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