July & Aug 2011 Dear friends, 46 weeks ago today I stepped off the British Airways flight into the cool Ugandan morning air, entranced by the sun rising over Lake Victoria. I tried to maintain the appearance of bravery, but inside I was wondering what in the world I was doing as a 22-year old working for IJM - the organization I had worshipped since I was 15 - living alone in a African city of 2.5 million, no less. My first journal entries have a lot of sentences with the words “small, unsure, alone, incompetent, overwhelmed” featured prominently. But I slowly got to know my neighborhood, I saw glimpses of God’s goodness, I made friends in the office, I started to feel like I was part of the IJM Uganda team. I met the Carrolls, who welcomed me into their family with wide open arms. I learned how to shop at the market, how to navigate the transportation system, how to speak a few words in Luganda. I learned how to live alone, how to be an adult and make my own decisions about how to spend my time and money. In many ways, I’ve changed. People here have commented on how my confidence has slowly developed over the course of the year. In the words of Francis, my favorite taxi driver and a dear friend – “You came in beautiful and delicate. Innocent. Now you are different. You have a strength inside.” And I think that’s true, although I wouldn’t have put it so strongly myself.  A lot of things that used to scare me - databases, crowds of new people, making every single decision on my own, traveling overnight on a bus by myself – don’t scare me as much anymore. In many ways, I’m the same. It didn’t take anyone here long to figure out my affinity to all things baking and Disney princesses. My passion for the Middle East popped into a conversation about three minutes after I got off the plane. I still reference Jesus and heaven and Narnia in every context possible. I still come alive when I argue about (I mean, meditate on) the Kingdom and God’s mission in the world. I still have a horrible fashion sense, still stay up too late surfing the blogosphere and still have a tendency to not make my bed in the morning. I’ve learned a lot of things about myself and the world. I’ve been able to confirm that I thrive in cross-cultural contexts – that the uncertainty of power outages and unstable economic conditions, the unsettling reality of language barriers and false skin-color assumptions dim in comparison to the complete adventure that every day of life is here. I revel in the thrill of defying death once again as I hop on a boda, the joy of sharing winks and smiles with chubby brown kids in starched school uniforms as I pass by them on the way to work in the morning, the beauty of IJM morning devotions as we praise His name in different languages and different accents. I’ve lived more than half of my life outside the US, but most of that time I was with my parents, following their leading, not mine. Living abroad as an adult has confirmed that not only can I survive living cross-culturally, I can thrive in it, too. In the workplace, I’ve learned more about my skills and weaknesses. I think I am more of a big-picture person than I realized. I feel most comfortable in the realm of vision, meaning and defining truth, not in the reality of logistical details, personnel management and split-second decisions. I’ve realized I can be completely satisfied and find deep joy in serving and supporting the other member of the IJM Uganda team, instead of being on the front lines of our work.

Some of my favorite pictures and people from throughout the year

Perhaps more than anything, this year has continued to define my calling in life. Through fighting succession-related property grabbing, I’ve seen more brutally than ever the utter depravity of mankind, of broken family relationships, of uncles and cousins and mothers who are so hard-hearted that they would kick a grieving widow and her children – most likely their family by blood or marriage – off the land, watching them slowly starve. My missionary heart has been re-awakened as I’ve grieved over these sinful hearts and broken relationships, knowing deep inside that Jesus is the only person who can really transform these hearts. Through all my experiences here, all my efforts to advance the mission of IJM by promoting structural transformation and a functioning justice system – things I still believe very deeply to be good and necessary for the protection of the most vulnerable in societies - I know that my heart stills burn more than ever for His Name to be known among the nations. I don’t know what that means exactly for the future, but it’s something I’ll continue to ponder in my heart as I move forward to Trinity Forum Academy and onwards. Please continue to pray for the office, and especially for my replacement, Mary. She has a lot on her plate right now, with a really big visit coming up on Wednesday – hosting our visitors from Canada was stressful enough for me back in June, and I had been here for 9 months by that point! Continue to pray for the widows and orphans that IJM Uganda serves.

Where Do I Go from Here? 9 – 11 August: in Hurstpierpoint, UK with old friends from PNG 12 August: Severn, MD with family 13-14 August: Colorado Springs, CO, with college friend Sarah 15 – 22 August: Nampa, ID with my family 23 – 26 August: Hamilton, ON with high school friend Beverley 27 August onwards: Royal Oak, MD at Trinity Forum Academy

If you’d like to stay up to date on IJM and ways you can be involved, I highly encourage you to sign up for their weekly prayer updates at: www.ijm.org/getinvolved/prayerpartners. You’ll hear the most pressing prayer needs from IJM’s 14 field offices around the world. This will be the last monthly update from Uganda, but I hope you’ll continue to follow my blog which is migrating today to a more generic kristahanson.wordpress.com. Thank you for being wonderful readers, supporters, prayer-ers, and friends from all over the world. It has been a joy to spend this year in Uganda with you.

Love, Krista P.S. My new mailing address will be: Krista Hanson PO Box 249 Royal Oak, MD 21662 Cell #: (208) 315 – 3070 Blog: ayearinuganda.wordpress.com | Mailing address: Krista Hanson c/o IJM Uganda, PO Box 70445, Kampala, Uganda