Tuesday, April 23, 2013

What's In A Day?

Sometimes I'm asked what I do... and it really is a great question. But it's also a really tough question. No, not because I don't do anything, it's because what I do is so sporadic and unpredictable that it's hard to give a real job description of my responsibilities. I'm the sponsorship coordinator by title, but I also have other responsibilities as I live this life of service to God. It is my responsibility to make sure I respond to an email from a child sponsor, but it is also my responsibility to counsel two children who are fighting over a swing. I have plenty of the "job" type of responsibilities, but I also get amazing opportunities to disciple the children here at GSF. But when it comes down to it, why AM I here? Is it to create a seamless sponsorship program, or is it to share the love of Christ and story of the Gospel at every opportunity? I try my best to do both.  
 
But for your sanity, let me focus on my sponsorship coordinating responsibilities exclusively. One of my favorite parts of being the sponsorship coordinator is writing letters with the children. I love watching as they carefully craft each word (or in some cases, carefully craft each scribble). For the most part, the children have never met their sponsors, and yet they are filled with love for these people that help provide for them. Do they even get what a sponsor really is? I'm not sure, but they definitely understand enough to know that there are people from other parts of the world that are dedicated to them. And that dedication gives them a strong sense of belonging, which turns into a strong dedication returned back to the sponsors. The children here pray for their sponsors, cherish gifts and cards sent from their sponsors, and pour effort into their return letters. It's an amazing relationship; it's a two-way street. Although the children here don't necessarily have anything they can give their sponsors materially (except the other day when I intercepted a boy trying to give his sponsor his baby picture..),  they give everything they can - love and prayer.

Love it.
Hard at work

Besides managing communication between sponsors and the children, I also match sponsors with children, track sponsorship finances, keep a sponsorship blog (www.gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com - I know, it's time for an update!), send out a monthly sponsorship e-newsletter, communicate with sponsors, and....send lots of emails. Quite honestly, it's a great deal of computer "desk work." But God gives me amazing opportunities with both the sponsors and the children to watch His name be glorified and love be exemplified.

Truly, I'm so thankful that God brought me to GSF to serve Him through whatever responsibilities He brings me on a given day. Each day looks so different, but that's all part of the adventure of being led by the Holy Spirit =)

Praises/Prayer Requests:
 - Praise God! Daniel and I have set a wedding date. On August 15 we will become Mr. & Mrs. Iya =)
 - Praise that the time with Heather continues to be fruitful and wonderful! Click here to see her latest video: http://vimeo.com/64224802
 - Pray that God would give me grace and wisdom as I continue to work on expanding and improving the sponsorship program.
 - Pray for our children at GSF. The school holiday is soon, which means that many of them will go to their relatives and spend some time in the village. Pray for God's emotional, physical, and spiritual protection over them during the holiday.
 - Pray for the missionaries at GSF. The opportunities that God gives us to reach the poor and needy can be overwhelming. Pray that God would continue to grant strength as we serve Him in this community.

Sisters writing their sponsors letters

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Pressing On

Christ is risen! I hope that the Easter weekend was a time of remembrance and celebration. Even as we reflect on what the Lord has done for us, we can rejoice in the fact that our Savior is alive today and we can know Him personally.

                                   Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
                                                   His going out is sure as the dawn;
                                               He will come to us as the showers,
                                                   as the spring rains that water the earth.
                                                                                                 Hosea 6:3 (ESV)

This verse has been a theme for the interns as we meet together weekly to study the Word. Lately, I have been blessed with the reminder that when I press on and pursue God, He will be found. And as A. W. Tozer says, "God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is."

I have also been blessed to be able to see God in the majesty of His creation - in mountains and waterfalls and rivers and rapids. Uganda is a beautiful country!

On the banks of the Nile river

My work with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) on the African Children's Choir Training Centre continues. We are completing a set of construction documents for the site and building, and I have been working on civil, electrical, and plumbing plans. On a recent site visit, our team was blessed to hear all the children sing at their morning devotions. Their voices were harmonious and beautiful as they sang a chorus and then the Ugandan national anthem! The devotions were led mostly by the kids, and three or four of them got up and shared. The other kids were engaged and gave excellent input. I was struck by their discipline and by the insight they showed at their age (the oldest kids are in P7, or the 7th grade). Truly a great work is being done in these children's lives in the way they are being educated and brought up to love the Lord! The kids were very happy to see us visitors from EMI. After the devotions were done, they all came one by one and each gave us a welcoming hug!

A student preaching at morning devotions

Determining the invert elevation of an absorption field

Here is a little glimpse of the design work being done for the Choir Training Centre:

Isometric view of the Centre

Exterior elevations

Praise reports:
  • Praise God for His faithfulness in provision and protection for all the interns thus far
  • Praise God for His favor with Ugandan Immigration for office staff visas and passes

Please pray for:
  • Continued grace for all projects to be completed by their respective deadlines
  • The two EMI project trips preparing to head back to Burundi in two weeks
  • Continued wisdom as Corinne and I plan for marriage and our future together in ministry

Thanks, and God bless you!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

A GSF Video

Heather Green (www.gonetouganda.com) came to Good Shepherd's Fold this week! She is going to spend 5 weeks taking pictures and videos for GSF. God knows exactly what I needed - a great roommate and friend to fellowship and serve alongside. It's been so encouraging to have her here. I know God has great things in store for her. Even though she's only been a week, she's been a great blessing to GSF. In fact, she already put together a video as a "sneak peek" of more to come. Here is the link if you'd like to view it: http://gonetouganda.com/2013/04/06/update-recap/. Enjoy!

Pray for Maria and Dennis - two little children who joined GSF this week.