if there's two things the world race is good for it's long travel days and a whole lotta time spent thinking about life.
i recently found myself traveling from uganda to tanzania via an african bus. i didn't have my stop watch going but it was about 26 hours of sitting on a bus...with an hour and a half spent hangin' in a shady kenyan cafe at 5AM watching the al jazeera network. welcome to the world race.
anyways, when i was on the 26 hour bus ride the song "happiness" by the fray came playing through my headphones. i have no idea where i was or what time it was but i was pretty bored so i spent some time thinking about happiness. i started thinking things like: what is true happiness? how do you find happiness? once you find happiness, if that's even possible, how do you stay there?
i'm an adult who found christ smack dab in the middle of my twenties and like a lot of you, i've done some experimentation in my life trying find happiness. and to be honest a lot of places, people and things make me happy. as a matter of fact, some of these things make me really happy...some for a few hours, some for a few months, some for a few years. but most of the time that happiness runs out and i find myself searching for happiness all over again. so what gives? what is true happiness? where am i supposed to find it?
fast forward. yesterday morning i was standing in front of the mirror admiring my mustache (it's malaria awareness mustache march or something like that) when i had an epiphany. i'll be the first to admit, this is a pretty awkward place to have such a profound thought...especially one of this magnitude but here goes:
purpose.
that's my key to happiness.
i must have a purpose for my life otherwise i'm living life for no reason and i'll continue to search for happiness in illegitimate places. my purpose has to be something that will never fail me, it has to be something that i'm willing to give my entire life to, something that will never change. and then it hit me:
god.
the purpose of my life is to live for god. i stepped away from the mirror, a bit shocked and bent down for something (i don't remember what) and thought, i don't need to search anymore, i found my happiness already:
living my life for god.
author rick warren writes, "without god, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. without meaning, life has no significance or hope." thats thick...but think about that for a quick minute and tell me he's not right (and pray about it if you think he's wrong...and email me what you get).
i know you're probably thinking that this is a concept that i shoulda got like 15.36 years ago. and i'm sure you're thinking that this is something i shoulda understood before going on the mission field.
i get that...i've read about it in all the christian books and i knew about it...but it's never hit me like it did this morning...it became real in my own life, in a powerful way. and it happened standing in front of the mirror in 100 degree weather in tanzania (and i have a mustache right now so maybe the key to happiness is purpose, god and a mustache?? just throwin' it out there).
but seriously, i get it...60 or so days before my 27th birthday...finally. i think the old sayin' is something like: "better late then never."
so to those of you out there like i used to be; the one's seeking happiness in things of this world: cars, houses, motorcycles, girlfriends/boyfriends, booze/drugs, or anything else...i pray that you discover the ultimate happiness in your life and that you discover a purpose that you're willing to give your life for. above all, i pray that you'll join me in finding that happiness and purpose in our lord and savior, jesus christ.
"it is in christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. long before we first heard of christ...he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone."
i had the opportunity to serve in pader, uganda last month for about 10
days. honestly, in the short time i was there, the town changed
my life. pastor JJ is an incredible man who is doing incredible
work in a town that has been victim of years of senseless war.
our entire squad is partnering with pastor JJ's church, victory
outreach ministry, by helping him raise money to build a church.
please read about the town, pastor JJ and his church and PLEASE
consider partnering with this outreach. you can't do everything
but you can do something.
Rarely
has anyone seen such pride for a plot of land as was seen on the face
of Pastor JJ's as he took Team Symphony to the sight of his new
church. He pointed this way and that detailing where the church would
start, where the pulpit would be. He showed them where he hoped to
build his house on the church land, how close it was to his son
Samuel's school. He told them how in a few years, with the way the
town was expanding, it would be the very center of town with main
roads on all sides. He bragged on this piece of property the way
proud mothers and fathers do on their children.
Really
though it was just a regular plot of land. Like almost any other in
Africa. But what you must realize is that Pastor JJ is a man of
vision. He sees what can be, and better yet what will be. He has only
been in Pader, Uganda for 3 years but has already built up a church
that is almost the largest in the town. And we do not mean a church
building. We are talking about a church. A group of people who come
together to worship the Lord. A group of people who are a light to
the community, who are joyful because they have a reason to be
joyful. However as most can attest churches need a place to operate.
