My Dear Friend JOY!
I laughed out loud when Joy (one of the Mammas at Hope and a dear friend) bit into the Resses Peanut Butter Cup we gave her to try. When asked what she thought she flashed me her sweet smile and said “It’s good!” After being gone a month in my home state of Oregon and meeting my first grandchild Titus James Vallely, I am now back in Uganda. It is amazing to see how different the two cultures are. I now find myself a woman between two different continents completely across the world from each other. There are people in both places that I love and care for and my life is to love them both; some who are here in Uganda and some who are back in Oregon.
What strikes me most about returning to Uganda is the simplicity of life and the joy taken in the smallest things; like a piece of candy. Although the people here have so little, they truly seem to embrace and find joy in the lives they live. This is an example to me of how I should live my life.
Another thing that occurs to me is how much the people of Uganda have changed me and blessed my life. When you come to a place so filled with need. You stop thinking about yourself. You let go of thinking about what you need and desire, and it becomes so much more important to see how you can bless another person rather than worry about yourself. The people of Uganda have taught me how much better it is to give than receive. As I pour out my life in service to them, I no longer carry the burden of thinking about myself so much. In that, I am set free, really free to live the life I was always created to live!
