Joseph and other thoughts...part two

Dear friends and family,

Things are going so well here. In the last week I have felt so much more at home here and like God truly had a purpose with bringing me here. The ABIDE team and I went to Bushenyi District (about a 2 hour drive from Mbarara where we live) and we shared the Gospel at five high schools and saw a few hundred people come to Christ or re-commit themselves. Praise God! We preached for two days and taught some great lessons, and I think God was truly glorified in the work we did.

I have also come to a peace about being here and feel comfortable and love where I am. I had been praying for that for a few weeks, and finally I feel truly committed to this work and focusing on God. I feel like God has led me in everything and there is certainly a reason why I am here. He is teaching me so much it's hard to even put down in words. There will just have to be a lot of individual sharing with all of you when I return :)

I also wanted to share a few thoughts and verses that I had lately. I had been troubled with God's plan for me over the last days, weeks, months and yes, even year and a half. I've wondered again and again what God has in store for me but I think I have come to a place of contentment, knowing that whatever the plan is, it's good because God is the one who planned it! God doesn't always reveal to us what he has in store, but we can be certain that it's good.
I shared the story of Joseph with the Juna Amagara children, and I was trying to encourage them with the idea that even though bad things can happen in our life (or what we think is a "bad" thing), God has a plan and can/will use it for good. Joseph, for instance, was thrown into jail by Potipher's wife, for a crime he didn't commit. Potipher's wife had lied to put him in jail. While in jail, he interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, and after interpreting, he tells the cupbearer to not forget him. But that cupbearer goes free, as Joseph said he would, but then forgets Joseph. In Genesis 41:1, it simply says "When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream." TWO YEARS. And the story continues. Can you imagine being in jail for two years for a crime you didn't commit? But God had a plan for Joseph. Pharaoh then had a dream, and the cupbearer remembered Joseph and Joseph interpreted his dream. Pharaoh then made Joseph the second-ranking official - only Pharaoh himself had more power than Joseph. It also says throughout Joseph's story that God loved Joseph and "the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did," (Gen. 39:23). Later, Joseph is restored to his family and forgives his brothers for the evil they committed. They had betrayed him, but he loved them in return. They sold him as a slave and wished for his death, but instead of hating them in return, he loved his brothers and told them plainly, "'Come close to me. I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing or reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God....Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.' And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them." Amen. Joseph loved the brothers that, at one time, hated him for being more loved by Jacob, their father. Yet Joseph loved his brothers and never cursed them, never hated them back, never even thought for a moment that God was against him. He trusted God and knew that one day, somehow, things would be better.

Psalm 66: 8-12 says:

Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

God is the one who allows "bad" things to happen. He puts us into prison...but for a good purpose. He refines our faith and allows us to see how much he truly loves us. He allows Joseph's brothers to hate him and to sell him into slavery. But what they intended for harm, God used for his plan of good. So what, then, should we do?

1 Thess. 5: 16-18
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Amen. I hope that is encouraging to you. It certainly was to me. And remember to be patient. Joseph was in prison for MORE than two years! Can you imagine? Most of us would have thought that God hated us or had forgotten us if we were in prison for two years for a crime we didn't commit. Yet Joseph praised God and waited...patiently. Some things don't happen overnight. But that doesn't mean God doesn't love you. Amen.

Joseph and other thoughts...

Back from Rwanda

I just got back in to Mbarara from a trip I took with some friends. This marks my half-way point so we took a quick trip to Kigali and then to the volcanoes and we also met the Batwa Tribe in Southwest Uganda. They are known because they are the shortest people in the world (avg height of about 4 feet) and because they killed Diane Fossey in the 80's. They lived in the same area as the Gorilla's until they were kicked out of their homes to make way for habitats for the Gorillas. NOw they are homeless and spread out, and they recieve little help from anyone. Its a tragic story. We went and took a few Bibles to them and encouraged them. They are Christians, and need your prayers. I hope to be able to help them more in the future, though right now I'm kind of limited in what I can do.

Times are hard here, though. I am missing everyone and feel like I'm missing out on a lot that's happening at home. Please be praying for me. It's hard, sometimes, to admit that we need help from others, but I need prayers and communication with people. I'm praying that I stay strong to do God's work while I am here. Thanks and love you all...also read Psalm 66. I'll explain more on it next time...