Highs and Lows

Some highs and lows from the past few days:

High: Opening our safe on the first try of putting in the combination

Low: Finding a dead rat in our pantry (the smell led me to it—gross!)

High: Talking to my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew from halfway across the globe

Low: Having to kill a rat with a baseball bat not more than 3 hours after finding the other dead one in the pantry

High: Checking “kill a rat” off my list of firsts

Low: Seeing pictures of my nephew’s 5^th birthday party and wishing I could have been there (still thankful for the internet and the ability to see those photos though!)

High: Praying with the girls at Christ School, reminding them that they are beloved children of God, and hearing Betty’s beautiful prayer for me

Low: Hearing stories of corrupt politicians in the area that think they can commit crimes with immunity

High: Helping Baguma Charles on a busy day at the health center and being able to successfully hear and correctly spell names in the record books (a big improvement from a few weeks ago!)

Low: Seeing a 7 month old motherless baby that weighed 3 kg with a loving grandmother who has no family support or way to feed the baby

High: Drinking coffee this morning and actually feeling a bit of a “chill” in the air; felt like it was fall for a minute!

Low: Not sleeping the past 3 nights

As you can see, life here is full of mountain peaks and valley lows. From one moment to the next, I may be floating on Cloud 9 (where does that expression even come from anyway?) or facing the stark realities of living here. So many of my daily experiences leave me feeling both triumphant and defeated. I thank God that He is always triumphant, unchanging, and his love never fails. I am so glad to have Him as a constant, strong Refuge in every moment.