So I have moved to a new blog. Please feel free to continue to follow me there. I don't promise exciting blogs but I do promise updates on my life. Warning, I am in a transition in life right now. Trying to figure out where and what the Lord is calling me to. But even though I live in my parents house and work a job I still want to life for him in all I do.
On one of the days in Uganda we went to Lake Victoria. Thinking it would
be a day of being tourists. We were wrong. We arrived at the lake.
Proceeded to squish into a boat and travel to an Island. Where we went
to meet the police and let them know that we were going to "evangelize".
As we sat there once again squished on wooden benches introducing
ourselves to the police children, like always, started to gather.
After splitting into groups each with a translator we were off to spread
hope and love to a island that we would soon learn was lacking both.
Yebe Island is home to fishermen. Everyone on the island is either a
fishermen or married to one. There is no hospital. No school. And 5
churches on an Island that you can practically see across. There is so
much despair. Children run around all day with no school to go to. I was
asked by one to stay so that I could teach him English.
Each person we talked to wanted prayer for financial stability. The
women (who can afford it) have had to send their kids to mainland and
wanted prayer for safety and to be reunited.
My team had a rough day hearing all the stories and trusting that this
hopelessness wouldn't stay. Our/My prayer for Yebe Island is that there
will one day be a school. That the churches will rally together and
unite for the future of their kids.
One of my favorite picture from the trip. I didn't even know this kid
had popped into my photo until she did. Behind her are fish being dried
in the sun after being smoked. A little look at life on the Island.
So I have been home a good three weeks already. Time flies. But really, Uganda already feels so far away. Its amazing how something so real can seem like a dream.
All my trips feel that way. I think it comes from the big difference in life here and life there (wherever that may be).
Those who I miss the most are my girls and my co's. A month was just not long enough to have with them. Each of them brought something special to the trip and to life. Molly who had a light about her, she lit up any room that she entered. Colleen was so in tune with the Lord and what was Him and what wasn't. Tori was a encourager finding the right scripture for the right situation. And, the wisdom that that girl had. Faren, brought an energy that I haven't seen before. My Co Kasandra was strength and confidence. Alaina and Jenny had faith that heals. All of my girls know His voice and heard it every day. It was a great group of young ladies to lead. They made the trip worth it.
My heart longs to get back to that place. To Africa and the kids and people who always seem to steal my heart. But this morning in church we sang a song about wanting to be in His presence. That more than anything is what I want. I want to be in a place (spiritually and mentally) where I feel Him ALL the time.
So there is this company called TOMS. They have a one for one company. This means that each time someone buys a pair of shoes they give a pair to an orphan. I own a pair of TOMS. So do a bunch of people I know.
While in Uganda, Africa we were able to see these shoes that they give to the orphans. We (my Uganda team) were happy with the shoes that we saw. They were actual shoes. While the ones that we buy have a sole that doesn't have treads the soles of the shoes that we saw were rubber with treads. The shoes that TOMS gives to orphans are shoes that will last. The quality of the orphan shoes are better than the ones that I wear. Which makes them worth buying.
How cool is it that there are companies out there that want to help people. Now I don't know if Blake the founder of TOMS loves Jesus but in my eyes he is doing something good. I have many friends around the world who could use a pair of shoes. And TOMS is doing something to help change the lack of shoes in the world. To find out more about TOMS visit the site here.
For anyone out there that wondered if the shoes do get to the children. THEY DO. Thanks TOMS for giving shoes to orphans all around the world.
Last night I was blessed with a great conversation with two great friends. Conversations like this one don't happen everyday. Why not? Why is it that friends cant sit down and talk. I don't just mean "how was your day" or "man, its hot outside". I mean really talk. Talk about fears and struggles. Talk about what the Lord is doing or not doing. Share our feelings. Isn't that what the body of Christ is about. Isn't that why we are called "a family"? So that we can be there for each other.
