Jesus is the Winner Man

There is a song that we sing in our GSF church that always makes me smile and even chuckle. Thought I would share it with you! I have an amateur video but it is 255mb and on our internet it just wouldn't work to get it downloaded so I have written it out. It goes like this:

"Jesus is a winner man (pronounced weiner man); a winner man; a winner man; Jesus is a winner man; a winner man all the time.

Chorus: (add the electric slide to the moves)
He's a winner man, a winner man, a winner man, a winner man, a winner man, a winner man, a winner man; a winner man all the time. (Repeat and reverse electric slide)

Satan is a loser man; a loser man; a loser man; Satan is a loser man; a loser man all the time.

Chorus: (continue the electric slide)
He's a loser man, a loser man, a loser man, a loser man, a loser man, a loser man, a loser man, a loser man all the time. (Repeat and reverse electric slide)

I am on the winning side, the winning side, the winning side; I am on the winning side; the winning side all the time.

Chorus: (yep, you got it!)
On the winning side, the winning side, the winning side, the winning side, the winning side, the winning side, the winning side, the winning side all the time.

Birthday Girl!

So, I am a little late but wanted to share pictures of our 9-9-99 girl's birthday! Her favorite gift was a bottle of Top Up, which is the Ugandan version of Ketchup. Our kids have gotten accustomed to it and prefer it over Ketchup. No, I usually don't give food items as birthday gifts but she actually told us that is what she wanted for her birthday!

We had Cookie Cake that she helped make.She invited several GSF friends, a missionary friend from Jinja, and her teacher for a party.

Super Hero day!

 

Our kids are having spirit week this week at GSF international—love it.  Above is  a picture of the entire school and teacher on super hero day.  Super heroes are as follows:  Snowball girl, Pink Powder puff girl, Wonder Woman/Gumboot girl, just an average girl in trouble, Classy Girl, Seminole Boy, the Green Hero, Tambourine Man, and Sugar boy.

 

 

Gloria and Lilly

Gloria, one of our special needs girls,  is in the hospital for pneumonia.  She is not doing well and has been very weak for about a year.  She has been in the hospital for about 2 weeks now and has been feverish and vomiting most of the time there.  I was told today that the doctors are going to try one more antibiotic for 5 days and if she doesn’t get any better, they will recommend that we stop trying and just continue giving fluids via IV.  They also recommend that we bring her home and focus on quality of life as opposed to quantity of life.  Tough decisions but we are praying that God will bring healing and allow us to bring her home to recuperate. 

This morning before I was given this news, I really felt impressed to take Lilly to see Gloria.  Lilly is another of our special needs kids and one who can cause anyone to smile.  Those of you who have come to visit most likely remember Lilly and her full-body hugs.    Lilly makes every situation seem better.  Some days I just sit out on the veranda with Lilly and somehow she makes life better.  So this morning, I just wondered if Lilly could lift Gloria’s spirits as well.  The other thought is that almost any other kid at GSF would be stunned by Gloria’s feeding tube and IVs.  Somehow, I knew that that would not phase Lilly.

Later in the afternoon, our farm manager asked Mark if some of us could go and pray for Gloria.  Mark and I got ready and filled our car with 2 house moms, one of our American nurses, our tailor, our farm manager, Mark and I and of course, Lilly!  And by halfway through the trip, I think everyone was glad we brought Lilly.  She made us all laugh with her tries at saying all of our names and with the common phrases she uses all the time. 

“Lilly, are you happy?”  I asked her.

“Hmm, appy!” was Lilly’s response.

When we arrived to see Gloria, Lilly was quiet but still animated.  Gloria was very still and sleeping.  We gathered around and prayed.  Lilly leaning very strongly on me, was very quiet except when someone would say, “In Jesus Name. . .”

“Amen!” would be Lilly’s loud response. 

When we all finished I asked Lilly if she wanted to pray for Gloria. 

“Hmm, ray Goriah!”

She then repeated after me a prayer for Gloria.  When we finished, I looked down at Gloria to see she had her eyes opened and fixed on Lilly!  She realized Lilly was there!  Anytime Lilly moved, Gloria’s eyes would follow.  When Lilly began to speak again, Gloria began to move her mouth!  Wow, what a blessing!

When we finished talking to Gloria, Lilly was ready to continue her new found hospital ministry.  She turned to the many onlookers in the big hospital room filled with many patients and their caregivers.  She started waving and saying, “Hi!”  When we told her to go greet some others, she quickly walked over and gave high fives to unsuspecting people who were expecting handshakes.  One of the caregivers in the room even gave her money.

We have now decided Lilly is going to be making more hospital visits because she cheers the ones taking her, the person she is visiting and those in the ward. 

We think God for Gloria and Lilly.  When you think of them, pray for these two special girls.  Pray that they will be able to visit each other in their houses right next door to each other real soon!

