God's Word is a Treasure

These two boys came to the door tonight asking for bibles.  I jumped up, asked if they could read English, and they said, "yes".  So I gave them each one.  I told them they had one assignment, that they should read to their friends who can't.  Immediately after saying, "thank you", they ran to the tree with all the others gathered around them and began reading God's word to their friends. 

It is so humbling to be here.  I just love these people.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:9-11

Because of Jesus,
Debbie

Beginning to Laugh

"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:5-7


There are no words for these pictures.  Just tears of joy.  You see, since we have been here, we walk through the community every Tuesday.  The first Tuesday, we noticed this girl. She is 13 years old.  Other children in the family are in school.  But not this one.  She is caring for her younger siblings who are also not in school.  There are so many children.  The look on her face is like death.  Hopeless.  Dressed in rags. Caring for the children. 

She gets our attention.  This look of despair.  We cannot stop thinking about her.  We ask about school.  There are so many who need to be sponsored.  But this hopelessness.  God does not let us forget.

You see, here in this culture, if a girl is not in school, she will more than likely be married off and have a baby by the time she is 15 years old.  This one is dangerously close. 

I think of my own life.  Hopeless. Helpless. Dressed in filthy rags.  Full of despair and darkness.  Sin.  And Jesus came.  He gave it all.  Saved me from hell.  Took my life and gave me His.  Abundant life.  Pure Joy.  He paid the price for my soul.  For hers.  For yours.

We call for her and her 9 year old sister. They come with their mom.  We interview them. Take their photos.  They will go to school this next term.   We find out they are Muslim.  They don't know Jesus. Yet.  Hopeless and helpless.  Their father is not living with them, he has many wives. "He is not interested" I was told.  This mom is caring for 8 children on her own.  Darkness all around.  But they have a Father who is interested.  One who gave His life so they could know this love. Jesus.

So every day since then, they come.  Dressed up and with smiles so wide.  They come to play.  They come to find us.  This one is a child again.  I wish you could see her joy.  Her mom's joy.  Her mom stopped to play jump-rope with me last night.  We laughed and played.  Like children. There is joy.  She hugged me tight when she left.  I see love.

So we pray for their family.  We pray for their souls.  There is hope in a Savior that loves the unlovable.  He alone is the One that saves.  We will give Him all the glory. 

UPDATE:  I typed this yesterday and the internet went out before I could send it.  Today this one came to church to praise the Lord with His children.  "For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."  Psalm 33   HE IS FAITHFUL.  We continue to praise His Holy Name.

(they are the ones dressed in black)

So humbled by His grace and love,
Debbie

His Will is Perfect

Shortly after we arrived in the village, a woman named Prossy, showed up at the clinic, with her brother, begging for someone to help her fight for her life.  She had cervical cancer and had a partial hysterectomy and needed treatment.  She had no money.  None.  She wanted to live.  She had 3 kids at home.  We cannot turn away from the one in front of us.  We prayed with her and her brother, and sent her on her way with the doctor and money for treatment at the hospital. We pleaded with God for her life. “Please heal  this one for your glory, Lord, according to your will."   And He did.  For His glory.

Today we grieve.  She passed away due to emergency complications  last week.  God did heal her in His perfect way.  She was born again.  She is completely healed and in heaven with Jesus.  I don't always understand His ways.  I grieve as I think of three more orphans  left behind.  But He is a perfect, holy, just God.  He has conquered sin and death.  On. The. Cross.   I will praise His name.  Still.  Even when there are tears.  "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

I love Him with all of my broken heart.  Because He first loved me.  

Only because of His grace,
Debbie

School

The kids are on break from school now.  And unlike American school kids, the ones here weren’t jumping up and down with excitement because they have a whole month of school off.  Instead, the kids at this school were sad that it was the end of the term. Why? Because the reality is, for many of these kids, no school also means no food. And no school means no get-away from a very difficult life that you and I could not even imagine.  School, actually, is the break for these kids.

