Thursday, December 27, 2012

A GSF Christmas

December 25, 2012 - the first Christmas that I spent away from family. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, and I didn't anticipate it being difficult...but holidays definitely make the "sacrifice" of missionary life that much harder. But it served as a wonderful reminder of the great sacrifice that Christ made when he left his Father in heaven to come to earth. I'm so thankful that Jesus was obedient to God's will for Him!
 
He made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness. 
 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name, 
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:6-11

Christ made the greatest display of sacrifice when he humbled himself, leaving all behind, and coming to earth as our Savior. Suddenly celebrating a Christmas away from my family doesn't seem so bad. Talk about perspective!

That said, celebrating Christmas here at GSF really was so special. Our GSF celebration started the evening of Christmas eve when we had a little gathering with the children. Most of the GSF kids are away with their relatives for the holiday, but a handful of the kids (including all of the babies, toddlers, and special needs children) remained. So, we got together in the "youth room," sang some songs (no, not "O Holy Night" - picture more like "Jesus Loves Me" songs) and Claudia read a Christmas story to all of the children. After the story, we did a candlelit song time and handed out stockings. Each child received his/her own stocking filled with things such as flavored water, chips, popcorn, crackers, and a few candies - they were thrilled! It was really special to see their excitement over (in American standards) sub-par stocking fillers. 

Have you ever seen such excitement over a bag of chips??
We then filed out to the pavilion where we lit a few floating lanterns. Although only one lantern actually floated (we were experiencing some pretty heavy winds - haha), it was still so special and exciting! 

Claudia reading the Christmas story


Floating lantern!
Christmas morning I finally got to open the presents that mom had packed for me six months in advance! I'm blessed with a mother who knows how to make Christmas special from the other side of the world. Then the missionaries had a brunch and gift exchange before we geared up for the lunch and gift time with all of the GSF children. 

A roommate Christmas picture!
Mid-afternoon, we were all ready the Christmas feast and gift time with the children. Just as it was time for the kids to come, the African rains showed up. We gathered the soggy kids and had a full spread feast, including matoke, rice, potatoes, chicken, beef, and pork topped off with a birthday cake for Jesus. We closed off the Christmas time with presents for each of the kids. 

Enjoying the Christmas feast

Meal time

Truck stop =)
Hard at play
Showing off the loot

Nothing beats a pair of Christmas undies!

Please pray for all of the GSF children who are home for the holidays. I'm so thankful that some of these children have relatives who are willing to take them, but most of them are in living situations that are less than comfortable. Some of the kids enjoy visiting their relatives, but some of them absolutely dread it. Pray that God would make His presence so strong to them during this time! 

Also pray for Daniel as he raises funds for his missions trip to Uganda! He arrives in Uganda on January 22. You are welcome to read about his preparation at www.danielinuganda.blogspot.com!

Thank you for your continued prayer support! May none of us ever take for granted the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made when coming to earth and becoming our Savior. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Good News of Great Joy

As we finish up this last week before Christmas, I look forward to celebrating the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - as the prophets foretold:

          For to us a child is born,

              to us a son is given,
              and the government will be on his shoulders.
          And he will be called
              Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
              Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
          Of the greatness of his government and peace
              there will be no end.
          He will reign on David’s throne
              and over his kingdom,
          establishing and upholding it
              with justice and righteousness
              from that time on and forever.
          The zeal of the Lord Almighty
              will accomplish this.

          Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)


I also look forward to sharing this message of hope through my semester of service with Engineering Ministries International. The internship is now 3.5 weeks away! By God's grace I was able to finish up finals and the semester well last week. Now I am in full preparation for the upcoming trip to Uganda.

Please pray along with me for the following requests:

          1. Wisdom in setting things in order and packing for orientation and the internship
          2. Spiritual preparation for ministering to those with whom I will be building relationships
          3. Provision for the remaining financial support to be raised

Thank you for your continued support through prayer and giving! There is still, however, much funding that needs to be raised for the internship. I will update support raising progress using the thermometer on the right side of this page. If you feel led to make a donation, please do so online at https://emisecure.org/donate.html.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Piece of Richard's Story


