Peter

This is Peter.  Peter lives in Lobone, Southern Sudan, he has no family, he lives in a leaky grass thatched house, sleeps without a mattress on a cold dirt floor, and up until our team arrived he had no blanket.  Peter is in his fifties and was once a local teacher.  We shared a compound with this delightful man for 5 weeks.

In 1983 Peter's life began to change. Another civil war began in Sudan, and many people were fleeing the country.  Peter stayed, for what reason I do not know, what I do know is that because of this decision he endured much hardship.  I don't know all of the details about the Sudanese Army, I don't know everything about the war, I could never do justice with my words to those who suffered through this time in Sudan, but for Peter, I will try.

Peter was captured and tortured by the army.  His body was broken, his legs so badly burned with hot oil and chemicals that now he is unable to stand up straight due to the extensive muscle damage.  When Peter walks one cannot ignore his crooked, hunched spine that I can only deduce, causes him much pain.  Emotionally, Peter was also broken and due to this fact he has lost his mind, one of the unseen scars that he will forever bear.  Peter met us the first night that we arrived, the others that greeted us laughed as we introduced ourselves to him, telling us that he was crazy.  There was something about this man though, that instantly got both mine and Kenzies attention, we saw more than just a crazy man, we saw in him something else, something lovely.  Yes, Peter talked nonsense most of the time, told us stories of his trips to South Africa, Canada, and the moon.  He called me his sister and Kenzie his daughter, we seemed special to him and he became special to us. 

A few nights after we arrived I was woken up to Peter talking and coughing, saying that he was sick, that he had no blanket, and about things that I could not make sense of.  That night, I removed my sleeping bag  to see how it felt without one, to feel what Peter felt and I was very cold and it was very difficult for me to sleep.  No wonder this man was awake, no wonder he had such a terrible cough.  In the morning, Kenzie gave her blanket to Peter, we had borrowed sleeping bags and so a blanket was not necessary and I had already given mine away to one of our team members. We were also able to give Peter some meds to help with his coughing, it did not take the cough away completely, but it helped him to sleep a little bit better, and the blanket kept him a little bit warmer.

During our stay,God was able to use us to show Peter love, to listen to him.  He felt like he was a part of us, like he had a family.  My hope now is that even though we are no longer there, that God has filled the void as only He can, because he loves Peter more than we could ever love him.  I pray for Peter to be healed, I pray for provision and that God would put in place people to love him, would you join me? 

Thank you friends, may God bless you,

Cheryl xo

Processing

PHEW!!!!! 

We have returned from outreach and boy do I have stories to tell you. I am still in the processing stage, trying to make sense of some of the things that I saw and experienced.  God was faithful and I am so very thankful for this, I could never have gone through this experience if He was not walking beside me every step of the way.  Kenzie amazed me as usual, her strength and love was inspiring to me and the rest of the team, I know this has changed her and she will be better for it.

I will begin by showing you where we were,  while looking at the pictures imagine 2 girls from Canada living here for 5 weeks......

That's all for now.  Rest assured that I am back in the blogging world and will post more frequently to give you all a taste of our time in Sudan and Gulu. 
Blessings friends,
Cheryl

In Sudan

In Sudan safe and sound.  Internet access poor.  I will have much to write once I return to Uganda.  Please continue to visit. 

Blessings,

Cheryl xoxox

Daily life

It has been brought to my attention that I have written very little about daily life here, my apologies for this.  I do want to give each of you reading this blog a picture of this place, I want to write so that you all feel as though you too are here with me.  This is where a creative writing course would have been beneficial, but alas, I never took creative writing, so bear with me as I try my best.  I will do this in multiple posts so as not to give you all a headache.

My day begins at 7am when the alarm wakes me from sweet slumber.  Knowing that a cold basin bath awaits me, I take my time getting out of the single bed that I have called my own since June.  Crawling out from under the mosquito net, I make my way to the "showers", with my basin in hand.  I will save you the details of the bath, except to say that there is a lot of quiet yelps from my stall as I pour cold water on myself....eeeekkkkk!!  Worship begins at 8am in the classroom along with a short Bible study, intercession time or chapel time when we students are asked to speak about something on our hearts.  Class officially begins at 9am and runs until 1pm.  We have learned a lot in class about the world, people, evangelism and missions.  In the afternoon I remove my student cap and replace it with my teacher cap as this is the time when I do homeschooling.  I am doing the best I can in this department, I am not trained as a teacher nor do I recall all that I learned in grade 8, which means that a lot of my time is spent quietly relearning science and math, not to let Kenzie in on the fact the her Mom doesn't know it all.....do they know this at 13?????  I think she might have an idea!  You have also noticed that my grammar and writing is not top quality, I write how I speak and often make up words, not good when teaching a grade 8 student how to write!!!!  YIKES.  Philippians 4:13 is a much quoted scripture these days.  The evenings are usually spent watching a DVD in our room until the power goes out, which some nights is as early as 9pm. 

In 2 weeks time we will leave for outreach, my team is heading to Sudan.  In Sudan, we will have different ministries to work with, it appears that I will be able to put my nursing to good use as the need is great for basic care.  We will be teaching and preaching, as well as building, digging or anything else that needs to be done where we are.  I am looking forward to this stage of the journey with only a little trepidation.  We will be gone from Arua for 3 months and I do not think that I will be able to access the computer, so please don't stop visiting after a long silence...I promise to be back, undoubtedly with much to say.  Our days on outreach will look very different, and to be honest I am looking forward to the fact that I won't have to sit in a class all morning, this reeks havoc on my A.D.D..

I will tell you a little about Arua in the next post, before that though I might take some time to look up creative writing styles so as not to bore you all to tears!!!!

