reaching out with a prayer...

Hey guys, this is just a quick request. While preparing to start home schooling my friend's little girls, I have been able to spend time with a precious one that she is fostering. She is fostering Eden while Eden's parents wait for the government to give their beloved daughter a visa. They got bad news yesterday about the American government wanting more than the Ugandan government can give them. Here is a link that I would love for you all to read and join in on! It's a wonderful opportunity for all of us to participate in!

http://www.mandiejoy.com/30-days-of-prayer-for-eden/

knowledge vs. action

I said I wouldn’t blog about this…but I am. Not in the way that many others are though, I don’t understand enough to fill a blog with words about it. KONY 2012. If this doesn’t ring a bell. You aren’t on Face book (hint, hint mom and dad!). Simple as that. KONY 2012 is an effort being made by the Invisible Children organization to bring about knowledge of the injustice that Kony has brought to East Africa. He is a dreadful man that has lead in the killing, raping, and taking advantage of many people, mostly children. Invisible Children has done a wonderful job of using social networks to inform and encourage young people to demand social justice.

But I just wonder, how many of us jump on these “band wagons” because we feel like we are accomplishing something by being involved. We talk about it at church. On facebook. In our work place. We even sometimes go as far as judging others for not seeming to care. I know I have. But at the end of the day, is it enough? No, it isn’t. While knowledge is power, it surely doesn’t equal action.

I use a biodegradable toothbrush. Made of old yogurt cups. Bought for way too much at an organic grocery store. I would even make special trips to the grocery store to stock up on them when I would visit New Orleans last fall. Of course, I packed one in my suit case to come to Uganda with me. In my mind, it’s my offer of an apology to the earth for not being a better recycler. I mean come on, even the paper inside of the package is recycled paper. I laugh when I think about the silliness of it, but if I were in the states when it came time to buy a new toothbrush, you better bet it would be biodegradable. Why? Because it makes me feel good. Does it make a hill of beans difference to the earth? Probably not. Because, it’s my only attempt to preserve our earth. I don’t make a real effort to cherish the earth I live on.

So I wonder. How often do we do the same thing with other causes in our lives? Causes that really mean something. Causes like children who need a way out, adults who need healing from their past mistakes, our neighbors who need a little extra this month, or our family who we don’t think deserve just one more chance. How often are we called to care about an effort and we placate that call by learning the facts so we can think about what can be done, and then never look back? I think we are all guilty of that. I’m convinced that we need to take action, and really put an effort into change. I’m not talking about packing up and moving to a third world country. I’m talking about genuinely caring enough to invest time in interceding for these causes through prayer. Maybe even coming off a few dollars we really don’t want to give. Heaven forbid, we have awkward conversations about these causes to really figure out a way to make a difference. Because it comes down to this, if we don’t do something, who will?

Safety Sally strikes again...

My $12 helmet!

I love safety. Plain and simple. I thrive when I feel safe. So when my Momma mentioned the other day that my Daddy had offered to pay for a helmet if I could find one, I jumped on that offer! I figured it would be a costly purchase, seeing as though you don't see many helmets here in Jinja. So after some investigating, I took my last boda ride helmetless to the motorcycle shop this afternoon. I took a trusted boda man into the store with me to ensure that I wasn't getting completely ripped off. Imagine my surprise when they pulled a brand new helmet out of a box and said, "It's 30,000 shillings if you want it." That's $12! I happily bought myself $12 worth of safety and proudly wore my helmet on the way home.

Safety is a funny thing. It's mostly a perception. I feel the safest when I am wearing a seat belt, or for now, a helmet. I like taking precautions to feel safe. Some of you are probably thinking, "Okay crazy, you packed your bags and went to Africa and you don't know when you'll be back! What do you know about safety?" Oh trust me, I care about safety. But my perception is different than your's and your's is different than mine. I think it is just another reminder of how differently we are all created. Can you imagine if we were all scared of the same thing? I find safety in sitting in clinics with new pals who might not make it to see tomorrow and learning how to insert cannulas. But put me at a desk working crucial numbers to keep a business/organization running and there is no safety in that for me!

Today was my first day to teach English! Although I entered the classroom very nervous, most of my students are older than me, it ended up being a great experience. Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom in how to help these ministers be as successful as possible.

