I'm A Child of God

On my trips to Uganda, I am often asked (or should I say, told a few minutes beforehand), to share my testimony.  I'm one of those people who grew up in a Christian home, never had one of those big conversion stories, and quite frankly, often felt intimidated about what to say.  I always had the impression that testimonies had to have this "wow factor"......but am quickly learning that is not the case.  On my first trip to Uganda, when asked/told to share my testimony I agonized over what to say.  I prayed and wrote, and scribbled, and erased, started over, and over, and over.  Finally I realized my testimony is not about me....it is about God and what He has done, is doing, and will do.  That was such a freeing moment for me.  Thank you Lord for showing me....reminding me Who our testimonies are about.  With that said, I want to share my testimony with you.  Now, there are a million things I could say, a million stories I could tell you about things God has done in my life, through my life, for me....but it all keeps coming down to this.....
 
"For God so loved (Laura...put your name here too), that He gave His one and only son, that if (Laura...and you) believe in Him, I shall (and you) not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
My heavenly Father loves me, I am His child..."For You created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body,.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139: 13-17)
It was not because I was a good person or deserved His love that God chose me as his child.  Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  God's love for me and for you is the same Jjo (Yesterday), Leero (Today), and Lubeerera (Forever).....I am God's child, I belong to Him.  I know I am a new creation. "Old things have passed asay, behold all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17), and God tells me in Isaiah 43:18 &19a  to "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!"  In verse 25 God tells me "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."  How comforting to know that!  What extravagant love!  What an amazing God!  Knowing that I don't deserve such grace, such mercy, such love.....and knowing that God looked through eternity into my yet unformed eyes, and said to me.....you are My child....I love you.....
I am His child......His child....all the big words, all the lofty explanations and deep ponderings can tell me nothing greater than the knowledge that the God of the Universe, the Creator of all things loves me.  To tell a broken person,  a lost soul, an aching spirit of such love.....what better testimony can there be than to share the living water that I myself have been given, with another thirsty soul.

FAITH 500

Faith 500.....what is it?
Well, you could go to our website to read about Faith 500, but really it is about FAITH. 
F-Following God
A-Accepting His timing
I-Is anything too hard for the Lord?(Genesis 18:14)
T-Trusting God in all of the details, in the waiting, in the plan, in the work
H-Holding on to Him 

That's where we are.....not always easy, but so exciting and rewarding! Please pray for us as we continue this Faith 500 Journey, as God reveals Himself to us, and as He leads us where He wants us to go, and in His timing. Please pray, please ask others to pray too......

Praying for One Another

I just love seeing God work! I say this after a difficult week, when many things seemed to go in just the direction I did not want them to. Then, just I am starting to feel this sense of foreboding, God gives me a peak at the pretty side of the tapestry.....you know, the side where His work in our lives is creating a beautiful design. More often than not, we only see the side where the thread is, and perhaps the knots, what appears as random threads with no purpose.....by the way....with God, there is always a purpose, and always a beautiful design. 
I had one of those weeks.  I am a social worker, and always saw myself using that degree with hands and feet on the ground, you know, like what I am involved in with Mercy Uganda.....however, God sometimes takes us on some winding paths to grow us, prepare us, teach us things like patience, trust, spiritual maturity...so I am doing mental health counseling.....never in a million years would I have chosen that, but God opened that door when He closed just about all the others.  It was safe to assume He wanted me there, at least for now.  This past week really made me  struggle with that too!  It was difficult and sad, heart wrenching and agonizing for several days as I saw two families deal with pain.  I told God I felt totally ill-equipped, but was quickly reminded that when He puts His children somewhere, He equips them.  I prayed, asking God to help me understand all of this....then some pretty amazing things began to happen! 
First of all, in our Faith 500 Vision, you know, the prayerful plan to raise money to buy land, and build an orphanage and school in Uganda, was given another $1,000.00.  Okay, so we still have a long way to go to get to our goal....but when unexpected gifts come in from unexpected sources, you know that God is working. THEN....I get a message from my dear friend Veronica, the Director of the Comforter Center in Uganda.  She was telling me that her board prayed for us......not just prayed for us......prayed specifically about our desire to move there, and our Faith 500.  A few years ago the shoe was on the other foot, when Veronica needed alot of money to buy the building they were renting or lose it to an abortion provider.  We did the 152 Campaign and were able to raise the needed money.
Fast forward to now. At her ministry board meeting, one of her board members asked about Sister Laura....how things are going.  They talked about the 152 Campaign, and how God had provided.  THEN, Veronica read them the letter Mark and I had sent out asking for prayer about our desire with the Faith 500.  Veronica and her board prayed right then for us.  Veronica's last words in her message to me were this.... "remember our Biggie GOD is still the same yesterday, today, and forever".
I so needed that reminder......I needed to be  reminded that nothing is impossible for God, and that we are in the palm of His hand.  God reminded me of the importance of prayer, and how He uses the prayers of His children......My week started off rough, with a struggle and uncertainty.....it ended with God giving me a gigantic prayer hug through  friends thousands of miles and an ocean away!  This peak at the tapestry just reminds me that even when I don't see it, God is at work doing some amazing things!! Thank you Lord that my life is in Your hands....thank you for friends who are praying for us.

