5 Steps to Reach Our Goals and Stop Making Excuses

January 21, 2012 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership with 9 Comments

Since I posted 3 Excuses for Failure to Meet Our Goals earlier and now the excuses are out of the way, I thought it a great time to plan steps to reach our goals. If you want to add excuses or view them in the post and comments, click the link above. There is some comfort in knowing others struggle with our same excuses. But for those who are ready to get on with it. Let’s go for it.

Go For It

Stop Studying and Talking, Start Doing

It’s time to stop studying it, reading about it and talking about it and just go do it! We can overcome our excuses and skip to our goal if we put into practice steps similar to these.

5 Steps to Reach Your Goals

1. Verbalize the goal in specifics.

Where are you going? How are you going to get there? What does it look like when you’ve finished? What has to be done before that can happen? Identify all the aspects of the goal. The paper is blank until we put down our ideas. Get as specific as you can. Just like the assigned paper is blank until the student identifies the ideas that will formulate. Then with hard work it is finished.

2. Visualize yourself taking small steps towards the goal.

What needs to be cut, streamlined and categorized in order to make a step-by-step plan from where you are today to completion? Break the plan down into even smaller steps and identify the first one. Following these baby steps makes the dream goal a reality. Without the discipline to work it, you’ll go nowhere.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Edison

So I like the motivation I get from Thomas Edison. Maybe he’d be a good one to pall around with to learn to get things done. He sure did a lot.

3. Find a group of people attempting similar tasks.

Surrounding yourself with other motivated people gives you the regular motivation and accountability you need. A mentor can be awesome, and blessed is the one who finds one, but a regular band of fellows can be as effective. As iron sharpens iron, you become better as ideas and best practices of dedicated people rub off on you.

4. Practice the skills needed without fear of failure.

Perfection isn’t automatic. We have to guess. Do trial runs. Practice. Make decisions. Some will be bad ones. Failure comes with any challenge. It is a sure thing. Success is working through each setback, learning each step of the way.

“Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison

Keep practicing and moving forward with the next step in the plan. Adjust the plan if needed, but keep going.

5. Consider each accomplishment your validation.

Every small step finished is a huge accomplishment. Most people are talkers and not doers. Celebrate. You’ve started doing the hard things that make you successful. Focus and allow your accomplishment to fuel you to do another step towards the goal.

As some have said, “You can’t eat an elephant in one bite.” Let’s start chewing on the bite we have.

 What have you got to chew on? What other steps do you used to get things done? How do you celebrate when you complete a small step?

Our “someday” will arrive before we know it!

This post is part of the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

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*picture from wealthmouli on mylot

3 Excuses for Failure to Meet the Goal

January 20, 2012 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership with 2 Comments

The New Year began and already our resolutions have waned. When should we actually start doing what we said we wanted to do? When will we stop reading about it, or stop talking about it and just go do it? I faced those questions head on and decided they were partially a scheduling problem, partially a priority problem and partially fear-factor problem.

Stop Making ExcusesWe’re simply making excuses.

Excuse 1: I’m too busy.

We are too busy to add one more activity to our schedule, but if our goal is important enough to be resolved on, spoken of or dreamed about, then we need to be disciplined enough to make the time for the steps to accomplish it. We don’t have to do it all in one day, but spending a little time towards the goal each day will get us there eventually much faster than dreaming, reading or talking about it.

Excuse 2: I don’t know what to focus on.

Some of us get our priorities mixed up and don’t accomplish what we set out to do. I can waste so much time studying what to do and how to do it that I can become an inexperienced expert on the subject and never get any closer to getting it done. Amongst us are both doers and talkers. Who wants to be the one who always talks like a know-it-all and never does anything? I want to be a doer.

Excuse 3: I’ve never done this before. I’m scared.

