Sequestration of the Day Planner

I know that I am a little late getting this topic discussed, but here it goes any way.  Please know that this discussion is more for me, but if the Day Planner fits!

Sequestration has gotten much press over the past month and I am honestly surprised that there is still an internet to view this on since the sequester kicked in.  The definition of sequester is “to isolate or hide away”.  We have heard of gloom and doom and all of the bad things that could or would happen if congress allowed this 2% budget cut to take place.  That’s right, it was almost a full 2%.  It is almost laughable when you look at the percentage rather than the dollar amount. 

 

As I was mocking this 2%, God grabbed my attention.

I often find myself feeling too busy and unable to get everything done that I have planned in a day.  My day planner gets more cluttered and my time debt continues to mount!  Most days, it seems like I can’t possibly add anything else to the schedule.  When I get that busy, things like my quiet time and study can suffer.  I just can’t seem to make 30 minutes available for one of the most important activities of the day.  30 minutes is just too much time to part with.  It is unreasonable to think that I can find that much time in my schedule without something falling apart or getting neglected.  Let me break down a little math for you.  There are 1,440 minutes in a day.  2% of this is 29 minutes……ouch!  2% of a year, is almost exactly one week.  I don’t know about you, but I often need to trim back my time commitments so that I don’t bankrupt the obligation account!  I have to make cuts NOW, or they will definitely be more painful later!

 

You have heard me say it before, but reading the book, “Radical”, by David Platt, really challenged me in my walk and actually prompted me to GO on a foreign mission trip.  One of the challenges that David Platt gives in his book is for the reader to spend 1 week, per year, in a different context.  Remember that one week is 2% of a year.  Before reading this book, I often thought that my one week would be better spent working and then donating the proceeds so that someone else could GO.  I’d like to quote you a small part of Radical and see if it doesn’t challenge you to GO with 2% of your time.

 

The author states that he was planning a mission trip to Sudan, and it was going to cost him about $3,000.  As he started to think about going on this trip, a woman in his church asked why he did not just send the money.  Wouldn’t that do more good than spending 10 days with them?  He went ahead and went on the trip and a local man told him that many people had been generous, sending supplies and needed materials to the community.  But then the local man asked, “Even in the light of all these things that people have given us, do you want to know how you can tell who a true brother is?”  Then he continued, “A true brother comes to be with you in your time of need.”  He then looked David Platt in the eye and said, “David, you are a true brother.  Thank you for coming to be with us.”  Platt then writes the following:
Tears welled up in my eyes as the reality of the gospel hit home with me in an entirely new way.  I was immediately reminded that when God chose to bring salvation to you and me, he did not send gold or silver, cash or check.  He sent himself – the Son.  I was convicted for even considering that I should give money instead of actually coming to Sudan.  How will I ever show the gospel to the world if all I send is my money?  Was I really so shallow as to think that my money is the answer to the needs in the world?  If we are going to accomplish the global purpose of God, it will not be primarily through giving our money, as important as that is.  It will happen primarily through giving ourselves.  This is what the gospel represents, and it’s what the gospel requires.

 

That little bit of the book on page 197 & 198, spoke straight into me.  Not all of us will GO into foreign missions, but we are called to GO and make disciples.  He may call you to GO next door, across town or around the world.  Sometimes I think that our time and financial obligations prohibit us from going.  We must sequester some time to spend with God daily and to GO.

 

Nobody wanted to claim the idea of the US government sequester.  Both sides blamed the other. 

 

When it comes time for a Day Planner Sequester, it does not matter whose idea it was, just that you solve it!

 

Jay

One in five children in Uganda dies before their 5th birthday.  What if we reached That One Person?  

Anticipation

Are you old enough to remember the Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef" commercials?  If you are, then you are likely over 30 years old.  The commercial was from 1984.  If you don’t remember that ad, you most assuredly won’t remember the Heinz Ketchup commercial (1979) where they try to convince you that the ketchup is so thick and tasty it is worth the wait, while it comes out of the bottle.  The song says “anticipation is making me wait”.  As many of you know, I just finished working on a “Walk to Emmaus” men’s retreat 10 days ago.  One of the buzz lines of the weekend is “do not anticipate”.  This is repeated to try to get the first time attendees to relax in the moment and not worry about what is next.

