An Update of Sorts

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6 

My favorite time of day in Uganda:).

Ok, you got me, I have finally started a blog. I have had a few requests to blog about my time here, but my reverse humility (aka pride) would not allow me to do so. So, today I am blogging, because I get to be in Uganda and I want you to be here with me:). One of the sweetest things about being a part of the body of Christ is that we get to participate in Christ's love with people all over the world doing all kinds of different things! So today, please be a part of what God is doing in Uganda! 

Disclaimer: I am an expert in the art of 'typos.' There will be typos, grammatical errors, missing words etc. The few times I have made a status on Facebook, I have had to delete it and retype it after posting and finding an error, so please extend grace to me:)...and feel free to laugh. I also have no idea how to format a blog...so here goes nothing...:)

I'll just try to briefly fill you in on what I've been up to for the last month! I've kind of been 'on call' to go and take care of health issues in the field as well as accompany kids in our program to a clinic or the hospital when necessary. This has been interesting as things work a little differently here. I try my best to advocate for the kids, double check their plan of care, make sure they have someone to take care of them while they're in the hospital (nurses have too many patients here to be able to care for each one very much), and I try to follow up with care after they've been discharged/after a clinic visit. 

The first wound I took care of and this was it after it started to get better!

This is the hospital 'hallway' (?) The signs say, 'Mortuary' and 'Male Surgical Ward'. 

These are patients waiting for surgery, the girl in purple is Rose, she is a child from our program.

I get to travel around to the 10 different Care Points and teach lessons on basic hygiene, basic healthy behaviors, basic first aid and we always get time to talk about Jesus and how much he loves them.The Care Point is the place where kids gather to eat their daily meals, be taught about Jesus, play and connect with the staff. I am usually spending time with the older kids teaching these lessons, so they're currently going through the phase where some of them think they are 'too cool' for certain things. I like to tell all of them that life is too short to be 'too cool.' One day they'll wake up and realize they were 'too cool' to enjoy their lives! We have a lot of fun together:). (I don't have pictures of this on my camera, but someone else has a few and I'll try post them soon, they're fun!)

And of course…I get to play with the children! We sing, we dance, we run around and play! I have been trying to get more creative these days. Sometimes I travel to the different Care Points when the CHC Program Coordinator has meetings with community members. I go to play with the children of course, but sometimes those meetings last forever! We call them 'short African meetings' :). So lately I've been bringing coloring books, crayons, sweets and fingernail polish. The other day, I helped the kids act out the story of the good samaritan…it was really fun:)! 

Literally, the only space to see what we're doing is from the top!

Me and my Karamojong friends that are sometimes at the Care Points

This little boy stole my heart, Gideon. :)

This sweet thing looks like she's seen a monster! Nope...just me! :) They either love me or they think I'm some strange white thing walking around!

Little Gideon with his little brother on his back.

I sometimes get overwhelmed when I am with the kids and I pause to step back for a minute. We play and have fun just like normal kids do…and though these kids are 'normal' in every aspect of the word as far as kids go, they lead the most difficult lives of anyone I've ever met. When I think about that, my heart hurts. It happens when I see the 4 year-old carrying the baby on her back, caring for her little brother like a mother would or when another 4 year old sits with a sobbing 1 year old on his lap, looking helpless as he tries to console the inconsolable baby (no parents in sight). It happens when I see them eating their one meal of the day and I really think about that. I think about how these sweet kids are so thankful for this one meal each day. That one bowl of posho and beans is it…for the whole day. And these kids are the kids who are being helped. And often, they share their one bowl with a younger sibling who isn't in the program and they are always concerned for me and invite me to eat with them. 

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the need and feel very helpless and I just want to give them everything, but am not sure how! Then I remember who my God is…and though my heart is still broken for these small ones (the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, according to Jesus), God doesn't leave me in a place of despair, but teaches me to trust him. Yes, I am to be his hands and feet and yes the need is overwhelming, but my God is the owner of all the world's resources and he is in control. All that I can do is to point people to real hope in Jesus and try to meet physical need wherever God gives me opportunity. And I can pray that God would take care of them and use me however he sees fit. I am reminded that even if I am only helping one, it still makes all the difference to that one. I can also invite others to join me in helping these sweet ones;).

And lastly, I get to spend time reading and writing and sitting at the feet of Jesus. He has been teaching me about his gospel and about what's important. I know I'll spend my whole life trying to figure out 'what's important,' because I don't want to waste my short life on this earth. Right now though, he has been reminding me about the power of the gospel; the truth that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and it is finished. I am free now to love God and love others, because God first loved me. I can't add anything to the gospel and I can't take anything away from it; It remains the Good News even among my failures. Jesus came to bring life and life to the full!! I want to be a part of this full and abundant life with Jesus! I want to wake up each day and choose thankfulness and joy, because that's what God created me to do in Christ Jesus. It's WHO I AM as God's child! (1 Thess. 5:16-18) 

I am so thankful for these truths, because they don't become any less true the minute I set foot back in Iowa. I also realize that I don't have to choose one or the other, I can love people in both places regardless of where I am physically located! Each day presents an opportunity to decide to think about someone else more than I think about myself; to show them love. It's kind of exciting!! Each day, new mercies; new chances to be Jesus to someone…or to love someone as if I was encountering Jesus himself! I assure you that I have plenty of failures each day. I fail to be thankful or joyful or patient or to think about others first. I fail a lot…and am reminded that I need Jesus…which reminds me to be thankful…and then my heart is filled with joy and peace…and I wake up to his new mercies…and get to try again.

As the Christmas Season closes in, would you consider giving to help my sweet friends? I'm trying to raise money for a country-wide medical fund this Christmas. I want to give them the world, but I can't give them much on my own. I need your help. Please join me in blessing these little ones, the greatest in God's Kingdom. A medical fund doesn't seem like much, but to them it could make a huge and lasting difference. To give, just visit the link below. If you'd like to help me raise money for my friends, you can 'join my team,' start your own page and start raising money for my friends as well:). Thank you so much:). 

http://donate.hopechest.org/site/TR/Events/CommunityPages?team_id=1650&pg=team&fr_id=1180

Sweet Lillian:)

'But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.' Psalm 8:18