“What we suffer now is
nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.” Romans 8:18
Just as you see in the
pictures- smiles, laughter, joy, hope, cuteness, beauty- it’s what we choose to
see every day on this side of the world in Uganda. We are comfortable and
settled in to this life we have lived in Uganda for (almost) the last year. We
adore God’s people and His creation over here and this life He has called us
to. Many times our pictures surprise people because the ugliness and darkness
of a third world country are overshadowed by the beauty of the genuine smiles
on the faces of these people.
Do we see the ugliness,
brokenness, and darkness still? Let me tell you about two powerful stories from
our last week of work here.
In our village ministry (Sozo Women) we thought it would be a beautiful picture of compassion & support if our ladies gave an offering to a fellow sister in Christ in our group. The lady in need is Margaret and she is about to lose a finger. It is infected so much that it is swollen to the size of Andre Smith’s thumb (bare with me, Alabama football reference). Remember that we minister to the “least of these” who struggle to survive each day because of finances. The Widow’s Offering in Mark 12:41-44 is about to come to your mind. We asked our translator to tell these women what we have in mind- it’s our first time to ask anything like this of them & frankly I was a bit regretful as we got blank stares in response. Come to find out the women did not have money on them that day (or any day for that matter). We left it at that and the next time we gathered 3 days later it was a “jewelry-making” day which means PAY DAY for the women. We handed out the money earned and immediately one by one the women handed back to us on average 1,000 shillings (approx. .39 cents) for Margaret’s offering. In the village that is about half a day’s work so it was nothing insignificant as you might think. “A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents….she, out of her poverty, put in everything- all she had to live on” – Mark 12:42-44. This was a beautiful thing to see. That day we had not reminded the ladies or pushed for it again- we simply allowed the Holy Spirit to do His thing and Sozo Women collected 60,000 shillings (the amount of Margaret’s necessary medical treatment)!
Pictured: Margaret making jewelry with her finger wrapped and i.v. in hand post medical treatment
To say we were proud of our
women and encouraged by what we had witnessed was an understatement. Meanwhile,
I visit Maama Rodene’s house on the day after. (Now if you have followed any of my picture posts
on social media you have met Rodene in numerous pictures. My 3 year old village
boy who has become much like a son to me). It is not abnormal for me to visit
Maama Rodene aka Maureen (about 20 years old) before our bible studies begin.
She speaks (broken) English which I’m thankful for, so we can communicate
directly most of the time. I ask her if she is born again in Christ and she
says yes. I gently encourage her to join Sozo Women for bible study as I would
love for her to be a part of this growing group. As many times as I have asked
her to come in the past she refused because she has no husband, a 11 month old baby Christopher, and needed to find a way
to make money that day to feed her 2 sons. Something was different Monday....
she frantically jumps up from these rocks we are sitting on on the ground,
begins gathering the (few) clothes off the line, throws pants on Baby
Christopher, and has Rodene quickly wash his mud covered sandals. She says
“Chelsie! I’m coming. Today, and every other Monday and Thursday!” So we walk
down the dirt road hand in hand, drop off Rodene and Christopher at Sozo Kid’s
Club and as we approach the women’s ministry she abruptly stops and looks at me
and says that she can’t come. Immediately I knew something was up- what could
have changed in the blink of an eye. She starts telling me that there is a lady
she sees in the group who hates her. Maureen says that if she walks up to the
group this lady will begin yelling at her and causing a scene. At this point
she won’t give me much detail so I encourage her to still come and by the grace
of God she does and everything was fine. Afterward as we make our way back to
her one room dirt-floor “house” I am asking questions trying to get the story.
Apparently the woman in our group is accusing Maureen of sleeping with her
husband and has threatened to BEWITCH Maureen because of this. (Witchcraft is
a common cultural practice in Uganda and we hear of these stories often, just not about our
own Sozo Women anymore. We would like to think they are now changed women by and
through Jesus Christ and have turned from those wicked ways). So now, I
begin to shutdown because I am heartbroken someone is accusing Maureen of such
a thing and more so that one of our women is practicing witchcraft on another! Hundreds
of thoughts flood my head and tears form in my eyes and I say to Amanda “How
has God used us in the lives of these women since forming Sozo Women in
January; What are we doing; Should we just throw our hands up and forget all of
this???). Long story short, I pray with her and Rodene for the situation at
hand and tell her I will see her Thursday. A few phone calls are made that
night and come to find out Maureen is sleeping with the other woman’s husband
and has even been living with him for 3 months.
He is HIV positive and very old, by the way. My heart immediately breaks
for Rodene and Christopher and even Maureen. Did I mention that Maureen’s
brother Joseph is on his death bed (aka a mattress outside on the dirt in the
village) from AIDS? I try to find a positive note from the truthful info I
have gained… we are assured by many that the other lady never threatened to bewitch Maureen and does not
even practice witchcraft. Thank God!
I am hurting and devastated
by the facts of Maureen’s actions. And what this means for Rodene. I love,
treasure, and care for Rodene and now grieve for his young mother is now HIV
infected. Maureen is living in darkness and that darkness is real, and that
darkness is horrible. It comes from Satan. But I can confidently say Satan will
not have the last word in this story. “The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5. We will keep praying for this entire family, their health, and their futures.
Pictured: Rodene and younger brother Christopher, the 2 sons of Maureen
Two stories, one of light and
one of darkness, in the same week in the same village. We choose to claim His
Light in the midst of all we see. Now is not the time to
despair. We believe God called us to this life in Uganda and we are prepared to
follow Him into every dark place. We believe He is powerful and able to
transform and to heal. We believe He is big enough and good enough to save
every woman who comes through Sozo Women. We claim beauty from ashes. He will
meet them and us in this broken, dark place and He has chosen us to deliver His
hope and love.
Pray with us and for us as we navigate through some muddy waters as we are in the midst of a storm we will mention in the next post. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
We love you guys!
Made for MORE,
Chelsie & Amanda
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