finally, an update from Cate (aka Caitlin, but that's to hard for a Ugandan to say)

We’ve finally arrived in Jinja – our last and final destination before the airport at Entebbe to go back to the states. It’s hard to believe our time in Uganda is already half completed. We finished our time in Kampala with a wonderful “farewell day” – black tea in the garden with our wonderful friends, Faith and Ben, who have become such a deep heart blessing to us, and an evening out with crazy ol’ Sam whom Erin and I met last year. We went to dinner and then drove around town in the evening sharing stories and laughs. I’ve been so blessed by our time in K’la that I almost forget it’s a city, and I’m a country girl – I should hate the city, right? Well, it’s part of Uganda and just as much a home for my heart as the rest of this nation has so sweetly become.

Jinja is a quite little town in comparison to the hussle and bussle of K’la streets – no jams, less loud music, and boda boda drivers who go much slower (to my chagrin, I’d like to add J ) – for any of you who don’t know, boda bodas are little motor bikes we can hire to take us places, like a yellow cab in NYC only much smaller, and I can ride a few miles for $1. We’re out to experience Jinja all on our own today – it’s so liberating to be independent! We feel like the last organization we were with while in K’la kind of stifled our desires and dreams. Even our trip to gulu was marred with late-ness (beyond even what Africans would consider appropriate), and we constantly felt like an inconvenience…needless to say, I intend on writing a letter or phoning someone in the states who can make some changes in their program before I suggest that organization to anyone else. I think we overpaid for what begrudging service we received. But, I all fairness, their organization is going through a lot of changes and we didn’t know much about them before all this started. Rest assured, beloved family, friends, supporters, and prayer-warriors, God’s $$ is going to the right places. We are making stewardship a key goal of this trip – your help has gone to great organizations, even if cultural differences make things difficult.

Anyway, our time in Jinja has already been such a blessing! I came “home” to Kate and Peter’s to find a note Clair wrote to me while he was staying at their house in May – and what perfect timing! God is soo good to bring encouragement from a trusted source in my hardest moments! I’ve been feeling pretty low lately just because we’re half way through the trip and its beginning to feel like the Enemy hates our work here – of course, he always did, but the battle has been refreshed recently. Keep praying, family, we’re keeping our heads up and our eyes and hearts set on Christ, but we’re getting tired! God is good and He has brought us sooo far – his love is what helps us persevere! We are conquerors in him!

Something else exciting to be praying about – while Clair was here in May and June, he spent time in a village called Budumbuli working with an organization called Northern Lights Ministries, which is the same organization we’re working with right now. Kate and Peter are the leaders and founders of this ministry and while Clair was here, they discussed with him briefly about us returning to Uganda someday to help them run the ministry. As it turns out, the church which supports the ministry from the States has been saying for years that they need “another Kate and Peter”, well, maybe a “Cate and Clair” will have to do! Clair and I are seeking God’s heart on the idea, because we would much rather have His will be done rather than our own. We would appreciate any of you who will come alongside us in this plea for discernment and a deeper knowledge of God (for both Clair and I) so we can know if God’s wants us with NLM in Uganda.

Well, I’ve certainly written enough for now – one more quick story, tho…
On Sunday, we visited a church and the service was spoken mostly in the local language here – Lugandan. It’s difficult to understand even when Ugandans translate into English b/c of the heavy accent and bad sound system. So, while Kathy, Erin, and I were trying to listen and not melt from the heat, Kate leans over to us and asks if we want to go greet the Sunday School class. We decided to sneak out (as only Muzungu people can!) and went to hear the children sing songs and to introduce ourselves. I actually taught them a new song – one that I quite dear to my heart b/c my beloved 6th grade wildfire girls made it up. I taught them the song about Proverbs 3:5-6 - I think it fits my life now quite well:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And He will make your path straight.