The greatest joy is found when we are simply content in the Lord and the place in which He has us, despite our circumstances. It is then that He can and will use us and bless us beyond what we could’ve ever hoped or imagined. Lord, teach us what it means to be truly content, completely satisfied in You and You alone.
The past couple of weeks have been amazing, feeling so blessed to have the opportunity to serve in each and every ministry that the Lord has put before me, as well as a time of simply sitting at His feet.
Here are some updates of what’s been happening in the ministries I’m working with:
FRONTLINE: It has been such a blessing to get to know these boys and hear their testimonies. Their lives are incredible, and their stories really put into perspective the cares of this world and what’s important. I’ve been able to visit the Kisenyu slums, which are the slums where some of the boys who come to Frontline live and get high off things on the street, like paint and gas. I can’t even tell you how dark of a place those slums are; much different than the Kivulu slums. The boys there are not doing good. The place itself just looks so dark. There is fighting, they were getting high when we went, and I was kind of scared of some of the boys. There are “uncles” who work with the kids there, but I don’t think any of them are saved, and sometimes they smoke cigarettes and marijuana around the boys. They’re not good examples for them. And, unfortunately because of some things that have happened in the past, they don’t really like white people, mainly Americans being there with the kids. So, that made me feel horrible and kind of uncomfortable, but whatever, I’m not there for them. So, while we were there we helped take care of their wounds, cleaning them and bandaging them up (uhhhhh…blood is definitely not my thing, so Praise the Lord for His strength). I was happy to take care of the boys. There is a program that they have for them there that teaches them English and regular classes, because they don’t go to school. That’s good, but they’re not hearing about the Lord. So, we’re going to start going back probably once a week to share the Lord with them and help out with whatever we can; mainly, to just be a light there. We all left the slum feeling a huge burden for the boys and what’s going on there. The day after I felt all this anger, righteous anger, welling up inside of me. Anger at what’s going on, anger that Satan has such a hold there, and angry that the people working with the kids are terrible influences. And then I started to think about the righteous anger that must build up inside of God every time He looks at the earth and sees all the sin and depravity. I felt discouraged and was trying to think of the “magical cure” that’s going to change things. But the only thing I can do right now is pray and be Jesus to them. There is also a program starting up in Kivulu slums again, so we’ll be going there once a week as well. I’m excited to go spend time with the boys where they live, instead of just at the church.
There is this 11 year old boy named Alex, who’s in some of my pictures on Facebook, who lives on the street and actually sleeps on the street (not even in the slums, but in the taxi park). He has nothing but the clothes on his back. He comes from an abusive home, which is why he ran away. He has no idea what love is, like most of the kids, which also creates in them a lot of trust issues between them and everyone else. I felt the Lord putting it on my heart to start investing in him. So, I’ve started really building a relationship and a trust with him, playing a kind of motherly role in his life, just trying to show him what love is and that he deserves to be loved. He is so sweet, and I don’t understand how anyone could want to do anything but love him. I wanted to let him know what a blessing he is to me, so I gave him a note telling him how much Jesus loves him, and bought him some clothes; when I gave them to him you would’ve thought it was Christmas. After my friend Rita got done translating the letter to him, he said he wanted to accept the Lord! (That showed me that language barrier doesn’t necessarily have to be a barrier when it comes to Jesus. Praise Him!) Neither of us asked him. So, I made sure he understood what it meant and prayed for him. Joy overwhelmed me! On Sunday we took the boys to Tigers Club, which is a club for street kids, where they can stay for a few months to a year and have medical care, schooling, food, teaching from the Bible, everything they need. I talked to the guy that works there about Alex, and after some hesitation, he said he want to start staying there. He now has shelter! Praise the Lord! The glorious ways that the Lord works!
LOVING HEARTS BABIES HOME: I get more and more attached to these kids every week. They are so sweet and just so lovable!
BAMBEJJA: There’s a new group of 20 girls that just started the program on October 5. I started a Bible Study with them that same day, and although it’s a voluntary program, many of the girls are very stubborn and hard-hearted. No one in the program is saved, but I have faith that the Lord can change all that. I’m hoping He’ll change just one heart before I leave. I would love to witness the transformation!
