When we ALL get to heaven.

Today I am going to venture out into a semi-controversial topic.  I’ll tell you what I think the bible says about it and you can form your own opinion/beliefs.  The topic is Universalism.  The newly elected leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, said something that raised my eyebrows.  Remember, this man is the head of the Catholic Church that has 1.2 billion members.  See the conversation below:

Pope Francis went further in his sermon to say:

“The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can… “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

 

Wait a minute.  Jesus died and shed his blood to forgive the sins of even the atheist, as long as they try to do good?  Are you kidding me?  So according to this pope, it doesn’t matter what we believe, do or put into practice here on Earth, as long as we TRY to do good, we will all go to heaven.

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way the truth and the life.  NO ONE comes to the Father EXCEPT through me”.  So salvation must involve Jesus.  I guess one could use this verse alone, and twist the meaning, and make a case that what Jesus did saved us all.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9  For it is by Grace you have been saved, through FAITH - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.  Here is where I think the Universalism theory starts to fall apart.  Let my math mind break this down for the pope.  Grace + FAITH = Salvation.  Grace + attempts at works does not equal salvation.

 

Revelation 3:20  “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me”.  Once again, God is making salvation available, through Jesus, but it would seem to me that he says “anyone that hears his voice” not “everyone who tries to do good”.  Also, it would seem to me that it requires a purposeful action of “opening the door” to Him, not “trying to do good”.

 

Matthew 7:13  “Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it”.  This is straight from the mouth of Jesus.  Now I’m no great biblical philosopher, but it would seem that atheists that try to do good would not fall under the narrow gate description given by Jesus in Matthew’s version of the gospel.

 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 Paul says “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

 

I feel that this Universalism that the pope is pedaling is not sound doctrine.  I also think that the myth that hell is not real, sold by Rob Bell, that Francis Chan debunks in Erasing Hell, is an example that Paul is describing in his letter to Timothy.

I truly believe that someone has to hear about Christ, and then make a decision about what to do with the grace he has given us.

Romans 10:13-15 says:  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

We were so proud of Jared this week as he shared and prayed with some prisoners in Pallisa, and 20 of them “called on the name of the Lord”.

List of the prisoners calling on the name of the Lord.

 

I challenge you to stay vigilant and don’t give in to a message that “suits your own desires” or is what your “itching ears want to hear”.  Dig into the Word and depend on the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the Truth.

 

In my humble, yet oft sarcastic, opinion, if we are all going to heaven, the New Testament could be much shorter.  After the crucifixion and resurrection, the next page could say, “Just try to do good.  You’re welcome”!

Jay

My Greatest Fear

I will confess to you my greatest fear over the last 26 years has been that Jay would die before me. Paralyzing fear to think of having to go through the rest of my life without my husband and best friend.  When we were in our second year of marriage, I saw firsthand because my cousin was killed in a car wreck.   The pain beyond words for those of us left behind left an indelible imprint on my mind.  I felt the pain for my aunt and uncle, my cousin’s wife, and his two children.  I am very dependent on Jay.  I’ve been blessed with a husband who treats me like Christ treats the church.  Therefore, he has made it very easy to be a submissive wife. 

I had several God glimpses during our preparation for and over our travel time to Uganda during this trip.  As we left Duncan, we felt the blessing as many friends and family met us at RAW Church for a time of prayer before we departed.  It is never easy leaving friends and family.  This trip was my first as a mom to leave one of my children behind, knowing Jake would be joining us in a couple of weeks, helped this mom’s struggling heart.  Yet, it was still tough to leave him behind.  So, my first glimpse was even though we were leaving one place to go to where we know God called us to, it still isn’t easy to say goodbye. 

 

I can’t begin to express my thoughts the moment I realized Jay had Jake’s passport instead of his at the airport, and I would be leaving him behind too.  My mind had not prepared for this scenario.  I was flooded with emotion.  How do I go without him?  Yet, how do I not?  We adjusted our carryon bags so I would have what I needed as we parted ways in Dallas.  It helped knowing before we left, Jay would be on our exact same journey 24 hours later. God Glimpse #2:  It is not easy to say good bye to the one you love most in this world, even though you know you will see them soon on the other side.  In this case the other side of the world, but in some cases the timing in which we never know it is to the other side of eternity.  The plane journey this time from the United States to Uganda was like the threshold of death’s door.  We will each pass through the door of death to our eternity.  I pray you have your passport to Heaven.  I know if we have Jesus we do not make this journey alone.  Christ is with us.  I did not make this journey alone to Uganda either, even though Jay was not with me.  Our team was the hands and feet of Christ to me as we traveled half way across the world.  They were encouraging, we were in this together, and they were “fluid”.

