A mix of emotions..

July 27th….my departure date for Uganda. With a set date here, I find myself with such mixed emotions. On the one hand I am so ecstatic about leaving. Returning to a place where I have felt such freedom and joy. A place where I know there are so many smiling faces that I can't wait to surround in massive loving hugs. A place that for a short period of my life I call home. On the other hand, I find myself becoming scared of leaving my home. 

Its been a hard week emotionally for me. I have had to prepare myself for goodbyes all week at work. Saying good bye to the kids I have invested four years of my life into. The co workers who have been there from the very beginning of my teaching career. It's always hard to say goodbye for summer, but this time it's for so much longer…possibly forever. I'm having to pack up my classroom and my house all at the same time. 

I called my mother and she instantly knew something was wrong. I've never been one that was a good at hiding when I've been crying. As she always does, she let me cry on the phone and comforted me in my sadness. Reminding me that though this is a scary transition (and no one can say its not), I know that I am following what I feel God has placed on my heart and these are the times where its imperative that we trust in Him.  That's really all I can do. I know these next two months are going to be one big whirlwind of emotions. I am anticipating many more nights where I call my mom freaking out, but I ultimately will calm myself down knowing that I am not alone in this. Not only do I have the support of so many people here, but I know God is right beside me giving me the strength I lack. 

Psalms 16: 8-10 " I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave."

The kindergarten class I worked in this year. What a crazy year we had, but I love each and everyone of these sweet faces.

Transitions and trust

22 days….22 days left until I am no longer a teacher at Lawsonville Avenue. When I started this journey to Uganda this date seemed so far away. Now it’s only 22 days until my first big transition: Unemployment. What a scary word! Unemployed?? For the past four years my work has pretty much consumed my life. It’s such a frightening word, but a freeing one at that. Unemployed….but not useless.  

Uganda has been on my mind a lot lately (haha..Who am I kidding? It’s always on my mind!). With so much to do and money to raise I find myself becoming more worried about the details of what NEEDS to get done and HOW I am going to do it, that I forget that I’m not the one in control of this. Yes, I have things like paperwork that I have to get done, but the ultimate end of how things will be completed is not in my hands. It’s during all of this that I realize how fully I have to trust in Him to lead me to my next step.

I keep thinking about my first day back in Uganda this summer. I stepped off the plane and said to myself “I am back home”. Everything was so familiar; the Entebbe airport the long ride to Good Shepherd’s, the red dirt roads lined by the green tea farms and sugar cane fields, the big white smiles of the children as they ran down the road screaming “MZUNGU!”, and the random (but not so random) sightings of couches tied up to bicycles traveling down the road. I can’t wait to get back to this place. I still have a long ways to go, and trusting that it will be come through is so hard. I have to remind myself every day that He knows the plans He has for me and I just have to remember I am working within His plan, not mine.

Prayer Points:

1. Acheru: for the families that are there right now, the children who are there receiving their treatments, for the staff who dedicate their lives to serve there.

2. Support. Financially and prayerfully.

Transitions. Within the next few months I will be transitioning out of school and out of working with my two clients. I will be moving away from the home and community I have lived in for the past 4 years.

Solomon.

Silas Frank

Baby Ben

Baby Leticia. She was about 9lbs when she came to GSF. From updated pictures she has gained so much weight!

School!

 

One of those kind of weeks..

Not a day goes by when I don't think of my time in Uganda. Some weeks are harder then others. This has been one of those harder weeks. Every night I find myself looking at my photos and missing these precious kids even more. Missing my daily trip to house 4a and hearing the squeals of those little boys as I walk into their house to say good morning. Missing my morning routine of sitting with Tom on the veranda as he pulls apart the grass, not knowing why he does but trusting that in this he finds joy. Missing the walk to school with Mark talking about what his morning was like and what we expect school to be like. Missing the afternoons spent on the vernada talking with the aunties and Joseph. Missing Moses following us around telling us to sit "here" and "here" and "here". 

I look forward to that day in August when my feet touch the Uganda soil again. I look forward to the day when I will see the red dirt roads ahead and the green of the sugar cane fields to the side, and hear either "mzungu" or "Auntie Emioooly" coming from the children who are running full speed ahead into my arms. 

I wait patiently with my arms wide open. Waiting to see where the Lord will lead me. Hoping that this path leads me back into this land where joy is found in the most unlikely places. Hoping that this path leads me into my home away from home. 

Everyday when I come home from work, I am reminded of how blessed I am. How blessed I am to be supported by such loving people. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who is and has been supporting me through prayer or financially for the last two years.

If you would like to know more about my trip and would like to support please email me at ebwatkin2@gmail.com for more information. 

Moses and Joseph

Mark and Kenny 

My hosue 4a boys on my Solomon's birthday.

