welcome home.

"Welcome home!"  

This is the phrase that I hear from the minute I step off the plane.  It stuns me into silence the extreme hospitality that the Ugandans practice.  They ask if I am tired, I say I am, though it is not only my physical tiredness that keeps me so silent. I am simply stunned at how spiritually rich they are.

This morning I met a man named Joseph, I have already been deeply blessed by him, and I know I will continue to be in the future. He is truly cloaked in the joy that can only come from Christ. One of the girls commented on his demeanor, and asked him if why he is so joyful, and if he ever isn't. He responded with no, he is never un-joyful. The reason: because this morning, we get to discuss the love of Jesus Christ our Savior and praise Him together as brothers and sisters! I look back at my earlier posts, and much of my walk with Christ so far and I see Him teaching me to live presently. Present being right now, not worrying about the future, past, or anything but now. Present also being in His presence. I can already tell this is something He is going to teach me here.  I have never felt this sense of peace that I feel here, except maybe that day in the park.

As an update on the past days, my flights went well.  I sat next to a professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Michigan State University on the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam.  I was definitely blessed by him, as he told me of the orphanage in Rwanda he was planning to go to.  He explained that his friend started it just a year ago, and it is already flourishing, this is such an encouragement to my dream of my own orphanage.  Then on the flight to Entebbe I sat next to a beautiful girl from London who had the cutest accent.  We hit it off right away, and I believe I will see her again when we visit the place she is working at on one of our projects - Watoto Babies Home.  

Today we are simply preparing, it is a very relaxed day.  Tomorrow we leave for Gulu.  I am praising God at His impeccable planning!  This city has been in my heart and mind for years now and within the first two days here, He has already given me the desires of my heart.  The people here are hilarious and beautiful.  Soulful and deep.  I cannot wait to be deep and intimate friends with them.  They prepare me for Gulu, because they know that what I am expecting is nothing like what I will receive.  I ask that you pray that He will lead me in every endeavor in the next five days in Gulu and that His Spirit would strengthen me and give me confidence in Him.  Also pray for the children of Gulu, that their hearts would be prepared for what He has in store for them.

In His Perfect Love-

Emily

Lastly, I was given a request to put my address on here to continue to make donations, if you send it to my home address with directions on what to do with  it, my mother will take care of it.  She will either put it in my account to pay for amenities here, and gifts for the children, or she can donate it to Empower-A-Child to help pay for child sponsorships.  

[8666 Buffalo Dr.; Commerce Twp., MI 48382]