This post is dedicated to anyone who is just tired today. Especially those who are teachers and are dealing with all the end of the year "fun"... or anyone who is a parent... or anyone who has a job... or is unemployed... who lives with other people... or lives alone... who is lonely... or would love to have some time alone... it's part of chapter 12 of Hebrews. In chapter 11, we read about all the great people of faith from the Old Testament and all the crazy stuff they went through. ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2011&version=50 ) It talks about how they overcame this world and I think it's really encouraging. Then in chapter 12 starts off by saying "Therefore..." meaning, if those guys went through all of that and made it, then we can meditate on these things and be comforted...
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. . . . ."
And don't forget Matthew 11: 29-3
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Monday, May 15, 2006
In Other News: THE POWER OF PAINT
Since I've been back, I've only written about Africa and there's so much more to say... but yes, life here does go on too. The week I came back here to Hawaii, Jeni and I had something pretty amazing happen to us! We MOVED!!! We are still in the same little complex, but we moved from our teeny tiny one bedroom to a two bedroom, two bathroom place!!! Wow, I honestly feel like we've moved into a mansion. The absolute best part of it is they painted the whole thing (ceilings too) and put in new carpet. It feels like a brand new house. The reason this is so exciting is for some reason, Hawaii has a different standard of keeping houses clean and stuff. Landlords in California generally repaint rentals every couple of years and keep things maintained... not so here. I guess because everyone is way more laid back, our last place seriously hadn't been painted in at least five years. So, we are SO incredibly stoked. The only problem we've had so far is a random (and really mean) stump laying in the middle of the yard that completely attacked my shin last night. Other than that, we are seriously living the good life :).
Thursday, May 11, 2006
More Pictures
This is actually the whole airport in Kitgum!
... and the baggage cart...
Here are a few pictures from the Infant Care Center. This is the orphanage that is run by Christians for orphanages with illnesses.
This guy is from Idaho, not Uganda in case you're wondering. :) He was one of the guys on our team that went over.
These pictures are all taken at the Night Shelter. The two adult guys with the guitars are two of the seven people who voluntarily go to the shelter every night of the week to sing worship and do Bible Studies with the kids. There are 17 other shelters in Kitgum, but no other shelter has any type of program for the children- they just come in and lay down to go to sleep. But here, they are being taught about God. These children have so much love and faith and joy, it blew me away. One guy in our group got malaria and he asked one of the children to pray. This little eight year old boy stood up and prayed for almost ten minutes. The next day, our team member was completely healed! From malaria! So Jeremy went back to the shelter the next day and the leader had the little boy and Jeremy stand up. He told all the kids (and us) never to believe that God doesn't answer prayers. It was such a powerful moment. This picture with them singing and dancing is them singing worship songs. Everytime I saw them smile and worshipping God, it always made me wonder if I'd be as joyful if I was in their circumstance. But it goes to show that God is real and alive- you cannot fake that kind of joy in such intense oppression.
This is my small group. They are seven to 11 year old girls and they were the sweetest things ever. If you look in the background, you can see people already asleep on the concrete. The women and girls get to sleep inside and the boys sleep outside.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Precious Ones
Last week when I wrote about Africa, I shared some of the things that honestly scared me to death. We spent a little more than one week in Kampala, which is a big city. We did some work for Calvary Chapel Kampala like cleaning and painting. Their church is on the fifth floor of a building in downtown Kampala. Kampala is so big and so crowded. We only saw another white person about every fourth day, so ten white folks walking down the street in a straight line was a definite sight. People would literally stop walking to stare. They start by looking at your shoes to see how rich you are and then make their way up. After looking you over completely, their eyes land on your purse as they decide whether or not to mug you :). Seriously. But besides being stared at a lot, we made it out of there without any problems.
Finally, they decided to let us go to Kitgum. It was amazing to see God work because he turned my heart from being terrified to being excited by the time we went to Kitgum. So we boarded a twenty passenger plane and headed north to the village of Kitgum. We landed on a dirt runway and rode in the back of a truck to the Kitgum guesthouse. I don't have my cd's with the pictures on it right now, but I'll post the pictures tomorrow. Kitgum was so primitive compared to Kampala. One thing we didn't have was electricity. Then, a couple days into our time there, we lost water. That means the city water ran out or something and we had no water to take showers or flush toilets- and that's when the outhouses in the backyard come in handy. Even though the name of them (Squatty Potty) sounds cute- trust me, there is nothing cute about them!
