The Prodigal Son.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

So I’m imagining myself in the field Caroline and I have been starting our days in. This long stretch of land that they seem to call an airfield is quickly becoming our safe-haven to run with the Lord. Maybe to even just sit with Him for a while. In this same field I imagine my life flash before my eyes. I imagine the huge chunk of time when I claimed to know the Lord but didn’t really seek Him. I imagine an even bigger chunk of time when I denied His name completely, and I remember today. Today was the best, really it was.

We woke up to immediately fall into our Father’s mercies. That followed with me helping the mama’s with laundry and grabbing a cup of tea to DJ while Care and George made stencils for the kids. Then writing letters. Long letters that we waited too long to write and then a ride into town to send them with the most joy and to find somewhere that would serve us breakfast at noon. Noon turned into 3pm as we ended up at this beautiful place by the Nile pleading for rain. The rain didn’t come, but instead we took some kids to town and basked in the simpleness of sitting with them and that being enough. Then out of nowhere…the rain came. And I don’t mean a drizzle but a torrential downpour of everything the day had been to us. The best day. The trees blowing and probably a rainbow somewhere; anywhere. We couldn’t find it, but I knew God wouldn’t bring that kind of rain without a reminder. And if it wasn’t enough I had a talk with my sweet sister that meant something more than ‘how was your day’, even though I would have answered with today being the best-because it was. Going to worship night seemed like a perfect way to end the day, and if wasn’t enough, the prodigal’s son was read.

So I imagine myself in this same field, once more. I imagine myself just 2 years ago, so new in my faith and so eager for answers. Knowing that I had been running away for far too long and just looking across this field with my heart in my hand and seeing Him, my Father, run towards me. Ya know one of those ugly runs where you put your whole body into it-that was my Dad running full force-and running to me.

He takes me in my brokenness. Even now while knowing His character and experiencing His love…I tend to stray. I tend to be that stupid little sheep who thinks that my tomorrow is mine and not His. Even now while knowing that He is BEGGING me, on His knees YEARNING for me to come back. And even when I don’t, He still doesn’t give up on me. And even when I take one more step further away, and another, and maybe another past that-He is sitting criss-cross applesauce in the airfield, waiting for His daughter to return. And I always will because no one picks me up, just spins me around-like Jesus.

And it never seizes to amaze me that not only did He give His only son to die for us…literally sacrificing everything…but He did that and He still waits for us and He still forgives us. Time after time, knowing I will break His heart all over again…He takes me broken and battered and makes me whole. I was lost but He found me. And after being this outrageously found, I never wanna stray again. I just wanna sit in that African airfield forever with my Dad.

The Land of a Thousand Hills

Soccer game in Kigali

Mountain and Sunset

The boarding school that we went and hung out at

View from the camp grounds

Sweet friends

       

Sorry for the absence in blogging the past couple weeks, the Lord has blessed Kelsey and I with the opportunity to visit Rwanda and see some sweet friends from camp that were experiencing the Lord’s work in another beautiful country that was so different from Uganda. Kelsey and I had quite a journey getting there! It was definitely an experience I will never forget. It all began with an easy drive to the airport outside of Kampala but soon became a whole lot of awkward moments, that always tend to happen when Kelsey and I are together. We got on the plane, had a dance party in our seats, landed in Rwanda 35 minutes later and there began such an adventure. We were informed by a friend to go hang out at a coffee shop in Kigali that is very “American” and easy to find. After we enjoyed some yummy food and African coffee, we went to the main bus stop in Kigali to hop on the bus that would take us to Musanze. Little did we know that this bus stop was HUGE and we were the only white people (“muzungus”) that were amongst approximately 400 Rwandans who didn’t speak any English. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing, but decided that we would soak up the experience and make the most of it. After asking many strangers where to go and what to do to get on the right bus, we waited for about an hour and were consistently stared at by little Rwandan children who had probably never seen a muzungu in their life.

