A rat pooped on my bed. Twice.

We know there are rats in the ceiling, so we try and keep the doors to our rooms shut as much as possible. I left it open for a few minutes while I took a shower and came back to rat poop. On my bed. Where I sleep. Awesome. I’m banking on the fact that rats aren’t smart enough to know how to hide from humans for long periods of time. And I’m really hoping that I don’t find a dead rat in my suitcase, because I wasn't about to dig through it directly following the poop incident. 

A few of the kids came down with what we think is pink eye. Amazingly, it hasn’t spread to all of the 45 children by now.

The other night during our Bible study with the older children, I learned how to beat an African drum… more or less. There was a lot of laughing during my turn :)

I have been reading Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

I like that David says the Lord makes us lie down in green pastures. He forces us to rest. I thought that was an odd thing to say when I read it the other day. Why would God need to make me rest? I would love to go chill in a green pasture for a while, have a picnic. That sounds great to me.

But it makes sense.

I don’t always like to slow down and often I refuse to do so. Sometimes it’s more comfortable to keep moving. A fast-paced life requires little reflection or contemplation. If we just keep moving, we don’t have to ask ourselves the difficult questions or look deeper into our heart.

For me, being in Uganda this time around has been more difficult. I miss home, I miss my people, and part of me would be more comfortable having a typical summer back in the States.

But the longer I am here, the more my heart is beginning to rest. Uganda is my green pasture. The Lord is forcing me lie down and slow down. Because rest is not always a physical rest (I am working harder here than I would have back home). What I needed was a spiritual rest.

He knows what I need better than I do, and He knew that I needed this time to slow down and just be for a while.

He is restoring my soul.

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.