It breaks my heart to leave this place, I feel at home here.
Jesus is good; we are not.
That feels like the best way to sum up this trip.
I am so thankful for the hope that is found in Him. And the joy that is found in serving Him.
I reluctantly leave this beautiful place, so incredibly blessed and trusing that the hands held, the kisses given, the words spoken and the prayers prayed will not return empty but be manifested and multiplied and fruitful.
I leave trusting and fully confident tthat the Holy Spirit remains and that His presence is far greater and far more satisfying than mine.
They are a beautiful people, these Rwandans and Ugandans.
They love so well and have so much to offer.
I am so thankfuk for thier hearts, for their country and for their culture.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Karamajong
They are the exiles of Uganda, shamed and disgraced.
Men give empty promises of love and provision, making the tribe primarily single mothers and their children.
They live on less than 5 dollars a day, making jewlery to try to sustain themselves. But because they are the outcasts of the land, no one will buy from them.
Ya know that prayer request I had about seeing things I couldn't handle?
I couldn't handle this.
Roofs made of grocery bags, everyone caked in dirt and the wee little ones wearing no clothes.
We went to encourage them and to love them and to bless them.
They sang to us and, story of my life, I ended up in tears.
They had such joy in their faces when they sang of Jesus:
"Halleluja, Jesus loves me!"
They sang that over and over again, it was the most beautiful.
They know such pain, yet they have such joy.
They are a beautiful people.
I am so thankful for the people behind their ministry and the vision they have.
They desire to raise up their children as godly, educated men and women.
They desire to see their tribe changed.
Im so thankful that they have people backing them and encouraging them on a daily basis.
Yet again, my heart longs for redemption and restoration to come to the broken people of this world.
"Halleluja, Jesus loves me!"
So thankful for that truth and for what it brings.
Men give empty promises of love and provision, making the tribe primarily single mothers and their children.
They live on less than 5 dollars a day, making jewlery to try to sustain themselves. But because they are the outcasts of the land, no one will buy from them.
Ya know that prayer request I had about seeing things I couldn't handle?
I couldn't handle this.
Roofs made of grocery bags, everyone caked in dirt and the wee little ones wearing no clothes.
We went to encourage them and to love them and to bless them.
They sang to us and, story of my life, I ended up in tears.
They had such joy in their faces when they sang of Jesus:
"Halleluja, Jesus loves me!"
They sang that over and over again, it was the most beautiful.
They know such pain, yet they have such joy.
They are a beautiful people.
I am so thankful for the people behind their ministry and the vision they have.
They desire to raise up their children as godly, educated men and women.
They desire to see their tribe changed.
Im so thankful that they have people backing them and encouraging them on a daily basis.
Yet again, my heart longs for redemption and restoration to come to the broken people of this world.
"Halleluja, Jesus loves me!"
So thankful for that truth and for what it brings.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
In this moment
Im so sorry that I cant do more.
Im sorry that I cant stay.
Im sorry that I cant make these children better.
I can pray over them and hug them and kiss them.
I can tell them that they are loved and special and beautiful.
I can pray over them in the name of Jesus and ask for protection, ask for an angel to watch over them, ask that the Lord would reveal Himself to them that they might fall deeply in love with the Creator and Sustainer.
So that is what I do.
Each child that I touch, I plead the blood of Jesus over them and I claim truth over their lives.
That is what I can do, so I do it desparately and I do it a lot.
Trusting and believing that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
"For in You the fatherless find compassion." Hosea 14:3
Im sorry that I cant stay.
Im sorry that I cant make these children better.
I can pray over them and hug them and kiss them.
I can tell them that they are loved and special and beautiful.
I can pray over them in the name of Jesus and ask for protection, ask for an angel to watch over them, ask that the Lord would reveal Himself to them that they might fall deeply in love with the Creator and Sustainer.
So that is what I do.
Each child that I touch, I plead the blood of Jesus over them and I claim truth over their lives.
That is what I can do, so I do it desparately and I do it a lot.
Trusting and believing that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
"For in You the fatherless find compassion." Hosea 14:3
Sangaalo
The best was to describe this day was encouraging.
I am so thankful for that, my weary heart needed a lil joy and today joy it found.
Sangaalo means joy in some tribal language that I do not have the ability to pronounce.
Damilee is the founder of this beaufitul ministry and her whole compound overflows with the joy of the Lord.
I held baby Grace literally all day long. She is almost 2, but she looks like she is no more than 6 months. She was found malnourished locked in her grandmother's house, abandoned.
Every baby there has a similar story.
