Let me begin by thanking each of you for all your prayers for me and my dad. I PRAISE GOD that everything went well with his surgery. GOD was truly showed me that HE is in control and also with us in our time of need no matter where we are. HE also gave me two awesome room mates during this time that prayed with me while I was waiting for that phone and several other great volunteers that asked me about him. GOD also showed me that there is nothing more I could have done from the states that I was not already doing in Africa. HE is the one in control not me.


HE also allow me the opportunity to talk to one of my Ugandan mamas while we were waiting, she asked me was I worried about what would happen to my dad and I told her no that no matter what happened my dad would be ok and that GOD was in control. She kind of smiled this funny little smile so I asked her what and she said that the owners two girls had just asked her earlier if she noticed that every time you ask Auntie Tracey something she will said “let’s see what GOD has to say about that or “God is in control and if that is what HE wants me to do then I will.” She said they say you are always bring up GOD or talking to GOD. I told her I hope this was always true of me because I really truly to live my life under HIS control.

I have already had to say a lot of good byes in my 2 1/2 month stay here and one was to a very sweet young lady name Natalie she was one of my roommates that prayed for me during my dad's surgery. She and I had several great talks about what God is doing my life and hers. I just got the following email from her and wanted to share it with you:

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!! you have been such an encouragement to me!! Through our talks, your prayers for me, and your messages, God has totally used you to bring me encouragement and comfort! The tremendous, unwavering faith that you have in our Lord Jesus is so so inspirational and it really inspires me to be more trusting and faithful in my own walk with God!! Thanks so much for everything Trace!! I cant wait to see and hear about all the God is doing in your life, and how He works during your time in Africa!! i will be praying for you!! Also thanks so much for continually reassuring me that you will always be there for me! It means so much and I appreciate it beyond what words can say!! Your sincerity and love just truly blows my mind!! :) i miss you tons and just want you to know that I too will always be here for you!! please keep me updated on everything going on in your life!! give everyone a big hug and kiss from me!!

God Bless,

Nat

I wanted to share these two advents with you not to brag about what I have done because I have done nothing but to remind you that kids and people pick up on everything you say and do and you may never realize it. This is way it is very important that we live our lives pleasing to GOD because we are truly the only BIBLE some people will ever read. You never know who is watching you or listening to your every word. So please live your life as an example of GOD and HIS great love because you may never know just who you are impacting.

May 22nd was another one of those days to remember and I PRAISE GOD for I have now been here two months and as most of you know on April 6th of this year I had the honor of watching two families from Nashville meet their children for the first time one of those was my friend (thanks to Jon & Stacy Pardee) Gwen Oatsvalle and the other was the Hannah family. Gwen is getting two children a little boy and a little girl and the Hannah’s are getting a little boy.

The Hannah’s have stayed in Uganda since they arrived in April to work through all the red tape and the government run around here. Thanks to the flooding that happened in Nashville they were able to job to the top of the line and receive their visa for their son. This is the first guardianship visa issued in Uganda in over 8 or 9 months now. We are very excited about the fact this was done legally and through all the right channels because so much here in Uganda is done by paying people under the table.

It was amazing to be a part of everything this precious had to go through while they have been here. And to watch them bond with their new son these last 6 weeks. It was also amazing to see GOD’S perfect timing in all of this in the fact that the Hannah’s middle child in the states is graduating from high school on May 30 that they will be home for that. GOD is truly amazing and HE is still in control.

Please keep you prayers coming for these other dear families because we still have 3 families that are trying to get visa appointments and several families that are trying to get court dates. So please keep them in your prayers. Gwen is coming back next week for her visa appointment.

Other day while I was walking to town I saw a Uganda woman who I would say had to be in her 60’s. She was trying to balance a 12 foot log on her head. She was having a hard time get it centered by herself so I stopped and asked her get I help so together we lift it and placed it on her head then I handed her the machete and she thanked me and on her way she went. It truly amazes me what these amazing people can carry on their heads and even on the back of a bicycle or motorcycle.

I know what one of the first things I want to do when I do return to Tunnel Hill is and that is get Hunter & Will to teach me to ride a motorcycle. (Will you PLEASE?)