Kitgum is the area we were supposed to go to all along. That was where all of our ministry was planned and it was awesome. Even though Kitgum is the dangerous area, I felt the peace of the Lord so much there. Talk about peace that passes all understanding! I just read a report that two days ago, the Ugandan government soliders engaged in a battle with the LRA rebels and killed 14 of them in Kitgum (to give you an idea of the danger).
The first thing we did was visit an orphanage. A Christian man who heads the Nutrition Unit at the Kitgum hospital took it upon himself to open the orphanage after seeing so many sick children with no one to take care of them. All the kids have some sort of illness, ranging from skin conditions to HIV/AIDS. A lot of the kids are orphaned because their parents died of AIDS or were victims of war. Some of their parents were innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of a battle and other children were children of the rebels who were killed by the Ugandan soldiers. There is one little girl whose mother was a rebel and was fighting the government soldiers with this little girl strapped to her back. The girl was probably 6 months old. The mother and father were shot and killed and the soliders brought the baby to the orphanage. She is so tiny, but is healthy and happy. It's amazing to look at these precious children, to hear their miraculous stories of survival and to know that God has such amazing plans for each one of them. Right now, there are about 32 kids there and they are all under three years old, but the orphanage is hoping to expand so that the kids don't have to go to a different, larger orphanage. Far Reaching Ministries helps to support this orphanage, so donations to them go towards helping these babies. The cool thing about the orphanage is that they are teaching the children the Bible and are raising them in the Lord.
More about Kitgum later....
Finally, they decided to let us go to Kitgum. It was amazing to see God work because he turned my heart from being terrified to being excited by the time we went to Kitgum. So we boarded a twenty passenger plane and headed north to the village of Kitgum. We landed on a dirt runway and rode in the back of a truck to the Kitgum guesthouse. I don't have my cd's with the pictures on it right now, but I'll post the pictures tomorrow. Kitgum was so primitive compared to Kampala. One thing we didn't have was electricity. Then, a couple days into our time there, we lost water. That means the city water ran out or something and we had no water to take showers or flush toilets- and that's when the outhouses in the backyard come in handy. Even though the name of them (Squatty Potty) sounds cute- trust me, there is nothing cute about them!
Kitgum is the area we were supposed to go to all along. That was where all of our ministry was planned and it was awesome. Even though Kitgum is the dangerous area, I felt the peace of the Lord so much there. Talk about peace that passes all understanding! I just read a report that two days ago, the Ugandan government soliders engaged in a battle with the LRA rebels and killed 14 of them in Kitgum (to give you an idea of the danger).
The first thing we did was visit an orphanage. A Christian man who heads the Nutrition Unit at the Kitgum hospital took it upon himself to open the orphanage after seeing so many sick children with no one to take care of them. All the kids have some sort of illness, ranging from skin conditions to HIV/AIDS. A lot of the kids are orphaned because their parents died of AIDS or were victims of war. Some of their parents were innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of a battle and other children were children of the rebels who were killed by the Ugandan soldiers. There is one little girl whose mother was a rebel and was fighting the government soldiers with this little girl strapped to her back. The girl was probably 6 months old. The mother and father were shot and killed and the soliders brought the baby to the orphanage. She is so tiny, but is healthy and happy. It's amazing to look at these precious children, to hear their miraculous stories of survival and to know that God has such amazing plans for each one of them. Right now, there are about 32 kids there and they are all under three years old, but the orphanage is hoping to expand so that the kids don't have to go to a different, larger orphanage. Far Reaching Ministries helps to support this orphanage, so donations to them go towards helping these babies. The cool thing about the orphanage is that they are teaching the children the Bible and are raising them in the Lord.
More about Kitgum later....
Thursday, May 04, 2006
"Please Don't Ever Forget Us!"
Wow. I have been home now for about three days. It has been really hard to put into words all of the things I saw and experienced when I was in Africa. It's a kind of trip you really can't prepare for- and coming back, I also know it's a kind of trip that rocks your concept of everything you know. The hardest part for me in sharing everything that happened to me is that mostly it's really sad. Ok, first it was really scary, then the sad part kicks in. The despair is overwhelming. I don't like to complain or speak negatively, but I want to honestly share what I saw because I can't do anything less.
