Changes in Routine

Hello friends. We are doing pretty well here in Uganda. Our school is closed, but we are communicating with students and have sent assignments for a month. The two teenagers who stay with us on holidays were sent home from boarding school on Friday and will be staying with us for the next month. Their other situations were good experiences during the Christmas holiday while we were in the US, but the social worker decided that right now it would be best for them to stay with us for a variety of reasons. One of our teachers is also with us most of the time because her roommate has been in self-quarantine in their house since traveling to the US. We are happy to have a full house of people to love on, but ten of us in our house doesn’t allow for much time alone. You can pray for us all to find ways for that time alone with the Lord and for us to be gracious and kind to one another even when we don’t get that. I found myself very irritable this morning when the kids were slow in helping out with chores. I needed to step into my room and pray rather than speak out of anger and say things I would later regret. Please pray that I will be able to be gracious and patient with my family, and that I will correct them out of love and a desire for their growth, not out of my irritability. I also desire to focus more on the ways that I do see God at work in and through them rather than grumbling that they are not perfect yet. I certainly am not perfect either. I want to speak “only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

One of our teammates is also in the midst of an audit process for GSF and cannot do much school work with her kids at home, so we will probably get to  “homeschool” some of her five children along with the seven in our home. I was originally thinking I would have time for writing and editing blogposts to work on a book idea, but as I look at all God has called me to do from home, I’m not sure if there will be time for that. I’m trying to make the most of every opportunity this change in routine brings. It may be that God wants to use this time to help me grow in being gracious toward my family. Ephesians 4:32 says, “ Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” I know that God is giving many of us around the world more time at home with our families which is an opportunity to show one another the forgiveness we have received through Jesus Christ. 

As of tonight, the borders of Uganda will be closed and the airport shut down, but that doesn’t really bother me. We don’t feel any need to travel back to the US since the virus is keeping people from being together there anyway. If we travelled we would be exposing ourselves to more germs and wouldn’t be able to be with our loved ones on that side. It seems like we have plenty that God has called us to do as we stay put, not to mention that Uganda has only one case and the US has many more. I am hoping that this change of schedule makes it easier to find opportunities to video chat with family and friends that side and stay connected in that way. I am thankful that we have so recently visited the US too. Right now we have heard of only one case of corona virus in Kampala from someone who was diagnosed at the point of entry, but we will avoid the big city as much as possible. Uganda is very good at controlling disease outbreaks though, since they have had to deal with Ebola in the past. They are actually one of the most successful countries at preventing the spread of that disease; it was never as rampant here as in West Africa.  

It seems like in our years living in Uganda, we have had some practice trusting God with crazy diseases and life being “out of control” in our minds. I’m thankful for the way God uses each challenging situation to teach us that He is in control and we are not. I’m certainly not saying that I have this down, but life here gives me opportunities to practice. I hope you and your families can take comfort from God’s control of all things and his loving care for you in the midst of these challenging times. 

Waking in the Night

This week was our Spring Break from school so our family decided to take the opportunity to go on safari. Even though we live in a rural part of Uganda, we don’t have elephants and lions near us. We decided to drive to the Northeast to a remote park where there are many animals that aren’t often seen elsewhere. On our trip we saw giraffes, zebras, elephants, buffalo, warthogs, so many types of birds and antelopes, a rock hyrax, a hyena, a leopard and a lion. It was worth the 25 hours driving in the van to get there and back. 

Here are my boys looking for the roaring lions in the evening. 

Even though we were staying outside the park, the animals don’t know of any boundary. On our last night there we heard 2 lions roaring in the distance. They were far enough away that we felt comfortable walking from our tents to the restaurant for dinner and back. But as the night went on, roaring sounded a bit closer. We eventually fell asleep, but were woken around 2am with the news that our daughter was sick in another tent. The lions sounded closer, but far enough that I felt safe walking quickly to her tent. Once she was settled and everything was taken care of, I went back to my tent to get some rest. A couple hours later I woke to the sound of my daughter getting sick again. I got up and went to check on her. Once I checked on her and she was settled, I was ready to go back, but this time the lions sounded even closer. I was trying to figure out if I should stay in her tent for the night. David called and said he was outside the tent and it was safe for me to walk back. As we shined a light outside to the distance one lion made a quick roar in response. I moved quickly to my tent with instructions to all my children to stay inside their tents and not to go out. I zipped myself inside our tent and prayed. 

I was sad that my daughter was sick and I couldn’t make her better. I was afraid of the lions roaring very nearby. I knew that I was helpless to do anything, but I remembered that God can do all things. Growing up I learned the Bible stories of how God closed the mouths of the lions to protect Daniel. I learned about the many ways Jesus miraculously healed people. God is the same God and He is able to do anything. He gave me the ability to trust him with these concerns and get some rest. 

I know that on other continents, the fears are different. The corona virus is causing widespread international concern. I don’t know so much about it except that Uganda is now requiring self quarantine for people entering the country from places with known cases to prevent the virus from coming here. Each situation has some things we can do, precautions we can take, but most of these things are out of our control. No matter the situation, I want to remember these words from Psalm 56:3-4a:

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

It is funny that I was able to trust God with this situation, but the next day as I was thinking about the teachers we need for next school year, I fell back into fear and worry. As I was spiraling into all the “what if’s” my husband suggested we pray and leave it with the Lord. I’m not always great at that, but I am trying to remember to trust in God for all things. 

Our lives, our children and our school are in God’s hands. He kept us safe from the lions, and my daughter has recovered from her brief illness. I don’t know if or when He will provide additional teachers. But even when God’s answers are not the ones I want, I will put my trust in Him. Yes, sometimes I am afraid, but I know that even when I struggle to trust Him, He is loving me and working for my good. I love how these verses begin with “when I am afraid” and end with “I will not be afraid.” I waver between the two, but I will continue to remind myself to trust in Him. 

Two Truths

Yesterday I read in Paul Tripp’s New Morning Mercies about two truths that are the two most important things that we never need to worry about. 

1. God loves me.
2. He is working all things for my good.

These two truths put everything else in perspective. As I begin to worry about my children, I can remember that these two truths apply to them too. As I work on plans for our growing school, I can remember that God loves our students even more than I do and is working to bring the teachers that they need. As I think about our upcoming family trip and the more than 20 hours we will all be in the van together, I can remember how God loves each member of our family and is working to help each one of us grow. Sometimes our areas of needed growth rub each other the wrong way, but it is my prayer that God will even use that to shape us into the people He would have us be. So as we prepare for a long road trip adventure during our Spring Break, I am trusting that God loves us and is using this time to conform us more into the image of Jesus. I hope and pray that we will make great memories together as a family, but I also believe that God is using each day, each struggle, each experience to make us into the people He wants us to be. My prayer for the adventures that lay ahead is that I won’t lose sight of God’s faithful loving care, and I would accept His definition of what is good.