Summary (or at least an attempt)

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Gal. 5:25)

There are three tribes in Burundi. The Twa are being used by the others for hard manual labor and at the end of the day are paid with just a bit of porridge. The Twa make this beautiful pottery but it has no monetary value. Hermes & Passe are not Twa but God has sent them to share the gospel of Christ with the Twa. They are starting a Twa school & teaching them to farm & build sturdy houses.

We worked with two local ministries: Youth for Christ & Harvest for Christ. The believers in Burundi passionately desire their countrymen to know & glorify God in all things! I was with a short-term Dental Community Fellowship(DCF) team of Dr. & Mrs. Sasser and 7 MUSC Dental school Seniors.

Two weeks in Nairobi, Kenya were in schools with a different DCF team. At the school each child has a western sponsor who provides school supplies and food. The hope is that one day these children will be able to get jobs and then sponsor other children.


I was at Kijabe Hospital Dental clinic for 3 weeks & did more dental work than I ever thought I’d get to do. The time there with Dr. Rich’s family put away any concerns I’ve ever had about one day raising a family in Africa. I do not know how all the desires God has put in my heart will work together but I know that He’s put them there for a reason and I’m trusting Him to lead me.

At Mengo Hospital in Uganda I didn’t do very much dental work and struggled with “why am I here?” As I surrendered my idea of what I was supposed to be doing, God let me see glimpses of what He was doing. Here in Uganda some students heard the gospel for the first time. I was able to lead a devotion for the Ugandan nursing students. And the local believers were my encouragers, prayer partners and friends. Jesus prayed, “… that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me (John 17:23).”

Reflections

"I will not boast in anything; no gifts, no power, no wisdom.
But I will boast in Jesus Christ; His death and resurrection! "


Dear Friends,

This summer was not about teeth. It was not about Africa. It was not about what I did or where I went. It was about Who I am following. I had the great privilege of working with several ordinary Christians who love an extraordinary God.
As I have talked with people about going to Africa many have said what a good and selfless thing I was doing. While I am thankful for the encouragement I must confess that in going I am simply doing my heart’s desire. It does not feel selfless or sacrificial. This does not belittle the good work that God is doing in Africa. Instead it reveals the fact that God is doing a mighty work in Africa BY doing a mighty work in the hearts of His people, even me!
This summer I was reminded of the simple beauty of the gospel. God loves the world. God desires and deserves to be worshiped. Mankind was designed by God to live indwelt by His Holy Spirit but forfeited that great blessing by our unbelief. This is why we can not do what is right in deed, word, thought and motive. This is why we die. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our sins made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:4f). So now, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). When my heart’s desire is fulfilled by going to learn and to serve in Africa, it is really God who is fulfilling His will and I am simply the one who enjoys Him!
It is God who is doing this work in my heart and I am thankful this summer that He began showing me how He is molding me. I am constantly aware of how short I fall but “He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it” (1 Thes. 5:24).

With the joy of the Lord,

Jennie O

"He who calls you is faithful..." - 1 Thes.5:24

Hey Friends,

I thought it'd be good to have a short 2 minute video to show people who want to see a little bit of where I was this summer. This video is not intended to get across the details of this summer. It doesn't even begin to explain the fullness and joy in my heart with gratitude for His love for me and for the incredible opportunity that I had this summer to learn from some normal Christians who are daily considering others more important than themselves, who have been sent by Christ to live the normal Christian life somewhere other than "home." I can not thank y'all enough for your prayers and support as you have partnered with me this summer. I am sure that I do not yet know all the lessons the Lord has for me to learn from the past few months. It will be both joyful and difficult as I reflect upon my time in Africa and as I readjust to life here in the States.

If y'all are interested in knowing more I would love to get together with you to share in more detail. This was a very full summer so specific questions are helpful. I hope to get my thoughts together and send out a more formal report before too long.

Because Jesus is worthy,
jennieo

Midnight Bus to Mombassa

In Uganda almost everyone who I spent time with was Ugandan. I did not get to do as much dentistry and so at times I wondered what I was doing there. But I learned so much about the culture and even a little of the language. The friends who I would spend time hanging out with and talking about the Lord and praying with were Ugandan. They were my encouragers, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Some other western people I met there remarked on how I'd been able to make such good friends with local people. It wasn't until later as I was reading John 17:23 that I realized why I had become such fast friends with the people there. Jesus prayed, "that [us who believe in Him] may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that [God] sent [Jesus] and loved [us].

After a lengthy good-bye with my friends in Uganda I am now back in Kenya with Dr. & Mrs. Rich & their family. Their family went to the beach in Mombassa and were gracious enough to let me come. The other family who was with us, the Congdons, know all the people I was with in 2007. It is so incredible to spend time with families who live here and have for years & to meet their kids who are my age. I've been able to talk with Mrs. Rich & Mrs. Congdon about some of the difficulties with raising a family in Africa.