We
come to you on behalf of Pastor JJ and his church. They are in need
of about $10,000 to build their new church. They have been meeting in
a borrowed building which in the next month will be taken away from
them. If there is one thing we have learned for certain these past 7
months it is that there is so much need in this world. It is
everywhere, it does not matter what corner of the world we go to.
But
to be able identify a need for a group of people and even begin to
have the means to meet that - this is a blessing in itself.
Northern Uganda is an area that has experienced much darkness in the
past 20 years. It is an area that has been plagued by wars and
senseless death. Men our own age are haunted by the times that they
were forced to serve in armies, that their fathers, mothers and
sisters were killed, it is an area in recovery, and in need. What
better to invest in than the church? We as Christians claim to know
something that others do not. We claim to hold to a truth that is
beyond us, and beyond this world. If ever darkness was in need of
light it is surely here. If we are in Christ than it is our brothers
and sisters in Uganda whom we are asking you to help.
We,
the J Squad, have been given the opportunity to raise money for
Victory Outreach Ministries in Pader, Uganda. They are in need of a
church building. This is not a church building complete with bells
and whistles and Sunday school rooms and gyms. This is a building, a
one room building for God's people to meet. A building for God's
people to come together and worship the lord. A group of people
standing as a light to a community amongst much darkness.
Team
Symphony had the opportunity to spend a month with Pastor JJ and
according to the team they have rarely come across a man with such
faith, with such blind obedience to the Lord. Pastor JJ moved his
wife away from his and her family 3 years ago to start this church.
His wife is the only one working to bring money for the family, she
works at a NGO as a maid. The church can not afford to give Pastor JJ
a salary. Any tithe or donation that the church is able to give goes
to both paying for the church building/property and helping those who
are in great need, and believe me there are plenty of these people.
Please
help us help this man, this family, this church, and this community.
There is a need to be met, please help us to meet it. We know many of
you have already supported someone on this trip, but we have no one
else to ask. We as a squad are coming together to raise money for
this church. You who are reading this are our church, you are the
people we stand with and so we ask you to help us. Please help us
meet this need, this need which we are capable to meet. Even if we do
not raise the complete $10,000, we can guarantee any amount will be a
blessing to this church. Please seriously and prayerfully considering
donating to a worthy cause, we only have until April, 24th
2010 to raise the money. PLEASE JOIN US!
(We're
trying to publish a video of Victory Outreach Ministries but are
having a difficult time publishing it with the slow internet, we will
post it as soon as possible)
Here is an update on Trevor, the boy Dan, Matt and Austin had the privilege of praying for after a motorcycle accident. The original story can be found here.
Feb. 26
A couple of hours after the accident, Matt and Dan went back to the Jinja Public Hospital to check on Trevor. Trevor had been admitted and his mother, Sarah, and close family friend, Nathan, were visiting. Matt and Dan talked to Sarah and Nathan and found out that the family is Christian and Nathan is the family's pastor.
They told Matt and Dan that Trevor had woken up for a little while, but could not hear or speak. But, the doctor said he was hopeful that Trevor would make a full recovery.
Although his cuts have been treated, Trevor's forehead is still badly swollen.
After once again praying for Trevor, Matt and Dan leave.
Feb. 27
Matt's team left the night of the accident to travel to Tanzania, so the following day, Dan and Austin go back to the hospital to visit Trevor. They are greeted by Sarah and Joshua, Trevor's father. They told Austin and Dan that Trevor had woken up for a few minutes and had been able to eat a small amount of food and drink a little bit of juice. They told them that Trevor was able to hear and talk!
Trevor's parents had taken him to another hospital in order to get his head checked, possibly by a CT scan, because the doctor was worried about possible internal injuries to his head.
The cut on Trevor's forehead had been stitched and the swelling had also gone down.
Before leaving, Austin and Dan pray over Trevor once again and promise that he'll continue to be in their prayers.