Uganda Driving

One thing that makes driving difficult in Uganda is the number of people (and animals) on the roadway.  Driving back to GSF by myself yesterday, I decided to keep track.  In a 10 km (6.2 miles) distance, there were over 200 pedestrians!  Now consider this… These are mommas with babies, small children, kids hauling water on their heads, people pushing or riding bicycles loaded with supplies, etc.  Furthermore, the people are ON the road with you, not walking beside the road on a sidewalk.  Beyond that, we’re talking about roadways that normally aren’t paved and aren’t as wide as a two-lane street in the states.  Rural roads are generally just wide enough for two vehicles to pass each other.  And if there is a guy on a bicycle there at the same time, then he either has to bail into the grass or one vehicle has to slow down and wait to ease around the bicycle until the other vehicle has passed.

I know this still isn’t a good picture.  Next time you drive in the states, count how many people you pass walking on the road/sidewalk in a distance of one mile.  According to the number above, which was a typical day, there were 33 people per mile – again, pedestrians on the road, not walking near/alongside the road.  That doesn’t count how many goats, cows and sheep were there also.  We learn to adjust and pray more sincerely for safety while driving!

Wisdom needed, Wisdom given!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO HIM.” James 1:5

We were in need of wisdom last night. I called my mom and dad, I texted all our missionary team members and put it on facebook. We asked people to pray for wisdom. And the wisdom came. . . Let me give you the background story and then the wisdom that came from God.

Last Monday morning, one of our best housemoms called me very distraught and told me that her younger sister just died while giving childbirth. Later, she called to tell me that the baby had survived and wondered if we at GSF could take the baby. One of the difficulties with this is that her village is far from GSF so we couldn’t do any investigation of the situation. Also, we are not in the same jurisdiction which means we would have to go through the proper legal channels to make sure this little girl could stay at GSF. The other concern was that we really honestly do not have the space or the manpower to take another newborn at this time. The week continued with encouraging the house mom to go to the probation (the one in charge of placing orphaned children) in her district. We then found out there was an older sibling age 2 who was also in need of a home. She went to a local probation officer who referred her to the district probation officer.

Sunday, we found out that her family clan had had a meeting on Friday and had appointed our house mom as the one responsible for the 2 children. Also, because of the distance she had not been able to go to the district probation officer yet. We were then met with a problem. The house mom was now considered the mom of these two children which could cause problems in the house with the other GSF children. We also again just didn’t have room for these kids but we also did not want to lose such a great house mom. And if she were to lose her job at GSF, how would she be able to find another one with 2 little ones? Wow, I all of a sudden felt this tremendous stress of making a decision that would greatly affect this house mom and the two little ones. I spent a lot of time praying last night and the more I prayed, the more God’s peace came and His gentle voice telling me to rest in Him.

This morning, the social worker, the matron and I all met and prayed about the situation and then began to discuss. God brought the wisdom we needed and gave us a plan. The house mom is in the baby house which has two mothers in it and only one needs to stay at night. We decided that this mom could rent a home ($5) a month and hire someone to care for the kids during the day. She could then continue to work at in the baby house during the day and care for the sweet babies and one special needs kid who are already attached to her. We are hoping to give her some assistance in feeding the children. We look forward to how God will continue to reveal this plan for this sweet lady and the two children now in her care.

When you are not sure how to pray for us, pray for wisdom in the life-changing decisions we must seek God in. Thank you to each of you who prayed for us regarding this situation.

When I am afraid. . .

I was curled up in the big chair by the door with my heart racing and quoting “When I am afraid, I will trust in you” over and over again.  Fear is a huge struggle for me and is quite a challenge at an orphanage in a third world country.  It is something I have to constantly give to God. This time it was 4:30 in the morning and I had just gotten a  phone call that 9-year-old Chloe was having a severe asthma attack. Usually, when there is a medical issue in  the houses in the night, Mark goes to check on the situation and to help.  I stay home and pray.  Tonight was no different so I sat there to pray— but I couldn’t pray—the fear was overwhelming.  I was reminded that it had been exactly 2 weeks since we got another early morning phone call telling us that Norah was in distress and within an hour we knew she had died.  The hurt was still so fresh it caused fear to come rushing in. 

So I sat crying out “When I am afraid, I will trust in you”  and as I continued my focus changed from my fear to the God of the universe who hears and answers.  More than that, He loves me and Chloe and everyone else at GSF.   He knew what He was doing when He called our family here even as inadequate as I feel to be here but I asked God to work through me, a weak vessel.  He allowed Chloe to have asthma but He also placed her at GSF where she can get the medical care and the love she needs.   I prayed for God to protect her and also for her to grow in Christ and His word. I knew He was guiding Mark’s hands and mind and the others helping Chloe.  I was able to begin praying for wisdom and peace in that place.  The more I focused on my Lord and His plans, the more I was able to cry out to Him.  Mark returned and said Chloe would be okay but he needed run to the clinic to get some medicine; I was able to tell him that God and I were having a good talk. 

Chloe had to eventually be taken to the hospital to receive steroid treatments.  She is staying there through the weekend.  I praise God for her, for His protection and even the opportunity to spend time talking to Him and hearing Him answer.  Later that day, I told Mark that I had been so afraid that I couldn’t pray in the night and all I could do was quote “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  He said, “Amy, that was praying!”