Coming Full Circle

Coming Full Circle:

 

I was not sure what to expect this time during our six weeks in Uganda.  Unlike, when we were here last year for a longer time, this time I had some frame of reference of what to potentially expect.  As we prepared to come in 2012, we prepared in several ways.  We read books that had been recommended, went to a global medical mission conference, and I had a sweet dear friend share with me her experience on the mission field.  The Lord has used all of these tools as He prepared us.  I can’t believe our time here this time is over half way over.  It does make my heart sad.  I have tried to live my life without regrets.  However, this isn’t always the case.  So my goal is to live in each moment.  I am thankful for His mercies, which are new every morning.  When Jay arrived, and we were in the Due Unto Other’s van and going to see Teddy and Shakib, I asked him what it felt like to him?  He agreed, with me, that it was as if we had not been away for eleven months.  It was as if we were here yesterday.  I was asked during this trip, what is my dream for Due Unto Others.  I had to stop and think because I do not want to limit my God.  He is able to do more than I can think or imagine.  Yet, I can sense the Holy Spirit is moving to show us more of what His purpose is for this, His Ministry.  I am excited to see the glimpses He is revealing.   I know there is so much devastation in Oklahoma from the recent tornadoes as well as great need.   I found myself wondering about the someones in great need here that the Lord brings across our path.   God’s provisions last year amazed me.  Despite this, I am still tempted to question this time.  I was blessed beyond what words can express as yesterday we had a response for someone to help with a significant portion of the expenses for Kevin. 

 

He will be brought to Wentz Medical Center, here in Gaba, on Monday as we begin to navigate his medical care.  We have seen the potential need for a second vehicle.  Last night, someone offered to give us their SUV, from the US.  We just have to figure out the logistics to get it here. 

 

We have been blessed to spend time with Jerome and Trish Loughridge, while they were here. 

 

 Jerome was who first brought Jay to Uganda.  It was while skyping with Jay during his trip here that I knew that part of Jay’s heart would remain in Uganda.  I am so thankful, yet not surprised, that He did the same in Jake, Jared, Jayne’s and mine, as well, as we came the following summer with Watoto.  Jake, Jared and Kyle went out yesterday to work on the Watoto farm before Steve Swigert headed back to Oklahoma. 

 

Madison and Savannah Donica, who came to work with us last summer, are here with Watoto until tomorrow. 

 

Having Jim, Joline, and Jessica Gash back working with us is so great. 

 

 

 God is so sweet to weave our paths together again as well as introduce us to new friends, who have a heart for missions, like Dorrie Garner.  

 

We will continue to abide in Christ as He show’s us His call on our lives.   There is a new song, we have begun singing at Gaba Community Church last Sunday and we sang again today:  JESUS IS THE CENTER.  As we keep Him in His rightful place He continues to teach me He doesn’t call the equipped but He equips the called.  The best thing about coming full circle is getting to go around it again! You are such a part of His work here in Uganda!  Thanks you for your prayers and support as we each keep Jesus in the center so we each may be His hand and feet to His Glory!

 

Jill

 

Kevin

After 17 years in Emergency Medicine, I have seen many horrific sites and heard many terrible stories from patients as I cared for them or their family.  For better or worse, those gory stories usually don’t impact me, emotionally, like they did in the past.  I saw a young boy today, named Kevin, whose physical body and heart wrenching story punched me in the gut so hard that I am still nauseated.  Kevin is a 3 year old boy that was burned with boiling hot water in November of last year.  He was taken to a hospital and received initial burn care.  He was referred to the burn unit at Mulago Hospital in the capital.  His mom did not take Kevin to Mulago, for a few reasons, but mainly due to lack of resources.  Kevin’s mother, Babra, brought Kevin to our clinic in Rushere today to try to get some help.

 

Babra keeps Kevin covered with a blanket, obvious reasons.  When I uncovered him to look at the burns, my translator shrieked.  Then, my translator would not even look at Kevin again.  I asked permission to hold Kevin and to take a photo with him.  I will warn you, this picture is not for the faint of heart.

 

 

If I could try to explain what his injuries are, I would say these things:

1.)    His lower eyelids were burned and scarred down to his cheeks, almost like they were melted.

2.)    His nose was pretty much burned off.

3.)    His lower lip was scarred down to his chin, where he cannot shut his mouth.

4.)    Kevin’s shoulders are scarred up to his neck on both sides.  Giving the appearance that he has no neck.

5.)    Kevin’s left elbow is scarred down in a 90 degree position, making his left arm have limited use.

