Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Praying for clear vision...



God has been doing so much in my life since I've been, and I initially thought things would just be so easy. Ha...foolishness upon my part. The Lord is seeking for me to flesh out a LOT of things, continue healing in some areas, and grow...grow...grow. I've definitely been called to TRUST HIM MORE than ever and to completey yield EVERYTHING I have to Him. I've had my ups and downs with this, to be honest. I have my house back in Richardson, TX, and have had to just let go of the stresses of leasing it out, having to pay around $500 per month on the mortgage b/c the rent that is being charged doesn't cover the mortgage, and hoping and praying that God will provide for the needs of my house in Texas as well as for me to be able to stay here in Uganda. Yielding up the finances, I know for me, seems to be one of the most difficult measures of faith...because you're stopping and saying "Ok Lord, you take it. I trust you COMPLETELY. I will not worry. I KNOW that you will provide. I KNOW You will take care of my every need...in Your time." Those are scary words to say and at the same time, so very freeing. I'm learning to lean more on Him DAILY and to continue to remember His promises. The Lord has told me repeatedly that He will not lead me astray and He WILL fulfill all of His promises. This is refreshing!!



So, I've pretty much completed things for now with taking pictures of the children that are being sponsored by Shalom Home. Rainbow Mike, myself, and Chloe went to all of their schools, talked to them and learned about their stories, and took new pictures of them. Now I can begin working on the website part and helping to update the Shalom Uganda website, along with helping it to be more accessible to sponsors and donors. There is also a ministry that Shalom Reconciliation Ministries has created called the Mercy Ministry. It is a ministry to help those (especially females) who are handicapped, vulnerable, and unable to care for themselves and their families. There are currently 12 women that are being helped by the Mercy Ministry, with about 3 of them being legally blind, several of them are handicapped (one of the ladies actually has to crawl to get around from place to place, even carrying her youngest child on her back to get him place to place), and then all of them are in severe poverty (as with many many people here) to where they cannot care for their large families.
We were able to meet these women and I took their pictures as they sang several beautiful songs to us that touched my heart. I also took individual pictures of them as well and showed it back to them. Most had never seen a picture of themselves, as with a lot of the people here. When I take their pictures, I try to show them. They always get a kick out of seeing themselves! It's pretty funny to see this amongst the children. They crack up at themselves and are so overjoyed. :)

In about 2 weeks, I'll be traveling to Kampala with Chloe as she will be flying back to the States to go back to school. I've learned about an orphanage there called Come Let's Dance that has the same mindset as Shalom Reconciliation Ministries. I have MANY questions for the people there and have set it up to where Chloe and I can stay there a couple nights before she flies out and can see their day to day operation, what all they do, how they do it, etc. I also have adoption questions concerning adopting a Ugandan baby/child and they can provide some answers as well. So, I'm pretty pumped to be able to take a little trip, meet some new people, and see how Come Let's Dance is doing.

I've been struggling for the last couple of weeks with trying to figure out what exactly my purpose is here...in Kotido and amongst the team. I've just been daily praying for wisdom and a clear vision as to how God wants to use me while I'm here and also when I get back to the States later on. It's been great living in community with 9 other people but has also been extremely challenging for me as well. I'm used to living in my own home, being very independent, making my own decisions, and things are VERY different here as you would imagine. Lol. I'm trying to figure out how to be me while also yielding up some things as well. As it stands right now, I've been yielding up pretty much my entire way of living, the way I'm accustomed to, in order to fit with my team. But I know God wants to show me a way to balance that...showing me and showing them. And teaching us how to daily love one another...to honestly love one another and for that not to be forced. So, I ask that in your prayers, that you lift this up: that we would live well in community, seeking to love each other as Christ loves us, and that we would seek to see others' needs amongst the group and not just our own.

Some other specifics you guys can be praying for:
-guidance from the Lord as to how we are supposed to be loving on the children out in our community, in our neighborhood...how are we supposed to be reaching out?
-clear vision as to what we're supposed to be doing in the here and now...we don't want to go out into the villages yet until we have learned the language pretty well so as not to have an interpreter (we want to be able to interact with the Karamojong without having the language barrier)
-for the Lord to provide a language teacher so that we can begin intensive language study

As always, thanks for checking out the blog and thank you so much for lifting me and my team up. Your encouragement and your prayers help me greatly. :) If any of you ever want to send a personal note, feel free to email me at nepal_12@hotmail.com.
"He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'" --Acts 1: 7-8

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