Feb. 28
Because both Matt and Austin are now traveling to Tanzania, Dan goes to the hospital alone. As he walked through the courtyard of the hospital, he spots Joshua, Sarah and Trevor laying on a mat in the grass.
Trevor is doing a lot better and is expected to be released in only a couple of days. He'd been able to walk outside all by himself, but was still in a lot of pain. And although he's been able to eat and drink, the doctors think there may be something wrong with his jaw since he's only able to open it a little.
Joshua said that the man he had seen up the street on the day of the accident was the driver of the motorcycle. The crowd had found Trevor dead, so they'd begun beating the driver so he had run away. The man was later arrested and caned by the police for killing Trevor.
When the police started asking where Trevor's body was, the crowd told them they didn't know because some Mzungus (white people) had taken him away in a car. They found Trevor at the hospital.
Alive.
Dan found out that Trevor's sister, Precious, had been the only one the locals had decided to take to the hospital since Trevor was dead.
She and her brother had been walking hand in hand from school when they were hit by the motorcycle. She's been released from the hospital and is resting at home.
As Dan is talking to Joshua, Trevor wakes up and sits up on his own strength, but doesn't respond to Dan-- only drools.
Dan prays for Trevor once again and tells Joshua that he'll be back in the morning, before he leaves for Tanzania.
*again, thanks to marissa villa for typing this up! we love you marissa!!*
unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it back to the hospital to see trevor before I left uganda. i called joshua and he told me that trevor was still improving and was going to be released from the hospital soon! thanks for all of your prayers and emails, please continue to pray for trevor!
They met for the first time in the Atlanta, Georgia airport back in May 2009. Matt Patch, Austin Anglea and Dan Snyder:
instant brothers with much in common. After training camp the three of
them had dreams and visions of the Lord using them together. Even
though they'd talked about it with each other, none really knew what it
could possibly look like.
In November 2009, Matt, Dan and Austin were baptized together in the
Jordan River by their brother, Aaron Bruner. As they prepared for the
baptisms, they reminisced about the dreams and visions the Lord had
given them and how He was going to use the three of them in His Kingdom
to do huge things (read Aaron's blog about it here).
It's now Feb. 26, 2010, and the three have gathered in Jinja, Uganda.
Austin was in town purchasing bus tickets for his team as Dan and Matt
took a boda boda, or a motorcycle taxi, into town to do some work on
the Internet.
Little did they know that God was about to use these three transformed
men--one a former teacher/coach, another a former realtor, and the
other a former cop--in a mighty way. Just one to three years ago they
were living for themselves, living the American Dream, the party life.
Today they were living for the Kingdom.
As Matt and Dan rode towards the town of Jinja on the back of the boda
bodas, they saw a man surrounded by a group of people, laying on the
ground to the left of the road. As the bodas slowed, the man, who was
covered in blood, came to his feet. He'd obviously been hit by a car or
thrown off of a boda, but seemed OK. The drivers kept moving.
As the boda bodas came around a slight bend in the road, Matt and Dan
noticed a motorcycle laying there. Its pieces were strewn across the
road. As the bodas slowed, a young girl of about 7 years old came into
view. She was wearing a pink dress and her face and arms were covered
in blood, but she at least was standing.
But just past her, a group of about 15 people were surrounding
something else on the road. The boda bodas stopped in front of the
group and a small boy, also about 7 years old, came into view. His body
was laying in the middle of the road.
He was lifeless.
"He's dead," they thought.
A man shaked the boy, trying to bring him back to life, but he lay limp.
Dan and Matt pushed through the crowd to get to the boy who had a four
inch bleeding bulge on his forehead. His mouth and ear was spilling
blood.
Matt prayed as Dan looked around for a ride to get the boy to the hospital.
It was then that Austin arrived on another boda boda that was coming
from the other direction. Austin jumped off of the motorcycle and
immediately ran to the boy.
"The kid's dead," Dan told him.
Dan told Austin that someone in the crowd was willing to take the boy
to the hospital. The two of them and another man carried the lifeless
boy's body to the car.
"Do you feel a pulse or see him breathing?" Dan asked Austin.
