Blessings

I will be making another trip to Uganda in just a very few days.  Because of the generosity of so many people, Mercy Uganda has been able to provide many things.  Children are in school, who, otherwise would not be able to attend.  Cows are being purchased to help remote villages start over after a series of things left them devastated, roofs are being repaired even this very moment, sewing machines will be purchased during this trip, and some much needed medical care will be given to a number of women and children.  Something I continue to learn in life is this.....we tend to view our struggles as things to run from, things to pray that God will rescue us from.  What I am learning, though, is this....those very hardships mold us into more compassionate people, give us cause to lean more on our Heavenly Father, and strengthen our faith.  I see the needs in Uganda and how overwhelming they are.  I also see the faith of so many in Uganda, even in the very midst of the hardship.  Then God gives me glimpses of His tender mercy, His blessings in their lives, and ours.  I see how He uses the lives, the experiences, the struggles of you and me, and then works through them to minister to our sisters and brothers in Uganda.  I was looking at the pictures of the damage from recent storms in Karamoja and could not help but think back to January when I was there.  They had not had rain in 5 years, and were in the midst of a long and difficult drought.  All of the cattle from the 2 remote villages I visited had been stolen by raiders....around 100 head of cattle.  They were hungry, lacked resources to start over......and then......the rain.  Yes, the rain has damaged some roofs.....but God is providing for that too.  What is so significant is that the rain has turned a dry and barren place into a beautiful green and fertile land once again.....God's blessing!  God led precious sponsors to this ministry who have helped get 10 of the 31 children who need sponsors, into school.  Blessings....they are all around us....sometimes we forget how to see them, sometimes we don't try.....we get wrapped up in the pain of the moment and miss the tapestry God is weaving on the other side.  I'm learning,by God's grace...I'm learning!