A huge block to accomplishing goals is fear. What will others think if I try? What if I fail? I can be seen successful if I never try. If I try, I’ll fail for sure. But what’s so bad about failing? Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Failure is the means for us to learn better methods, a step towards sharpening our skills. Success is getting back up after a setback and working at it again. Mr. Edison also said, “I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” When on the brink of quitting, we should laugh at fear. Fear is what keeps us from success.

What’s on your bucket list? Something you’ve said, “Someday, I’ll…” How much time do you spend studying it, talking about it or dreaming of it? If it’s that important, why not take some steps to lose that weight, start that company, read the Bible through in a year, learn a craft, read a book, run a ½ marathon, or cook your way through a Julia Child’s cookbook?

What do you want to do and what keeps you from doing it?

Tomorrow, I’ll post 5 Steps to Reach Your Goals. Click to get new posts in your email or RSS reader. Be sure to check out the steps and add insights into how to do what we say we want to do.

This post is part of the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

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*picture from davidwygant.

One Hope for the New Year

January 1, 2012 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 1 Comment

Fireworks for new beginnings

Out goes the old year and in comes the new with all it’s challenges, struggles and opportunities. Looking back, I know without God things would have been much more difficult. With God’s help our future looks bright.

“Thus far has the LORD helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12)

I am working on my goals and plans for the next year. My life plan will include health, organization, minimization, focus and some high hopes.

May God give you hope and focus to finish the work he’s called you to with success in the challenges to come. God bless!!

What are you glad to see go this past year? What are you looking forward to the most this next year? Do you have any Big Hairy Goals for this next year?

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*picture from blakeflannery.

How to Keep Christmas Real With Only a Charlie Brown Tree

December 23, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 2 Comments

I’ve been dreaming of a white Christmas for almost half a century. Living here in Texas, I don’t get to hear sleigh bells jingling in the snow. The other night, my girls netflixed Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. I watched it for the first time since I was a teensy thing. All I remembered about the movie was that it began to snow when they sang about their dreams.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

I’ve been singing my dreams for a long time and, well, nothing. No snow. No white Christmas.

White Christmas Wish

The movie is great. I wanted to hug a veteran, dance around the house and forget about all the Christmas dinner and fixings. It seems that back then food wasn’t a main emphasis to those skinny Americans. I don’t remember seeing one Christmas cookie.

Today’s Christmas

Nowadays, Christmas is about

  • stuffing ourselves with rich food,
  • spending next years wages on things that will be trashed in 6 months,
  • and trying to fit family, even the strange and weird ones, into our already busy schedule.

Americans have so outgrown all the old ways characterized by physical work and hardship. Our lives are bent on pleasure and the pursuit of happiness.

Take Black Friday for example. The retailers created a special day for mass frenzy. I chose to leave madness and macing, spraying pepper spray, to the crazies, while I shopped in my pj’s, online. On Amazon, I found a deal on a throwback Atari game consol. A cool present. It will be a Christmas day showdown of Pong, just my brothers and I. I guess we ought to let my little nephew play since it’s his game. Surely I could beat the four year old.

Dreaming of the white square ball bouncing off my white-bar paddle, I waited for delivery confirmation. It didn’t come. I emailed seller via Amazon. No response.

Christmas Frustration

About a week later I received this:

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I was infuriated. I spent $65 of my mother’s money buying this cool game console for her to give my nephew for Christmas and instead I received this $10 Charlie Brown tree!! I could’ve pepper sprayed the seller! Amazon’s guarantee made good on the money before I went “postal” in sending anything but steaming e-mails to the seller. If the injustice of it all wasn’t so bad, it’d be hilarious. So now I have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree to show for the meaning of Christmas.

The Real Christmas

I began to question my ability to be happy and merry if everything about Christmas was taken from me and all I had was my relationship with Jesus.

The meaning behind our busy holiday celebrations is lost to us.

  • Some focus on giving, which often is a backhanded way of focusing on getting recognition for our gift giving.
  • Some of us focus on family, eating and gathering together. But what happens when one can’t make it, or is estranged or deceased. Is the meaning of Christmas nil because family isn’t together?

