The Crazy Adventures of an American Mzungu

I find it funny when I jump into something with no expectations, and I end up surprised at the things that happen. Most the time, it is the things that come out of my mouth. For example, “Snails are not weapons! Thanks for getting him out of my room, now please put him outside!” or “Growling is not good church manners.” The more time I spend here, the more weird situations I get myself into. Going to the market turns into fighting off date and marriage proposals, and traveling turns into “what is the weirdest thing I can buy from this taxi?” I have got pretty good! Once I was offered a Taylor Swift photo album. I would have bought it, but I have a deep conviction to never listen to her music! Day by day, I am surprised at how connected and in love with two little boys who speak no English. Recently, Redeemer House brought in two new children. Their lack of English and my lack of Luganda leave communication difficult. Yet I have fallen in love with these precious boys! Alex knows no...

My Plan (High School Edition) : When it came to actual high school, I just needed to survive. Sure, I had a good time! I had friends and enjoyed myself, but I was so different from anyone I knew. I traveled the world and never shut up about Jesus. My plans were to make the best grades I could, and prepare to attend a beauty college with the hopes of one day opening my own hair salon. This was my life, and I wanted nothing more. I remember being a Senior and suddenly having doubts over my plans. I always wanted to be a hair dresser, and I knew that was what I was SUPPOSE to do! I sat next to my good friend Kayla in class one day, and I remember turning to her and confessing my sudden urge to change my life. She always wanted to go to Arizona State and become a special education teacher. When I confessed my doubts, she shared my same feelings. We sat there and talked each other out of such ridiculous thoughts. God's Plan : I was to go to Uganda right after graduation for a month. ...

One of the biggest battles in my life has been the fear of failure. I am a perfectionist to the core, and I am always so afraid of letting people down. When something I did disappoints someone else, I feel so guilty I become so sick to my stomach, and sometimes can't get out of bed from being so sick. I have made huge strides in this battle. I use to not turn my homework in because I didn't think it was done right. Even after slaving hours on end over it! I rather get a zero than fail. Luckily I broke that in high school, but the battle still exists and I still am fighting for my life. This past week, I found myself failing this fight. I am overwhelmed with so much going on. I am planning a week trip to South Africa, and need to make sure all is placed in order before I leave. I have a team coming next week, and an adoptive family coming for their court date. We just took in two more kids, which takes more effort getting them settled along with what our board wants us to do ...

I confess, I am secretly in love with Green Day. Maybe it isn't as big of a secret as I think, but I must admit I am in love. I blame my brother. He is a huge fan of them, and before he started listening to them, I would always complain when their songs came on the radio. Not so much any more. One of my favorite lines in their music goes, “The Jesus of Suburbia is a lie.” Whoa. The first time I heard that, I was stopped at a red light and forgot to go because I was so hung up on it. My first reaction was anger. Jesus lives! He works in my life, and I know He is the reason for the smile on my face. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that line holds incredible truth. The Jesus of Suburbia is safe. He is the Savior of the middle class, and he came to give them security and safety. He will guide them to material contentment. Not over the top, but just the basic toys. Their children will be on the honor roll, with the perfect clothes, the perfect grades, and the perfec...

I get the privilege of home schooling this shining star! He struggles in school because he has such a hard time concentrating. He needs more one-on-one teaching, and I am so blessed to be his teacher. He enjoys it too, and loves to call me “Teacher Mary”. His name is Trevor, and many days he teaches me more than I teach him! With him home and the other kids at school, he does miss out on some of the things the other children get. The other day, the children went to pick up their report cards from the school. When they came back, they all were showing off their reports. Some were happy with the results, while I encouraged others to work harder on the next term. Trevor came up to me with crocodile sized tears in his eyes. He declared he had failed school, as he came crashing into my arms. I tried reassuring him he had not failed, but he was convinced he failed. “Trevor,” I made him look at me as I spoke these words, “I am your teacher. I would say if you failed or not. And you worke...

Easter. The day of victory! My Savior defeated the most undefeated force of all time. In all the stories, death cannot be undone. It is forever, and nothing can change that. I am a fan of the show Once Upon A Time, which uses all the classic fairytales. Every time someone dies and someone else tries to bring them back to life, they fail. No amount of magic will bring someone back from the dead. Death is permanent. In other stories, if a character dies and then come back to life, we usually call it a cop-out ending, and toss it to the side. I read one that was fantastic! I got so into it that when the child died in it, I cried. Then, he magically came back to life. I only had three more pages, and I could not finish the story. I was so mad that the author could not use the death to bring a lesson or just close it out after the death, that it ruined the entire book. Many people cannot wrap their head around Jesus being alive because of what we have always known about death. We know the...

Most of us know the quote, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that is why they call it 'the present'”. We use it to remind ourselves that today is what counts. We must focus on what is in front of us, and cherish today for what it brings us. This is so critical. When we begin focusing our thoughts and energy on the past or the future, we miss out on the blessings God is prepared to give us today. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow “because today has enough trouble of it's own”. We cannot dwell on our pasts because Jesus came to free us from the troubles of our pasts. Yet, we must have a healthy dose of both past and future if we are going to make the most of our present. I have a tendency to dwell on the future, especially right now. I want to know what the next big adventure God will allow me to experience. I want to start preparing now so I do not have to wait another five years before, and then finding out I am suppose to be halfway...