QUOTE

I came across a quote that I really liked the other day...its a good one, based on Paul's message to the Corinthians (2 cor 1):

"I absolutely despaired of life. Yes, and when I asked, What shall be the end? the whispered answer of my heart was, Death. This taught me to rely no more on my own strength, but upon God alone, for He can raise up men actually dead!" - Way

Airport Adventures

Lets just say, its good to be back home!!!

I took a tour of 5 airports, in 4 countries, on 3 continents...and I did it all in 24 hours, with a 25kg carry on!

I made it back in one piece which was nice, but have a bruise on my arm that resembles the strap on my carry-on bag, proof of its sheer weight!

I am grateful to all my fellow passengers, who saw me lifting my carry-on full of books over my head into the bins and joined in to help with the task!

I am also grateful to good ol' Emirates for not enforcing their 7kg carry on limit!

Ahh! The joys of traveling!

Joni & Friends International Disability Conference

GBI Is Pleased to Announce our first Joni & Friends Conference!!

21st - 24th June 2010!

It is such a pleasure to join with organizations around the world as we equip and train christian leaders to transform our society!

We originally planned to train 50 workers but demand was so high, that we are well over that number now.

Please be praying for the trainers and the students during this fantastic opportunity to learn more about God, more about Theology of suffering & disability, and more about how to practically serve the disabled here in Uganda!

Fish Food???

Sometimes I wonder about fish...

Have you??

God made them to eat all the algae and nastiness on the sides of rocks, glass tanks and the works...Its kinda gross if you think about it...

And while it may sound strange, I started thinking about the caste system and how it might look in the fish world...which fish is upper class and who is in the untouchables class??

AND Yes...I really am blogging about this...but really I think I have an answer...

Here is my proposed fish caste system...

1. Upper Class...Fish in the Ocean...Who eat Ocean Algae
2. Middle Class...Fish in a Fish Tank...Who eat the nastiness growing on the fish tank glass

3. Lower Class...Fish in a Fish Spa...Who eat...well...

How should I put it...

They eat the nastiness (bacteria) and dead skin on people's feet...

Yes folks...I said it...They eat Foot Funk!

How do I know this??

Apparently it's a popular therapy in Malaysia...and well...I think the fish liked my African Foot Funk...

Take a look:

Here's another thought...if all of creation is created to sing praises to God, and bring him all Glory and Honor...does that mean that my foot funk, is enabling these fish to bring glory to God, because through it, they are doing what God created them to do??

huh...It is kinda crazy...but really the whole time I was watching them eat junk off my feet I was watching them...their little mouths, and how they chewed...it was AMAZING! And my friends, only God could create something as cool as that!

So here's to my foot funk...and the lowly caste of fish in the fish spa...all of which praise God in their own special way :)

10%

That's how many in Malaysia are Christians...the rest are Islamic, Muslim, Buddhist, etc...

You can tell by walking around the worship of other gods...most stores have their shrines by the front door as you walk in.

If you miss the small individual shrines, you can look on most streets and see the presence of temples and mosques.

Today I was talking to someone who has lived here for 12 years...He said that their are three types of people here:

1. Malay
2. Indian
3. Chinese

Of these, the Indians and Chinese have a free choice of the religion they practice...The Malay's don't however...All their identification is automatically marked as Islamic...it is illegal to be anything else...

Recently a Malay woman, who has been a christian for 20 years tried to get her identification card changed to Christian...it was overturned in the high court and she was told not to make rash decisions.

Pray for the people here...its sad that such a modern, industrialized place still has such a closed mind to the gospel!

A New Revelation…

As I sat in the Dubai Airport…a very Muslim country as you may know…
I was struck by the beauty of a woman walking with her husband in the terminal.

Now I can’t say that it was her face that caught my attention…but it was a gracefulness about her.
The way she slowly strolled along, with confidence in her step.

She was wearing a simple black outfit…you may have seen them…the ones that very conservative Muslims wear…where all you see is a rectangle around her eyes.

It made me think of all the ways that people try and get attention. How people try to get noticed because of their hair, their makeup, their clothes, their figures, etc…

Yet, this woman didn’t get my attention because of any of these reasons…she was beautiful to me, even if I have no idea what she looked like under her attire.

She walked tall, She had a bounce in her step…

As Christians, we should be that way…graceful because who is in us, not because of how we look or the attention we are trying to get externally.

Part of me wanted to grab some black outfits and throw them on everybody…

If we covered ourselves up, and played the game on a level field, how could I tell who you are, without all the external “beauty” helps…

After all, God says that beauty comes from within, if we really all believed that, and I mean believed it in our gut, we would also have a confident stroll as we glide down the terminal with Jesus in our hearts…

I smelled, I tasted...I conquered??

All week I have been hearing a debate here in Malaysia...


It is pretty evenly divided...half say: "JUST SAY NO TO DURIAN"


and the other half say: "DURIAN, THE KING OF ALL FRUIT"


The debate is so heated that they even made a dorm rule...

"NO DURIAN IN ANY SCHOOL REFRIGERATOR!"


So well...Today I went to a food mart with 3 students from Penang and they bought some Durian for me to taste...


