Hello my friends,
I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog. I have been thinking about what to write and how to update what is going on in my life. I have been having a hard time ever since I have been back from Uganda, Africa. I look around at the many things this American has to offer. I look around and see the materialism in this culture. I look around and see people who are not willing to accept the free gift that Our Glorious God has to offer. I look around and see people who not willing to give up their comforts to go spend some time in the Nations. I look around and see people getting caught up within themselves. I look around and see a Nation who has many "things", but does not know how to use them all wisely. We are a Nation with many "things" but put the majority to waste. I would even say, how dare us! There are people around the world who are suffering. There are millions upon millions orphans in Africa. What these orphans and people suffer compares nothing to what we suffer here in America, they suffer a whole lot more than we do. We are so caught up in our desires and thinking how to satisfy ourselves. And we as a people fail to see things through the eyes of Our God. We fail to see the world through His beautiful eyes. We fail to feel what He feels. We fail to love what He loves. We even fail to go where He is (where He wants us to go). Yesterday I was walking into Kroger to get some things for the week and I got sick. It made me sick to see how much food "we" have and buy. I bet some of that food people buy, goes to waste. And to think there are orphans in Africa, and all over the world that are starving (really starving, not just saying it, but are experiencing it) I was reading in my quiet time last night Ephesians 3. I love the whole book of Ephesians; Paul was an amazing writer and preacher. I loved the whole chapter but a couple verses spoke out to me; 18 & 20. Verse 18 starts like this, "may have power, together with all saints, to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Does not that just blow your mind? I mean if every person that truly followed Jesus Christ would really grasp how wide, long, high, and deep His Love is would we do things and say things differently? I would even say yes. Verse 20 starts like this, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Holy crap chicken! That verse is so amazing. Our God is able to do things that we cannot comprehend or even imagine. Just to think that God is able to be there for the orphans if nobody wants to. He is able to raise that generation to do great things for His Name & Kingdom. God is able to do immeasurably and incredible things if people refuse to get out of their comfort zones to go minister to the orphans & widows. He desires to make Himself known to everybody in the Nations. That is how BIG our God is. We are called to the light of the world. So, let all of us carry our torches and go out unto the Nations and be a light, even in the dark places. That is what I pray for myself and for others who read this. This post was just some thoughts on my mind. Please let me know what ya'll think. We need to be willing to leave our comfort zone (stepping out of the boat) and go and make Christ known among the Nations. More of my thoughts will come later on. Ciao!
~Chandler
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Christ became the curse for us
Hello My Mzungu Friends,
Praise God for today! Last night I have to say I went to an amazing concert of Shane & Shane last night at Thomas Road Baptist Church. The opening acts were Monk & Neagle and Bebo Normon. When Bebo spoke last night he said Bono and all those superstars aren't suppose to go to Africa, it's suppose to be the body of Christ..I was like preach it brother. That is so true! I mean I think it's cool what all of these celebs are doing and helping out with Africa and yet while they are over there the body of Christ is sitting down in their comfort zone. Tell me what the problem is there? Yeah, I think that there is a problem. And then when Shane & Shane got up to sing..I love them so much. God used them to speak and minister to many people last night. I know that He used them to minister to me last night. Last night Shane Bernard said something about Galatians 3 that was pretty cool. Last week I had a quiet time in this chapter and thought the exact same thing, so what he said was pretty cool. He spoke about Galatians 3:13-14. The whole chapter is about faith or observance of the law. I think Paul asking if people have real and authentic faith or do they still oberserve the law. And Paul even mentioned Abraham,"Consider Abraham: "He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." I mean do we simply have faith and follow God, just like Abraham did or follow the law. And then this is where verses 13 & 14 come in, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might recieve the promise of the Spirit." My friends Jesus Christ actually became the curse for us. WOW! Because if you think about it, we really didn't derserve to be alive. Our Saviour redeemed us by becoming the curse for us by hanging on a rugged tree. Oh WoW! That my friends is hard to grasped, but once you start to understand it, you start seeing things differently! Praise God that I went to hear Shane & Shane last night to hear about those words about Galatians. Praise God that He inspiried Paul to write Galatians. My Abba Father is so incredible!!! Ciao my friends!
