raring to go

it's day 2 now and i'm finally getting acclimated to the time change.  we haven't started any video business yet, but i've been shooting some photos and spending a lot of time thinking about what the video stuff needs to look like.  i'm gonna try to schedule next week with the choir for a few days.  i'm also gonna get hannington' story  and sam straxy's story (not that that means much to you now but hopefully will soon).

i also need to find a way to compel people about the need that exists.  there are success stories, sure, but i think people are compelled to give to a need, not to something that happened last year.  i just don't want it to feel like there's some black hole that sucks money in with no effect.  i've been blown away by how things that we did last year are talked about.  especially things that seem like no big deal.

for example, we went to northern uganda (gulu) for like 5 days last year.  i didn't feel like we did much other than make some contacts and talk to some kids about sponsorship.  then today i was showing my friend jonathan some pictures from gulu last year (nice work jen) and he was remarking that some people from gulu came to their church after we'd left and talked about what an impact it had on them.   we had given some blankets and mosquito nets out, but it just seemed like such a token thing.  jonathan told me a different story. 

i guess more than anything it reminded me that what we do in love, no matter how small it seems (and it always seems smaller to us) people are touched.  it makes me a little uncomfortable to hear thanks from people for our contribution because it really does feel like such a tiny drop in the bucket.  i feel like i want to tell them all the bad things i've done in my life as a reminder that i'm not as good as they might think.  but i think they know.  in the same way that i am grateful when i'm blessed, so are they.  when someone does something for me that feels great to me, i don't care if they're not a saint.  i don't even care if the help they gave me is a big deal or not.  i just want them to know how grateful i am.  i guess i'm just way more comfortable being on the thanking end than the other.  maybe God can teach me to be more humble through this.

i'll try to upload photos sometime, but it seems like a lost cause.  if i do, you'll be among the first to know.