The third God Glimpse is by far the most impacting for me. As I believe it will be for each of us as we enter eternity.  When I walked through the gate of the airport after arriving in Uganda to see David, Faith, Dr. Martin, and Jonathan waiting for me (us) was incredible!  It was an amazing reunion for me personally.  All of the troubles melted away when I saw them there and received their love and hugs even though I had left friends, family, my son, and the love of my life behind.  Tears are welling up in my eyes as I write these words.  To the point that I can understand, is this not what it will be like when we enter into Heaven?? Being reunited with family we have missed who are already there.  Even better than that, we will be face to face with our Lord and Savior.  This also brings comfort as we know we are in the middle of malaria season and have seen some pretty sick children who need lifesaving blood.  They may not have a choice because the blood is not always available due to a shortage.  Thank God, the blood of Jesus is not in short supply! We only have to choose to accept it personally.  Have you?

My life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” 

Again, He has shown His Faithfulness during the time we’ve prepared for this trip to Uganda and I feared leaving Jake behind as well unfinished things.  During traveling without Jay, arrival, and been here thus far He continues to make our path straight, no matter how curvy and bumpy the roads are here.  May this Memorial Day remind you of the day you chose by faith to accept the gift of grace and accepted the blood of Christ, and I pray you choose to grow in your walk with Christ by trusting him moment by moment and be in the Word daily.  If you cannot say to yourself you have this memory, may today be your “Memorial Day!” His blood is for you.  No fear is greater than the fear of the Lord!    

Jill

Are you one of the Blessed?

Do you consider yourself to be “blessed”?  I know that this is a somewhat difficult question as the definition of “blessed” is somewhat subjective.  If you are on a computer, on the internet, and reading this blog, especially if you live in the US, I will make this case that we are “blessed”.

 

1.)     I would say that we are blessed because we have religious freedom.  We can meet to worship, we can share our faith with others, and we can have bibles to study and deepen our faith.

2.)    I would say that we are blessed because we have social/governmental freedoms that allow us to make our own decisions, pursue our dreams and stake a claim to our own future.

3.)    I would say that we are blessed financially.  You may not agree with this but perhaps you could consider a few financial numbers from Uganda.  The average wage for an adult in Uganda is just over $1 per day.  For a university graduate, the average wage is $5 per day.  Then consider these wages in a place where a gallon of gas costs almost $8.  What’s more, 50% of the world’s population, or 3 billion people, live on less than $2.50 per day.

4.)    We are blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage us, support us and “do life” with us.

This morning, as I enjoyed the sunrise over Lake Victoria,

 

 I read something in 1 Timothy, that resonated with me.  1 Timothy 6:17-19 says “17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  19 In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life”.  Then as we were in church today, the message was about how God blesses us so that we can be a blesser.  To me, it seems like the point was being driven home.

 

I have been challenged to do more with the blessings that God has given me.  I will challenge you to lay up treasures for yourself as a firm foundation by giving of your time, your resources, your talents and your passion to those that are less fortunate than you.  These people may be around the corner, tornado damaged portions of our state or on the other side of the world.  Count your blessings name them one by one!

 

1 in 5 Ugandan children die of a treatable cause before their 5^th birthday.  What if we helped that one person?

 

Jay

 

Wowed by the Word

Do you have a bible?  I am guessing you have more than one, if you are like many Americans.  Is yours dusty with the pages crisp or is it worn and dog eared with highlighter marks all through it?  I fear that we (myself included) take for granted our bibles and don’t devour God’s Living Word like we should.  I was reminded of this issue this week in Uganda.