Praise God for today! Last night I have to say I went to an amazing concert of Shane & Shane last night at Thomas Road Baptist Church. The opening acts were Monk & Neagle and Bebo Normon. When Bebo spoke last night he said Bono and all those superstars aren't suppose to go to Africa, it's suppose to be the body of Christ..I was like preach it brother. That is so true! I mean I think it's cool what all of these celebs are doing and helping out with Africa and yet while they are over there the body of Christ is sitting down in their comfort zone. Tell me what the problem is there? Yeah, I think that there is a problem. And then when Shane & Shane got up to sing..I love them so much. God used them to speak and minister to many people last night. I know that He used them to minister to me last night. Last night Shane Bernard said something about Galatians 3 that was pretty cool. Last week I had a quiet time in this chapter and thought the exact same thing, so what he said was pretty cool. He spoke about Galatians 3:13-14. The whole chapter is about faith or observance of the law. I think Paul asking if people have real and authentic faith or do they still oberserve the law. And Paul even mentioned Abraham,"Consider Abraham: "He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." I mean do we simply have faith and follow God, just like Abraham did or follow the law. And then this is where verses 13 & 14 come in, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might recieve the promise of the Spirit." My friends Jesus Christ actually became the curse for us. WOW! Because if you think about it, we really didn't derserve to be alive. Our Saviour redeemed us by becoming the curse for us by hanging on a rugged tree. Oh WoW! That my friends is hard to grasped, but once you start to understand it, you start seeing things differently! Praise God that I went to hear Shane & Shane last night to hear about those words about Galatians. Praise God that He inspiried Paul to write Galatians. My Abba Father is so incredible!!! Ciao my friends!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Updates on life...some to come later.
Hello Mzungus,
Sorry I have not updated my blog in the past 3 weeks. I have been in this American culture for the past 3 and 1/2 weeks and I surely do wish I was back in Bunndo, Uganda. I wish I was at Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage. I miss all my children and secondary students. I miss the staffers there. And I truly miss Bob & Carolyn. I miss the life in the bush. I ask that you all pray for me please because I am having post-culture shock. And classes started today at Liberty, but mine are only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I just want to be focused, but I also want to be open to be lead by the Holy Spirit. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Psalm 115:1). It is not to me. Life is not about Joseph Chandler Sharpe. When I was in Uganda God showed me that I am alive to worship Him and to serve Him. Well, I am going to get ready for bed now. I have class at 7:40 in the stinking A.M. I will update some time this week. Also in your prayers lift up Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage, all the children/secondary students, the staffers, and Bob & Carolyn (the directors). Lift up the Next Generation of Uganda. Lift up the country, Uganda as a whole. Just some updates about the LRA and the war in Northern Uganda. Right now there is peace, but Joseph Kony goes back and forth. However, as of right now there is peace in Uganda. Praise God there is peace in that beautiful country!! Talk to everyone later on. Thank you so much for all the prayers and encouragment during my time at GSF. Love you all. Ciao!
~In Christ,
Chandler
Sorry I have not updated my blog in the past 3 weeks. I have been in this American culture for the past 3 and 1/2 weeks and I surely do wish I was back in Bunndo, Uganda. I wish I was at Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage. I miss all my children and secondary students. I miss the staffers there. And I truly miss Bob & Carolyn. I miss the life in the bush. I ask that you all pray for me please because I am having post-culture shock. And classes started today at Liberty, but mine are only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I just want to be focused, but I also want to be open to be lead by the Holy Spirit. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Psalm 115:1). It is not to me. Life is not about Joseph Chandler Sharpe. When I was in Uganda God showed me that I am alive to worship Him and to serve Him. Well, I am going to get ready for bed now. I have class at 7:40 in the stinking A.M. I will update some time this week. Also in your prayers lift up Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage, all the children/secondary students, the staffers, and Bob & Carolyn (the directors). Lift up the Next Generation of Uganda. Lift up the country, Uganda as a whole. Just some updates about the LRA and the war in Northern Uganda. Right now there is peace, but Joseph Kony goes back and forth. However, as of right now there is peace in Uganda. Praise God there is peace in that beautiful country!! Talk to everyone later on. Thank you so much for all the prayers and encouragment during my time at GSF. Love you all. Ciao!