Austin stopped his prayer mid-sentence, looked up, and simply responded, "No."
As they lay the boy in the backseat of the car, Austin pulled his
sweatshirt off and put it under the boy's head. As he did this, the
boy's chest started to rise and fall.
He was breathing.
The prayers for the boy continued as Dan, Matt and Austin climbed back
on boda bodas. Matt and Dan rode to the hospital to pray over the boy
again. The doctor on duty said the hospital didn't have the necessary
medicine to stop the bleeding and swelling in the boy's head.
Matt and Dan decided they'd have to buy the medicine. They ran across
the street and bought some, ran back, and gave it to the doctor.
They prayed again.
Meanwhile, Austin hopped back on his boda boda along with the boy's
friend and the driver on a mission to find the boy's parents. They
drove along back roads, through clothes hanging on lines, and finally
arrived in the boy's village. His parents weren't home, but they
managed to find neighbors who agreed to tell the boy's parents about
the emergency.
A few hours later, Dan and Matt were at the hospital again to pray for
the boy once more. They found him, his mother, and his close family
friend there. They were told the boy, Trevor, and his sister, Precious,
were both hit by a boda boda.
And they both survived.
The family is Christian and the family friend who was there is a
pastor. Dan and Matt explained what had happened, that Trevor hadn't
been breathing when they'd first arrived, but that his breathing came
back after they started praying for him.
As they prayed for him again, Trevor began to move his fingers and his
eyes started to flutter. His mother, Sarah, thanked God and thanked
them for praying for her son.
They promised to keep Trevor and Precious in their prayers, and walked
away knowing they'd experienced the miraculous ability of the Lord and
prayer.
Austin:
I remember becoming irritated as it was taking a ridiculous amount of
time to buy the tickets for the team. But it was no accident for it was
the Lord delaying me for what was soon to happen! After my time spent
in town I headed back on the motorcycle taxi. I looked ahead and saw a
crowd of people and as soon as we pulled up close I saw Dan in the
middle taking charge of the situation, and by the look on his face I
knew something was wrong. I tapped my driver and told him to stop, I
needed off! I remember seeing the boy laying in the middle of the road
saturated in blood, Dan looked at me and said, "he's dead." Going up
to the boy he was lifeless, as his eyes were open but glazed over, he
surely looked dead. There was a man there trying to massage his chest
trying to get his heart working. Not knowing what else to do, I put a
hand on the boy and began to pray in the Spirit as Dan figured out a
car to put the kid in.......we carried Trevor to the car while all
three of us continued to pray and then the car pulled off to take the
boy to the hospital. As quick as that, it was done.....riding back home
on the taxi after we went and told the people in the boy's village, I
began to cry thinking about the whole situation, but then I began to
think how God aligned the three of us in order to be there for that
boy, and I began to rejoice! God has a plan for that boy and he wanted
him to live, and how grateful the three of us are to be a part of what
God wanted done that day.
Matt:
Once we pulled up I was scared, shocked, and felt useless. I was
looking at a lifeless child. A million things started to create a wall
in my mind. Then God busted through all of the feelings and said, "hold
on, I'm bigger than that... pray." So, I did. I walked away from today
realizing that being in God's will is just that... being. I can't do
anything. However, in Christ I can do everything. All I have to do is
"be". Did I raise the dead today? No. I witnessed the beautiful gift of
life that was being stolen given back. Glory be to God. How wonderful
and amazing He is to let us be a part of His plan, His miracles... His
son Trevor's life.
