Times like these

Sorry for the long span of time between my blogs. It’s difficult for me to assess my time here from week to week. I am continually stretched and challenged here. I am dealing with so much with my family and my marriage outside of all that is going on with Light Gives Heat. I am finding things out about myself that took me 27 years to find out. I am ugly, I am sinful, I am confused, I am lost and I am weak. Amidst all of this, I am believing that I am also beautiful, I am loved, I belong to my Abba and His grace covers ALL. Some days I feel more of one than the other but am still trying to figure out how to operate out of my heart knowing all of those truths.

Processing all of this ½ way across the world from my friends and my family has forced me to run to God and run to Randy. I’m learning a lot and realizing the purpose of all His timing (which I didn’t think would happen). Things are never what they seem.

We’ve also become close with a family here that has been a great support for us, they are our community right now – thank God for them!

Now, enough of me, let’s talk LGH. Suubi is going great! We’ve started weekly dance practices (for tribal dance) and the women and all of us Mzungus LOVE it!!!!!! English classes are progressing and Literacy classes are still awaiting a teacher (we’re getting there). The Epoh (bag) project is slowly coming along as well. We think we found a new building to move to because the current one is having problems with theft, plumbing, locks, running water….and on and on. We’re hoping to make the move sometime this week!

We got 3 new volunteers in on Friday. Betty said the night before that she was feeling so big because she was about to birth 3 more children. She views us all as her children, she’s a good mom! After the volunteers arrived she said the birth was somehow not all that bad.

It’s been raining a lot, we’ve arrived at rainy season now. Friday it rained all day long and everything shuts down here when it rains, so Friday was not productive for anyone.

A couple of weeks ago I witnessed the birth of a baby boy named after my husband, Randy. The picture of Christine, the Mother is here along with Randy and I holding baby Randy. Within the hour of the birth, my best friend, Cory birthed a baby boy in America named Joseph Augustine (Gus). I was calling Cory every ½ hour to an hour to check up on her during her labor. I felt that God was sweetly giving me this experience here in Africa to directly parallel with the birth of Gus. I wanted nothing more than to be there for Cory for her labor and delivery and to hold this sweet Gus within the first day of his birth, but God has placed me here during that time. He gave me an experience here that kept me present in real time with the birth of my best friend’s baby boy. Even though I couldn’t be there for his birth, I was grateful that God gave me this experience to be with Christine (the suubi woman who gave birth to Randy) at the very same time Cory was in labor. I was able to hold baby Randy within the hour of his birth, it was truly amazing. God is so sweet to have blessed me in this way. I love that God is so caring to bless us with things like this that we don’t necessarily need but that He knows will warm our hearts, and He does this just because he loves us, just because He loves me. Wow!

I’m humbled by how thoroughly God loves us. Thanks Abba!