Almost 5 Months in Uganda

Wow. It’s been too long since we last gave an update! Our last team left a little over a week ago and it was amazing. Our friends Chris and Stefanie Overstreet, from Bethel Church in Redding California, brought together people from all over the world. 

Stefanie, Chris, Mike and Lori

This team was so inspiring, because for the most part, this team came with a common purpose – partner together with Show Mercy to further the vision God has given us – revealing that LOVE NEVER FAILS. 

We were so honored to host this amazing team!

Katelin at the crusade. Notice the children's choir behind her performing!

Sarah is so good with the children

Precious lady at the veggie market. This is where I buy some of our food.

When we first met the team, you would have thought everyone was friends for years and years, but the truth was that most of them had just met in Uganda. The love they showed to one another, to SMI and to the villages we are living in was extraordinary.  (even our Uganda staff made mention of their practical love!)

We saw God heal many people in the villages, on the streets of Kampala as well as during the crusade we held for 3 days (and we will be posting some testimonies of this marvelous time), but honestly for me what I experienced and saw through this group of people touched me to the core…it was the love they brought and revealed...even before they stepped outside of the SMI base.

Mike sharing some of the vision of Show Mercy at the crusade.

You sometimes wonder where all the people are that truly love sacrificially. I know they are out there, because I know some of you :) But sometimes it just seems people are building up a life for themselves only. Where are those who are willing to serve beyond receiving something for themselves? You would expect this from people who have lived on this earth for a while (even that seems to be a rarity at times though).

This trip reminded me that “Love Never Fails” isn’t just a grand thought or a scripture in the Bible, but rather a truth. The Gospel message is making an impact in this world and this last team proved it. (If you know us, we are passionate about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the POWER of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.)  It was as though I was reading a newspaper article of how the sacrificial love, power and purpose of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection plays out in a person’s life. There is hope and something amazing and extraordinary arising from the hearts of people. An awakening is taking place and no longer are people satisfied with following the dictates of society or pursuing only what feels good for a moment. Long term pioneers are arising and taking their place. This next generation is pursuing what counts!

I saw young men with a love for their savior like never before. What did it look like you might ask? Humility with authority, servant hearts full of joy, preferring others before yourself because you want to, believing with God all things are possible – not because it makes you look good, but because that is who you are. You’re that way because Jesus has transformed your life. Not in a religious way but in a practical way. 

Even though for us personally it was very hard work and sometimes tiring to the point of exhaustion, it was so worth it. We have been seeing over the past year a gradual increase of breakthrough with the people in our villages. We are coming to a tipping point! It isn’t just this two week trip that has caused this, but rather everyone working together...those who have been praying, giving money/resources and pouring out their hearts of love. This includes our Ugandan friends as well. They are some of the most persistent people we know.

We are also noticing a common thread for those who come for 2 weeks or for internships and longer – the Father is awakening hearts to love, hope, life and living on purpose…all of the things God spoke to our hearts over 6 years ago. When you see a vision in your heart and then begin to see it with your natural eyes, you can’t help but press onward and upward.

We still have our 6 interns and 2 full time staff. They are such a joy to have here and they are part of our extended family. They are serving every day in the villages and helping us to continue pioneering and dreaming with God. We don’t even want to think of what FOD will be like when their internships are complete, but I guess that is part of life. We are excited though, because there are many others who are currently applying for internships as well as some thinking more long term.

Our amazing interns and staff here at FOD (plus Sarah Salley)

 

Celebrating a Birthday

In about a week we will celebrate Mike’s 44^th birthday. For some you could say, wow that is old, but for us, we are choosing to celebrate life, knowing that with time and persistence you get to see and reflect on a life lived with purpose. Time is a gift and you only get it one day, one minute, one second at a time. There isn’t any redos, but rather new opportunities to do it better. 

I haven’t really shared too much of our day to day. It is so different every day really and we feel we are running full throttle (probably more mentally than physically). We have come to realize after our 5 months of being here, if we are going to serve with strength and give our all, we need to create a home here, not just a ministry base. That is our task in these next few months (for us personally that is. SMI stuff will still be happening.) That means, painting our rooms colors we love, planting flowers that will greet us each and every day, putting up curtains for beauty and privacy as well as creating an area to watch our favorite African sunsets.