            We finally got on the right bus to Musanze, or at least we assumed we did, and started the two-hour drive through the many mountains of Rwanda and just marveled at how stunning the country was. As we were marveling at the Lord’s beautiful creation, a Rwandan man behind us was worshiping the Lord and praying passionately for his people and their broken past. He was singing at the top of his lungs, not caring at all that everyone in the bus was staring and wondering what he was doing. Even though we could not understand a word this man was singing, his boldness to proclaim the gospel and shout out the name of the Lord without care was inspiring and encouraging to witness. We finally made it to Musanze and found our friends Julie and Shelby. Julie is taking the semester off of school at UGA to teach at a school in Musanze. Shelby is part of the Kivu Gap Year, and just finished up spending 6 weeks in Rwanda at the Kids Across Africa house. It was such a great time with camp friends as we all laughed, shared our hearts with each other, and experienced life alongside each other in a different country.

            Our time in Rwanda was a beautiful time of rest, relaxation, and basking in the gorgeous weather and marveling at the gorgeous surroundings. But more importantly, Kelsey and I were also encouraged by our sweet friends, challenged to look at Africa a little differently, and inspired and reassured that for both of us, Africa is a place where we will both someday live in the future. Being here for only a little over a month has confirmed to me that my heart is in Africa and it is these beautiful people that I want to come back and show the love of Jesus to. What that looks like, I’m not sure yet, but I do know that the Lord has a plan and that he is prevalently revealing His will to me each day that I am here.

Prayer Requests:

            >The Gap Year kids are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro RIGHT NOW! Please be praying for safety, strength, endurance, and positive attitudes.

            >That Kelsey and I would passionately seek to know the Lord more and that His character would continue to be revealed to us in our daily life here at Ekisa.

            >That I would learn how to love the people around me better. I can ALWAYS love people better. “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise” (Mother Theresa). I want to see each person I encounter as if they are Jesus and that “my love would abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Phillipians 1:9) as I seek the Lords character and let His love for me pour out on everyone around me.

Miss you all and hope you enjoy the pictures :)

-Care

Oh How He Loves Us.

I sit in the shed that is their classroom, and the dirt floors make it even more comfortable. I am only just an arms length away from my boy, and I suddenly wish to scoop him up in my arms and tell him that he so outrageously loved. I see the other kids stare relentlessly, wondering why he looks so much different than them. I just want to grab their little black faces and say,

“because this child is JOY. This child is REDEMPTION. This child is Jesus…”

…that is why he is different. A dear friend of mine encouraged me this week to go even lower than the least of these to find Jesus. That when you think you’ve reached the most brokenness that He will show you that you must stoop lower; touch the bottom of the whole entire world. And that is where I’ve found Jesus, because that is where I found Walter.

He is the surest definition of strength and I want more than anything for him to know that. For him to know how tightly he is being held by the only one who will ever love him enough.

I feel abundant joy when he only just jumps in my arms. I feel like I’m sinking in grace when he buries his face in my shoulder. I see the love of Jesus when I’m blessed with a glimpse of his most endearing smile and I think,

“My God…THIS is what love looks like.”

And then I think of the cross-as I always seem to do in times of brokenness-and I remember just how much He loves us. Dear Jesus, I have seen how much He loves us through this beautiful boy. Oh how He loves us.

He Will Laugh.

I read Genesis and am reminded of the great sacrifice Abraham was willing to make for the Lord, sacrificing his only son Isaac, and trusting that God knew what He was doing far more than Abraham did. I think about the amount of faith that would take, but I am just so reminded of God's faithfulness, too. God spared Isaac's life that day, knowing far too soon that His son...His only son...wouldn't be spared.

Isaac came to Ekisa yesterday afternoon, just a 9 year-old boy with a broken arm and heart. I didn't spend much time with him because he had to go straight to the hospital, but there were a couple minutes spent with him on the floor trying to make him comfortable. No reassurement came as he moved his head from my kneecap to the crook of my arm-knowing I couldn't take the pain away.

But Isaac is ours now. Ours! He was delivered from his abandonment and Christ spared his life, like He did Abraham's son. Isaac is the Hebrew word for "he will laugh" and it is so very fitting. Isaac is such a handsome, sweet boy, and I can't wait until the day that he will laugh. I pray for Isaac to experience healing and the same type of joy that I encounter every single day from these amazing kids. Purely the love of God here at Ekisa, and nothing less.

-Kelsey