My Village Life...

I just realized that I never introduced you to my village! In Africa, villages are usually outside of town… that is if the country you live in actually has a town. All the extended family lives there. Most villages have a church & a school, maybe a “healer”, & a local councilman. All the food is grown there. The village is always very rural, no electricity or running water. (To mix things up a bit, they now have cell phone coverage) It’s the Village!

Well, my village is not quite like that! While oftentimes there is no power or water, we have most basic amenities. My village is actually a compound in the middle of Kampala (the city). But what is important about my village is the plethora of people that live there…and I do mean plethora. There is no shortage of activity in our village; it’s a pretty fun place to be. I would like to introduce you to the people.

Sarah & Scott Lambie,

My dear friends from Austin that so graciously are allowing me to be part of their family while I am here in Uganda!

Andrew Lambie, 12 years

Cory Raach, 7 years, The Lambie's nephew

Noah Lambie, 5 years

Agnes, 14 years, a Ugandan girl that is being adopted to a family from North Carolina in November

Joyce, our housekeeper

The GREATEST woman in the World!

Joyce's Girls: Patricia, 14 years; Fortunate, 10 years; & Diana, 7 years (who was in the middle of a beauty treatment when this photo was taken)

Yoas, our night guard

Fred, our gardener

Hope, 15 years, a Sudanese refugee that the Lambie's rescued last year when she was pregnant. SHe visits often, but lives outside of town for safety reasons.

Baby Andrew, Hope's Baby

***We also have 2 dogs (Indie & Rachel), 2 chickens (Lucy& Sheeba), 2 Rabbits (Bear & Doodles), and Pigeon!!

Thus far I feel fairly settled here in Uganda. Living here feels totally normal. I can navigate the pothole ridden red dirt roads & kamikaze boda boda motorcycle) drivers. I know how to tuck my mosquito net in properly. And everyone brushes their teeth with water that has been boiled for 3 minutes, right?

I know without at doubt that the Lord carved this time out for me to be here NOW. I have complete clarity on that. What I have no clue about is why? Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing? Should I be volunteering here or there? What is my purpose in this time? What is God’s purpose for me in this time?

Lately, people keep suggesting that maybe I wasn’t sent to Uganda to do anything. Maybe I was sent to just rest, and to be with God. I have to say that sounds tempting, but I have a hard time reconciling that I would be sent to a third world country (with my skill set) to chill!

Last week I actually started volunteering for a group called Watoto. They have a clinic about 25k outside of Kampala called Suubi. They need someone to work with the Doctors & Clinical Officers to create guidelines for their clinic. Many of them don’t even examine their patients; they just give them a pill. This “method” is a poor use of resources and poor medicine. This project has the potential to be sustainable, which l love.

I also have had no shortage of patients. There was one waiting at the gate when I arrived from the airport. Weekly I am seeing someone at the house for wound care, going to the hospital to check out someone’s brand new baby, or spending the entire week at the hospital with a mom & her child that my friend found on the street!

This has been my prayer over the past few weeks:

“ Test me, O Lord, and try me,

examine my heart and my mind;

for your love is ever before me,

and I walk continually in your truth.”

- Psalm 26:2

I am here for whatever the Lord has for this time. Be it rest, be it work, or be it both, I ask that you pray my friends, that I will have peace in this time, however it unfolds. I am praying for you too!