For better or for worse.....

I am a mother. I have never carried a baby in my body or given birth. I have two little Mayan girls who hold a piece of my heart. I was their mommy for 4 wks. I don't know where they are now, but I still think of them and pray for them. Then there's the two little girls we tried to get from India, but we were not old enough. Still, I think of them and pray that God brought them loving families. There were gallons of tears and thousands of prayers. I got to the point that I felt my heart would never be the same. So much so that we decided to accept a little girl from Guatemala when the country's doors we quickly slamming shut. We accepted her at two wks old. Our hearts were shattered, but we knew this was the road God had called us to walk. We were supposed to get Mia when she was 4 months old. Absolute latest 8 months old. At 9 months old-we were told that she may never come home, things were getting bad in Guatemala. Mom and I went to Guatemala to be with her, to meet her and she stayed with us for 5 days. It was blissful! This little one slept with me, showered with me, ate with me and was my all in all for 5 days. But, God does things that we can now see were for good. At 10 months old, Mia's birth mom was called back in to make sure that she had truly wanted Mia to have a family. Because of this, we have a picture of her with her Guatemala mommy. How cool is that?! At that time we were just so upset that she was not home. Now I am glad she had that time. I still wish we could have had her as a baby, but God knew best. So all this leads me to this....perhaps in this awful-prolonged time of continuous investigation-we may know more amazing things about the days that we did not have with our two Little's in Ethiopia. Maybe-just maybe-God has something super cool up His all-knowing sleeve:) But I will leave you with this-I am a mom. These are my children. I have poured out my heart to God for them and will until I am with my Lord in heaven. These children may not look like me or have the same color of skin as I do-but don't you ever forget that God has made me their mother. To love them and to care for them. Its my privilege to care for these children. Their birth moms made the most amazing sacrifice for these children and I consider it a honor to care for them-when God so obviously has a special plan for their lives!

Okay-that's all my ramblings for the evening:) May you be blessed-A

More Prayers!

If you read this-please pray for me. Pray I would know what is Gods calling in my heart v.s. my desires. I have been wrecked by the Lord the last few weeks/months. Things I never thought of before that I feel the Lord is opening my eyes to. Things I never thought I would do but feel God is saying "GO". I am just really needing clarification for these things and could really use your prayers. Thank you!

It's another day!

So this picture is how I feel a lot of the time, but to be a example to my daughter-I refrain myself! Life has been challenging. We have sweet Mia and she is growing like a weed. The clothes I bought in Feb. for her Florida trip will probably not make it through the summer. She is so much fun and its so neat to hear her comments about the children. The other morning-she had just woke up and I was carrying her down stairs. She says to me "mommy, I love my sister Livia and I really miss her". Or I hear her praying for them as she plays through the day. She is so excited to show them her world and we are too. Its has been a long journey and for some reason it has been very hard for me. I think its the knowledge gained through our time in the country. The knowledge that these little ones have had a hard start. That we will be the 4th family that they will have. And then I have a serious problem of wanting to be in Africa so bad it hurts. I have cried so many tears for this country and the hardships of so many. I know God has called me to serve in missions. I never knew it would be so hard for me to wait to go back. I know that I am in a season of being a mommy and being needed at home. So until that day I get to go back -I wait and pray and try to be the best mommy I can be:)

May you be blessed-A

Shredded.