Richard.
Richard is a precious and sweet little boy that arrived at GSF on August - the same day that I arrived at Good Shepherds Fold. I have since fallen in love with Richard. Over the last 3 1/2 months, Richard has thrived...emotionally. Physically, not so much. You see, Richard struggles with sickle cell and has been battling crisis and blood infections. He's been in out of clinics ever since he arrived with his condition only worsening. So, I took him to a clinic in Kampala for additional blood work and a second opinion. A week later, I scheduled a consultation and follow up appointment with the doctor. It turned out that, after over a month of battling crisis and infection, the day of this follow up appointment was also the day that his little body had had enough. By the time we arrived at the clinic, Richard was inconsolable and the doctor took him back immediately. After a pain killers and a quick assessment, the doctor told us that his body was going into failure. I was devastated and so scared. How could this sweet little boy be dying? What followed was four of the most intense days of my life. Richard's body did in fact start failing, including renal failure, intestine inactivity, and an acute chest infection. I sat in the hospital, along with Elijah (another little boy who I brought for surgery - his surgery went well and has had a full recovery) and Julie (a nurse who had arrived at GSF just days before), and prayed...and cried... How can you sleep next to a boy who is literally dying?  What do you do when there is nothing left to do? I called on my prayer warriors in America, and surely enough, our Healer God started reviving little Richard's body. After almost a day of inactivity, his kidneys and intestines began working. Here is a portion of an email that I sent to my family during that time: 
When the doctor told me yesterday that Richard was going in failure, when another doctor came in last night and said that he was going in renal failure and didn't come back for five hours to follow up on his diagnosis (leaving us to assume he didn't know what to do...in reality he really didn't and had "gone to call another doctor"), when Richards body just shook from pain and screamed unless drugged so heavily with a hallucination pain killer that he was asleep, and when another missionary with many years of experience told me that Richard's body was shutting down and that I needed to prepare myself for the worst and just love on him while I could, I was devastated and so helpless. Nobody knew what to do besides pray. And so its what everyone did - all of GSF, all of you, churches in America.... And now I really do still feel so hopeful. The fact that they're even throwing days around about when we may be able to go home is so huge. I know there is still a lot to work through and we are not at the end of the tunnel, but I at least feel there is an end of the tunnel. So thank you thank you for praying!! It is still so intense and so exhausting, physically and emotionally, but I wouldn't wish to be anywhere or doing anything else in the whole world. God knew what he was doing when he brought me and Richard to GSF on the same day.



I've never watched a miracle unfold the way that I saw God heal Richard that week. Richard's body was literally shutting down...and God put His hand on Richard and revived each of his little organs. Just days later, he was singing and talking. Below is a video that I took of him while at the hospital:


 

God's power was revealed through little Richard. I'm so thankful that He chose to spare the life of that sweet boy. Although Richard's body has had a month to heal since this traumatic time, it is still fighting the blood infection and chest infection. He has been back to the clinic twice and will continue to go for regular check ups. Sickle cell will be a life-long battle for this little guy. But, I know that battling sickle cell is just a piece of the full story that God has in store for him.

Please pray that God would continue to sustain and protect sweet Richard. And most of all, praise God for such a amazing healing!

Richard (on the left) and Elijah (on the right) staying entertained at the clinic

I'm currently at Word Of Life camp with 25 teenagers from Good Shepherd's Fold. The camp started on Sunday and runs until this Saturday. Please pray that God would be moving in the hearts of these teenagers as they are offered the gospel throughout the week! There's nothing more wonderful than expanding the family of God.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Ever Thankful

Hello all! I hope that last weekend was one of reflection and gratitude for everything God has provided and of remembrance that we can (and should) give thanks every day.

Time is quickly approaching! The start of my internship with EMI is about six weeks away. I now know the ministry project I will be working on while in Uganda. Good Shepherd's Fold Orphanage - where my girlfriend Corinne Stoltzfus is serving - is planning to build a secondary school near Jinja, Uganda in partnership with Amazima Ministries. They have asked EMI to complete the Master Planning and Building Design for this school. For more information on each of these ministries, please visit their websites at the following links:






You can also check out Corinne's blog by following the "Corinne in Uganda" link on the right.

Thank you for your prayer and support! I have started receiving financial contributions, and I will keep you updated on support raising progress. If you would like to make a donation, the easiest way to do so is online at https://emisecure.org/donate.html. My EMI intern account number is 2997.

Please continue to pray along with me and all the other interns as we continue preparing to serve. God bless you!