Our Great Restorer

I have now been back in the states for almost 72 hours. My sleep pattern is still a little off, but every day I am reminded that the Lord is doing incredible things in Uganda and it is all because of Jesus! Steps that at first looked like sinking sand, were taken in faith and the Lord blessed each one immensely. Steps are still being taken so please join me in prayer that His voice is heard and that His plan prevails, not man's. It's hard sometimes to remember that the Lord is never early and He is never late. His timing is perfect and even when things don't line up when we want them to, we are still asked to trust Him and His plan. I am not a big believer that the Lord will lay out your life before you every time you ask. But I am a huge believer that He does have a future for you and for me! Sometimes He reveals bits and pieces, and when He does...hold on to it! I only spent a short amount of time in Uganda, but through that time I fell in love all over again. I feel like He is preparing me for a journey that I will take at some point. I want to serve in areas that aren't always comfortable. I want to go and do and seek and find Him in everything. I want an extraordinary life with Him! Not sure where that will be, but I am ready! Love is patient. Love always trusts. Love perseveres. That's what He is teaching me. His love never fails. It's the only thing that never fails. I want my treasure to be stored in Heaven, not earth. I want His name to be glorified, not because it will make me "feel" better, but because that is my deepest desire.

This was different than my last experience in Uganda. Although I absolutely loved it, I will go for longer next time so that I can invest more. We served at two different schools (both have many orphans) and then at our Sozo house. Each child that clung to my arm reminded me of the story about the woman that clung to Jesus in spite of the crowd because she had FAITH that He would heal her. If she could just touch Him, she knew she would be healed. I'm not saying that these kids thought I had any power, but I do believe the power of Christ lives in me and I can offer Love. The kids that clung to me the most were the ones from Kabalagala, a large slum in Kampala. One little girl remembered me from last year and was by my side the whole time. Her shoes were awful....her toes stuck out of the front and there was no sole on the bottom, but she didn't complain..she just wanted to be loved. She wanted to know that someone cared about her. She wanted her hand held. She wanted to play with my hair. She just wanted attention. (Don't worry, she got some shoes before I left). I remember walking the streets back to our taxi on the last day and seeing children on the side of the road digging in the dirt, trash, or whatever else was in front of them. Each child I looked at had the face of one of our 17 Sozo kids. It broke me. I saw Victoria (the little girl who stole my heart last summer). I saw Michael (the sickest of all our kids...closest to death because of malnutrition). I saw so many of our kids and it literally hurt my heart because that used to be them. On Friday, we took all of our kids to Jinja. It was an emotional day for me. It was a day that He again put things in perspective. It started off with Allen and 8 of our kids being baptized in the Nile! What a privilege it was to be able to witness this! It will forever be one of my most favorite memories and I am so thankful to the Lord for the renewing of each life. We went to eat at a restaurant called Source of the Nile after the baptisms, and thankfully they were able to seat all of us (we were definitely a crowd!). I sat at a table with Aggie, Allen, Suz, Emily, and Davis. After we had indulged ourselves in our meal, a little boy walked by with his hand out asking for something. So we called him over to our table and I put all my leftovers on a plate for him. He was hungry. His face lit up when we asked him if he wanted what we had. He sat down next to me and I watched him pick up and use the fork that I had just eaten off of and eat every little scrap of food I had left. He ate everything...even what was left of the guacamole that was on my sandwich. Something rocked me....I found myself almost sobbing. As I type this, I have tears rolling down my face. He changed my life without even knowing it. I wanted to put him in our taxi and take him to the Sozo house.....unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. After he finished eating, some of his street friends also came over and we fed them. We found out that most of them have lived on the streets since they were four.....FOUR. Are ya'll reading that???!! It's heartbreaking, but Jesus is our Redeemer, our Healer, our Restorer, our Protector. These kids just need Jesus. Here is the amazing part: our oldest Sozo boys came over and started talking to them about Jesus. It was awesome. The harvest is PLENTY....just look around. And it is definitely plenty in Africa. That's why we have to be involved instead of just pretending that this stuff doesn't exist. People are in NEED. We are to make disciples of ALL nations......the more disciples made, the more people will know Jesus. And that's what it is all about. If everyone could experience children in need, with no parents, no love, no food...I believe adoption would sky rocket in our country. I am a firm believe that He is a God of adoption. He adopted us. I believe that a huge part of His heart is for orphans. The transformation of our 17 kids is indescribable. They are all "fat" as Aggie and Brendah would say (that just means healthy!). They have Joy. They smile. They don't have big bellies and stick arms and legs anymore. And Sozo is trying to help more of these desperate children. We are wanting to save as many as we can and we need the Body's help! If you are interested in investing, please let me know and I can direct you where to go. The Lord has BIG plans! But He needs our involvement. He needs His children to listen to His small whisper. Step out in Faith. Obey Him and He will make Your steps firm. Delight in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart..that is a promise!

One HUGE way to help Sozo is to mark your calendars!!! August 27th & 28th Sozo Events: Golf Tournament, Dinner, and Mud Run. Please let me know if you want to be involved!!!!!