Team Five Morris

Having spent 30 years in the glow of commercial American Christmases past it hasn’t been easy forgoing things that make it “feel” like a holiday.  When I look outside and see sunshine instead of clouds heavy with snow it seems strange.  When I can sunbathe the week before Christmas it seems strange.  When only a handful of shops are decorated for Christmas (some with yellow balloons…not so festive) it seems strange.  But it’s kind of nice. This Christmas I feel like I could do without all the decorations and store bought glimmer.  Christmas music and the occasional cookie are enough.  I haven’t shopped yet, I don’t know what we are having on Christmas for dinner, and we haven’t received a Christmas card.  And I’m okay with that.

I could go on a rant about how appreciative Americans should be on Christmas for the OVER abundance.  I could remind you all how in my neighborhood kids run around in rags and make toys out of trash.  But I won’t.  Because none of this matters.  This isn’t what its all about.

Our big plan this year is to feed 400 people in our neighborhood.  Last year we fed about 300 on Easter and close to that for the past two Christmases.  We open the gates and stoke to charcoal stoves and talk about Jesus and fill the bellies of many.  It is hard work.  It takes days of preparation.  But when you sit there and watch your community, your neighbors and friends gathered together celebrating Jesus it is amazing.

Our youth are working on a Christmas play that is simply the story of Jesus’ birth.  Nothing fancy, no cool set. Just a baby Jesus doll with no legs and a group of awkward teens sharing with their neighbors what the Christmas story is.

Food costs have been rising to abnormal highs here in Uganda and many people are only eating beans and rice or corn meal mush once or twice a day.  People in our congregation are coming weekly asking for help with food.  So to be able to offer a LAVISH meal of things that our community won’t eat all year is thrilling.  There will be no beans on Christmas.  There will be smiling faces and full tummies and hopefully many many hope filled hearts.

However you celebrate this year, remember WHO we are celebrating and be filled with the spirit of generosity, peace, gratitude and love.

Merry Christmas from Team5morris and Sojourn Ministries!

So I have a teenager living in my home.  She is 17 and every other day I love her.  Just being honest.  She is beautiful and stubborn and lies and does dishes and plays with the kids and sleeps late and disrupts our life and brings joy.  It has not been easy.  

She and two of her friends just finished their S-4 exams.  These are a big deal.  Really big.  So we decided to take the three of them out for pizza.  Here is how it went.  Two of the girls sat at the end of the table scowling and not talking.  Then the pizza comes and they eat with their mouths open and only want the good pizza and make faces when they don't like the taste of something.  To top it off, our teenager takes the last of our favorite kind of pizza.  It has gorgonzola cheese on it.  Her friend had already rejected it so she decided to try it.  She takes a big bite of the cheese, makes a face and runs from the table to vomit around the corner.  Awesome.  

We get up to leave and not one of them says thanks.  These girls don't usually get taken out to a restaurant where they can order anything they want and have soda.  But instead of saying thanks they make faces and puke.  I was pretty annoyed. 

But I have been thinking about this for the past week.  Don't I do the same thing to God?  He constantly showers me with undeserved love and attention and I roll my eyes and complain that the things He gives me aren't what I wanted.  They aren't my taste or preference.  Sometimes I take the good things He gives me and basically puke all over them.  I rarely say thanks and I always expect more.  He has given me things that I never thought I'd have like eternal life, a hope and a future, a husband and kids, a chance to live in Africa, friends that are RAD and pretty decent health.  And what do I say?  My husband makes me mad, my kids are out of control, it's hard living in Africa, my friends don't understand me.... It's pretty gross.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving I'm trying to be more thankful.  I want to stop seeing all of life as a series of un-met expectations and disappointments and start seeing it as the sublime gift that it is.  I want to be thankful for these girls that challenge me to my core and make me face my own ugliness.  I want to love freely and well.  

Sorry God for the times I'm a jerking jerk face.  Sorry for the times I act like a 17 year old who owns the world.  Sorry for my demanding petulant ways.  I'm greatful. 

So we had a lot of people ask us how they could support us, pray for us, give to us, love on us, encourage us while we were home.  I usually freeze up when people ask because 1. I don't always know what to say and 2. I don't want to sound greedy or needy (even though I am both of these things).  So here it is, everything you asked for!  

Prayers for us!  I am not being all fakey humble when I say that your prayers really do mean so much.  To know that people are bending the knees on our behalf and praying for joy and safety and faithfulness and endurance for us is amazing.  Truly.  PLEASE keep praying.  Specifics would include our marriage, family unity, kids' education, our ministry to grow deeper rather than wider, faithfulness, joy, peace in God's will, provision for ourselves and our people and wisdom and discernment.  

Support us!  There, I said it.  We do need money for our living expenses, ministry, and being generous to our community.  I could hem and haw about it and hope that you would read between the lines but how about I just lay it out there?  We are trying to purchase a building sooner than later and need some serious cash to enable us to do so.  If you want to get in on this purchase and feel God challenging you financially then do it!  Click on the Get Involved button and Give.  Thanks to all of you who have faithfully given to us and keep things moving here!

Email us!  While in the states I realized how wonderful and evil Facebook is.  So many people told me they read my blog, follow us on Facebook, etc but never comment on anything.  I admit it...I like knowing that someone out there reads what I write.  Not for my own satisfaction to to know that we aren't alone.  To know that many of you read it all and pray for us.  Facebook enables us to stay in touch without really talking to eachother at all.  Kind of sad.  I am repenting of my own face-stalking that I do to many of you and am committing to talking more.  We are so encouraged when we hear from people.  Really.  Short emails, texts, skyping dates...all of it makes us feel connected and loved.  

