My heart is so full. and so is my head. with completely different things.
I had to leave class this morning, I just couldn't fit one more thing inside me. I found a spot on the floor in the school that I'm pretty sure never even gets walked on, and laid down. I don't think I fell asleep, but I found rest.
For months now my daily prayer has been me crying out to God asking Him to teach me to love with His love. The first commandment is to love God, but Jesus tells us in John that we show our love by obeying His commands, and His second command is to love others. I don't want to just love the people I get along with when I feel like it though. I don't want to just get along with people. I want to learn to sacrificially love, with a deep deep concern for that person's life. It's impossible if it's not through Christ. So in asking to love others better, Im learning to love Him better.
This past weekend I went down to Kansas City for an admissions/promotion event. After the event, Katie and I found our way to ihop (international house of prayer). We sat in the prayer room for hours, then joined the evening service. The message spoke directly to my heart. It was on the church in the last days - something that can be found throughout the New Testament. Peter spoke of it in his books and said that with the end approaching, we need to be of clear mind so that we can pray. We also need to love eachother deeply, and extend hospitality to others selflessly. Hospitality meaning sacrificing your time and resources and to share your life with someone you don't know very well, if at all. And to do it with the mindset that you could be entertaining an angel. Peter also said that we need to be knowledgeable about the gifts of the Spirit in our lives so that we can serve one another as a church. As we serve each other, we glorify Him.
Our class this week just happens to be on the first 6 chapters of Acts. We are literally going through verse by verse, and expected to memorize it all. Man, I would love to live in a community as crazy and vibrant as Acts describes. The most evident factor of those who were filled with the Holy Spirit was boldness. The believers were bold in their expressions of love and truth. It was powerful stuff.
All that, plus this week is Preview week. That just happens to be one of the two college visit events that we put on every year that I happen to be partially responsible for pulling off. There is so much to be done before they all come tomorrow, but as I sat here praying, I was reminded of God's grandeur. His majesty. His glory. and he is good all the time. Just reading Jessica's blog helps put that into perspective. Those kids are little miracles.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Uganda.
Bus ride to Bugembi.
Miracle Center Church with lots of singing and dancing.
Visit to Baby Jessica and mom. Making Chapatis.
Visit to old orphanage - seeing the kids and meeting the man.
(He was cordial, and let us come approach the kids. The wife and baby were back. there were new volunteers. It was like nothing had ever happened. These kids were shy, but they loved Jess and Derek. We danced and took pictures. It was obvious that these kids were worse off out here in the village than the city-kid orphans. I didn't really understand a lot of what I saw, but I loved playing with these kids. Pauline (Baby Jessica's mom) still helps out, even though they still have not been paid anything that was promised to them. There is little change to be seen. Then we left)
Visit to the slum/village and met Maria and Sarah. They are college students my age with big dreams. They even baked me a cake.
and that was my first day...
Monday: Morning with the kids and afternoon in town. We went swimming in the source of the nile. I met one of Jess' street kid friends.
Tuesday: Day in Kampala. We took the bus into town with 25 of Jessica's friend's "aunties" and went to visit his great-grandma. She is some sort of Muslim religious figure so we went to pay her respect. She is 118 years old and still served us a meal! It was an honor to be in her home.
Wednesday: Day with the kids in the orphanage. Volunteer night with goooood food and a game of Biblical Apples to Apples.
Thursday: Morning of errands in Jinja. Afternoon at Bugegali Falls - the Nile River. We went on a boat ride and went swimming in the Nile! After the others left, Jess and I made some friends and went on a hike along the river through forests, farmland, and villages. We ended up fishing, and watching kayakers, and jumping from trees into the water.
Friday: Safari day! An 8 hour journey turned into 13 with multiple battery problems. Once we got to the park, we did a drive through and saw our first lion! at night we slept in tents and were surrounded by lions warthogs and hippos in the middle of the night! I didn't sleep much...
Saturday: Our second safari drive. It was so beautiful! What an amazing opportunity to be reminded of God's beauty and creativity. Around noon we started the long drive back home. Good conversation and new friends were the result of this drive.
Sunday: Morning with the kids and a hard goodbye.
It was a packed week. I met so many incredible people and got to see a lot in a very short time. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience this. Jess Kayla Derek and Pippin were such an encouragement to me. It was neat too to see how much I have changed and grown and have my lessons become applicable in another cultural context.