 

The Treat family, diligently working with us the first couple of weeks here in Uganda, brought a stack of bibles with them.  As they have felt lead, they have been giving these away.  Some bibles were given to children, some to adults, but one in particular to a security guard in downtown Kampala.  I am still amazed at what it means for these beautiful people to receive their very own clean crisp bible that I am sure will not stay clean and crisp very long.  They don’t tuck it in their pocket or throw it in a bag.  They immediately start reading it, with a hardy appetite that I so wish that I had and I wish to see in other believers in the US.

 

We had the occasion, this week, to give special attention to two families with critically ill children.  These kids, Anita and Prossy, had malaria and desperately needed emergent blood transfusions.

 

Through her time with the mothers of these children, Jill discovered that one of them was a believer, but did not have a bible in her native language (she was unable to read in any other language).  With the gracious help of one of our Ugandan friends, Jill was able to stop by the bookstore and procure a bible in the lady’s native language.  When she received this precious gift, she lit up and IMMEDIATELY opened the bible and began consuming its contents. 

 

This again convicted me of my relative apathy towards the power of the bibles I have not been studying like I should.

 

As a part of our medical clinic in Kachungwa this week, we were able to fit more than 100 people with reading glasses.  Most of the recipients were over the age of 40 and suffering from failing vision due to aging.  One of these fine people was Josephine.  At the age of 60, Josephine has not been able to read her bible for 12 years now.  The change in her countenance and the smile on her face, when Jared figured out her best prescription strength, will be etched on the retina of my mind’s eye forever! 

 

A purposed effort, some preplanning and a pair of $3 reading glasses had unlocked her ability to dive back into God’s word!  A 43 year old pastor was losing his ability to read his bible and thus grow in his walk and lead is church, was fitted or glasses too.  So now his ability to see clearly and read his bible will impact even more lives than his own.

Today, I challenge myself (you can join me if you wish) to be more intentional in showing God’s love to others, even in small things, like a $3 pair of reading glasses.  I also am challenged to have a new appreciation of God’s word and our freedom to read it whenever we want, even from our cell phones.  Read the Word, understand God’s love, and pass it along to others!

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

One in five Ugandan children dies of a treatable cause before their 5^th birthday.  What if we helped That One Person?

 

Jay

There's power in the blood!

Today was our first rural mission of our trip this summer.  Ironically, we started in the same place that we did in February of last year, Kachungwa.  Kachungwa is a small village, in Nat Geo Nowhere that is about 15 miles out of a slightly bigger town named Mubende.  You might remember me reporting “Our Toughest Day Yet” from that location last year.  Our 2012 trip to Kachungwa was our hardest day, because we had a young girl that we cared for at the clinic and transported to the Mubende hospital, only to have her pass away because they did not have the medicines and blood that she desperately needed. 

 

To quote the great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, “It was like Déjà vu all over again”!   We saw 332 patients today, and I have to admit it was not as stressful as last year, I think mainly because I knew my way around Ugandan medicine a little better.  Our team jumped in and did jobs that they probably would not have felt comfortable with.  Jonathan Treat was working in the lab and running HIV tests.  David Treat was helping a nurse with IV tubing and medicines as she started life saving medicines on children.  April Berry was seeing and treating patients and probably was able to feel more spleens than she will in her whole career as an advanced practicing nurse in the US.  Kyle Mueller helped me diagnose a heart dysrhythmia and was handy in the pharmacy.  He got a quick lesson in what a “sick kid” looks like.  Five children were especially sick out of this large group.  Three were able to be cared for at our clinic, and allowed to go home.  The other two, Prossy and Anita were deemed too ill and likely severely anemic, so Jill went with our Ugandan friend Jonathan to take them to the hospital.  The same hospital that did not have the blood and meds to treat our little patient last year.

As Jonathan and Jill drove to the hospital, Adrene, Prossy’s Mom, stated she needed a miracle.  They shared with her that our God is in the business of miracles.  She said Amena.  She proceeded to share that she is born again, but her husband is not, so she was unable to attend church, even though she would like to.  Jill requested that Jonathan ask her if she had a Bible.  She did not, but stated that she wished she did.  After our two patients were checked in at the hospital and settled with their moms, Jill and Jonathan decided to stop by a bookstore to purchase Adrene a Bible, in her native language.  They had talked with her and shared that their prayer was that she could continue in her walk, with the Lord, by being in the Word.  1 Peter 3:1-2 states, “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.   We pray by her example her husband, Alex, will come to see Christ in her and come to know the Lord as well.  

