.  As they were working, they asked Keith if he would be interested in a mirror.  It had been given to them while on deputation, but they had never found a place for it.  Imagine my surprise when Keith brought home an Ethan Allen mirror.  It wouldn't fit any of our dressers, but it sure does look awesome in our living room.  It is so heavy that Keith and I could barely lift it up on this shelf that he made for it. Did we need this expensive mirror?  No.  Do we like it?  Definitely!  Does our God take pleasure in delighting His children?  For sure.