Intimacy with God

Sunday School Choir!! 

This week has been pretty similar to the last few we've had. We stayed in Kampala and visited our many projects here including two feeding programs, the babies' home, children's hospital, and a couple secondary schools as well. I enjoyed being able to teach the P3 class at Victory Primary School again. We also had some amazing team bonding moments and a wonderful worship night to close out the week.

Girls' Night!!! (we love when Cassie's family sends treats!)

I think what stood out to me most this week is the idea of being intimate with God. It's been amazing to realize that He desires a close relationship with me. I love the beginning of Psalm 139, "You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." God knows me, and He has allowed me to enter His presence with confidence. "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -Hebrews 4:16. Through the blood of Christ and the Spirit He left here with me, I'm able to approach God and be in fellowship with Him. God wants me to come before Him just to be with Him. Psalm 27:4 has been the cry of my heart this week, "One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple." In the book, Romancing the King, the author writes about seeking the face of God rather than His hands. In other words, we should often come before God simply to be in communion with Him, to know Him better. It's fine to ask God for things, in fact, the Bible tells us to ask and it will be given to us. But rather than seeking the gift, we should seek the Giver. He will take care of all of our needs and desires, but He wants our heart, soul, and mind first.

Neighborhood Program (Owen jumped in front of the
camera just in time!) 

Another thing that goes along with that thought is the idea of true worship. So many times we (myself included) worship falsely, and I'm sure it just makes God sick. It reminds me of Isaiah 29:13, "These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught." I want to break that mold; I desire to worship in Spirit and in Truth. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is true worship" (Romans 12:1). "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kinds of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24). In worship we should seek to touch God's heart. God desires true worship. Fortunately, through building an intimate relationship with Him, we are able to touch His heart, to bless Him, to truly worship Him. What a privilege! To be able to come before the God of the universe and seek His face and touch His heart with our worship. Mukama Yebazibwe!! (Praise God!!)

Blessings!!

Preparing the Desert

You've heard the story of the two men who prayed for rain, right? Only one went out and prepared his field. I've realized this week how much I want to be like the man who prepared his field. I want to have the kind of faith that prepares even when it seems foolish: like Noah. I want to be someone who prepares the desert for rain. Now, you may ask, "Emily, what in the world is this desert you want to prepare?" My response would be, "Which one?!" I've realized so many "deserts" here, but I've narrowed it down to two I'd like to share with you: children's lives and my own heart.

English teachers for the day!

On Thursday afternoon the girls and I walked into Victory Primary School for a different reason than normal - we were the English teachers of the day. As we were standing in the "office," my eyes were opened. The wood walls were covered on the inside with cardboard boxes with "YAMAHA" written on them, and the only furniture in the room (before they brought more benches in for us) were a tiny table, a chair, and a bench or two. It really made me realize how far removed I was from the American school setting. However, my class of 30 students was a joy to teach! They were SO ready to learn everything we had to teach them and worked hard the entire class, but seeing those children actually in their school setting made me think of the number of kids here who aren't in school. Some of the kids I know have huge dreams: to be a pilot, a doctor, nurse, teacher - but how are they supposed to achieve those goals without learning in school? The answer is simple; they can't. Without schooling, they'll most likely end up following the "family business," most often a simple food or clothing stand on the side of the road, farming, or there's even a possibility they could end up simply begging on the streets. Now, if they happen to get married and have children, what are the chances that they'll have enough money to send their own kids to school? Not great. It's simply a cycle, a cycle that's hard to break. If kids can't learn, their future seems like a desert: dry, hopeless, lacking any growth or renewal. However, we are SO fortunate; God can stop that cycle! He's already used His people to stop the cycle in many families through sponsorship, teaching life skills to adults, and simply by the hope He pours out on His people. God has called us to help these children prepare their desert, if we do, He will provide the nourishment to make the seeds planted grow.

