Worship is powerful!

As I was preparing for today’s bible lesson, I was listening to some praise music in the background. I continue to be convinced that the Lord has called me to teaching because of how much I have to learn! Everyday He teaches me new things about Himself and I’m blown away at the growth that comes when I am actively working towards growing others. In preparation for the lesson, I was reading 2 Chronicles 20. It says that a vast army was coming against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah and that after hearing this, “Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD.” He called for fasting across all Judah and “the people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD.” I was first of all struck by this reaction. Many different stories in scripture record the wrong reactions that we have had to different trials and troubles, but Jehoshaphat knew where real power came from and called upon the King of heaven and earth to give him wisdom and strength for the battle ahead. Once the people were assembled before the temple of the LORD, he said “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” He immediately turned to worship in the face of trouble. I was meditating on the reality of what can come from a heart that chooses that kind of reaction when a familiar song came on describing the story told in Acts 16. “In prisoner’s chains, with bleeding stripes, Paul and Silas prayed that night. And in their pain, began to sing; their chains were loosed and they were freed.” I decided to take the opportunity to re-read this familiar story. I remember hearing it in Sunday school and even teaching about it on occasion, but had never been so struck with the fact that their response to the awful situation they were in was worship! Then as a direct result of their worship, God chose to shake the foundations of the prison and break the chains of all of the prisoners. The story does not end there either, in fact the best part comes after the earthquake, because that night the Lord brought many hearts to Himself! The jailer saw the power of the God that these men worshiped and wanted to seek Him. Acts tells us that he said “’Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved- you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God- he and his whole family.” What a powerful reminder! Because Paul and Silas had their hearts set to worship, they were prepared for ministry even in the middle of a trial in the middle of the night! The Lord used them to show His power and might because they were worshipping Him through their struggle. How I long to be used like that! But if my eyes and heart are more fixed on the size of my trial rather than the size of my God then I will not be ready for the real battle; the battle for lost souls!
I returned to my lesson and continued to study through the rest of the 2 Chronicles 20. The Lord spoke to the people and let them know that the battle was His and that they needed only to take up their positions and stand firm and watch the deliverance that He was going to give them. King Jehoshaphat and all of Judah and Jerusalem fell on their faces and worshipped God. The next morning, they suited up in obedience. But the most exciting preparation they had for the day was the suiting of their hearts for battle. “Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever!’ As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” The LORD is great and His love endures forever! May that be the tune of my heart in response to every situation, and may it clothe me with readiness to watch God win every battle! He is mighty to save and faithful to do it! Worshipping Him is the only response that will fit, and He is more than worthy of it!

The lesson went well, though it rained and we had to send the kids home directly after the lesson. I know that God has big things in store if He is teaching the hearts of His little ones as much as He is teaching mine! Thank you for your continued prayers for the children who come that their hearts would be drawn to worship of our great King through knowledge of Him and His greatness, worth and power!

Who knew that heart strings could be stretched so far or that we could have the capacity for so much love? My heart has been stretched across half of the globe and somehow I still find myself falling in love with new little ones everyday! I feel like my heart breaks a little everyday, and yet it feels so full and refilled with every divine encounter and every sweet conversation that the Lord reveals and reminds me of His purpose! We have another little girl in the house named Maurine, and I love this little 5 year old like I can’t believe! This morning we had church and we got to dress her up in one of the cute new dresses we bought for her at the market this week, and she smiled so big! Not a lot of words yet, but I was thrilled to have a response that shows she understands that we love her! She comes from a home of abuse, so I know she struggles with fear and security issues. She sat on my lap for a while after dinner and was content to just sit and have her back tickled for a long while and even wandered into the kitchen and stood next to me until I hugged and kissed her tonight, so she is even feeling comfortable enough to seek physical comfort from us! Her smile is so beautiful!
Faith is getting so big, I cannot believe it! Even in the few weeks I’ve been here she has grown a ton, and is now just a chubby looking 2 year old! She is so active and has been playing and talking up a storm! Its just my favorite to run and play “hide and tickle” with her in the mornings and hear her shriek with excitement as she finds me behind doorways!
This morning I taught children’s church at Acacia Community Church, and that was pretty funny! The church is outside, and this morning was windy and threatening to rain on us, which just added another dimension to the chaos! There were about 50 kids and myself and two other helpers, which would not be too different from bible study here at the house, but I tried to do a craft and two games this morning on top of the lesson! It went much better than it could have gone, but I heard later that the adults could hear all of our activities going on the other side of the house despite my attempts to keep the activities relatively contained and quiet! I think the kids enjoyed it though, and I know I certainly did!
I cannot even communicate how the Lord continues to remind me of His wonderful faithfulness! I learn more here everyday than I feel like I teach, as our sweet Counselor leads me through each day, each lesson plan, each unexpected event and reminds me of His greatness, His glory, His wonderful compassion and sweet mercy! I find that every day I am falling more in love with Jesus as I fall in love with the people that He’s made and is continuing to make in His likeness, and as He works and moves in my heart to draw me to Himself! It is a beautiful, beautiful life!

Hello my family and friends! I have a spare moment here and want to bring you up to speed on what is going on here. We have started teaching every day instead of every other day, which I love! Last Friday, as I was preparing to start bible class, we found that we were entirely without a translator! I was pretty sure that the next hour would be a disaster, but prayed that the Lord would take over and miraculously bridge the language gap. Of course, our God is faithful and he provided more than I could have asked for and when I sat down to begin teaching, a 12 year old girl named Brenda sat down next to me and just started translating! She did such a great job too, and engaged the other kids and answered my questions in such a way to let me know that she had heard and understood the previous lessons as well! I was so encouraged and praised Jesus in my heart for the big blessing he had provided! If that had been the end of the big blessings for the day it would have been enough, but our greater-than-life God showed His providence again that same afternoon! Some of the older girls, including Brenda, came up to me and asked if I had any bibles to give them. I answered that I didn’t but that they could come early on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and we could have big girl bible study. They were excited about that idea and have been so excited to be set apart! Then Sunday morning at the little missionary church that we attend, the pastor announced that they were in need of someone to teach the children’s church starting next Sunday! I was more than happy to volunteer my Sunday mornings while I’m in Uganda and was so encouraged by the opportunity to plug in here! To say the least, God has been at work this weekend in showing me exactly where he plans on using me this semester, and I am so thankful for the clarity of his direction and leading!
As I lay in bed last night, entirely exhausted and yet unable to sleep, I began to sort through the many events of the long day. I am always surprised how the Lord uses the quiet moments to speak to my heart and remind me of what He’s done through the not so quiet times! I’ve found that our God does not waste time, and He has a purpose in every moment if I’ll pay attention enough to see what it is and what He is doing!
This week we’ve had big success as the Lord has shown himself through the willingness of the older children to help not only with bible study, but also with the feeding program! Its so encouraging to see them get excited about helping their own community! I know that it is because of the grace of God that we have had a positive reaction, and am continuing to pray that the hearts of people in Masesse will be open to Serving His Children as a whole so that we can continue to build meaningful relationships that will honor Christ and show his love in real practical ways here, and ultimately draw them to himself!
I continue to thank God for you and your prayers! You cannot know how powerful and encouraging they are to me. I was reminded by my dad on the phone even this morning that God uses His body of believers to fortify and comfort each other, and that His power can be seen in the way He works in and among His people! Thank you for being an encouragement and comfort to me, my family!