Tuesday we went out into the village like we do every Tuesday to visit with families that live here, bring food to them, and share the gospel- eternal food- with them. Every other Tuesday that we went the kids had always been in school so we never saw them in their homes.  This week, however, when we went, the kids were all there. They were no longer dressed in their nice school uniforms, but instead they were dressed in torn, dirty, ripped-up clothes that you and I would have thrown away long ago. It’s at that point you realize, school is not only a get-away for them, but it offers them the opportunity to get out of poverty.

The kids here are so eager to learn. The Primary 4 (comparable to 4^th grade) teacher offers an optional Saturday class to the Primary 5 students for whoever wants to come. The first Saturday I went I was shocked by the number of students that showed up. There were 16 students there by 9:30am and they continued to trickle in after that. I was shocked not only because they were 11 to 14 year old kids who were choosing to go to school on their day off, but also because some of these kids have to walk an extremely far distance to school.  I told the teacher that if I offered a Saturday class in America, the only way anyone would show up is if their parents made them.

A few weeks ago, I was teaching and we had some spare time in class, so I taught the Primary 5 students about the world. I attempted to draw a map on the chalkboard, which was horribly inaccurate, but it worked. I showed them where they lived. I showed them where all the continents and oceans are. I showed them where I came from. They were so interested. One of the boys raised his hand and started asking about something called, “Mart or something.” He went on to describe these “circle things that are in a line.” He was talking about the planet Mars. They had never learned about the solar system. I started teaching them about the moon, sun, and planets. Their faces were priceless. Their innocence was incredible. Questions came like, “Are there people living on those planets?” and, “What happens if you went to the moon and fell off, would you land on a star?” and comments like, “Wow! I want to live on the moon one day!”

 The potential in these kids is immeasurable, but the opportunity for them to exercise it is so small. I think of many kids in America who are constantly told, “You can be anything you want to be.” I think of how so many parents in America fight so that their kids can have every opportunity imaginable. But here, life is not so much about striving to be all that you can be, but instead it’s about survival. Here kids must sleep on dirt floors with their family’s chickens, goats, pigs, and sheep sleeping on the same floor. Here kids have little to no food outside of school to keep their minds going. Here kids are often sick because they can’t afford a mosquito net to protect them from malaria. It’s sad, but it’s reality.

The odds are against all of them, but in Jesus there is hope. Not hope that one day each of these kids will move to the big city and make lots of money, but hope that they were each created for a purpose. I am thankful for God’s faithfulness. His faithfulness spreads to every person in this world.

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8

This verse provides hope for the kids in this school, for sweet Grace whose future is still unknown to us, for every abandoned baby that is brought to our doorstep, and for every person that God has brought into this world. I am so thankful. Hope does not mean that they are promised money, a nice home, safety, health, or stuff, but it means that in the midst of struggles and affliction, Jesus is always the answer. This life is filled with hardships, disasters, sickness, and struggles. Whether you’re from America, Africa, or somewhere else, this life is hard. It’s hard because of sin. Your sin. My sin. But praise God that He rescues us out of it when we did nothing to deserve it. Through Jesus, we have hope that when this life ends, it’s not over. When we put our trust in Him and choose to follow Him alone, He does not take away all of our struggles and hardships, but He promises to help us through them and use them all for our good and ultimately for His glory and purposes. Praise His name. We all have a purpose, and He promises to fulfill it in all of us.  I want every child to know this. I want every child to know Him. That is why we’re here. Education provides opportunity, but without Jesus, it’s all vanity. All of it. It’s all worthless without Jesus. Oh Jesus, please penetrate the hearts of each of these kids. Penetrate the hearts of each of their parents. Penetrate the hearts of each person in this village. They are yours, and You are faithful. Always.

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17


So humbled by His mercy.  Today, the one who is sick, is Casey's sponsor child. And we are here. She is burning.  She is weak.  She is His.  We take her into the clinic.  Check her out.  Ear infection.  High fever.  Oxygen level-low. Pulse-high.  Lungs--crackles, wheezes.  Breathing--labored.   We take her to our home so we can give her a breathing treatment. ( Our nebulizer machine burnt up weeks ago.)  We must get medicine into her lungs.    She threw her medicine up.  She is getting worse.  We sit her down and pray the name of Jesus over this sweet one. Whisper in her ears.  Hold her hands.  At one time, all that comes out is "Jesus".  The tears fall.