Dan:
once we pulled up and i saw trevor i thought without a doubt that
he was dead...just the way he was laying on the pavement, i could
tell. as i got closer and saw his forehead, the blood coming from his
ear and mouth and his half opened, glazed over eyes...i just knew he
was dead. in retrospect though, i have no idea if he was dead. to be
honest, i thought about praying but quickly replaced that thought with,
"i've gotta get him to the hospital" and started working to find a
driver to get him there. i looked over at matty and saw him praying on
the side of the road...and then out of nowhere austy showed up...to
think of all the different variables that went into the three of us
being there at that exact moment...it's unbelievable. anyways, i
didn't think about praying again until i heard austin praying as we
carried trevor to the car. i immediately started praying and a few
seconds later, after all three of us were praying, trevor started
breathing. i didn't realize it as it was happening but god put the
three of us in this situation for a purpose...he had aligned it...it
blows my mind...three different guys...all doing different things
amongst the chaos to help this boy...trusting our god...praying with
all that we had...and trevor lived. i know we didn't act any
differently then most people would've but the lord put the three of us
there for a purpose...to experience his miracles and the indescribable
power of prayer...and trevor lived...that's the kind of god i am
willing to give my life to.
*As of 2/27, Trevor is still alive but they doctors are concerned
about the trauma to his head, please keep him in your prayers*
*thanks to Marissa Villa for typing the details of this story*
i am fully supported, praise the lord!! i want to thank each and everyone of my supporters from the bottom of my heart. this has been an amazing journey that has completely turned my life upside down. each and everyone of you has made this possible and i cannot thank you enough. you have changed my life and i will always be thankful for you.
people have donated anywhere from $3000 to $5.
close friends and family have donated.
complete strangers have donated (please email me!!).
people have donated and not even given their name (please email me!!).
people have donated once.
people have donated numerous times.
people have donated every month.
no matter who you are or how much you gave, i am so thankful for you. again, this life changing experience wouldn't have been possible without you.
as you may or may not know, a few months ago brandy chaffer and i were selected to be squad leaders. our world race experience has changed a bit but i am so grateful for this opportunity.
instead of being on one team and staying in one location for a month, we travel from team to team to help them out in anyway possible...it's been awesome...and hard! it has brought me to a whole new dependency on the lord!! i can't tell you how many times i've prayed something like this: "lord, i cannot do this on my own, please help me...i cannot do it without you." the amazing part is seeing him answer those prayers and feeling him help me through situations i know i couldn't have made through on my own.
this month brandy and i had the opportunity to visit teams in lira and gulu, uganda. i visited villages, played with kids, went to AIDS/HIV support groups, preached in a prison, visited home groups, attended open air crusades, prayed over people in a
hospital, taught on leadership, helped run the "daycare" of the church
(aka: played games for an hour until we ran out of ideas so colby and i
decided to lead them in physical exercise, they loved it!).
this month brandy and i will be back in uganda...visiting pader and lira. i am looking forward to the month and looking forward to serving in anyway possible!! please pray for safe travels, team/squad unity, further dependency on the lord and for people to GO FOR IT!
thank you again for ALL of you who supported me...i am so grateful for this experience that each and everyone of you made possible.
i spent the last 18 days or so in northern uganda...splitting the time between teams in lira and gulu. i sat down this afternoon to try and put it all into words. i tried to describe the pain and suffering the men and women of these communities have endured. but more importantly, i tried to describe the faith that these people have through ALL of it. i struggled to paint the appropriate picture but my friend, halley power, did an incredible job...so below is her latest blog titled "children of war." thank you halley!!
When
I was twelve years old, my main concern was surviving middle school. My
mind was focused on things like impressing my crush, having my own
phone line,and
getting my first kiss. I think back to those years and remember how
awkward I was. Life was tough on all of us at that age, right? So I
thought.
In my last blog, I introduced you to Nancy. Now I'd like to share her story with you.
When
Nancy was twelve, her concept of struggle was totally different than
mine. In 2003, she was abducted from her home at night, along with 9
other siblings and cousins.
The rebels targeted her home after being informed of two things. First
of all, a teacher (her father-Santo-also introduced in my last blog)
lived there, which to them
meant he worked for the government. Second, they were informed that
there would be many children there. The rebels came to the house around
11:30 that night.
They threatened the bomb the entire house if they weren't allowed in,
so the mother opened the door. Santo had left that very day to stay at
the university, so he wasn't
at home. If the rebels had come one day earlier or later, he would have
been killed. Everyone was tied together and taken away. Nancy said she
was crying hysterically,
but they threatened to kill anyone who cried. The rebels took all of
the belongings from the house and dragged the children into the night.