I have to tell you that the last few weeks have been so hard. There are just so many crazy twist and turnes going on right now with our adoption. Thursday brought more news we didnt want to hear. I cried all the way to town and back, and truly my heart just wont bounce up again. I am doing my best to hold on to the Word of God and to keep going. Trying to be happy for my family and put on a smile each day for Mia. But my heart is shredded. It hurts. I know God is in control and I know that He knew each twist and turn before it happened. I know He knew we would not get a single grant we applied for. He knew we would watch our babies turn into toddlers while they were still far away from home. He knew our visas would be twice as much as we had been told. He knows we have $1886. 52 to get to Africa and back. He also knows it cost a lot more than that and I know that He will continue to make a way and provide. He has done some amazing things on this journey and He is not done.
This week, when things were crashing down around me, I just kept thinking of Jesus. How He must have felt this week so many years ago. How He must have had such a heavy heart, knowing the suffering that was to come. But-then that 3rd day...When the world forever changed! I am so thankful that He Rose!! That He payed the price and ripped the curtain in two. That I can pour out my heart and soul to Him and know He hears every cry and even collects my tears. Praise God for the gift of a RISEN SAVIOR!!! In this I find my strength to go on and to continue through each day-knowing it will be worth it all. I pray that if you are reading this and you dont know Jesus Christ as your personal savior-that you will go to church on Sunday and hear the most awesome news ever told! He loves you so much He died for you!
May you be blesses-A

Where He leads......

I just thought I would throw this out there.....I am already thinking about our next adoption and wondering where God is going to take us. Wondering if we will be lead to another child. There are so many little ones who need some one. I cant wait to see if this is something God is going to do. I always wanted 5 kids. Yes. 5. Some may call me crazy or insane, and after each adoption I do wonder if I am crazy. But its still sitting in my mind. Still I wonder if I will be one of those moms driving a huge white van!:) Where He leads, I will follow! May you be blessed-A

April 1st

Today I was thinking of Easter. This picture is from last year:) Doesnt seem possible that its been a year since I have seen my parents-WoW! Any way, I was thinking about the ressurection of Christ and His second coming. This is something that is always on my mind right now. We are waiting for "the call" to go get our children in Ethiopia and we are also on watch for the return of Christ. Every day I think of it and I am glad for the daily reminder of all of this through our adoptions and the waiting. I hope you will take the next few weeks to prepare your hearts for Ressurection Sunday! This is the best day ever and I am so thankful that the debt I could not pay has been payed in full! May you be Blessed-A

Ethiopia-Part 2

This picture is Ethiopia. The people are so very kind and we had so much fun getting to know many of them. Their hearts amaze me. Coming from a society that is so hurried and doesn't have time for inconvenience, much of the things we saw blessed me. I am struck by how people help the beggars and the poor. How they walk arm in arm, with out worry of obnoxious sexual comments. I love that they openly show kindness for one another. To me, when we go to Ethiopia-the bible comes alive! After witnessing this culture, I can picture how the disciples sat together and reclined in Christ's embrace. Walking through Korah, I picture how it would be if Jesus came there. The crowd of needy, broken people who would show up to be healed! And I see Summer-She is the hands and feet of Jesus to these people and how they love her! The first time I went to Ethiopia, all I saw was desperation and despair. This time, I saw hope and a future. God is raising up people who love Him to do a mighty work for His Kingdom!

I cant wait to go back again! I cant wait to scoop my little blessings up and hold them knowing I will never have to leave them again. God has a great plan for them. He has done amazing things to bring these little ones to America and I cant wait to see how His story for their lives unfolds! If you would like to be a blessing to the people of Africa-you can through donations! We are collecting diapers, wipes, diaper creams and powder, formula-lactose free and non-gassy, children's vitamins and medications. If you are local- you can drop them off at Bliss Salon and Day Spa in Lafayette. If your not local-you can send them to me or send a monetary donation and we will buy the items. You can email me at ashleyskiles29@msn.com for our address. Cant wait to bless these people:)

