Never-ending Improvement.

Sunday, June 17^th.

          We went to a meeting yesterday for the Global Outreach missionaries who live in Jinja and the surrounding villages, and we met at an Academy in Jinja. The school is right on the Nile River, and it was beautiful! We were leaving, and I saw a sign on one of the school doors that said, “The biggest room we have here is for improvement.” I don’t know who put this sign up, when it was put up, what it was for, I don’t know anything about it, but it caught my attention. At first I was like, “That’s really clever and funny.” When I started to really think about it though, I realized that those words are so true about my own life. I can always improve, I will never be getting it totally right, and I will never be perfect.

            I am human. I am not entitled to anything in this life, especially perfection, and I cannot expect others to be. I am a weak human being. My thoughts are weak, my actions are weak, my love is weak. And that’s why Jesus Christ is so beautiful. He says to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 that His power is made perfect in Paul’s weakness. I believe God was speaking to all believers. His grace is sufficient for me, so I should boast in my weakness. God’s love, power, and grace are made perfect in my weakness. That is such a difficult thing for my mind to wrap around. God is the only strong part about our lives, and He is the only one who can give us strength, so I think we must be weak in order to see that God’s power is greater.

            Being weak is not a fun feeling, but it is humbling, and when I read 2 Corinthians 12, I feel strengthened. I am reminded of my weakness, just as Paul was, but through that, I am strong. Paul says in verse 10, “For the sake of Christ, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This is just like what Paul talks about in Philippians 4. He says he is content in whatever situation. I pray for that everyday, that I would be content in my life no matter the situation.

            Nothing is more important than God being glorified, lifted up, and honored through our lives. That should be our daily prayer.

Empty me of myself Lord, and fill me up with more of You.

Brokenness to Joy.

Wednesday, June 13^th, 2012.

         I was unexpectedly broken today. Up until today, I just enjoyed playing with the kids and seeing their big smiles. I guess hearing all the kids’ stories and how they came to GSF became too much today. It’s so overwhelming and hurtful. I came to that point (again) where I’m like, “Why God?” Seriously, why do these awful things happen to little precious children who had no control over what happened to them. Their parents died; their dad sexually abused them; they were abandoned; they got HIV from their parents who they no longer know or communicate with. I feel helpless about all of it, and so hurt. And I know these things happen all over the world, even where I live, and I feel more helpless. I know children in the States who only live with one parent because of divorce. Some have parents who are addicted to drugs, some have parents who are in prison. I see some of them and wonder if they are actually being cared for because their clothes are tattered and they look like they have not been bathed in days. I am constantly hurt and broken by this, and I wonder why God allows all of these terrible things to happen or exist at all. But, God always reminds me of this: He loves each and everyone of them. He loves His children in Africa. He loves His children in America, in India, in Russia, in Mexico, in the places unknown to me, everywhere. He loves every single one of His creations. He cherishes them, because He created them. There is evil and hurt and wrongdoing in the world, but God lifts us up out of that hurt and calls us His children. And He lets me know that it is not my job to fix every situation, or be sad all the time because of this hurt. He is the Master, Author, Healer, and Savior, and I must trust that His plan is best, even when I cannot understand it. I don’t like feeling broken, but brokenness leads to healing in Christ, and healing leads to joy.

            My joy comes from a little Arkansas girl in Sunday school understanding that Jesus loves her and wants her to show love to the people around her; it comes from hearing a little African girl yell “Auntie Ashley!!” across the playground and running into my arms after only knowing me for 3 days. My joy comes from knowing that Jesus Christ is sovereign in every part of the world, in every part of these little girl’s lives, and in every part of my life.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude, v. 24-25

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:7-12

“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” Mark 10:13-16

So many things in such little time!

There is SO much to tell you, and it has only been 4 days in Africa! Where to begin...

Plane ride was.. eh. Haha I felt sick most of the time, so that was unpleasant, but I didn't throw up so, success! I did not get my luggage right away, so I was "that" person asking to borrow everything for the first day. I got it Sunday though, so that was good.

