"It is Finished"

I am sorry, friends, but I am going to share another song from Jimmy Needham's newest album. (See my last post here for one of my other favorites on the album.) As I traveled across the lake this afternoon, I was again listening to these songs and this one stood out to me.

Because Jesus finished and completed EVERYTHING on the cross we can truly live a life of freedom, forgiveness, celebration and gratitude. If He had not, we wouldn't have much to celebrate now would we?

It is finished, It is finished

Tetelesti

The beauty of the double meaning phrase

He ceased from His labor and so have I

Now resting only in His grace

It is finished, It is finished

Tetelesti

The Son of Man succeeding where I failed

The wrath of God now satisfied

In Jesus, my Emmanuel

Note: "Tetelesti" is Greek for "It is finished."

"Rock of Ages"

This upbeat version of this timeless hymn has had me smiling and moving to the beat. Jimmy Needham is one of my favorite artists as I love his unique style and thoughtful and thought-provoking lyrics. In September he released a new album of hymns (check it out here).

As I point my heart and thoughts toward Thanksgiving this week, I am indeed incredibly thankful to my "Rock of Ages" - my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him I can dance with my heart full and overflowing with joy and thanksgiving! I hope you can, too!

How Even Malaria Made Me Thankful

On Wednesday and Thursday of last week I was unusually fatigued. I chalked it up to the energy-zapping heat...or to the onset of old age. ; )

However, on Thursday night when I began to run a high fever, was achy and my heart was racing, I suspected something else...malaria.

Andy and Karina had just had it and when I told Karina my suspicion the next morning, she replied "It's the season." (I guess there are "seasons" in which malaria mosquitoes are more common?).

Friday morning I tried testing myself - three times - with the handy-dandy malaria self-tester, but determined I am either a bad patient or a bad doctor because after poking my fingers too many times to get enough blood, I came up with three tests that showed me nothing - neither that I was positive or negative for malaria. However, based on the advice of Nurse Karina, I still came off the island on Friday morning, because if I did indeed have it, no one was on the island to take care of me - her words. :)

I reached Jinja, stopped by the pharmacy to get the meds and then spent the next two days being lazy. I claimed my spot on the Peterson's comfy couch and camped out there for hours on end. A Saturday test, performed by the skilled and very-capable Pastor Bob Peterson, who formerly worked as a paramedic, revealed that yes, I did have malaria. Phew, at least these symptoms were not all in my mind. ;)

Why do I seem to be so chipper about all of this? Because even though it stinks to get sick, I was able to trace God's gracious hand throughout the whole experience.

1. He helped me complete computer exams for my two computer classes last Wednesday(when I began feeling tired) and then canceled my Thursday class, so I had a more restful day. And this weekend, I had relatively few commitments, which were easy to be changed.

2. He blessed me with wise and knowledgeable friends who knew to advise me to get off the island and then how to test and treat for malaria.

3. If you have to get sick there is no better place to recover than in the Peterson home. The love, care, concern, good food, plus Black Cherry Kool-Aid were likely the factors that hastened my healing. :)

4. I enjoyed a spiritually refreshing worship service here in Jinja with some uplifting music, an impacting sermon and some valuable conversations with fellow Christians.

5. Because of my early arrival in time (I had planned to come today - Monday, not Friday), I enjoyed a great time with a new, but dear friend, who is leaving the country on Saturday.

6. I was reminded that I serve a God who heals. I cannot even imagine a world in which we would be perpetually with our sicknesses...once we had them, we never knew health again. What a terrible world it would be! But we serve the Great Physician!

7. I have gained greater sympathy and empathy for those who are sick and my heart has been turned even more toward those who suffer with chronic illnesses and pain.

In light of my last post about God's sovereignty, "Is God Surprised?," I have to chuckle. Was God surprised by my sickness? Nope. And He still showed His gracious love and goodness throughout the process...for which I am supremely grateful.

I read this week: "In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning." (Viktor E. Frankl) God always has a purpose for each aspect and season of life.

Why? Because He is good, He is gracious, He is sovereign. He is why I can be thankful even when having malaria. :)

Is God Surprised?