Could Christmas be celebrated without the feasts and wrappings? Or the gifts and trappings? What if we didn’t even have one lonely Christmas ball on a pitiful branch? No family. Nobody. Could we still have Christmas?

Christmas is about hope. Not just a baby in a barn. It’s about rescue, not just a religious holiday. Christmas is a gift. If we stop the shopping, cooking, planning, decorating and eating long enough to accept the gift of Jesus, we find the peace on earth we’ve searched for.

Can we move beyond a religious exercise, into a spiritual relationship? What if all you had was a puny tree? No gifts? No family or friends? How do you keep your focus on the real meaning of Christmas?

This post is part of the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series or the other Blog Series.

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3 Changes to Take the Dread out of Happy Holidays

December 20, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 3 Comments

In the midst of harried fall and winter celebrations, most people harbor some amount of dread. More than once I was called Scrooge by my kids simply because I didn’t feel like adding all the extra hustle to my bustle. It’s a hassle to put out all that Christmas stuff only to take it down again. Minutes don’t grow on mistletoe. Many, like me, stretch time as it is without adding holiday stress. Somehow, reflection and thankfulness, holiness if you will, gets lost in our expected and celebrated traditions.

Shattered Christmas

Shattered Christmas decoration.

The pressure mounts, as we are forced to be pleasant in situations of strained relationships. A falling out with either a business associate or some family members may make celebrating with them difficult. We all have an odd Uncle Dan hanging out at family gatherings where we just want to get out. Instead we put on a good face and make a first-class show because it’s the expected dreadful experience of the season.

Others simply have nowhere to go to celebrate with anybody. They are alone. Feeling abandoned in an odd sort of way. They dread the Michelangelo’s or Banquet frozen dinners and lifeless Christmas movie viewing. Alone. Again.

A Change of View

As I thought about these dreaded situations, I remembered Jesus’ banquet story. He said a man went to a lot of trouble to get ready for a party and no one really wanted to come. Therefore, he invited the day workers off the corner, the lonely, the drunken castaways and anyone else who just happened by to come to the banquet.

 

Charlie Brown change of view

 

I can see several similarities about this story to my approach to Christmas. First, I see there is much preparation involved in gathering people together. But the point isn’t the preparation, rather, it’s that we set aside time to gather together and reflect on what is holy. I’ve determined that, even with my schedule, I’ll make the food, set the table and get ready to focus on God this season.

Second, I see lots of people who are much like me, way too busy. We often don’t schedule any room for meaningful relationships and have trouble stopping to focus on God’s big picture, to sit at his feet. He’s in control and we need to drop everything and spend time with him at his table. When I stop my busyness, I realize what is really important and what isn’t.

Third, and this may be the most significant; we can be like the man in the story. We can go to great lengths to create an atmosphere for others to celebrate Jesus and then invite them to come to our table. These may be outcasts, people from broken homes, workers who can’t get home, singles with no family or those who feel left out, anyone who will come for a meal and celebrate. We can intentionally set a place for a guest at our celebration in order to give greater meaning to why we celebrate.

Three questions to consider while approaching Christmas.

  1. Am I considering that the point of all the cooking, shopping and decorating is to gather with other people and focus on what is holy? It’s not just about the food, gifts and fun décor.
  2. Am I too busy to develop meaningful relationships, relax and have fun with others? Is work or my schedule keeping me form experiencing the love and peace of God and others?
  3. Have I considered that there are people all around me that have no reason, no relations or no friends to celebrate Christmas with? Would I be willing to invite those that are overlooked to celebrate with me?

The answer to these questions provide for a more meaningful Christmas.

What about you? How are you taking the “dread” out of the “Merry Christmas?”

This post is part of the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series or the other Blog Series.

