Starts with a spark...

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT ekissa@blogspot.com on Feb 26, 2010
It only takes a spark of “hope” to ignite a flame of passion. Today our team was blessed with a boat ride across Lake Victoria and then a boda boda ride (motorcycle) up to Bethany Village. Bethany Village is the orphanage started by African Renewal Ministries (ARMS-a ministry of Gaba Community Church).

This part of our trip is always a blessing to me as I’m reminded of what can happen when ministries put their egos and competitive natures aside, partner together, for the greater-good for the life of orphans and the glory of the Lord!

Seeing the smiles of the children running around during a class break, eating their morning poo shoo (porridge), laughing and playing tag, is such a blessed reminder of what “childhood” should be. It provides a vision of hope and possibilities for the ministry God has for Bweya Village/ Mercy orphanage.

After we finished our time at Bethany, we returned to the guest house for lunch and visited Wentz Medical Clinic, another ministry of ARMS. They provide such an amazing outreach to the community. It is there we delivered 27 mosquito nets for distribution. Dr Martin, the physician at Wentz, as well as an ekissa board member, will provide a net for a child as they present to the medical clinic and receive a diagnosis of Malaria. There was a Canadian nurse volunteering at Wentz for 2 weeks. She mentioned that all she had seen was individuals with Malaria. This nurse shared she has volunteered in several locations in Africa and that Uganda has by far the highest level of Malaria within all of Africa. 320 children die everyday in Uganda with Malaria. This is a serious diagnosis that is avoidable with the right prevention. Thank you to all who generously donated financially so that we could assist with this need.

Following our visit to Wentz, ekissa held its’ first Ugandan Board of Director’s meeting. I was excited about the enthusiasm from the board and am excited to see how God moves. He continues to do things far greater than I could ever hope or imagine. I’m so thankful His ways are not my ways, nor is thoughts, my thoughts because mine are incredibly limited.

Our team ended our day with attending an all night prayer/ praise service at Gaba Community Church, which began at 11pm. This is the most amazing experience…to see the freedom in which they worship! The North American church is missing something! We need to become more “active” in our worship as “worship” is actually an outward expression of who Christ is as well as an expression of appreciation for all He has done.

We are about to complete our time here in Uganda as we will have some time for shopping and a meeting on Saturday, and then worship on Sunday. Sunday evening following worship we will begin the long trek home. Please pray for continued stamina in health. One of our team members (Michelle) is actually not feeling very well this evening.

Thank you for your participation in ekissa and this mission trip. You have support us through your participation through prayers, finances, etc…, and we humbly appreciate your support.

Blessings!
Sarah

Blackout in Uganda...

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ekissa@blogspot.com on Feb 26, 2010

Greetings Seekers,

Praise God! Our luggage arrived from Nairobi, but not until we had worn the same clothes for four days. And, Kathy's shirt reappeared. It's been a glorious day!

Now for the bad news....as we began to retire for the evening, we came home to luggage, but no electricity. Blackout in Uganda. The power came back on after 2 hours, but then it was time to eat dinner, and seeing as how we had no lunch, Michelle had to eat three plates of food before anyone could move from the table.

After dinner, as we pushed our chairs away from the table, removed Michelle's plate from her death grip, and… THE POWER WENT OUT AGAIN AND WE HADN'T SHOWERED YET!

Would you like to know what it is like to try and bath with a flashlight hanging from your teeth? We were that desperate. The good news in the calamity is that Jack's Mag light is back.

Just kidding...the power came back on after 10 minutes and we were able to bath in comfortable, lighted conditions. We smell grrrreeeeaaaatttttt now!

Now on to some serious stuff...while there may have been a blackout in Uganda, the light of Jesus is shining ever so brightly in his people here in this corner of the world.

Our day began with our first trip to Bweya Village. While driving, we prayed mightily in the name of Jesus against the enemy that was so present on the last trip. Pastor Peter, the head pastor of Gaba Community Church, gave us on Wednesday a great reminder of the Ugandan history of the spiritual warfare that consist of witchcraft, demon worship and the casting of spells. In fact, Pastor Peter reminded us that before Gaba planted its church in this community, and even after the planting, the head witch doctor in ALL of Africa resided a few feet from where we're staying.

Moving on, we arrived in Bweya to find the bridge washed out. We were forced to find an alternate route. Finally arriving at Mercy orphanage, we found it to be rather sparse with children. There were 3 sick children, one of which appears to be days away from death clearly due to starvation. Much to our surprise, we learned that a Catholic Mission team made a visit and decided to sponsor most of the children for one year of schooling. This is a HUGE praise. However, in talking with the children, we learned that none of them had eaten that day and many of them had not eaten the entire week.

After spending some time with the children, the group left to shop at the open market for food. We bought rice, beans, oil, sugar, salt, onions, cabbage, tomatoes and made rice and beans topped with cabbage, onion, tomato stew that we made and served. The truth we now struggle with is, while they ate today, we don’t know when they’ll eat again. Walking away from this situation is very hard and we know that God cares, without a doubt God cares.


While we were leaving, one of the Mercy boys handed us four pieces of paper. These torn pieces of paper contained the following prayer requests, verbatim:
To be honest and faithful & Christian foundation,
Orphanage funds
Friends to stand with us,
Medicine,
Enough daily food,
God to open closed doors for us

Please join us in praying for these children.

