In one week Stephanie, Ken and I will be on a plane to Washington D.C. with a total of 12 bags (2 checked bags and 2 carry on bags each) because we are taking lots of books and other supplies of our Ugandan brothers and sisters. This should be interesting considering all the checked bags will be right at 50lbs and without rollers...yikes! Then we stay one night in D.C. and catch a plane the next day at noon all the way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (we are flying Ethiopian Air) then a quick flight to Entebbe. After over 24 hours of travel we will finally make it! I admit I'm really not looking forward to the traveling part...I really like to sleep. But, I'll be a good trooper :). I started packing a little bit last night. I have a feeling it will be quite a challenge for me to fit all my personal items in two carryons considering we will be gone for 17 days.
I started reading "Radical" by David Platt a few days ago. What great timing. If you haven't read this book I strongly encourage you to read it. But, be warned it will convict you, challenge you and stretch you. On Friday night I read this passage:
"In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts his people in situations where they come face to face with their need for him. (I know this will happen to me in Uganda). In the process he powerfully demonstrates his ability to provide everything his people need in ways they could never have mustered up or imagined. And in the end, he makes much of his own name."
I can't get this out of my head. While I look forward to my time in Uganda I am anxious about many things. Mainly, home visits. This will be such a great opportunity to share the Hope of Christ and encourage these beautiful Ugandans but it is something so different then I have ever done before. These homes will be huts with dirt floors and no plumbing or electricity. These people will be struggling for their next meal or to pay for their kids to go to school. What do I say to them? And, when I think about meeting Jemima and her family (me and Ryan's sponsored child) I hope that I can keep it together. I get emotional just thinking about it. It is so hard to see the poverty...it's not fun at all. But, regardless of my feelings about it God has called me here and he has lead me to go on this trip to Uganda. So, reading this on Friday night reminded me that I don't have to find the right words to say because HE will speak for me. Just as God did a month ago at Cumberland Springs Bible Camp. While being stretched and challenged is hard and not always fun I hope to listen to God and fully depend on Him enabling Him to glorify Himself through me. That is what life is about...nothing else but bringing God Glory.
Psalm 46:10
"Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
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