Leaving One Home for Another

I am sorry there has been a gap in my postings.  We left Uganda Friday night, after a day at the Nile River and a special celebration dinner.  The Nile was fun...a little too much water for a Black woman who can't swim, but it's one of those things I guess I can check off my "things to do in life" list.

So I am back in Birmingham and it has taken some time to accept not being in Uganda.  In a way, I feel guilty leaving.  I know I have a life to live here, but I spent the whole plane ride home thinking there must be something more I can do.  Everyday we packed up and left a village was difficult, but leaving for good was quite hard.  I have had a hard time sleeping the past couple of nights, because my heart just hurts for the children we left behind.  One of my team members said it best when she said, "you wish you could just take them all home and give them a shot at life."  

I find myself wanting to look at my pictures over and over again so I don't forget anything. Spending ten days in service to God's people is the type of experience you just don't want to forget.  What has been frustrating is trying to explain the magnitude of what I saw and lived for ten days.  There just aren't words powerful enough to do the experience any justice. Uganda isn't a glamorous place.  I don't think it is one of the country's in Africa where people go to vacation, you won't find celebrities there, you won't even find too many missionary groups there.  It's a place that has a lot of pain from the past, but so much hope for the future.  It's a place where you can walk into any of the villages we went to and see God at work.  A place where the people are kind and warm and so proud of their country.

I told someone today, if I could go back to Uganda next month I would. I have read about people having life defining experiences and for most they seem to come a little later in life. What a privilege for mine to come so early in my life, because now it will help shape my marriage one day, how I will raise my children, how I view the purpose of my life, and much more.

I want to say thank you so much to all who have been so supportive of this mission trip.  From your prayers to the financial support and emails while I was away.  I appreciate it all!  Please remember Uganda and I beg of you, if you have the time and money at any point in your life, please visit Africa.  Whether Black or White, your life will be changed forever!

God bless...

Natalie

One More Thing

Copy and paste the link below to view the girls from Grace Fellowship Orphanage singing "He Is the Lord."  This was one of my favorite moments of the trip.  I hope it works...if it doesn't, someone let me know and I will try to troubleshoot it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg5crM5k9iE&feature=email

So Thankful!

I said I wasn't going to blog tonight, but I just got off the phone with a friend and had to share what God revealed to me through the conversation.

This has been in front of me all week and I have seen it, lived it, and breathed it, but until it came out of my mouth I didn't feel it.  Without a doubt I realize that I was brought here to be of service to God's people, but I had a very great lesson to learn in the meantime.  While the lessons have been many, the greatest one of all is that my faith in Jesus Christ is to be the cornerstone of my life. 

I have received so much praise for my "faith" by committing to go on this trip and in the last ten days as many of you learned about the work that is being done here.  However, just as the sacrifice was not mine, the praise is not mine either.  I have had faith in Jesus for a lifetime now.  I was raised in the church and have been basically a good person all my life.  I read my Bible and I pray, I know I love God and I know Jesus Christ is my Saviour, but what was put in front of me over the last week made me realize that I go to great lengths to manage my faith, when my faith should manage me.

For the past week I have been around people who have absolutely nothing.  I have seen naked babies walk around in the blazing sun, children beg for food, and families live in conditions that I wouldn't subject an animal to.  I was reminded today that while their physical conditions are so great, that my focus was to be on their spiritual condition (thank you Sarah...).  So having thought back over the course of the week, I was struck by how the physical bodies may have been weak and battered for so many, but the spiritual bodies were so strong.  Many of the Christians here have nothing but the faith of Jesus Christ and that is what gets them through days of no food, no clothes, and no rest.  They know that one day they will be delivered and I think they are fully aware that it may not happen on this Earth, but it shall come to pass in Heaven.

I did not have that type of faith until I came on this trip (and I know I still have a ways to go).  I had faith, but faith that is convenient and comfortable.  Jesus never said being a believer in Him would be comfortable or accommodating in the least and I have worked to manage my faith and make it comfortable throughout my life.  Meaning that I have not wanted to step out of my comfort zone to express my faith, meaning I have not been willing to face opposition, ridicule, poverty, loneliness to demonstrate my love for Christ.  Before this week, if I was taken out of my nice home in Inverness, my car, my closet full of clothes, and all the other excess of my life I don't know if I would have had the spiritual maturity and ability to maintain my faith.  Because my faith was not my cornerstone, it was just a piece of the pie.  Going to church was a piece of the pie, Bible study and choir practice was a piece of the pie - along with all the other pieces of my physical life here on this earth that make living a faithful life a little easier.

