Coming home has been a blast! I love sharing with others what God did through me in Uganda. I love igniting a passion of serving in others, in order to further the gospel through the passions of those I share. I love using my experiences as a tool to share the gospel with non believers. I never would have thought God would use such a life changing experience for me would make such an impact in my life in America. I am continually reminded that my life will never be the same.
The past few weeks, I was extremely tired, and no amount of sleep made me feel rested! I work four days a week, at ten hours a shift. I love this! I love having a day off in the week to get things done so my weekends can be designated to things I want to do, rather than responsibilities. This does mean that sometimes I have to work early, like 5:30 AM early. Sometimes this means I work late, like 8:00 PM late. Depending on the shifts I work in a week, it can be exhausting. A couple weeks ago, I had early morning shifts followed by late night trainings, just to have to turn around and open again. I was praying that my exhaustion was from trying to adjust to this new job. But my almost eleven hours of sleep just to wake up feeling like I was hit by a truck, and only be function-able for twelve hours before going cross-eyed I was so tired showed me it was not an adjustment issue. On Wednesday I discovered the problem, and Thursday I finally felt rested.
I was sharing with a co-worker Thursday how I finally felt awake. "I have been so tired for so long, and I cannot even explain how good it feels to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed!" I said.
"That was wrong? Just not sleeping enough?"
"Oh, I was getting plenty of sleep. No, around Thanksgiving, I rafted the Nile. The snail larvae gives you something called Schistosomiasis. It has a three month incubation period, and that was just about three months ago. I was having a few other weird things going on too. My stomach was just weird. Not sick, just weird. Then I had this thing on my shoulder that I couldn't figure out. All I knew was that I was tired. So, I posted on Facebook my concerns over how tired I was. My friend I went rafting with reminded me of the Schistosomiasis. Duh! That explained all my weird stuff going on!"
"Wow! So is there a medication for it or something?
"Yeah. I had brought some back with me, and my friend offered to bring me back some more if it doesn't fully kick it,"
"Wow. That is crazy. How long do you have to be on it?"
"Just had to take two doses yesterday,"
"Wow! That is some pretty potent medicine,"
"Yeah... well... it isn't fully FDA approved...." She got a kick out of that statement. We continued to talk about Africa. She is amazed at the things that we don't even think about, and take for granted. Here in America, we can jump into a body of water, then climb back out and not even think you are in any kind of danger of contracting some crazy disease with a weird name.
The next day, I came to work bouncing off the walls! I walked in the doors at 6:30, and the two opening staff were sitting in the office dazed from an early morning. I was a bit too much for them to handle so early in the morning, but I was happy to be alive. I was singing down the halls, and going from room to room looking for anything active to do. An hour later, I was still wired. I ended up back in the office, where Shawna (the coworker from the day before) was working. I mentioned how absolutely wound I was, she said, "Well, it is probably because you are feeling so much better." Cindy (the other lady in the room) gives me a strange look. I gave her the same speech on the snail larvae.
"That is some pretty awesome medicine if it is already making you feel better!" Cindy comments.
Shawna jumps in, "Tell her what you told me yesterday!"
"It isn't FDA approved...." I giggled out.
"Oh no, yesterday, she looks at me and says, 'Yeah.... well... it isn't fully FDA approved....'"
"Guys, it is simply the joys of Africa! You get weird diseases cured by possibly dangerous medicine!" my only defense at this point was sass!
We continued to talk, and some how I shared the story of how a man tried to steal my purse when I was in Kampala. I was in a friend's car with my purse on my lap. We were caught in a famous Kampala jam, and a man started banging on Patrick's side of the car. Then my door flew open, and another man grabbed my purse. I punched him. To this day, I still have the purse.
"Mary!" Shawna says, "You are NOT helping my lack of a desire to go to Africa!"
"Same here! Wow!" Cindy seconds.
"That is okay! I will just take your share and go. You can live vicariously through me from the safety of America,"
"Okay, but NOT FOR A LONG TIME!" Cindy declared. If you do not know the history of my job, I worked there before leaving for Uganda. It was a very short time (like for a month), but I loved every second of it! Their excitement for me to go outweighed the negativity I received, and I was constantly encouraged by them. They stayed connected with me through the year. And when I came back, they bravely hired me back! Now we joke about my habit of dropping everything for the taste of adventure. We finished our conversation on the things God is teaching me through my return. How I need to take a year and seek His face, as He guides my future and restores my soul.
God continually uses things from Africa to share His glory to those around me. I know without a shadow of a doubt God is calling me to the mission field, but that does not mean He will not use me here at home. As I seek His face to guide my future, I long for Him to use me now. If that is because of my time in Uganda, I will gladly accept. I am amazed at the ways He has used me so far, and I am ready to see where He will bring me next.
