A Christmas Reflection

At our Christmas chapel  on the last day of school our chaplain showed an awesome video to the Christmas hymn "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" and through an artist's canvas showed the long wait of God's people for the promised messiah, Jesus. (You can watch the awesome video at this link)
As I sit here on December 27th, still pregnant, and waiting for what seems like my long expected gift from above, I'm reminded of the centuries of waiting and longing that were fulfilled by the birth of Christ.  I was struck by the song particularly because God's people were active in their waiting.  I find myself folding and refolding baby clothes, moving the bottles of lotion and shampoo from one shelf only to move it back again to the other.  I sit in the rocking chair thinking about rocking a baby and wondering what it will be like to hold him.  I am actively waiting!  All this makes me reflect on how expectant I am for the return of Jesus Christ.  Am I waiting with as much anticipation for my Savior to return to take me home? 

Everyone I meet knows that I'm expecting.  If the belly is not a tip off I'm sure my speech and actions reflect the imminent birth of our son.  Do my actions daily demonstrate to others my belief that Jesus became fully human while remaining fully God while here on earth, that he died and rose again to save me from my sins?  I cannot imagine my son dying for anyone else.  It's not fair and quite frankly a bit insane.  And at the same time I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for the work Christ did not only for me but for my son.  I can't wait to share the best news that Jesus Christ loved HIM enough to die for him.

As a Church (the Bride) we often stop here.  We are grateful for the work Christ has done but we forget the work he is DOING!  The word tells us that Christ is interceding on our behalf and awaiting the moment when he will return to be reunited with us like a grandiose wedding celebration.

Recently a friend told me that she was singing the song at church "Because He Lives" and she was awed by the line "How sweet it is to hold a newborn baby...and know he can face uncertain days because HE lives." It is so true!  Because Christ LIVES we can have hope in uncertain times we can live expectant because his promises are true.  Christmas is a time of joy not because of a wiggly baby but because of a greater plan that is still in motion.  Let us each live with the hope of the promise that Christ's work is enough and always will be enough.  Let's share with everyone we meet the joyous news that Christ was born, lived, died, still lives and is returning! 

Praise the Lord that he is coming back! 

Amen.

The Final Countdown

Hello blog-readers (I'm sure there are not too many left since I've been so neglectful),
We are in the final countdown.  The final countdown of the semester (we started exams today), Christmas, AND the final countdown till baby time. Here are a few things that I'm keeping in mind...

• Forward motion, no matter how slight, is still progress.  (This includes waddling)
• If my husband keeps predicting I'll have the baby tomorrow...one of these days he'll be right!
• A co-workers said that if I don't hurry up and go into labor, Ernie will go into labor first. :)
• Though funny, I don't know that I enjoy people saying "You're still pregnant!?!?!"
• I am quite the side show walking around town.  Apparently people have not seen too many pregnant white women.
• At the fruit and vegetable market the other day I had to ask the woman 3 times for a kilo of carrots because she was so engrossed with staring at my belly.
• One day very soon I will not be visiting the restroom (what feels like) every 30 minutes.
• I believe that I will once again be able to pick things up off the ground.
• Watching a live natural birth on the internet does NOT count as dinner & a movie with my hubby.  (I had the presence of mind to NOT suggest this the other day- Few!).
• Mary was quite the trooper to ride a donkey for days to Bethlehem just before giving birth to Jesus.  I would NOT get on a donkey at this point.  Just sayin'.
• I'm glad I'm giving birth in a hospital not a stable.
• If Ernie was the ONLY one to assist me with birth (like Mary & Joseph) I think we'd be in a world of hurt.
• AND LASTLY...Soon we will have a precious little gift in our arms and it will be worth all the funny quirks along the way!

Anamazing and Loving on little children

This past few weeks are like a tornado.  Ernie helped with the Middle School spiritual retreat, I stayed, held down the fort and this past week we've been preparing more and more for when baby arrives.  (Pictures to come when we get the nursery set up.)  Last weekend we went to the Uganda Wildlife Education Center and hung out with some amazing animals...I like to say it was anamazing! Here's a link to some more fun pictures.