I think one of the many reasons I am drawn to missions (especially with AIM) is the community that we have out of the field. Even with this last trip I led, I had 15 amazing sisters in Christ that I knew if I needed them they were there to pray for me even if I was the one leading 14 of them. There is always a understanding of trust and love. I know that my teams will love me no matter what crap I am dealing with or how ugly (an inner ugliness) I am right now. When I come home to America unless I am in certain "circles" I don't see this or feel this. We (Americas) are so wrapped up in what we are doing and what is the correct way to go in life that we don't stop to listen to our friends. I think that if I were ever asked "How are you?" and the asker was honestly interested and willing to listen to my response I would be shocked. We are all programed to say "I'm good", or "I'm fine" and keep walking.
We (Christians) were made to fellowship. We were made for community. We were not meant to live this life alone. We need to have conversations (like the one I was part of last night) about life and God, to learn and grow. We need to take time to listen to our brothers and sisters to find out how they are and what they are going through so that we can pray for and help them through it.
I use to think that I was an internal processor. If you look at any of my journals they are full of my rambling. There is something about processing out loud with those you love and trust to get feedback and encouragement. If you keep life to yourself how are you ever able to be encouraged. We are called to speak into each others lives. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another"...(Hebrews 10:24,25).
If you don't have a group that you can have honest conversations with I ask you to find one. It might be scary at first. Trusting humans are a hard thing to do. But look at it as trusting the Lord that these people will honor you and respect you and love you. I pray that each of my brothers and sisters out there are able to have someone they can go to and talk about life and help each other through it. Its such a good feeling to know you are not alone.
So, I mentioned healings. Three stick out in my mind when I think of this last trip. I'm sure there are many more. Two of them were posted on our team blog.
One was Grey Dreads. This one was cool and came in perfect timing. I was in a waiting area praying with one of my girls who was struggling with hospital ministry that day. While praying for the hospital and for her, here walks by Israel. Just when my girl was feeling the hopelessness of the hospital hope walked by. An answer to prayer. If you haven't read the blog please do.
The second was Patience. This story features a little girl and her broken arm. One week it was broken and the next it wasn't. I don't know what this and the prior healing did for the recipients but what they did for my team was increase faith. I watched them through out the trip go from "God, I think you can heal people" to "Lord, I know and believe that you will heal this person." It was really cool to watch their faith grow and develop.
Our last healing involves one of our own. It was the last night in Uganda we were heading out in the morning and one of our girls (who had been to the clinic earlier in the trip) was in major pain. On a 10 scale she was at 11. The three of us leaders looked at each other and without words decided that the Clinic was not an option. We started praying for healing. We went into her room and started praying over her as she lay crippled in pain. Our girls were in the living room. I ran in there and had them start to pray. They soon moved into the room with us and all of us prayed as she lay in bed in the fetal position crippled with pain. My co-leader lead us in worship and prayer. Numbness came over her body and she us unable to feel the pain. Soon she fell asleep and slept thru the night and was perfectly fine in the morning. This was the first healing that I have experienced first hand like that. It was an incredible feeling to know that we prayed and the Lord heard us and answered our prayer.
Like I said I'm sure there were more healings not just physical but emotional and spiritual while we were in Uganda. What I took from all of these and what you should take from this is don't be afraid to ask big. The Lord still does miracles we just have to ask for them and believe that it can happen.
When people ask me how Africa was, I don't know what to say. The easiest response is "It was good". That doesn't even begin to express or explain.
So much happened. It was a full month. It was full of sickness (part of traveling to another country), of healings, of light, or children, fellowship and community. It is a month that changed the lives of my girls (this is how I will refer to the team seeing they were all females) and taught me SO much.
We asked the girls to summarize the trip in one word. I don't know the words they chose but mine was perseverance. With all the sickness and how close it felt to my last trip in South Africa ( see prior blog for details/explanation ) the Lords strength is all that got me through some days. I really knew what it was like to feel inadequate as Becca but being completely ready for the job at hand being God's daughter.
