The plan seemed so far fetched, yet God said, "this is where I want you." So many details......so little time God. I tried hard to REASON with Him! That sounds so funny just typing it!
I remember telling God that I knew nothing about the people of Uganda. He reminded me that He and I had had this discussion a mere 4 years ago when I stumbled upon a child's photo from Vietnam. That's Faith, my daughter. And just as I know nothing about the people, His people, of Uganda, I knew nothing about His people of Vietnam. Yet, he said GO!
It's amazing to me, that without knowing all of God's plans for our families lives, I have always known that "this place" is not my home. America.......it's a wonderful, beautiful, blessed place full of rights and freedoms. But, God has told me to travel to lands out of my comfort zone........step out of my comfy bubble and simply LOVE.
While fund-raising for this amazing trip that we leave in about 10 days for,(OMG that is so sonn!! EEKS!) I stumbled upon a website called Sixty Feet.
This organization helps orphans that live in a place referred to as "M." This place is hidden.......no one speaks of it......some have just happened to stumble upon it, while in Uganda.
Here......is their story:
According to the most recent estimates, there are approximately 2.5 million orphans in Uganda, over a million of whom are a direct result of AIDS. Roughly 1 in 6 children in Uganda under the age of 17 is an orphan. Deep in the bush outside Kampala is a place where some of these abandoned, unloved and neglected children are kept. And this is where our story begins…
Not long ago a woman was on her way out of Kampala and drove past a dilapidated old sign that read “M”: Rehabilitation Center for Children. She was drawn to learn more about the place and so she turned down a long, winding dirt road until she came to the end. To her horror, she found rooms of children locked up, young kids chained to windows, and even a 10 day old, malnourished and living in her own urine. She saw hundreds of children with little food and no supervision.
The power of that moment could not be denied. The statistics and figures that Nathalie knew all too well now had a name and a face. The suffering was real and her first hand experience would change the course of her life and the lives of these children. A glorious story of redemption for these little ones began that day when Nathalie followed her inkling and wandered into “M”.
Eight thousand miles away, the ripple effects of Nathalie’s ministry made their way to the shores of America. When we heard about “M” our hearts were completely broken. Living amidst a sea of abundance and well cared for families, we could not begin to fathom the pain and suffering that these children endure on a daily basis. It was clear that God was calling us on a mission too.
In early 2010, some of the men on our team heard about this place and began to pray that God would send someone to help. They soon realized it was them God was sending. They decided that we should go and see how God was at work in the lives of these children, and how we might participate. And so we did.
What we learned was something we already knew but had not personally experienced so vividly. The heart of God is unquestionably devoted to caring for widows and orphans, for the poor and the marginalized, for the hungry and those who suffer injustice. This we knew. But experiencing God at work in this desperate environment made us realize that He was calling us to live out the Gospel and be devoted to His purposes in a way that was tangible, sacrificial and enduring.
It is an awesome and deeply humbling thing to have an encounter with the living God. Deep in the bush outside Kampala, we encountered Him at work and it changed our lives.
Sixty Feet was born out of a desire to participate in God’s work at “M”, to come along side those already involved in the lives of the children, to share the love of Jesus Christ in a meaningful way, and to care for orphans that are otherwise treated as common prisoners. In short, Sixty Feet is a response to the Gospel.
We are just regular people who responded to a call on our lives. We are submitted to the authority of Christ and to His will for this ministry. We exist for His glory and to serve His purposes as long as He would have us do so.
This is our story, and we pray that soon…. it may be your story too.
________________________________________________________________________________________
I have heard that the children here live in unfathomable conditions. They are strapped to beds, have little food, supervision, or basic needs met that you and I would consider to be "the norm."
This is a place that most, including myself, would never want to go! I'd like to turn my head, pretend this place doesn't exist, and go back to my merry little life in Missouri, AKA The land of the free and the home of the brave.
Yet, I found myself asking, almost pleading with God to take me there. Please let me go there! I MUST go there! Surely if even for only one day God....I could do something.......anything!?!?!?!
Today I have found out that we get to go to "M" while in Uganda. My heart nearly stopped beating as I read the email this morning. I know only He can give us our hearts desires.
I am humbled and blessed to be able to visit the children of "M" who have no mommies, no daddies, no shoes, no Veggie Tales movies, no lollipops.....NO NOTHING! NOTHING!
DO YOU HEAR ME>???????? They have NOTHING!! I could scream it from the roof tops when people say, "Well, I would give, do, adopt, do more.....but I just can't afford it!
Don't you get it?????????? God doesn't call the EQUIPPED!!! He EQUIPS the called!!
He provides! He gives! He does! How can we sit around and do N*O*T*H*I*N*G???????
We must DO......ACT.....GET INVOLVED......and save that one little starfish, because of all of us did something......ANYTHING, there would be no more children dying because of a mosquito bite.....and no more orphans.
My heart aches to do more, love more, see more.
I pray for God's hands to hold us........and guide us while we carry out His plans for His children.
I am so blessed to he chose lil ole me to be His hands and feet.
Wow'ed
Sixty Feet....go check it out! http://sixtyfeet.org/
Bambi
No comments:
Post a Comment