Rest

Rest and reflection are beautiful things. God created the world and on the seventh day took time to rest and reflect on His creation. My trip back to Uganda was wonderful and I left even more assured that this move is right. I also returned overwhelmed by the thought of selling my house and raising my funds. I'm a first time home- seller and a first time fundraiser and the combination of the two can leave me feeling overwhelmed. I am reminded of the need for rest and convicted by my unwillingness to stop and reflect. I am reminded that rest and reflection are gifts. I have a quote in my journal, from an unknown person, that says, "God's rest is His merciful instruction to us." I love that! I have to sit down and rest and think about what He has done, just like He did in Genesis. When I do, I am reminded of who He is and the ways He is working to shed light on corruption and injustice. I get up with a peace that passes understanding and a passion for knowing Him more.

I was so excited to spend time with my girl in Uganda. One of the things we did was sit down and talk about the past year. It was a beautiful reminder of His sovereignty over our lives. It was a celebration of how He loves His people and rescues them from oppression. I was thankful for the opportunity to share  our story, with my teammates, of how God brought us together and worked in our lives in the midst of tragedy. It was a very personal and intimate way of sharing my passion for children to be in families and not institutions.

After my team left, MJ and I met with people we will be working with. Again, I was reminded by our future team leaders of the importance of rest and reflection. We met with the Ugandan director of A Child's Voice and again I was encouraged and amazed at her passion, her knowledge, and position of influence. God is working thru her to do amazing things and she is someone that I am humbled to be working with. We talked about plans and dreams for empowering women to raise their children and provide for them. One of the things the Ugandan director said was, "We are hoping that you can be the 'face' of our mission in the West as you work with us. We hope you can promote the aim of our ethos 'to promote family based care for all children who have someone that can care for them without the need for an orphanage' and always pioneer the drive that the orphanage is the LAST point of call for any child." I love that idea. If poverty is what is forcing children into orphanages, how can we as the church help support families and empower them to care and provide for their children?

 It breaks my heart to sit with a grieving mother who regrets ever sending her child to an orphanage. She thought she was doing a good thing to place her child in an orphanage where the child was promised an education and a bright future. Instead, her child was placed out in the fields and ordered to work without food, water, or pay while someone else was paid for that child's labor. Nothing will break a mother's heart more than to learn that her own child has been the recipient of this terrible injustice. I want to share those stories.  I want to share stories of mothers who are so thankful that God provided a way for them to keep their children. I want to share stories of children rescued from corruption and placed back into their families where they are now thriving. And, I am excited to see what He has in store when these stories are told. There's so much to tell and I'm praying I can be a storyteller. There is so much brokenness in the world, but we know the One who comes to mend that. And we see how He uses brokenness when we take time to rest and reflect.

There is a song that we listened to many times in Uganda called "Jesus, I am Resting, Resting." The chorus says, "Jesus, I am resting, resting in the Joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart." I'm thankful for rest and time to process all that happened the past 3 weeks. Look forward to sharing more soon.