I have really mixed emotions about coming home. I miss and love all of you probably more than you know. But in all honesty I do not want to come home. I've been a bit teary the past few days just thinking about it so your prayers would be appreciated as I prepare to come home & when I get home with readjusting before school starts on the 24th.

Just for fun:

• Ran out of dental floss!
• With the world cup over sports news is not as exciting. Last night the headline was a local badmitten tournament.
• When I get home I will have an orange kitten, Murphy, who I will promptly dye garnet.
• there are always ants, lots & lots of ants... in food, on the floor & in my bed...
• there were 4 dental students in Mombassa so instead of a sand castle we built a sand maxillary first molar
• climbed a palm tree
• met a guy named Nate who has been bugging me to write a blog about him
• extracted 2 teeth on my own & reset a lady's mandible whose jaw had been locked open
• lost my favorite Carolina hat in the Indian ocean

Pictures

Dr. Ogunsalu came to teach a dental implant course and invited me to sit in.


At the end of the course the dentists practiced sinking implants on pig jaws.


Waste not, want not. After sinking the implants the pig heads were promptly cooked and eaten. Tasted like a big chunk of fatty bacon. ;-)


With all the dentists after they received their certificates.


TRIPLETS!

Be still and know that I am God. - Ps.46:10

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10593771.stm

God is sovereign over the weather and over the actions of men. Before the devil attacked Job, he had to ask God's permission. And remember God even said, "have you considered my servant, Job?" So let us be still and know the one thing that is necessary (Lk. 10:42), God is God (Ex.3:14). He shall be exalted among the nations!

Isaiah 45:5-7
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

"Kampala City Hit by 3 Bomb Blasts"
It is not my intention to alarm anyone. However I know that many of you may hear about the bombs that went off in Kampala last night. I wanted all of you to know that I am ok and was not present. There are 5 med-students from the UK staying at the same guest house with me. They had talked about going but decided not to because one of the girls was not feeling well. So God was merciful to them and protected them. David, one of the men who is working at the dental clinic was there and again God was gracious to him. The blasts came from the front. He was near the back but still the man who was standing behind him was killed. David saw some terrible things.

This has not changed my travel plans though I will be a bit more cautious of large crowds for the remainder of my stay. I fly out of Uganda on the 22nd and will then spend about 10 days in Kenya with the Richs again! I am going with them to Mombassa for a couple days and will be back in Kijabe for about a week before flying home. I land in Charleston just before midnight on August 4th.

Could be worse...

... could be raining.

and it did!

Even for someone who loves Africa and the culture there are times when I have to stop and remember that God is God, He is in control of schedules, people, events and yes... rain.

I had the opportunity to go with Margaret to a graduation celebration yesterday. I put on a gomez (traditional Ugandan dress). We left at 7:30am on what I was told would be a 2 hour journey. At 11:45 I REALLY needed to go to the bathroom!!! We arrived at a little village church and because the girl who was taking me did not know where the toilet was we went on into the church. At about 12:45 I could no longer even try to pay attention. I was just praying, "Help me Jesus... Help me Jesus..." And He did for the next hour I was able to hold it! When we got out an hour later I greeted a few people on my way to the toilet. I was not phased by the fact that it was what I've heard eloquently referred to as "a long drop."

I was supposed to meet some friends back in Kampala at 7. I'd told my friends I'd have to leave at 2:30 thinking that would mean I'd be able to actually leave by 4:30 putting me back in Kampala at 6:30 (if it was a 2 hour drive.) They started setting the table to serve food at 1:30 and I thought we were right on target. But they kept putting things out and putting them back then rearranging and then starting over all together. My American mindset kicked in and thought how incredibly inefficient! I couldn't understand what the speakers were saying because it was all in Luganda so my thoughts were all over the place. I wasn't concerned about the time so much as I hated to think that my friends in Kampala would be waiting for me. I had to continually submit my thoughts to the Lord and ask Him to help me "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." And I actually thought of a line from Young Frankenstein that has even become a bit of a family joke, "could be worse, could be raining." Finally at 10 til 5 we were eating. Some places think you should eat with your right hand, but since that's the one I shake hands with I preferred to lick matoke off my left hand instead.

I thought, ok, now we've eaten, it will be ok to leave. And the thunder boomed, the sky opened up and the downpour began. We all ran back into the church building and there with 200 Africans we waited out the storm. There were HUGE pots full of rice that I thought the children might fall in and be lost forever because they still had not eaten and were pulling rice from the pot in handfulls. And there I bowed my head and had to pray and had to laugh. There was nothing I could do about this whole situation so why didn't I just enjoy the adventure and trust that the Lord would take care of my friends. Besides they are African, they understand.

• GO COCKS! national champs! & i found out on facebook