~In Christ,
Chandler
Monday, July 16, 2007
Energy Tank is LOW
Hello Family & Friends,
I hope everyone is doing well. I am going to be honest and say that I am not doing okay. My energy tank is getting really low. It is at its lowest point right now and I still have two more weeks before I leave. I wake up every morning and go to bed and night praying to our Abba Father for strength, endurance, and perseverance. I am learning what is behind the word "trust" and "rely." I have to say that I just realized tonight that I am emotionally drained. All of the emotions inside me are draining out. I cannot explain it to everyone because I do not even understand my emotions and feelings right now. I wrote this to ask that all my brothers and sisters in Christ continue to pray for me. Continue to pray that our Abba Father will grant me the strength to get through this time. And that He will also give me the endurance and perseverance. Also pray for the other Short Term Missionary here with me. She is also going through the exact same thing. Her name is Ineke Kajser. Just pray that our Abba Father would give her strength, endurance, and perseverance as well. She will leave a week after I leave. When she leaves the total time that she stayed would be 3 months. So I ask that you also please remember her in your prayers. And also please continue to pray for the other visitor; Beverly Burk. She will leave next Monday. So just pray for her safety in travel. And Carolyn left tonight to Ireland for two weeks to visit family. She really needs this small vacation. Just keep her in your prayers please. Pray for her safety in travel and also remember Bob in your prayers as well. He is going to be here in GSF by himself running everything. Just pray for him that God will give him the strength, endurance, perseverance, and wisdom. I know this is short, but it was meant to be short. I love you all! I even miss you all. I try not to think about that word because I do not want to get my focus blurry. I want my eyes and thoughts to stay focused on my Abba Father! Take care mi familia y mis amigos. Ciao!
~In Christ,
Chandler
I hope everyone is doing well. I am going to be honest and say that I am not doing okay. My energy tank is getting really low. It is at its lowest point right now and I still have two more weeks before I leave. I wake up every morning and go to bed and night praying to our Abba Father for strength, endurance, and perseverance. I am learning what is behind the word "trust" and "rely." I have to say that I just realized tonight that I am emotionally drained. All of the emotions inside me are draining out. I cannot explain it to everyone because I do not even understand my emotions and feelings right now. I wrote this to ask that all my brothers and sisters in Christ continue to pray for me. Continue to pray that our Abba Father will grant me the strength to get through this time. And that He will also give me the endurance and perseverance. Also pray for the other Short Term Missionary here with me. She is also going through the exact same thing. Her name is Ineke Kajser. Just pray that our Abba Father would give her strength, endurance, and perseverance as well. She will leave a week after I leave. When she leaves the total time that she stayed would be 3 months. So I ask that you also please remember her in your prayers. And also please continue to pray for the other visitor; Beverly Burk. She will leave next Monday. So just pray for her safety in travel. And Carolyn left tonight to Ireland for two weeks to visit family. She really needs this small vacation. Just keep her in your prayers please. Pray for her safety in travel and also remember Bob in your prayers as well. He is going to be here in GSF by himself running everything. Just pray for him that God will give him the strength, endurance, perseverance, and wisdom. I know this is short, but it was meant to be short. I love you all! I even miss you all. I try not to think about that word because I do not want to get my focus blurry. I want my eyes and thoughts to stay focused on my Abba Father! Take care mi familia y mis amigos. Ciao!
~In Christ,
Chandler
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Interesting Day!