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Two Life-Changing Tools for Spiritual Growth

October 21, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership, Ministry to Women with 0 Comments

While I was MC-ing Yahweh Street Ministries Ladies Retreat, I gave a brief devotion emphasizing our need to spend time with God. I shared answers to feeling spiritually adrift and longing for something more, a life change or spiritual growth. Two things make the difference: listening to, and responding to, God.

Come Awake Cover 3D

Learning to listen and respond to God with Come Awake

Out of my desire to help others find the missing spiritual piece in their lives, I wrote Come Awake. The book is a devotional/journal training manual. It’s what I use to mentor people who want to grow closer to God and work out their lives to gain inner peace. In it teach reading the Bible for life-change and how to respond in prayer. If you’re looking for someone to help you strengthen your spiritual life, use God’s word and pray effectively, then I suggest trying Come Awake. And if you are mentoring others you can order copies to aid your work with them.

NT in 75 Days

Reading NT in 75 Days

Reading the Bible in such a way as to hear God speak into your life situation is a powerful life changer. Another tool I’m using to help me read the Bible is the New Testament in 75 Days app for Apple products. I’ve had several ask for the link to the app. Check it out. If you don’t have Apple capability you can download the NT in 75 Days Reading Schedule and read along using your own Bible or an online one.

As you will find in Come Awake, you can change your life by reading and praying in only 20 minutes a day. I stretch it to 30 minutes when I have time. Anybody can find 20 minutes to invest in a life-changing relationship with God. I challenge mentorees to put effort into spending time with God this way, setting aside 20 minutes five or six days a week for at least 21 days in a row. Twenty-one days is usually the amount of time for creating habits. And how cool is it to have created a habit of spending meaningful time with God!

How do you mentor and lead people in spiritual growth? What have you found to help you read God’s Word and respond in prayer?

This post is part of the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

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10 Life and Leadership Principles from Steve Jobs

September 26, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership, Ministry to Women with 2 Comments

Steve Jobs knew how to keep reaching new heights, how to make the difficult simple, and how to create awesome products as well as a movement, a following. He’s a creative leader. Check out 10 leadership principles in this great slideshow by @coachbay. Good stuff! Pick and choose what would be good to implement in your ministry, work and life.

 

What creative systems or plans do you have in your leadership style? How can you incorporate or mimic some of Steve Jobs leadership points into your life/work/ministry? Please share your insights and tips in the comments that we may glean from you too!

This post is part of the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

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Last Orphanage Walk

August 21, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership, Ministry to Women with 1 Comment

This morning was filled with mixed emotions. I was ready to get back to see my kids, but I wasn’t quite ready to leave these orphans. I said, “If I could, I’d bring them home with me.” The final packing was very somber. Jacque and I finished before the others were ready and asked if we could walk over to the kid’s house to see them one last time.

Last visit to the Orphanage

We walked like it was our last stride taking in every small thing. Here’s the African cows we passed everyday on our walk:

African Cow

African Cow

We wanted to take it slow, but also wanted to get to the kids quickly. The kids hollered with excitement when we rounded the corner and they saw us. I wanted to cry, but held it together. The kids were delighted to see us.

Carolyn, the orphan choir mistress (leader) and I

Carolyn, the orphan choir mistress (leader) and I

Orphans Saying Goodbye

Orphans Saying Goodbye

The older ones wanted to hug us their goodbyes. Some holding on to us with their eyes. It was difficult to smile. The younger ones had a quick greeting then disappeared to the far corner of the compound to play. As I visited with the older ones, I watched the younger ones building a fort-like tent our of a torn mosquito net, old plastic bags and trash. They tied the net to the corner of the fence at the same level to make a triangle roof to crawl under, Then they put trash on top to block the sun and laid plastic sacks underneath to cover the dirt. They were very busy building.

Homemade Shade Going Away Gift

Homemade Shade Going Away Gift

Later, I felt a tug on my hand. A little girl had come to get me. She didn’t speak English so I had to read her intentions. I’m sort of slow at that and it took her pulling my hand several times for me to get it. She led me to the sitting spot under the homemade shade. The thought crossed my mind, that they were honoring me, the oldest mama, by giving me a special seat that they created. After a minute or two, another went to bring Jacque too.