One of the biggest things God taught me on this trip is His sovereign plan. He designs things in our lives to attack our weak points and refine us as through fire. The first week I was in Africa, I was scared to death. I was so scared, I contemplated coming home. I was so scared that my mind kind of shut down and literally, my thought process was, just follow everyone else around and do anything you can to get through these next three weeks. The reason for my fear was what happened when we landed.
Day 1: Kampala, Uganda
After we travelled for two and a half loooooongg days, we finally made it to the guesthouse in Kapala. Originally, we weer going to spend two nights there and then fly to the little village of Kitgum for the rest of the trip. When we landed in Kampala, we were greated by the director of Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) who was on his way back to America. But first he sat us down and told us about something that happened about an hour before we landed. The war in Uganda has been going on for about twenty years. Because the president can't defeat the rebel LRA army, people who live way out in the country are not safe. So, the government moved all the Northern Uganda people into camps "temporarily" until the rebels were defeated and it was safe for them to go home. That was 20 years ago. Originally, the Acholi tribe were a pastoral tribe and farmed their own land. But now they are squished together in these terrible camps and have no way of providing food for themselves. So they rely on relief organizations like UNICEF, the UN, Food for the Hungry, etc. to feed them everyday. Without the help of these organizations, they would starve.
Because the LRA is so dangerous, everytime an organization goes anywhere outside the town of Kitgum, they have to hire military escorts from the Ugandan government. Without these armed escorts, the LRA rebels would ambush the convoy for sure. FRM also hires military escorts to travel outside the town for the same reasons. The news we found out when we landed is that the president decided not to allow any military escorts anymore for organizations. This means that over 2.5 million people would begin to starve as of that day because no one will travel out there without armed guards.
So FRM was worried that the people in the camps would rise up and riot because they were slowly going to be starving to death. Because of this, they postposed our flight into Kitgum for ten days.
That night, the evacuated an American missionary who lives there and she came and joined us in Kampala.
So that was my introduction to Africa- five minutes after we walked in the house. As the days went on, I continued to hear scary reports. One was that they the compound guards at the guesthouse in Kitgum saw five guys staking out the FRM guesthouse. They were taking pictures of the place where we were going to stay. The guards didn't know if they were LRA or robbers, but pretty much, I'm scared of either group!
During the time we stayed in Kampala, they also gave us books to read about the LRA and different kinds of reports from different organizations. We received daily and weekly reports on LRA activity. One report for the week prior to when we were there actually ended with the words, "LRA activity has been slow this week." But I went back and counted the number of abductions and there were 17. I am sure the families of those 17 people wouldn't have considered it a slow week.
Almost every day, I would get new information that would just scare me even worse. You can probably see now why I was so scared! I knew that Uganda was going to be intense, but I honestly didn't comprehend that I was going into a warzone. On average, between the rebels, the government soldiers and civilians who are in the worng place at the wrong time, about 147 people die each week from this war. I have never before felt like I was truly in danger of losing my life and there I was face to face with the reality that it might happen. And I realized that I wasn't scared to die- I was terrified of being attacked or abducted and living through it.
But, as I started off by saying, God is faithful to take our weaknesses and work them out in us. He is not a God of fear and does not want us to fear because He has numbered all of our days. Nothing that happens to us goes unnoticed or happens without His foreknowledge, so there truly is no reason to fear. And He gave me this passage to comfort me:
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12: 4-7
It also helped when I started asking other people if they were scared too... which, no surpise, they were. But I know God planned that extra time in Kampala for us to work through that, and by the time we left for Kitgum ten days later, we were all actually really excited!!!
I am just going to write about my trip in little pieces I think... there's so much to say! :)
But here are some photos of the guesthouse in Kampala, our guard there and a Calvary Chapel we visited just outside Kampala. These pictures of the kids are Easter Sunday. Really quickly about this church. The village's name is Entebbe. Over half of the population is under 15 years old because AIDS has killed so many people. So there are many children who live in orphanages. This church has only been there three months and their congregation is about 60 people, but every Sunday, they have more than 200 kids come to their Sunday School! Older children walk with their younger siblings from miles and miles away just to come here the Bible taught. It was truly amazing to see.
Kampala:
One of the biggest things God taught me on this trip is His sovereign plan. He designs things in our lives to attack our weak points and refine us as through fire. The first week I was in Africa, I was scared to death. I was so scared, I contemplated coming home. I was so scared that my mind kind of shut down and literally, my thought process was, just follow everyone else around and do anything you can to get through these next three weeks. The reason for my fear was what happened when we landed.