We love you, we miss you, and may God bless you.

Michelle, Kathy and Sarah

Content?

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT ekissa.blogspot.com on Feb 24, 2010

It's not the end of day one but I've got some down time and thought I'd post. We had a slow beginning to our day which has been nice for most as our bodies are trying to adjust to the time change.

At mid-morning we had a roundtable conversation regarding the vision of Bweya Village. Those gathered at the table were Dr. Martin from the Wentz Medical Clinic, Pastor Peter, the Senior Pastor of Gaba Community Church, Les Neely and Scott Beidler with Upward Sports, Michelle Speas and Kathy Brehm of Cornerstone Christian Church, David Sebanna, a "Bridge" student and myself. We had an awesome time of sharing.

One of the main focuses was regarding the purchase of land for the new church plant in Bweya Village. Land has been located and it looks like we need to raise about $35,000 pretty quickly. (All donations humbly accepted!! :-) )

Our meeting ran into the afternoon so our "unannounced" visit to Mercy was put off until tomorrow. We will rise and shine early tomorrow, go purchase food and mosquito nets and then go directly to the orphanage.

If I can be completely honest, I'm a little fearful of what we may find when we arrive. Michelle thinks the place will be empty with the children wandering the village. I anticipate many will be wandering, but I also anticipate a more worse degree of starvation than Sept as well as some in the bed sick...hopefully no deaths. With starvation and malaria the reality here, and with the level of neglect, I pray God will grant me the necessary grace to take in it. This reality is what ekissa is all about...seeking justice for the injustice and sharing the Good News of a Father to the "fatherless".

Following our meeting today, the group took a walking tour of the slums of Ggaba. Hopefully this helps prepare the group for what they'll encounter tomorrow in Bweya.
As we entered the slums we were greeted happily with smiling faces of the children. As expected, they approached us yelling "mzungu! muzungu!" Such big smiles and happy cries to the mzungu! I dare say I would respond like such if I had to endure their way of life. I believe the writer Paul challenges us regarding a state of being "content". Yikes! Were are you measuring???

Well, just wanted to post that all is well. We still have yet to receive any of our luggage! Thank goodness I packed 2 days worth of clothes in my carryon! :-) A word for the May team!!

Chuck, David and Patrick send their greetings! They say they love you and miss you greatly.

Stay tuned and thank you for your prayers! Specifically pray the price of the land can be lowered. The land is key in order for us to move forward with what God has for Bweya. We will see the plot tomorrow. Pray for stamina for the team tomorrow. It will be a busy day as we go to Mercy and see the plot of land, we will also visit Mary Smith at the Primary Boarding school just outside of Bweya. Pray the supplies will arrive with our luggage! At last check, our luggage was in Nairobi!?!??!?!?

We are so blessed as a people. It feels good to be back here!
We love you all!
Sarah (for the gang)

"Packed Flight?"

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT ekissa@blogspot.com on Feb 24, 2010

It’s Monday, 2:10 pm and we’ve just taken off from the Charlotte/ Douglass International airport. Our flight was delayed for about 90 minutes. As we were sitting at the end of the airport, just about to begin the forward throttle down the runway, I looked out to see the airplane which took off just ahead of us. It was a cloudy day, so in an instant as that plane lifted from the runway, it was snuffed out of sight into the clouds.

I sat buckled in my seat, about to take off, thinking…”Isn’t that a picture of life!” As that thought went through my head, I wondered if the plane was a “packed flight” and I wondered about its’ destination.

I looked around the plane I sat in…the seat beside me was empty. The seat to my right and back one isle…3 seats empty. One seat in front of me, empty! I couldn’t believe all the empty seats around me.

My plane took off shortly following. As we ascended, a question passed through my thoughts; “When my life is snuffed out, I wondering how many people I’ll be taking with me?” I wonder if my flight will be a “booked flight” or if there will be empty seats all around me. Those empty seats representing missed opportunities of sharing the gospel. A sense of sadness pricked my heart for a moment.

As we were racing down the runway, with the clouds somewhat blanketing the city of Charlotte, visibility was fairly poor. I could faintly see part of the skyline. As our plane rose into the sky, visibility worsened. However in moments we were above the clouds. There was a bright sunshine accompanying the gigantic fluffy white clouds and crisp blue sky. Wow! What a view…beauty only God could have created.

Sometimes life can present as a dreary, raining day with poor visibility. But upon the wings of Christ we can rise above that and the view is breath-taking.

Life is short like the ascent of that plane into the clouds. One minute it’s there and in a blink it’s gone! What are you doing to ensure others board the plane for “take off”? Just who will you take to heaven to enjoy that view of eternity?

Oh God…my heart overflows with thanksgiving for the ministry of ekissa you’ve birthed and called me to. I feel so inadequate and unworthy to have this “front row seat” to experience what you’re doing in the lives of the people in Uganda. I pray you will take my feeble hands and feet, multiply my efforts, working through me and in spite of me, to bring your people to an understanding and acceptance of who you are…Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen!

Feb 2010 to Uganda

Wow! I can’t believe all that God has done since returning from Uganda in October 2009…only 4 months ago. Now, in less than a year, I’m leaving on my 3rd trip to Uganda having been led of the Lord to begin “ekissa”, (which means “mercy” in the language of Luganda) a nonprofit that serves the orphans solely of Uganda, East Africa. You can get more of the background of this ministry at www.ekissa.com .

