We often hear the phrase "be His hands and feet." This phrase popped
into my head this morning. Normally I just take it to mean we should
do good works, take care of others, donate to charities, etc. Simple.
Do what Jesus would be doing if he was here.
But this morning, for whatever reason, I thought about the phrase in a more literal way. And everything changed.
What
do we know of Jesus' hands and feet, literally? He was a carpenter, so
his hands must have been very rough, and worn. Toughened and used.
And Jesus did a lot of traveling on foot, so his feet must have also
been well-worn and rugged. These weren't pampered hands and feet. They
weren't lavished with fancy oils and propped up on footrests; these
hands and feet worked hard. They saw long hours and dirty conditions.
They touched sick people. Contagious people. And in doing so, they
performed miracles. And then, in the end, these hands and feet were
treated badly. They were pierced with nails. They were abused, and
they bled, and they hurt. But in doing so, they made the ultimate
sacrifice!
So what does it mean, to be Jesus' hands and
feet? It sure doesn't seem to mean sitting around, spending time on
idle things, or caring only about yourself. To me personally it speaks
of following God to the hard places. To the places where conditions are
less than ideal, where work is hard, days are long, and where you
inevitably hurt, physically or emotionally.
I'm not
sayin' everyone is called to leave their homes and go abroad to help
others. There is an endless number of ways to serve others, anywhere
you are. The important thing is that you're doing it.
The Lord has really opened my eyes to this lately...this idea of doing. It really is easy to sit back and enjoy the blessings God gives us around here, and not worry about anyone else. It's too easy! And I have realized that I want to do more.
To whom much is given, much will be demanded.
Much will be asked of those who have been blessed.
Much should be done by those who have everything.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Recent scriptures
There are some scriptures that I've come across in the past couple months that have really made an impact on me and my decision to go to Uganda, and I wanted to share them!
The biggest is Hebrews 11:24-26:
"It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to share in the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward."
This really speaks to my heart. Moses had everything, as he was living in the palace as a son of Pharaoh. He was rich! Even richer than me! :) And yet when he grew and matured, he realized the suffering of God's people, the Israelites. And he found it more worthy to suffer oppression with them in order to help them than to keep living in comfort in the palace.
In modern times, maybe this could be a person living with everything they needed here in America, who decides that it is more worthy to go to the poorest country in the world and live with less in order to help others? :)
Another scripture that helped me decide was Proverbs 24:12:
"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."
Pretty self explanatory. Once we have felt guidance, we can't pretend that we don't know what to do. There was simply no way I could just turn away from this idea and pretend I had never been led to it.
The other two that have impacted me lately are a little harsh, but all too true for many people in the world. In trying to surround myself with positive influences, I haven't personally met very many "bad eggs," but when you think about all the horrible problems of the world, like human trafficking, terrorism, sex slavery, theft, murder, etc., etc....it's easy to forget, but the existence of those things are dependent on individual human beings to actually do them. People who live and breathe and think and walk this earth choose to do those things, and so they exist. Anyway, these scriptures are harsh but they remind me that life with Christ is meant to be completely different than life without Him. While this obviously doesn't mean that I've only recently decided not to murder or steal, it does mean that I've decided to put Him first, and especially to spend more time learning about Him and less time absorbed in things of this world.
Ephesians 4:17-24:
"With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasures and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn't what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy."
Isaiah 8:11-15:
"The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does [instructed me that I should not walk in the ways of these people]. He said, 'Don't call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don't live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heavens Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah [those that reject Him], He will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, He will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured."
Two more very simple ones:
Matthew 10:8:
"Freely you have received, freely give!"
Ephesians 4:1:
"Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God."
And some from my little diary I was keeping while I tried to figure out what to do:
Hebrews 12:1-2:
"...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus."
My diary says: Let us cast aside the self-pleasing junk of this world! How many hours can we spend watching TV, playing games, saving up for the latest gadget that we'll only enjoy for a few months? No more! Keep our eyes on Jesus!
Isaiah 3:15:
" 'How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?' demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies."
The biggest is Hebrews 11:24-26:
"It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to share in the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward."
This really speaks to my heart. Moses had everything, as he was living in the palace as a son of Pharaoh. He was rich! Even richer than me! :) And yet when he grew and matured, he realized the suffering of God's people, the Israelites. And he found it more worthy to suffer oppression with them in order to help them than to keep living in comfort in the palace.
In modern times, maybe this could be a person living with everything they needed here in America, who decides that it is more worthy to go to the poorest country in the world and live with less in order to help others? :)
Another scripture that helped me decide was Proverbs 24:12:
"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."