Send us stuff!  A lot of people tell me "I want to send you something...what do you need?".  I have a huge list of things in my head and then you ask that and I can't think of a single thing.  Truth be told we don't NEED much.  We don't NEED Cheetos and chocolate and Starbucks.  But gosh we like it.  It is such a treat to have something from our country reach us with a note of encouragement.  So here is a short list of things we usually wish for: 

Hershey's cocoa powder

Instant organic oatmeal

Scented candles

Magazines

Kids books

Anything from Trader Joes...no really...anything.

Board games

Art supplies

Music

Deoderant (trust me when I say it just isn't the same here)

Chex mix

Fritos Scoops

Starbucks coffee (anything but the House Blend)

Legos or other small toys for the kids

Flip flops

Contact rewetting drops

Baby clothes 

Those are just a few things that have crossed my mind lately. You can mail it to us at this address: Dan Morris Clock Tower P.O. Box 30196 Kampala Uganda.  Again, none of these are acutal needs but you asked....

Listen up, we love you guys.  Truly, more than we could ever convey in words.  Our time in the states was so restful and amazing.  Thanks to all who gave up time, money and beds to love, feed  and house us.  

Please know that the little things you do matter to us.  Pray, Give, Love, Ecourage.  And hey, thanks for asking!

Its September 27th which means we've been in the states for one month and 10 days.  We leave to go back to Uganda next week.  While here many of you encouraged me to continue to write on this blog.  I confess that I was surprised that more than just my mom was reading it.  So, to all my faithful friends and supporters, thanks for the encouragement.  

When we first decided to come to the states for 7 weeks I was feeling like it wouldn't be enough time.  Having been away from the motherland for almost three years, a piddly seven weeks felt awfully short.  However, as I near our departure date I can say that is was the perfect amount of time.  Here are some highlights from our stay here:

Seattle Washington.  We love you becuase you are the home of our dear friends the Lathrops.  We were so happy to see their smiling faces at the airport as we arrived.  Amy cooked massive amounts of weight inducing food including waffles covered in sausage gravy topped with chicken strips and pepper jack cheese.  Unreal.  Reconnecting with people who have known us in all our ugliness and still love us was amazing.  We ate, we shopped, we laughed, we lounged and we cried when we had to leave again.  

Portland Oregon.  Our roots are in this area and it was strange to be back.  We had an awesome time with my in-laws and other long lost friends from as far back as my elementary school days.  We got to speak at the church I grew up in and where our dear friend Kent Borror married us.  We did more eating, more shopping and lots of remembering.  

Kalispell Montana.  Having spent eight years in the wilds of Montucky we were maybe the most excited to revisit.  The kids saw their besties, Ava, Vance and Sydney.  Dan and I saw some of our besties Chadd and Marla.  We stayed up WAY too late defending our family names in a wild game of Sing Star and spent all the time we could spare laughing and sharing about our lives with these friends.  My family showed up and we spent an awesome weekend on Whitefish Lake boating and swimming and sunning.  We managed to eat quite a lot as always happens when Shattucks get together.  We shared stories of our beautiful friends in Uganda and spoke of the vision of what is to come.  Our home church Easthaven Baptist hosted a bbq in our honor with a "pit master" who cooked up some pulled pork sandwiches.  We were surrounded by encouragement and love and many people caught the excitement of what God is doing in Uganda.  Our time was bittersweet as we knew time was growing short.  

Back to Portland Oregon.  We spent a delightful day of travelling in style in my in-laws motorhome heading back to Portland.  Our last day on the west coast included a day at the park and a night at Olive Garden where Dan and I first met.  

Raleigh North Carolina.  And now we are here in Raleigh.  The home of Vintage 21 Church.  We are staying with the incomparable Rachel Gross and are eating our way through the homes of Vintage 21 members each night.  Our time is almost done and we have had nothing but encouragement from them.  We head to the beach tomorrow to spread some love to Rosalie Simcoe's family.  We'll spend our remaining days with my parents and Vintage people and we'll spread the vision for Uganda on Monday when we are part of a Plant Uganda night.  

There are so many stories that I don't have the time to share.  So many people that we saw and became fast friends with.  Many of these people have asked me if it has been hard being back in the states.  I realized that my time here has been good in many ways but also really distracting.  I had much needed time to enjoy people I haven't seen FOREVER and to love on my family.  But I also had too much time to indulge in myself.  I shopped till I dropped and fell right back into the trap of accumulating.  Of thinking I NEED MORE STUFF.  I gained 10 pounds and lost what little self control I had especially when someone brought Krispy Kremes over to a dinner last night.  My kids have become monsters and have had to revisit what discipline means.  I have sought entertainment over quiet time.  And I started to entertain thoughts of how much easier my life would be if we lived in the states again.  I fantasized about being a soccer mom and my kids being in a school so I wouldn't be responsible for their education.  And these thoughts brought a lot of longing for something other than what God is doing in my life.  

So with a heavy heart I have had to pray again for the joy of being in God's will.  I desperately want to be happy even if God tells me that we'll never move back to the states.  And honestly in the last two days as God started cutting away the things entangling me I have felt my affections move back to Uganda and to my precious friends there.  I feel the LONGING to be back in my funky neighborhood and to have all our teenage girls harassing me daily.  I miss my "daughter" Scovia and her silly smile.  I miss Rosalie and our delightful encouraging friendship.  I miss the dirty beautiful kids that follow me around and drive me nuts.  I miss the red dirt in my ears and on my feet.  And I miss the satisfaction of knowing that I am exactly where God wants me.  

Thanks America for all the fun.  Thanks my dearest friends and family for loving on us and filling us up.  Thanks to all the churches that have shared with us and let us share.  And thanks Jesus for reminding me that you desire everything to bring you glory, including my summer vacation.