My morning buddy, Tom

Birthday love from Auntie Marjorie

Two of my three boys. Solomon and Emma. My heart.

Dear Friends and Family,

  As most of you are aware, for the past two summers I have been blessed with the chance to spend time at Good Shepherd's Fold Children's home in Jinja, Uganda.  During my time there this summer I was given the opportunity to work alongside someone who was starting a ministry in Uganda just for people with disabilities.  In Uganda, people with disabilities are severely marginalized. Many of the children I worked with this summer were abandoned by family members who felt they were a curse to the family.  After talking with her about her mission and ministry and many prayerful nights, I have been accepted as a short term missionary with Africa Inland Missions (AIM). 

Starting in August 2013, I will be working with the rehabilitation center Acheru:Afaayo located in Kabembe, Uganda. Acheru: Afaayo (meaning "He Cares") is a temporary home to children with many different physical disabilities.  During their treatment, children come to live at Acheru. Many children who come for treatment miss many days, weeks, months, and even years of schooling. My primary job at Acheru will be to provide each and everyone of these precious children an education during their stay.  Our goal is to keep them caught up in schooling, so they can return back to the same grade as when they left.  

I am so excited to be heading back to Uganda to serve. It has become such a special place in my heart. I have been so blessed to be apart of such an amazing community in Uganda before, and I can't wait to be apart of this special community at Acheru. In order for this experience to take place I will need to raise funds for the year ($25,000). The money raised will go towards work permits, visas, room and board, food, transportation, and any additional needs I will have when working at Acheru. Many of you have supported me over the past few years and it has meant so much to be a witness to your love and support. I would love for you to pray about continuing to support me through this year through prayer or financially. If you feel you would like to support me financially please send checks to: Emily Watkins 207 S. Elam Ave Greensboro, NC 27403. You can make checks payable to Africa Inland Missions, including my name in the memo line. All denotations are tax-deductible and must be turned in by June of 2013. 

Thank you for you all your support whether financially or prayerfully. I can't wait to see what it is the Lord has in store for me this next year. If you would like to hear more about my time in Uganda you can follow my blog at: http://www.emilybeth2.blogspot.com. 

In Christ,

Jeremiah 29:11

Gayla and Me

Solomon, Nico, Betty, and Micah. 

A typical K3 (preschool) class. 40 something kids to 1 teacher and 1 assistant.

How it all got started...

Two years ago I was sitting in church when a friend of mine had mentioned that she was wanting to bring a team to Uganda, Africa to volunteer our time at a children's home. At the sound of Africa my ears perked up! She continued on saying that our main goal would be working with the special needs kids. With just those few words I knew I was going to be a part of that team.

A couple months later 12 of us flew into Uganda. We spent about two weeks at Good Shepard's Fold Babies and Children's Home. Within two weeks I knew I was not done with Uganda. I had absolutely fallen in love with the people, the country, and everything about it. The kids especially. These special kids grabbed my heart. At the end of the two weeks I sat down and talked about options on how I could come back, and with that, less than a year later I was on the plane again heading back to GSF for two months.

During those two months I spent my time working with the occupational therapist. I learned so many different things from him, and was able to share some of my own ideas and thoughts. I worked with the teachers to help incorporate more of the kids with special needs into the classes,I taught the sweetest group of 6-7 year olds for Sunday school, and I spent a lot of time getting to know the kids living there. Again I could feel the tug of my heart telling me that I was still not done with Uganda. It was this time around that I was introduced to a girl who has started a ministry just for people with disabilities. As much as my heart wanted to stay at GSF I knew that the kids at GSF had so much going for them, and that there were so many other kids who did not have as much. In Uganda people with disabilities are severely marginalized. Many people believe that people with disabilities are cursed and are often abandoned. I felt that God was leading me away from GSF, my comfort zone, and pushing me into a new area.

After many months of prayer, applications, and interviews I was accepted as a short term missionary with Africa Inland Missions (AIM). Starting in August 2013 I will be working at Acheru Rehabilitation Center. I will be just about an hour and a half away from GSF so I will be able to visit often! At Acheru I will be working with the teacher that is already there. We will be teaching the students while they are living at Acheru. I am so excited to see what I will learn from this experience. As hard as it is to leave, I am so excited to be back in a country where I often feel like I'm at home. I'm so excited to come home every day with stained feet from the red dirt roads, to hear "Mzungu" screamed from little voices as I walk down the road, to taste the sweet sweet taste of fresh pineapple, and to see the bright smiles of precious kids. 

  

One of the kids I worked with-Kenny

A lovely family who opened their home to us

My House 4A boys! 

One of the village babies from the feeding program

My sweet sweet Sunday school group

The house mothers who I shared my summer with.