“Today we are going to talk about a Queen…”

We decorate crowns that remind us how God used Esther's time as Queen for His glory.

We turn together to the first chapter in the book of Esther.

The story of an orphan Jew who becomes a queen. How our Sovereign God turns sorrow into joy, evil into good. 

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.” Genesis 50:20

Last week we discuss the first two chapters and this Saturday up to chapter four. As we read God opens my eyes to see He is in control over every situation. 

We wrap up for the next few weeks at The Center because the kids are on holiday from homework, tests, and lectures.

My Grandma goes to be with her Savior at the end of April, God is in control. 

I weep and remember her smile and laughter, He has not left my side. 

God is faithful! (Disregard the date.)

The kids are on break and I hop on an airplane to winter in May Minnesota, God’s timing is perfect.

God blesses me with encouragement from my family and friends. The same people who supported me to go to Africa welcome me back even amidst the unexpected homecoming. God provides. 

Esther goes before the king and is crowned queen. She has still not spoken of her people. 

Haman forms a plot to annihilate the Jews. 

Mordecai seeks out Queen Esther’s help. She is scared because the king has not called her for 30 days.

Mordecai gives her counsel “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews… And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4: 13-14

God delivers His people from destruction. He uses an unforeseen orphan girl of Jewish background to display His glory. 

He knows when my Grandma got sick. He knows I am in Africa.

Yet, He also chooses to use a holiday break in school and to provide financially for me to be at my Grandma’s funeral. 

God’s sovereignty and provision overwhelms me! 

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

 Thank you so much for your support both financially and through your prayers! We are blessed to have such a consistent group of prayer warriors behind us as we are in Uganda.

Katonda Yeba Zibwe (Praise the Lord),

Ruth and Lydia

Time.

 How do two polar-opposite extremes meet in the middle to form a balance?

How do I rewrite my life to put relationships above my schedule?

Time to play games with Yusuf and Jose

 

Why can’t I live as the Africans and walk casually along the street instead of being pushed along by a deadline I may not meet?

Where are my priorities? What am I putting first?

A few weeks ago we read the story of Jarius’ daughter from Luke 8 at Saturday Bible study.

Time to draw and chat with the girls.

Jesus has been busy. He has been teaching large crowds, He calmed the storm on the sea with His disciples, and healed a man with a demon. Now, He is asked to come to Jarius’ home, for his daughter is very sick.  

Jesus goes. As they walk through a large throng of people Jesus stops. Someone has touched Him.

“We don’t have time!” Jesus’ friends said.

He speaks with the women.

He doesn’t brush her aside because He has somewhere important to be, but talks with her, encourages her, and commends her for her faith.  

But Jesus always had time.

He reached out his hands and gently lifted her head. He looked into her eyes and smiled. “You believed,” he said, wiping a tear from her eye, “and now you are well.”

 

She was healed from a sickness lasting for 12 years.

Then, the bomb falls, “Your daughter is dead.”

If only these people wouldn’t have distracted us…

If only it wasn’t such a long journey…

If only I could fit you into my schedule…

If only…

No!

Jesus turned to Jarius. “It’s not too late.” Jesus said.

“Trust me.”

 Put your “if only” statements, your need to be busy, your fear of time in MY hands. Give it to me. Let ME control what you do with your time each day. Release it to me.

They went to the house. Jesus entered the child’s room and called her to rise.

There IS time.

Time for conversations. Time to run in the rain. Time to read the Word with friends. Time for big belly laughs.

Time to enjoy a sunny day at the pool with a great friend!

Time to be cleansed by the truth of the gospel.

The truth that Jesus gives me the strength to put Him first in my schedule. The truth that each day is an opportunity from God to use the time He has given me for His purpose. That is how there can be a balance.

 “…Jesus always had time”

 

-Quotes are taken from the Jesus Storybook Bible

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority on heaven and in earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matthew 28:18-20

Making Disciples.

Walking alongside someone through life, the good and the bad. Sharing the love of Christ with them in everyday life.  

