Chasing Fireflies

If you're looking for a really good, uplifting Christian novel...

<--- read this one. (Thanks, Kathryn!!)

Chasing Fireflies is about 2 little boys...one the narrator now grown up, and the other, a little orphan who has had a heart-breakingly rough childhood.

It's also about the narrator's foster dad, Unc, and his foster cousin, Tommye (I still don't know how to pronounce that...I kept calling her 'Tommy-ey').

Anyway, it's a great story with a strong mystery to solve, 3-D characters that you can smell, and enough heart to temporarily put the worst depression on the shelf. I immediately started hounding my husband to "read this now." He'll love it, when he gets around to it.

I'm hugely envious of this guy's writing ability, and already looking at what else he's written to see how I can get my hands on it! If you're interested, check out www.charlesmartinbooks.com

Highly recommended...you won't regret it.

A Royal Retreat

We just finished a short overnight women's retreat here in Arua for our women's Bible study group. We've been studying the book of Esther,

so the retreat was themed around Royalty.

Being little girls at heart, we all 'dressed up' like queens in our royal best...for some of us this meant buying 'ball gowns' for $5 at the local second hand market.




These are the "Gold and Turquoise Girls"












For me...it meant wearing the changing dress that I wore at my wedding 10 years ago!

Yes, my hips are a bit wider and I've got lots more jiggly flesh,
but it all fit into that dress and it wasn't even too snug!
So that was already a big ego boost!

Me and Pam...the Blue Girls

We are all the "U.S. Passport holders"

Me and Cheryl

Joanna Coppedge
Our retreat leader

One of the pages that Joanna had put in our retreat package was titled A Royal Decree, and I just wanted to share it with you:

A Royal Decree

My Vow
Whatsoever Thou sayest unto me, by Thy grace I will do it.

My Constraint
Thy love, O Christ, my Lord.

My Confidence
Thou art able to keep that which I have committed unto Thee.

My Joy
To do Thy will, O God.

My Discipline
That which I would not choose, but which Thy love appoints.

My Prayer
Conform my will to Thine.

My Motto
Love to live: Live to love.

My Portion
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.

If I were to get another tattoo...

I would want to get that motto tattooed somewhere

(don't ask where)

Love to live: Live to love

What a goal...to rejoice in the life God has given me, and spend that life loving others. Oh that God would saturate me with His love that I couldn't NOT overflow it to others.

I have no greater wish, right now,
than to have
God's heart of love.

Faith in the face of evil?

I have been contacted by 3 different people in the last week to see if I can help with the case of a Congolese Albino woman who is seeking asylum to New Zealand. She hopes to get to Kampala to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees office for safety until she can process the journey to NZ. These 3 people are hoping someone can help get her to the UN and help get her case seen.

An albino child in Tanzania

All I could do was pass on the information to a friend of mine who is the Director of International Justice Mission in Kampala. Maybe he can help her.

What is her case? What is she fleeing from?

Death and organ harvesting, according to the report.

There is a belief in many parts of Africa that albino body parts have stro

ng powers, and witch doctors use them in various ritual killings and potions. Kidnapping and sacrifice of these albinos is not unheard of...in fact, last year I remember reading an article a

bout the albinos in Tanzania who were given

mobile phones by the Tanzanian government with toll free emergency numbers that they could call if they felt someone was trying to kidnap them.

an albino baby

(For more information, read this article in the Daily Mail: African albinos murdered for body parts to use in witchcraft )

The sister of this Congolese albino who is seeking asylum was also an albino...she had already been kidnapped and killed, and her body 'hung out to dry'...apparently they dry the skin and bones and then crush them into powder for the witchdoctors to use in their potions.

That is the potential fate that this woman is running from.

I don't understand this level of evil...my brain just can't take it in. I've seen mob justice in Uganda...a man was beaten to death by a crowd of people right in front of my eyes. His crime...stealing the equivalent of $30 from a small shop.

I saw the rage come into the eyes of the mob...it was almost animalistic, like some deep

primeval emotion that gripped the mob and filled them with blood lust. It freaked me out, to say the least.

But this kidnapping and slaughtering of albinos, as if they were animals...this one is beyond me. How dark the blind that satan has pulled over the eyes of these kidnappers and witchdoctors.