We also spent an afternoon at a babies home for orphan children as young as 5 days old up to 6 years old.  We had a blast playing and loving on the little ones.  Ernie spent time helping one little girl walk (she'd only been walking for a few days).  It was such a sweet time and yet sad too.  We wish there was more we could do.  It was such a blessing to us though.  Here are some pictures from our time there.

October Break and on Safari!

We had the most wonderful time with friends at Murchison Falls National Park in Northern Uganda.  What a beautiful country!  Here's a link to our pictures.  (Well at least a sampling I took over 1,500!!!)  Hope these pictures can say more than I ever could about God's amazing creativity & beauty!  The earth is filled with HIS glory!
Safari Pictures

The flowers of the fields at Heritage International School

"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"  -Matthew 6:28-30

This passage is so challenging for me.  Today I strive to not worry about tomorrow, to trust the Lord with all the plans that lay in store.

 So why do I worry?  Because I'm human.  But with faith all things are possible!

"Lord, today grant me the faith to trust in you, the only trustworthy one!  Give my heart peace when I start to worry or try to take control.  Amen."

Praying for you today and that the Lord may give you comfort and peace in a trying world!

-Abbey

 

Happy 50th Anniversary Uganda!

Life as we know it is summed up in the word.... FULL!

Praise the Lord that life is so full!!!  From my full belly (which resembles more of a beach ball) to the fullness of school life and time with friends, life is good. 

Over the past two weeks some of my students have been working on a garden.  With the hopes they will learn more about subsistence farming and the value of arable land and of food in general.  The past two 30 min. outings have consisted of hoeing the ground and weeding.  When a hoe wasn't available one of my students went a little “stone age” and used a stick.  I have to say it is quite humorous to watch the whole charade!  They are doing amazing and even making some progress.  We've even found old shoes, a buoy, and ceramic tiles buried.  It’s sort of an archaeology experiment all at the same time.

We've also had some wonderful sports competitions lately.  They've kept the whole school going at a rapid pace!  Here’s a few pictures from the Men’s and Women’s soccer matches and the Swim Meet (or Swim Gala as they say here).  I’m helping coach the swim team and we are having a great time.  And at 6 ½ months prego I can still do a flip turn I’m happy to say! J

Last week was the Secondary School’s Spiritual Emphasis week.  Here are a few pictures from chapel.  Students responded mightily when asked to nail struggles to the cross.  Praise the Lord the Holy Spirit is moving in our student body even among the non-believers!

We finished out the week with a really fun photo scavenger hunt, pizza & movie night!

A few prayer requests:

• ·         Uganda celebrates 50 years of independence on Tuesday!  WOW!! Prayers for many more years of peace and growth for this country!
• ·         October 17-19^th is the High School Spiritual retreat.  Ernie & I will be going and helping and we are praying for the Lord to continue working in the hearts of students.  I can tell Satan is trying to work over time to pull many of our students down.  Please pray that these students will come to know the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!!  And for those who do know Him, that He will continue to transform lives.
• ·         That our pregnancy would continue to go well.  Our little buddy is breach so if he could turn in the next two months or so that would be wonderful!  But I’m feeling great & my last doctor appointment was fantastic.
• ·         Prayers for health & safety for our sports teams.  We've had 4 injuries in the last 3 soccer games, including a broken arm & a serious concussion. (Everything is fine but they were quite a scare!)

Thanks for praying with us!

Abbey,  Ernie and baby Reynolds!

The Passion Conference

One Incredible Night

Last night was one of the most amazing things I have seen in Africa yet!  I have to be honest when I say that I never expected to hear Chris Tomlin sing and Louis Giglio preach right here in Kampala!  What a night!

