Praises and prayer requests

I am happy to report that yesterday I saw the doctor who surgically removed the abnormal tissue on my tongue over a year ago. He looked at my tongue thoroughly and said that it looks "fantastic!" He said that there are no lesions or areas of concern, and now the recommendation is for check ups only every 6 months. I am so happy, thankful and relieved! I still have pain as the nerves are still recovering from surgery, but it is great to know that it is healthy! I know that God does not always answer our prayers in the way that we think is best, but I am very grateful for this answer to our prayers! Thank you also to the many of you who have been praying for me. I will plan to have my 6 month follow ups with our dentist in Uganda, and he will email my doctor here if any concerns arise. 

Please continue to pray for my family as we recover from some colds we've picked up while traveling. Also we would appreciate your prayers that we would love one another well. We have had so much transition in the past couple of weeks, and we are all a bit out of sorts. But even when we are tired and sick, we want to love one another. Please pray for us all to remember God's amazing love for us through Jesus Christ, to be encouraged and comforted by that love, and to want to show that love to one another. Just for fun, here is a photo of my family eating at Mr. T's pizza in Chattanooga. We are very thankful for the brief time we had to catch up with friends there. It was truly a blessing! 

Approved!

As many of you know, we needed to travel back to the US to go before the Global Outreach board in order to be officially approved as career missionaries.  Today we met with the board and we are officially approved! We are excited to be confirmed in this calling by our sending agency. 

The word "approval" carries so much weight for me. I struggle with wanting the approval of everyone. I have most of my life. Many years ago as I went through the Sonship discipleship program, I was introduced to the idea that this idol of approval is an area of sin in my life. It is so easy for me to get wrapped up in wanting the approval of other people that I forget that I have the approval of the most important person, the God of the Universe.

It seems a bit absurd that I can say I have the approval of the God of the Universe. I get impatient with my husband and kids. I am selfish and just want to not be bothered when my kids have conflict. And even worse I want people to see me and think I'm great. In other words, I want to steal God's glory. Yikes. I certainly don't deserve approval do I? 

But God, in his great mercy has poured out his compassion. He gave Jesus, his perfectly righteous Son, my sinful record, and he took the punishment for that sin upon himself. Jesus died for me. The Bible also says that God clothes me with the perfect record of Jesus. I am approved, not because I am good enough, but because Jesus is. This approval is what frees me to live for him rather than for the approval other people. 

I am so glad that we have been approved to continue serving as missionaries with Global Outreach, but I am even more thankful that God has graciously approved of us because of Jesus! I hope you know and can rest in His approval through Jesus today! 

A very Good Friday!

Light of the World, our local village church, decided to take opportunity of Good Friday for outreach. Many people are off work and home from school, so it was a good chance to meet people at home and talk with them about the meaning of the day. Ugandans are so friendly and usually welcome visitors. The families my group visited all thanked us for coming, thanked us for sitting with them, and thanked us for reading the Bible with them. Another group returned with Jack fruit, sugar cane and eggs which were all gifts from the homes they visited. Only one group was sent away by neighbors of another religion. Here is the photo of my group.

We were scheduled to meet at the church around 9am. Since we are trying to finish our school year before we leave on furlough, we still had classes in the morning. Around 11am, I walked to the church hoping that I hadn't missed the opportunity. But we were operating on Ugandan time. Around 11:30 we began a time of worship, prayer and instruction about how to share the gospel. We were also instructed about the importance of greeting people. Greeting people is so important here. People do not start talking about anything until they have asked about one another's day and their families. It was a good reminder of cultural differences. After our intructions we divided into our groups. Around 12 noon we left with instructions to return by 3pm to report and encourage one another. As we recieved this instruction, it occurred to me that lunch was not a part of the schedule. I realized that was another cultural difference. 

As we walked around Buundo village, we talked with people about Jesus and invited them to worship with us on Easter Sunday. I enjoyed the opportunity to share the good news about Jesus with native Luganda speakers. I often try to share Jesus with my friends in the village, but my Luganda is not good enough yet to answer questions about God. While we visited, I was able to help some women who were cooking, to pray with several who were sick, and to just sit and visit with people to live out the love of Jesus. I was also glad that some of the teenagers from GSF were able to be a part of this opportunity. Please pray that many who heard the gospel, will come to church to hear it again. Also please pray that those who prayed to recieve Jesus, will grow in Him. I am so thankful to be able to celebrate Easter tomorrow with those who have now been raised with Christ, having eternal life in Him!