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it is. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." John 3:16-18 (The Message)

I am doing a Beth Moore Bible study on my own here in Jinja, instead of watching the videos with a group of sisters on Christ, I listen to podcast by myself. It sounds miserably lonely, but it is actually endearing. I get to have Beth all to myself! The Bible study I am doing is based on the book of James, he wrote some good stuff, too bad the poor guy doesn't get much air time! In the last week I completed, Beth takes a day to discuss gifts from God using James 1:16-18. She wrote something that has stuck with me...

"Out of God's outstanding grace, a very imperfect person can still receive a delightfully perfect gift precisely because it's perfect for her. God's gifts are given with goals. They're perfect because they are perfecting. They don't just give today. They give toward every tomorrow."

...it sticks with me because she explained my time in Uganda with this quote. I don't know how long I will be here or even what I'll be doing next month, but this gift of time is perfecting. I am learning what ministry God is burdening me with. I am learning what it looks like to live in a third world country. I am learning how to completely and wholly trust in God when my flesh screams warnings to just handle it myself. I am learning how to handle missing those I love most. But through it all, I am being perfected through this gift from God. It’s not always easy, but it sure is worth it in the end!

Tomorrow, I teach my first English class! I am both excited and nervous. I know that the preachers and church workers will go back to their country (They come from all over East Africa.) and be able to do even more ministry. I am also experiencing my first, of many I’m sure, go-rounds with giardia. Let me tell you…it is no fun! Any time I walk very far, nausea is there waiting for me. Thank goodness I am spending lots of time with a sweet IMB nurse who asked lots of questions about symptoms and gave me a strong dose of antibiotics. All your prayers for quick recovery would be coveted! For all you mommas out there…yes, I am drinking plenty of CLEAN water! :)

adventures in the month of march...

This month is going to be a busy one! I am teaching two month long English courses at the Uganda Baptist Seminary. (Who says you have to have a doctorate degree to teach seminary!?) It's a new program for everyone involved, so we all have a lot to learn together. This new program is for pastors and church workers who did not finish high school, but want to go to seminary. It consists of 3 month long terms where English, science, math, and computer will be taught. After the students complete this program, they can return for more in depth seminary programs. We are expecting over 100 students! The students will be broken into 4 groups, this way the class size is much more suitable for everyone involved. The best perk of this ministry is that I get to live in the apartment on the seminary campus. To think that last week I was so worried about where I would live! Now, I am getting spoiled having my own space...including my own kitchen which is equipped with a microwave! Unfortunately, the apartment is only available this month. So come April 1, I'll be packing up again. I am getting really good at packing my life into a suitcase and carry-on!

I am also going to be helping a young missionary in town home school her daughters. For the month of March, I will be teaching phonics and 2nd grade reading and grammar in the afternoon. In April, I will join in on their morning schedule and help out. The great thing about this opportunity is that I get to learn more about ministry while helping her out. Her ministry is one that I believe in and I am very interested in learning more. I am beginning to see a theme of learning in this journey! Everyday I see that there is more to be learned!

I've set some goals for specific things I want to learn while I'm on this journey. A few of them are:

1. How to insert a cannula (or IV).

2. How to complete a malaria test (blood test similar to checking your sugar)

3. Learning the ins and outs of the local clinics

4. Learning what good prices are for fruits and veggies at the market

5. Figuring out how to cook EVERYTHING from scratch (no hamburger helper here!)

I made the goal of learning to insert a cannula soon after I got in Uganda. So many people are severely dehydrated and die before reaching clinics and you are pretty much on your own in the clinics in town. I watched a friend put one in a severely malnourished little boy today and reconsidered this lofty goal. I had to make myself watch her put the cannula in, the little guy had practically no veins and was skin and bones. I am also learning the importance of malaria tests in order to prevent malaria going untreated and then children ending up with cerebral palsy. I announced today that my ministry might just be to travel the continent of Africa testing children for malaria to prevent more cases of cerebral palsy! I would probably end up with a bad reputation if that were the case. Can you imagine having the reputation of the mzungu who travels around sticking kids fingers?!

our hearts...

A gorgeous view of the Nile River after a rainy day.

Isaac's little arm with a cannula in it.

Exhausted Isaac being loved on by Auntie Annelise.