Some girls from New Brainstorm Primary School

Now as for looking at my own heart as a desert, it's taken me a while to realize it, probably because my pride didn't want to admit that my heart could ever be in that place. However, God has helped me realize that it can actually be a good thing. It means I'm thirsting for God. In Psalm 63:1 it says, "O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." My soul and heart long for God; He is all I need. "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:25-26) Once again, He's all I need, the only thing that can satisfy the desert of my heart. But it's also a call, before I enter into His presence through prayer, study, or worship, to prepare my heart. I have to have my heart made ready to receive the Spirit that God says He will pour out upon us; I've got to be expecting it. I have to prepare the desert for Him to plant seeds and water them.

Both in children's lives and in my own heart I've been called to prepare the desert. 

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue will shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

-Isaiah 35:5-6

Go prepare your deserts, and have a wonderful week!

Blessings!

Credit to the Honorable Cassie Wilson for the picture of the "English teachers"!!

Back to Kampala!

The next school term has started here in Uganda, and with it, our schedule is changing. The team won't be staying in Zirobwe as much for a while, but we still go every Sunday for church and Sunday school. In light of those changes, we've been in Kampala this week. It's definitely been a change of pace for the team, but it's been fun.

This is what happens when my Sunday school boys
get a hold of my camera!

One of the girls from New Brainstorm

To start off the week, Sunday school went really well. We had 10 kids memorize our weekly memory verse and for some reason or another, we had more time to hang out with the kids afterwards than normal. It's so fun to get to know the kids in my class a little better and to notice their personalities and tendencies. Plus, they're able to open up to and relate to us more. Also, just want to say that my class is awesome! On Monday visited Sanyu Babies' Home as always. Then, on Tuesday, we went to Victory Primary School and did a feeding program. We do our normal program for the kids and then feed them porridge we've prepared. The kids there are SO full of energy! We also went to Davemi Primary School to do a program. Davemi is on top of a huge hill in Kampala, but the view isn't the only beautiful thing there! The kids are so sweet and intent on listening. I remember at one of our programs there earlier in the trip, they remembered the lesson from a whole month before! Wednesday we did a program at Katalemwa, the children's hospital, and a Lunch Hour Fellowship at Clive College (a local secondary school). Thursday we visited the Babies' Home again and then had the opportunity to do a program with the neighborhood kids. Friday we went to one of my absolute favorite Kampala projects - New Brainstorm Primary School. It's one of the more impoverished schools we visit, but the kids are such a joy! They're so sweet and like to write us letters or make bracelets or other small gifts for us. Sometimes I wonder how kids with so little can be so generous and loving, but the kids at New Brainstorm are exactly that. Anyways, I really enjoyed finally going there after such a long time; it was a blessing. Our final project of the week was another Lunch Hour Fellowship at City Side Secondary School. 

Packages from home!!! 

I also had the privilege to receive some packages from home this week! Included in it were several letters and cards, a t-shirt from my youth group with all their signatures on the back, and a shirt from my church family & friends with their signatures & a little note to me. It was such a blessing to hear from back home and receive that encouragement from my family at home. God has definitely shown me how blessed I am by my family and friends. They're such an amazing support system.

There's not really much more I have to say at this point, but I would like to share a scripture that's been on my heart this week:

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Psalm 73:21-28

Blessings!

Sometimes It’s the Little Things

Sometimes the littlest things can make the biggest impact in life. A simple whisper can be stronger than the loudest shout; a light breeze can be more powerful than a gust of strong wind, and a simple smile can bring more joy than all the pleasures and gifts in the world. As I think back over this week, it’s the little moments that stand out to me – the little moments when God seems only a breath away, when you know He is right there, when the veil of the world separating you seems as thin as a tissue, and things just make sense. I don’t know whether I was just more attentive to those moments this week or whether there were more than normal, but the past few days have just been filled with those “little things,” those little moments of clarity and truth.

The school building we visited

We had the opportunity to go to Zirobwe this week, which I’m always pumped about. School is starting back up here, so our schedule has changed a little bit. We still do evening programs with the kids in Zirobwe’s trading center, but during the day on Thursday we had the opportunity to go to a primary school in the village. Sitting in a school that might be lucky to be considered a run-down shed back home was a humbling experience. The kids were learning, but it was in their second language (English), their classrooms were separated only by the hanging “chalkboard” (which we’re convinced is wood covered by a thin layer of….umm… Something??), their teachers at the time were in charge of more than one class, and honestly, there’s absolutely NO WAY it would even be considered a school in America. However, the students there are privileged; at least they have enough money for school fees. It’s mind-blowing to know that the main reason kids don’t go to school here is because they can’t afford school fees, which are only $25 to $30 per term for kids in the village. And I used to complain about going to school.

