Life since August

I love pictures, and so I thought I'd show everyone what the last 6-7 months of my life has been like with a bunch of photos. Enjoy!

SUMMER:
My parents and I drove up to Timberline Lodge one day at Mt. Hood. It is so beautiful up there!





























Hanging out with Tammi before she and her family moved to China.













My Dad and I went on a hike to Serene Lake. We enjoyed gorgeous scenery, but also got eaten by about a million and one mosquitoes!















Lunch at my sister's house with my grandparents and all the great-grandchildren that live in town.







































Fun with the Satterthwaites: Jackson & Olivia, Drew, and Lincoln





































My 29th Birthday!




























Camping with my Dad at Snow Mountain




















FALL:
My friend Connie getting baptized!!!!











Trip to Colorado to WorldVenture Headquarters to help with the Hope Alive! walk-a-thon




































My mom's 50th Birthday celebration:



























My awesome students in Rm. 23:



















Changing leaves:

























Halloween!

















WINTER:
Snow, Snow, and more snow! The biggest snowstorm I have ever seen in Portland...18 inches dumped. Awesome!



















Christmas celebrations. On Christmas Eve and Christmas day we were without electricity--no lights, no heat, and no running water....hence all the hats and warm clothes...our family Christmas was a few days later and was a blast! Lots of kids and chaos, but lots of fun too :)
























































































Megan and Phil's Wedding: At the beginning of January, I took a trip to Akron, Ohio to see my Ugandan roommate Megan get married. It was a fun occasion. Many people who had been in Uganda were able to come so it was like having a mini-reunion!


















































Pajama Day & Valentine's Day celebration at work:












































Great Times with my niece and nephews: Elijah & Micah, Drew, Lincoln, and the twins



















































































Catching up with College friends: Shelby and Kathleen, Deanna and Hannah

On the Road to Return

Uganda has burrowed its way into my heart and has not let go. So, I am headed back! I am now once again endorsed by WorldVenture as a mid-term missionary to go to Uganda and serve with Hope Alive!--a relief organization that seeks to bring the healing hope of Jesus to the hurting children of Africa.

This time my service will be for two to three years. I am excited to rejoin this amazing organization and get further involved in the cultures and peoples of Uganda. I will be living in the same house and working in the same context. My main areas of involvement will be with the tutoring program, Saturday and holiday clubs, and administration.

The two roommates I had in Uganda have both returned to the States, but I am happy to say that two other ladies (a nurse and an administrative assistant) are making plans to come to Uganda, so I'll have two roommates once again!

So, what is my projected leaving date? I've been asked to try to be there by mid May.
Pretty exciting stuff! More updates to come!

Goodbyes....and Hellos

Well, I've been back in the States for two weeks now. I wanted to share some photos of my last few days in Uganda, my trip home and layover in London, and things that have happened since my return.

The students in Kampala had a party for my roommate Megan and I on our last day of
Saturday Club. This is a group picture of everyone who was there that day, along with the cake that my friend Renee made for us.






Here is a close-up of the cake. Megan and I are wearing T-shirts that the kids signed for us.







Many of the students and staff rewrote the words of a song and sang it to us.





Fun pictures with my friends.










Brenda, Hope, Ruth, and Esther

Bruno, Carol, Rashid, Kate, and Molly











Megan, Brian, Safari, Eddie, Me, Charles, and Francis


Megan, Andrew, and I


On my last day of work, I brought my fish "!" to the office to give him to my friend, Richard.






Proud new fish owner!






On Sunday, at church, I was able to see many friends one last time and say goodbye.
Monday morning came all too soon and too early. (I had to be up by 5am!) I had no problems getting checked in, and wasn't charged anything for my one overweight bag (Yay!). On the flight from Entebbe to London I was able to sit with some old family friends who had been in Uganda on a missions trip for the past month. I had an overnight layover in London, so after checking into my hotel, I rode the subway into town and had some time to see the sights.










Trafalgar Square







Another side of Trafalgar Square with the church, St. Martin of the Fields, behind it.








Looking towards Parliament from Trafalgar Square







Big Ben









Self-portrait in front of Parliament








The River Thames










Westminster Abbey










Cute Restaurant with beautiful flowers




For dinner that evening, having not eaten fast food for 9 months....of course, I grabbed a Happy Meal from McDonalds! It tasted great! Gotta love french fries.

The next day, I flew from London to San Francisco, and then from San Francisco to Portland. At the airport I was greeted by many friends and family. I had expected to see my parents and maybe my sisters, but was surprised by seeing my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and several friends from church. I was tackled by my three oldest nephews :) and I was able to greet my new twin niece and nephew for the first time! It was a wonderful homecoming.
During the last couple of weeks I have taken time to get used to many different things...we drive on the right side of the road here, roads are wider and not full of potholes or speed bumps, people follow the laws while driving and don't honk their horns very often. I am also greatly enjoying eating things like berries, peaches, pears, grapes, and ice cream and chocolate! I'm finishing up my last few requirements for my Master's Degree at Western Seminary and am excited for it to be completed.
I've gotten to spend time with my family as well. I'm amazed at how much all of my nephews have grown!








My twins: Olivia and Jackson













Drew, Lincoln, and I









Elijah







Micah




It is nice to be home, but I am definitely missing Uganda. We'll see what the coming weeks and months bring...

Plastic Skating

Only in Africa could you find ice skating on something other than ice. My roommate Megan and I just went ice skating on a floor that was some kind of plastic. It was crazy...definitely more difficult to skate on...very slippery. I felt like I was five years old again, learning to skate for the first time. It was quite the adventure!

June Events

The month of June went by quickly. The two major things that happened were that my friends Katie and Joy visited me (yay!) and that we moved offices.

Having Katie and Joy here was so much fun. They got to see my life in Kampala as they took part in Saturday club, coaching, and other office activities. We also did some fun things, such as visit the source of the Nile River down in Jinja and go shopping at the Equator. It was great to be able to share everything with them.


Katie and Joy working in the office








We're at the source of the Nile River...where the river leaves Lake Victoria and starts its journey toward the Mediterranean Sea.










Katie and I relaxing on the roof of my house.










Standing at the Equator



As far as moving offices goes…it is something that has needed to happen for a long time. We had been in a two room office located next to the church, but we were bursting from the seams. The new place we have is a two-story house with tons of space! We’re still in the process of settling in but are enjoying having room to spread out in and space to store all our supplies. It is a big answer to prayer.



Hanging up curtains










Brian, GJ, and Richard








Andrew and Dorothy in the empty old office.




Megan and I working at our new desks.