Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
You've Got Mail
I got my first letter from Zipora today!
OK, so that's like the best thing I've ever gotten in the mail in my whole life!
Her counselor helped her fill out an activity and information sheet for me, including the names of her family members and her favorite things.
Her favorite subject in school is "singing is my best subject".
Her favorite food is "meat and rice".
Her favorite color is "bright yellow".
Her favorite game is "skipping the rope".
Her favorite Bible Story is "the time when God created the whole world".
Her favorite song is "Baby Jesus, I love you".
Her mother's name is Asayo, and she is 32 years old.
A personal note was also included, along with some drawings. Her counselor was very kind to create a "legend" for me by numbering the drawings and identifying them for me. Some of them were a bit hard to decipher. =)
Her dream for the future is "to become a teacher".
Her prayer request is that "I grow taller and study well".
And her sweet little signature is pictured here.
I'm feeling so blessed right now.
OK, so that's like the best thing I've ever gotten in the mail in my whole life!
Her counselor helped her fill out an activity and information sheet for me, including the names of her family members and her favorite things.
Her favorite subject in school is "singing is my best subject".
Her favorite food is "meat and rice".
Her favorite color is "bright yellow".
Her favorite game is "skipping the rope".
Her favorite Bible Story is "the time when God created the whole world".
Her favorite song is "Baby Jesus, I love you".
Her mother's name is Asayo, and she is 32 years old.
A personal note was also included, along with some drawings. Her counselor was very kind to create a "legend" for me by numbering the drawings and identifying them for me. Some of them were a bit hard to decipher. =)
Her dream for the future is "to become a teacher".
Her prayer request is that "I grow taller and study well".
And her sweet little signature is pictured here.
I'm feeling so blessed right now.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
It Is What It Is
I struggle with being content. I am in the midst of great moves of God in my life in every single area, and I am blessed beyond measure. Yet even still, I struggle with this thing called "enough". I was in prayer a few nights ago, in such a sweet place and connection with God. I mean the kind of prayer that takes us into the presence of God as if He were sitting next to us. I was staring straight into His face, and pleading with him to..."Make your grace enough for me...Make your grace enough for me..." I so earnestly longed for that place of contentment only found in the grace He offers so freely to someone so wretched. His response was not long or complicated. He simply pointed me to the word is.
In that moment, my God whispered a Scripture to me that is one that I know by heart and is one of my favorites. I've read it a hundred times. It's the Scripture for my blog! But this time, I read it differently than all of those times before.
Wow. I don't have to pray that He would make His grace enough for me. He cannot make His grace any more sufficient than He has already made it. All I have to do is get up and believe it, and I will, every single time and without fail find it to be true.
So may we remember that God's promises are. Period. They are ours to claim without question or hope that He will deliver. Because He always does.
I think I will lay my head on my pillow tonight...full of "enough".
In that moment, my God whispered a Scripture to me that is one that I know by heart and is one of my favorites. I've read it a hundred times. It's the Scripture for my blog! But this time, I read it differently than all of those times before.
He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you..." (2 Cor 12:9)
Wow. I don't have to pray that He would make His grace enough for me. He cannot make His grace any more sufficient than He has already made it. All I have to do is get up and believe it, and I will, every single time and without fail find it to be true.
So may we remember that God's promises are. Period. They are ours to claim without question or hope that He will deliver. Because He always does.
I think I will lay my head on my pillow tonight...full of "enough".
Monday, August 18, 2008
Zipora Iyabo
I would like to introduce you to Zipora Iyabo. Isn’t she beautiful? Zipora lives in Uganda, and I am sponsoring her through Compassion International. When I went to the site to choose a child from Uganda, as soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one. After I completed the application for sponsorship, Compassion sent me a file with more details about her (LOTS of details). I chose Compassion because they are not an organization to which you simply send a check and only receive generic communication and information back. Compassion is in the village, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and runs child development centers that provide the children with education, Christian teaching and activities. I can get specific information about how she is doing, how to pray for her, and what is going on in her life. This is why I chose Compassion –they really work hard to facilitate building a relationship between sponsor and child.
So, a little about Zipora…
She is five years old, with her sixth birthday coming up on September 25th. Her favorite thing to do is to play her drum and sing. She also enjoys playing with other musical instruments. Her counselor says that she is quite the “teacher”… she loves to teach others – even the adults! =)
You are probably aware that although Uganda’s government has since stabilized, up until a few years ago there were remaining tribal wars. Just as things were starting to settle down, Zipora’s mother’s village was attacked by a rival tribe. As a result, her mother was raped and became pregnant. Zipora’s mother also has AIDS. Zipora tests negative for the AIDS virus; however, she is at great risk because of the rampant nature of the virus in this country. (AIDS has orphaned tens of thousands of children in this part of Africa.) Because of her pregnancy, Zipora’s mother was shunned from her family and was forced to move to another village. Her mother is raising her, alone, with no family support, in extreme poverty – beyond anything we can imagine. Her mother (I don’t know her name yet) works when she can as a peasant farmer and laborer in the village, earning approximately $6.00 per month. Zipora and her mother live in a “hut” made of mud-bricks which is often washed away during their rainy season.
Would you please join me in praying for this precious girl? I’ve shared with many of you that I have felt an unshaking pull toward Uganda in the past five or six months, but I’ve been putting it on the “back burner”. Finally, last month I stopped running, and God led me to Compassion where I found Zipora. And, about a week ago I received an email from one of my professors at Liberty who is gathering a team of 15 people to travel to Africa next year for a short-term mission assignment – specifically to Uganda. Go figure. If that works out, then Compassion would arrange a meeting for me and Zipora while I am there. How cool would that be?
So, a little about Zipora…
She is five years old, with her sixth birthday coming up on September 25th. Her favorite thing to do is to play her drum and sing. She also enjoys playing with other musical instruments. Her counselor says that she is quite the “teacher”… she loves to teach others – even the adults! =)
You are probably aware that although Uganda’s government has since stabilized, up until a few years ago there were remaining tribal wars. Just as things were starting to settle down, Zipora’s mother’s village was attacked by a rival tribe. As a result, her mother was raped and became pregnant. Zipora’s mother also has AIDS. Zipora tests negative for the AIDS virus; however, she is at great risk because of the rampant nature of the virus in this country. (AIDS has orphaned tens of thousands of children in this part of Africa.) Because of her pregnancy, Zipora’s mother was shunned from her family and was forced to move to another village. Her mother is raising her, alone, with no family support, in extreme poverty – beyond anything we can imagine. Her mother (I don’t know her name yet) works when she can as a peasant farmer and laborer in the village, earning approximately $6.00 per month. Zipora and her mother live in a “hut” made of mud-bricks which is often washed away during their rainy season.
Would you please join me in praying for this precious girl? I’ve shared with many of you that I have felt an unshaking pull toward Uganda in the past five or six months, but I’ve been putting it on the “back burner”. Finally, last month I stopped running, and God led me to Compassion where I found Zipora. And, about a week ago I received an email from one of my professors at Liberty who is gathering a team of 15 people to travel to Africa next year for a short-term mission assignment – specifically to Uganda. Go figure. If that works out, then Compassion would arrange a meeting for me and Zipora while I am there. How cool would that be?
Please pray that our relationship would further enforce what she is learning through the amazing counselors at Compassion -- that she matters to God, and no matter what her circumstances may be, that she has a purpose specifically and uniquely designed by Him for her.
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