One of the houses in Zirobwe, similar to the one we visited

Another thing out of the norm that we got to do was walk to people’s houses for “evangelism.” It was amazing opportunity and experience that I can’t even begin to put into words. At the very first house my small team of four visited we met a man of 80 years and his 70 year old wife. Their daughter was there as well as some of their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. God had definitely blessed them, but as this man revealed his story, I realized there was a lot more beneath the surface. As he unfolded his life story about moving to Uganda from Tanzania, surviving through the war, losing children, his daughter being saved by God through the prayer of Christians, struggling to survive, and still being blessed by God, I noticed small tears forming in his eyes. They began rolling down his face just before he quickly wiped them away. I was moved. Men in this culture absolutely do NOT cry, especially in front of others. It was like God was saying to me, “Don’t you see what I can do? I can touch hearts that seem untouchable.” Little things.

Progress on the church building! 

I wish I could tell all the stories of the little things that have stood out to me this week, kids singing songs about not wanting to be any other place than in the love of Christ, staring into a little girls big brown eyes knowing she was beautifully and wonderfully made in the image of God, or watching the sunset in prayer with God simply being overwhelmed by His love and peace, but this is already getting long enough! So I’ll go ahead and wind down. Keep the faith, stay strong, and notice the little things – they’re huge! 

Building Relationships

 Cookie Dough & Movie Night!! 

This week has been off the wall, overwhelming, fun, hard, and simply not explainable. But as I look back over the last few days, I do actually see a common tie between everything that happened - the building of relationships. A while back I read a book in which one chapter really stood out to me and still sticks with me today. The author was talking about how disciples are made through relationships. Jesus exemplified this with the Twelve Disciples - He poured everything into them, lived with them, and knew them. So if we want to see Christ move in people, we have to be willing to invest in them. That thought has changed so much about how I treat people, how I listen, and how I invest in others' lives, and this week especially I've had the opportunity to live that out.

Walking in the rain in Zirobwe

On Monday all of the current MST (Missionary Support Team) members (7 of us at the time) went to a local coffee shop to have some "bonding" time and plan out the new curriculum for our Sunday School classes. After that beautiful time together and adding one girl to our team later that day, I think we all realized that we're truly family. For the next 5 weeks we're all going to be living, eating, working, and breathing together.  We're in it for the long run, and to do that we have to be in unity with each other. As Paul says in Ephesians 4, when we are in unity, we are no longer "blown and tossed by the wind" or swayed by the world, but rather we grow in Him and the body is able to function and grow and therefore, complete its work.

Some of the kids in Zirobwe

    OurEmpower A Child team hasn't been the only place I noticed where unity and relationships are being built though. Wednesday through Friday we had the opportunity to go to the village of Zirobwe once more. As I was there, I noticed in a new light the relationships I've been building there. Whether it was walking down the road yelling, "hello!!" to the families we passed, joking around with some of the kids from Sunday School when they tried to convince me to give them more porridge, or playing netball with the girls from Sunday School, the bonds that have been under construction there became very apparent to me. The people in Zirobwe are becoming family. They're turning to God because they've seen His light shining through people who were willing to be in relationship with them. What a powerful testimony to what God does when we invest in people rather than the "results" we want to see.

Winnie & I! 

Today (Saturday) we had a sponsorship day for the students in EAC's sponsorship program. They came to our "base" in Kampala and we helped them write letters to their sponsors. Yet another part of relationships; people crave them. Adults and children alike were made to interact with people and to have intentional relationships, but it takes effort. In Ephesians 4:3 it says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Make every effort. The sponsored kids here went to the effort of writing a letter in a second language; their sponsors take out of their pockets each month for these kids. True love for people is sacrificial love. It's uncomfortable and hard at times, but in the end, if disciples of Christ are grown out of it, isn't it worth it?

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!




Blessings!!