 

I’ve got to tell you, I am full of anticipation right now.  I don’t think anticipating is necessarily a bad thing.  Sure, we should make good use of today, because we all know that this IS the day that the Lord has made.  “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. Psalm 118:24 

We too should not worry too much about the future:  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:34.

I am not worried about tomorrow, nor am I discounting today, BUT I am anticipating what God will accomplish through the Due Unto Others team in Uganda this summer.  Romans 8:24-25  says,  “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it”.  I have not seen what will happen in Uganda while we are there, but I am eagerly waiting, with perseverance, for it.  We feel that God has called us to go back to Uganda to continue our medical missions there.  Because of this call, we know that he has big plans for His Kingdom work there.

I can’t wait to see our friends from Africa Renewal Ministries and the Renewal Healthcare Network.  Thanks to the internet and facebook, we have been able to keep up with them and make plans for this summer, but it is just not the same as working with them daily.  I am anticipating reconnecting with some of the “That One Persons”, like Jamil, James, Tendo, Nakiganda, Joseph (from Soroti), Shakib, Jonathan and others.  We have been receiving pictures of them, but interacting with them is such a joy.  We look forward to worshipping our God with the people of Uganda.

 

You can be a part of the Due Unto Others team in Uganda for 2013!  Here are the 3 ways that you can help our team:

1.)    We need many prayers.  Please lift up the people that we have treated and the people that we will be treating this summer.  Please pray in all things that God will be glorified.

2.)    You could join us for a 2 week short term trip to serve God and the people of Uganda.  Please email me dueunto@gmail.com for more information and pricing.

3.)    You could partner with us to raise the money required to take the Due Unto Others team to the rural areas of Uganda and to purchase all of the medical supplies required to put on 6 weeks worth of clinics.  Please email me to get more information on this as well.

 

We know that God has a reason for us going back to Uganda this summer.  We are looking forwarded to our time there, but ANTICIPATION IS MAKING US WAIT.

 

Jay

We all live a story!

I had the pleasure of being the Lay Director on a Walk to Emmaus this past weekend.  I was joined by 30+ team members.  These guys are some of the most Godly men that I know, and many of them have been examples or mentors to me in the past.  Our team was able to lead 28 “pilgrims” on this Walk to Emmaus, and we experienced the Holy Spirit and God’s love for 72 hours that I will never forget.  When we had returned from our “mission” to Uganda last June, I wondered what my next “mission” would be for Christ.  To be honest, I struggled feeling “missionless” for a while.  I was contacted by the Great Plains Emmaus board, in August, and I accepted the “mission” of leading the Great Plains Emmaus walk #80.  It took 5 months of preparation and team formation, but man was it worth it.  We heard some awesome talks and testimonies from many inspirational men.  My talk was about perseverance and the stories that we live.

I feel the lives that we live tell a story.  Sometimes it is a short story, sometimes an epic, sometimes a love story and other times a thriller.  I read a book, in September, called “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller.  Several things that he wrote struck a chord with me.

1.)    There is a force in the world that does not want us to live good stories.  It does not want us to face our issues or to face our fears and bring something beautiful into the world.  I believe God wants us to live exciting and inspiring stories, but the enemy would rather that we create meaningless stories, teaching those around us that life is just not worth living.

2.)    When we live a story, we are telling others what we think is important.

3.)    The main way that we learn story is not through books or movies, but through each other.  If your friends are living boring stories, you probably will too.  We teach our children good and bad stories.   We teach them what is worth living and dying for, and what is worth pursuing. 

4.)    Much of our lives are spent trying to avoid conflict.  Half of the commercials on television are trying to sell us something that will make life easier.  Part of me wonders if our stories are not being stolen by the “easy life”.

