Redirecting -- The Season of Transitions!

Gratitude is inclusive.

“To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives – the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections – that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep diving our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God” (Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey).

I love Uganda. The land is beautiful and so are the people. A few days ago I found myself sitting under a magnificent tree looking out to a yard of vibrant flowers against the blue sky. My exact thought at the moment was, “paradise is lonely when you have no one to share it with.”

I have been grumbling for the past week. I hate feeling lonely. I have complained to God a lot about this. Thoughts such as, “Why did I stay here? Was this really Your plan? I hate being single!” run through my head while I walk the streets alone.

But gratitude is inclusive. When I thank God for something there always seems to be a “but” that follows. “I love it here, but I wish I wasn't lonely.” is the current one on repeat. However, “If we take happiness from God's hand, must we not take sorrow too?” (Job 1:10).

This week has been hard, but I think I've figured out what lesson I'm learning – now I just need to learn it! I'm dependent on God. He is my source of life and joy and thankfulness. I'm not saying I've mastered it in any means, I'm just aware what subject in school that I'm in now.

This week has been the beginning of so many transitions for me. Along with all of the other changes, things at the Center are shifting gears as well. Carolyn wants to teach the women sustainability so there are around twenty women that are “graduating” from the program – no more free bags of food is the biggest issue here. As we send them on their way in order to make room for more young women that are truly in a crisis at the moment, we're stepping out with them into their homes. I now have two small groups of women to disciple! We'll be meeting in their villages, and one of the women is even going to be my translator. I'm sad to see these women leave the program, but so excited to be able to walk with them into this new season in their lives as well.

Quick view of Masese -- where I'll be every Tuesday morning with one of my groups!

Would you pray?

• I would continue to learn that my dependence is on the Lord – for worth, acceptance, love, and joy.
• I would grow closer to the Lord in this time of loneliness – Matthew 28:20. He is always with me.
• I would know what to teach my women and how to teach it. I'll be meeting with each group once a week for a few hours.
• My women – Irene (translator), Alice, Susan, Natasha, Esther, Jennifer, Ruth, Zainabu, Rehemah, and Kate – would have soft hearts to receive the Word of God, and that God would open their eyes to their sin and that they would cling to their Savior and His grace.

“To be grateful for an unanswered prayer, to give thanks in a state of interior desolation, to trust in the love of God in the face of the marvels, cruel circumstances, obscenities, and commonplaces of life is to whisper a doxology in darkness.” – Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning

Again, thank you so much for praying.

To God be the glory,

Kate