Come and Listen.

All the boys are home this weekend.  So instead of the normal five boys here we have all ten.  It is usually a full house, but with this addition, we are bursting at the seams.  It is crazy, and loud, and a bit smelly in crowded rooms.  But more than anything- this house is ALIVE, JOYFUL, and FREE.  I have had trouble seeing these things because I have been under the illusion that I am too busy.  Too many meetings or too much paperwork or too much thinking.  God has been telling me to slow down.  To come towards Him and listen.  To come and see what He has done, what He is doing, and what He has promised us He will do.

Today I took the time to look, and I saw.  Today I took the time to listen, and I heard.

We set down as a family to talk about school, how our days are going, what we are learning.  We laughed, danced around and acted like kids, and sang.  At the end we prayed as a family and this is what I saw and heard-

"God thank you for rescuing us from the streets.  Please give us wisdom and understanding for our days.  May you be our number one.  Protect us always, may we always trust you." - Timothy

"God we know that even our biggest problems are nothing for you.  You can do anything and you will always be with us.  Thank you for our family." -Richard

"God we praise you.  Thank you for putting us in a school and protecting us." -Sam

"God, for so many of our friends on the street they have been sick and have died.  For some they are still there being abused and beaten.  But, we thank you God for picking us and putting us in a good home. We thank you." -Edwin

"God, thank you for giving us sponsors that help us go to school.  Thank you also for giving us food and a family" -Bwanika

"God, thank you for our aunties and uncles and for how they help us. Thank you for sponsors to send us to to school. Please help us learn to read better and glorify you." -Emma

"God, we praise you for our family. Thank you for such a loving family. Thank you for my brothers, my uncles, and my aunties. Thank you for taking us from the street and from our bad places. Thank you for your freedom." -Morris

" God, thank you so much for those that give us advice and wisdom.  I pray that we can practice these things in action.  Thank you for protecting us God." -Fahad

"God, for so many of my friends I don't know where they are, but I thank you for these brothers that are here.  Please protect us.  May we be strengthened by your word Father.  Nothing is impossible for you Jesus.  Break every chain." -Ivan

"God, please help us in our school work.  Please be with our sponsors and thank you for all of our family." -Fred

Thank you Jesus. Thank you for always seeing us in everything we do.  Thank you for hearing every prayer of every one of your children.  I pray that we never miss the opportunity to come and listen.  Give us the eyes and the ears to receive your Kingdom.

Thrown Back In

I just got back from the village. The house was left with uncles and aunties and good friends. I slept. I read. I slept. I talked with my Jja Jja (grandfather). I slept some more. I read some more. Then you know what I did next? I slept. 

I got to stare out at the STARS, because they weren’t covered by Kampala haze. 

I did a whole lot of nothing, and that’s what made the trip wonderful. 

I wasn’t really sure that I was ready to come back, I was quite used to sleeping 14 hours a day by now, but when I came home I was so welcomed by everybody (it was really quite ridiculous) that I just wanted to scream “I AM SO LOVED!!!!’

We hit the ground running. 

“We need money for this”

“This boy is in trouble”

“These papers need to be finished” 

“The 78 e-mails in your inbox need to be responded to” 

“Did you forget that you were supposed to do this today?” 

“This mom has been been abused and beaten up, she and her children are in a dangerous situation. What should we do?” 

See our house is quite full. I would say that we are filled to the brim. That we are overflowing, actually. To allow anybody else to come stay with us is really quite overwhelming to think about. It starts up a string of questions inside of me to God. 

God, where are they going to sleep? What are we going to do with them? Are we going to put her in vocational school? How can we help her find a job? How can we help her find her own house?  God, are you sure that you really want her to come stay with us? How long is she going to stay here? 

This mom is my friend. She is in danger. She and her children have been hurt, and will be hurt again if they stay where they are....and I’m trying to figure out her life plan? 

See, I like to think that if God calls me to do something - that I’m supposed to figure out the rest. That is He says ‘bring them home to a safe place, to my refuge, to my city on a hill,’ then I’m supposed to figure out how long she will stay, what her life plan is, who she will marry, and at what age she will leave this earth. I don’t know why I think that my sometimes pea sized brain works better than God’s.

He humbles me. 

Tells me to trust Him. 

I’m not going to know all the answers. 

Better yet - I DON’T NEED TO FIGURE ALL THE ANSWERS OUT!!!

“Then you will call to me and come and pray and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:12

He listens to US. He hears us. And we find Him when we seek with our hearts, not with my pea-sized brain. 

God doesn’t make sense. He calls us to do the unthinkable: from loving the man who is trying to cheat you, to stretching to fit 3 more people in your house that already holds 23. 

He doesn’t call us to try to figure out what He is doing before we starting walking and trusting Him. 

He calls us to trust Him, start walking,and then seek: wisdom, discernment, understanding, and discipline.

I praise God that we have a family that stretches. 

I praise God that we have a family who has been helped and longs to help others.

I praise God that we have a family who gives up what is their own to help those in need.

And I praise God that we have a family full of absolutely crazy, Holy worshippers, mighty prayer warriors, selfless lovers of Christ; that get excited when there’s more people to love on.