...AND let me just say...its almost indescribable...


Knowing me though, I will try to paint a picture...


We get to the food stand, and there are sealed containers of Durian Fruit. The woman at the stand insists that it is the King of all Fruits, so one of the girls I was with picked up the container and opened the lid...The smell...


Well...It smelled like a cross between rotting jackfruit and dirty socks...have to say...the smell in no way gave off the impression of "King" unless it was King Tut and he had been rotting for a few hundred years....

BUT despite the smell, I agreed to try this one of a kind, King of all Fruits..

After our meal...out came the container of Durian...and off came the lid...HELLO SMELL

But as promised I grabbed my piece of fruit...

And again, was very very surprised...It was peeled already and looked like an internal organ of some type...maybe liver??

And as I picked it up, it was squishy, so squishy in fact the my fingers disappeared into the gooey texture of the fruit


There was an outer layer, of something?? Maybe skin?? Then the inside, which was equivalent to a room-warm cheesecake texture.


As I bit into it, the fruit, as cheesecake would, it dissolved in my mouth without needing any chewing whatsoever...it tasted like it smelled at first...with a weird sour pineapple flavor at the end.

I ate the whole thing, and came to a large seed pod at the end...thinking to myself, okay...if you don't smell the thing when you eat it...its not TO bad, that is if you can get over the texture...

BUT then, I did the thing that everyone told me not too...I burped...I couldn't help it...and like garlic that lingers...my breath smelled & tasted like the rotting fruit and sock mixture that I had just consumed...

My opinion, now that I have experienced Durian for myself is...

1. I am glad its not allowed in the dorm refrigerator, and
2. I am a "JUST SAY NO TO DURIAN" kinda girl...

For all my lovely friends out there...if you see the King of Fruit...run in the opposite direction and breathe through your mouth!!

GBI Partners...

GBI is now part of the HCD (Holistic Child Development) Global Alliance!!!

Check out there website for more information!

http://hcd-alliance.org/

The Curriculum Reviewers...

The Curriculum Review Team that met in Mukono, Uganda. These 19 people represent 7 African countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Ethiopia, & South Africa), and 14 Colleges & Universities all offering programs in Holistic Child Development.

GBI is all about partnerships! We truly believe that it is in relationship with each other that we can transform our society with the good news of Jesus and so many of our interactions are geared at partnering with the community around us. As a part of these partnerships, GBI is now working in the area of HCD, or Holistic Child Development. What we found with working with others is that in a community largely made up of children, there are very few formal training programs that train Christian workers to care for and minister to children. As we embarked on this new area of study at GBI, we found an elite few, worldwide, that are also embarking on the journey with us. Our common interests in training up workers to minister to at-risk children resulted in the creation of board of people, all participating in the work of formal training, from certificate level all the way up to the Master’s degree level. GBI is privileged to join this group of people, who represent 7 African countries, and 14 universities. Our goal is to unite our curriculum, as well as to work together in changing the negative way in which children are viewed in the churches and communities around us. It is just one area that GBI, and the Christian community is striving for excellence in equipping the Christian leaders in our society!

2 am Observations...

Here are some observations I made, either in the air or in the airport today…
Just thought you might enjoy my ramblings!

Reasons why Emirates airlines are the best ever…

1. The ceiling of the airplane is purple and has little star lights
2. They have over 200 free movies to watch
3. AND, they let you watch the movie as soon as you sit down…no waiting for take off or any of that jazz…
4. They have electrical sockets on the back of each seat for you to charge your laptop or other electrical devices while you fly
5. They feed you A LOT! On my first flight…an hour and a half flight, they feed me two sandwiches, on the second flight, which was just under 4 hours they feed me a full meal with desert…I’m just saying…
6. They fly into Dubai…which I think is best described as a bigger, better, Vegas…
7. The Dubai Airport…equally as amazing with indoor water falls, Starbucks, McDonalds and all those other big name brands: Rolex, Channel…and some others that well…just aren’t as important to me as STARBUCKS and McDONALDS…Hey…don’t Judge, I haven’t seen one in a year!!
8. When you turn on your cell phone, they send you an SMS text welcoming you to the U.A.E. and tell you to enjoy your stay!
9. The airport has FREE wireless internet…come on now….that’s value!

My downside to flying Emirates…

Well…It’s my #5…They feed you A LOT…which makes you happy at first BUT when you get to my happy place #7…you realize that you see the McD’s, AND you REALLY, and I mean REALLY want to have some chicken nuggets and French fries, along with a frappacino and you just have NO and I do mean NO space in your stomach for any of it…Now that’s just not fair!!! It’s like the florescent M is mocking me!

Maybe if I do some jumping jacks in the terminal I may make some space in my tummy for a 4 piece…

Signing out, stuffed and mocked…at 2am…

Introducing Our Newest Diploma

It is a first for GBI...the launch of our new community development programs meant to equip christian workers all over Uganda.

So for all those curious minds out there...

Here is our Newest Child Development Diploma:




For more info on GBI, our programs and opportunites for ministry, visit us at: www.gbiuganda.org