Child of the Week

3 more children were sponsored for school this week!  We are very happy for students Sara, John, and Esther.  We serve an AWESOME God!!!

There are still many children in Mercy Uganda’s database that need sponsorship.  Here is this week’s Child of the Week.

Meet Ronald.  He was born January 28, 1999 in the Matany village of Karamoja.  He attends Kangole School and is in Primary 3.  His father died of liver problems and Ronald is being raised by his mother.  She cannot afford to pay his school fees.

 It costs $500.00 per year to sponsor Ronald.  This includes all of the school requirements, 3 terms of school, boarding, food, and transportation.  The school fees can be divided up into the 3 terms, January, May, and September, with the January term being higher to purchase requirements for the year.  Term one: $200.00, terms two and three $150.00 each.  Each student is required to bring a list of items for their first day of school.  These items typically include a mattress, mosquito net, trunk to store items, school supplies, school uniform, socks, shoes, bars of soap, a carton of laundry detergent, among many other items.

With Your Sponsorship:

1.      We send you pictures and updates as often as possible. The updates are done by our team in Uganda when they travel to the areas and the schools, and by our team members who travel to Uganda during the year.  You may receive 1 to 3 updates a year depending on our ability to travel to some of the more remote areas.

2.     We will let you know if the child has siblings in need of sponsorship in case you want to help a family, or know a friend who may want to partner with you.

3.     We will be more than happy to deliver letters and small care packages to your child when we travel to Uganda. We try to let our sponsors know ahead of time so they can send us letters for us to take with us. You can also send small monetary gifts that we will deliver to your child which provides special items, and extra food.  It also allows us to purchase things for them there in Uganda so your gift is maximized.

If you have more questions or would like more information about our child sponsorship program, please contact us. We would love to share with you.  Remember, your sponsorship is tax-deductible.

  

If you would like to sponsor Ronald please contact Becky at becky@mercyuganda.org.

Friends

I think that the older we get, the more we really understand what it means to have friends, and to be a friend. God gives us friends as a reflection of His love for us in so many ways.  For instance, each of the friends in this picture with me are friends I consider more like sisters. Each one dear to me, and each one reflecting Christ to me. 

These sisters of mine are gifts to me from the Lord.  He has placed them in my life and I honestly do not know what I would do without them.  I want to be that same kind of sister to them.  I want be a reflection of God's love to them.  I want, somehow, to bless them in some way reflective of the way they have blessed me.  My sisters love Christ, and that makes this friendship all the sweeter.  I thank God for the many ways they walk along beside me in the journey of faith.....in this work in Uganda.....in mine and my husbands friendships with them and their husbands. I could list so many ways that they have given so unselfishly, so quietly, but I know they wouldn't want me to do that, so I say a special thank you to my Savior for them.  I thank Him for putting them in my life, in our lives....I thank Him for the wonderful persons they are.....and I ask Him to bless them, protect them, and to help them know how much I appreciate them. 
I have other sisters too....sisters in Uganda. Sisters that God has brought into my life in very special ways and through ways only He could.  These dear sisters are gifts to me as well. On this side of the world my sister-friends are my prayer warriors,

my hand holders, my much needed support system in every circumstance, and love and encourage me in ways that only they can.  My sister-friends in Uganda are equally as precious to me, and our friendship holds deep meaning and joy in my heart in that these friendships take me to levels I would not and could not go had the Lord not brought us together.  My friend Veronica, shown here, is the director of the Comforter Pregnancy Center in Kampala.....our friendship is special and unique....it is a prayerful encouragement friendship.....I love that, and I love Veronica. 

My friend Alice is a beautiful and precious sister-friend to me too.  Though we struggle to verbally communicate, her love for the Lord, and her desire to serve Him in ministry work with us,(and in support of our director Henry, who is her husband) is a silk ribbon that binds our friendship in ways that only God can.  Alice is a humble, kind, generous friend who shows God's love in her acts of mercy and kindness, in her prayers, and in her beautiful humility.  I thank God for Alice.  I so look forward to, and long to be in Uganda in a more full time capacity to be able to build upon those friendships, to encourage as I have been encouraged.  In each of my friendships, each so dear to my heart, I pray that I will be able to bless each one of them in some way as they have so richly blessed me.  My friends have each given me a glimpse of the love of God.  Each one has been the hands, feet, heart, and voice of Christ in my life.  I thank them......and I thank God for them!