This particular trip to Uganda is a pivotal trip in the ministry of ekissa. This is a team of 5 which will travel together for one week. Members of this team are comprised of myself, 2 members of Cornerstone Christian Church and 2 individuals from “Upward”, a Christian sports program that shares the Gospel of Christ to children through the venue of sports. The thought behind “Upwards” involvement is to partner together in order to offer the children of Bweya Village (outside of Kampala Uganda) an opportunity to be introduced the Gospel through establishing an “Upwards” sports program there in the local village of Bweya.

ekissa will be returning in May for the purpose of a church plant in Bweya. Gaba Community Church (GCC), an indigenous church, has agreed to partner with ekissa to begin a holistic approach to ministry in Bweya Village. The new church will be named “Bweya Community Church”. This church plant is paramount to the ministry that God desires for Bweya village.

The new Bweya Community Church will be the hub of all outreach for Bweya. It is ekissa’s desire that Upward’s would partner with us to bring about a sports program to be facilitated through Bweya Community Church.

Please pray for discernment as we travel, that I am able to share with the team, the vision Christ has given me for the village of Bweya. Please pray for safety, stamina and health. Today, two days before travel, I’m dealing with a sinus infection. The enemy wants to divert my attention and he can do that through illness!

“So, put on God’s armor now…you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and…you will still hold your ground.” Ephesians 6:13

My prayer is that God will be fully glorified through everything that takes place regardless of the end results or “partnerships”. My desire is that we can move completely out of the way for all to see Jesus!

Please continue to visit this new blog as we hope to chronicle our trip. Pray for the “world-wide web” or as the Ugandan’s refer to it, “the world-wide wait”, to cooperate. On our last trip we struggled greatly with the use of technology.

Blessings,
Sarah

Mullin it over...

"Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: " 'Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. YOU are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.'" (Message) Mark 6:7-11

I'm internally struggling with some thoughts and the best way for me to rummage through my thoughts and begin making sense of them is through talking or writing. For now it seems writing is the best method. So, realize as you read this entry I may not come to a true resolution.

As I've been reading the book of Mark as well as "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, I've been interacting with some folks who are "looking for God's will" for their life. I'm beginning to think that God isn't as concerned with that "perfect plan A" that we think we're in pursuit of, as He is the way we pursue HIM.

This "pursuit" requires some proactiveness on our own...possibly more than simply praying. It may require some action/ movement from us. We are not called to be "passive participants". Many times as opportunities are laid before us, I hear, (and have said myself), "I don't really feel the Lord leading me to do_ _ _ _ _."

The thought and question I'm dealing with is, what if the Holy Spirit wants to reveal details for our life in that "opportunity" and we choose not to take advantage of it!? I fear that often we are presented with opportunities which are "no-brainers"; opportunities that relatively cost us nothing, yet could be priceless, opportunities that would reveal to us more of the character of Christ; opportunities that would further enrich our lives all for His glory; opportunities that are "bottom line acts"--meaning, things He requires His followers to do, period!...with no questions asked. Jesus was very specific about a lot of things, especially as it relates to caring for others.

I heard someone say last night there are only 3 things we can do that have eternal value; 1-invest in studying "the Word", 2-invest in humanity, 3-glorify God! That's it in a nutshell! EVERYTHING we do should be centered around those 3 basic things.

Something else I'm in thought over is, IF we are in hot pursuit of Christ, if we think there is any way that our participation in something will reveal more of Him, OR if we see there is any method of caring for humanity and our participation would give glory to God...shouldn't we pursue that???

I think Francis Chan put it well when he discussed the notion that many times we have our life all planned out and we "invite Him to join us on our life journey"..to "follow us where ever we feel we should go rather than following Him as we're commanded". Christ didn't choose to be crucified on a cross to follow us. He died so that we could forsake everything and follow Him!

Our life is just a snap and then we're gone. Living a "radical" life for Him shouldn't seem radical. Doing so should seem extremely logical if our goal is eternity. If our goal is pleasing self and storing up things to enjoy this millisecond-of-a-life on earth, we certainly are being short-sighted. God desires treasures for us in heaven for eternity.

Much like taking trips, keeping our focus on the final destination is key. Instead of focusing on the layovers (this earth), we need to keep our focus on our final destination, doing all we can to please our Maker in bringing glory to Him!

How are YOU bringing Him glory?

Love = Sacrifice

For anyone out there who's a runner, you understand that deep need to go for a run. A need so deep that you think, "Man, If I don't get 60 minutes of time to myself to run, I'm simply gonna combust!" Well, that's how I often feel about running and that's how I've been feeling about writing over the holidays.

When I write, I need just the right environment. It has to be in a nice quiet, cozy, warm spot in my house...a place where I can go, close out the world and definitely with NO interruptions! :-) Well, at holiday time, when schools are closed, that ideal environment no longer exist! The Asian-Invaders (my younger 2 girls, who are Chinese) are home and their presence is certainly known! Well, today, school is back in full swing!

Our holiday was nice but to be completely transparent, I woke up the day after Christmas and before my feet it the floor, I breathed a sigh of relief and said out loud to the Lord, " I'm so glad Christmas is over! Now we can get back to worshipping you!" I know! I know exactly what your thinking. But it's true! That's what I was feeling and that's exactly what I said.