May you be blessed-A

Ethiopia trip-part 1

Wow! The last 10 days have been crazy! We left for Ethiopia on Feb. 23rd at 6am from Indy and arrived in Ethiopia on Feb. 24th at 8:20 am. We saw two sunrises that day. We were met at the airport by sweet Bisrat and went to the Ethiopian Guest House. Same house, same room from my missions trip in July. Very nice to see familiar:) We rested up-had lunch-rested some more. Than we called the lawyer to see if we could go see the children. Thus began the crazy cycle! We were told to be at his office asap- so we were off. Crazy ride in parts of Addis that were super poor and a little creepy. Got to his office and found out that the children had never been in the orphanage that we had been told! Found out they were in a government orphanage two hours south. So after much talking and even more confusion, we were told they would bring them up and put them in a transition home. We were given a tour of this place and its nice and pretty. Very clean and calm. As far as we know that is where the kiddos will stay until we go back for them. The nannies are sweet and the lady who runs the place-she's the one in the pic- is very nice. They are working with Olivia to get her healthier and we could tell by the time we left that she was already better. Thank God. I never thought my little girl would be like one of the children I have seen in pics of malnurished African children. The skin on her arms and legs was wrinkly and hanging like a very old womans, yet her tummy was large. Londons wasnt as bad for which we are so thankful! The children are great! We are going to have so much fun and be so busy! They took a little while to warm up to us and Olivia will probably need the most work. She avoids any eye contact, cries when she see's us, and mostly tolerated us. But that is okay. We love her and we just kept telling her that and one day she will love us back:) We learned lots on this trip and met some very wonderful people. Praising God that our paths crossed with so many people who love the Lord and serve Him! I have so much more I could say, but I am getting tired again:) Jet lag is annoying! Bless each of you who lifted us in prayer. Words fail me for how much this means to us and how much we felt them! Thank you for standing by us when we needed you! We love each of you so much and I cant help but think of the reunion that heaven will be someday!

May you be blessed-A

Here we go!!

Well the time has come! We have prayed for this moment in time and it is now upon us! Our time in Addis will be spent with the children and we hope to visit Korah and the Alert Hospital. I also hope to purchase things for the children to give to them in the years to come.

Prayer request:

*Safety in travel to and from.

*Pray for the Lord to prepare our hearts and the childrens as we spend time together.

*Pray for our court on the 28th!

*Pray for Mia while we are away from each other.

*Pray that we can get a visa appointment asap:)

*Pray that God will be glorified in all that we do and pray that we can be a light for HIM to everyone we meet.

We love you all and covet each prayer as we go one this journey!

May you be blessed-A

Clean Underwear!

Do you like clean underwear? Have you ever had to wear the same underwear for a couple of days? Well lucky you-you have underwear to wear! Korah is home to thousands of people. Some of the most godly men I have ever had the priviledge of knowing call Korah home. Its a trash dump. There is destitution like I have never seen here. Its filthy, nasty, and stinks something awful! But its full of souls of boys and men who for the first time in generations are having the opportunity to hear the word of God and to see His mighty hand work in their lives. You can be part of that by simply sending me some boxers for the boys and men who call this place home. We need small, medium and large boxers and will take gently used. Leave me your email in the comments and I will send you my address.
Go beyond the call and do something-send me boxers!! Blessings-A

2.5 weeks!!

I am having a hard time believing that in 2.5 wks I will be in Ethiopia! I am so excited to meet the two sweet babies that will soon become our legal children. I am excited to go and to see this country agian and to share it with my sweet hubby. I am so looking forward to getting to know my Ethiopian friends better and to enjoy some yummy, authentic food. I have a list of things I want to do and show Brett during nap time-which is when we are not to be at the orphanage. One thing that is hard to think about is saying goodbye. I have done this before and its hard. I have prayed about staying in Ethiopia, but feel its more important to come home to be with Mia and prepare her for how our lives are going to change. So I try hard not to all ready dread that day. On to fun things-got a new double stroller. Looked long and hard and read soo many reviews. I decided on the Safari Instep. So far its been quite the entertainment for Mia who has been practicing how to push it and get her dollies in and out of the straps:) Mia amazes me. She understands so much. Today she was asking if London and Olivia where getting enough to eat. She has been very concerned for the children in Africa who are hungry and I am so glad that she has a heart for these children. I pray that we can continue to live outloud in a way that our children understand that life is not about us, but about doing the will of God and being the hands and feet of Jesus! Praying you are blessed-A

COURT DATE!!!