 

 

 After our clinic day, we went by the hospital to check on our little friends.  I had a sick feeling in my stomach as we approached the hospital as this was the exact scene from 15 months ago playing out.  This time our new friends were still living, but they were desperately anemic.  Their hemoglobin (amount of red blood cells to carry oxygen) was 3.3 and 3.0.  Normal would be above 12, and even in Uganda, a transfusion is recommended at 6.  But the same problem remained, they have no blood in Mubende.  As our whole team rolled up our sleeves, simultaneously, they informed us that we could not donate blood and it be given to a patient.  The blood has to be processed and obtained from the national blood bank at Mulago hospital, 3 hours away.  The room did light up as Adrene received her bible and immediately began reading it.

 

It really was not a tough decision.  Generous Due Unto Others supporters have helped us to purchase a van and fuel, how could we not expend the energy to take these two kids on a potentially lifesaving trip down the bumpy highways of Uganda?  So after a quick bite of dinner, we left Mubende at 8:00pm with hopes that we could be back by 3:00am or so in the morning. 

 

When we arrived at Mulago, we were greeted by a room full of sick children and a nurse informing us that there was almost no blood in all of Uganda.  With the help of our new team member, Dr. Louis, we got the two girls checked in.  As they reviewed their charts from Mubende, it was noted that they did have some blood for Prossy and Anita will hopefully have some by Thursday am.  Please join us in praying for these two girl’s health and that they get a speedy blood transfusion.  Alex gets some blood too…..the blood of Jesus!

 

1 in 5 Ugandan children die before their 5^th birthday.  What if we helped That One (or two) Persons?

TOP Shakib

This is the summary that was read at our church last week regarding Shakib.  At the end of this, I will give you an update from our visit with him today!

On this Mother’s Day, I’d like to tell you about a young mother, in Uganda, that had to make a difficult decision.  This young mother, named Teddy, has a 3 year old son named Shakib.  Shakib had been horribly burned in a house month, a few months earlier.  He initially had treatment at the national referral hospital.  Teddy left this hospital because she was seeing too many bad outcomes with other patients.  She heard of a “burn doctor” in another Uganda city.  Teddy’s family and her mother moved their lives to Mukono.  Teddy could only afford to have this burn care sporadically and Shakib was not getting any better.  He had horrible burns on his abdomen.  He also had burns on his hands that had scarred and left his hands where he could not use them.  He had burns on his legs and hips that would not allow him to walk. 

 

 

 

Teddy brought Shakib to a clinic in Mukono to try to get him some relief from his pain.  Shakib was required to wear a dress, because any other clothing was much too painful.  His constant pain and immobility left him cranky and tearful almost all of the time.  At this medical clinic, the Due Unto Others Medical team met Shakib and Teddy. God laid it on their hearts to try to help Shakib and Teddy through this difficult situation.  The Due Unto Others team offered to take Teddy and Shakib back to their home medical center, in Gaba, for burn care and potential surgeries for his scarred hands and legs.  Teddy could see that what she was offered was likely the best option for Shakib.

 

When Teddy discussed this opportunity for Shakib’s care with her mother, her mother absolutely refused to allow Teddy and Shakib to go to another city for health care.  Teddy’s mother was the sole bread winner and leader of their family. She said that if Teddy left with Shakib, she would not be invited back.  Like a true mother, Teddy decided do what was best for Shakib and moved to Gaba for medical care.  Almost a year later, Teddy and Shakib are still in Gaba and going to Wentz medical center for physical therapy and wound care.  Shakib has had multiple operations.

Because of the giving of Christians from many churches across the US, Teddy and Shakib have seen God’s love and healing.  Teddy and her mother have reconciled, Teddy has a job in the Gaba area and guess what Shakib is doing this Mother’s Day?   He’s walking and smiliing!

 

UPDATE 5/20/13

Shakib is in CORSU hospital where he just had an operation to release scarring in his R knee and hip.  Check him out today.

Shakib's mother Teddy was married to a Muslim man.  Shakib and his siblings have Muslim names.  We learned last night that Teddy has accepted Christ and has completed the new believer's class in Gaba Community Church.  So now, because of Christian love shown to Shakib and his family, he is now going to grow up in a CHRISTIAN home.  Thank you to the supporters of Due Unto Others.  You are making an immediate and eternal difference.

