I Will Waste My Life: Every Hour

“The Gospel nurtures us slowly, whispering light into our dark places and showing up our weak spots.” -Unknown

There has always been something special to me about the “father figures” God has provided for me in life. I really value those men who have taught me many things about following Jesus by their actions and words…including my wonderful dad. One of the men, an elder in my church and worship leader, was brought to my mind this week because of a song he said he loved. At the time, I couldn’t connect with that song like this man did, but I wanted to really know what the words meant. Seeing the way he sang it one Sunday morning brought me to tears, and a desire to truly understand the meaning grew within me. Since first being introduced to it, I would constantly hear it on the radio, sing it in the shower, and think about it often each day. I understood the words, but did I really understand? I don’t think I could see the impact of the simple lyrics. Until now.

“Lord, I need You. Oh, I need you. Every hour I need You.”

I have been truly blessed these two months of living in Uganda. One of the blessings is the freedom to speak my faith, to pray, and to share Christ…at school! I am so used to putting God in a neat little box, going to teach at school with thoughts of Jesus but never words, and coming home to take God out again. Being in constant communication with the Lord is not my strength – it has always been a struggle. Another blessing? Realizing how broken I am as a person; how much I really need the Lord in each moment. I need Him for wisdom with the cultural differences, patience with the students, love for everyone I encounter, creativity at school to make things work, for ways to connect with the teachers, questions to ask, safety when walking to and from school, ways to encourage and disciple those I am interacting with…..EVERYTHING. Literally. Ideally, I need to be talking to God about everything I am doing, thinking, saying. Every day, hour, minute, second – I NEED Him. It is almost ridiculous to know I need God that much! But it is true. He is showing me how I need to depend upon Him because I cannot accomplish anything without the Lord’s power, love, patience, etc.

“Our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit.” -2 Corinthians 3:5-6

There has been so many things I am realizing needs to change within my heart – it is almost overwhelming how much I need to change. Yet, I think Jesus is showing me all of those things because I cannot change my heart with a “quick fix”. I need Him. Once I realized that, it wasn’t as overwhelming any more. The Lord will hold me in His hand as He changes my heart. All I have to do is need Him. Run to Him. He will do the work and I need to let Him.

I also realize that there is a need to be confident in the talents and gifts God has given me, Missy. I think it is a balance – being completely humbled by my need for Him but also keeping the confidence I have in Christ. I hope you are getting me (a phrase often used by Ugandans) or can understand me. There is so much that I am trying to put together as God gives me piece by piece.
The father figure I mentioned knew exactly what it meant to need Jesus "every hour" in his life. I am thankful I have someone to look up to as I am figuring out how much I need my Heavenly Father.

Lord, every hour I need You.

“Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” –Psalm 34:5

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” –Lamentations 3:22-23

Prayer:

-My work visa and things. I haven’t heard anything lately, but things were going slow last I checked. I might even have to leave the country and visit Kenya…Oh darn. :P

-Praise for God coming and encouraging my heart! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragements.

-Housing. My current house is turning into my permanent place, but things that need to be fixed (lights, plumbing, stove…etc.) are not getting fixed.

-My good relationships with the teachers to continue. Wisdom and guidance as I encourage them. Wisdom and love for the students.

-For all of my friends here who are struggling here. Praise that they have taken me in as family. God is good.

Highlights:

-Had so many great moments with the teachers I work with. The relationships grow stronger each day – praise God! They take good care of me and show me love daily. Working to improve the program is tricky as I try to help in a way that is respectful of culture and of them. It is frustrating and discouraging sometimes because I am not good at being indirect – it is just different.

-RAIN! Today, it poured like I’ve never seen before. So much so many youth that are a part of Bible study couldn’t come because of it. It is raining upcountry as well, so food prices will start to go down and the number of starving people in Kampala will hopefully decrease.

-I saw two big snails in my yard. What?! So cool!

-Monday was a day off. The teachers closed school so they could re-register with the university hoping they will start to get their salary.

-Went to DAWN rehabilitation center to visit my fellow short-termer and friend. Got to see her work with the students with special needs, and I got cuddles from some of the kiddos. I never realize how much physical touch I need/give until I am in East African culture…I feel starved. It was nice to cuddle! This center provides therapy and education. There are many volunteers and staff (many from Germany) that I got to meet.

-My team leader came to do an autism training with me and the teachers at ECLAC (my school). It will give me something to refer back to as I indirectly try to make changes and explanations to the teachers.

-I continue to learn more Luganda. I love surprising people with what I know and learning from them as well. In fact, I bought my vegetables at the market this week using mostly Luganda – I don’t know the names of the veggies yet.

-Went to the Ash Wednesday service. My church back home has never done a service, so this was my first ever. The Anglican church (St. Kakumba) service I went to was similar to a service on Sunday morning, but adding communion and ashes. It was good to be reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus and of the sacrifices we must face as followers of Christ.

-The Compassion program on Saturday was the most fun it has been. I was able to take some photos and video. We did aerobics and dancing before worship. I was quickly reminded of how inadequate my American hips are. Woo! These Africans can dance. (My Kenyan friends would say I am not even trying to dance…and then laugh at me --- you know who you are!)

-Continually being shaped and molded by the Lord. It hurts sometimes to be broken and shown where I need to repent, but it is good that I am not stagnate in my faith. God is changing me every day to become more like Christ so that He can shine through me even more. And I have the best support system in the U.S. and here. Praise God!

Luganda:

Mukama Yebazibwe (praise God)!
It took me about three days to pronounce this phrase. Luganda is a Bantu language (like Swahili), and they are easy, but Luganda has such long words! My tongue has difficulty with the pronunciations. I wish that “praise God” in Luganda was as short as it is in Swahili (Bwana asifiwe).

Culture:

Let’s talk more about food! A Ugandan meal consists of a “food” and a sauce. Usually it is lunch or dinner. Breakfast means chai/tea and something small to eat.

Foods:
There are so many different and diverse cultures in Uganda because of the tribes. Because of that, there is also more than one “staple” food in this country. Kampala is in the land of the Baganda tribe who’s staple food is matoke (green bananas – peeled, steamed, mashed). In the West Nile region (home to the Lugbaras), their staple food is Kalo (sorghum and millet flour boiled to a firm consistency). Other staple foods include posho (maize flour boiled – like the ugali in Kenya) and rice.

Sauces:
There are also a number of sauces - beans, soup with meat (beef or fish), liver, or groundnut (also called g-nut or peanut). Liver and fish are the most expensive.

Missy’s favorite:
Being here two months, I have already picked out my favorite traditional Ugandan meal. Drum roll! Matoke w/ groundnut sauce. This peanut sauce isn’t like the Asian sauce you might be thinking of. They grind the peanuts to small pieces, boil, and add tomatoes, onions, and salt. SO good. Matoke is almost exactly like mashed potatoes…need I explain more?

Photos:

From Compassion program on Saturday. You are welcome! (Try to imagine the guy in the MadTV skit, “Can I have your number” saying that)


Compassion kiddos starting with aerobics.


Auntie Grace and Uncle "toto" Richard leading stretches.


Coming from difficult lives, food, love, and Jesus on Saturdays makes a huge difference to these childr	en.


Not at all like American hips. Woo! These Africans can dance!


Uncle Kato (sponsorship coordinator) playing a country song in the office. Best southern accent by a Ugandan I've ever heard. Imagine, his wife doesn't know his talent...