5.)    When we look back at our lives, what we will remember are the crazy things that we have done, the times that we worked harder to make a day stand out.  The times that we decided to make a bad day into a memory maker.  You might remember this blog about memory makers.

6.)    It is not necessary for you to win for your story to be great.  It is only necessary for you to sacrifice everything!

7.)    A good story teller doesn’t just live a good story, though.  He also invites others into the story with him, giving them a better story too.

 

I challenged myself and the guys at the walk this past weekend with the following.  See how it hits you.

What are you telling through the story that you are living?  Is your life telling the story of the Gospels to your friends and family?  It has been said that if you are not telling a good story with your life, nobody will think that you died too soon.  I want to live a life full of adventure.  One that shows that a Christian can have fun while serving a Risen Savior.  I want to live a life of perseverance that uses my God given gifts to their fullest.  When it comes time for God to take me home, even if I am 100 years old, I hope that the overwhelming topic at my funeral is “Man, it seems like Jay died too soon”!

 

Our family feels that God has called us to return to Uganda this summer.  We purchased our plane tickets today and we look forward to God filling in the pages of our story as we serve the wonderful people there.  We look forward to seeing many friends there in a few months. 

I received some pictures of James from Mubende this week.  James was a young boy that had been run over by a car on his way to school.  This accident caused him to break his right femur and have his left leg amputated above the knee.  Through the generous giving of Due Unto Others supporters, James was able to get his prosthetic leg this week.  What a blessing this will be for him! 

Jay

Finding passion in Uganda

We have been asked, many times over the past year, “What made you decide to go to Uganda for such a long period of time?”  The obvious answer would be that God lead us in that direction.  We were blessed to be able to share about our call and experience in foreign missions at Cashion First Baptist this past Sunday.  Their pastor, Greg Davis, asked us questions and we were able to share some of our passion for the people of Uganda.  You may know this already, but working in Africa has always been something that I have been passionate about.  No seriously, hear me out.  Growing in up in FBC Duncan, we would (especially in December) hear from missionaries that were home on furlough.  They would tell us of the dire conditions that they were living in, the foods that they were eating, and the trials of learning a new culture and language.  I think that they told us of how big of a blessing the people were, but I never listened that long.  I was still stuck on the first list of negatives.  I was PASSIONATE that I did NOT want to be a foreign missionary, especially in Africa. 

 

I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in my early teen years.  And to be honest, my fear of being “called” to be a missionary to Africa kept me from a deep relationship with Him for many years.  Any time that I would let my guard down and listen closely to God, I would hear Him reaffirm for me that He just wanted me to grow deeper and be more involved with His work where I was.  As I grew in my relationship and trust, this passion (against Africa) faded.

 

A few years ago, Jill and I felt God call us to step out of our comfortable boxes and support a friend that had done some things that most would feel should cut him off of the “support list”.  Through taking this minor risk and through a couple of books that we read, I began to see how “lukewarm” the American Church, as a whole, can be.  I also was shaken by what the bible has to say about being lukewarm. 

Revelation 3:15-17   (15) “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking.  You’re not cold, you’re not hot-far better to be either cold or hot!  (16) You’re stale.  You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.  (17) You brag, “I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless”.

 

Well I definitely do not want to aggravate God’s GI system.  Jill and I had read David Platt’s book Radical, and part of his prescription to be a Radical Christian, was to spend 2% of your time in a new or different context.  That is one week per year.  So I began to feel that God was leading me to use my medical training to help in an underserved area overseas.  An OLD high school friend of mine, Jerome Loughridge, had been on several mission trips, so I called him for some advice.  I did not know exactly where to plug in, or how to use my medical training to serve God in the best way.  He, “coincidentally” was going on a 1 week trip to Uganda about 2 months later.  I plugged in with his group from Henderson Hills church in Edmond.  As I was in Uganda that week, I experienced the living conditions, the food, and the cultural differences, but I felt my PASSION come back as I met the people.  But this time, that passion was strangely very positive, rather than negative, as it had been in the past.  Have you ever seen those paintings that look like one thing, but if you do some sort of mental gymnastics “relaxing your eyes”, you can see a different picture behind them?  You know, the picture looks like the Egyptian pyramids, but if you can see the other picture it is an orca in the middle of the ocean?  I have never been able to see those second pictures.  In fact, I think that they are somehow like the Emperor’s new clothes!  Anyway, as I was actually in Uganda, looking at the poverty, the lack of medical care, and the cultural differences, God began to relax my eyes.  Those things melted out of the way, and I could see my brothers and sisters in Christ, and one of the things God created and trained me for.

