So I hear it's my turn to send in a piece for the blog, seeing as I've never written a blog before I'm just going to wing it and tell a story for my contribution:
1/3/2016
Around 2:00pm
Masese; a slum on the outskirts of Jinja, Uganda
"Dude, we gotta make a decision here," Kole says, as the last few of the xhope group file out of the classroom we had been eating lunch in."Muzungu!" pipes a child about three feet to my right. Somehow 6 or 7 more kids had slipped into the room, through the legs of the team members leaving.
I look down at the packs of trail mix we wanted to give to the couple of kids that had been looking in the windows longingly as we ate. The plan to get them something sweet without exciting a riot as the rest of the group left was easy when there were only a few small hands to fill. Now, pleasing everyone was impossible.
"Muzungu!" the child again pops off, a foot away this time.
"Alright here's what we do.” I say to Kole, “I toss a pack to this one on my right. When I do that, you take three to the kids at the window and I'll pick two more to give the other two, then we bolt for the door!"
"Sounds good!" he says with is mouth, but his eyes give back more of a "this-could-get-out-of-hand" look.
"Muzungu, please." she whispers, almost in my ear now.
I toss the first pack and, in a flurry of excited yells and laughs, we are out the door trotting past Chuck.
We navigated that situation without too much physical chaos, but that wasn't the case in my head. I was irritated. There is never enough! Why isn't there ever enough?! These kids lose it over a pack of trail mix and, back home, kids their age throw temper tantrums because they got the wrong color iPhone for Christmas.
I was in the middle of trying to figure out how much trail mix I could buy with the iPhone's of those spoiled American kids when God spoke, in a big way.
I felt a tiny hand wrap around my little finger and I looked down to see a little one munching on an almond and smiling up at me. This was definitely NOT one of the kids that got a pack of trail mix.
I looked up to see one of the bigger kids, who had gotten a pack, passing out pieces to his friends in a more peaceful and orderly fashion than Kole and I could have ever hoped to do.
Kole told me later that almost the same scenario had happened to him a few hundred yards away.
God was very clearly saying, "chill dude, these are my children and I LOVE THEM. I will take care of them, ALL of them. So you don't have to. Today I took care of these few by using you and the others. Tomorrow I will take care of them, and many more in another way. Because, I am a good, good Father."
1/3/2016
Around 2:00pm
Masese; a slum on the outskirts of Jinja, Uganda
"Dude, we gotta make a decision here," Kole says, as the last few of the xhope group file out of the classroom we had been eating lunch in."Muzungu!" pipes a child about three feet to my right. Somehow 6 or 7 more kids had slipped into the room, through the legs of the team members leaving.
I look down at the packs of trail mix we wanted to give to the couple of kids that had been looking in the windows longingly as we ate. The plan to get them something sweet without exciting a riot as the rest of the group left was easy when there were only a few small hands to fill. Now, pleasing everyone was impossible.
"Muzungu!" the child again pops off, a foot away this time.
"Alright here's what we do.” I say to Kole, “I toss a pack to this one on my right. When I do that, you take three to the kids at the window and I'll pick two more to give the other two, then we bolt for the door!"
"Sounds good!" he says with is mouth, but his eyes give back more of a "this-could-get-out-of-hand" look.
"Muzungu, please." she whispers, almost in my ear now.
I toss the first pack and, in a flurry of excited yells and laughs, we are out the door trotting past Chuck.
We navigated that situation without too much physical chaos, but that wasn't the case in my head. I was irritated. There is never enough! Why isn't there ever enough?! These kids lose it over a pack of trail mix and, back home, kids their age throw temper tantrums because they got the wrong color iPhone for Christmas.
I was in the middle of trying to figure out how much trail mix I could buy with the iPhone's of those spoiled American kids when God spoke, in a big way.
I felt a tiny hand wrap around my little finger and I looked down to see a little one munching on an almond and smiling up at me. This was definitely NOT one of the kids that got a pack of trail mix.
I looked up to see one of the bigger kids, who had gotten a pack, passing out pieces to his friends in a more peaceful and orderly fashion than Kole and I could have ever hoped to do.
Kole told me later that almost the same scenario had happened to him a few hundred yards away.
God was very clearly saying, "chill dude, these are my children and I LOVE THEM. I will take care of them, ALL of them. So you don't have to. Today I took care of these few by using you and the others. Tomorrow I will take care of them, and many more in another way. Because, I am a good, good Father."
When it was all said and done, God gave presents to around 500 of his children today in the village of Masese, just like Jesus said He would in Mathew 6: 25-26 -
"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more then food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your Heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him then they are."
The gift He gave me was the peace of knowing that all I need to do is what He asks, nothing more and nothing less. It's not my job to give a pack of trail mix to every hungry orphan, just the ones that God sends to whisper "muzungu" in my ear.
Being able to be a part of today was humbling and has left me craving more. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Thank you for all the prayers. Charlie, Kole, and I are healthy and keeping our eyes and hearts wide open!
"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more then food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your Heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him then they are."
The gift He gave me was the peace of knowing that all I need to do is what He asks, nothing more and nothing less. It's not my job to give a pack of trail mix to every hungry orphan, just the ones that God sends to whisper "muzungu" in my ear.
Being able to be a part of today was humbling and has left me craving more. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Thank you for all the prayers. Charlie, Kole, and I are healthy and keeping our eyes and hearts wide open!
1 comment:
God is SO good!
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