Since we are less than 500 yards from the Nile River we will often take a walk down to the river and sometimes, especially when we have visitors, we go for a short boat ride. There's a restaurant at the end of our road that dead ends into the river where we will go and watch the river or go out on a boat ride. There's a waitress we always see there because she works every day of the week. And one day we were sitting there with some visitors, and we asked her about herself, she told us that she's in a catering training institute and that her uncle is paying for half of the fees as she works to pay for the other half. We asked about the parents and the father had passed on and she didn't talk with the mother anymore.
This is where I want to hit the pause button. Such conversations almost always open up avenues for speaking the truth, and encouraging a brother or sister in the Lord, or leading someone to the love, forgiveness and freedom that the Lord brings. When you take time to ask someone about him or her self it opens the door. Take time to listen, pray, be hearing what they are saying physically and hear what the Spirit is saying. And I know this doesn't just happen in Uganda, it happens in America too. People like to talk about themselves, and often if you're attentive you will hear also what they are not saying.
Anyway, un-pause, so as we're talking to her, Ruudy asks what happened that she's not talking with the mother anymore, and after she shares more, (the mother left the family when they were young) we both realized that she needs to forgive the mother so there is no place for bitterness in her heart, and we encouraged her to call her mom if she had her number. She said she did so we left her like that.
The next day we had walked back and I asked her as I was passing if she had tried calling her mom. She had a big smile and said yes! She had a nice long talk with her and they were going to keep talking. She also said that soon the mother is moving back to Uganda and she will let her know and then they can meet up. She was so happy. She said she hadn't talked about forgiveness yet with her mom, that she had wanted to do that in person, but they are on their way. Forgiveness always leads to freedom.
People often put missionaries on a christian pedestal, saying that they couldn't do what the missionary is doing, but you don't have to. There are things you can do in every day life, in every day situations that speak life and truth into people's lives. That's pretty much what it comes down to. So this blog isn't to say, look at us, what we've done, but to say, look at you, look at your own lives and the lives that cross with yours everyday. Pray for open eyes and ears to recognize opportunities for speaking life and truth. It may be at the restaurant, the gas station, the gym, or the work place, every person you have interaction with could sure use a little life spoken to them.
On the ministry side, more and more doors keep opening up for us to minister. Next week we are starting a new class and it has been amazing seeing how the Lord brings students to us without us advertising! We are excited for this new class and that means we will be having two classes every month.
Besides that, a pastor's wife who also happens to be our student approached and asked if we could start a purity club in her primary school. Of course we are passionate about sexual purity and our answer was yes and we are already in the planning stages of how we can go about this when the term re-opens next month. We are very grateful that the Lord is counting us worthy of His work.
The ministry in Soroti is going on well with the purity clubs concluding last week for this term and will resume again next month. The children under our sponsorship program will continue meeting for Bible study and Games every Saturday.
We want to say thank you for supporting us, it's because of your generous giving, that we are able to do all these things! keep praying for us and the work that we are doing here. Keep praying for these village pastors and church leaders that through them, there will be revolutionary unveiling of truth throughout Uganda! God bless you, we love you.