The Passion World Tour is touring the world with the overwhelming message of “How GREAT is our God”.  My buddy Josh, our school Chaplain, arranged a couple of busses for us to go to this awesome event as a school.  When Abbey and I first heard about the event we were so excited to go, and then were completely shocked by how cheap the tickets were.  For adults the price was 10,000 Ugandan Schillings (UGX) and for those under 25 the price was 2,000 UGX.  Translated into dollars meant that adults paid $3.98 and the younger ones paid $0.80 for a ticket!  At this same event in North America the tickets ranged anywhere from $60 to $180!

There were around 60 of us that went with the school to the event.  We had a great mix of students, teachers and parents that went.  We arrived at the Makarere University campus 3 hours before the start of the event because we knew that it would be packed.  We wanted to have a good spot kind of up close to the stage where the group could really feel like a part of the event.  It worked out really nicely because we were all really close to the stage and right in the center!  As more and more people packed into the field, it was amazing to look out and see so many Christians gathered together to celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ!  By the end of the night there were thousands (if not tens of thousands) of people who gathered together on that field… Christians from all over Africa and missionaries from all over the world; each with their own story of how God had led them to Uganda.

I have heard a Chris Tomlin concert before in the States, and it was powerful then.  Africans, though, REALLY know how to worship with their full voices and hearts!  During most of the songs, I could hear the voices of thousands of people singing just as loud as the sounds coming through the sound system.  EVERYONE was involved and singing and praising our Lord.  I especially liked when Chris sang his songs “How great is our God” and “We raise our white flag”.  Maybe the coolest moment of the Tomlin part of the night, though, was when he started singing “Indescribable”.  As soon as he played the first note of the song, the crowd erupted in one of the loudest cheers I have ever heard.  The cool part is that Chris Tomlin’s face (along with his band members) was so genuinely surprised and shocked by the volume of cheer that he had to step away from the mike and stop the song.  He just kept smiling and smiling until he finally gathered himself and started anew.  The hills were echoing with the sound of so many people singing “You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name, You are amazing God”!  All this was sung under a perfect Ugandan sky and a beautiful full moon.  Christy Knockles was also at the event and she sang her unbelievably beautiful song “Waiting here for you”.

When Louis Giglio preached it was also VERY powerful.  If you have never seen his videos called “Indescribable” and “How Great is our God” I would highly recommend it.  He is very excited about nature and the solar system and how all the heavens and earth cry out praises to our Lord.  He read the words of the Psalmist and then proceeded to share some amazing ways that the universe cries out worship to our Creator.  The highlights of the sermon included playing some unbelievable noises that come from stars that have exploded and then drawn back into a spinning mass called a pulsar.  We have radio wave high powered telescopes now that record sounds coming from space and to hear the sounds that come out of these pulsars was quite spectacular.  It sounded like a symphony was playing music to praise our God!  In a brilliant twist, Giglio combined the sounds of the pulsars with the beautiful songs of the humpback whale to give an example of how all of nature is in a constant state of worship to Jesus Christ.  The sounds were so overwhelmingly beautiful that I cannot imagine the kind of sound that our God gets to hear on a constant basis coming from all corners of the universe.

We made it back to the school around midnight and were pretty worn out but what an amazing experience.  The timing was perfect, also, because spiritual emphasis week just ended at our school and there is a continually growing presence of the Holy Spirit on our campus.  The reason that hearts seem to be opening more and more to His Word is that the movement is being led by the students themselves.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.  Students are starting Bible studies, sharing their testimonies and witnessing to their peers in a way that no teacher or parent could ever do.  Please continue to pray for our school and for this nation.  Jesus is showing His presence in a very powerful way here and I pray that nothing will hinder the continued growth of His followers.

Goodnight my friends!  We miss you all and think of you often.  I’m sorry that I am so horrible at keeping in touch with all of you and that we don’t update this blog very often.  Life, as usual, seems to be spinning around so quickly!  God bless and we will talk again soon.

In Jesus Christ,

Ernie