One Month Already?!

It’s already February?! Wow. With almost a month under our belts we are beginning to feel settled and finding our rhythm in this new place we are calling home! And after almost 2 months of transient, its-in-a-box-somewhere life it is so good to be in a house and to sleep in the same bed for more than a week!

It really is difficult to believe that just one month ago we were stuffing the last few things in our boxes and saying the hard, hard goodbyes to our family and friends.

Since moving into our house we have been able to start learning and navigating how to function on a day-to-day basis here. And the first of those lessons was driving! Matt of course was the first behind the wheel early on and can confidently navigate his way to work and through the various small towns around us. He even tackled Kampala on Saturday—no small task, let me assure you! Patrice followed suite about a week later and is slowly expanding the radius in which she feels comfortable. Most importantly, she can make it to the grocery store and back with no problem!

Matt is jumping head first into learning all he can at work before another person transitions out of his role later this month. He is excited about the projects he will be working on and has enjoyed spending time in the office getting familiar with his new role and even starting to learn some Luganda.

Patrice and the kids are also settling in to life at home. In all honesty, there have been some rough days made worse with sleep deprivation and strong emotions after all the recent changes. It has been good for all of us to be in a place to call home again and we are thankful for the community of EMI that has helped us navigate these first weeks. Meeting other families with young children in our area has also been a blessing for us. We have seen the kids begin to explore and feel more comfortable in their new environment every day. Our windows have yet to be closed since moving here and our doors are open all day (until dusk when pesky mosquitoes come out) and we love that the kids can just run in and out of the house as they want without any worry of where they are since we live on a compound.

There have been hard days since our move here. But we are also overcome with gratitude for this life the Lord has called us to. We trust that the Lord has good plans for our lives here and we are learning more than ever to trust in His promises.

Will you pray with us:

• For perseverance as we continue to settle in to our new home and life in a different culture.
•  For grace and patience with each other as fatigue continues to linger with us.
•  That we will continue to develop friendships and relationships with families around us.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness… 2 Corinthians 12:9

Thank you Lord for strength and comfort in this time of transition for our family. May we learn to rely on your grace so that your power and love and comfort is made known through our weakness.

And here are the pictures as promised!

A boy and his boda...all day entertainment!

Visit to Entebbe Zoo....where we had to wait to enter because they needed to "coral the apes"....

Typical....

Sweet girl

Jungle gym! And yes, the little brother showed his big sister how much fun this could be! 

Post dinner tickles

Sunset from our front door

Rooftop view

Walking to the office

Little Miss thinks she needs to keep up with her siblings. Crawling and pulling
herself up in nearly the same week!

This boy loves his dinosaurs!

Best friends...most of the time!

Hike in our "neighborhood"...a little longer than we expected.

Beautiful views!