I feel like God is wanting the Due Unto Others team to pull together to help Kevin.  Babra has agreed to take Kevin to Mulago for evaluation.  It is 4 hours from Rushere to Kampala in our van with the expert driver David at the wheel.  I am sure it is much longer by taxi van or bus.  I will be discussing this case with Dr. Martin and arranging for an evaluation with a plastic surgeon.  I am sure that there will be multiple surgeries needed to try to regain function of his eyelids, mouth and arms. 

 

Please pray for Kevin and Babra.  This is a painful and difficult time for them.  Please also prayerfully consider giving towards the care of this beautiful young boy.  I am estimating here, but I could easily see his care costing $4,000 USD.  Please email me at dueunto@gmail.com and I will tell you how you could give specifically towards his care.

 

Please share this with anyone you can.  This is quite a serious case.

 

I will end this post with the motto for the Renewal Healthcare Network:  We Care, Jesus Heals!

 

Jay

Making Good out of a Bad Situation

I’ve heard it said that it is darkest right before the dawn.  Now I am not sure that this is true or not, but I have been hunting enough to know that it is coldest right before dawn!  I’ve also seen stories of triumph rising out of tragedy.  With that in mind, I’d like to tell you a story from our trip to Jinja last week.

 

After finishing our Friday clinic in Kiranga, we headed back to Jinja with our two vans. 

 

Jonathan Kabanda was driving his van that Due Unto had rented for the week, and I was driving our van, as David had returned to Kampala for an important meeting.  I was sky high as I was thinking about Sadiah and her potential surgical repair of her hernia.  We had traveled about 45 minutes and we were about 20 minutes from Jinja when Jonathan pulled his van over to the side of the road.  His van would not go into gear and feared that his transmission had “jammed”.   Our friend Joseph, Pastor Henry, and Jonathan stayed with the van, and the whole group of 11 mzungus climbed into our van and we continued back to Jinja.  A mobile mechanic came out to the broken van but unsuccessfully tried to repair it.  Pastor Henry called back to Jinja and someone brought Henry his private vehicle and they began to tow the van back to Jinja.  It is evidently unlawful to tow a vehicle, if you are not a licensed tow truck.  So as they passed some traffic police, they were pulled over and detained until they paid a “fee” to allow them to proceed.  They finally arrived back at our hotel at midnight.  The next morning, a mechanic started to work on the van in the hotel parking lot.  I know that it was quite frustrating to Jonathan as all of the money that he had received for working and using his van for the week was consumed in parts and mechanic fees.  This mechanic was a Muslim, and as he worked on the van, Jonathan talked to him about Jesus.  Around 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, the van was repaired.  Jonathan left the mechanic with a Christian tract and we headed back to Kampala. 

I know that Jonathan was frustrated, tired, and saddened after this financial set back.  He did not show these emotions however.  What he did do is continue to tell people about Jesus. 

 

Jonathan received a call on Sunday from the mechanic.  He had some questions for Jonathan about Jesus.  Through these questions, Jonathan was able to lead the Muslim mechanic and his wife to a saving knowledge of Jesus.  This was a good example to me that despite my immediate circumstances, I should continue to do what my God has told me to do.  Through this obedience, He can turn a bad situation into something wonderful!  God slowed us down and changed our plans so that He could add 2 to the list in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

 

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

 

Jay

Perfecting will

I want to have a discussion about will.  Not like a last “will” and testament, or a shortened form of William.  The great American philosopher and my high school math teacher, Gerald Wheeler, use to say to our class, “you seem to want to talk at will, but Will left the building”!  What I want to talk about is God’s will.  This has been a confusing and frustrating subject for me, for as long as I can remember.

Now if you read a blog or two that I have written, you will understand when I say that I am no bible scholar.  I understand that God has a will, and if he wanted to, he could just make that happen in my life.  He gives me a free will, so that I can make decisions, which usually end up leading me away from God’s will.  I have been told that God has a “perfect will” for my life.  But I have to wonder how perfect it can be, if I keep making mistakes and changing directions along the way.  I think it could have started perfect, but I think perfect means flawless or without blemish. 

I have started to think about God’s “perfect will” for my life more as His “perfecting will”.  I have never heard any smart Christian people say the words “perfecting will” in the past, so it probably does not make common sense or theological sense, but let me try to explain.  If God had a perfect plan or will for my life and an ultimate destination for me, in this life, I am sure that I have taken too many steps sideways and backwards to still be on the “perfect path”.  I think many times, in my Christian journey, God has needed to say something like the GPS in my car, “you have left the planned route, recalculating”!  By recalculating the route to my destination, He makes the best out of the mistakes I have made and forms a new plan to the destination.  He is constantly perfecting His original “perfect will” to overcome my free will.