 

It was my passion for the people and being able to see clearly how I could make a difference for God’s kingdom that prompted me to GO.  Speaking of the people, do you remember Shakib?  We came across Shakib in Mukono in late May.  He had been severely burned, in a house fire, and was intermittently getting “burn care” in a guy’s garage.  He had scarring and contractures in his hips, knees and hands. 

 

He had to wear a dress, because anything else as too painful.  He could not walk and was in constant pain.  His mother, Teddy, was staying with Shakib’s grandmother, as their only means of support.  We felt that God was prompting us to help in the medical care of Shakib.  We offered to take Shakib, his sister, and his mother back to Kampala and provide for the family, his sister’s schooling, and get Shakib medical care/physical therapy.  Generous donors to Due Unto Others, provided the funds for all of this to happen.  Shakib’s grandmother told Teddy that if she came with us, they would not be welcomed back to her house.  Teddy came with us, taking a huge risk, to do what she felt was best for Shakib.  This is now 6 months later, but guess what I got in my email this week.

 

Shakib has had multiple operations and much physical therapy, but he is now WALKING!   We saw many miracles and were able to participate in the care of many people in Uganda.  Even if we had only seen Shakib, our time, money, sweat, and tears of our 5 months in Uganda would have been worth it.  I am convinced that God has special plans for Shakib.  He was born to a Muslim father, but I think that our heavenly Father has big plans for him!  I am thankful that God made Shakib “That One Person” in Mukono.

 

Now, I’d like to throw out a possibility for you to get a taste of foreign missions and see if it does not stir your appetite to GO even more.  Jill and I will be leading a 2 week mission team to Uganda in June of this coming year.  Here are some bullet points regarding this trip:

-          The tentative plan is for the team to leave DFW on the 13^th of June and return on the 28^th.

-          The team will be limited to 20 people, and older children will be considered and discussed with parents. 

-          We will make a trip down into SW Uganda and provide medical clinics in those areas.  One of the places that we will go is Kibale, an area recently in the news with a horrible ebola outbreak over the summer.    

-          We will need medical and non-medical people for this team. 

-          Accommodations will be in Jill “accepted” or approved hotels.

-          We will add on a short safari at the end of the trip.  This will be a true taste of Uganda.

-          Cost will be approximately $900 for meals, lodging, transportation, safari etc. per person.

-          Airfare could be $1,500-$2,400 per person, depending on how soon we can get the tickets reserved.

 

This is about 6 months away.  We will need to have some meetings between now and then to prepare, get immunizations, etc.  The 6 months will give you some time to fund raise, but not a lot, as we need to get flights booked ASAP for better prices.  Please contact me as soon as you can, if you are interested.  Many people have talked to me about wanting to go to Uganda in the future, and we are limited to 20 people.  I am excited to see what God can accomplish through and in this team.  No matter how much you sacrifice and give to bless the people that you are serving, you will be blessed even more.

 

Please prayerfully consider stirring your Passion for foreign missions.  Help the Due Unto team find “That One Person”!

 

1 in 5 children in Uganda die before their 5^th birthday.  What if we could help That One Person?

Jay

 

 

The parable of the lost cow?