Hello Family and Friends,
Welcome to a very interesting day at GSF! On Monday in America is known as one of the worst days of the week because you have 5 more days to go after that horrible one. But here in Uganda there is a saying called, "TIA." ("This is Africa). When something happens to our American culture idea in our mind that is what we say. Well on Monday I got bit by one of my pre-schoolers and to make the news even more exciting one of our children set one of our classroom (storage) huts on fire. I was told by Bob that he was chasing a village child (outsider), but he was chasing the outsider with a stick that he got from the fire from the kitchen stove. I do not know why he chose a certain stick that looked like it was burning. I was over at the soccer field and I saw the some guys run with ladders and I kinda just stood there. But do not ask me why I stood there. I guess I was in shock. Once my shock was over I ran down to help the men and trying to keep the children from the fire, which was hard. And also on Monday we got a new visitor. Her name is Beverly and she is a Speical Needs Teacher and will be here for two weeks. Before I go I want to leave you all with some exicting news. Tomorrow I am leaving for a safari for three days. We are going to Queen Elizabeth National Park. I am so stoked and exicted that I get to see all of God's creation (beautiful animals) up close and personal! I know my updating business has been horrible, but I am trying my best to update as much as I can and as often as I can. I have some prayer request that I ask you all to pray for. God has laid on my heart to come back to GSF. Bob told me that one of the many positions that him and Carolyn are still looking for and still needing is a youth/children pastor. This past Sunday our pastor here came up to me and said that he would for me to come back and that he has liked my work. He then said that I need to come back and stay forever. Carolyn told me that our pastor is a man of few words, so when I heard that I was like whoa. And that night we all went to a missionary get together at the Global Outreach guest house and it was there I met a guy named Frank Gardner and he told me the same thing the pastor did. He was like you need to come back and stay at GSF. Once again I was like whoa. People this has been on my heart with a little bit of confusion and such. Just pray that God will speak to me and move. Just pray that if God wants me to come back and be a missionary here then He will work it out. Thank you all for all of the prayers. I really have needed them because my tank is going low right now. But Praise God that we find strength in Him. I am still praying also so I ask that you go in parntership with me. I asked Bob and Carolyn to go into a partnership, so I ask you the same. I will talk to everyone later on. Have a great time in America. Ciao!
~In Christ,
Chandler
Welcome to a very interesting day at GSF! On Monday in America is known as one of the worst days of the week because you have 5 more days to go after that horrible one. But here in Uganda there is a saying called, "TIA." ("This is Africa). When something happens to our American culture idea in our mind that is what we say. Well on Monday I got bit by one of my pre-schoolers and to make the news even more exciting one of our children set one of our classroom (storage) huts on fire. I was told by Bob that he was chasing a village child (outsider), but he was chasing the outsider with a stick that he got from the fire from the kitchen stove. I do not know why he chose a certain stick that looked like it was burning. I was over at the soccer field and I saw the some guys run with ladders and I kinda just stood there. But do not ask me why I stood there. I guess I was in shock. Once my shock was over I ran down to help the men and trying to keep the children from the fire, which was hard. And also on Monday we got a new visitor. Her name is Beverly and she is a Speical Needs Teacher and will be here for two weeks. Before I go I want to leave you all with some exicting news. Tomorrow I am leaving for a safari for three days. We are going to Queen Elizabeth National Park. I am so stoked and exicted that I get to see all of God's creation (beautiful animals) up close and personal! I know my updating business has been horrible, but I am trying my best to update as much as I can and as often as I can. I have some prayer request that I ask you all to pray for. God has laid on my heart to come back to GSF. Bob told me that one of the many positions that him and Carolyn are still looking for and still needing is a youth/children pastor. This past Sunday our pastor here came up to me and said that he would for me to come back and that he has liked my work. He then said that I need to come back and stay forever. Carolyn told me that our pastor is a man of few words, so when I heard that I was like whoa. And that night we all went to a missionary get together at the Global Outreach guest house and it was there I met a guy named Frank Gardner and he told me the same thing the pastor did. He was like you need to come back and stay at GSF. Once again I was like whoa. People this has been on my heart with a little bit of confusion and such. Just pray that God will speak to me and move. Just pray that if God wants me to come back and be a missionary here then He will work it out. Thank you all for all of the prayers. I really have needed them because my tank is going low right now. But Praise God that we find strength in Him. I am still praying also so I ask that you go in parntership with me. I asked Bob and Carolyn to go into a partnership, so I ask you the same. I will talk to everyone later on. Have a great time in America. Ciao!
~In Christ,
Chandler
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Not to us, O Lord, not to us!
