When it hurts just to breathe, can I
still praise God?
I was faced with that question quite
literally this week. On Sunday I came down with an internal infection
that hit pretty fiercely on Tuesday. Thankfully, there is a doctor
from Australia here that was able to see me and after a trip to a
hospital just outside of town to get some blood work and an
ultrasound, was able to give me some antibiotics and morphine to kill
the pain.
I took it easy Wednesday and Thursday
and then that night was woken up by intense pain again. Another trip
to the doctor and after consulting a few more nurses, everyone was
stumped as to what could be causing such pain. I was a mystery! The
Jores finally decided that a trip to Kampala was needed for better
medical attention, so we got a private hire and Nate, Micah,
Courtney, and I took off in the evening to brave the crazy roads of
Kampala in the dark.
A short visit there found that I had
two pinched nerves in the back that had sent the pain to the front.
Praise God that it wasn't something worse! (Although Nate and Micah
were secretly hoping for some exotic African disease!) What a week
this has been!
I was quite upset with God for a while
while I was not feeling well. It didn't make sense to me that I was
in so much pain while I was trying to faithfully serve Him in Africa.
As a missionary, shouldn't He put a shield of protection around me?
Ministry is quite difficult when you are unable to move without
tears, so I couldn't figure out why He would allow such pain when I
so badly wanted to be at the Center.
However, I quickly came to the
realization that in the midst of the pain and questions, my God was
still good. His love for me hadn't diminished; His faithfulness had
not subsided. It reminded me of a quote from Tim Keller, when asked
why God would allow such pain and suffering in the world, he answered
that it can't be that He doesn't love us, because the Cross is enough
to take away all doubt.
I see pain here, I see suffering. I
can't help but wonder if God does care about these people at times,
but then I'm reminded that the Cross was for them too. It can't be
that He doesn't love them. And that is enough to move me to love them
as well. That love that God has bestowed upon me is what motivates us
to more forward and love the people of Uganda.
We're looking forward to jumping back
in to ministry at the Crisis Pregnancy Center and helping out in the
villages this week. We also hope to visit our friend Edith and her
baby Miracle soon as well. The latest update is that Miracle is
slowly showing signs of improvement, but will probably need to stay
here for a few weeks until she is able to go to Mbale for the
operation. We would appreciate your continued prayer for Miracle!
Until next time,
Kate and Court
The Luckeys are taking off this weekend, so we went to the Jinja Nile Resort with them as a final outing. It is beyond beautiful here! We are going to miss the Luckeys so much. :(
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