Like all good things Kenya has come to an end. We are so grateful to the Lord for allowing us the privilege to serve him there. We made so many wonderful friends and it was a blessed season of our lives. I must say that I did cry as we left the compound, saying good bye to our home and friends... closing the gate on the chapter of our lives. Kitale will always be special in my heart and I continue to text and email the amazing people that grew so quickly to be our family. But even as we were reminded at one of the last women’s bible studies we will have an eternity together so it is not good bye but see you later.
Pressing on toward the goal... we are now all adjusting to the season ahead of us here in Uganda. God truly is so faithful to refine us through our trials. The move although exciting in many ways had moments of being more than overwhelming. One of my big struggles this time had to do with stuff. Only 2 days before our anticipated travel we were still not sure how we were going to get our luggage to Uganda. With all the car seats we only had room in the car to pack enough clothes for a 5 day trip at most. Needless to say I was more than freaking out.
There was a point that I told Isaac that I did not care how it would be done or how much money it would take I wanted my stuff. I needed my stuff! As you can imagine that is the last thing my already stressed about the situation husband needed to hear. We did not have time to finish our "discussion" because we had a drop off his mom and dad in town so we all piled into the car and were off -- me still quite upset. We dropped of Greg and Bev and began our errands. While Isaac ran into the printers to drop something off, I found myself in the car waiting with an amplified bible on the dash so I figured I would get a little bible time in. I opened the bible to a random place (which I don't usually do) and read James 4:1-3 "WHAT LEADS to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled...and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask. [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose”...
Well you know how it goes; when the Lord speaks it just totally puts you in your place. I started crying totally convicted of looking to Isaac to solve the situation instead of asking the Lord. At that moment I let go. I told the Lord my desire to have all my belongings in Uganda and that I trusted Him that if He did not provide them then I was asking amiss and did not need them. Immediately after that I just felt a huge weight lift and total peace overwhelm me.
The Lord began that work in me then and has continued to really impress upon my heart my total and utter need to believe and live knowing that HIS PROVISION IS SUFFICIENT. Even now He is constantly reminding me to focus on the blessings instead of what I feel that I am lacking. When I start to think about how I don’t have an oven or any bookcases or a desk or you fill in the blank He so gently reminds me of the dishes that I have been able to borrow and the beds that the landlord is letting us borrow and the plastic table and chairs that we are borrowing. Through his Holy Spirit He is giving me the strength to be like Paul when in Philippians 4:11 he says "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content."
My encouragement this month is rest in being content. You can have FULL confidence that in whatever struggle you might be going through that what He has provided will be sufficient. I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon "Wherever God in his providence guides you, let it be your joy to know that he is too wise to err - too good to be unkind."
Ok so you want to know how the story ends well the night before we left another missionary friend who was also traveling to Uganda offered to take some luggage but when we found out the price to rent the matatu we worked it out that he would extend his rental and then Isaac would get back to Kitale and pack the matatu with all our stuff and then our friend would drive to Ft. Portal with Isaac and then bring the empty vehicle back to Kitale. So it all worked out in a way I would never have though off and better than I could have imagined and just in the kick of time. God is NEVER late.
Pressing on toward the goal... we are now all adjusting to the season ahead of us here in Uganda. God truly is so faithful to refine us through our trials. The move although exciting in many ways had moments of being more than overwhelming. One of my big struggles this time had to do with stuff. Only 2 days before our anticipated travel we were still not sure how we were going to get our luggage to Uganda. With all the car seats we only had room in the car to pack enough clothes for a 5 day trip at most. Needless to say I was more than freaking out.
There was a point that I told Isaac that I did not care how it would be done or how much money it would take I wanted my stuff. I needed my stuff! As you can imagine that is the last thing my already stressed about the situation husband needed to hear. We did not have time to finish our "discussion" because we had a drop off his mom and dad in town so we all piled into the car and were off -- me still quite upset. We dropped of Greg and Bev and began our errands. While Isaac ran into the printers to drop something off, I found myself in the car waiting with an amplified bible on the dash so I figured I would get a little bible time in. I opened the bible to a random place (which I don't usually do) and read James 4:1-3 "WHAT LEADS to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled...and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask. [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose”...
Well you know how it goes; when the Lord speaks it just totally puts you in your place. I started crying totally convicted of looking to Isaac to solve the situation instead of asking the Lord. At that moment I let go. I told the Lord my desire to have all my belongings in Uganda and that I trusted Him that if He did not provide them then I was asking amiss and did not need them. Immediately after that I just felt a huge weight lift and total peace overwhelm me.
The Lord began that work in me then and has continued to really impress upon my heart my total and utter need to believe and live knowing that HIS PROVISION IS SUFFICIENT. Even now He is constantly reminding me to focus on the blessings instead of what I feel that I am lacking. When I start to think about how I don’t have an oven or any bookcases or a desk or you fill in the blank He so gently reminds me of the dishes that I have been able to borrow and the beds that the landlord is letting us borrow and the plastic table and chairs that we are borrowing. Through his Holy Spirit He is giving me the strength to be like Paul when in Philippians 4:11 he says "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content."
My encouragement this month is rest in being content. You can have FULL confidence that in whatever struggle you might be going through that what He has provided will be sufficient. I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon "Wherever God in his providence guides you, let it be your joy to know that he is too wise to err - too good to be unkind."
Ok so you want to know how the story ends well the night before we left another missionary friend who was also traveling to Uganda offered to take some luggage but when we found out the price to rent the matatu we worked it out that he would extend his rental and then Isaac would get back to Kitale and pack the matatu with all our stuff and then our friend would drive to Ft. Portal with Isaac and then bring the empty vehicle back to Kitale. So it all worked out in a way I would never have though off and better than I could have imagined and just in the kick of time. God is NEVER late.
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