I know that God had a plan for me, from well before I was born.  Psalm 139:13 says: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I can know that he gave me the desire to be a doctor as far back as elementary school.  Even though I tried to go a different direction by going to pharmacy school, he used several people, situations and successes to lead me back to a career in medicine.  I suspect I felt His call to be a missionary from my early teen years too, but I rebelled and stayed as far from that as I could for many years.  I am sure that I dodged God’s “perfect will” since I graduated my residency in 2000.  I am not sure why I resisted.  Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

His “perfecting will” kept recalculating my route to get to a certain destination.  A great Christian man and a mentor of mine, Rick Johnston, said in a recent talk that he gave on a Walk to Emmaus:

“For many years a part of my morning time with God has been reading Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest.”  He has perhaps the best description of a life of piety in his devotion for December 24.   I think about this one a lot.

 

When we think of being delivered from sin, being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), and “walking in the light,” we picture the peak of a great mountain. We see it as very high and wonderful, but we say, “Oh, I could never live up there!” However, when we do get there through God’s grace, we find it is not a mountain peak at all, but a plateau with plenty of room to live and to grow. “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).

You see, I finally found the great plateau God had for me.  I can work and play and be free to enjoy the life he’s given me.  Your plateau is different than mine.  Mine has things on it that may be sin to you.  Yours may have things on it that aren’t a problem for you but they would be to me.

While I was in a small Ugandan village this last week, called Kiranga, I found myself leaned over listening to an older lady’s heart with my stethoscope.  As I was doing this, I looked up and saw the church full of people crowding in to dodge the rain and to try to get needed medical care.  Amidst all of this chaos, all of a sudden, I felt a rush of emotion as I suspected I was on that plateau that Rick was talking about.  It felt like I was right in the saddle galloping along a wide smooth trail on that plateau.  I felt my “perfecting will” GPS say, “Continue along the planned route”!

 

Jay

Long Time Coming TOP Sadiah

 I am writing this blog at the risk of sounding like a stalker.  I have twice, on this blog, given you a hint of or a reference to a young girl named Sabina or Sabrina.  Let me tell you the story about her, and forgive me if I sound like some sort of deviant.

 

When I first went to Uganda, in January of 2011, with a men’s group from Henderson Hills Church in Edmond, we did work in and around Jinja, with Pastor Henry.  This was not a medical trip, but a teaching trip.  Most members of the group had biblical topics, but I taught about HIV and AIDS.  We taught in Jinja and in 2 smaller villages some distance outside of Jinja.  One of these villages was Kiranga.  I was in Kiranga 2 days while on that first trip, and while I was there, I saw a girl with a beautiful smile, and a large umbilical hernia.  I was told that her name was Sabina, but it turns out, her name is Sadiah (say dee uh).  Her beautiful smile and her medical need were frequently brought to my mind as though the Holy Spirit wanted me to make her need my business. 

Sadiah is the girl in the center.

 

I had a plan to go to Kiranga and try to find Sadiah in some free time that we had at the end of our trip to Uganda last year.  In fact, one of my biggest disappointments in needing to leave early last year was that this special project was postponed.

 

I spoke with Pastor Henry and he traveled to Kiranga and went with the local pastor, Grace, to find Sadiah, and offer her the gift of surgical repair of her umbilical hernia.  When the two pastors found her home, she was writhing on the floor in abdominal pain.  Her family initially agreed to allow Due Unto Others to facilitate a surgical repair of her problem, but then they became fearful and backed out.  When we scheduled our itinerary for this year, I included 2 days in Jinja and then a full day to have a special project to drive to Kiranga and try to find Sadiah.  Pastor Henry graciously gave up 2 days of medical clinic at his church and scheduled both days of our clinic in Kiranga with Pastor Grace.  When we first arrived at Kiranga, I sent out an APB on Sadiah and told the local leaders that I wanted to talk with her and her family.  Sadiah came to the clinic the first day, but her parents were not available. 

 

I talked with her and confirmed that despite 30 months passing, she still had the umbilical hernia that needed surgical attention.  She assured me that her parents would be coming the next day.

 

As we were preparing to leave on the final day, my heart was heavy as I had not seen Sadiah or her parents at the clinic.  As I was making my way to the pit latrine before our bumpy ride back to Jinja, Pastor Henry told me that Sadiah’s parents had arrived!  He had a Luganda conversation with them.  Henry told them that I was concerned that, if not corrected, this hernia could continue to cause her pain and could be quite problematic in her child bearing years.  Once they saw my concern and thought about her current and potential problems, THEY AGREED TO WORK WITH DUE UNTO OTHERS to finally see a positive end to a long term problem!  I am so excited that God has worked this out.

Please keep Sadiah in your prayers.  I will be finding out a price for this procedure and post it later.  If you would want to give towards this project, please let me know.

 

Jay

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