NEWSLETTER: November 2018 - personal note

On a more personal note.....

Over the recent months you may recall me sharing a blog on social media. You may recall me occasionally asking for prayers at times when the miles seem longer because a friend is unwell. Both of these situations were in reference to a very dear and special friend, Christine Moritz.

It is with a hurting heart and flooded eyes that I share with you the news that Christine is now with Jesus. Her Earthly suffering ended and she was embraced by our Saviour on 30 October.

Todd and Christine are friends and mentors (to say the absolute least) that have been in my life for 20 years. They have spoken truth into my life, asked me the hard questions, welcomed me into their home, prayed for me when I didn't know I needed it, supported me in countless ways, and that's just a start. The Earthly loss is great but the celebration in heaven is greater.

Would you please pray for Christine's family as they continue grieving this indescribable loss?

Selfishly, I also ask that you pray for me as I process this from across the ocean. It is certainly a first for me in this life I'm living.....to process through the Earthly loss of someone so special and dear to my heart.

For those that are interested....
Christine kept a blog through the years. It is an encouraging eye opener into life with cancer. It speaks into many different aspects of life when you battle cancer. The last few posts are focused on dying with faith. I am certain that someone reading this will benefit from it and/or that someone may know someone. Here is the link. The last entry in her words shows the depth of her faith. I encourage all to read that HERE.

The picture at the top is from February 2017 when I was visiting Todd and Christine during my time in the states.

Thanks for checkin' in!*

Katherine


*This is often how she would end her blog posts. So it feels like a fitting way to end this. I am thankful for all the times you are checking in with me over the years. 

NEWSLETTER: October 2018

Greetings from Kampala! Again, I feel like I should open with an apology for how long it has been since I last wrote. The good part is that this stems from being busy and that's an indicator of being in community. For this, I am thankful! The last few months I keep finding myself in situations and moments where I realize that Kampala has become home on so many levels and that's an amazing feeling. So, let me tell you about a few aspects of this place that I can so easily call home. PEOPLE WERE MADE FOR PEOPLE...... ...and I'm so thankful for some of my people. A few nights ago, I was invited over to hang out with one of my American friends. I couldn't quite force the spontaneity to go that night, so we agreed to spend time together the following evening. This evening was so so very much needed for me. It was wonderful to laugh at things that I don't even remember, but I know we laughed. It was wonderful to laugh and talk about recent events in our lives, some of which overlapped. The whole evening was so organically uplifting that it just kept going and well, by the time I got home at a time I won't mention, I walked in with a goofy grin on my face. All I could think was: People are made for people and I'm so thankful I had a person that night. I challenge you to consider: Who is your person? Are you letting someone into your life to be that person for you? Have you been a person for someone recently? Who in your life needs a person and do you think you could fill that role?  FOOD IS GOOD Cooking is challenging when you aren't in your home culture. For me, sometimes the challenge is finding what is listed on a recipe or finding the closest thing. Sometimes, you know it isn't possible to get what you want so some lovely people arrange to get it to you. One of those things for me is Chick-fil-A sauce. With a bit inspiration and lots of hope, I decided to attempt a CFA pizza. And let me tell you it was a great idea. Tortilla for the crust, CFA for the sauce, chicken and tomatoes...YUM! You'll see below I only put cheese on half. This is because I don't know if CFA sandwiches have cheese and because I had only a small amount of good cheese that I was rationing for different meals. Something moving up my list for meals is enchiladas. However, first I must make enchilada sauce because I can't just stop and buy it in a can at the store. Oh! This reminds me. I had grilled hamburgers and baked beans a couple weeks ago. And those beans started as dry beans the day before. Who knew that baked beans are properly made and not just from a can? Have you ever been without a certain food for a while that you then realized how much you appreciated it when it was gone? *top picture: a look out over the city from a building in town as the sun was starting to approach the horizon

I was quite proud of my Chick-fil-A pizza the other night.  How many spare tires do you have? This boda seems to have plenty though I'm not sure how helpful they would be.

WHAT WILL YOU SEE? Even though this place is certainly home, it still surprises me. A couple weeks ago, I saw the above pictured boda (motorcycle used for public transport of people and goods). As you can see it was certainly carrying a full load. I was reminded of the uniqueness of this when my brother was visiting as he commented on some of the boda loads. Have you seen anything new in your part of the world? What adventures local or not so local have you been on recently? THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT Probably every restaurant has an option for customers to order African tea. This can be ordered spiced or not spiced. Personally, I could go either way but I definitely prefer spiced tea. Sometimes you learn what restaurants have a better spice mixture/method than others. Now imagine you are in the Southern part of America and you very specifically prefer sweet or unsweet tea. Sometimes humans make mistakes and maybe the wrong one is brought to the customer with a strong preference. So here we have the same issue that presents itself in a different way in a different culture. I like finding moments like this because it makes it easier to accept the challenges and differences knowing that the same ones exist in America, they just present in a different way. What challenges have you had recently that you think I might also have? Does it look the same here or might it look different? That sums up some aspects of this place I call home. I hope these tidbits of stories help you to get a glimpse of my life here. As always, please do know that I am ever grateful for how you continuously support me both prayerfully and financially. Be Well and Love Big, Katherine PS: I didn't edit this in the least, so please pardon the typos!   Prayer Requests:  Give thanks for the friendships that have been so encouraging Thankful for creativity in the kitchen Pray for friendships to continue to deepen...a good support system is essential for living any where but especially overseas Pray for wisdom in some work situations Pray for smooth transition as I move to a different place in town in the next few weeks (and if a few of you remind me I'll try to remember to write about it next time) Pray for good health...rainy season has started some and even that small change in weather seems to allow germs an opportunity