Bobby, the most recent addition is 3 days old. His mother gave birth on Monday and then tried to kill him. Neighbors intervened and brought the babe to Damilee.
I know these stories are not encouraging, but Damilee and her ministry are.
It is a called a baby cottage and Damilee is a safe haven for abandoned babes.
If I have ever seen someone have a calling it is this beautiful woman. She currently mothers 13 newborns, she has had close to 25 at one time.
She LOVES babies.
And she loves them well.
At one point today all were wailing at the top of their little newborn lungs and she just had the most beautiful smile on, so full of joy.
It is encouraging.
I am so thankful for her and for her heart.
I might have been peed on, spit up on and had snot covering every inch of me, regardless her ministry stole my heart today.
Dont mind if I dont come back.
I am so thankful for that, my weary heart needed a lil joy and today joy it found.
Sangaalo means joy in some tribal language that I do not have the ability to pronounce.
Damilee is the founder of this beaufitul ministry and her whole compound overflows with the joy of the Lord.
I held baby Grace literally all day long. She is almost 2, but she looks like she is no more than 6 months. She was found malnourished locked in her grandmother's house, abandoned.
Every baby there has a similar story.
Bobby, the most recent addition is 3 days old. His mother gave birth on Monday and then tried to kill him. Neighbors intervened and brought the babe to Damilee.
I know these stories are not encouraging, but Damilee and her ministry are.
It is a called a baby cottage and Damilee is a safe haven for abandoned babes.
If I have ever seen someone have a calling it is this beautiful woman. She currently mothers 13 newborns, she has had close to 25 at one time.
She LOVES babies.
And she loves them well.
At one point today all were wailing at the top of their little newborn lungs and she just had the most beautiful smile on, so full of joy.
It is encouraging.
I am so thankful for her and for her heart.
I might have been peed on, spit up on and had snot covering every inch of me, regardless her ministry stole my heart today.
Dont mind if I dont come back.
Uganda
Where manaquins have wide hips,
the airport is someone's backyard, instead of having for sale signs they have not for sale signs,
wild sunflowers are found in abundance,
the main electricity company is called 'Africity', probably because it is the power source for all of Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya (nevermind that the plant for four countries is the smaller than Raleigh's plant),
the smiles, big, the roads, dirt and the people, beautiful.
So thankful to be here and ready to learm more of the Lord's heart.
the airport is someone's backyard, instead of having for sale signs they have not for sale signs,
wild sunflowers are found in abundance,
the main electricity company is called 'Africity', probably because it is the power source for all of Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya (nevermind that the plant for four countries is the smaller than Raleigh's plant),
the smiles, big, the roads, dirt and the people, beautiful.
So thankful to be here and ready to learm more of the Lord's heart.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Lament
Noun: A passionate expression of grief.
Today the Lord invited me deeper into lament through him.
The death of a team mate's sister ending her mission early.
Saying goodbye to 600 loves after 2 short days wondering if you really made any sort of difference.
Hearing the testimony of a young man living through the genocide watching one by one all of family members brutally murdered.
All of these happening in the span of 24 hours is overwhelming and we rest tonight heavey hearted and full of a sorrow that calls us to press in to Jesus.
In some moments I wonder where the good is. I wonder why it can nievely seems as if evil has won. I understand the hope to things to come, but in some moments I lack wisdom to comprehend how to cope in the here in and now.
Jesus understands thisp heartache better than I can imagine. He invites me onto lament not on my own so I am drowning in sorrow alone, but with Him so that I can know of His love on a deeper level. That is the joy of lament, knowing and understanding His love on a deeper level.
Even through sorrow, I choose to praise Him with a thankful heart.
Hebrews 13:12-14
"And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are lookimg for the city that is to come."
Today the Lord invited me deeper into lament through him.
The death of a team mate's sister ending her mission early.
Saying goodbye to 600 loves after 2 short days wondering if you really made any sort of difference.
Hearing the testimony of a young man living through the genocide watching one by one all of family members brutally murdered.
All of these happening in the span of 24 hours is overwhelming and we rest tonight heavey hearted and full of a sorrow that calls us to press in to Jesus.
In some moments I wonder where the good is. I wonder why it can nievely seems as if evil has won. I understand the hope to things to come, but in some moments I lack wisdom to comprehend how to cope in the here in and now.
Jesus understands thisp heartache better than I can imagine. He invites me onto lament not on my own so I am drowning in sorrow alone, but with Him so that I can know of His love on a deeper level. That is the joy of lament, knowing and understanding His love on a deeper level.
Even through sorrow, I choose to praise Him with a thankful heart.
Hebrews 13:12-14
"And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are lookimg for the city that is to come."
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