 

As I sit to write this blog, I feel a little rusty.  As well I should, I have not posted a blog since August 28^th.  We have gotten back into the swing of things in Oklahoma and have been catching up on some things at our ranch.   A couple of weeks ago, we were looking at some things with our building contractor who is doing some renovation of our house, when a guy from the oil company came up.  This fellow drives his truck around and checks the oil pumps for the oil company.  He asked me if the cattle around this place were mine.  I reluctantly said yes, as I feared that he was about to tell me something that they had messed up.  He said that he had noticed a cow in the body of water formally known as our lake (now a large puddle) and he was afraid that she was stuck.  I thanked him and headed off to retrieve her with a rope, a 4-wheeler and a whole bucket of naivety.  This is what I found when I got down to the cow.

 

I can’t figure out how she sunk so deep in this dirt.  There were no deep tracks leading up to her, just her up to her chest in the mud/dirt.  I quickly realized that I was not going to pull her out with a rope and a 4-wheeler, so I went back to the house to get a shovel.  Surely if I could dig out around her legs, she would step up out of there and walk to safety and be eternally grateful.  Well I dug for about 30 minutes and then tried to pull the cow’s tail to get her going but she was completely exhausted.  I am quite a green (lack of experience, not so much environmentally radical) rancher, but I have heard horror stories about people getting things stuck in their “dry” ponds.  So I was hesitant to bring any equipment down into this area.  Simon, our building contractor and his nephew Felix, graciously offered to help us to free the cow.  We realized that digging and pulling was not going to work, so Simon thought we could dig under the cow, wrap some straps around her, and lift her out with the tractor.  I reluctantly went to get the tractor, fearing that we would have to have a helicopter to get the tractor out.

 

Simon’s plan worked perfectly, as I lifted the cow right up out of the hole and started to back up.  Then… the tractor sunk to its axels. 

 

This is a 4 wheel drive tractor with big treads, and it was going nowhere but down.  I sat the cow down (out of the hole) and she made absolutely no effort to get up. 

 

We spent about 3 hours using rocks, boards, pieces of sheet metal and the front end loader to try to get the tractor out, but we had only moved it about 8 feet.  So Simon had another great idea, we just needed to bring the 4-wheel drive pickup down to pull out the tractor.  I had been arguing with him about this while we dug and worked on the tractor.  Finally, I had no better ideas, and figured the helicopter could get out a tractor and a pick up just about as easily as the tractor alone.  So I went to get the pickup.  We used a long tow strap and kept the pickup as far as we could towards the side of the lake bed.  We were able to pull the tractor out.

 

I then circled the tractor around, tied onto the cow’s straps, and literally drug her to the edge of the lake and stopped. 

 

 I brought her food and water, and she immediately began to eat.  This made me feel better, because I knew that if she was thinking about passing away, she would not be eating.  We left her there and left to return to Duncan.  The next morning, I went back to check on her and found this.

 

And after a little time of searching, I found this!

 

This whole scenario was a little scary and somehow comical.  As I thought about that cow, it reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep in Luke.  Luke 15:4-6 says, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home.  Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep’.”

 

One of our special friends in Uganda recently passed away.  Young Joseph, from Mytiana, has gone to see Jesus.  Joseph had a significant facial cancer and long odds against living.  Through the giving of Due Unto Others supporters, Joseph was able to receive chemotherapy and we thought that he was improving. 

 

I don’t know the specifics of what happen, but I do know this.  Joseph was young enough that he is in Heaven.  Please pray for his father Ellya and for Ellya’s remaining children.  We have felt like our role in Joseph’s life was perhaps to reach Ellya for the Lord.  We tried to show God’s love to this family, but we know that they have gone through much heartache in the past year, that only God can break through.

 

One in five Ugandan children dies before their 5^th birthday.  What if we reached that One!

Jay

Updates and Newsletter copy

Greetings to all of our friends and supporters of Due Unto Others.  We thank you so much for your support in so many ways over the past year.  We were blessed to have the donation pledged for James' prosthetic leg.  I am excited to see if his smile can get even BIGGER!