On March 9th 2009 we started the process of adopting one or two children from Ethiopia. We have pinched Penny's-prayed 100's if not 1000's of prayers-had fingerprints done a few times-had a few fundraisers and watched God perform so many miracles we just stand in awe of His awesomeness!!!! We got a referral on September 9th for a baby girl and a baby boy. After a short time of waiting that feels a million times longer than its actually been- we got the news! On Monday of this week I randomly decided to check my email. I had stopped checking it so often because I was driving myself cookoo. I opened my email and saw this title-court date!!! I opened it, read it. Than I read it again. That's when the shaking and sweating started. I turned around and told Brett that we could stop dieting because we were going to Africa and not Florida!!!! For the next several days I simply went crazy-didn't sleep and had a few Pepsi's:)

So Lord willing, we will be meeting our baby's on the 24th or 25th of February!!!! I simply cant believe it. God-thank you for working even when we felt like things were going no where. Thank you for answering our prayers even though it felt like they were bouncing off the ceiling. London and Olivia-I cant wait to hold you-to kiss your sweet brown skin!

You can keep the prayers rolling in. This road is not over and we still have lots to do and accomplish. God has done some amazing things and we have some really awesome things we get to take part in when we go to Ethiopia. Blessings to you all-A

God found us you!

We got our new book in the mail on Saturday. Its a sweet story of adoption called "God found us you". Mia loves it and we have read it many times already. One thing I really like about it is the way it gives openings for conversation with your little one and their story. It also has me thinking of my little ones who are so far away. One part of this book that I so love goes like this- "Did you ever give up?" Little Fox asked. "Sometimes," Mama said, rubbing Little Fox's cheek with hers. "But I trusted God knew you, and knew me, and knew when we'd fit perfectly together." So today Lord, I am trusting you know when our little ones will fit perfectly together into our family and we wait for that day! I woke up today really missing my babies. So strange since I don't really know them. Haven't had a new picture or update in months, and yet I feel I know them in a way. I pray that in 2011 more people will step out and be a forever family for the fatherless! My heart just about explodes when I talk with people and they give me all the excuses for why they cannot adopt. I know its not for everyone, but you can sponsor a child. You can go on a missions trip and hug and kiss the children. You can do SOMETHING!!! Don't forget, as a child of God, you are adopted too. God didn't make excuses about whether or not to adopt you, He didn't whine about being too old or go on about how He would no longer have time for the things He liked to do! I know-He is God, but do you get what I am saying? So what can you do this year for the little ones across the world that just want to belong? Are you willing to give up a little, so that a child will know the love of Jesus through your obedience to His call? One little girl in Uganda was in tears because we had come all the way across the ocean to hug her. She was in awe that God would do that for her. We may have went all the way to Uganda just for that sweet little girl to understand that God heard her cry and loved her enough to send a bunch of white people to Africa to give her a hug! Praying you will stand in the gap for a orphan today-A

A precious gift!

This summer I went to Africa for 14 days. While on the trip I got to know some great gals from PA. They were mom and I's roomies for the duration of the trip. Well last week mom calls me and is about to burst with with excitement, but she is all secretive and cant tell me anything. All she says is that this exciting something is coming in the mail. Everyday she asked if I got the mail. By Thursday I was kinda forgetting about it. Then it was all crazy with the new year and then the mail didnt go. So yesterday I forgot to get the mail. I got it this morning. I was saw a envelope and was excited about another christmas card. I opened it and it was not a christmas card. It was a sweet little booklet that talked about making 7000 cookies to sell over christmas to help orphans in Africa. And how on a cold-snowy day in PA they sold them all! Now these women have been busy. On facebook, Marge had talked about making tons of cookies since November! They spread the word on facebook about selling them and how they would benefit orphans in Africa. I am in Indiana just praying for these cookies to sell and for the children who would benefit from the sales. Marge and her hubby are going to Ethiopia in Febuary with Visisting Orphans and I assumed the money would go with them. Little did I know that these women were doing ALL this work for our babies!!! I opened the booklet-I read this fun little story, and then I cried! I cried because this is such a sweet thing that these women have done! Women who have only known us for not even a year yet! So many people have been used by God for this adoption, but this selfless act of giving so touched my heart! I pray that each person who participated in this cookie selling are richly blessed by the Lord! I know I have been so touched by this and I cant wait to tell London and Olivia the amazing ways God used people to help them come home to their forever family! May you be blessed-A