The past few weeks, I was extremely tired, and no amount of sleep made me feel rested! I work four days a week, at ten hours a shift. I love this! I love having a day off in the week to get things done so my weekends can be designated to things I want to do, rather than responsibilities. This does mean that sometimes I have to work early, like 5:30 AM early. Sometimes this means I work late, like 8:00 PM late. Depending on the shifts I work in a week, it can be exhausting. A couple weeks ago, I had early morning shifts followed by late night trainings, just to have to turn around and open again. I was praying that my exhaustion was from trying to adjust to this new job. But my almost eleven hours of sleep just to wake up feeling like I was hit by a truck, and only be function-able for twelve hours before going cross-eyed I was so tired showed me it was not an adjustment issue. On Wednesday I discovered the problem, and Thursday I finally felt rested.
I was sharing with a co-worker Thursday how I finally felt awake. "I have been so tired for so long, and I cannot even explain how good it feels to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed!" I said.
"That was wrong? Just not sleeping enough?"
"Oh, I was getting plenty of sleep. No, around Thanksgiving, I rafted the Nile. The snail larvae gives you something called Schistosomiasis. It has a three month incubation period, and that was just about three months ago. I was having a few other weird things going on too. My stomach was just weird. Not sick, just weird. Then I had this thing on my shoulder that I couldn't figure out. All I knew was that I was tired. So, I posted on Facebook my concerns over how tired I was. My friend I went rafting with reminded me of the Schistosomiasis. Duh! That explained all my weird stuff going on!"
"Wow! So is there a medication for it or something?
"Yeah. I had brought some back with me, and my friend offered to bring me back some more if it doesn't fully kick it,"
"Wow. That is crazy. How long do you have to be on it?"
"Just had to take two doses yesterday,"
"Wow! That is some pretty potent medicine,"
"Yeah... well... it isn't fully FDA approved...." She got a kick out of that statement. We continued to talk about Africa. She is amazed at the things that we don't even think about, and take for granted. Here in America, we can jump into a body of water, then climb back out and not even think you are in any kind of danger of contracting some crazy disease with a weird name.
The next day, I came to work bouncing off the walls! I walked in the doors at 6:30, and the two opening staff were sitting in the office dazed from an early morning. I was a bit too much for them to handle so early in the morning, but I was happy to be alive. I was singing down the halls, and going from room to room looking for anything active to do. An hour later, I was still wired. I ended up back in the office, where Shawna (the coworker from the day before) was working. I mentioned how absolutely wound I was, she said, "Well, it is probably because you are feeling so much better." Cindy (the other lady in the room) gives me a strange look. I gave her the same speech on the snail larvae.
"That is some pretty awesome medicine if it is already making you feel better!" Cindy comments.
Shawna jumps in, "Tell her what you told me yesterday!"
"It isn't FDA approved...." I giggled out.
"Oh no, yesterday, she looks at me and says, 'Yeah.... well... it isn't fully FDA approved....'"
"Guys, it is simply the joys of Africa! You get weird diseases cured by possibly dangerous medicine!" my only defense at this point was sass!
We continued to talk, and some how I shared the story of how a man tried to steal my purse when I was in Kampala. I was in a friend's car with my purse on my lap. We were caught in a famous Kampala jam, and a man started banging on Patrick's side of the car. Then my door flew open, and another man grabbed my purse. I punched him. To this day, I still have the purse.
"Mary!" Shawna says, "You are NOT helping my lack of a desire to go to Africa!"
"Same here! Wow!" Cindy seconds.
"That is okay! I will just take your share and go. You can live vicariously through me from the safety of America,"
"Okay, but NOT FOR A LONG TIME!" Cindy declared. If you do not know the history of my job, I worked there before leaving for Uganda. It was a very short time (like for a month), but I loved every second of it! Their excitement for me to go outweighed the negativity I received, and I was constantly encouraged by them. They stayed connected with me through the year. And when I came back, they bravely hired me back! Now we joke about my habit of dropping everything for the taste of adventure. We finished our conversation on the things God is teaching me through my return. How I need to take a year and seek His face, as He guides my future and restores my soul.
God continually uses things from Africa to share His glory to those around me. I know without a shadow of a doubt God is calling me to the mission field, but that does not mean He will not use me here at home. As I seek His face to guide my future, I long for Him to use me now. If that is because of my time in Uganda, I will gladly accept. I am amazed at the ways He has used me so far, and I am ready to see where He will bring me next.
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