Here are some updates from this week regarding some of our favorite "starfish" in Uganda.

Kenneth had heart surgery on Monday of last week.  He was released from the ICU late last week and was allowed to go home to Rushere today.  What an amazing healing that has taken place in him and he is now a witness of God's love to his entire village.  Thank you to all of you who helped pay for his care.  Please continue to pray for Kenneth and the big plans that our God has in store for him.

Kenneth preparing to return to Rushere after his release from Mulago Hospital

After some delays and postponements, Joseph had his heart surgery yesterday.  According to the report, all went well and he is recovering in the ICU.  Please continue to pray for his healing and for his story of God's love when he returns to Soroti.

Lydia is returning to Mulago for a check up on Friday, and if she is stable, she will be admitted and have surgery on Saturday.  Lydia is one of the sickest "Cardiac kids".  Doctors have been trying to get her stabilized on medications so that she can undergo her heart surgery.  Please pray for a healthy check up and a successful operation for her.

Lydia with her mother

We were asked to write a short article about our trip to Uganda for the Africa Renewal Ministries newsletter.  If you have been following our blog, this article will seem a little superficial, but if you have not, it will give you a bit of an overview of our time in Uganda.  Take the time to Friend Africa Renewal Ministries and Renewal Healthcare Network on Facebook.  They give updates about projects that are in progress.

What a blessing it was for our family to be able to serve our God in Uganda from February 2^nd through June 14^th of this year.  We thank God regularly for introducing us to Africa Renewal Ministries and the Renewal Healthcare Network.  This article is a little about our family, the Gregston family: Jay, Jill, Jake (16), Jared (12) and Jayne (11).

 

When our family left DFW airport on February 2^nd, we had many emotions running through our heads.  One of those emotions was shear relief!  We had been on an interesting journey over the prior few months.  We thought that we had sold our business and with the transferred responsibility and added proceeds, we would be able to go to Uganda, paying our own travel and living expenses.  This sale fell through, 6 weeks before our scheduled departure.  God not only worked this situation out, by putting people in place to cover our needs in our absence, He allowed our home to sell as well.  Selling our house was a blessing.  It allowed our expenses to be decreased while we were in Uganda.  The only problem was that our house sold 10 days before we were leaving.  So a mad pack and move marathon ensued, ending at 4:00am, the morning that we left for the airport at 6:30am.  We were exhausted and the 24 hours of flight time seemed like a time to rest a little.

 

Despite knowing that we did not need to be, we were a little fearful.  We had been in Uganda for 2 weeks in July of 2011.  We knew that God had called us back for a longer period of time, but we really did not know what to expect.  I felt that God had called us to take needed healthcare to rural Uganda, and I knew that we felt like our family was to serve Him, together, out in these rural areas.  We did not want to have our kids in a boarding school while Jill and I were out running these clinics.  Africa Renewal Ministries and Dr. Martin had plans to take healthcare to rural areas too.  They just had not done it to the level that we were thinking, leaving us both a little naïve as to what we were getting in to.

 

Every person in our family was excited about the adventure that lay ahead of us.  We probably all pictured it in different ways, but everyone was “all in”.  Each of us gave up something important to go and do what we felt God was calling us to.  I think that because of this willingness to give things up and go, God blessed each of us in unique ways.   One of our blessings was meeting a family, from California, that was in Uganda for the same time period as us.  The Gash family has children about the same age as ours and we were able to give each other a built-in support group.  Their family helped us with many of our medical clinics, helping to keep some of our costs down.

 

Our first couple of weeks, in Uganda, proved to be frustrating, at times.  We were searching for a van that would be used to load up our team and supplies and take us to the rural areas of Uganda.  Because we had no vehicle, we were dependent on others for transportation and found ourselves waiting to be picked up quite often.  We did an internship, of sorts, at Wentz Medical Center during the first two weeks.  I learned more about the local medical care, health system, and potential referral options.  Jill and the kids learned about pharmacy medications, lab tests and checking inventory.  In addition to these things, we were adjusting to a new culture and trying to make sure that we had our apartment set up for our stay.