What hope is there? In this morning's quiet time, I read in Proverbs 11:21...

"Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,

but those who are righteous will go free."

Is that any consolation at all to someone who is literally running for her life? Does the promise of God's judgement upon the wicked satisfy the victim enough? Especially if she never sees the judgement in the land of the living?

African albinos

A friend of the YWAM base called Charles who has a 'boda boda' business, which just m

eans driving people to and from town and various other places on his motorbike, was called to pick up a lady the other night. When he had dropped her at her destination, he was given a soda an

d woke up half a day later.

His phone and his motorbike were gone.

A boda boda driver...not Charles

So what does he do? It's unlikely the police will be able to help him. So does he take matters into his own hands and try to hunt down his perpetrators and his bike?

"Vengeance is mine," declares the Lord,

but think about this for a minute. This friend had a loan from the bank for that motorbike that he was still paying off. He has children about to go back to school that need school fees. He was also helping put his brother through school. He was building a house, and had materials that still needed paying for. Not to mention food and basic things, like medicine.

How hard it is to turn the other cheek! Everything within us rises up and wants to do something! I remember when the thief came and took all our money...some people wanted to do a search throughout the neighborhood of all our neighbors' homes! Others wanted to go room by room throughout the base and search all of us staff.

Somehow there is a basic need to take matters into our own hands and fix it.

I was talking about Charles' problem with a Ugandan friend, and she said, "He just has to forgive those people and let it go. He just has to pray and trust God for another motorbike."

Yes, I would agree with that, oh, but the internal struggle! Dealing with the betrayal and

violation, the fear and injustice. It's a narrow road that we have to walk to follow in His footsteps.

Do I trust God to judge the wicked and punish them one day? Absolutely. But would I be so strong if I was the one who's sister had just been slaughtered, who was running for her life and forced to go live somewhere thousands of miles away in a foreign land because my own people wanted to kill me?

Just because I have no skin pigment?

I just shake my head sometimes. It's too baffling for me.

And when that happens I can only fall on my knees and declare,

"Lord, I believe You are good, and that all Your ways are good.

I believe You will judge the wicked and reward the righteous,

but I pray for Your grace now...in this moment when the wicked are running free,

wrecking havoc and ruining lives.

I pray You would help me lift my shield of faith to trust You

no matter what it looks like around me.

No matter my circumstances, or those of others,

let me cling to Your promises

and pray that Your kingdom come and Your will be done,

in the life of the Congolese woman,

in the life of Charles,

in my own life,

just as it is in Heaven.

In all situations, You are worthy to be praised.

Amen."

Please take a moment to pray for the Congolese woman and the safety of albinos in Africa.

Pray also for Charles.

Thank you.

Breaking the blog silence...

It's been so long since I've blogged that I couldn't remember my sign-in password...that's pretty sad!

Thankfully I had it written down along with the 37 other usernames and passwords for various accounts, so here I am once again...back in blogging action.

Things have been CRAZY the last couple of months, so much so that I was too exhausted to blog! I was already tired from months of dealing with the aftermath of the theft, plus various other crises that kept popping up, so when we hosted and staffed a 6-week Leadership Development Course, it just finished me off.

Instead of getting refreshed, like I had hoped, the LDC just took every last little bit out of me. By the time everyone left, all I wanted to do was stay in my house and have time with God. I was really really really finished.

Now, almost 4 weeks later, I'm doing much better but still needing space and a lot of time with God to process this year and try to learn the lessons He's been teaching me through all this. Maybe one day I'll be able to share some of those things on this blog.

In the meantime, here are just a few pics from the past couple of months:

My baby girl turned 5 in early November

and wanted a Princess birthday party.

I was stoked at how well the cake turned out...

...and Kezi and Elsie Jayne (who shared the

b-day party...she turned 3) loved it!

We borrowed a ton of dresses and let all the little girls pick out the one they wanted to wear, then added a few accessories. They came out in pairs and did a little twirl to show off their princess attire. They were adorable!

My big boy turned 9 a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't so impressed with my cake this time around, but he was happy with it so that's all that matters.

