Greetings from Jinja Uganda

I hope that everyone is doing well! I am having a great time and loving Jinja too much.

I arrived with only half of my luggage. But today my cousin went to Kampala to get the other half.

I am on my own today trying to find my way around town and get my barrings.

I love this town and the people too much. Sorry I don't have pictures to show you, I forgot to bring my camera with me this time. But I can tell you about it and post pictures later. Anyways, it is beautiful! Jinja is so green. It is rainy season ,but I hear it is always like this. It is very warm and humid here. But not like Houston, it does cool down at night.

The people are amazing! I hope that when I leave here, I can be as faithful and loving as they are.

I have found things that are hard here that I didn't expect to be hard. But still I love Uganda and know that I will only grow to love it more. God is totally here and very easy to see in the people and the land.

Tomorrow I am going to Mombasa Kenya for a week. I am so excited about this trip. Last night my cousin and I were talking about it and this will be our 3rd ocean to see. How cool!
Well sorry that I have left a lot of blanks here, but I will fill you in soon.
I miss you and love you too much!
Have a Merry Christmas.
Lana

Family

Most know that I love my family! I am so blessed to have wonderful parents, siblings, and a great niece:) I also have an amazing extended family who I love dearly. God has really smiled on me with so many great people in my life.
Living in Montana away from them is really hard. I miss being able to take a weekend trip to see them. But I am so thankful that we are all close even as we are getting older.
Since I've been in Montana I have been blessed with another kind of family, the church kind. Last night they gave me and some friends, Josh, Jamie and Robert, a going away party. I felt to loved by everyone. It was so nice to have that feeling so close to me. God has taken care of me and filled me where I needed it.
Thank you to all my families.

Good Morning Sunshine!

One of my favorite things to do is 'pop' out of bed. Thats the kind of week I've had. Every morning this week I have popped out of bed ready to go. The only problem is that I'm sure that I'm the only one up so there isn't anyone to share my bushy tailedness with. Thats ok cause I've gotten a lot of things done. And I woke up with a smile on my face!

The Sufficiency of Grace

Sometimes I feel like there are things in life that I only kinda know about. For example, grace. I can explain it on a surface level but I think to truly understand it you have to go deeper than just the basics.
I have a hard time knowing why grace is sufficient for someone so insufficient as myself. Recently I came across a book that I totally recomend. Its called Transfroming Grace by Jerry Bridges. Bridges says that grace was not given to make us feel better but to glorify the Lord. I struggled a lot this past year and thought that by excepting grace I would feel better. Then in times when I don't feel great I wonder what else I have to do. But I've been missing the point. God wants me to glorify him in those difficut times. The issue is not whether or not I feel better, but how I honor God in those times. That is why grace is sufficient for even me!

6 days and counting

Now I'm sure most of you have quit reading this because I never post anything. But I have a few minutes and thought I would share some things on my mind.
In 6 days I will be leaving for Jinja, Uganda. I have been so excited for this trip. I can't ever seem to figure out exactly where that excitement is coming from. Its more than jsut going to a different country and seeing new things. Its even more than seeing my family and spending the holidays with them. I think the thing that I am most excited about is building new relationships.
I love people. If you ever want to make me happy just put me in a room full of new faces. But still this is different. I'm looking forward to hearing how God has worked in these people's lives. I know that my life is different then what I will see, but I also know that we are all God's children. Thats exciting to me!
I'm going to try to keep this going while I'm over there.
In case I haven't thanked you personally, I have thanked God for you and all your support.