We move her to the stove, to inhale medicine into her lungs.  Not the most effective way, but our machine is broken and this is all we have.  She is too weak to finish.  We sit her down and check her lungs.  They are almost clear.  Almost clear!!  That is Jesus.  His mercy.  His grace.  More tears fall.  To see His face in the midst of suffering.  Nothing is too hard for Him.

While her lungs are almost clear, she is still sick.  We call her mom.  She comes.  We tell her the story of her daughter.  We tell her we called on Jesus and her lungs are clear.  She beams.  She gets excited. She tells us, through a translator, that her daughter, this one, 5 years old, was on her knees the night before.  Three hours on her knees before the LORD.  Crying out to Jesus.  For. Three. Hours.  A child.  We asked the mom, "do you know Jesus?"  She replied, "not yet".  

But this child is saved by the blood of Jesus.  Crying out to the One who hears.  Her mom is watching, noticing.  Jesus is there.  And we pray.  And the tears  fall.

Please join us in prayer for this child's health.  She has been very sick since birth.  She is beautiful.  She is His.  She matters to Jesus.  She matters to us.  Pray for her mother, who has no hope.  "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 There is hope.

This child heard about Jesus at school.  Please consider sponsoring a child.  It really does make a difference.  To this one---it is life!!!

Humbled by His mercy,
Debbie

Rejoicing Over One

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:7

The past 7 weeks has been a journey with Jesus.  He calls us to follow Him and he doesn't always tell us the details.  It's called "faith".  We go.  We trust.

We struggle.  We have moved our family to a foreign land.  We take our"selves".  Same people.  Different culture.  We struggle with "self".  We have not arrived.  We just need Jesus more.

The Lord is moving in our midst.  He is faithful when we are not.  We have been through sickness.  Malaria. Fevers. Stomach. Strep. Unexplainable rashes. High blood pressure.  We have been discouraged, confused, angry, laughed at and lonely.  We have been in awe, praising, crying, and speechless.  We have been hungry, fought rats, been eaten by mosquitos, hot and dirty.  But we have never questioned His goodness.  His will is perfect.  He knows.  We are called to follow.

Last week we were challenged like never before.  So much sickness.  Chelsey had malaria.  The boar hole was broken and being fixed. No water.  No electricity.  The van was gone and in need of repair.  No vehicle.  Chelsey took a turn for the worse.  We ran. We scrambled.  We prayed.  We begged. Brittany put an emergency IV in her.  We waited. With tears.  And God breathed His life into her. "The Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--the LORD, who remains faithful forever." Psalm 147:6  Everything stripped away except Him and His faithfulness.

Today, we witness the "one".  The one who turned from witchcraft to the One who saved her from her sins.  Today is a new day.  She is saved today.  She is made new today.  A woman of influence in this village.  Today she is HIS.  She was once dead in her sins and is now alive in Christ.  Because of Jesus and His work on the cross.  Because of Him.

We praise His holy name.  So much rejoicing in heaven over this repentant sinner. We are rejoicing in this village over this one.  God has always been faithful.  He will always be faithful.

So ask us if it is worth it?  We will tell you, without a doubt, Jesus is worth everything.  He gave it all for us.  It is not a burden, it is a joy to walk in His will.  An unexplainable joy to watch "one" turn away and walk with Him.  And He knew.  None of it is a surprise to Him. 

So thankful for His sufficient grace,

Debbie

God Reveal Your Will

Brothers:

                Since the last time that I messaged all of you, life here is ever crazier.  We’ve come alongside a mother of triplets and triplets are considered a curse here.  We are paying for a single mom who is suffering from cancer to receive treatment.  Her pastor brought her here to be seen.  We have a 3 year old living with us.  She had been abandoned and was starving.  Your prayers and support are making this happen.  We ask God where we are to help and as He provides we move.  Trying desperately not to let our hearts lead.  Hard.

                The physical needs here are great but the spiritual needs are overwhelming.  We are asking the Lord to give us His words in every situation.  He has been faithful.  Pray that they see and hear only Jesus.

                George has started a youth fellowship time every Saturday at about 4:00pm Africa time (could be 4, most likely 5:00-5:30) which means that we never know when to be ready. 