Christmas Time!

What a fun and crazy time of year! Mia has been learning that its time for Jesus birthday and not hers. She hasn't quite got it, but she will. I know that in the morning she is going to be on cloud 9 with all her presents! Tonight is the Christmas eve service at church and she is supposed to sing with the 3 yr. old class. We will see what happens. We have just been so busy. I have been ind the process of getting London's room ready and redoing the office to be more of a productive work area. In between that, we have MOPS and Mia has preschool -which she loves so much! We have been so blessed this year. Its been kinda tight, but God has never failed us and He always takes care of us! Praise Him for all that He does for us.

Going to Africa has really changed the way I look at the holidays. I don't love the extravagance like I used too. I still translate things into shillings and birr. I think of my friends in Africa all the time. I pray that those moments we have to see a different way of life change me so that my life we be more of a reflection of Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas and may you be blessed-A

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you! Today was a delightful day. We got to be with our family and had more food than I have seen for a long time. Actually had trouble fitting it all on a very large table. I have to say it made me a little ill to look at it. So much food!! Did any of the people there realize how blessed we were? All I could think of was the beans, rice and a small egg that 400 children got one day in Uganda. I thought of each of those kids we met at the dump in Ethiopia and the hunger that gnaws at them each day. I prayed that London and Olivia had enough to eat today in their orphanage. I didnt take pictures because I knew I wouldnt post them because I didnt want to flaunt my over abundance before my hungry friends in other countries. I felt sad knowing so many in Haiti eat dirt to stay alive.

I thank God for my blessings-dont think I am not thankful. But this was the first thanksgiving in my life that I hurt because I knew how abundantly blessed we were and how much I take for granted in my american life. I pray that I will remember this day and continue to share my blessings from God with others in lesser situations. Praying each of you were blessed to be having family time on this wonderful holiday! May you be blessed-A

Two years!!

Well this is the youngest pic I can find on the lap top! I cant believe its been two years since we flew into Guatemala and raced into our hotel to find Mia waiting. It seems so long ago and yet its only been two years. I remember how excited I was and so scared too. I didn't know this little girl. She did not remember me at all. I had all the "what if's" of motherhood running through my brain and I was so far away from my mom!

Mia is one of Gods amazing blessings in our lives. She fills our home with joy and laughter! She is most definitely Guatemalan. I thought she would loss that and yet she loves bright colors like her culture loves. She loves the Mexican food-yet not really the spicy stuff. She is just precious! We are so blessed to be called her parents and she amazes us every day! Thank you Jesus for our little Guatemalan blessing!

May you be blessed-A

Passage of Time!

Well its no secret that I have not blogged for a while:) Life has been so crazy since I returned from Africa. We started harvest early this year. This was nice because we are now done about a month earlier than last year. But it also makes for crazy busy days. During this time we accepted two babies in Ethiopia and pulled off two fundraisers. Mia turned 3 during the craziness and we will have to have a really awesome birthday for her next year since this year was pretty boring. We are hoping to get a court date soon and praying that if its Gods will we can get those babies by Christmas!

