YOU TUBE = ME TUBE

I’ve posted a video on you tube.  

SEE MINISTRIES – a series of pictures taken in the fall from a See Ministries event.

More to come!!

I'm Legal!

I finally received my work permit from the Ugandan government!  Just in time to be able to leave the country for a visit to Kenya.  Honestly, I had an easy time of it compared to some of my teammates immigration horror stories.  In case any of you ever need to get a work permit in Uganda, below are some helpful guidelines.  

1. Apply Early – and include every document that has your name and some sort of official seal.  I turned in my request in November.  My file included everything from copy of passport (expected) to copy of high-school transcript (embarrassing).  Sometimes it takes several attempts to get your request accepted.
2. Be patient.  Wait, Wait, Wait. 
3. After 3 full months, travel to the immigration office in Kampala (a 4 hour trip for me) to check on your status. HOW TO CHECK STATUS:
1. Go to office A (size of a shoebox) and look through “official” records journal to find your request number.
2. Go to office B (size of large closet) with your request number.  Watch as officer goes up to a wall (floor to ceiling) of papers and files.  Magically your file emerges.
3. Determine if your request has been (a) acknowledged, (b) ignored, (c) forgotten, (d) lost, (e) denied, or (f) granted!
4. At this point, if request is stalled, you’ll have to make another trip to Kampala in a few weeks.
5. Once request is granted – proceed to Office C with your file.  Here a person behind iron bars determines how much money you owe and issues you an official bill.  (My work permit cost 250,000 shillings or around $125.)
6. Take this slip of paper across busy and crowded Kampala city to the Ugandan Internal Revenue Bank.  (figure out where in the heck is the Ugandan Internal Revenue Bank).
7. At Bank go to Counter A – push your way through the crowd towards the front and eventually to a clerk who will take your money and type something in the computer.
8. Still at Bank – wait across the room in front of Counter B for another clerk to call out your name indicating that your official receipt is ready.  This receipt takes anywhere from 30 - 90 minutes.
9. Drive back across busy Kampala to the Immigration Offices with official receipt the verifies your payment.
10. Go back to Office B, present official receipt. Leave passport with officer for another week for the official work permit to be inserted into your passport.
11. Wait a week.
12. Drive back to Kampala to pick up passport.  Be thankful!!

Randomness….

Creating a list of 25, 50, or 100 Random facts about yourself is the latest craze on Facebook.  Honestly, I don’t care to read 100 random facts about anyone – you probably don’t either.  Maybe we can all handle 25.  It took me several days to come up with all 25…I almost gave up after 6. 

 

1. First Things First.  The first thing I do when I pick up a newspaper is read the comics.  The first comic strip that I read is Garfield.

 

2. Heinz Ketchup! I love Heinz Ketchup!!  It makes anything taste better.  (except eggs & ice cream – that’s just gross). 

 

3. Writing…I love the concept of writing, but putting pen to paper is actually painful for me.  Literally.  It hurts to hold a pen and write.  I blame it on all the invitations I’ve hand addressed on campaigns.  One day, my hand just had enough and it hasn’t forgiven me since.  

 

4. Spelling……Spelling correctly is really difficult; You know it’s bad when you ask your Jr. High students for help as you’re writing notes on the board. 

 

5. DVR! Because I can’t write, I keep a lot of notes on the computer and I also use a digital voice recorder (DVR) for journaling.  One of my new favorite ways to journal is to interview myself.  These are really hilarious! 

 

6. Maps!  I love to look at, read, and memorize maps!! 

 

7. 5!  This year I have flown over the Atlantic Ocean 5 times!!  I only had to sit in Coach once.  (and I still have to fly home in August…that will make it 6)

 

8. Speaking of 6! Today, I drove for the first time in 6 months…..Only it was in Uganda, and they drive on the opposite side of the road, and the truck was a stick shift, and I didn’t hit anyone or kill the engine – all the while dodging pot-holes, cows and bicycle taxis. 

 

9. Memories!  I have a “Book of Memories” that I started in 2001.  It is list of funny, sad, eventful, and random memories that I never want to forget.  

 

10. Ahem!  If I have to work, then I dream of being a writer (isn’t it ironic?) and a highly sought after public speaker. 

 

11.  Harold!  One of my favorite all time actors is Harold Lloyd.  Who is that, you may ask?  Harold Lloyd is only one of the best silent movie actors from the 1920’s.  Don’t hate.  He will make you laugh out loud. 

 

12.  Oh, Brother!  I am the luckiest sister to have the best brother in the whole world.  Seriously, all my girl friends wish Andrew was their brother….even some of my guy friends. 

 

13.  Frankly My Dear….Everything I needed to know about life, I’ve learned from Margaret Mitchell and Jane Austen. 

 

14. Shhh!  I sleep with ear plugs and sometimes even an eye-mask.

 

15.  Get Lost!  Going on long walks or drives with no destination is one of my favorite stress relievers.  (usually with a Rob Bell or Andy Stanley podcast on my ipod – or Weezer playing really loud if I’m angry….)

 

16.  Chapstick?  Right now in my purse, I counted 5 tubes of chapstick.  It is very rare that I can keep up with one long enough to use it all.

 

17.  Dirty!  I hate doing the dishes.

 

18.  Christy.  The novel Christy by Catherine Marshall was a major inspiration to my initial thoughts about doing mission work.

 

19.  My Words!  One of the most exciting moments of working in the Lt. Governor’s Office was when he used some of my suggestions in a speech.  I was standing off to the side and felt like jumping up and down and declaring “Those were my words!”  I’m not sure it was even a complete sentence and I don’t recall what the speech was about – but I’ll never forget the feeling!

 

20.  Quiet Game.  I covet quiet alone time.  Sometimes I just wonder off without telling anyone.  Like the time I went to Hawaii for my 23^rd birthday.

 

21. My-tunes.  The top 5 most played songs from my itunes are: #1 Underdog, Spoon; #2 Caravan, Van Morrison; #3 Under Pressure, David Bowie; #4 Grace Kelly, MIKA; #5 Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Andrews Sisters.

 

22.  8-31. I share a birthday with Van Morrison and I think that makes me pretty cool. 

 

23.  Sweeper. Back in the day, I had soccer coaches from Italy, Ireland, Mexico, England, and the good ole USA.  I was a defender you didn’t want to mess with (what I lacked in skill, I made up for with violence). I even broke a teammate’s arm during a scrimmage (but not on purpose) – Sorry Katie.  

 

24.  Aces.  I might be the best Spades player….ever.  But be warned, I cheat.      

 

  25.   Home.  After 12 months in Uganda, I’ll be returning to Atlanta on August 13, 2009 at approximately 7:10pm.  Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.