Isn't our creator amazing?
Not only has he created such a glorious planet, but he chose to create us and be in relationship with us. He could have chosen to create us as his slaves without a choice. But instead he created us in His image with free will. And we can choose to be in relationship with our Mighty Heavenly Father. Isn't that amazing?
The Most High God who created the beautiful Nile River, the Rocky Mountains, sunsets and sunrises, and our bodies that are so complex and perfectly designed WANTS to know us personally and allows us to serve him and be a part of His Kingdom. He doesn't need us to do His work – God can do anything He wants. But He invites us to be a part of His plan and wants to use US to bring His love to Earth. What an honor! I am continually in awe that He wants to use ME to do His work and that I get to be here in the beautiful country of Uganda to do it. I'm so thankful that He brought me here and wants me to be a part of what He is doing in Uganda. I love that I live in Africa, that what seemed surreal 2 months ago is now my normal, and that I've really lost all concept of time because everything here is so different. I love that people shouting mzungu (which means white person) at me, little children running up to me and grabbing my hands, the power always going out, living with 14 people, walking almost everywhere I need to go, eating Ugandan food that tastes awful, and spending hours talking to high school boys about God, Canadian industries, and the Bible is my normal. I can't believe I come home in 6 weeks. I miss home a lot but also feel like I've barely even started here and I know God is no where near done with this team and the things He is planning to do through us and teach us, which makes me so very excited! Even when things are unclear and expectations are unmet and we encounter struggles, we are all learning to trust that the Lords will is being done even when we can't always see it. Because He is good and perfect and ALWAYS knows better!
That the ridiculously steep and muddy mountain I climbed in a skirt in the rain after our bus got stuck in the mud was made by God (I have not laughed as much as I did the day this happened in a long time), and the Ugandan village I could see in between the glorious green mountains all around from the top of our hike was also made by God and is filled with people who need Jesus. And that like struggles in life, climbing to the top of a huge mountain is always worth it at the end.
That the insane power of class 5 rapids that flipped over our raft twice and had me surrounded in waves not knowing where to go is NOTHING compared to the power of my God. Even when life is like those rapids, throwing us every which way and it seems like there's no way out, God is so much bigger and always has it figured out and in the end, just like our rafting trip, you look back with so much joy and satisfaction and see what you've been through and know that it was always worth it because of the adventure you experienced. Also, the same water that can flip you upside down can also be still enough for me to be baptized in as a symbol of the new life of freedom from sin that I live in because of Christ (yes, I got baptized in the Nile and it was amazing!). And the same life that often flips you upside down can also saturate you in Christ and all His freedom at the same time.
Life with Christ is such an adventure – He brought me here to Uganda for goodness sake and I still have no idea what I'm doing but that is what is so beautiful about it! Because I don't need to know what I'm doing. All I need to know is that I'm serving the King of Kings and He's got it figured out, and the more I trust and seek Him, the more adventures He's going to bring me on.
White water rafting down the Nile River during our 4 day debrief in Jinja with my team! It was a great time of rest and also processing what God has done, as well as praying about and making goals for the time ahead! Plus, we had a little fun :)!