Hello Family and Friends,
How is everyone doing? Today is my day off and I am in Jinja by myself in the Source Cafe. I really needed to be away today. I just needed a moment to breathe for a little while. The reason why I am by myself is because I need alone time even from Chad. I have no idea what Chad is doing and to be honest I do not care. Chad is leaving tomorrow to go back home and if you were to ask me if I like that I would tell you no. To be honest his attitude is like crap. For a couple of days he was lazy and doing nothing. Part of me wanted to shake him up and tell him that he is not on this trip for himself or even the orphans. He is on this journey for God and only God. He says that he knows that but his actions do not show it. He reminds me of myself when I first went to Argentina. I mean I was just out of high school and only 18 and turned 19 when I was there, but the thing is that I was young. I was still a teenager. I thought I had it altogether and knew everything but it was in Argentina when I realized that I had some growing up to do. I still have some growing up to do. I have been trying to help Chad because I have been in his shoes before. I have been homesick for about a month and a half and even went through many doubts. I thought many times that God wanted me to go back to the States and not finish but I know I made a commitment to God and to Jim and Peggy. So the only way I got through it was from the help and strength of Our Abba Father! I was not going to give up. I was going to stay there. Chad and I got into an argument about him leaving. He thinks that I am getting into his business. The only thing that I was only doing was helping my brother in Christ because I have walked in his shoes before and I wanted to help him out. I wanted to share with him the things that I have learned from my lessons. But you see the problem was that he had already made up his mind. I am not the one that can change minds and hearts, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Just continue to pray for Chad. He is young (I mean so am I, I still have a lot of growing up to do). Just pray that Chad seeks the will of Our Abba Father and not his own! One thing that God reminded me yesterday is that "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Psalm 115:1) He reminded me that it is not to me. It is not to Chandler Sharpe. I am even not here at Jinja, Uganda for myself. I am not even here @ GSF for Bob & Carolyn. I am not even here for the orphans. I know it is even hard to say that, but that is the reality. I am here for My Abba Father. It is to Him and all about Him. It is not me for me. Chad was not even here for himself. The both of us were not even here to be good "Christ Followers." O to God's name be the glory forever!! Praise His name forever! And I am so thankful for his Love and Faithfulness! Praise His name forever! Yesterday when I read that verse I was very humbled because the preaching and the work that I have been doing has not been for myself. It has not been for the children. It has been to God to glorify His name and make his name known! Because It is NOT about me!! Life does not revolve around Joseph Chandler Sharpe. As I am writing this I wonder if Chad is going to read this when I gets home. And I think to myself I wonder if he gets mad at me. I mean he already is mad at me. And to be honest I really do not care if he gets mad at me because he and I need to learn that it is NOT to us! It is NOT about us! It is NOT to satisfy our desires! It is NOT to make a good name for us and to let people know that we have been to Africa! It is NOT about us! It is ALL about God and For God! Okay I think I am done for today. I could keep on going on and on. But I am stopping because my time is running up. But just remember that this post was not about Chad. This post was not talking rumors about Chad at all. This was not saying bad things about who is. I was just trying to get across this verse, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1. I miss you all and love you all. Pray for Erin as she flies home today by herself and pray for Chad and he flies by himself tomorrow. Pray for their safety.
In Christ,
Chandler
How is everyone doing? Today is my day off and I am in Jinja by myself in the Source Cafe. I really needed to be away today. I just needed a moment to breathe for a little while. The reason why I am by myself is because I need alone time even from Chad. I have no idea what Chad is doing and to be honest I do not care. Chad is leaving tomorrow to go back home and if you were to ask me if I like that I would tell you no. To be honest his attitude is like crap. For a couple of days he was lazy and doing nothing. Part of me wanted to shake him up and tell him that he is not on this trip for himself or even the orphans. He is on this journey for God and only God. He says that he knows that but his actions do not show it. He reminds me of myself when I first went to Argentina. I mean I was just out of high school and only 18 and turned 19 when I was there, but the thing is that I was young. I was still a teenager. I thought I had it altogether and knew everything but it was in Argentina when I realized that I had some growing up to do. I still have some growing up to do. I have been trying to help Chad because I have been in his shoes before. I have been homesick for about a month and a half and even went through many doubts. I thought many times that God wanted me to go back to the States and not finish but I know I made a