The mother was dropped
off and allowed to return home because she had Robin (a small baby at
the time). Out of the ten children taken from the home that continued
with the rebels, the
youngest was six. The commander told them that they wanted Santo to
pursue them so that he could be killed. The kids were smeared with a
black vasaline-type substance
so that they could be identified by other rebels in the event of an
escape. This marker meant they would be killed on site. They then began
their walk to Sudan.
Andrew
is Nancy's brother. I've also gotten very close to him. He has a large
part in this story, as well. Andrew was ten when the rebels came. The
ten children were separated
into different groups. Andrew was with some of the other children, but
not Nancy. Andrew had a special job. He was basically one of the
commander's personal
slave. He carried his equipment, gun, and food. They were given very
little (if anything) to eat most of the time. Typically, two cups of
beans was split between
his group of twenty other abductees. The rebels had no regard for human
life. If they came across a river that needed to be crossed, someone
would be pushed
in to gage the depth, which usually resulted in drowning. They were
frequently beaten by canes for being "lazy". They were walking to Sudan
to train to become soldiers. Yes, I do mean walking to Sudan. At one point, Andrew said he was too tired to keep going. His feet, ankles, and legs were swollen greatly. Running
on barely any food, he had enough. He sat down and refused to keep
walking. Keep in mind he is ten years old at this time. The commanders
threaten to kill him
if he doesn't continue. He tells them that they'll just have to kill
him because he can't do it anymore. An older abductee (around thirty)
had a similar response with exhaustion.
Without thought, they killed him with a machete. Andrew guesses they
let him live because he was the coveted luggage carrier. He finally got
up and continued
walking.
Both Nancy and
Andrew have a similar escape story, even though they happened two
months apart. Government troops ambushed the rebels. Planes flew
overhead and
dropped bombs. Soldiers on the ground fired guns. The commander that
Andrew was tied to was shot in the chest. They both fell to the ground.
Andrew grabbed
the knife from the rebel's waistbelt and cut himself free. He crawled
on the ground until he escaped the gun fire. A soldier eventually found
him and took him to
safety. In the chaos of the battle Nancy encountered, she ran as fast
as she could into the bush. She ran and ran until she finally found
help.
Andrew was gone
for one year and one month. He was the first to return home. Nancy was
gone for one year and three months. Out of the ten that were taken,
only six
survived. Their sister was killed by a government bomb during an
attack. Casualties was not a concern. Three cousins died as well, but
I'm not sure of the details. Andrew
thinks he was the only person to survive the day he escaped. He said,
"God protected me...because I was tied to the commander who was shot, I
fell on the ground. The bullets went above me. God must have a special plan for my life". Wow.
If you've seen
the movie Blood Diamond, you remember the scene where the African
father finds his young son who was abducted and turned into a child
soldier. The
son doesn't recognize his father. I always thought this part was
dramatized in the movie. Who could forget their own father? Andrew
could. He didn't remember people.
He didn't remember how to have normal conversations. He was used to
only following commands. War was all he knew. It took time, but he was rehabilitated and is doing wonderful. He's so intelligent and mature for his age.
Nancy is doing
well also. She is nineteen and just passed the exams to continue her
education. She wants to be a doctor. She sings in the youth worship
group and has
been at church almost every day since we've been here. I'm really going
to miss my friend. Santo, Nancy, Andrew, and the rest of the family
have been so hospitable. We spent time at their home again this week and it was amazing, just like last time (refer to previous blog).
These are faces
of Northern Uganda. This nation has been plagued with the longest
running war of Africa's history. And it's been personal. Every single
person we've encountered
was affected. It's their story. And there are so many. These stories
are no longer just stories. Nancy and Andrew are representations of the
mllions of people
that have endured through this conflict. They've all been through so
much, but they have hope. They have joy. Last night there was worship
time at the church. The
last song they sang was one I'd heard before...but never in this light.
"Sing for joy to God our strength." I've been in services in which we
sang this song. For these
people, it has so much more meaning. God has been their strength. And
he is their joy. In the midst of the tragedies they've faced, they
latched onto the hope of Christ. They glow with joy. Glow. And it's contagious. They give me hope.