I walk or foot as they call it here most everywhere I go. And this truly amazes the Ugandans and even the Muzungu. I try to smile and say "Hello, how are you?" to everyone I pass by. Most will smile back and say "fine, how are you?" But there are a lot of street kids that will say "Muzungu, you give me my money." And this is hard to hear coming from a child but I have been told that it is not wise to give them money because they will use it to get high.

These dear people here in Uganda have a hard life but they are also so of the happiest people you will ever meet. Most make no more than 2,000 to 3,000 shillings a day which is $1 to $2 USD a day. Could you make it on that? Could you feed and take care of your family on that? Most of them live in houses no bigger then the men bible study class, most have very little electricity if any and no running water. I try to help when I can with some of the ones I have gotten closest to here by feed them when I can and I have even help with a couples their medical expenses.

We get volunteers from all over the US and Canada here. Since I still do not have not found housing I am still rooming with the volunteers on one of the top bunks in a room that sleeps 4 it is not as big as Larry Anderson's Sunday school class room. There are two bedrooms in the volunteer house one sleeps 6 and the other 4 but we have had up to 6 in my room on several occasions now. Then we also have a room in the back were the office is that will sleep 2. Being together 24/7 you get close to most of them and it is hard to say good bye. I have gotten the oppertunity to share what GOD has done in my life this past year with most of them. We have even had a Grandmother here for the last 2 1/2 weeks with her granddaughter. They where from Alabama their names were Dorothy and Macy. So don't say you are to old to go to Africa to serve GOD.

This past Sat morning I got the opportunity to to help serve at Carvery Chapel and to help with their children's ministry event it was a race for kids 5 and up. I took Macy with me and we were asked to work with the kids who were under 5 years old. We had 60 that were under 5 years of age most were street kids and most of them did not understand any thing this Muzungu said but we played with them and sang to them and I even told bible stories to them for over 4 1/2 hours. One of the songs I sang was "Zaccahaeus was a wee little man" and I had one of the Ugandan ladies there come up to me and ask me to write it down for her so she could teach it to her kids later. These kids loved to rub on my white "Muzungu" skin I told them "that they my see me different then them but GOD see us all the same." Then we watched the older kids race and heard their bible stories. It was a fun event there was over 400 or more children there and they all heard about JESUS.

I walked to town just after I finished with that wonderful event and was picked by some of the ladies I have bible study with on Wednesday mornings. They asked me where I had been and I told them I just been with 60 street kids under the age of 5 for over 4 1/2 hours that did not understand Muzungu. And one of them asked me "And that makes you happy?" I told her yes that makes me very happy that I got to minister to them and love on them.

I went to the post office just after that to receive a very special envelope from the PRE-SCHOOLER of Tunnel Hill 1st Baptist Church and also a card from the Adult Sunday school class. That just made my day. I am still look for my care packages from home they still have not arrived yet but in GOD'S perfecting time they will come just on the right day just like these did. Thank you to all my pre-schooler who drew pictures for me. I love and miss each of you every much. Thank you for all your prayers for me and your love that is what keeps me going.

Please pray for me this week I am still not over this BUG that I have taken and I still in a lot of pain and very tire and week. Pray as I am suppose to be teaching missionary children this week and I still don't have materials together yet. Please pray for me as I love on this pre-schooler that they have warned me about that is know for saying the "F" word. Pray that GOD will give me wisdom with him. Pray for the IMB missionaries that will be at this prayer conference that they will get refreshed and restored themselves. Pray for our Ugandan workers several have malaria and pray for our children several have bad colds. I do have a PRAISE one of our Canadian volunteers received Christ as her savior this week. She is the one I told you about in one of my early letters home, the one who had all the questions for me about my "True Love Waits" ring and everything else. God really started dealing with her this week about what happens to you
when you die. So we are very excited to welcome her into the family and that she now knows that she is HIS forever.

God has done and is still doing some amazing things here and I can't wait to see what is next. Thank you for all your love and prayers for me. I miss each of you every much. I am praying for you and your VBS and for Super Wow, how wish I could be there to help. I look forward to hearing from all of you very soon.

Blessings

Trace