An adventure abroad… my first English wedding

My first English wedding…

Tiffany and Steve Carter

My beautiful, sweet, cherished best friend and housemate of the past 3.5 years moved back to England and got married. How blessed and thankful I was to be able to be part of her special day.

With only a few months to plan the details, Tiff did a great job bringing class and fun together. Vibrant colors, small touches, an ice cream truck, and to top it off, the reception was at a safari park.

Here a few more photos of the day. I posted some on FB, so I don't want to repeat those.

The church in Luton was so gorgeous! 

All brides are beautiful on their wedding day, but Tiff was truly stunning.

From my heart...

Loss, Change, Uncertainty, Loneliness

It is easy to feel this way right now. The reality is that in the past 4 months ALL of the closest friends that I have been walking life with for the past few years have left my life in one way or another. Literally, every close friend.

And outside of this great loss is the huge disappointment in my heart of ceratin dreams unrealized. Dreams that necessitate a closure or refocus. These disappointments of the heart are painful. Disappointment topped with loneliness is even worse.

I am a planner. I love details and a list and the do’s and don’ts and what to expect. Change is hard. Really hard.

It is easy in these moments and seasons to feel totally consumed with sadness. To walk daily with a heavy heart and to question everything in the world that I have known. It is easy for the lies of the enemy to enter in and break my confidence with insecurities.

But I am so thankful that Christ is my hope. I am so thankful to have walked seasons of blessings and storms and have tested and proved that my Father is faithful. His Word is true. Even when it doesn’t seem like it or I can’t feel it. He is true.

Philippians 4:8 says, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is worthy of praise- think on THESE things.”

Reality check! What thoughts are my mind and heart dwelling on? Am I listening to the Shepherd or to the roaring lion that seeks to devour me?

Choice. I have a choice. I learned this deep-rooted lesson back on Tim Team: I have the choice of how I will respond. In every situation and every thought and every happening in or outside of my control, I have the choice of how I will respond. I have the choice to dwell in the lies of the enemy or to cling to the promises of the Almighty.

Yes tears and grieving are there. I am not afraid of my tears. There is healing and release in them. But I will choose not to be stuck in them. I will choose to believe Truth that goes beyond circumstance.

God’s promises are all still true even when I don’t feel like it or see them to be true. His word is true and worthy to stake my life and my hope on.

My life is not my own. I have been bought with a price. And the one who has bought me said that He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me. Plans to give me a hope and a future. Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning. His mercies are new every morning.

He gives me grace for today. Enough grace to love others and live with hope TODAY, even when I don’t know the details of my tomorrow. He has me here today.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

To the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

For the salvation of the Lord.”

-       Lamentations 3:22-26

I am clinging to these verses. And truly, though this has been one of the worst weeks, the icing on the cake of loss, I already feel the Lord restoring my soul. And I praise Him, for His nearness is my good. His power is made perfect in my weakness. He alone is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore and He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me. My heart is strong in the Lord.

Thank you for praying for me. Please continue to do so.

First term Holiday fun

Sometimes I go quite because things like this are going on.


may holiday from Natalie Rolfe on Vimeo.


Read more details about the fun we had … http://www.ugandaorphans.org/news-photos/news-and-reports-from-lulwanda

I live in the most beautiful place!

Different towns in Uganda are known for different things:

- the capital is great for the big city feel, traffic jam, and if you are willing to pay the price, you can get just about anything.
- Jinja is mzungu central, with so many NGO's and many great places to eat
- (I haven't really been many places in west Uganda so I can't comment on them)

But my town, Mbale, is the most beautiful place. On the foothills of Mt. Elgon, is the smaller Mt. Wanale. Having gazed on this mountains beauty for the past (almost) 7 years, I finally decided to climb it.

With the company of some great people, we started our adventure up the mountain.

Things seemed smooth at first, more like a walk than a hike. 

It was a cool but sunny and just gorgeous morning. 

But the higher up we got, the more climbing we actually did. This was not a hike for the faint or weak.

And then we reached this…

Are you kidding me?!?! This is a ladder, made by the locals out of sticks, between two boulders. And it was the only way up. The closer I got them more crazy I realized this actually was. 

And as I contemplated the risks of climbing this ladder, these kids went up like there was nothing to it.  Notice one even has a hoe and twigs on his head.

There was some more hiking and climbing before we actually reached the top. 

But once there, the scene was breath-taking!

Some were surprised to learn that people live on the top of the mountain.

We took another path down the mountain and reached back to the truck safely, 

praising God for his AWESOMENESS and BEAUTY!

And as we drove back to our house, I couldn't help but think how great it was that we just climbed to the top of that waterfall.

I have TEAMMATES!!

My heart has been overwhelmingly blessed by the grace and love that the 44 Ugandan staff of LCH have shown me everyday. As the only expat staff member, I have learned so many lessons and been loved well.

But to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. And in this season, God has brought teammates to join me at Lulwanda. 

The Palmer family officially moved to Uganda in February. They have already been such a blessing to LCH, but even-more-so to me. I love them so much already! 

Bobbi is a teacher by profession and is focusing on homeschooling their two children, Lilly and Jackson.  John's background is in city/neighborhood planning/development and will be serving as the treasurer and development planner at LCH. Jackson is 10 years old and loves adventures and asking questions. Lilly is 6 years old and makes up songs, jokes, and lots of other imaginations. 

I am so blessed to have them not only as teammates, but also as friends. 

(And to make things even better, they just live 4 houses down the road from me!)

Inner House Sports Competition

Term one of school always brings the anticipated sports competition. To spot our LCH's best, the school hosted "inner-house" competitions. With high stakes of a goat roast for the winner, the lions, snails, and chameleon's had a day of competing.

Zacharia doing high jumps.

Phoebe, community child, and Gift racing.

And we had many onlookers from the community.  These being some of the cutest.

And in the midst of the athletic competitions, there was still time for some other fun.

Children collected grasshoppers for Charles' chickens

And the winner of the competition were the SNAILS, leading by 2 points.  They enjoyed a goat roast. Other shinning athletes were appreciated with other small gifts.

LPS is now off to Sub-county and District competitions. 

My favorite part of today...

We hope you have a great day too!