Happy New Year!

Posted on 5th January 2012 by Lorna

This week has been another really relaxed week which I think has been good for everyone. Monday was New Years Eve, and I met 2013 a full three hours before the UK this year! We had our New Year’s celebrations at church, which meant that we were in a time of worship as the clock hit 12 and everyone was going crazy! It was really special to begin this year with God and so far he’s remained more of a priority to me this year than he was previously to Monday night.

I don’t think that I could really write this blog and miss out telling you that one of the last things that happened to me during 2012 was that I was proposed to by an old, drunken Ugandan man! Several cringe-worthy phrases left his mouth, including “I need you,”  “I need a white girl,” and “but I love you”. Don’t worry Dad – my brother Innocent was there to ‘save’ me ... if you count laughing!?

The first thing that I did after waking up on New Year’s Day was to take a trip with Clare to run an errand in relation to the safari we have planned for next week. We both really enjoyed the independence of making this trip on our own and we had lots of fun racing ants (don’t ask!) whilst we were waiting for someone, and also being offered a husband to share!

Having so much spare time this week has meant that I’ve been able to have some really lovely conversations with people that we might usually not have enough time for, and also that I’ve been able to spend more time with God. Clare and I have decided to share our daily devotions together every day so we’re reading through ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ together each day. I’ve also spent some time writing, which is something I haven’t done in a while, and is one of the ways that I often feel that God speaks to me the most clearly.

On Thursday a few of us decided to walk up to ‘The Wreck’ which is a deserted building up the hill from us, to have a picnic. It’s very easy to get onto the roof and because it’s close to the top of the hill it has beautiful views so we spent a lot of time singing, chatting and reading.
Andrew and I have also begun teaching one of the local volunteers who is a good friend to us, to read and write this week as he didn’t have proper education as a child. He’s doing really well and I’m really excited to see how far he will progress in the coming months.

One of the most exciting events this week was that Olivia came home! Olivia is one of Smile’s local volunteers who used to live with us at the Smile house when we first arrived for around a month before she took some time off. We all love her so much and had really missed her so we are very glad to have her home again.

Reflecting on 2012, I know that I’ve definitely been very blessed. I can see how much God has challenged me, walked with me, grown me and taught me. Especially during my time in Uganda and just before I left, I know that God has taught me so much about who I am. I have come to believe that God doesn’t change us but he teaches us about who we really are. I’m so thankful for the people that God has brought into my life in recent months, and for the people that were in my life already, and I’ve simply been reminded how very precious they are to me.

This week I would really appreciate prayer in a few particular areas...

-          Please pray for a few people that are close to me who need to know God’s comfort right now. Two people, one of whom has become a really good friend to me, have lost their Mums in the past week. Another good friend who recently became a Dad broke his leg this week.

-          Please pray for continued motivation to spend more time with God and that he would honour that and continue to help me to recognise him and what he has to say to me.

-          Thank God for the ways that he has blessed me and the rest of the team.

Thank you for your support. The knowledge that I’m cared about so much by so many people is a real blessing to me in ways that are difficult to explain. I’ve learnt that God blesses us every day- even when we feel that we’ve had a bad day, there is always something to be thankful for, so my prayer for you is to be able to recognise and focus on that.

All my love,

Lorna