Just look at the difference in Teddy's countenance from today's picture on the left to the previous picture on the right!

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

1 in 5 Ugandan children die before their 5th birthday.  What if we reached That One Person?

Jay & Jill

Left Behind!

Today, I am reminded that despite all of our(my) planning and trying to control things, there are specific actions that must be taken or we(I) will be left behind.

 

On my previous 3 trips to Uganda, I had either been a “tag-along” with another group, or a father trying to get his half naïve family across the ocean to start a 6 month adventure.  This time, however, I had been more involved with planning and budgeting the clinics and ground game when we are in Uganda.  I also was involved with inviting others to join us and acting like a “host” or tour director of sorts.  Reminding of team fees, immunizations, special things to bring and remember etc. 

 

We had the following part of our 2013 team over to our house last Friday night:  The Treat Family (David, Kimberla, Jonathan, Jakob, and Kali) and Kyle Mueller (Along with his parents Mark and Sandra).  Jill and I went through many things that we would be doing in Uganda.  Some special things to remember, amounts of money to bring and such like that.  Before dinner, I went and retrieved a few things out of my safety deposit box.

1.)    A $100 bill to remind the team that to exchange US dollars for Uganda Shillings, they will need newer than 2006 $100 bills.

2.)    A color copy of their passport to carry with us but not risk losing our passport.

3.)    2 Passport photos, in case we need them in Uganda for a governmental document.

4.)    An international driver’s license.

5.)    A PASSPORT!

Every time that I talked to one of our team this week and before we left the church in Duncan this am, I had everyone confirm that they had their PASSPORT because this was a “deal breaker”.  Well as it turns out, the passport that I had out for show and tell on Friday was mine, but I thought it was Jake’s.  On Thursday night, I gave Jake this passport and had him put it in a special place so that he would not lose it.  He is coming to Uganda with the Gash family in 2 weeks.  I did not want him to be without his passport because……..say it with me “It is a deal breaker”.  So Jake tucked it away in his suitcase that stayed in Duncan, and he went to drop us off at the airport.  It has been said that Jake favors me, but when I got to DFW and looked at my passport, the 2009 picture of Jake in the 7^th grade did not look that much like me.  That is right, after all of the harping and warning of “deal breaking”, I am the one that shows up at DFW with Jake’s passport and mine sitting safely in his suitcase 150 miles away and 90 minutes until check in cut off!

 

I hate making rookie mistakes.  This is my 4^th trip to Uganda and I fly internationally pretty often, but this was a rookie mistake.  So as I am driving back to Oklahoma with my tail tucked between my legs, I had some time to think.  To think about the Due Unto Others team soaring in the air heading to Africa without me.  They are GOing to Uganda to do God’s work, and I am going home.  If I had been a color, it would have been purple.  Half red from being angry at myself and half blue from being left behind.  I had spent hours planning and helping everyone to be ready to GO, but I failed to take the action required (Pack the deal breaker).  Color copies of my passport nor my son’s passport would suffice.

 

I get to join up with the team 24 hours after they get there, as I will take the same flights on Saturday.  As I was on my “Purple” drive home, I started to think about how God requires action of us.  Many different actions are “expected” if we love Christ, but there is one action that is a “deal breaker”.  We have to accept Christ and the grace-filled gift that he gives us through the cross.  It is absolutely imperative that we tell all of those that you are “leading” about this action and pray that they take it.  Today was bad enough getting delayed to Uganda, but I can’t imagine what it would be like on the day that I am called home to stand at the great ticket counter in the sky and the Attendant say “Sorry, you do not have a PASSPORT because you did not take the required action.  You will be left behind”!

 

God has a way of reminding me who is in control and that all of MY planning is no good unless he is in the middle of it.  Take action!  Make sure your authentic passport is ready.  You will not be able to use a facsimile or your family’s, you must have your own!

Jay

Battered by the storms of life!

Do you ever feel like you have been battered by the storms of life?  I think that this is a common perception as it seems that we can’t catch a break.  To quote the Great American philosophers on Hee Haw, “If it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all”!