Teaching them what Jesus has taught you and learning together with them. Drawing closer as friends and as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lydia and I am blessed every Saturday as we meet with our Bible Study girls. We play go fish, eat snacks, talk about our week, pray with each other, and learn more about who Jesus is!

Decorating hearts in ways that remind us of God's agape love for Valentine's Day.

“Quietly, Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, picked up a basin of water, knelt down, and started to wash his friend’s feet.”

“What? No, no, you don’t have to do that” the girls replied bashfully after we read the story of Jesus’ example of servant leadership.

“You can’t,” Peter said. He didn’t understand about Jesus being the Servant King.

“We want to do this for you, because we love you, we want to serve you” was our reply.

They slowly gathered on the ledge by the window. And we began. Water and soap mixed together to make bubbles. Feet tentatively slid into the basin. Giggles filled the room. And smiles erupted on those beautiful dark faces. Feet were gently dried and the next one dipped in the water. The last one was washed and as we were drying each toe a Eucharistic (thanksgiving, grace, and joy) moment was made.

“Now it is your turn. We want to wash your feet.”   

“It’s okay; you girls don’t have to do that.”

“We want to!”

Our toes slipped into the water, suds formed, and smiles were shared. The roles were reversed and our hearts were drawn closer to theirs.

We began to clean up and two large grins strode toward the basin. One, the youngest of our group, and the other, her friend from the street. Her friend took a seat and she. washed. her. feet.

Shamila washing her friend's feet.

My heart leapt with joy as God was showing me discipleship right before my eyes. When I thought the young girl wasn’t listening, when she seemed distracted, God was working in this young heart.

Learning by example.  

And now, she was teaching her friend.  Becoming to her a servant leader. Being the hands and feet of Jesus to her small friend.

“I am doing this because I love you,” Jesus explained. “Do this for each other.”

Today it's raining. Now, in case you don't know, when it rains in Jinja most things kind of shut down and people stay inside. If you have plans and it starts to rain, it's generally assumed that they are cancelled or will be rescheduled for another time. So, today it's raining and my plans for the day have been pushed to the side. After dancing in the downpour, playing with our dogs, climbing up the lotus tree to sit and smell the freshness of the flowers as thunder sounds in the heavens and mud puddles appear on the earth, I decided today would be the perfect day to write an update. Yeah, I know, it's about time.

Things have been going well. Ruth and I feel so blessed to be here and have the privilege of seeing God at work in Uganda. One of the highlights of our week is getting to disciple a group of teenage girls each Saturday afternoon.

Building relationships with these girls has been a source of great joy for both of us as we all grow closer to our Lord together. One of the passages we've gone through is Genesis 24, the story of Isaac and Rebekah.

 After reading it together, we asked what some of the truths they saw were. Linisie, in her gentle, soft spoken way said, "God loves us, so he wants what is best for us, and he put us in our families for that reason." Linisie always makes me smile. She likes to play Go Fish, loves to learn new things, and desires to know her God better.

Isn't it great how God's perfect plan involves relationships and families? I'm so thankful we have a relational God, who we can know and also be known by.

Some other things I'm thankful for:
Strong tea
Your prayers
Wind (the unseen manifested)
Playful puppies
Fuzzy socks (yes, it does get cold here!)
Skype calls

And, these girls:

Gifts

The moon rose, huge and red. The fireflies appeared before us in twinkling, scattered bursts beneath the brightening stars. Soft music began to play as the lemon grass tea set about coming to a boil. We run about catching fireflies in the dusky light. 

What joy is this...

Nate took all the interns for a camping trip out at his land in the village, on the bank of the Nile. What a gift!

Watching the sunset over the Nile.

My life of late has been filled with many gifts of varied forms. Special moments hand crafted by Someone whose thoughts are far above mine (really, this is always, but sometime His hand is especially apparent). A package from my family, filled with some of my favorite things. A gift.

Watching the Ekisa Christmas program. A gift.

Ekisa is a group home for disabled kids where I've been volunteering. It has been so great to get to know the kids. Today one of the little girls asked me if I knew Jesus. I said yes, and she said she did, too. Then we talked about how we are sisters in Christ. It was a special moment. 