Pretty self explanatory. Once we have felt guidance, we can't pretend that we don't know what to do. There was simply no way I could just turn away from this idea and pretend I had never been led to it.
The other two that have impacted me lately are a little harsh, but all too true for many people in the world. In trying to surround myself with positive influences, I haven't personally met very many "bad eggs," but when you think about all the horrible problems of the world, like human trafficking, terrorism, sex slavery, theft, murder, etc., etc....it's easy to forget, but the existence of those things are dependent on individual human beings to actually do them. People who live and breathe and think and walk this earth choose to do those things, and so they exist. Anyway, these scriptures are harsh but they remind me that life with Christ is meant to be completely different than life without Him. While this obviously doesn't mean that I've only recently decided not to murder or steal, it does mean that I've decided to put Him first, and especially to spend more time learning about Him and less time absorbed in things of this world.
Ephesians 4:17-24:
"With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasures and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn't what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy."
Isaiah 8:11-15:
"The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does [instructed me that I should not walk in the ways of these people]. He said, 'Don't call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don't live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heavens Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah [those that reject Him], He will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, He will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured."
Two more very simple ones:
Matthew 10:8:
"Freely you have received, freely give!"
Ephesians 4:1:
"Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God."
And some from my little diary I was keeping while I tried to figure out what to do:
Hebrews 12:1-2:
"...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus."
My diary says: Let us cast aside the self-pleasing junk of this world! How many hours can we spend watching TV, playing games, saving up for the latest gadget that we'll only enjoy for a few months? No more! Keep our eyes on Jesus!
Isaiah 3:15:
" 'How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?' demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies."
YWAM & DTS
How does Youth With A Mission work?
YWAM has locations all over the world (literally!). You can do your training anywhere, including the USA. I could have chosen to attend a school for three months somewhere in the US, and then do two months of outreach in Africa. But I didn't feel led to do that, and I also think it would detract from experiencing living in Africa.
The core value of YWAM is "To know God and make Him known." In other words, to help Christians develop their personal relationship with God, and learn to know Him and His Word, and then to help them show God's love to others through outreach.
What is Discipleship Training School? What will I actually be doing in Uganda?
HopeLand's page says, "The goal of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) is to encourage committed Christians into a deeper personal relationship with the Lord, thus equipping them to serve Him in whatever capacity he calls them to." "The training students receive and the relationships that they build here promote inner healing and challenge students to model a Christ-like lifestyle and attitude. Students receive training for ministry, but they also receive healing, restoration, and perspective in their personal lives."
The DTS is broken into two phases, a lecture phase and an outreach phase. The lecture phase is about three months long, and covers a different topic each week. We meet as a class, take lessons, and have group discussions. The topics are various aspects of Christianity, such as the nature of God, missions and evangelism, sin and repentance, hearing from God, gifts of the Holy Spirit, prayer, praise and worship, etc. The outreach phase is about two months long, where you go away from your school to put your training to work - you go out and help others, in an "intense cross-cultural experience." Every school has different places that they go. As far as I can tell, this particular school has outreach to the local villages as well as to neighboring countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania. The outreach phase is described as very difficult, and you are often staying with host families. For outreach to the poorest African villages, this can easily mean we will be staying with families who live in huts with no electricity or running water. Sleeping on the ground with them. Eating what they would eat. Bathing (hopefully) as they do. Currently I do not know where our outreach is to be for the coming school term, so it could be different. But others that I have read about have had tough outreaches. Anyway, aside from living with a host family, you are offering yourself in any way helpful. Maybe you'll be volunteering at an orphanage, playing with children or changing diapers or helping clean, cook, and wash laundry. You could help at a church, teaching bible school to children or leading bible studies for adults. Just about anyone from America, regardless of teaching experience, can teach basic English at a kindergarten or primary school. Or maybe they need you to assist at some sort of support center, talking and praying with HIV patients or mothers who have lost children. Whatever your talents may be, there is something you can do for others in such a place.
During the lecture phase, Monday through Friday are class days, and weekends are free. I read a blog of a girl who did her DTS several years ago, and this was her daily weekday schedule:
6AM wake up for personal prayer time
7:30 AM breakfast
8AM classes
1PM Lunch
2:30PM Small groups
3:30-5:30 Chores
6:30 Dinner
The DTS is located on a "base," which is kind of like a small campus. It has dorm rooms, a dining room, places for classes, a primary school, and other buildings, as well as beautiful landscaping. As far as Africa goes, it seems very upscale!