If we call to him he will answer us
If we run to him he will run to us
If we lift our hands he will lift us up
Come now praise his name, all you saints of God
Sing for joy to God our strength
Sing for joy to God our strength
Draw near to him, he is here with us
Give him your love, he's in love with us
He will heal our hearts, he will cleanse our hands
If we rend our hearts, he will heal our land.
over the last few days i have felt so miniscule in comparison to the worlds problems, i've felt like i can't make a difference...i can't do this alone. i came to africa as a naive american thinking that i would make an impact here, thinking i could help people. to be honest, never in my life have i felt so helpless. i want to give people anything they ask for but i fall so short of being capable.
the power of my prayer doesn't fall short though, as people ask for money, for food, for clothing, i offer prayer. honestly, its hard to just pray...it's hard to see the impact of prayer with my eyes...but i know that my prayer and the kingdom of god is stronger and more powerful then anything that i can offer on this earth...
"the lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to god. and the peace of god, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in christ jesus." phillipians 4:5-7
a few of us had the unique opportunity to attend an AIDS/HIV group at church yesterday. as i walked into the room many of the women looked at me hesitantly, i felt as if they didn't know how i would treat them. i don't know if it's true but i think it's safe to say that they are the outcasts of society because of their disease. i introduced myself, shook each of their hands and sat with them. while we waited for the meeting to start we smiled and laughed with each other as they tried to teach me their native language (which is pretty laughable) and as they tried to get me to eat some sesame seed/sugar ball.
after i was able to escape the sesame seed/sugar ball (barely) i started talking to a woman sitting in front of me named lucy. lucy is a 43 year old widow who has AIDS. she and her family survived the genocide inflicted on the people of northern uganda over the last 20 years but all seven of them have been diagnosed with AIDS. she began to tear up as she told me how her husband recently died from AIDS. she continued by telling me that she cannot afford to feed their five children and equally as important to her, how she cannot afford to educate them.
lucy told me that the only hope she has is from jesus and the daily church services she attends. she told me that she lives five miles away from the church...and that she walks to and from church everyday because she feels loved and accepted there. she told me that she prays daily for jesus' love and that he will provide for her family...i tear up and ask if i can pray for her...and she graciously accepts my invitation.
after praying for lucy, anna asked me to pray for a 10 year old boy named vincent. vincent was wearing a reggie white jersey and wouldn't make eye contact with me or smile...you could tell that he was hurting, emotionally and physically...i asked him if i could pray for him and he said yes. he closed his eyes, lifted his hands in front of his face and put the palms of his hands together while i prayed (you know, like old school put your hands together while praying)...it was the most precious thing i've ever seen,
child
like
faith.
afterwards, anna told us that vincent has AIDS and that he is in an immense amount of pain as he slowly dies.
so as i feel so insignificant here, i lean on the love of jesus and the power of my prayer. i know that through all of this suffering and pain that he loves every single one of his children. i cannot explain why this suffering takes place but i know with all of my heart that jesus loves each and everyone of his children and that i am here to love them too.
'blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, the father of mercies and god of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by god."2 corinthians 1:3-4
we may not be able to stop the pain in the world, cure AIDS, feed the starving or even make a suffering child smile but we can love, pray and be a friend to the outcasts...in the words of former TNL pastor dave terpstra, "you can't do everything but you can do something." (you should listen to his sermon "how god ruined my life") what will you do?
africa is amazing but the people are even more amazing, seriously. i'm currently serving in lira, uganda with team journey. the team is working with victory outreach ministries doing a variety of things such as: working on the farm, preaching (at the church and over the radio to 1.5 million people), helping run a four day youth conference, teaching sunday school, playing soccer, doing door to door evangelism, doing prison ministry, praying for people at the hospital and loving on people diagnosed with AIDS/HIV.
in the last eight days i have had several experiences that i know would make great blogs. unfortunately, i feel like if i tried to put them into words i wouldn't do justice to just how amazing the experiences have been.
one example that rocked my world was on the ugandan bus from kampala to lira. every so often, the bus would pull over in a village and locals would sprint to the bus trying to sell water, meat, bananas, and candy to the people on the bus. i remember a young girl standing in the back with a look of suffering and pain on her face. i just looked at her face and wondered what she had been through in her life...and i wondered if she had encountered the love of god. she glanced at me, i smiled and reached out my hand to her. the suffering on her face was replaced with a huge smile, she reached out and took my hand...and we just held hands, we didn't even say anything. i don't even know her name, how old she was, or anything about her but this girl changed my life...it was an encounter with the love of god, for both of us.