You can read about what we are dreaming with God for SMI on the SMI website. (Actually we are so far behind on updating the website, not sure when it will get typed up and uploaded). Basically, we know we are to buy the 8-10 acres next door to Field of Dreams and begin planning and developing the site for a primary school. Here is what Mike posted on his personal facebook last week. I think it describes it pretty well:

“I think it is time for Show Mercy to purchase another 10 acres next to the Field of Dreams and build THE BEST kingdom centered, high standard, purpose driven and destiny imparting Christian primary school in all of Uganda. If our goal is to transform a generation in Uganda, we need to impact the kids with hope, love and purpose from an early age during their formative years. Who spends more time with the kids than teachers?? I see future leaders of Uganda being told every day how much they matter and how much they can accomplish with their focus on Jesus and his incredible purpose for their lives. It seems to be a great long term strategy that will produce the greatest amount of fruit.”

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of our last month! Enjoy :)

Lori, Sarah L., Katelin, Ali, and Sarah

A little time of R&R in Jinja

Katelin is a kid magnetic...they love her hair!

We love our times in Jinja (where the source of the Nile River is located)

Mike praying for a girl at the crusade

This young man accepted Jesus. Excited to see what God does in his life.

The beautiful Salley girls headed to our "Say No to Hunger" feeding

Mike and I took our Ugandan Ladies out for a nice meal. They worked so hard while the team was here.

 

Thanks again for your love and support. We hope to post a few more testimonies of all God is doing here in Uganda soon.

Lori

Pictures of our week...We are LOVING Uganda.

First off we are so excited because we received our 2 year work visa for Uganda. Wonder how long we will be here? Only God knows, but we are loving all the opportunities to make a difference here. We are working towards FARMING!!! We can't wait until we get Field of Dreams up and running on it's own. We should be able to produce enough food for our teams and the hungry orphans we are feeding. Of course we are at the beginning stages, but before you know it, we will have some food to show for our hard work.

Here are a few pictures from our week:

 Helping out at a farm this week!

Getting the trenches ready for the seeds

Pulling weeds to prepare the area for planting

Our friends rabbit farm...hoping to do this soon at Field of Dreams!

Our work crew who helped out at the farm

Saw these kids on their way home while out in the village. Aren't they cute!

One of our team members took this picture. I love the colors of the clothes and flowers.
Be thankful for your washer and dryer!

I love the color of our roads!

Doing a home visit. This is Matia (the little boy in the center). He is lame from malaria, but thankfully we are working to get him some help. This day we were able to bring him a mosquito net, clothing, bedding and vinyl mattress cover.

Pappa Mike with Alex. This little boy used to be all frowns, but now he is full of joy! He is a little guy for being 6 years old. We just put him and his sister into a wonderful school. They are flourishing because of the Show Mercy sponsors.

The muslim girls walking home from school. They were right in front of our car as we were leaving our house.

Another great picture by one of our team members. This is our village road.

Our welcoming committee! Every day when you drive in the village
these children faithfully yell hello to you. So cute.

What Does the Presence of God Look Like?

I went to a ladies Bible study yesterday. It isn't as you imagine. It was on the dirt floor of a mudbrick church. I sat on a primitive wooden bench with no back support. One of the ladies invited me to join them so I did. I arrived a little late. Once inside and seated, I followed along as they read from Jeremiah 32 in their local language. There were about 7 ladies present. Each one took a turn to read a verse. It was obvious some struggle to read, but they encouraged each other and assisted those who were challenged. I know a few local Luganda words, so I could check to make sure I was on the correct passage.

Afterwards they asked for a scripture that stood out and ministered to their hearts. 3 different ladies shared special passages. One was - nothing is too hard for God, another - God rewards each one for their works, and I can't remember the last one. I was so touched as they shared why these verses touched their hearts. These women work so hard; not only physically, but emotionally as well. There is so much suffering, sickness and pain living all around them. To keep your chin up and keep pressing through for something better is such a challenge. 

They are going through the Bible in a year, so they continue reading different chapters at home with their families through the week. They shared with me how they are so very busy, but they felt they needed to set aside a time as women to come together. This was that time. As I pondered what keeps them busy and all they must do just to survive, I was challenged and inspired.