YWAM has locations all over the world (literally!). You can do your training anywhere, including the USA. I could have chosen to attend a school for three months somewhere in the US, and then do two months of outreach in Africa. But I didn't feel led to do that, and I also think it would detract from experiencing living in Africa.
The core value of YWAM is "To know God and make Him known." In other words, to help Christians develop their personal relationship with God, and learn to know Him and His Word, and then to help them show God's love to others through outreach.
What is Discipleship Training School? What will I actually be doing in Uganda?
HopeLand's page says, "The goal of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) is to encourage committed Christians into a deeper personal relationship with the Lord, thus equipping them to serve Him in whatever capacity he calls them to." "The training students receive and the relationships that they build here promote inner healing and challenge students to model a Christ-like lifestyle and attitude. Students receive training for ministry, but they also receive healing, restoration, and perspective in their personal lives."
The DTS is broken into two phases, a lecture phase and an outreach phase. The lecture phase is about three months long, and covers a different topic each week. We meet as a class, take lessons, and have group discussions. The topics are various aspects of Christianity, such as the nature of God, missions and evangelism, sin and repentance, hearing from God, gifts of the Holy Spirit, prayer, praise and worship, etc. The outreach phase is about two months long, where you go away from your school to put your training to work - you go out and help others, in an "intense cross-cultural experience." Every school has different places that they go. As far as I can tell, this particular school has outreach to the local villages as well as to neighboring countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania. The outreach phase is described as very difficult, and you are often staying with host families. For outreach to the poorest African villages, this can easily mean we will be staying with families who live in huts with no electricity or running water. Sleeping on the ground with them. Eating what they would eat. Bathing (hopefully) as they do. Currently I do not know where our outreach is to be for the coming school term, so it could be different. But others that I have read about have had tough outreaches. Anyway, aside from living with a host family, you are offering yourself in any way helpful. Maybe you'll be volunteering at an orphanage, playing with children or changing diapers or helping clean, cook, and wash laundry. You could help at a church, teaching bible school to children or leading bible studies for adults. Just about anyone from America, regardless of teaching experience, can teach basic English at a kindergarten or primary school. Or maybe they need you to assist at some sort of support center, talking and praying with HIV patients or mothers who have lost children. Whatever your talents may be, there is something you can do for others in such a place.
During the lecture phase, Monday through Friday are class days, and weekends are free. I read a blog of a girl who did her DTS several years ago, and this was her daily weekday schedule:
6AM wake up for personal prayer time
7:30 AM breakfast
8AM classes
1PM Lunch
2:30PM Small groups
3:30-5:30 Chores
6:30 Dinner
The DTS is located on a "base," which is kind of like a small campus. It has dorm rooms, a dining room, places for classes, a primary school, and other buildings, as well as beautiful landscaping. As far as Africa goes, it seems very upscale!
It is located in the city of Jinja. From what I've read so far, Jinja is a little town, but has amentities, such as a marketplace or grocery store and other shops, and several hospitals. It is near Lake Victoria and the Nile River.
I'm excited to be there...it looks beautiful. I love the outdoors, and warm weather, so hopefully that will make it easier for me to adjust!
Why am I going to Uganda?
Welcome to my blog! :)
I bet a lot of people's first reaction to my idea of going to Uganda was, "What? Why? I thought you were working on an animal training job......?" I can't blame you! I myself have wondered the same thing more than once. So I thought I would tell you a "short" version of why I'm going to Uganda.
Early February. My world was turned upside down when my relationship (and engagement) came to an end. I had no idea what I'd be doing next with my life. My first thought was, "Well okay, now I can move to Florida, live by the beach, chase my dream of working with dolphins, and everything will be perfect." But I didn't actually feel like doing that. I was praying for guidance and patience and peace. And boy was there peace! A peace like no other, which was surprising considering the circumstances.
And then one day I thought, "Maybe I will do something for the Lord instead of for me. Maybe I will do a mission trip! And then when I get back I will decide what to do with my life." The Lord had drawn me so close the past year, and I desired to give back a little of the awesome blessings He had bestowed upon me. The only place I was interested in going was Africa. Who knows why, but apparently that is the only place that God has put on my heart. My first search was to see if Compassion International had an upcoming trip to Ghana, where my sponsor child is. Unfortunately, no :( I kept searching other websites. I was open to anywhere in Africa, but I was also thinking about how wonderful it might be to go to Uganda and see where Katie Davis, the author of Kisses From Katie, has her ministry. I had fallen in love with that book, and I thought it would be so cool to actually see the area she wrote about. Most of the short trips to Africa (2 weeks to several months) were unbelievably expensive, averaging a little more than $4,000. So I kind of stopped looking. I didn't stop wanting to go, I just stopped looking. I believed that if God wanted me to go, He would show me where He wanted me.