Praise the Lord for New Sponsorships!

PRAISE REPORT!!!  5 kids were sponsored for school this week!  YIPPEE JESUS!

There are still many children in Mercy Uganda’s database that need sponsorship.  Here is this week’s Child of the Week.

Meet John.  He is 15 years old and attends Primary 7 at Lodoi Primary School.  His father has passed away and John lives only with his mother.  He pays his school fees by fetching water to sell to others.  He hopes to be able to join Senior One next year but has difficulty earning enough money to pay his school fees.

It costs $500.00 per year to sponsor John.  This includes all of the school requirements, 3 terms of school, boarding, food, and transportation.  The school fees can be divided up into the 3 terms, January, May, and September, with the January term being higher to purchase requirements for the year.  Term one: $200.00, terms two and three $150.00 each.  Each student is required to bring a list of items for their first day of school.  These items typically include a mattress, mosquito net, trunk to store items, school supplies, school uniform, socks, shoes, bars of soap, a carton of laundry detergent, among many other items.

With Your Sponsorship:

1.      We send you pictures and updates as often as possible. The updates are done by our team in Uganda when they travel to the areas and the schools, and by our team members who travel to Uganda during the year.  You may receive 1 to 3 updates a year depending on our ability to travel to some of the more remote areas.

2.     We will let you know if the child has siblings in need of sponsorship in case you want to help a family, or know a friend who may want to partner with you.

3.     We will be more than happy to deliver letters and small care packages to your child when we travel to Uganda. We try to let our sponsors know ahead of time so they can send us letters for us to take with us. You can also send small monetary gifts that we will deliver to your child which provides special items, and extra food.  It also allows us to purchase things for them there in Uganda so your gift is maximized.

If you have more questions or would like more information about our child sponsorship program, please contact us. We would love to share with you.  Remember, your sponsorship is tax-deductible!

  

If you would like to sponsor John please contact Becky at becky@mercyuganda.org.

Click here to see other children that are waiting for sponsors.

Meet Hellen....our Child of the Week

Please allow me to introduce you to this sweet girl.  Hellen is about 8-9 years old.  She is part of a large family that is special to Mercy Uganda.  The father is Charles Onyango.  Laura (founder of Mercy Uganda) had the privilege of meeting Charles in 2008.  He is such a precious young man of God who has had a life of loss and hardship.  When he was a young teen, his parents were murdered by the Lord’s Resistance Army while living in Gulu.  This left Charles to care for his younger siblings.  A year later, one of his siblings died leaving Charles to care for their three children in addition to his own six.  That’s 9 children all together.  Charles struggles to meet their needs, always loving each child and never showing partiality.  Charles works hard to keep the children in school.  He with little education himself does whatever work he can to provide for the family.  He is unable to pay all the school fees but does all he can to barter goods in exchange for their education. 

The children are sick often with recurring bouts of malaria, malnourishment and dehydration.  If the children were in school they would have food each day.  They would have a mosquito net to cover their bed and help protect them from malaria.

It costs $500.00 per year to sponsor Hellen.  This includes all of the school requirements, 3 terms of school, boarding, food, and transportation.  The school fees can be divided up into the 3 terms, January, May, and September, with the January term being higher to purchase requirements for the year.  Term one: $200.00, terms two and three $150.00 each.  Each student is required to bring a list of items for their first day of school.  These items typically include a mattress, mosquito net, trunk to store items, school supplies, school uniform, socks, shoes, bars of soap, a carton of laundry detergent, among many other items.

With Your Sponsorship:

1.     We send you pictures and updates as often as possible. The updates are done by our team in Uganda when they travel to the areas and the schools, and by our team members who travel to Uganda during the year.  You may receive 1 to 3 updates a year depending on our ability to travel to some of the more remote areas.

2.     We will let you know if the child has siblings in need of sponsorship in case you want to help a family, or know a friend who may want to partner with you.

3.     We will be more than happy to deliver letters and small care packages to your child when we travel to Uganda. We try to let our sponsors know ahead of time so they can send us letters for us to take with us. You can also send small monetary gifts that we will deliver to your child which provides special items, and extra food.  It also allows us to purchase things for them there in Uganda so your gift is maximized.

If you have more questions or would like more information about our child sponsorship program, please contact us. We would love to share with you.  Remember, your sponsorship is tax-deductible!

  

If you would like to sponsor Hellen please contact Becky at becky@mercyuganda.org.

Click here to see other children that are waiting for sponsors.