Day 1: Kampala, Uganda
After we travelled for two and a half loooooongg days, we finally made it to the guesthouse in Kapala. Originally, we weer going to spend two nights there and then fly to the little village of Kitgum for the rest of the trip. When we landed in Kampala, we were greated by the director of Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) who was on his way back to America. But first he sat us down and told us about something that happened about an hour before we landed. The war in Uganda has been going on for about twenty years. Because the president can't defeat the rebel LRA army, people who live way out in the country are not safe. So, the government moved all the Northern Uganda people into camps "temporarily" until the rebels were defeated and it was safe for them to go home. That was 20 years ago. Originally, the Acholi tribe were a pastoral tribe and farmed their own land. But now they are squished together in these terrible camps and have no way of providing food for themselves. So they rely on relief organizations like UNICEF, the UN, Food for the Hungry, etc. to feed them everyday. Without the help of these organizations, they would starve.
Because the LRA is so dangerous, everytime an organization goes anywhere outside the town of Kitgum, they have to hire military escorts from the Ugandan government. Without these armed escorts, the LRA rebels would ambush the convoy for sure. FRM also hires military escorts to travel outside the town for the same reasons. The news we found out when we landed is that the president decided not to allow any military escorts anymore for organizations. This means that over 2.5 million people would begin to starve as of that day because no one will travel out there without armed guards.
So FRM was worried that the people in the camps would rise up and riot because they were slowly going to be starving to death. Because of this, they postposed our flight into Kitgum for ten days.
That night, the evacuated an American missionary who lives there and she came and joined us in Kampala.
So that was my introduction to Africa- five minutes after we walked in the house. As the days went on, I continued to hear scary reports. One was that they the compound guards at the guesthouse in Kitgum saw five guys staking out the FRM guesthouse. They were taking pictures of the place where we were going to stay. The guards didn't know if they were LRA or robbers, but pretty much, I'm scared of either group!
During the time we stayed in Kampala, they also gave us books to read about the LRA and different kinds of reports from different organizations. We received daily and weekly reports on LRA activity. One report for the week prior to when we were there actually ended with the words, "LRA activity has been slow this week." But I went back and counted the number of abductions and there were 17. I am sure the families of those 17 people wouldn't have considered it a slow week.
Almost every day, I would get new information that would just scare me even worse. You can probably see now why I was so scared! I knew that Uganda was going to be intense, but I honestly didn't comprehend that I was going into a warzone. On average, between the rebels, the government soldiers and civilians who are in the worng place at the wrong time, about 147 people die each week from this war. I have never before felt like I was truly in danger of losing my life and there I was face to face with the reality that it might happen. And I realized that I wasn't scared to die- I was terrified of being attacked or abducted and living through it.
But, as I started off by saying, God is faithful to take our weaknesses and work them out in us. He is not a God of fear and does not want us to fear because He has numbered all of our days. Nothing that happens to us goes unnoticed or happens without His foreknowledge, so there truly is no reason to fear. And He gave me this passage to comfort me:
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12: 4-7
It also helped when I started asking other people if they were scared too... which, no surpise, they were. But I know God planned that extra time in Kampala for us to work through that, and by the time we left for Kitgum ten days later, we were all actually really excited!!!
I am just going to write about my trip in little pieces I think... there's so much to say! :)
But here are some photos of the guesthouse in Kampala, our guard there and a Calvary Chapel we visited just outside Kampala. These pictures of the kids are Easter Sunday. Really quickly about this church. The village's name is Entebbe. Over half of the population is under 15 years old because AIDS has killed so many people. So there are many children who live in orphanages. This church has only been there three months and their congregation is about 60 people, but every Sunday, they have more than 200 kids come to their Sunday School! Older children walk with their younger siblings from miles and miles away just to come here the Bible taught. It was truly amazing to see.
Kampala:
This is the guesthouse in Kampala.
One of our guards.
Calvary Chapel Entebbe:
Sunday School
Easter Sunday
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Aloooooo-ha
Well, I am back! I came back to Hawaii yesterday and just finished my first day back to work. I have so much to say but will have to just start with how awesome and amazing and faithful God is. I can't get over how much He loves us and protects us and listens to our prayers. You have no idea how much I actually felt your prayers. I will share all my stories very soonI promise... but I am still recovering from jet lag and need to get home. :) Thank you all sooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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