"beloved, let us love one another, for love is from god, and whoever loves has been born of god and knows god. anyone who does not love does not know god, because god is love."
1 john 7-8
we ate lunch yesterday with our local contact, pastor johnson, and he started describing the last 20 years of his life...and how the lords resistance army was fighting to take over uganda, especially in lira. one of the things that he explained was how the "soldiers" of the lords resistance army would kidnap children and then force them to kill the remainder of their family...and at times they would force the children to cut the bodies up (search "invisible children" for more). he described the hell that the people endured during this time but ended his description with something like, "but we praise god for answering our prayers and ending this suffering."
really? through all the suffering, death and despair he ends by praising jesus. truly amazing.
i wish i could describe the pure joy and happiness of the people as they worship the lord and as they cry out to jesus. the suffering they have endured is nothing compared to what i could even imagine yet they are so joyous and want nothing more then jesus. they have truly given their life to serve jesus, it's an inspiration.
please continue to pray for our squad as we spend the next three months in africa. pray that our hearts continue to break for the people here, pray that we have real encounters with jesus, pray that everything that we do is to glorify jesus, pray for safety and health and most of all pray for blessings for the african people!!!
When
Nancy was twelve, her concept of struggle was totally different than
mine. In 2003, she was abducted from her home at night, along with 9
other siblings and cousins.
The rebels targeted her home after being informed of two things. First
of all, a teacher (her father-Santo-also introduced in my last blog)
lived there, which to them
meant he worked for the government. Second, they were informed that
there would be many children there. The rebels came to the house around
11:30 that night.
They threatened the bomb the entire house if they weren't allowed in,
so the mother opened the door. Santo had left that very day to stay at
the university, so he wasn't
at home. If the rebels had come one day earlier or later, he would have
been killed. Everyone was tied together and taken away. Nancy said she
was crying hysterically,
but they threatened to kill anyone who cried. The rebels took all of
the belongings from the house and dragged the children into the night.
The mother was dropped
off and allowed to return home because she had Robin (a small baby at
the time). Out of the ten children taken from the home that continued
with the rebels, the
youngest was six. The commander told them that they wanted Santo to
pursue them so that he could be killed. The kids were smeared with a
black vasaline-type substance
so that they could be identified by other rebels in the event of an
escape. This marker meant they would be killed on site. They then began
their walk to Sudan.
Andrew
is Nancy's brother. I've also gotten very close to him. He has a large
part in this story, as well. Andrew was ten when the rebels came. The
ten children were separated
into different groups. Andrew was with some of the other children, but
not Nancy. Andrew had a special job. He was basically one of the
commander's personal
slave. He carried his equipment, gun, and food. They were given very
little (if anything) to eat most of the time. Typically, two cups of
beans was split between
his group of twenty other abductees. The rebels had no regard for human
life. If they came across a river that needed to be crossed, someone
would be pushed
in to gage the depth, which usually resulted in drowning. They were
frequently beaten by canes for being "lazy". They were walking to Sudan
to train to become soldiers. Yes, I do mean walking to Sudan. At one point, Andrew said he was too tired to keep going. His feet, ankles, and legs were swollen greatly. Running
on barely any food, he had enough. He sat down and refused to keep
walking. Keep in mind he is ten years old at this time. The commanders
threaten to kill him
if he doesn't continue. He tells them that they'll just have to kill
him because he can't do it anymore. An older abductee (around thirty)
had a similar response with exhaustion.
Without thought, they killed him with a machete. Andrew guesses they
let him live because he was the coveted luggage carrier. He finally got
up and continued
walking.