Mia is getting so big! She is just such a blessing from the Lord! She is so sweet and I just really enjoy being a mom most days. She is in preschool one day a week and she loves it. She loves animals of all kinds and loves her kittys. We had to get a new home for Olive since she was needing a lot more attention than I had to give her. Mia has not missed her a bit, so that was better than I was expecting. We are so glad she was adopted into a really nice home where we know she will be loved. I was so sad to see her go though. I think I was the only one:)

Well I dont have a whole lot to say except we are so blessed and life is going good and oh so busy!

May you be blessed-A

Ethiopia-2nd leg of mission trip

To me this picture says Ethiopia like no other pic I have! I also love it because one of the sweet men at our guest house did an oil just like it and I bought it from him. It will be going in baby boys room:) Ethiopia was the second leg of our trip and it was quite amazing. It was beautiful. There are eucalyptus trees there and they smell awesome. That smell will always be Ethiopia to me from now on. When we got to ET we were tired, hungry and dirty. We got to the guest home and it was like going from camping to the Hilton in my mind! We could shower with warm water and sleep on a 4 inch mattress rather than 2 inches. Now the only part of this that I didnt enjoy was the endless prayer calling. Between the Muslim and the protestant-we never lacked for mournful noise. The people of ET are just beautiful. I love these people and love that they are free to show love to each other and not pervert it like we do in America. They are generous and will do anything for you. Our itinerary didnt go as planned, but that is okay. We were in the places that God wanted us to be. We spent some time a AWAA doing a mural for the orphanage. The first time we were there, I held a little girl about the whole time. She was so tiny. I thought she was probably 3 wks old. She was 3 months old. She didnt like to be swaddled like a little baby normally would. She just wasnt used to the human contact and the comforting snuggles of a mommy. It broke my heart. She cried a lot and would stop when I sang to her. I think of her every day. I prayed over her before I left and pray that she has been blessed with a loving family by now. As I think of my own two children sitting over there it just makes my heart ache for them and what they may or may not be feeling.
We spent a lot of time driving in Ethiopia. We would start out-the drivers would say "yes, yes" and act like they knew where we were to go are what was going on and then we would get to do something different:) Lots of crazy miscommunication! But one day we got to go to the dump. I believe there is around 80,000 or more that live and make a living at the dump. This area started as a leper colony. Than generations got lost in the poverty and rejection of growing up a dump child. The people here are amazing!! I know I use that word a lot but its just what fits. The love that they have for each other is such a testimony. They are going to be the Hebrews 11 people of Ethiopia! We spent the day there and it was a hard day for me. The altitude is killer and I was really suffering from low blood sugar that day. I got to walk through the dump with part of my group. Words cannot describe what our eyes saw. My heart felt as though it would burst wide open with emotion I have yet to put into words. Mountains of trash-puddles of dark yellow and black water-and more trash. Broken glass every where-I was begging God to not let me fall down. You are looking at the mountains of trash and than you start to see bodies moving on it. Its the people who are digging through all of it to find something that they can turn around and sell to make a small amount to keep on living. More flies than the old testament plague. You had to breath through your nose or you would eat flies. Maybe I should have for the protein! The children are so dirty and the women or too! Yet they hugged us and smiled like it was another day. I felt like I was in a nightmare. How do these people live here? How come they have to do this. What will happen to the tiny baby on the mothers back? This day changed my life. It opened my eyes to something I didnt know existed! When we got the referral for two babies, I asked Brett "how can we say no?". I couldnt-not after what we saw. We got to bless the children at the dump ministry with lunch of lamb and than we got out the soccer balls! We walked to a beautiful eucalyptus grove down by the river to play some soccer. So awesome! A day I will never forget. You can sponsor these children to go to school and get a education. To someday break the chains of the generations of dump living and hopelessness. If you would like more info on this ministry please leave your email and I will get you the info. This ministry just sent 250 children to boarding school. 250 children who will for the first time in their lives have 3 meals a day, a bathroom, more than one change of clothes, their own blanket, a bed and I could go on and on. I cant wait to take Brett. For him to walk the dump and see the poverty with his own eyes and see what I saw!
At the end...I was so ready to go home! It had been a long time away from my family and I was ready for some food! When I got to D.C.-I was so happy to be in the USA!! So thankful that I live here. I was so hungry though and I stunk so bad:) I found a little pizza joint at my gate, bought a huge slice and a yummy Caesar salad. I sat down and Blessed the food like no other time in my life. Than I proceeded to eat faster than ever with tears rolling down my face. I am sure the people around probably thought I was a little mental! Africa was awesome! Lord willing-I will go back to serve the people again. In the future we will go back-there are two little souls there that are waiting for mommy and daddy to come and get them!!! Thanks for your prayers and support for the most life changing summer ever!!
May you be blessed-A