Blessing friends,
Cheryl xoxox

Never say never....

I was chatting with a friend the other day on FB.  My friend made a comment that has been grieving me ever since.  We were talking about my experience living here in Africa, my friend said "I couldn't do it", then  promptly corrected the statement by saying "actually I wouldn't do it".  Now, I know that we are not all called to live in Africa or any other third world country for that matter, the comment grieves me because it suddenly struck me that so many Christians in this world share that same attitude. The attitude that if something is uncomfortable or the least bit difficult I am not willing to do it, even if God asks me to.  I have no idea if this is where my friends head is at and this is in no way a judgement on this person, it just made me think about how many of us out there think this very same way.  Not too long ago, I too was not willing to give up my comforts and still I must confess that I miss them very much, but I am at a point in my journey where I can say that anything is worth it if I am doing it for the one who died on the cross for me.  If Jesus can do that and think of me, than giving up warm showers and toilets really doesn't seem like much. 

Saying "yes" to God is not always easy, and believe me, sometimes what he asks is way beyond us, but I can say that I have already been richly blessed because I did finally say yes.  What is God asking you to do, where does he want to send you?  If He is speaking, listen and be ready.  Remember too that God has a sense of humour and I would be a little nervous about saying things like "I wouldn't do it", "I couldn't do it", "never", "not me" etc.....Be ready to do the impossible.

On a side note, friend, if by chance you read this, know that you are very special and you have a tremendous gift, use your gift wisely and for the One who gave it to you.  You have the potential to be a world changer, believe it and never say never.  God will give you whatever you need in order to fulfill the call he has for you and you could never even imagine a better path than the one He has chosen.  See yourself the way He sees you, it might surprize you.

Ode to.....

Oh dear Starbucks, how I miss thee,

I cannot count the ways.

Oh dear bed, how I miss thee

I cannot count the ways.

Even you, dear bathroom,

I miss more than you could know.

I want so much to see you all,

my mind has been consumed.

I have not been in contact,

as I know you miss me too.

I promise to be back someday,

To hold you close once more.

So do not be discouraged,

And don't forget my face,

I'll be back before you know it,

expecting an embrace!!!

Ok, ok I know, pathetic......but cute right?????

Of course I miss all of you my friends and family more than these comforts. Although, I must tell you that on these rainy, gloomy days, these comforts of home would be so very nice.  Is it not ironic that Uganda is one of the leading coffee producers.....and yet......I cannot find anything good around anywhere!!!  Feel sad for only a moment, I will survive....hahahaha.

Miss you all.....

Cheryl xoxox

Rainstorms bring rainbows....

I have been MIA for a while.  I have had so much to say, and so little to say all at the same time.  Some of you already know that I felt as though I was in a storm recently, a storm I thought would never end, a storm I felt so much guilt about going through because I had talked so much about this place, talked so much about my passion for people, I thought I had failed.  The storm has ended, but that does not mean that I feel like I am now skipping through a field of roses singing blissful songs of praise, on the contrary, I am lonely and desire often to beam myself home. 

I was reading a book that a dear lady gave to me before I left, a book that I must confess had not one ounce of attractabilty to me, but when you are in Africa and feel a bit bored because it is raining outside and there is nothing else to do, you read books that don`t attract you, believe me!  Anyway, through this book, I realized that my emotions, lack of inspiration and irritability with this place is normal.  In fact, this is a quote that a seasoned missionary to China gave to a group of young women on their way to the mission field; "Girls, when you get to China, all the scum of your nature will rise to the top".  Strong words, but I must tell you, so very true.  Many things about my nature, my character have come to the surface since I arrived, things that I don't like very much, but I know that in order to be changed by God, I must see and admit that there are areas in desperate need of change.  God says that He is the potter and we are the clay for a reason.  I am in the molding stage, and I have to tell you something else, IT HURTS!!!! 

Yes, like a piece of precious pottery I am being formed into what God wants me to be, now this is exciting, despite the pain.  God is revealing things to me that make my heart skip.  For now though I am going to savour the time that these things are only between Him and I, sorry people, in due time, in due time.  I know without a doubt that God called me here, that He has a plan in all of this and so I rest in that truth.

Now, onto something else.  After reading "Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne (yes, I do a lot of reading!!!) I was inspired and would recommend that you read anything by this very gifted man, but one part jumped off of the page.  Shane was writing about Matthew 25 and asked his readers this: (I have paraphrased)

In this passage did Jesus say "When I was hungry you wrote a check to the United Way, and they fed me; when I was naked you donated your clothes to salvation Army and they clothed me," NO, He said YOU fed me, YOU gave me something to drink, YOU invited me in, YOU clothed me, YOU, YOU, YOU. 

I am not saying that giving money or donating your clothes are not good things, don't misconstrued this, I am asking however, that on top of that, what are YOU doing?  God is looking for more than distant charity, something that our nation has become good at.  Don't short change yourself by remaining a safe distance away.  Get to know the poor and suffering of the world, look into their eyes and touch their hands for yourself.  Mother Teresa used to say "come and see", when people asked about her work. 

Claiborne also said this "The great tragedy is not that Christians don't care about the poor, but that rich Christians don't know the poor".  Strong words....I wish that I had said them!!!  Don't ask God to use your feet and your hands, if you don't really mean it, if you are not willing to go into the world.  Do you want to be like Jesus?  I do, that is why I am here, being molded, being shaped, even though it hurts.  I am nothing extraordinary, but God can do extraordinary things through me if I choose to let Him.  I want people to see Jesus in me, I want to be less so that He can be more.

One more quote to leave you with....

"In God's perfect workings, the instrument is forgotten. It is the blessing of Himself that is remembered"

Blessings,

Cheryl