Thank you God

*A post from the youngest brother -Nick. Part of me is a little embarrassed to post this but I told him I'd put up what he wrote so here it it is. From his point of view. 

Well today we butchered a turkey. Needless to say that went about as well as you guess when 4 foreigners watch 2 Ugandan girls butcher a turkey. At one point Betty said “this is my first turkey” and Benj replied with “this is my first anything” or something along those lines. The girls laughed when we explained that American turkeys come in plastic wrap, cleaned and prepped with the giblets inside the bird in a bag. This ain’t no butterball but it will be so much better. Jennifer had her first opportunity treating the family today. With a something bite (spider?) on dad’s arm and discussion of stiches  to a minor cut that I still think she went a little overboard on the dressing but my assumption is that she is out of practice and needed to get the feeling back. She said stiches and I said spit on it. (To defend myself he trailed blood from the front door to the kitchen and back and I've seen infected foot wounds in this country. That dressing is not overboard. And as dressings go I'm far from out of practice Nick!)

As I sit in Jennifer’s dining room watching Benj and dad doing dishes and listening to Jars of Clay I’m struck by the closeness of our family. I have been more aware of how much I missed my big sister's guidance and maturity.  I’m once again in awe of the way my family functions almost seamlessly in her tiny kitchen of about 3 meters by 2 meters. My sister prepared another fantastic meal and I’m right back to hoping I grow up to be half as amazing as her. I think for now I will try to soak up as much from her as possible from her Settlers strategy to her ability to care for the children of this place. For all of you who aren’t here, in a way I pity you. This place is a complexity that I can’t even begin to define. It’s a place of wonder of excitement, of love and passion. A place where four boys can come to the yard and laugh and kick around a soccer ball so beat up that it only holds air for about a minute, a place where my clothes feel cleaner than they’ve ever been after being filthier than they have ever been. A place where every night my body seems to carry me just far enough to collapse into bed and still manage to rise in the morning with the strength to face another hot dry day. This is a wonderful place. Thank you God. Thank you for a family that loves you with such passion that it overflows. Thank you for a sister that has set an example that few others can claim. Thank you for two brothers who have toughened me and led me and been godly men. Thank you for parents who share love for one another as freely as they do with their children. Thank you for this place, this land, this earth that you have given us. Thank you for the wonder and the beauty. Thank you for a team that has evidently supported my sister as only a family can. Thank you God for I am blessed. A Jars song just came on that says this

Is it still my turn?

I think I'm the last one left to learn that the life I lose is the least of my concerns

Show me the beauty of a life 

No greater love

Can you say there's no greater love? 

Show me the beauty of a life laid down.

Thank you Lord for teaching me that in this place. Thank you for showing me the beauty in the foreigners in this land that don’t see themselves as such and aren’t viewed as such. Thank you God.