Aidan wanted a campout/sleepover with a bonfire, so he and his friends pitched

the tent, then roasted hot dogs,

marshmallows and sweet potatoes in

the bonfire. The dads slept out with them

and did a great job!

They also played water balloon games which brought lots of laughter and quite a few drenched clothes. But hey, December in Africa is dry season, so they didn't stay wet long.

Otim almost popped his balloon just from laughing so much.

Noah and Ogeno race to the basins with their balloons.

We also got into the holiday spirit

and made about 130 Christmas cookies!

I was so thankful for Kezi and Kenzie who

rolled, cut and colored with me.

John, Noah, Aidan and Cheryl (Kenzie's mom) also got into the spirit and helped decorate.

But the real highlight for me of the last few weeks is this right here...

RAINBOW TOES!

Someone told me at the end of the LDC

to try to do something fun for myself every day.

So when Kenzie came around with her

nail polish kit one day, I took one look and said,

"There's a rainbow in there."

So there you have it...when you're down in the dumps and need something fun to do, spice up your life with some rainbow toes. There is no way you will not smile at least once (or many times!)

We're off to Kampala tomorrow for the holidays, so stayed tuned for more pics...

Reflections on battle

"Tenacity is more than hanging on,
which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off.
Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe
that his hero is going to be conquered.
Remain spiritually tenacious."
Oswald Chambers

I was reflecting the other day about this last year and the many many challenges we went through, and are still going through. I've never seen a year like this....tons of sickness in our family and on the YWAM base, lots of 'pastoral care' issues that needed hours of conflict management and counseling, and then, of course, the BIG THEFT that blasted our world and kept knocking us with all the aftershocks.

We, as a base, never really had time between blows to get back on our feet and resume fighting stance. It was more like we would begin to push ourselves up, and just when we were straightening our legs and lifting our heads, we'd get another right hook to the jaw that would knock us back into the ropes again. And again. And then again.

So many times this year I've thought, "What the heck is going on?! This is crazy! This is too much!" and the inevitable, "God, what are you thinking?"

I wish I could say I handled it all like Moses who "never wavered through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised." No, I'm afraid I wavered. And ranted. And raved. And indulged in a few pity parties along the way.

Yet somehow my faith has grown and deepened through it all, even though we never found the thief, even though we're still bruised and a little sore emotionally, even though we're still quite tired and wrung out.

I read back over some of my journal entries from earlier this year, in the weeks preceding the theft, and I discovered how God had tried to warn me and prepare me for the coming trials. On the 13th of June, during one of my quiet times, I felt God saying, "Things are changing. Be ready. Be alert. Stay very very close to me. The battle is heating up, and your shield of faith must be high and strong. Your faith will be tested like never before. Remember I am with you...do not be afraid."

Exactly 2 weeks later the thief struck.

The following days and weeks were hard. I was up and down, up and down. One minute praising God and believing with all my heart that He would show His power, raise His mighty right hand and save the day. The next minute asking Jesus, "Where are you? Are you praying for me that my faith will not fail? 'Cuz if so, You need to pray harder. It's hanging by a tenuous little frayed thread and feels like it could snap at any minute."

It was tough.

But here we are, 3 months later, preparing to host a Leadership Development Course, and I'm rereading a journal entry from the 9th of July where I quoted:

"We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized;
we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do;
we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side;
we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken.
So we're not giving up. How could we!
Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us,
on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times,
the lavish celebration prepared for us.
There's far more here than meets the eye.
The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow.
But the things we can't see now will last forever."
2 Cor 4 The Message

So...tenacity. Not just hanging in there, according to Mr. Chambers. But refusing to believe that my hero is going to be conquered...refusing to give up hope in the knowledge that Jesus has already won the battle, and He's on my side.

I like what Beth Moore said about William Carey...after listing all the troubles and loss he endured as a missionary in India, Beth said, "William Carey became the devil's nightmare. Every time Satan knocked him down, the man of God stood back to his feet again, more determined than ever."

We've been knocked down so many times this year, it was tempting to crawl over to the corner and nurse our wounds, or even slither under the ropes and get out of the ring. But God's grace each and every day has been enough to keep us fighting the good fight, refusing to give in and give up, because we know that our Saviour WILL one day come riding up on His white horse to save the day.