        Time spent skyping with loved ones, hearing their voices, seeing their smiles. Homemade eggnog. Giving presents. Baking cookies. All gifts!

This girl is such a sweetheart. 

        Paper Christmas trees and snowflakes, reminders of memories of Christmas at home, ultimately reminding us of God's Great Gift.

"And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born. His baby Son.

Mary and Joseph wrapped him up to keep him warm. They made a soft bed of straw and used the animal's feeding trough as his cradle. And they gazed in wonder at God's Great Gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

Mary and Joseph named him Jesus. "Emmanuel" - which means "God has come to live with us."

Because, of course, he had."

- The Jesus Storybook Bible

There’s a snake in my… BATHROOM?!?!?!?!

Not quite the same as Woody’s, the cowboy from Toy Story, famous line, but This IS Africa!

As I entered the bathroom a 2.5 foot long, bright green snake was awaiting me slithered up against the pane of our bathroom window. After much screaming, and panic (Did I mention that snakes are the ONE animal that I am scared clear out of my socks of!?) I decided the time had come to be practical. So, after deciding this snake must never get in our house again, paranoid that I would one day open my suitcase and find a snake inside-EWW, the logical conclusion was for it to be killed.  I retrieved our only weapon, the 3 inch blade knife Lyd is borrowing from her dad, along with an empty bottle to hold him down and set my face for the worst.

The snake moved to the
 garbage can in our bathroom

 

The snake had transitioned to its original location, the gardener’s bathroom, which is connected to ours through a vent. I walked outside to the gardener’s door and timidly pushed it open, once locating the snake, which was curled up near the vent, I returned back to our bathroom and mustered up the courage to poke it completely through to the other side with the knife so that I could get at him

This job completed I returned back to the gardener’s bathroom, but could not see the snake until I realized he was wrapped along a pipe staring straight at me- ekk! Ok God, give me strength and courage. With my heart pumping I inched closer, then retreated at its hissing, inched again, and retreated. Deciding I was finished with this game I continued to close in, but he saw my plan and began to retreat for safety, up to the tank where the water was stored for the toilet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, here goes nothing – and with a final lunge, slice! Snake blood squirts onto my hand, drips down the wall, and half of the body, the part with the head, falls to the bathroom floor.  He continues to squirm around and I realize, this isn’t finished- ughhh! With empty bottle in hand and knife in the other I attempt to hold the snake down and cut again, but I back out before the work is done- scared of the wriggling critter.

God fill me with your calm!  This time I hold the creature down with purpose and quickly detach the head from the body. Whew, ok, I feel all shaky like I just drank a large caribou mocha on an empty stomach and the espresso just kicked in,

Thanks God for answered prayer. What do I do with it now? Time to call Nate.

 

 

We apologize for not updating our blog in awhile. This is a small piece of excitement from the month of December. Thanks so much for all of your prayers as God continues to work in Uganda!

Katonda akuwe omukisa (God bless you),

Lydia and Ruth

        Mukama baluungi! God is good! Time seems to be going by so fast and things here feel more normal every day. We have been getting involved over the past few weeks at the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Jinja, where they are starting a new children's ministry program. They handed out the first booklet in a set of twelve Bible studies at several schools in the area and the kids read them, fill out a quiz at the back, memorize a verse, and bring the completed booklet back to the Center on their own initiative. Then we look over the booklet with them, asking them some questions one on one about what they have learned and listening their verse. The Bible studies cover topics such as who God is, who we are, and who Jesus, each lesson building off the one before it and laying out the simple gospel message. There are now over 90 kids involved and that number is steadily growing. It has been such a blessing to spend time with the kids and see the excitement some of them have to learn about God and know Him personally.

        Today one of the boys in the program, Julias, completed the last booklet in the set and turned it in, along with a letter. He wrote about how he had at first had many questions about Jesus but they are now answered and he has died and rose again with Christ, born again as a new person through the power of God. Julias has a huge smile that spreads across his whole face. The joy of the Lord is so evident and I am excited to see how he continues to grow!

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

-Henry David Thoreau

We covet your prayers! Please pray for the children involved in this program, that there would be seeds planted and brought to fruition in God's perfect timing.