Week 4

week 4 (So far):

This week our Speaker is a guy named James. He is great...very animated and interesting. We have been learning about relationships. Monday was spent talking about personality types and figuring out which ones we were and how to relate to people of other types. We used the DISC test.. I am an S CI. Sweet! Tuesday we talked more about the different types and Special relationships. Today we learned about communication and dating. All interesting stuff. Tomorrow we start Praise & Worship. sweet! This week also we have had to learn a long memory verse (Romans 12:1-2 NIV) and then be in groups of 6 and make a song out of it! So last night our group got together and wrote our song. (I offered the God Rocks version of the song.. but they decided to "take it in a different direction") we are doing it in a really funny way. Verse 1 we sing in a traditional hymn style.. then we bust into "in the jungle the mighty jungle.." tune for verse two!! I will try and get someone to video tape it!! They told us we could pick our own groups, but to "choose wisely" meaning (not all girls or not all Ugandans or whatever) So in our group we are representing 5 different nations (Holland, Uganda, Kenya, Canada & the US) woot woot.

Yesterday they also announced to us that the locations for mini outreach have been chosen and we need to pray about where God wants us to go. We are supposed to have the answer by Friday. A little scary... but they are all good locations.. so I really don't have a preference as to where. Besides, it doesn't matter where I want to go.. it is all about where God wants me to go. We will be either going to Fort Portal (in the West of Uganda) Wairaka (a small town on the way to Jinja) or.. one other town I can't remember the name of that's about 20km east of here. Please pray that I will find where God wants me to go.. and for our teams!

One of the biggest struggles we have been having here is disunity. With so many cultures and backgrounds.. it has just been hard. So today for intercession we prayed for ourselves... asking the Lord to remove any cultural barriers and to pray for our cultures themselves. As I was praying God really opened my eyes to cultural biases I have had for many years at home. It is rather popular while living in Whatcom County to scorn the Canadians... and living in Lynden (or close enough) what matters is weather or not you are Dutch. God has a really funny sense of humor, considering that on my DTS are two Dutch people and three Canadians!!! And in getting to know these people, they are all wonderful and have awesome hearts... and are nothing like the sterotypes! (I knew that already.. but getting that from my head down to my heart took some time!) So.. the moral of the story is... God loves ALL of His children, no matter what country they come from, and he wants us to look at them with His eyes. So as far as practical application goes.. no more Canada jokes.. and no more flaunting the "i'm proud to not be dutch" card. Who cares?! I challenge you to consider what stigmas you are holding on to... take them to the cross... it's amazing how liberating it is!

Tonight we are having coffee night to raise funds & prayers for Kottomore. And Friday I get to learn to make Chapattis! WOHOO! Ok, time to go. Worka duty is calling!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Miss you so much!