POWER!

After 5 whole days without power, WOOP! It's on! That means a lot, because when the power's off, we don't have a fridge, and when we don't have a fridge, we don't have cold food. Bummer. Anyway. Power's on, and that's what counts.

We are having fun. The past two weeks have been break time from school for the kids, which means I haven't been helping in the classroom. We have still been doing school, although we haven't been doing very much. Two or three hours is all we need for finishing our school. Mom and Dad get to go to school almost all day, being in the institute.

Everyone's been doing well, the only sickness we've had is the stomach flu (that what Mom, Dad, and Micah got) and just the regular flu with body aches and sore throat (I got that, as well as Mom). We've been having an awesome time with our extended family. Last night, we had all the kids over to watch a movie, which happened to be Cars. They thought it was pretty funny that the cars had eyes and could talk. Anyway, we had popcorn and snickerdoodles for snack. It was great!

Thanks everyone, for praying for us. The only prayer request that I have, is constant power. That might help a lot.

Kara

Heart Surgery!

No, I haven't taken up the medical profession. I didn't do so well through biology anyway. And no, my heart is perfectly fine, as far as I know. Although, drinking whole milk right from the cow probably doesn't help it much. Though, four hours of soccer with kids one third my age probably balances it out.

Actually, the heart surgery I'm talking about is the week we studied counseling at the Institute of Childcare and Family. Last week, Uncle Jonnes (the co-founder of New Hope Uganda) spent a week with us looking at the heart of God for helping people. Two statements were foundational: "Whoever defines life for you determines how you live it." AND "Whoever defines mankind determines how you fix him/her."

Both of those statements present a challenge to the average mindset for counseling. If God defines life, then it is God that has to determine how to live it and if He defines humankind, He also determines how to fix us. The question came, "Who defines life for you?"

After four days of looking at the truth of the Bible and God's heart for His children, we entered a time with Daddy Father. We were to look at places where we believed Satan's lies about who we are and who God made us to be, to praise and thank Him for who He is, to meditate on God's Word, to confess and intercede and surrender, to worship and thank God and then ask Him for the next step.

It was this next step that threw me off balance. I realized I had honored myself and what others thought of me, seeking my honor and often not seeking God's honor in moment by moment activities. I really wanted to understand what God had next for me so I looked up honor in my concordance but before I even got there I was broken. It hit me what my name is that I had not lived up to but God had given me in the beginning: Timo - honoring and Theos - God. God met me and called me into my name, to live into honoring Him. Please pray for me right here, not for my honor but God's.

The first picture is two twin girls from our family group, Babirye and Nakato with Kim, and the other is a sunset outside of the house they are building for us. Only by God's grace, Tim

Jigger and other stuff.

A week ago I was washing my feet (my feet get dirty all the time) And I saw a little brown spot. I tried to wash it off but it wouldn't come off. I had heard about Jiggers but I had never seen one. I asked my mom if it was one. She said it could be, so we went to the clinic the next morning. The lady there didn't say if it was or not, she just started digging. It turned out it was, and the eggsack in my toe was about the size of a small pea. Then their was another one in another toe, but we caught it young so it didn't hurt as much.

Their are lots of options that I could of got them from. Kibedi, our compound worker, said it might be from the chicken house, as I've been wearing sandals in there. One of the teachers from the school said there is a boy in the first grade that had one, so that one might of burst and I could of gotten it from that.

I've been helping in the Primary school in first grade on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even

though the teacher only have me hand out books for help, it is still fun. I do whatever work the

children do, just for fun. The children have gotten to like me so much that whenever I walk past

the school room when i'm not there they yell my name when they see me.

I've gotten a lot of friends while i've been here. I've made friends with Andrew from

Jonathan family, almost all of the Ebenezer family, our family group, and many others. Most

whites get assigned to a family group, and we've been assigned to the Ebenezer family group.

Our house is getting built mpola mpola( meaning "slowly slowly" in luganda). Until our

house is built, we are living in the Mcfarland's house.

Our New House

Many have been asking about our house that is being built. We have been living the house of a family that is currently in the States on furlough. They return at the end of December. Obviously we have to be out of their house by that time. The work on the house is going well, as you can see. This is the progress they have made in two and half months but this includes a very large cistern that should adequately fill all our water needs even in the dry season. The house is all brick (because of termites and boring bees-not because they aren't funny either) except for the rafters and trusses.

Though it looks like it is about done. The longest part of the construction is the inside. They have not yet put the floor in nor plastered the walls, not to mention the plumbing and fixtures and electricity. There is a lot to go but we are already preparing the ground to put in a garden since rainy season has just begun. We should have vegetables by the time we move in.

Please pray for finances for the house. We still have a bit to go since we have to furnish it and get a kitchen prepared. Pray also for a team to come before December so they can bring some things from the States (MUCH cheaper).

I also included a picture of the forest cobra we killed three weeks after we arrived. It killed 7 of the chickens before we got to it. It was almost seven feet long. I realized why people fear snakes and especially cobras when we were trying to poke at it and slowly draw it out of its hole under the chicken house. I was about 5 feet away when its head popped out mouth open then flared its hood. That was a little too close but I guess I distracted it enough so someone else could get a smack on its head. Uncle George, holding it, was the one that found its lair.

Many