Frankly, after going to Uganda...well... I'm just no fun anymore! I hated the Christmas parties, the presents, the excess food, and my goodness--the focus on "things". I'm serious! I absolutely HATE what "Christmas" has become. We work ourselves into a frenzy through the busyness of the season...and for what? We stretch ourselves financially...for what?? ---and why in the world to we eat so much food???? I just don't get it!

Before experiencing the Lord in Uganda, Christmas was like 5:00 rush hour. It WAS what it WAS; I hopped on the freeway and road with the traffic to keep from getting run over, giving the season little to no thought. Ashamedly I confess, and those days for me are gone...they are "no more".

Over the holiday I began reading the book of Mark...it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that it contains the Christmas Story. In addition I started reading a book by Francis Chan, "Crazy Love". If you're in season for a life change, I dare you to read the book of Mark and Crazy Love, simultaneously! It will mess you up for life...in a good way.

The theme God keeps laying before me is how Christ was sent here on earth to demonstrate for us how we are to live our life, through a life of sacrificing. And the more I continue to read, the more I realize how far off course we are! Not the unbelievers; the believers! I expect unbelievers to act like they do...they don't know any better; they don't know the heart of Christ. But man...Christians...WOW!

We have been commanded to "Love the Lord with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: Love others (your neighbor) as well as you love yourself. These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hang from them" (Message Bible/ Matthew 22:37-40)

--I dare say we even know who are neighbors are! The physical neighbors OR the figurative neighbors! These are the 2 greatest commands from Christ. Have we thought about how much "sacrificing" goes in to living each of these out?!?

In reading the book of Mark, the theme of Christ sacrificing is everywhere. Have you considered how many times Christ sacrificed his time to meet the needs of people? I really hadn't. When I've thought about His "sacrificing", it's always been in relation to the cross. However, now my eyes are being opened to His sacrificing prior to the cross. Whether it was Christ sharing intimate times with the disciples, healing the Leper, healing the paraplegic, feasting with the Tax Collector, healing the crippled hand, feeding the crowds, or casting out demons, He demonstrated how we are to "love our neighbor".

In Uganda I encountered starving orphans, starving caregivers, orphans dying from untreated Malaria and a lack of basic medical attention, people drinking contaminated water, children without adequate clothing and adequate housing. I believe God wants His people, His "Church", to be the solution to these vulnerable people. The essence of the second most important command is that we "love others"...equal to the way we love ourselves. Christ took the time to walk this earth to demonstrate how we are to "love"---do we really view ourselves as higher than Christ? ---Our lack of action, our lack of sacrificing for others, seems to suggest we do.

Christ desires us to be radical followers who truly sacrifice. What have you sacrificed lately for your "neighbor"? Have you sacrificed a meal lately?

I know of an American serving in Uganda who sacrifices meals on a regular basis, to ensure that each of the orphans she cares for, gets enough to eat. This American, who has given up her American standard of living to serve orphans in Uganda should NOT be going hungry. She is having to sacrifice MUCH because we remain in America unwilling to sacrifice at all. Many of us should be financially sacrificing here in America and ensuring her ministry to those orphans doesn't require her to further sacrifice her meals. That American understands and demonstrates the level of sacrificial love Christ demonstrated, and expects of His followers. What would this world look like if all believers sacrificed to this level?

While my focus has been on Uganda...many of these same needs exist here in America. I challenge you, to challenge yourself, to a level of sacrifice you've not yet experienced! You might just experience Christ in a whole new way!

Constantly standing in need of His grace!

Beyond the "Beyond" of my wildest dreams!

