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!!