Progress of the House

When we begin preparing to come to Uganda, one of our visions and goals was to build a missionary house on the GSF land.  This would alleviate the need for missionary housing and would provide a house for us so that we could stay long term.  God has been so faithful in taking us on a journey of building this house.  He has provided many generous donors and given us a fabulous organization (eMi) to work with.  This blog post may be more for our parents, close friends and donors to the house but wanted to show you the progress.  We have been told that the move in date is approximately 4 weeks away, 

View from the road

Our back veranda where we hope to see many monkeys

View into our living room/dining room from the front door and through some scaffolding

No More Lies

She stood in front of me.  I took her hands and told her to look in my eyes.  I found out earlier in the week that she had been habitually called "the HIV girl" by a housemate.   The accuser sat behind us as I looked deep into this broken little girl's eyes.  "I want you and everyone here to know something.  You do not have HIV and never have.  It is a lie that you are an HIV girl."
Relief flooded over the little girl, a weight was lifted.  Her accuser ashamed, cowered in the corner.  "You don't have to believe the lies," I continued.  If someone tells you something, you can come to your house mother or to me and ask.  We will tell you the truth.

We all have an accuser, one who lies to us in our heads and through other people and things.  I am so often guilty of having a terrible weight on me, because I have listened to the lies of my accuser just like that little girl did.  God's word and His Spirit is our truth and as we read and recall His Word and listen to His Spirit, our accuser cowers in the corner not able to feed us lies anymore.

Isaiah 43:1 & 10 NIV

But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

 

 

Miss Middlest's garden

Miss Middlest came triumphantly carrying a bunch of carrots she had grown in her garden.  Miss Middlest doesn't like groups of people but would prefer one or two close friends which I have to tell you is problematic at an orphanage.  But this sweet girl has found a little bit of land and with a little bit of love, lots of work and one or two friends to help (many times secretively), she has a bounty. 

the reason we are here

To introduce children to the God of Jeremiah 29:11

For He gives them a hope and a future!

Welcome little Betty!  Your life is in His hands!

Gifts for the staff

When our last team left, they gave money for us to do something for all of our 81 staff members.  These are the buckets and supplies we got for each of them.  They were thrilled!  Thank you, Westover!

Happy Birthday, Uganda!

May the young hearts of today be molded and shaped to be the Godly hearts of your tomorrow's leaders.

Wordless Wedneday-Frank, Chloe, Megan and Mark

Not for the faint -hearted!

I was the one who always opted and still do opt out of watching movies, riding rides or reading books with warnings like this. Because I AM the faint-hearted! So what am I doing in Africa? God has a sense of humor? Yes, I believe He does but I don't think that is why I am here. I think it goes back to that verse,

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised , hath God chosen , yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are : That no flesh should glory in his presence. . .
1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Because honestly, it is only the Lord that can make me strong when I walk to my front veranda and see this laying there (yep, just a few feet from my front door)! I have people call me a hero sometimes but I have to tell you it is God who is my Hero and the one I run to when all these creepy crawly things show up. He is the one who receives the glory.


A notice to all snakes in Buikwe District, Uganda who are even thinking about coming to visit Good Shepherd's Fold Children's and Babies Home--it is advisable that you not come because our children know how to use stones--Just Saying!

So on the same day (yesterday), I was washing dishes and saw something that just didn't seem right-A lovely dragonfly on my dish drainer! Isn't he long? But I don't care how lovely or long he is, he still freaked me out when I was washing dishes.


I have a very wise friend who told me one time, "Many say that God doesn't give you more than you can handle. I don't believe that, God gives you what He can intrust in you to allow Him to handle." I am grateful I can allow Him to handle all these critters!
~Amy

Prayer at the Bank

I had a chance to publicly share Christ in a very unusual way today.  While at the bank doing some business for GSF, I was sitting at the Assistant Manager's desk.  It was the end of the business day so the workers were trying to put things into the vault.  No one could find the key!  The bank managers are Hindu and there are Muslims who work there also.  But many of the workers are believers in Jesus.  I was the only customer remaining, because I needed something that was in the vault and the bank had closed by this point.

They searched everywhere, focusing on the manager's desk where I was sitting, because it is directly in front of the vault.  I felt God telling me to stand and pray out loud.  I was afraid to do it.  Once, I told the manager that God knows where his key is.  He laughed nervously and kept looking.  A few minutes later, while they were still frantically searching, I told him again that I would pray to God, because my God knows all things.  Again, he nervously laughed.  There were at least 6 or 7 people searching for that key for more than 30 minutes now.

Finally, there was enough courage in me to fully do what God was saying. I stood and announced in a loud voice that there is a God in heaven and he cares about the affairs of men.  "God knows where the key is and I am going to pray that He will show you where your key is."  Then I prayed out loud to the One True God and asked Him to shine His light on the key so that all the people would know that He alone is God.  All the Christians said a big "Amen!" when I finished.  I have never done anything like that in my life.  After praying, I quietly started pleading with God, that His reputation was now on the line (probably more concerned about my own name, in reality).

Within ten minutes they found the key in a drawer that had already been searched many times by several different people.  Many people started saying "God answers prayer!"  One man shook my hand to thank me.  I just sat quietly and pointed to Heaven.  Even the Hindu bank manager shook my hand and said "Your prayer was answered."  The Muslim worker got into a cordial, yet pointed conversation with one of the Christian clerks – I'm supposing (as they were speaking in Luganda) that they were talking about whose God had answered the prayer.

Friends, if you only knew how nervous and afraid I was to stand up and do this.  I don't know what will come of that act of courage.  Pray that God will work in the hearts of those people in the bank.  May they continually be reminded that there is a God, and He is One God, and He is concerned about the affairs of men – even at the bank.