A few weeks later, my good friend Miss Amy emailed me a list of organizations she knew of. Youth With A Mission was on the top of the list. I had never heard of it, but it sounded neat, so I looked it up. They specialize in offering something called Discipleship Training School (DTS), which is three months of school-type Christian education, followed by two months of outreach trips. How perfect! I LOVE school! So I searched for Africa. I searched for Uganda. Lo and behold, there were several schools in Uganda! How wonderful! I looked up the first one. Not much of a website...not much information...didn't feel it. Same for the next one. And then I clicked on the website for Hopeland, located in Jinja, the same city that Katie Davis has written so much about. The website opened up and was beautiful! Much more information, dates, costs, etc. My heart beat fast. I wanted to be there. I looked up the date...late August. Perfect! I could enjoy the Flagstaff summer and then go. I looked up the cost...$1,600. I could definitely swing that.
In short, everything about this place seemed like exactly what I was desiring. Right place, right time, right cost, going back to "school," and doing outreach. Amazing how the Lord can bring you exactly what you wanted if you let Him.
So, to put it simply.. I am going to Uganda to learn about the Lord, to increase my faith and my dependence on God, and to find out how I can help others in need. I am going in order to see for myself the injustice of this world, to see the people we always hear are "starving and dying in Africa" but do not care about because we have not seen. I am going in order to be changed for the better, and to serve the Lord in any way that He might ask me to.
I bet a lot of people's first reaction to my idea of going to Uganda was, "What? Why? I thought you were working on an animal training job......?" I can't blame you! I myself have wondered the same thing more than once. So I thought I would tell you a "short" version of why I'm going to Uganda.
Early February. My world was turned upside down when my relationship (and engagement) came to an end. I had no idea what I'd be doing next with my life. My first thought was, "Well okay, now I can move to Florida, live by the beach, chase my dream of working with dolphins, and everything will be perfect." But I didn't actually feel like doing that. I was praying for guidance and patience and peace. And boy was there peace! A peace like no other, which was surprising considering the circumstances.
And then one day I thought, "Maybe I will do something for the Lord instead of for me. Maybe I will do a mission trip! And then when I get back I will decide what to do with my life." The Lord had drawn me so close the past year, and I desired to give back a little of the awesome blessings He had bestowed upon me. The only place I was interested in going was Africa. Who knows why, but apparently that is the only place that God has put on my heart. My first search was to see if Compassion International had an upcoming trip to Ghana, where my sponsor child is. Unfortunately, no :( I kept searching other websites. I was open to anywhere in Africa, but I was also thinking about how wonderful it might be to go to Uganda and see where Katie Davis, the author of Kisses From Katie, has her ministry. I had fallen in love with that book, and I thought it would be so cool to actually see the area she wrote about. Most of the short trips to Africa (2 weeks to several months) were unbelievably expensive, averaging a little more than $4,000. So I kind of stopped looking. I didn't stop wanting to go, I just stopped looking. I believed that if God wanted me to go, He would show me where He wanted me.
A few weeks later, my good friend Miss Amy emailed me a list of organizations she knew of. Youth With A Mission was on the top of the list. I had never heard of it, but it sounded neat, so I looked it up. They specialize in offering something called Discipleship Training School (DTS), which is three months of school-type Christian education, followed by two months of outreach trips. How perfect! I LOVE school! So I searched for Africa. I searched for Uganda. Lo and behold, there were several schools in Uganda! How wonderful! I looked up the first one. Not much of a website...not much information...didn't feel it. Same for the next one. And then I clicked on the website for Hopeland, located in Jinja, the same city that Katie Davis has written so much about. The website opened up and was beautiful! Much more information, dates, costs, etc. My heart beat fast. I wanted to be there. I looked up the date...late August. Perfect! I could enjoy the Flagstaff summer and then go. I looked up the cost...$1,600. I could definitely swing that.
In short, everything about this place seemed like exactly what I was desiring. Right place, right time, right cost, going back to "school," and doing outreach. Amazing how the Lord can bring you exactly what you wanted if you let Him.
So, to put it simply.. I am going to Uganda to learn about the Lord, to increase my faith and my dependence on God, and to find out how I can help others in need. I am going in order to see for myself the injustice of this world, to see the people we always hear are "starving and dying in Africa" but do not care about because we have not seen. I am going in order to be changed for the better, and to serve the Lord in any way that He might ask me to.
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