 

I had anticipated that our routine would be loading the van and going on day trips to villages, putting on clinics and then driving home to our apartment in the Kampala area.  As the schedule was unfurled, we realized that there would be many trips where the distance was too far for day trips.  Places that we would be staying in hotels or guest houses for up to 9 days at a time.  This may have been where most of the “adventure” was for some of us!  As we settled in to our routine, we would usually go on a road trip one week, then work in areas close to Kampala the next week.  This allowed us to reach all of the ARM projects, in Uganda, and also to have time to “regroup” between the trips.

 

As we started running the clinics in rural Uganda, we were overwhelmed with the actual need, severity of illness, and the lengths that people would go to come see us in these clinics.  We had people traveling 8-10 miles, carrying sick children on foot to see the mzungu doctor.  In Kachungwa, the site of our first road trip, we had a young girl die soon after we got her to the hospital.  When we went to the hospital to check on her, we were appalled at the facilities, or lack thereof.  This scenario of overwhelming need, lack of resources, and seeing death up close was very taxing on our family.  God showed us through this that we really needed to focus on one person at a time and making a difference for them.  Through our time in Uganda, our mantra began to be “That One Person” (TOP).  Each day, we would pray that God would show us “That One Person” that needed an extra dose of God’s love that day.  Sometimes TOP would be a child that needed a complicated surgery that they could not afford.  Some days TOP would be an 11 year old boy, with HIV, that needed to defeat me in a soccer match and in doing so win a new soccer ball for himself.  Other days, TOP would be a young girl that our daughter singled out to give a handmade doll that she and her grandmothers had made.

 

Jill and I would whole heartedly recommend the “family” concept to missions.  Our family grew in many ways but primarily in our individual and collective walks with Christ.  We saw miraculous healings that served to deepen our faith.  We saw the Holy Spirit at work in ways that we had not seen in the USA.  Our team did morning devotionals, rotating the leading of the study time.  Our kids, ages 11, 12, and 16 lead these as well.  We “homeschooled” our kids while we were gone.  Opportunities were taken to discuss many subjects as we went on our missions.  Science through medicine and nature.  Math through pharmacy calculations and conversions of many things from temperature, to money, to units of measure.  Geo-political topics were plentiful.  All of our minds were challenged daily as we tried to learn some parts of a new language.  Our “homeschool” plan was not one for long term, but we feel that our kids gained so much in their world view and their perspective of Christianity, that we would not hesitate to do that again.  Our kids were able to work as pharmacists, laboratory technicians and as nurses during our time in the rural medical clinics.  They all feel that they want to pursue a career, of some type, in medicine and that they will use that training to be a part of foreign missions in some way.

 

We are so blessed that we teamed up with Africa Renewal Ministries and the Renewal Healthcare Network to execute our missions in Uganda.  Our road team of David, Faith and Joseph helped us navigate through many potential pitfalls as we went about our medical missions.  Dr. Martin choreographed many things from Wentz Medical Center in Gaba. Many others at Wentz and at Gaba Community Church helped to make our time in Uganda productive, safe and life changing.  They were very accommodating to our family, in many ways.

 

For those of you sponsoring children through ARM or for those of you supporting the Renewal Health Network, you are supporting a worthwhile cause!  We have seen these projects first hand and YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!  Our team saw more than 10,000 patients over our time in Uganda.  Since the first of January, every sponsored child has received a medical exam, any needed medication, and some extra evaluation and treatment where indicated.  The RHCN continues to see and care for Ugandans, even though we are back in the US.  I know that there is a continued need for funding as we are still caring for some children requiring specialized cardiac procedures and receiving chemotherapy treatments.  I am sure that the RHCN could use your talents as a medical team or individual if you are interested in volunteering your time, at some point.