More of Africa

I'll start by saying that jet lag is for real! The first week I was home I was sick and really jet lagged. So now that I have finally returned to Indiana time, I have a lot of catch-up. I wanted to tell you about each day but that is going to take way to long. I loved Uganda! The whole team did. The children in Uganda were so vivaceous and amazing at all they did. They would sing and dance for us each place they went. These little souls would praise God with all of their hearts and just put our little american faith to shame. I was so amazed at their spirit of faith in the midst of poverty and tragic circumstances of the lifestyle of an African. They have the real thing when it comes to true faith in God!! We had the priviledge of living at Canaan Childrens Home for 5 days. That was so fun. Momma Rebecca fixed the best food and Pastor Isaac was a man of God, so full of His joy. These people had needs and never once did I hear them ask for anything. All that came from the mouths of the people of Canaan was praise the thankfulness to God for all that He had done for them! What a testimony. We did not get to hear Pastor Isaac preach- but I imagine that its powerful and life changing. This man was shot and left for dead and God restored him and is using his life to change the hearts and souls of the fatherless! You can sponsor a child at Canaan. If you want to know more, just leave me your email and I will get you the info.

One thing I now think-if you are going to go on a mission trip-dont make it to short. It takes a while to get over your self and be thankful for the stuff you do have. I want to go back-Lord willing- and I would love to take Mia with me. She would have just loved all those kids and the singing and dancing!

In Uganda we went to 5 different ministries. We played with over 700 kids in 6 days. It was a little tiring. Each morning at the crack of dawn, the rooster would begin his mission of waking every thing. Than the muslim call to prayer would begin. And just when you thought that you would get to go back to sleep-the kids would be out and ready for the day to begin. Their school day began at 6 am. The kids are super smart. I was amazed at the artistic talent that so many of them had. At one ministry I spent hours coloring with the children. They liked the bright colors the best! They loved the silly bands, silly string, and the many balloon hats that were made and passed out. One thing that was hard for me- was that we were asked not to give things out to the children. The ministry leaders ask this of us so that the children will learn to respect authority and not beg. I think that is awesome that they do this. Its so fun to give and see little eyes light up with joy, but so neat that they are being taught such good principles. One of my favorite things about Uganda was the day we got to go out on the Nile River!! Such a cool experience to get to see this river and be on it. To know that the very waters that Moses floated in as a baby-I got to float in them too. It was beautiful and a little scary. The boats took on a little water and I am not hugely fond of swimming in large bodys of water. I am so glad that I got to experience all of this with my mom. I felt like we didnt spend just huge amounts of time just talking, but we got to do this together and that will always be a memory that I will never forget.

I also think its just amazing that for 20 some years I have wanted to go to Africa and now I have been! God did amazing miracles too. I never once became sick! I never once got homesick! He kept us safe and sound! My body never once fell apart! And the most amazing thing....it just clicked. You know how you go through life wondering " what is Gods purpose for me? Whats that one thing that God has called ME to do?" I think I know:) I just felt a peace in my soul. God called me to something that was huge and way out of my comfort zone. Sure I wanted to do it, but so many things have forever held me back. I then I said "yes"! I went forward in faith and God supplied the money, the good health, Mia did awesome while I was gone, and so much more. I can tell you that if time last, I will return to Africa!