This blog is about the “Heart and times of Sarah”…and so it is here I desire to put into words the most recent way the Lord has sought to interrupt and invade my life…to “blow my mind”. Since July of 2009 (almost 5 months ago), the Lord has continually placed before me, in the most bizarre ways and locations, a verse from Ephesians. I was familiar with this verse as it is written in the New International version which states: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 I began to feel the Lord calling me to a specific ministry involving Uganda a little differently from the ministry I’ve been serving in with Caroline’s Promise. However, the magnitude of this new “call” was intimidating, risky, potentially damaging to some relationships, way beyond what I felt “qualified” to do, as well as outside of what I felt to be my natural abilities. Basically, the “calling” was nothing short of “God-sized”! I ran from this “calling” for 3 ½ months due to all the reasons I just mentioned. In my “running”, the Lord had brought me to a place of feeling “miserable” in what was clearly my “disobedience” to Him. My lack of acceptance, for what I knew to be His will for me in ministry, was wreaking havoc in my soul. It was the morning of Sept 21 that I fell on my face (literally), begging God to affirm for me one last time, this particular“calling” in a new ministry. I pleaded with Him as I had decided that looking like a “fool” in the eyes of man was nothing new for me. I had resolved my fears of intimidation, failure of ability and lack of qualification…what I had not yet resolved was the probability of damaging and loss of relationships in conceding to this new “call”. After much time on my face in prayer, I opened my devotion book dated that date. The scripture was “Through the proof of this service, they will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 9:13 I can’t say the scripture immediately spoke to me. However, the paragraphs that followed hit me smack between the eyes. As I read them, I immediately began to cry over the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus, and my unfaithfulness to Him. Based on my response until that moment, I had been entertaining idols (a couple of friendships and my own insecurities)…an “idol” being anything I place in my life above God. I not only cried but I hung my head in shame from this recognition of doubt and “idols”. Quoting Beth Moore in Believing God Day by Day, she writes, “We could think of many examples where obedience comes from faith. Sometimes, for instance, we have to exercise faith to believe that obedience to God in a difficult situation will ultimately bear fruit, even though it looks as though it might immediately cause hardship. We also have to exercise faith to believe God can handle the consequences of our obedience if someone important to us is not going to approve first”. OK…so many of you are thinking…”I didn’t think Sarah really cared what other people thought!”…well, you’d be wrong! In that moment I knew what I needed to do…if this God I serve is really who He says He is…”all knowing”, “all powerful”, “all sufficient”, “holding my best interest in the palm of His hand”, I had to surrender my idols and accept His “invitation to ministry”/ “His calling”. I once heard it said, "If we believe God is "GOD", we will let Him do His job!"...so, I accepted His invitation. Instead of continuing to focus on my inabilities and the potential consequences I couldn't control, I decided to see the abilities of God, as well as His abilities He chooses to use through me. The outgrowth of accepting His “invitation” is the start of a new ministry, “ekissa”. You can visit www.ekissa.com for specific details but here’s an excerpt from the site. ekissa (pronounced etch'-uh-sa) is a Christ-centered, nonprofit ministry engaged in partnering with individuals, churches and organizations to provide care and support to the most needy in the world through short-term mission trips of service. It is through these short-term mission trips that we facilitate long-term relationships with the people in Bweya Village in Uganda. ekissa seeks to serve orphans and widows by demonstrating the love of Christ through practical ways. This is accomplished through building relationships with people in the community as well as the members of the local indigenous church. Activities may include assisting the local indigenous church build a church there in the village as well as a school, medical clinic, assist with agricultural training, mentoring, etc. SOO, while I’ve been serving in Uganda and leading mission teams for orphan care through another venue, God has put a very specific calling in my life to bring together like-minded groups of people to adopt Bweya Village and build a lifetime relationship there with the people of Bweya as well as a local indigenous church, Gaba Community Church through a new venue. I love the way Paul, in the book of Ephesians (3:7-8), simply lays it out there…Paul says, “This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message…When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.”…Paul says in verse 8…”And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ…(verse 12) When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go.” (The Message) --- I can relate so closely with Paul’s words. They speak directly to my inner being… …so, I ask you, are you running from anything He’s calling you to? If so, let me encourage you to stop and surrender to whatever it is He’s inviting you to. His way is much more scenic! “I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” (The Message, Ephesians 3:15-19) …and be mindful of when you respond in such fashion, “God can do anything, you know---far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gentle within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!” (The Message, Ephesians 3:20-21)

Blessings as you respond to His leading!

It's a"Wrap", Uganda Fall 2009

As I comb through pictures of our trip, there were many more experiences I could share. There were several that I will never forget. One is washing the feet of the children at Mercy Orphanage. Our team was given the humble experience of washing their earth stained, callused feet and fitting them with a new pair of shoes. During this process we inspected their feet for jiggers, a micro-organism found in the dirt that plants itself in the flesh of unsuspecting soles. Once there, the parasites begin hosting upon their prey causing anything from painful feet to infections and even paralysis. There were several feet who were hosting such organisms which had to be removed much like removing splinters. Another unforgettable experience for me was witnessing a young boy collapse in the arms of one of our team members, who is a pediatric nurse, and then watching her with tears in her eyes, drudge up a slippery, muddy embankment, carrying a lifeless child in her arms to our van in order to transport this child to a medical clinic. Unbeknownst to us, this child was in the third stages of malaria and most likely in his final 12 hours of life. A very “upfront and personal” experience for me was having a young girl at one of the orphanages, whom I had met on my last visit, approach me for help as she revealed the unthinkable things done to her in the darkness of night. My heart broke for the things this young girl had experienced even before her teens, yet anger grew inside of me as my eyes darted around at the older boys and men who were all suspects of these violent acts against her. God’s word says He is a “father to the fatherless” and that He has not forgotten His children. Honestly, sometimes it’s hard for those truths to be reconciled between my head and heart. I pray God begins to heal the emotional wounds of this young girl sooner, rather than later. I know she’s living in “survival mode” but I imagine acts of violence leave deep wounds. Lord, pour your mercies upon her wounded heart. A positive experience was on our last evening in Uganda at the close of one of our team devotions and a debriefing session. One of our team members made a decision to release some strongholds earlier that day and requested to be re-baptized. As the team member stood in a dishpan, bottled water was poured over her. It was an amazing experience to share as this was symbolic of “dying to the old self” and moving forth in “new life”. The past 4 postings have given you a glimpse into our trip to Uganda. It was a trip filled with wonder, beauty, questions, joy, amazement of God’s mercies and grace as well as man’s strength to endure. There were times of much disappointment in man’s choices, as well as a tremendous recognition of the mighty spirit of our Lord. There is nothing more hair-raising than standing with arms lifted in an evangelical church in the middle of the continent of Africa, worshipping Christ with fellow brother’s and sisters in another language; singing familiar tunes in English while hearing the song sung in the native tongue. The same God who loves and cares for the His Children in North America is so ever-present in Uganda. Experiencing unabandoned worship and seeing first hand what it means to live in faith and as Paul talks about , “…being content in whatever state I am in…” makes me shake my head at we Americans. We have so much, yet sitting in this spiritual sphere, I feel we have totally missed the essence of “a relationship with Christ”. How sad it is to see how much we have sold ourselves a “bill of goods”. No wonder most Americans feel so empty and unfulfilled. My trip was wrapped up with a brief interview with an 8 year old, Mark. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He responded, “A pastor!”. I then followed up with the question, “If you could tell American’s anything, what would it be?” Much to my amazement, Mark responded with, “I would want them to know that God is good!”. …Yes Mark! God IS good… So friend, are you interested in experiencing what Christ is doing in and through the beautiful people of Uganda? Are you interested in serving the downcast and vulnerable? “ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Hebrews 10:21 Stay tuned for more information and opportunities in Uganda. Blessings!

