Tugende! (too GAEN day)

I’ve arrived at the end of my trip, and I’m realizing that real life comes back very soon. I’m very excited to see Austin and my family very soon (might even seen Matt in Dubai!) but I know I’ll miss this country, these people, and the experiences I’ve had here very much. I’ve grown exponentially in this last month, though at times I didn’t realize it or want to. All throughout this time I’ve had here, God has been moving in my heart, and the Spirit has been convicting and changing my heart.

Uganda is a beautiful, green place, but it is also a very poor place. Sunday night, our team stayed at Rainforest Lodge in Mariba Rainforest, and got to experience the lush green-ness of this country as well as the wildlife (I even saw a monkey!) but up until this point, and even on our way back from the rainforest, we saw and interacted with the very many poor of this land. Uganda has so much to offer, but developmentally, it has a long ways to go.

We learned, from one of the people who work for the Hospice Jinja, that Uganda has about a 65% unemployment rate. To put that in perspective, even in the state of our present economy, the United States of America only has about a 9% unemployment rate. We saw children wearing clothes that were so worn and tattered that we wouldn’t have even used their clothes as rags in the States. In fact, when I gave dresses away, the people were more appreciative than I was for any of my Christmas presents last year. This is not to say I don’t appreciate gifts; I definitely do, and I love to give them. The point is that we don’t have the right perspectives about “needs” as Americans, myself most definitely included.

Last Wednesday night, our team went to have dinner at Jeremiah’s Aunt’s house. She served an abundance of homemade Ugandan food, and we ate until we were more than satisfied, and enjoyed ourselves. The big difference between this home and an American home? Her “toilet” was an outhouse; she had electricity in one room. This family seemed closer than most American families, and was even close friends with several neighbors, who also came by to welcome us to their home. Talk about living in community!

In so many ways, I think that we, as Americans, pervert the meaning of the word “need.” There are poor people in our land that don’t have food or clothing, and so many times the Bible clearly calls us to love them as God does and give to them. Why don’t we? Why don’t I? Well, we literally think we “need” things that aren’t needs, and waste our money on selfish American treasures and spend the money that could sustain one person on a new pair of jeans (when I already have more than four). I think we walk a very dangerous line when we start to invent “needs,” which we have done as a culture, and are not good stewards of the things that God has given us. I know in more than one way, I myself am guilty of this. God has used my being here and seeing the desperation with which some of these people fight to provide for their family to convict me of my selfishness in many ways.

My honest fear is that I will forget these things I’m seeing every day when I get back into America, and back into a more affluent culture. But, God really wants me to be held accountable, and to make a statement to y’all about the convictions He’s placed on my heart, and make a covenant with Him. The convictions that God has placed on my heart and that I now have to take back to the United States are as follows:

· Love the poor (giving, no treasures on this earth, the meek shall inherit the earth)

· Love like Christ (Luke 6:27-36)

· Increase prayer (pray constantly in Spirit & truth and by faith)

· Be bold in declaring the Gospel (Jesus is clear about this, so is the rest of the NT)

So, please hold me accountable to these things, and push me in love toward them, and remind me of them. Feel free to ask me about them, though I think I’ve posted blogs about each one if you want a quick reference. I’m excited to see how these things change in my life in America.

My verses for this trip:
“Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is Lord of Lords and God of Gods; the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the sojourner. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve Him, and hold fast to Him, and by His name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God who has done these great and terrifying things which your eyes have seen.”
-Deuteronomy 10:16-21

Leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again… see you soon, Houston