I have spent the past week with people whose faith is their cornerstone.  It is their bread and water, it is the clothes on their back, and it is their for hope for tomorrow.  I speak not just of the Ugandans, but many of the people on this mission trip with me (Pastor Richie and I have joked around a lot this week, but he has ministered to me in more ways than he will ever know).

So as I prepare to leave tomorrow and I think about Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful that my faith has been brought back to the center of my life.  I want Jesus to be all I need in my life (and I say that knowing that one day I may have that test).  I was with a woman today in a village who answered "Jesus is my husband" when she told me she was not married.  She was older and probably too old to be married now according to her communities opinion, but she still had faith.  Husband or no husband, food or no food, good days or bad, her faith was her cornerstone.

I have never been this candid about anything in my life before as I have in this blog and I know that it is not me doing it.  There is great work to be done, in the lives of others and in our own lives, and to do it the way He sees best, our faith must be our cornerstone.

Victory Is Mine!

Yesterday was another incredible day.  We ministered in the village where Pastor Nelson was raised.  Everything went very well and was I ever stretched, having to stand in the hot sun for several hours as we taught our women's lessons.  I was looking around trying to figure out how I could quickly construct a little mud hut, but to no avail.  However, God got me through it - two shades darker, a little dehydrated, and dripping wet, but He got me through it! 

I had the chance to play with the children yesterday and that was a treat.  They played at the carnival and unfortunately we are running out of supplies, so the carnival ended a bit early and we had to improvise.  So what did that mean?  Christmas carols, gospel songs, dancing, running in circles....you think it, we did it!

There is a man in my group by the name of Pastor Larry.  He is an African-American (we are the only two African-American's from the US on the trip) and pastors a church in Atlanta.  He truly has a heart for this place and everyday is like the first day for him when we leave to minister in a village.  He was committed to teaching the children some songs and they loved it.  We taught them "Victory Is Mine" and put hand motions to it.  They caught on so quickly and were so attentive.  I could just imagine them going back home to their parents and to school singing this song and ministering to people in their village!  

We also taught them a little remix - it was hilarious!  After they sang a chorus of "Victory is Mine" (Victory is mine, victory is mine, victory today is mine!  I told Satan, get thee behind....victory today is mine!), Pastor Larry taught them to say "pump it up, pump it up, pump it up," while they raised the roof!  They just laughed and laughed!  Imagine being surrounded by about a 100 little black faces just smiling at you - it was precious, they were like little angels.  

The children here are very smart and to be able to teach them a whole song in ten minutes was quite impressive.  I had the pleasure of leading "Father Abraham" and "Jesus Loves Me..."  It's sad I had to come across the world to be able to lead a song (I hope my choir director reads this...).

The ladies in the village cooked lunch for us and we ate in their church.  It was another wonderful meal and I just couldn't help but feel blessed that God chose me to have the most incredible experiences this week.  However, I know it has all been for a reason - to change my heart and my mind about service and devotion to His people here, at home in Birmingham, and around the world.  It was to plant a seed in me that will change my life forever.  The change has been extraordinary - every minute of being here I have been changed.  We have one more day left, which makes me so sad.  I could honestly stay a few more weeks.  I have a feeling I will be back though...

Happy Thanksgiving!  We will be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch today, so someone eat a little turkey and dressing for me!

A Long, Hot Day...

Today was the hottest day it has been here so far and I am drained.  I am not going to post anything tonight, but will probably blog some tomorrow morning.  I did want to post some pictures from the day though.  Enjoy.

What Can I Say....

I am continuously amazed at how beautiful this place is.  To say it is breathtaking doesn't quite do it justice.  Today we rode up to a village in Mawasaki, which was about two hours outside of Kampala.  We were on a mountain side and as far as you could see were little communities nestled into the valleys.  Again we were greeted with so much love and affection.  Ugandans are so kind and hospitable and in a way that is so genuine.

We were in a smaller community today and so there was a sense of a little less chaos among us all.  Our first two mission sites had so many people that there were some moments when we all felt a bit overwhelmed - but in a good way, because we all have the desire to touch each and every person we see.  Looking at these children makes you want to hold them, seeing the elder women makes you want to sit down and have them say anything to you because you know it is all wisdom, being around the brothers of the village makes you want to hear the stories you see in their eyes when they welcome you into their homes.  I thought to myself today that the people I have seen in each of the villages we have been to will be the first in line when we get to heaven, and that will be alright...  Their possessions are so few on this earth, but heavens gates will be bursting open for them.