Uganda, Day 4

From Stephanie
Bottom Line is…
We spent the entire day in a state of worship.

What a beautiful day! Starting with our boat ride across Lake Victoria and the short fun ride on “boda bodas” which is similar to (dirt bikes/motorcycles) on village paths. We led VBS with songs of worship with the kids and teachers. Chuck and I led the story of Esther and God’s plans for her and her people—God directing her path for a great plan. David led the children in learning the Creation Story. The bottom line was “God made everything, including you. It is good!” By the end of the lesson the kids were eagerly calling out “The bottom line”. You should have seen the kids worshipping in song. It was worship for us!Our timeframe was to leave Bethany by 1:30—we had plans back at the guest house, but God had other plans! As we were preparing to leave and get in the boat, dark clouds began to roll in.
We gathered under a meeting shelter by Lake Victoria to wait out the storm. We know God’s plans are certainly better than ours! What started out as a delay, turned into our own personal worship service. Did you know that rocks in an empty water bottle and a bottle of Motrin make great impromptu shakers? This along with an African drum, the rain beating around us with occasional thunder, and our voices and hearts lifted to God, make for quite a worship service-Ugandan style. It was simply our team and a few people from Bethany Village and Africa Renewal Ministries, singing, worshiping, and basking in our Jesus. As much as I try, it was an indescribable time.
After our worship service, we returned by boat to the guest house to eat pizza.  Shortly after eating, Sarah and David left to accompany a local Pastor on a prayer walk for a community. During that same time, the rest of us gathered and held a 2 hour prayer vigil. We have been greatly affected by the things we have seen and felt the last few days, sadness, frustration, joy, love. We specifically started praying for spiritual and physical protection for our two team members using verses God had revealed to us about His vindication for those that carry out evil plans on the innocent. But God also kept bringing to our hearts about his unsurpassed love for us, including the orphans, whether at children’s homes that care for them individually or at an orphanage that doesn’t even meet the basic needs of nourishment. God knows each child by name, they are His children and he weeps with us at the choices of man has made. We felt His presence speaking to our hearts and we know we walked alongside Sarah and David at the same time. But all those words still can’t describe what those 2 hours were like- an intimate powerful moment.
Do you think we were done? No way! God had more in store to feed our souls. Next door, Ggaba Community Church’s worship team was practicing. That was practice--- it was worship! Lisa and I sat outside to just bask in God’s presence. Wow! What a day!
Our bottom line for the day ”We spent a whole day immersed in worship with our God who adores us.” Thank you my dear Father God, thank you.

Thanks Stephanie.
Blessings!

Uganda, Day 3

September 30, 2009
David Smith

Greetings to our dear friends and family in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ! I can only say that God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit is alive and well here in Uganda. The nine of us have had the opportunity to experience and grow in ways that only God can afford. We are being stretched and pulled and tested and torn in ways that only by the Grace of God will we survive.

-We have been confronted with a boldness of God in ways that we have only read about in scripture: the same God that showed up for Elijah when battling the prophets of Baal. -We have seen starvation where children were being forced to a fast (it just so happened that the fast was in its eighth day with little/no food.
-We had one child who was in the third stage of malaria.
-We saw Satan in the form of old men, young men (who were living at Mercy orphanage), “pastors” supposedly proclaiming the gospel (we direct you to read Jeremiah 23), yet to be turning a blind eye and helping to perpetuate greed, lust, abuse and even rape.
And through all of this we have seen God working HIS wonderful tapestry in response to prayer, holy discernment and honest dialogue.

Do we understand all of these experiences? No! What we have come to understand is that God’s hand is at work. We are all aware that much of what we are experiencing will never be understood. We have come to realize that it is the act of obedience of being here that we are afforded the opportunity to see, hear, taste, smell and touch Jesus in a new way. Oh, how we are striving to be the “feet and hands of Jesus.”

In Galatians 6: 9 we read about how we should “not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good.” Acts of giving aren’t like pebbles dropped in a pool that make a few temporary ripples and then sink to the bottom, inert. They’re seeds planted in the soil of life, and they will come up one day. The harvest is inevitable. Verse 7 states, “Don’t be misled: no one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest.” Decisions are seed. Attitudes are seed. Acts are seed. Prayers are seed. And all of it will come to harvest.