Itanda Falls on the Nile River - an incredible display of God's power and sovereignty.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." - Romans 8:28, NLT

Multiple times in the last several weeks I have found myself shaking my head - questioning, wondering, in frustration. How? Why? Who?

Recently we have had numerous snake sightings, subsequent killings and unfortunately three people bitten by cobras. One little girl died because the right help was not sought in time. One man's life was spared and he later gave his life to Christ - hallelujah! I shake my head at these slimy threats that lie at our very doors, but also at God's amazing protection. In the past week three snakes were killed on the SHIM compound - one each in the Smith home and the O's home, and one just outside the Smith's place.

This week one of our secondary teachers was dismissed because of improper conduct. As his story continues to unravel I shake my head. I trusted and respected this man and yet he had been living a life of lies for sometime. How could I be so fooled? How could he, even after being warned multiple times, defend his actions? How could he continue to claim to be a believer?

Last night I heard of island women who are beginning to understand the Biblical culture and how different it can be from their own. Mothers who are seeing the value of loving and respecting their children and not abusing them in speech, neglecting them, or tying them and then beating them. Wives who are comprehending what it means to care for a husband and not just to live as two individuals under the same roof. I praise God He is opening their eyes to His view and value of relationships.

In the midst of all this I have been listening to sermons from home, taken from the end of Romans 8, one of my favorite passages.

The verse I opened with is the pinnacle in this climatic description of God's incredible love for His children, found in verses 31-39.

So, if God works everything  for the good of those who love Him, does that also apply to the aforementioned situations? Was He taken by surprise at any of this? To the first question a resounding yes and to the second an emphatic no.

As I have rested in this incredible knowledge that God is supremely sovereign and most powerful over all and at the same time is intimately aware of every aspect and atom of His creation, I have been filled with His abiding peace.

There is a confident assurance that yes, God, is very much at the wheel and He can miraculously turn disappointing, hurtful, lousy, and otherwise bad situations into good - for His glory and for our good. Hallelujah!!

I don't know what you are passing through right now, but let me encourage you to remember, dwell on and stake your faith on the fact that our God is in control and He is on your side.

And, for further encouragement, read the entirety of Romans 8:31-39. :)

"Hurry Up and Wait!"

Family and friends of SHIM - waiting for something...

Sometimes life in Uganda forces you to wait...

A computer repair that should take less than a week extends into a month.

The "high-speed" Internet results in a 20-minute song download or no download at all.

Someone tells you they'll meet you in half an hour and an hour ticks by.

Church starts when enough people show up.

The random power outages postpone the Skype chat you were so looking forward to.

The mud and potholes slow down the journey by car or by motorcycle or even when walking.

You can rush to the lake shore to ensure you don't miss the boat and wait...for up to an hour before you see it.

It rains...this almost inevitably interrupts or derails any plans.

People here walk slower, talk slower, eat slower, plan slower, and often work slower. Let's just say, there is generally a slower pace here. ;)

One of my favorite phrases here is "Hurry up and wait" - often said sarcastically. ;)

Today I had to wait...and I wasn't happy about it. After retrieving my computer yesterday, with its new hard drive, I have been attempting to start, reload and download the programs I need. The "high speed" Internet was less than swift and resulted in high blood pressure and eventual resignation as dusk began to fall. I trudged home from the Internet cafe, pondering what God might be attempting to teach me with these frustrations.

I am trying to do good things here, so why do I seem to hit these potholes? Perhaps God sees I am greatly lacking in patience? Or I need to work on persistence?

Sunsets are always worth waiting for. :)

I think, however, something deeper is happening - a richer lesson that God wants me to grasp.

Waiting is not bad, it is actually good.

"Wait" is one of the words I believe God gave me for 2013. There are so many Scripture verses that contain the word "wait" that I didn't even begun to study them all.

Waiting seems to be a lesson God often taught David as evidenced in the Psalms. The shepherd-boy-turned-royalty knew some about it as he waited 10+ years to assume his rightful throne, while running and hiding for his life from King Saul.

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in His way, over the man who carries out evil devices!" - Psalm 37:7

"Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long." - Psalm 25:5

"Lord, I don't know if what I am doing is effective or worthwhile." His response: "Wait on me...wait and see."