He really does give you everything you need when you need it all you have to do is ask and be open to his help. I can go so much farther with Him that I can without Him. I'm typically someone that doesn't want to show that I am weak but this trip made that impossible. I learned to lean into him and push thru the hard times. Now that I am on the other side of the trip it feels good to have made through it.
My mom asked me if I knew everything that was going to happen on the trip would I do it over again. Without thinking my answer was "of course". The results outweigh the process to get there. Each of my girls walked away knowing Him better but more than that they know more of who the are in Him. I walked away knowing that no matter what with Him I can get through anything that is put in my path. He is my strength.
After training camp we all got on a flight to Africa. I cant begin to explain the amount of excitement in the girls let alone in me. I once again was headed back to the place that holds my heart captive. After two long flights (we had a layover in Amsterdam) we were on the ground in Uganda. It may have been 11pm and dark out but we were there. Once we were out of customs and baggage a whole gang of Africans greeted us. These would soon become our friends.
We all piled in a 30 passenger bus and headed to Bugiri, our home for the next month. What we didn't realize was how long it would take to get there. After just over 4 hours we were home.
We unloaded the bus got our room assignments and then our new friends fed us. Not just a snack but a whole meal, complete with boiled eggs, bananas, tea, rice, chips and much more. Now that it was finely 5am were all ready for bed. We for the first time crawled into our beds and tucked us into our mosquito nets. We would soon forget what its like to go to sleep without one.
We slept till our bodies woke us up the next morning. After we were up and morning tea and lunch was consumed we took a short tour of the town. This ended with us at the hospital praying over the sick.
This soon became our sunday afternoon ministry spot and a place where we would see healing and a place that the lord would use to break our hearts. I believe that if you asked my team to describe the hospital in one word they would all say HOPELESS. Its a place where people dies of curable (here in the states at least) disease, a place where patience laid on bare mattresses and where babies were born on trash bags.
When we returned from our tour we had a fan club of small black children following us and soon the number rose to around 100. Our girls jumped in and started singing and playing with these kids. After this day these kids (not all 100) would return to our house in the morning and the evening to spend with us. I believe that they saw past our white skins and knew there was something different about us.
So I have been home just over 24 hours. And it all seems like a dream. This happens every time I return from a trip. I should be use to it but I'm not. You would think that after having the month that I did it wouldn't seem like a dream.
I think this feeling comes because like in Uganda (even for us when we lived there) is so completely different than life here in America. Almost like a story or a dream. Except its all real. My girls are real. My co-leaders real. The experiences we had were real. The games we played, the songs we sang, the chickens we killed, all real. But so is hot running water, a toilet you can sit on, a bed, a car I can drive whenever I want. Two worlds that are totally different.
The question comes when you ask how do you live in one when you know the other still exists. How do I go on living here in America when there are children without homes, families with no hope, hospitals filled with sick people who could be cured here in America but will probably die there in Uganda. How can I again enjoy my meals when I know people who don't know when or if there next meal is going to make an appearance. Each time I eat something other than rice and macaron (that is what they called plain spaghetti) I thank the Lord for options.
I am so lucky. Lucky for many things. I'm lucky for having two parents who love me. For having friends who are there for me when I need them. I'm lucky to have had a blessed life. I am lucky to have gone on this trip with 15 other beautiful women of God and 1 wise man of God.
Thinking it would
be a day of being tourists. We were wrong. We arrived at the lake.
Proceeded to squish into a boat and travel to an Island. Where we went
to meet the police and let them know that we were going to "evangelize".
As we sat there once again squished on wooden benches introducing
ourselves to the police children, like always, started to gather.
So much happened. It was a full month. It was full of sickness (part of traveling to another country), of healings, of light, or children, fellowship and community. It is a month that changed the lives of my girls (this is how I will refer to the team seeing they were all females) and taught me SO much. 
everything you need when you need it all you have to do is ask and be open to his help. I can go so much farther with Him that I can without Him. I'm typically someone that doesn't want to show that I am weak but this trip made that impossible. I learned to lean into him and push thru the hard times. Now that I am on the other side of the trip it feels good to have made through it. 