Orphans Worship as our Parting Gift

About the time we settled in, the vans came to get us. We gathered around the mango tree to share our goodbyes and tears and to sing a praise song once more before we left. This is the first song they taught us and it stuck. Here’s a video of them singing:

We took off toward Entebbe and stopped in Jenga for lunch and picking up a few souvenirs along the way. We were not making good time and drove into the night into Entebbe. It was our first real outing at night in Uganda because it wasn’t the safest for us to be out at night.

We made it through security, faking Chuck’s health all along the way. The team rested in the Entebbe airport for a couple of hours then started the loooong flight home, 22 hours and layovers. Not fun. Since we boarded at 11:30 p.m. I slept the first flight into Amsterdam. During the 4 hour layover in Amsterdam, Chuck laid down in a McDonald’s restaurant area and the team debriefed a little. I found a Starbucks and had my first taste of home, a no foam latte, and a chocolate croissant for breakfast.

On board again. Chuck was taking high potency pain killers along with the antibiotics like clock work. He also numbed the pain by watching back-to-back movies. We finally landed in Texas Thursday afternoon and called the doctor right away. We went to his office and he put Chuck in the hospital. We were so glad to be hospitalized IN Texas.

While Chuck was getting the treatment he needed, I spoke at a women’s prayer breakfast Saturday morning and Sunday morning our Uganda Mission Team (minus Chuck) gave a testimony about Uganda in both our church services. He was released Monday afternoon with plans for surgery later, when the infection was clear.

Orphan Adoption and Sponsorship

Mike and Jacque are looking into the adoption process to give Fiona a physical home since she already has an emotional one in their hearts. You can read more about their story here and on their Bring Fiona Home website. You can also sponsor an orphan, write to them and read letters from them. If interested, check out Elpis Ministries.

Fiona!

Fiona!

More pictures are uploaded on Facebook. Check them out.

Please pray for the mission. You can sign up to be a partner in prayer. And for updates while on location you can subscribe to feed here.

Please comment below. I’d love to hear any insight you have about our choice of choosing to come back to Texas before seeking healthcare, your experience of leaving those you’ve grown to love in ministry, or possibly how God may have moved you to adopt an orphan. Please share your comments below.

This post is part of the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series and you can read more about our trip in the previous Uganda posts. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

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Riding Around Africa

August 21, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership, Ministry to Women with 0 Comments

I slept very comfortably in a grass hut. During the night, if we had to use the toilet we walked outside to another hut with a concreted porta-potty kind of thing. It had a toilet seat concreted into a raised sitting spot that went straight into an underground tank. Comfy-at-night feeling.

Waterfall at Sipi Falls

Waterfall at Sipi Falls

Chuck didn’t sleep very well. The altitude sickness from the evening before wasn’t letting up. He was looking forward to getting back down the mountain this morning to see if he got better. Iganga’s elevation where the orphanage is based is about 3600 ft above sea level and Sipi Falls Lodge about 6700 ft in the foothills of Mt. Elgon in eastern Uganda, almost to Kenya. That’s nothing compared to 40,000 ft for about 22 hours flying there (link to flight post).

Early, James knocked to see if we wanted to hike up to the falls. I wanted to, but Chuck was feeling pretty bad so I stayed with him. James, Jacque and Mike took off to climb the slippery, red-mud slopes. It took them about two hours to make the hike to the second waterfall taking pictures and sliding most of the way.

After they left, I went to take a shower which was located in a separate grass hut. It was exquisite in decor. The shower head dripped over flat and smooth rocks where my feet went. The drain was hidden under the rocks. The hot water was non-existent. Well, there was occasional flash of warmer water, but it mostly felt ice cold like the water from the Sipi River. Since the weather was cold 50-60ish and rainy, I was VERY reluctant to jump in the shower. No hair washing today!