 

Our family has forever been changed and blessed from our time with Africa Renewal in Uganda.  I am grateful that we were able to blog about our adventures to chronicle our time there.  You can check out our blog a www.dueunto.blogspot.com.  We cannot wait until we are able to return to see our friends and care for the wonderful people of Uganda.  Our family encourages you to find “TOP” (that one person) for Jesus today!

Keep searching for "TOP",
Jay

Are you comfortable?

It is hard to believe that we have been back from Uganda for over 2 months now.  I’ll have you know that my Granny has scolded me for not blogging since July the 7^th.  She says that she gets up every morning to check for new blogs and then listens to a David Jeremiah sermon.  We have been getting positive reports back from Uganda, several times per week.  This week, 2 of our “Cardiac Kids” (Kenneth and Joseph) are having their surgeries to repair heart defects. 

Joseph from Soroti

Kenneth from Rushere

Kenneth did well with his procedure on Monday.  He was in the operating room from 9am-5pm.  He is in the ICU and if all goes well, he will be out to the ward on Thursday or Friday.  Joseph is scheduled for his surgery today (Wednesday).  Please keep them and their families in your prayers.  Many of you have contributed to their care, and their families have said over and over how grateful they are. 

Jamil has started school and is doing well in Palisa.  I can’t wait to see new photos of his eye and how it is healing. 

Tendo has regained her swagger and is dancing and doing well in school, after her big surgery to repair her ruptured diaphragm. 

Joseph (younger boy with facial tumor from Mytiana) is about to return to Mulago for his 6^th and final round of chemo.  He will have a “re-evaluation” after this last round of chemo, to see what his prognosis is.  I know that he has had a better response to the chemo than the odds would predict. 

 James is continuing to improve and is almost ready to be fitted for his prosthetic leg.  He continues to amaze me with his beautiful smile and upbeat attitude.  (We are still needing about $450 for his prosthetic if God lays this on your heart). 

Shakib is continuing burn treatments and has been sent for consultations on his vision, to make sure that he had no eye damage in the fire.  He checked out OK on this front.  He has been sent to start the series of surgeries to release the contractures in his left hand and left knee.  We received this picture this week.  It is the first time that we have seen him smile.  If the picture had sound, I am sure that we could hear him laughing!

Look for an upcoming blog about a young girl named Sabina, from a small town north of Jinja as well.

I have to be honest with you, Jill and I have had a hard time feeling “Comfortable” since we have gotten home from Uganda.  I have blamed that on different things at different times.  There was the fact that we left more suddenly than we had planned and left several loose ends in Uganda.  We are thankful that our friends and “medical teammates” have been able to take care of most of them for us.  We also have been settling in to a new address, and trying to figure out what to do with a lot of the “stuff” that we still have, despite doing a major cleaning out prior to leaving in February.  This process has had some highs and lows, but definitely has been trying and exhausting.  Thank you to our friends and family that have helped us with this at different times.  I think much of this discomfort is from a re-acclimation to our culture of excess.  Our OU football season tickets arrived recently and it is difficult to think about what we spend on these tickets every year, and how that compares to sending kids to school in Uganda or helping them with a life-saving surgery.  It really leaves us pulled in different directions.  Jill and I were discussing this feeling of discomfort with our friend Pete about 10 days ago.  He said something that really struck a chord with Jill and I.  He said that we are not made to feel comfortable here (on earth).  We are aliens, strangers in a strange land.  Our home is heaven and not on this earth. 

I have decided that I don’t want to feel comfortable with the American lifestyle again.  I have been much too comfortable in the past and that is part of what challenged us to go and leave that comfort for something that was definitely not comfortable and even scary at times.  This is a strange prayer, but I am praying it for me and my family right now.  I am praying that we never feel comfortable again!  EVER! But at the same time, that we get more “accustomed” to feeling uncomfortable!

1 Peter 2:11-12 says "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

Step out on a limb this week and get out of your comfort zone.  We are aliens and strangers here.  Let us relish and celebrate this fact together.  Find “That One Person” that God wants you to make a difference for this week!

Uncomfortably yours,

Jay