Growing deeper comes when we are willing to go through the rough stuff for the purpose of being transformed. When we not only do the right thing, but do it in a way that observes, includes, and heals the hurting who stand along side us. For too long modern Christianity has looked like fast food: the quickest, Bible-based shortcut to solutions and success-but in the process we are missing the parts of the journey that make us people of depth.

We are dodging the lengthier routes that welcome others into our healing. But it is precisely this route that should become our new path, our new normal. (Read 2 Cor. 3:1-3) Like it or not, you and I / We are a letter of recommendation from Jesus. How will our letters read to the rest of the world.

We covet your prayers. We covet your continued love and understanding. Please know that we hope you will prayerfully understand that as Christ has called us to change, that we have and are growing deeper in our faith walk and our understanding of why we were called to this strange and wonderful place. We know that there is harvest ahead.

Thanks David Smith.
Blessings!

Uganda, Day 2

Day 2 at Mercy Orphanage
September 29, 2009
Lisa Loos

We awoke early for devotions, an awesome breakfast prepared by our hosts and a spirit filled visioning and learning opportunity with Pastor Peter from Gaba Community Church. It seems the Lord is continuing to impress upon each of our team members the burden of how we can empower the believers here to continue the ministry at Mercy Orphanage long after the “westerners” are gone. There are so many immediate needs of the children such as basic medical care, food on a daily basis and safety that need to be addressed – not to mention the long term needs. While our hearts were broken yesterday (Day 1) we were also immensely blessed to be led in worship by the children. YES, by the starving, malnourished, sick, orphaned children who, with the voices of angels, the joy of a thousand saints and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, were praising the name of the living God as if they had every amenity and luxury one could afford and not a care in the world. As I sat there and held a boy (burning with fever, who had fallen asleep in my arms), I wept with a broken heart for these who have no earthly parents to comfort them and I wept with humbled joy in the presence of our Heavenly Father who has not forsaken them.
Enter Day 2…We arrived back at Mercy eager to play with, love on and feed the children. We were immediately greeted with smiles and laughter from the children we met on Monday as well as many more that had traveled from the neighborhood to see the “Myzunga’s” (White people)
These greetings brought smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts. These were washed away quickly, not from the heavy rain that had begun to fall but from the revelation of the evil these children encounter on a daily basis. Ministry did happen at Mercy today. Not as we had planned with each member of the team performing a function in VBS, then moving on to the next activity of play, then food…but with the Lord spreading this team…His church, throughout the Home according to His plan to minister to the broken children who fear the dark and the horrors that come in the night…the sick children needing immediate medical attention…the house “Aunties” who have also been forsaken by the world and the innocent there who have no earthly hope in their despair…but continued to Hope in our Mighty God who Delivers and Saves!
The day at Mercy ended with heavy hearts broken for the suffering of the Orphans and Widows at Mercy…yet with Praise to the Living God who, as Sarah’s daughter so beautifully said, “connected all the dots” long before calling us here and continues to work His Good and Perfect Purpose for these…His children, through the obedience of a motley crew of 9 Americans from all walks of life who are striving to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus. Praise, Glory and Honor to you Oh God!

Thank you Lisa.
Blessings!

Uganda, Day 1

Day One in Uganda, written by Malinda Hayes

Finally after all the preparation and hard work, our team made it to our destination: Uganda. Despite travel fatigue and jet lag, I am so thankful that God not only protected our team, but also all our baggage. God is good.

Our hosts’, Patrick and Sarah, kindly greeted us with warm hearts at the airport and brought us to what I would a call a top-notch guest house. After a long night of packing all the shoes, VBS supplies, and medical supplies we needed for Mercy Orphanage, we all crawled into our mosquito net sheltered beds and got as much rest as possible for our first day of VBS.

I remember that next morning when we were driving toward Mercy, praying to God to prepare me for whatever I was about to see. I realized very quickly when I arrived at the orphanage, that God didn’t want me to be “prepared”, but He wanted my heart to be broken by seeing the rawness
of His suffering children. Arriving at this orphanage my heart immediately broke. Yes, for the tiny children with torn clothes and sad eyes, but more so in a different way. My teammate Katherine and I immediately encountered a 16 year old boy. He said that most of the kids his age that lived at Mercy were in school, but that he wasn’t able to attend his last year in school because his sponsorship had been pulled, and he didn’t know when he would be able to go back. This broke my heart that he was left abandoned at the orphanage day after day, just waiting for someone to care enough to pay his school fees.

Our time of Worship and our creation story poster seemed to liven the kids up. They ended up later dancing for us and leading US in worship. They thanked us for coming and told us that God had answered their prayers through us being there. They then asked us all to share our testimonies. It was beautiful watching the body of Christ work through two different cultures.

We were able to wash their feet, place new shoes on their feet, and serve them a meal of rice, beans, and mango juice. The nurse on our team, Lisa, was able to give medical attention to many of the children, by removing jiggers from their feet, treating scraped legs and knees, as well as some other superficial injuries. It was so humbling and yet so fulfilling to give "our all" today in carrying out God’s Word in helping the needy and orphaned. Aren’t we all really needy and orphaned until our Lord provided for us? We are all one in Christ and remembering that really levels the playing field.

After a great day of serving, we were blessed to have a wonderful feast cooked by some women helping us where we are staying. They had also cleaned our rooms for us, to our surprise.

When we follow in God’s will, He promises to bless back. And across the world in Uganda He has, beyond my wildest dreams.