 

Well a couple of weeks ago, I was literally battered by a storm.  At our ranch, we recently got a new wind turbine.  One of the only things that we are required to do, for maintenance, is to set the brake if the winds get above 50 mph.  Well, a storm was coming into the area, as I got home from work.  I decided that I probably needed to go set the brake, even though it did not seem “wise”.  Between the many lightning strikes, 50 mph winds, 60 foot metal tower and darkness, my cell phone flashlight and I did not stand much of a chance!  The wind turbine sounded like a helicopter and I could feel the electricity in the stainless steel tower.  This sophisticated instrument, combining physics, engineering and nature’s power has a “CHEESY” breaking system.  I physically have to take a wrench and tighten a bolt inside the stainless steel tower.  I was trying to do this in the less than enviable conditions described above.  I had the brake almost completely set, but wanted to crank the wrench one more time to protect this delicate instrument.  As I really pulled on the wrench, it slipped and I lurched forward hitting my head on the opening of the tower.  I knew that it hurt, but did not know the full extent of the damage.  About that time Jake came out to see if he could help.  He was yelling to me, but between my lack of auditory acumen, the wind and my head ringing, I could not make out what he was saying.  I headed towards the house and realized that I had blood all over my face and clothes.  I left a blood trail across the back porch and into the house before I got the universal first aid bandage, a wash cloth.

 

As I looked at my head wound, I started to think of what, who, and where my options were for overcoming this injury.  As I thought this through, I decided “I can take care of this myself!  This is what I do!  I don’t need anyone’s help”.  I got out all of the needed supplies and proceeded to anesthetize the wound so I could put in some stitches.  As I started to try to place some sutures, I found that the dexterity required to perform this procedure was lacking, as I tried to work in the mirror. 

 

 

Perhaps it was the concussion talking, but I decided to coach my 17 year old son Jake through the procedure. He was excited about the opportunity and performed the procedure admirably.

 

My skin and my pride have started to heal.  As I have thought about this literal storm battering me, I have realized that this is much like our figurative storms of life.  We venture into places where the odds are stacked against us, and we are surprised when we have an untoward outcome?  What are we thinking?  Then to compound the problem, we depend on ourselves and our own abilities to overcome the problem that we find ourselves in.  Many times, the best solution is to humble ourselves and ask someone for help.  You may find this surprising, but often it is a blessing to them to be able to bless you with the help that you need.  We actually can rob someone of a blessing by trying to do everything ourselves. 

 

So is there a moral to this story?

1.) When you find yourself in a storm of life with figurative lightning strikes, darkness and 50mph winds, take cover!   If you don’t take cover, don’t be surprised if you find yourself battered and bleeding.

2.) Once you are battered and bleeding, don’t be afraid to ask your Christian brother (or son) for assistance.

3.)  Providing spiritual first aid to a friend can be a blessing to the first responder and the patient!

 

James 1:2-5 says “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

TOP Jonathan

Only 6 days until we leave for Uganda.  I will continue some reminders of "That One Persons" from Uganda.

Do you believe that God is in the business of miracles?  Well, let me introduce you to a 4 year old boy from Gaba, Uganda, named Jonathan.

 The Due Unto Others medical team noticed Jonathan wearing a ragged bandage on his arm while standing in front of his mother’s fruit stand in February of 2012.  He had accidentally pulled a pot of boiling water onto himself a few days before.  His right elbow had 3^rd degree burns that would probably have required skin grafts, in a burn unit, in the US.  No such care was available to Jonathan.  The burn caused his right elbow to stay in a bent position and he even had some second degree burns on his abdomen.  Jonathan was taken to Wentz Medical Center, where he received daily wound care and the Due Unto Others medical team sent out requests for prayers from all over the world.  I had significant concerns that Jonathan’s arm would be permanently scarred in a bent position and be essentially useless to him.  Over the next two weeks, the power of prayer took over.  Jonathan regained full function of his elbow and ended up with almost no scar whatsoever.  Christians, from many churches, lifted Jonathan up in prayer, and a miracle happened. 

Because Jonathan lived near the home base of the team, team members were able to build a relationship with Jonathan’s mother.  She started attending a local church and the direction of her life seemed to take a different course.

Donations to foreign missions have allowed Jonathan to attend school.  He has truly experienced God’s love.

 

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