"Lord, I am homesick and missing the people at home." His reply: "Wait on me...draw close to me."

"Lord, I am struggling with these temptations, challenges and frustrations." He tells me: "Wait on me...My strength is what you need."

"Lord, so and so is annoying and hurting me. His whisper: "Wait on me...I've got it handled."

Waiting forces us to stop, quiet our minds and hearts, and be more aware of God's abiding presence. 

Perhaps we need to slow down enough, to wait, to actually see Him at work. 

Please Meet...

...Fauza.

I wish you could see in person this remarkable young woman whom I have grown to love so much! Don't let her quiet unassuming nature fool you - God has great things in store for this girl! :)

Fauza in March 2010

I first met Fauza (pronounced Fow-za) when she joined the secondary school in early 2010, just a few weeks after I came to Uganda. Because of her good primary results, she won a partial sponsorship to study at Lingira Living Hope.

Initially, I had difficulty drawing information out of her. Being that I am SHIM's sponsorship coordinator, part of my job is interviewing and getting to know new students, and continuing to encourage and follow-up with them as long as they are in the program.

Despite her quietness, there was something about Fauza that grabbed my heart and I wanted to meet with her on a more frequent basis. So, sometime in that first year we started weekly discipleship sessions. We met only when she was at school and would break off during school "holidays." And then at times we couldn't always coordinate our schedules, but we did meet many times - in a classroom, under a tree or on a nice shaded piece of grass.

I spent part of this past Sunday with Fauza in what may have been the last time we will sit - just the two of us. Four school years have nearly passed and Fauza is busily preparing for her final exams which begin in a week. And in early November, she will graduate from the school. You wouldn't know it by her demeanor, but she is one of the top students and the best-performing girl of her class of 33 students. We have high hopes for her performance and I pray she can continue on to a good school.

When Fauza leaves Lingira she will go and live with her Aunt Selena in eastern Uganda, roughly three hours from the island.

Fauza last September, holding a "Certificate of Recognition"
for her academic efforts.

I will miss Fauza very much and our sweet times of reading and studying the Bible together, sharing about our families, encouraging each other with what God has been doing in our lives, lifting up our needs to Him in prayer. But I will miss the most seeing with my own eyes God work in and through this special young woman. In the past three and a half years, Fauza has grown and matured in remarkable ways.

She has passed through her own challenges. After her father died, her mother married a Muslim man who mistreated Fauza because of her Christian faith. At one time, she couldn't even live at home and was taken in by our own Pastor Samson, who spoke highly of her character and her need. Challenges with faith, sickness, with her family and her peers have only seemed to strengthen Fauza's commitment to Christ and molded her into a sensitive and silently strong young woman.

During her time at the school, she felt God ask her to step out and do different things - like join the choir, translate in church, serve as a class monitor, help with Sunday School. And as much as possible, she obeyed and went far beyond her comfort zone to serve her Savior.

She told me yesterday she has a strong burden to go back and teach the young children in the village church. She is also being drawn to show Christ's love in word and action to her "rough" Aunt Selena, a Muslim who has been hardened and embittered by hardship and rejection. While many people avoid this tough woman, Fauza sees someone who is hurting and needy.

Even though I will miss seeing Fauza several times a week, I told her we must stay in touch and I promised to visit her in the village.

I am excited to see where God will take her and how He will use this shy, innocent young woman to accomplish extraordinary things for His kingdom.

God does not choose the strong, bold or powerful. He chooses the obedient, willing and faithful. Fauza is an amazing picture of God's unmatched wisdom and grace.

Differences Between East and West

The differences between cultures go far beyond how one lives, eats or dresses. Most of the differences are rooted in a very different way of thinking.

I enjoyed this graphic depiction presented between "western" and "eastern" cultures, presented by a Chinese woman, Yang Lui, an artist and visual designer, who was born in China, but has lived in Germany.

As I looked at her comparison, presented in contrasting red and blue graphics, I couldn't help but smile - a knowing smile. Uganda is definitely an "eastern" culture. And I as a "westerner" struggle almost daily with interpreting and understanding what is said and done around me, as well as trying to figure out how to respond from my different cultural mindset.

As someone commented on Lui's work, the differences can be "amusing." :)