I realized too that as much as I have been trained to think this way, ministry does not all look alike. God wants obedience from us. If that means entering into the world of business, it is still full time ministry. Whether its working with the poor or the rich, it is still ministry if you are acting in obedience. My desire to travel isn't necessarily a selfish desire just to see the world and avoid responsibility. I don't just want to travel. I want to encourage people in their dreams and passions. I want to pour life into other people, and I want to teach and disciple. If this comes in the forms of visiting people in different countries, or taking groups of people to experience different cultures themselves, then I want to walk into that boldly. Over and over I have repeated to God: I just want to do what you want me to do! My deepest desire is just to serve Him.
I returned to school with so much joy. God's grace enabled me to look back on Uganda and feel fulfilled. Even with only a week, it did not seem too short. I have entered into a new class now, which happens to be the best one yet. I am back with my temporary family, and I love them more than I did even weeks ago.
Even now I sit in a room surrounded by Samantha, Austin Malaina and Joe - quietly reading our assignments that are due on Monday. I can't wait to see the direction He takes us each on...
Inkwendieno. Love love love.
Miracle Center Church with lots of singing and dancing.
Visit to Baby Jessica and mom. Making Chapatis.
Visit to old orphanage - seeing the kids and meeting the man.
(He was cordial, and let us come approach the kids. The wife and baby were back. there were new volunteers. It was like nothing had ever happened. These kids were shy, but they loved Jess and Derek. We danced and took pictures. It was obvious that these kids were worse off out here in the village than the city-kid orphans. I didn't really understand a lot of what I saw, but I loved playing with these kids. Pauline (Baby Jessica's mom) still helps out, even though they still have not been paid anything that was promised to them. There is little change to be seen. Then we left)
Visit to the slum/village and met Maria and Sarah. They are college students my age with big dreams. They even baked me a cake.
and that was my first day...
Monday: Morning with the kids and afternoon in town. We went swimming in the source of the nile. I met one of Jess' street kid friends.
Tuesday: Day in Kampala. We took the bus into town with 25 of Jessica's friend's "aunties" and went to visit his great-grandma. She is some sort of Muslim religious figure so we went to pay her respect. She is 118 years old and still served us a meal! It was an honor to be in her home.
Wednesday: Day with the kids in the orphanage. Volunteer night with goooood food and a game of Biblical Apples to Apples.
Thursday: Morning of errands in Jinja. Afternoon at Bugegali Falls - the Nile River. We went on a boat ride and went swimming in the Nile! After the others left, Jess and I made some friends and went on a hike along the river through forests, farmland, and villages. We ended up fishing, and watching kayakers, and jumping from trees into the water.
Friday: Safari day! An 8 hour journey turned into 13 with multiple battery problems. Once we got to the park, we did a drive through and saw our first lion! at night we slept in tents and were surrounded by lions warthogs and hippos in the middle of the night! I didn't sleep much...
Saturday: Our second safari drive. It was so beautiful! What an amazing opportunity to be reminded of God's beauty and creativity. Around noon we started the long drive back home. Good conversation and new friends were the result of this drive.
Sunday: Morning with the kids and a hard goodbye.
It was a packed week. I met so many incredible people and got to see a lot in a very short time. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience this. Jess Kayla Derek and Pippin were such an encouragement to me. It was neat too to see how much I have changed and grown and have my lessons become applicable in another cultural context.
I realized too that as much as I have been trained to think this way, ministry does not all look alike. God wants obedience from us. If that means entering into the world of business, it is still full time ministry. Whether its working with the poor or the rich, it is still ministry if you are acting in obedience. My desire to travel isn't necessarily a selfish desire just to see the world and avoid responsibility. I don't just want to travel. I want to encourage people in their dreams and passions. I want to pour life into other people, and I want to teach and disciple. If this comes in the forms of visiting people in different countries, or taking groups of people to experience different cultures themselves, then I want to walk into that boldly. Over and over I have repeated to God: I just want to do what you want me to do! My deepest desire is just to serve Him.
I returned to school with so much joy. God's grace enabled me to look back on Uganda and feel fulfilled. Even with only a week, it did not seem too short. I have entered into a new class now, which happens to be the best one yet. I am back with my temporary family, and I love them more than I did even weeks ago.
Even now I sit in a room surrounded by Samantha, Austin Malaina and Joe - quietly reading our assignments that are due on Monday. I can't wait to see the direction He takes us each on...
Inkwendieno. Love love love.
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