What I am also in awe at and very thankful for is the bond of our mission team.  We have all come together in a way I didn't think possible.  I was a little unsure of being across the world with people I didn't know prior to arriving here.  One of my best friends, Sarah, was to come with me on this journey, but before we left she found out she is expecting her second child.  Of course selfishly I thought, well now who I am going to have to talk to (other than her husband Tripp who is our team leader and who has taken very good care of me by the way), but when people are gathered together in love and in the name of the Lord, we are a family that was created with no regard to differences. 

The personalities of everyone are so wonderful!  Every few minutes I am laughing on the bus and listening to someone's life story.  Every night we have a recap meeting to discuss our day and one of the men of the group, Pastor Richie, told everyone tonight how much he just loved us all.  You have no choice but to love people when you see them get sick, ride on a hot musty bus with them every day, and escort them in the jungle to go to the restroom in a dirt hole, but most of all, love is unavoidable when you are around the type of love we have experienced here in Africa.

I had another "first" in my life today....I stood on the equator!  We stopped at the equator and took our pictures and did a little shopping.  I have adored the palm leaf weaved mats the women sit on here and I bought one today to bring home.  They use them in worship, around the house, and I have also seen them used as play mats for their babies.  I broke down and bought a hat today as well...the tan I am getting here is starting to get a bit out of control.  I also purchased a palm leaf bag that many of the women here use to carry around their goods for the day.  I still have African coffee beans, a drum, and a traditional dress on my must buy list before our trip is over.  We will be visiting the Nile River on Friday (can you believe that??) and I am told there are plenty of souvenir opportunities there.

I will hopefully be posting some video footage tonight from the Grace Fellowship Girls Orphanage.  As you watch it, I ask that you be in prayer for what God is doing in the life of Pastor Nelson here in Uganda.  He has started a girls and boys orphanage and several churches here that are a staple in many of the villages.  Four Corners Ministries is the only ministry from the United States that supports Pastor Nelson's ministries in this way.  While we have done much since we have been here for his ministry and the people, the need is still unthinkably tremendous.  I know many of you reading this blog were an integral part of my getting here to Uganda through your funding and prayers.  I hope though, through my words and pictures that you see the sincerity of my heart when I speak on behalf of my family here in Uganda, and stress to you that the need far surpasses what we can do here in ten days - perhaps even in ten years.

The sacrifice of giving is not ours - it was Jesus Christ's when he gave his life on the cross.  We loose nothing when we give, but gain much.  Proverbs 22:9 reads: "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."  I have been blessed to not have access to the local news at home, CNN, or read the headlines of newspapers over the last week.  I have not heard anything about the US economy, bailouts, and how people aren't shopping.  I am in a place where the economy is so unstable and almost nonexistent to the point where it is not even a topic of conversation, but a way of life.  I am in a place where no one is bailing out the children who walk around sick with disease, with open sores on their feet from having no shoes, and who have nothing to eat.  I am in a place where shopping for pleasure is not even a concept - a place where women bow down to you and weep because you have given them a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. 

No the sacrifice is not ours, but it is the privilege of being able to give that we should be thankful for.  So I ask you as my friends and believers that you please log on to www.4cornersministries.org and make a donation to sponsor a Ugandan child or make a general donation to support Pastor Nelson's ministry efforts here.  Be sure to note that you would like the money to be directed to Pastor Nelson in the comments field.

I was thinking that I have taken some great pictures since I have been here and wouldn't it be special for people to receive these pictures for Christmas presents and the news that a donation was made on their behalf to support the people here in Uganda?  I would be more than happy to coordinate that with anyone who would like to make donations and receive a picture of life here to frame and give to their loved ones.

Please don't close out of this blog and say, "well someone else will give so I don't need to."  The need is too great to rely on someone else to stand in the gap for you.  Take a minute, look around, turn the water and lights on in your house, open your refrigerator door, pull out anything you want to wear in your closet, take out medicine in your cabinet, flush your toilet, look at the degrees on your wall, the car in your driveway and then think about what you would do if it all went away - or better yet, think about if you never had any of it to begin with.  Then maybe for a brief moment you will have a glimpse of what life is like for many here in Uganda.

More pictures...

I can't sleep!  I am going to suffer in a few hours when it is time to get up.  By the way, Uganda is 9 hours ahead of Alabama.  So it's 2 in the morning!

I am still playing around on the computer and thought I would include some more pictures.  These are a few of my favorites from yesterday.