After re-packing my backpack, I walked up the hill to the main lodge for coffee and breakfast. I needed some warmth. Sipi Falls Lodge was like a royalty treatment in grass huts. The food was delicious and served with special yummy-ness. The total cost of this romantic getaway was about $60 a night per person and that included three meals.

Riding Around Africa

We loaded into the van for the ride home. The beauty of the valley below with the clouds wisping through was awesome. I was totally struck with the thought, “Hey, I’m riding around Africa!”

Driving the mountain

Driving the mountain

On the road, we came to a police check point. The police have stations where they stand on the side of the road stopping traffic whenever they have a whim. They wear camo, carry their AK-47′s, look over the van and ask questions like: Where are you going? Where have you been? What are you going to do? This time they made a request for us to give them a book. Cameron gave him his Bible, then he let us pass. I was pretty scared sitting in the back of the van watching another policeman watching the van. I found out after we were allowed to pass that Jacque was fearful too. (Sorry, no pictures were allowed of police. I didn’t want to get arrested!)

On down the road, Chuck saw monkeys in the forest trees. Jacque and I stuck our heads out the window to look for some. When we didn’t see them right away, we started making monkey sounds hollering into the trees as we whizzed by in the van. At that speed, who knows if I saw one or not. Maybe I did.

Celebration with the Orphans

With only a four hour trip home, we pulled into the missionary house to get ready for the party that night. We took streamers, animal crackers, cake mix and party balloons to have a party for the kids. A regular feast was fixed with rice, beans, chicken, beef, fish, cabbage, peppers, onions, ground innards (a pretty tasty paste made up of …, guess), and soda pop.

Party Streamers with the Orphans

Party Streamers with the Orphans

Chuck took a turn for the worse by the time we got him into bed. Fever spiked and decisions had to be made about doctor, clinic, or go buy some more of the same antibiotics he had already finished the day before. We opted to buy more medicine which anyone can buy without prescriptions in Uganda. We were to fly out the next day and it was already late into the night. He laid in bed while the kids prayed for him in the courtyard. They sang their prayer. Although I fretted about Chuck, their song was beautiful. Chuck dozed and the party began.

We ate played and visited with the kids. We witnessed the whole lot of orphans getting in trouble by Susan. The amount of respect she warrants isn’t to be trifled with. They mind. This might be the reason they are so respectful with us. It’s easy to see the love they have for Susan and her love for them. The party was a hit even though there were obstacles. We had a blast, but in our thoughts was the fact that this was the last night to see the kids.

Before bed we packed part of our bags for the trip home. Click to see more pictures on FaceBook.

Please pray for the mission. You can sign up to be a partner in prayer. And for updates while on location you can subscribe to feed here.

Please contribute your comment below. I’d love to hear your guess about ground innards, your understanding about discipline and respect, or your idea about resorting Uganda being more like camping America. Go ahead and comment.

This post is part of the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series and you can read more about our trip in the previous Uganda posts. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

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Travel to Romantic Sipi Falls for Rest

August 20, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership, Ministry to Women with 0 Comments

This morning we went had a good breakfast and went to the orphanage to finish setting up the solar lights and water filter (no more boiling their drinking water). We rode in the back of Phil’s truck, standing up holding onto the rack. Which is common. We saw many Uganda buses, flatbed trucks with rails where people stand and hold on. Every time we walked to the orphanage, we gathered stares from the people on the streets, but riding in the truck like this made us feel like we were in a real parade. “Watch the mzungus” (white people). We smiled and waved back to the people as we rode by. One must wave like a parade queen in Uganda anyway. The folding-fingers-over-palm wave is their way of calling their children to come to them. (Phil used this kind of wave to call me from the van to the porch to meet some school officials.)