                I’ve been asked to share from the Word and God has been stretching me in this.  On the IPod, Paul Washer made it very clear that listening to someone else teach is good but giving a message from that is not what I should be striving for.  Connecting with Jesus myself through the Word and giving what I’ve been given myself is where power lies.  The Holy Spirit, confirmed by the Word, coming in power and deep conviction is what changes lives and as God has challenged, changed, moved me my life has matured.  We see a hope in this here.  The basic teaching, like who God is and how He wants to relate to us, is a hard subject.  They have no Idea what a Father’s love is supposed to look like so to tell them of a perfect Father in Heaven is very strange to them.  I can relate to this because of my background.  I pray that God uses my testimony to speak to them, especially the young men.  Starting to make connections. Pray the Lord leads that this would disciple others and not enable them in any way.  It is a culture thing.  They have nothing, so they are always looking to get something. 

                I gave a teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit – challenged the youth in this, to see if they are truly walking with the Lord.  It was well received and George thought this was a message the church should hear.  On Sunday I gave the same message – calling into account church leaders, husbands, wives, and children.  Saw a lot of heads lowering as I looked at them as I spoke.  Conviction is good but doubting salvation is not.  The summary of the message they gave back to me was if you don’t see all of the Fruits of the Spirit you don’t have the Spirit at all.  There was hope though.  A good friend of George’s, the leader of his carpenter crew whose name is Kennedy, stood up and said he knows he has the Spirit in him because the Bible tells him so.  I asked if I could take a little time to clear this up.  I talked about not being perfect until we get to heaven or until Jesus comes back, and that we are in a process of maturity in the Lord as we walk in Him.  After the service the leaders of the church asked if we could talk more about this next week.  There is much teaching about the Holy Spirit here saying if you don’t speak in tongues you aren’t filled with the Spirit.  This is not George’s belief but I’ve yet to talk with the church leaders about all of this. 

                The next Sunday, July 15^th, I shared the service teaching time with a friend of George and his family, an African teacher who speaks on being delivered from sin and strongholds in a believer’s life.  From his message and talking with him I believe his biblical perspective is correct but only time and more sharing will truly confirm this.
                My message was on justification, sanctification, and glorification.  Justification – being saved from the guilt of sin.  Sanctification – being saved from the power of sin.  Glorification – will be saved from the presence of sin.  2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourself to make sure you are in the faith.”  If you find you are in the faith rejoice and see the beauty of Christ in you.  If you find that you are not, pray so that you can know Jesus for real.  Pray for your soul and others.  Ask “Lord set me on this journey”. 

                All of this is God’s business opening our hearts to Him, growing in our relationship with Him, but we do need to do our part.  Cry out to our Father in Heaven that He would do a mighty work here in Bugabo, Uganda and in my heart.  Draw us all closer to serve Him. 

                Ephesians 1:13-14, “Receiving the promised Holy Spirit when you believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” 

                Only time spent here will confirm their understanding of the truth of the Word.  What a joy to see their smiles and then praising Jesus for His Word.

                Tuesdays are Men’s Ministry here in the village also.  We had 7 of us the first time and we hope more will come as they hear about it.  It was tough to hear the struggles they are having – trusting the Lord to provide when the crops are not coming in because of a lack of rain and they have nothing else.  What do you say?  Jesus loves you and has a plan for your life?  I just said that this is hard very hard but encouraged them to trust Him.  They gave testimonies of God showing Himself in the midst of all of this.  They also have problems with their wives and getting no respect. 

                We have a great opportunity to see God move in and among these men.  To bring them the Word of God and to see lives change as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. 

                As I think back over the last couple years and remember the men who have challenged and encouraged me in the Word of God and provided leadership and direction by their obedience, I desire to see that here in the village.  Why not?  It’s God’s heart that His people walk closely with Him!  Micah 6:8, “He showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Please pray that we all walk closer to our Lord Jesus by His spirit that His will in all would be done.

Steve

Jude 2:20-23, “But you beloved, building yourself up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.  And have mercy on those who doubt, save others by snatching them out of the fire, to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garments stained by the flesh.”  (ESV)