Saturday when we arrived at GSF (Good Shepherd's Fold), all the kids and staff greeted us with big smiles and dancing! I wish I had taken a picture, but I was just so excited and overwhelmed with smiling children that it was not possible. They had grass skirts for us to put on! So random and cool. We went to our house and set out our stuff and then just played with some of the kids.

So far we have had orientation, meetings, prayer meetings, bible studies, playtime, etc... Here are a few highlights. :)

Sunday: We danced in church. Enough said. Seriously though, praise and worship was so cool; we sang songs in English and Lugandan, and everyone was dancing and laughing and just praising Jesus. I helped with junior church, and we played Capture the Flag. Haha, apparently it's a Ugandan thing for kids to leave after the music and testimony time is over and go play. I did not actually play, but I got to sit with a few of the village girls that come to church. Their names were Pierce, Sandra, and Caro. They didn't speak much English, but we just sat and enjoyed each other's presence. The GSF girls helped me out with some Lugandan words to say to the village girls, so that was fun. I really want to learn more about the villages around the area.

Monday: We had prayer meeting with the other missionary staff, and God showed me so much. Robb Warfield, one of the missionaries here, read Psalm 33:13-22 and I was just so convicted. It talks about how God is in control all the time and we as His people cannot save ourselves.

"The king is not saved by his great army... the war horse is a false hope for salvation and by it's great might it cannot rescue... Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in You."

                I had just been feeling very inadequate about the work we will be doing here at GSF, and I hate feeling like that, but I was reminded that feeling inadequate is a good place to be. God supplies and helps and controls, not me. I was put here for a reason, so God will prepare me, but I cannot think that any of this is my doing. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
                I didn't have much work to do except for sending an email, so I got to help pass out the new clothes to all the kids! That was SO exciting and fun! Their faces lit up when they saw that they had new clothes and shoes. They get these things, but it has been about a year since they all had completely new outfits.

Tuesday: I began work on our sponsorship program here at GSF. This is my specific area for the summer, so I will be handling the letter writing from the kids to their sponsors, and getting their yearly update and current pictures sent stateside to be sent to their sponsors. Right now I am just emailing and making lists, so it's not much work, but it's fun.
                One of the things we get to do here at GSF this summer is work with a few special needs kids each. Today I took Tom, who is nonverbal, on a walk. It was hard to communicate obviously, but he listens well and he likes walks. We went down to the road and the playground and picked grass. He likes grass. I am excited to spend more time with him, and maybe a couple of other special needs kids!
                 The rest of the day was spent playing on the playground and hanging out with the kids. All of them wake up early to do chores, then they have school at 8. Some get out right before lunch, which is at 1, and some stay til later in the afternoon. Then we get to play! So fun.

One thing I did want to mention about sponsorship was this: Most of GSF's support comes from sponsorship, and we are low on sponsors. Sponsoring a child at GSF is beneficial not only to the child, but to GSF as well. I encourage you if you feel led to sponsor a child at GSF! For more information, here is the link to the sponsorship page!

That was a super long post, I apologize. Thanks for reading though, I am so honored. :) Love you all!

Here goes something..

So, I am going to start my blog with a cliche beginning.



I have never blogged before.



There, I said it. Now that's over, I will get to the point.



I am writing this blog because I am going to Africa in a week. I will be there for 2 months, and I plan to journal. However, I want people to be able to read about what I'm doing there if they want, so I thought I would make my journal into a blog. Not sure how well it's going to turn out because I tend to forget to do things. A lot. We shall see.



Here is the link to the orphanage's website that I will be interning at this summer. This place has a wonderful mission and they are helping so many people through their ministry. Check them out, and pray for them!



Hopefully I will be faithfully blogging this summer. The internet is not consistent where I will be, but when I have it, I will try my best to blog.



If you read this, thanks, yo. You're cool.