Thank you Malinda for sharing your heart with us!
Blessings!

Glimpses into Uganda...

Well, I can't believe I've gone to Uganda and returned not having written one posting! That's certainly not to say that our time in Uganda wasn't worth writing about; quite the opposite. So much happened that the time simply got away. God showed up in amazing ways and I was richly blessed to share those 8 days on the ground with 8 amazing creatures from the USA.

Our computer and telephone connectivity was very sporadic and unreliable but the team managed to get some blog postings written. I chose not to do all the blogging as I love hearing the perspectives of others. Our team was extremely open with their sharing. However, there's nothing like getting into the mind of someone else and hearing the essence of their heart.

The next few postings I will upload are postings from various team members from the Uganda team. I hope their writings bless your heart as they did mine. I thought the writings were worthy of sharing. There is no way to recount the Ugandan experience as words will never do justice to all that was seen, heard, tasted, felt and done "in the flesh", but these postings will give you a brief glimpse into the mysterious continent of Africa...specifically, Uganda...place my heart longs to be, much more than I physically am.

Blessings my friends!

"Come Follow Me"

Wow...in 3 days I'll be headed back to Uganda. It feels as though it's been 1/2 a lifetime since I was last there, yet it's only been 3 1/2 months. The beat of the drums and the sights of the children freely dancing are etched in my brain.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting these last few days on God's initial call for me to go to Africa. Following by faith in obedience to this call has blessed and grown me in many ways. I've tried to consider my life having not taken this step. How incredibly dissatisfying an unfulfilled I would be. What a tremendous blessing I would have missed.

This makes me think about all the "unclaimed" blessings that are probably packed in "God's storehouse". Times when God extended an invitation for us and due to our unbelief, insecurities, lack of faith...and ultimately lack of obedience, we completely sidestepped an amazing gift. What a tragedy; what a loss! We simply allow our lack of faith and obedience to rob us of hidden treasures.

I've also been reflecting on my initial responses to Uganda. Will I continue wrestling with the injustice of poverty and the theological explanations regarding the weak and vulnerable? My initial response questioned the "why" of it all. Now I contend that the more important thought to dwell on is "what".

Having seen the vulnerable and heard their cries, what will be my response? What will be the response of the individuals on our teams. There is most always an initial "reaction". However, following "reaction", we as Christians are called to give a "response". It is no surprise that every member from the first Uganda team was impacted in some way. So it will be with this second team. Lives will be impacted. My question is will they encounter this trip to return home and resume their life as it was before going to Africa, OR will they return to be mobilized.

Africa continues to suffers because of our refusal to respond to the tragedies we see...and Africa will continue to suffer at the hands of all who "see" and then deny themselves a response to those needs.

I pray we all take this journey to Uganda and return by another path, going a different way. I pray this journey changes the way we look at this big world.

"He said to them, "If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me." Mark 8:34

The most secure investment we can make in today's economy is in our faith. It is through our maturing faith that obedience springs up.

Blessings!

Blessed To Be a Blessing...

Today has the sun rises, we in America rise to begin our day, just like any other, giving little thought to what goes on, on the other side of oceans… If we awake to find our cupboards bare, we take a quick trip to our local grocer or to the nearest Super Wal-Mart for a remedy. If we awake to find our children with a slight fever, we place a phone call to the pediatrician the moment the office opens. This just isn’t the case in countries like Uganda.

Children awake with pains in their bellies on a regular basis as well as wake up in desperate need of a doctor but with no means of seeing one. Today the 4 month old daughter of my Ugandan friend died of a rare but fixable heart defect, truncus arterious. This is basically a hole in the heart as well as missing one (of two) main vessels that transports blood between the heart and lungs. This is a defect that if a child in America is born with, it is diagnosed and fixed before the infant leaves the hospital.

I’m told that infants just don’t survive this type of defect for 3 months without surgery. Baby Melanie was 4 months old.

The prayers of the saints were heard when God miraculously presented a medical center in the US to sponsor this surgery as well as a surgeon who donated his time to perform this "life saving" operation. Baby Melanie, her mother and a family nurse were flown to Birmingham, Alabama and the surgery was performed on Friday,
August 14. Today, some 12 days later, the “life saving” operation wasn’t enough. The damage and stress to the heart and lungs had already been done prior to the surgery.

School just started in the state of NC. Many children, preparing for school for the first time, had medical check-ups, received immunizations to prevent illnesses, went shopping for new clothes, a pair of new tennis shoes and many school supplies. We in The United States of America are blessed more than we realize or acknowledge. We just tend to take it all for granted. We have been blessed to be a blessing…yet how many of us wake up on a regular basis with that mentality? How many of us wake to ponder, “How can I be a blessing today?” Most of us wake up looking to BE blessed!

There are “Melanie”s all over the world. “Melanie”s, who are going without a diagnosis; needing a miracle to sustain their life. As a mother of 3 daughters, I simply cannot imagine the helplessness of these parents raising their children in third world nations.

I don’t begin to understand why God sustained Melanie’s life for four months (beating all the odds with this length of time), brought her to the US for a sponsored “life saving” operation, (AGAIN, beating all odds of getting sponsored) to then die 12 days later. Today, I am broken…HOWEVER…

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
-2 Corinthians 4:7-18-

…may it be so!

Blessings…
Sarah