To Learn Uganda As A Family

We're on our way! Collins, Corbin and I will be traveling back to Uganda, from October 14-27! We'll be part of a team (Team #13, actually!) that the Ugandan Water Project (ugandanwaterproject.com/) has put together. If you have followed Collins and I very much in the past couple of years, you might recognize UWP as the organization that we have been closely connected with- we highly recommend that you look into what they're doing to bring water-and life- to many communities and individuals in Uganda. 

We're excited to go. In many ways, we're heading home for a short time. We're also going to be testing the waters (no pun intended!) on what it will be like for us to be in Uganda as a family. No longer 2 individuals who can jump on the back of a bodaboda and go somewhere on a whim- Corbin makes 3, and he's going to help us learn Uganda as a family. 

And we need to learn Uganda as a family. Uganda is still home, and her red soil beckons us to stain our feet again on the dirt roads as we seek out the lives and the souls that God has drawn our hearts toward. Packing up our lives and moving across the globe will never be easy, but this short trip in October will set the wheels in motion for our eventual, indefinite move.

Sometimes I talk about moving back to Uganda with a smile on my face, but sometimes the thought of it produces a rush of salty water to my eyes. Its a bittersweet thing- having family a literal half-a-world apart; having friends and lifestyles that parallel but that shall never meet; and having hearts torn between living in the present and yearning for the time when we can be fulfilling that for which God has uniquely placed each of us here on planet Earth.

And yet- God has always shown Himself faithful, and He has provided so many family and friends on both sides of the oceans and continents that, no matter where our final destination is, the saying good-bye part is always painful, but there are always faces we are longing to see at the other end of the trip. 

We're not moving yet, in case the previous sentences have led you to believe that- this trip is to help co-lead a UWP team, to visit a few people, and to jump start our planning to the big move that we will eventually make, potentially at the end of 2013.

We need your prayers. We need your support. We need your encouragement. 

I know many people reading this will have a sour taste in their mouths that we're taking our darling Corbin to Uganda.  Rest assured, we're taking precautions for traveling with a baby...we're also going to introduce him to his other set of Grandparents, his other Aunts and Uncles, and his NUMEROUS brothers...the boys that Collins and I call our own, the boys that get prayed for on a daily basis right along with our blood brothers, the boys that we miss with a deep aching at the 2 years of their lives that we have missed out on. I get simply giddy with anticipation of introducing Corbin to all of my other boys!

In the next few weeks, I'll try to keep you updated on our preparations for our return visit, and then in the months to come I'll give you a sneak peek into the thoughts and emotions of once again starting a new chapter in this absolutely incredible journey God is taking us on, a second chance to be His hands and feet!