I finally got to start teaching the girls English. The girls are split up into groups depending on which grade they would be in and their reading level. I’m going to be working with the girls who either don’t know how to read and write at all, or those who know very little about reading, writing, and speaking English. It’s hard for me to grasp that there are 16-22 year old girls who have never gone to school and don’t even know how to read or write in their own language. But most of the girls are really eager to learn and that makes me excited to help them. As I was teaching the Bible Study the Lord started speaking to my heart, and even if I’ve heard these things a million times, it was like He was revealing them to me for the first time. When I complain it tells me that I’m not so much discontent or dissatisfied with my situation or circumstance, and as I am discontent and dissatisfied with the Lord. It hit me like a freight train. Discontent with the Lord…how terrible does it sound when you’re discontent with the God of this universe?! What right do I ever have to be discontent in Him? Discontent with the God who thought about you before the foundations of the earth, who made you and formed every part of you, and knows absolutely everything about you because He Loves You that much! The second thing was that Epaphroditus was sick and risked his life to do the Lord’s work (bring Paul money, bring the church encouragement). How much more should we be risking our lives to bring people the gospel? It spoke to me a lot because of the fear that I’ve been having since I’ve been here and especially going out into the villages. But God is so good!
JORDAN HOUSE: The first week of the Bible Study, I thought we were going to have 10 women and we had 34! The second week of the Bible Study, 42 women came! The third week, 46 women came! Praise the Lord! I was so stoked! They don’t have to come. They have jobs to do, families to support, and money they could be making to support their families. But they would rather be fed the Word of God; that they might feed their children spiritually. These women are amazing and so excited to hear the Word! Today was the third week I had Bible Study with them and I came in to them singing songs and praising the Lord. So after the Bible Study I had them sing a couple more songs and it was so fun to dance and listen to them sing, with no background instruments, just their voices. They are filled with so much joy, and I’m filled with joy just being around them.
Please pray for all these ministries. Pray that the unsaved would have softened and open hearts to hear the gospel, and that they would come to repentance and salvation. Pray that the saved would be refreshed and encouraged. Pray for their struggles each and everyday: illness, disease, poverty, famine, shelter, that the Lord would provide for them. Pray that the Lord would provide homes filled with the love of Christ for the kids living on the streets and for the babies in the orphanage. Pray that they would see Christ and know the love of Christ when we visit them, that we would reflect Jesus wherever we go and be able to effectively minister to His people.
Tomorrow I leave for my first mission trip. I’m going to West Nile to do some work with a children’s ministry at a church out there and to do door to door evangelism in the village. I’m so stoked! I don’t really know what to expect, but most places outside the city of Kampala are villages, where the majority of the people are Muslim or have never heard about Jesus. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to talk to someone who has never heard the name of Jesus. The spiritual warfare has to be like nothing I’ve ever encountered. All I know is what I’ve heard, and I’ve heard some really crazy stuff happens in these villages: people manifesting themselves, different things happening when people are prayed over. Because there are many Muslims in the villages, there are witch doctors and a lot of witchcraft takes place there. Aside from the spiritual warfare, I don’t know if any village is necessarily “safe”, but the Lord doesn’t call us to go where it’s safe. He just calls us to go, and we’re invincible until He’s done with us. Please pray that the Lord would be glorified and that when people look at us they will see Jesus, first and foremost; that the unsaved would come to repentance and salvation; that it would be a time of refreshment and encouragement for His saints; and for spiritual warfare and safety. I’m so stoked to see the Lord work! God is so good!
I have been so in awe of the Lord lately. Some of the things He’s been encouraging me with the past couple of weeks:
*Having an eternal perspective. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
*God hears every prayer we pray, no matter how He chooses to answer it, and He sees our tears. We are not alone. Even when we feel deserted and abandoned, He is there.
*God is always there, calling us and pursuing us. He’s just waiting for us to respond, because He won’t force His love on anyone.
*Daniel has quickly become one of my favorite people in the Bible. The more I learn about him, the more I want to be like him. He greatly loved God and the Word of God; he was committed to God; he trusted in God; the Holy God was manifested in the holiness of Daniel; he lived a pure, clean life; the only way anyone could find fault in him was concerning his God; he spent much time in prayer and fasting, denying his flesh and waiting on the Lord; Daniel still prayed three times a day, out in the open with nothing to hide after the decree was signed, as he wasn’t afraid of what people would do to him; he knew the Lord was faithful to deliver him from any trial, and his story is proof that we are invincible until the Lord is done with us. His only desire was to serve the Lord. What a man of God!
*We are the Lord’s representatives. God has been so misrepresented by those who people who are called by His name. People have such a false concept of God because the people “representing God” have so misrepresented Him. People are drawing their opinions about God by what they see in us. That’s a heavy responsibility. We may be the only Jesus someone ever sees. Let’s represent Him well.
*Psalm 66:12, “We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” We will always go through struggles and trials, but we don’t have to be burned by the fire or overtaken by the water. As long as we’re clinging to the Lord and trusting Him during trials, He will bring us out to abundance!
OH Cuz! I love hearing about the work the Lord is doing with you. The things that you are doing over there are not only affecting you and those you are helping, but us back here as well. I love reading your blog because it is also helping me with my walk with the Lord. Thank you. You are always in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Jess