At the very end, they asked if I would close in prayer. Just as they didn’t interpret their Bible reading into English, my prayer wasn’t translated. We formed a circle and held each one’s hand. The young lady next to me was one who struggled with reading. I was told she had just given birth to triplets and lost two of them during the birth. My heart ached for her, but what an honor to stand with her and pray together.

As I opened my mouth and began to pray, I could feel the presence of God come into this little mud church. For some reading this you may not understand what I mean. The presence of God for me can sometimes feel like an overwhelming goodness inside me and all around me. It’s a peace, joy and relief that your heart has been longing for. This is what I felt. As I continued to pray the young lady next to me fell to her knees. Tears began to pour from my eyes as I pressed through to thank God for these precious women. 

As I finished my prayer, one of the ladies commented that when I first began to pray, she could feel the presence of God. (My friend was with me and was so gracious to interpret parts of the evening for me) What an amazing gift and way to leave the women’s group. 

One of my favorite songs, I Will Exalt You, says it best:

Your Presence is all I need
It’s all I want, all I seek
Without it, without it there’s no meaning
Your Presence is the air I breathe
The song I sing, the love I need
Without it, without it I’m not living

Lori

Photos from the Past Few Weeks

Katelin's 13th Birthday!

Safari in Murchison Falls Uganda

Hope Kids (Boys and Girls Group), Rainbow at Field of Dreams and Girls doing Hope Talent Show

Fun Times in Uganda

Trying to Take the Opportunities to Love on Purpose

I am trying to catch up on our blog. Here is a post I wrote a few weeks ago.

Our Awaken to Love team was a blast! God encountered every person on our team and it was a pleasure to be able to host it all!

I think we have finally recouped from facilitating the team for 3 weeks. It has been fun to reminisce and begin to “digest” all that happened during our trip this year. Mike and I were both remembering our Awaken to Love team from last year. The joy of relishing in all God did was temporarily taken when Katelin and I came down with malaria. We can’t believe that was a year ago and now to see all that God has done since them is overwhelming!

I can remember recouping from the sickness. I had consistent headaches for months and was very weak. One evening I was sitting on my couch with my dad celebrating my steady recovery. As I pondered out the window towards my beautiful rose garden, I remember saying to him, “Since God saved my life, how can I not say yes to whatever he has in store for me, even moving to Uganda.” At the time we didn’t know we would indeed be given the chance to serve and show HIS love in this beautiful country.

Now as I think of my rose garden (which I miss terribly – isn’t that silly!), I’ve come to realize there is a different kind of rose garden before my eyes. There is a unique kind of beauty all around me here in Uganda. Here are a couple of things I can see:

·        The opportunity to visit a sick child day after day is such a beautiful thing. In our last blog, I shared our experience of praying for little Justine after she passed away. Shortly after her passing, another one of the little girls in the home got sick – Zaitum. She is a precious gem whose eyes are always gleaming light and purity at you. When she fell sick, of course the reminder of Justine’s loss of life came to our minds. I spent so much time praying for her, but also visiting her and making sure she was able to go to the doctor for treatment. I remember touching her feverish body and telling her she would not die like Justine. She didn’t need to be afraid. My heart was so heavy to see her sick. Her eyes spoke volumes and seemed so lifeless. I brought her a chilled orange on one of my visits which I had bought from a supermarket in Kampala and she immediately began to suck on a piece as though it were candy. As she lay so delicate and weak, I found myself fighting off a fear of losing her too. The next day as I visited her, she was getting better and a little glimmer of life appeared in her eyes. As I walked up, she gave me a big smile and I then knew she would be fine. Who would have ever thought the little twinkle of an eye or smile from child would exude so much beauty and splendor. 

·        Hearing testimonies and stories from some of our team (who just left a little over a week ago)of how God touched their hearts and awakened them to love. These kinds of things make you realize how precious your choices really are in this life. What if we had decided to pass up this opportunity to live in Uganda? What if the comforts of home had wooed us to stay in America? I’m not implying that it’s because of us that God did amazing things in anyone’s heart. He could have used another opportunity in their life, but he used this one – Awaken to Love. He gave us the chance to preserver towards our hearts desires. Our passion is to inspire others to live on purpose. When you hear someone testify that God is alive to them more now than when they first arrived in Uganda…well, that really does make it all worth it! (there are so many more testimonies to share. We are hoping to post some of them through SMI’s posts)

Lori