I am in a season right now where I am feeling HARD of life in Uganda! In our training at Missions Training International, we learned that as missionaries, we wake up at a higher stress level than we used to when we lived in our own passport cultures by almost double. We have learned to adjust and adapt, and even thrive in our lives here in Uganda. But sometimes, all the things that we can normally manage become overwhelming: things that shouldn’t take as long as they do; having to go to several stores and still not finding the food items we want for months on end; instability of consistent water, electricity, and sunshine (which the combination is needed to do laundry); household items that continuously break without the ease of buying a new one or getting it repaired correctly; good mechanics are impossible to find and roads tear up our vehicles; having work done on the house NEVER goes how we expect or want, often with errors, lack of appropriate tools or supplies, and any mistakes are at our expense; and don’t get me started on driving with the “mosquitos” we call bodas (small motorcycle taxis) that swarm the streets in ridiculously large numbers. We typically manage these daily challenges, and they have been part of our lives for the past 10 years. We have not only adapted to these things, but things have also improved with more options available in town, people we can call when we need repairs, people who help us find things we need from town and even deliver them to us, and a community of friends that is always willing to help in all sorts of situations. In the midst of the HARD, I can also see the GOOD.

Another tool we learned in our missions training is how to use language for this paradox of emotions, happy and sad, blessings in the midst of hard, struggles mixed with good things. A play on the word paradox to a “pair of ducks” – yay duck and yuck duck. Positive and negative emotions can happen at the same time. So in the midst of the difficult right now, our family has been looking ahead to Thanksgiving (which obviously isn’t celebrated in Uganda). In order to celebrate, each day we have written down something we are thankful from our life here. It is a beautiful reminder that while things may, at many times, be difficult, frustrating, annoying, and overall really HARD, there is still so much we are thankful about living here.

And we learned early in our ministry here that sometimes we have to sit in the difficulty. We can be angry and frustrated. We can vent to safe people about how some things really suck. But then with prayer, supportive family and friends, and counseling as needed we can get to a healthy place again. Life isn’t about everything going my way, or even living in suffering. My faith is in God who can handle my “yuck duck” days, weeks, maybe even months. And He draws me closer to Him to help me see His goodness and faithfulness, even in the hard times.