Water Filter Barrel in Orphanage

Water Filter Barrel in Orphanage

After the few chores were finished at the kids house, we loaded back into the truck and went back to the missionary house. Everything was ready for our trip of rest. We reloaded into the van with an overnight bag and water bottles to go to Sipi Falls for a much needed rest. We really wanted to stay with the kids, but this scheduled respite was needed. We stopped to pick up Susan, her mother and baby Kaith then got on our way.

The drive was to be four hours in the direction of Kenya. That’s a long trip considering that every village uses huge speed bumps to slow traffic. That’s on top of the pot holes that take up most of the road. Phil said the roads will be fixed and reworked when an election is upcoming. I guess, politicians in every country want votes and do things to get them.

We rode in a new-to-the-ministry van that had “new” seats which were very comfortable. The drive took much longer because the van kept getting overheated. We stopped often to pour our water bottles into the radiator. Once we began to run out we had help form the locals who fetched the water from a river or somewhere that had dirty reddish water. The ground in Uganda is red and the water has a red tint. The dirt is sort of like the red clay stuff on the baseball diamond. Turns out the van was fresh from Tokyo and had some strange blanket over the radiator making it heat up.

Ocean of African Plains

African Dog Overlooking Ocean of African Plains

African Dog Overlooking Ocean of African Plains

As we approached Sipi Falls, mountains rose out of the plain. These mountains are not quite like any I’ve seen in America. They were beautiful like ours but different. Cows grazed and farmers walked the steep hillside working crops in places similar to the ones the goats and sheep bound from in Yellowstone. Once we were in the mountains and looked back, it seemed like an ocean of African plains laid below as far as the eye could see.

Uganda Orphan Mission Team at Sipi Falls

Uganda Orphan Mission Team at Sipi Falls

Uganda Orphan Mission Team at Sipi Falls

Eight hours or so later, our van finally made it to our overnight place. We pulled in and had a European lunch that should have been served at 1 but we were arriving at 5. That’s Uganda time again. One never knows what will happen or when. We ate “lunch” then hiked a short trail to a handmade cave under the first water fall. It had rained and the red dirt was mud. Sipi Falls was more like Slippery Falls.

European Elegant Dining at Sipi Falls

European Elegant Dining at Sipi Falls

Once we started out on the trail about 6 youths joined us to hold our hands and be tour guides. I had one on each hand to keep me from slipping. They were barefoot and kept solid footing the whole time. I might as well been in ice skates and I don’t skate! We slid back for dinner by 7:30. We dined in elegance in an African hut rustic meets Europe kind of place. European foods (A creamy fish soup to start off served with big crusty rolls and jam, followed by curried chicken and rice with steamed veggies, then brownies which were more of an unsweetened, bitter chocolate version, and African Tea. Chuck got altitude sickness and missed the meal.

 Grass Hut Experience

Grass Hut at Sipi Falls

Grass Hut at Sipi Falls

Inside Grass Hut at Sipi Falls

Inside Grass Hut at Sipi Falls

Grass Hut Keeping us Dry

Grass Hut Keeping us Dry

After dinner, I went with Chuck to our grass-roofed hut for the night leaving the team visiting with their African coffee and tea. It was raining and dark out, but we were amazingly dry in our grass hut. Once again, it was so elegant and quaint. The grass on the roof was at least 12 inches thick and the edge of the roof showed only the first inch wet. The bed and night stands were rocked into the hut with a foam mattress to rest on. The bathrooms were in a separate grass hut and the showers were in another.

Chuck and I at Sipi Falls

Chuck and I at Sipi Falls

Sipi Falls is a very romantic kind of place. We slept with the roar of the waterfall lulling us to sleep. Through our opened door, the morning light held a splendid view of the falls with beautiful foliage surrounding.

More pictures are uploaded on Facebook. Check them out.

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Please comment below. I’d love to hear any questions you might have about mission work in Uganda.

This post is part of the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series and you can read more about our trip in the previous Uganda posts. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the otherBlog Series.

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