In the meantime, He fights each and every battle with us. He never leaves us alone.

No matter how hard it gets, Jesus is my hero, and I will never let go of Him.

An African parable about Belonging

This is the story of Mr. Bat

Once upon a time, in the Animal Kingdom, a new law was passed requiring all animals to pay tax. Mr. Zebra, the newly-appointed tax collector, went from animal to animal to collect the tax.

When Mr. Zebra reached Mr. Bat's tree, he said, "Mr. Bat, I have come to collect your tax."

Mr. Bat flew down from the top of the tree and landed on a lower branch. Then Mr. Bat stretched out his hand to display the webbing connecting his arm to his body.

"I am not an animal," said Mr. Bat proudly, and he flapped his arms and flew up a few feet in front of Mr. Zebra. "Have you ever seen an animal with wings that can fly like this? I will not pay your tax because I do not belong to the Animal Kingdom."

Mr. Bat flew back up to the top of tree and left Mr. Zebra to carry on his way.

Some time later, a similar law was passed in the Bird Kingdom requiring all birds to pay tax. Mr. Owl, the newly-appointed tax collector, went from bird to bird to collect the tax.


When Mr. Owl reached Mr. Bat's tree, he flew up onto a branch at the top of the tree near Mr. Bat. "Mr. Bat," he said, "I have come to collect your tax."

Mr. Bat looked at Mr. Owl, and then he opened his mouth wide and bared his fangs. "I am not a bird," said Mr. Bat proudly. "Have you ever seen a bird with fangs like this? I will not pay your tax because I do not belong to the Bird Kingdom."

Mr. Bat then ignored Mr. Owl until Mr. Owl flew off to visit the rest of the birds on his list.

One day, Mr. Bat got sick and fell to the ground at the foot of his tree. No animal came by to visit Mr. Bat. No bird came by to visit Mr. Bat. That night, Mr. Bat died alone on the cold, hard ground.

The next day, Mr. Fox was passing by and discovered Mr. Bat's body. He ran to the birds to tell them about Mr. Bat's death.

"You better come and bury your friend," said Mr. Fox to the birds. "He has died and his body is just laying on the ground near his tree."

"He is not our friend," said the birds to Mr. Fox. "And he is not even a bird. Have you ever seen a bird with fangs like his? We will not bury him because he does not belong to the Bird Kingdom. You better bury him."

"We cannot bury him," said Mr. Fox. "He does not belong to the Animal Kingdom. Have you ever seen an animal that can fly like him?"

Neither the animals nor the birds took responsibility for Mr. Bat. And so, Mr. Bat's body was left to rot at the foot of the tree.

The End

Moral of the story: It is better to belong and contribute to the group, than stay apart and suffer alone.

In Africa, I have seen this communal spirit played out over and over. When someone is getting married, everyone in the community pitches in with whatever they have to see the wedding come to pass successfully. When someone dies, everyone in the community pitches in with whatever they have to pay the costs of burying the person. If you don't contribute to someone else's need, no matter how little you have, you will also be shunned when your time of need comes.

The "Mr. Bat attitude" has no place in Africa.

Chicken Pecks

Right in the middle of our holiday (vacation) in Mombasa, Noah came down with Chicken Pox.

Lovely.





After a few nerve-shredding days of Noah crying and wailing in frustration, pain and itchiness, we discovered oatmeal baths, and everything changed. Whatever is in that oatmeal, it really works.

I would set up the portable DVD player, and Noah would soak in the bath washing with the oatmeal in a sock. Kezi and Aidan would keep Noah company and watch the video with him.

Soon Noah started healing up, and we managed to enjoy the last few days of our break.


Now, 2 weeks later, Aidan has come down with the virus. This morning he said it must have originally been called Chicken Pecks because it feels like a chicken is pecking his skin.












We're still in the throes of the nerve-shredding crying and wailing, but I'm thinking tomorrow we'll get the break through.










Not looking forward to the Little Princess Drama Queen getting hers, though.







FYI...if one of your kids get the dreaded Pox, try the oatmeal bath...it's the only thing that really helped mine.