IV to help get some nutrition into his malnourished body.

Hospital bed side table. You have to provide your own food. Makes me very thankful for the quality of hospitals where I grew up.

I am amazed at the capacities that our hearts have been given to love. Our hearts were created for love. To love our Creator. And each other. Sometimes it’s hard to have a genuine love for people. Especially when we’ve been hurt or taken advantage of. But then sometimes, our hearts overflow with a love that is so real and so big. Today was a day where I found it easy to love. Easy to love a little boy named Isaac.

I met him today at one of the local hospitals. I was going to meet a friend not knowing what my heart was about to feel. Isaac’s mom dropped him off at pre-school days ago and never returned. Then a man showed up. The man said Isaac was dropped off at his house randomly…no wait, the man is his uncle…never mind, the man is his father. These are the stories that were told all day yesterday. Whether they were told out of fear of prison time (for abandoning his son with his ex-wife) or out of selfish motives, I don’t know. The man said Isaac was five yesterday, but then the man said Isaac was three today. The man kept disappearing from the hospital all night last night and all day today. Whether he needed a breather from all the regret he was feeling or looking for a way out, I don’t know.

When I saw Isaac, his little body was swimming in his size 4 diaper because of malnourishment. His little lungs were laboring to breathe and his ribs felt like they might wither away because of a very serious case of pneumonia. His arms and legs were stiff because of the cerebral palsy that probably came from untreated malaria. And I wonder how it is so, that neither of his parents can stay and comfort him. How can they not sit on his bed and hold back the tears? How did they allow for his little body to get to such a frail and downright scary condition? Because as I sit on his bed and rub what should be a chubby cheek and lean down to his ear to whisper one of my favorite songs that we sing at Friendship, “Jesus we crown You with praise…” I feel my heart overwhelmed with a love for a little fellow I’d just laid eyes on an hour earlier. A love from a heart that was created to feel that way by my so thoughtful Creator. As I think through this blog and think about that sweet baby, I have to give praises of gratitude to God. I am so thankful that our hearts can love big. I also have to pray that Isaac’s parents will soon realize that they too have hearts with the capability to love big. Love big enough to take care of their precious son. Love big enough to raise Isaac to be a healthy child and then onto a healthy man.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. -James 1:27

Oh yeah...you're probably going to want to know this exciting piece of news! On Monday, I will be moving into an apartment on the campus of the Uganda Baptist Seminary for the month of March! Where there is a strong possibility that I will be teaching English to students who are in a month long seminary prep program. I am so thankful that the Lord is letting me spend at least a month among people who are like-minded with me and have so much to teach me about this country. I can't wait to fill you in on this week as it progresses!

a whole month...

Well, as I prepare to go to bed tonight, it is in a new bed. I am no longer at Sonrise, as the month of February is over with. It is crazy to see how quickly a month went by! When I look back, it seems like forever away, but then at times is seems like just yesterday I got on that first plane in Mobile. I can already see the ways that my heart has changed and the way my relationship with Christ has changed. I will never be the same. I now know what it is like to not know what tomorrow holds and being forced to rely of my sovereign God to provide for me. Although, it was not a fun lesson (and unfortunately it's not over!) I am better for it. Now back to my new bed...I am staying with Ms. Jude and her adopted daughter Barbara for the time being. Ms. Jude, who is Australian, owns a restaurant in town and goes to the same church I have been attending. She has been in Uganda for about 25 years, I won’t even attempt to make a stab at her age, I think it would only get me in trouble! She has a reputation of letting volunteer vagabonds with no place to go stay at her house! With all of my house hunting this week, she kept telling me, “If you can’t find a place to live, you are welcome at my house. Although, I’m not a good host, I don’t cook at home!” She reminds me of my grandma Betty. She is sassy and has a knack for telling the truth, whether or not you want to hear it is your problem! So for now, I get to learn from her, sleep in a full bed, and take hot showers. I’d say the Lord is providing for me!

I am looking forward to sharing with you what I will be doing ministry wise this month! There are some opportunities that are still up in the air at this point. I will know at the beginning of next week if they are going to work out. Know that I am excited about them, and I know there is so much for me to learn from them! I am thankful for your continued support, both financially and prayerfully. Because of you, I am here. I will always be thankful for that!

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. -Proverbs 16:9