commitment to God and to Jim and Peggy. So the only way I got through it was from the help and strength of Our Abba Father! I was not going to give up. I was going to stay there. Chad and I got into an argument about him leaving. He thinks that I am getting into his business. The only thing that I was only doing was helping my brother in Christ because I have walked in his shoes before and I wanted to help him out. I wanted to share with him the things that I have learned from my lessons. But you see the problem was that he had already made up his mind. I am not the one that can change minds and hearts, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Just continue to pray for Chad. He is young (I mean so am I, I still have a lot of growing up to do). Just pray that Chad seeks the will of Our Abba Father and not his own! One thing that God reminded me yesterday is that "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Psalm 115:1) He reminded me that it is not to me. It is not to Chandler Sharpe. I am even not here at Jinja, Uganda for myself. I am not even here @ GSF for Bob & Carolyn. I am not even here for the orphans. I know it is even hard to say that, but that is the reality. I am here for My Abba Father. It is to Him and all about Him. It is not me for me. Chad was not even here for himself. The both of us were not even here to be good "Christ Followers." O to God's name be the glory forever!! Praise His name forever! And I am so thankful for his Love and Faithfulness! Praise His name forever! Yesterday when I read that verse I was very humbled because the preaching and the work that I have been doing has not been for myself. It has not been for the children. It has been to God to glorify His name and make his name known! Because It is NOT about me!! Life does not revolve around Joseph Chandler Sharpe. As I am writing this I wonder if Chad is going to read this when I gets home. And I think to myself I wonder if he gets mad at me. I mean he already is mad at me. And to be honest I really do not care if he gets mad at me because he and I need to learn that it is NOT to us! It is NOT about us! It is NOT to satisfy our desires! It is NOT to make a good name for us and to let people know that we have been to Africa! It is NOT about us! It is ALL about God and For God! Okay I think I am done for today. I could keep on going on and on. But I am stopping because my time is running up. But just remember that this post was not about Chad. This post was not talking rumors about Chad at all. This was not saying bad things about who is. I was just trying to get across this verse, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1. I miss you all and love you all. Pray for Erin as she flies home today by herself and pray for Chad and he flies by himself tomorrow. Pray for their safety.
In Christ,
Chandler
Monday, July 2, 2007
I am okay!
Hello Family and Friends,
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am okay and safe! GSF is safe and sound. Right now we have police with guns on guard duty, plus we have our GSF guards with their bow and arrows. Something that I learned from this tragedy is that God is our refuge! God is our protection! God is our safe haven! God is our safe place! We can run to God when harm comes our way! And get this, God is even present during the most terrible troubles we have! He will not leave us! Nor will He ever forsake us! Nor we He ever turn His precious back on us! I wanted to let everyone know that I am okay and that GSF is safe and okay because my parents wrote me an e-mail asking if I was okay. Sorry I should of done this earlier, but I have been busy. Forgive me. No worries, God is on our side!! Praise God! I love you all and thank you for all of the encouragement and prayer. Please continue to pray for me because I have been tired and running out of energy.
~In Christ,
Chandler
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am okay and safe! GSF is safe and sound. Right now we have police with guns on guard duty, plus we have our GSF guards with their bow and arrows. Something that I learned from this tragedy is that God is our refuge! God is our protection! God is our safe haven! God is our safe place! We can run to God when harm comes our way! And get this, God is even present during the most terrible troubles we have! He will not leave us! Nor will He ever forsake us! Nor we He ever turn His precious back on us! I wanted to let everyone know that I am okay and that GSF is safe and okay because my parents wrote me an e-mail asking if I was okay. Sorry I should of done this earlier, but I have been busy. Forgive me. No worries, God is on our side!! Praise God! I love you all and thank you for all of the encouragement and prayer. Please continue to pray for me because I have been tired and running out of energy.
~In Christ,
Chandler
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
START THE PRAYER CHAIN NOW!
Hello Family & Friends,
Last night was really intense. Chad, me, Brian, Erin, and Amos were going to watch a movie then all a sudden the power went out. We thought okay it's not that bad, it has happened before. So we called Bob to see if he turn on the generator. He did, but then all of a sudden Brian (he was a guy from the team from NC) got a phone call from Carolyn. She was like yelling and said there was someone with a panga in the house next to us.(in that house were 4 girls) So me, Brain and Chad put on our shoes and went to go get some older boys and went on the search. We told everyone to get inside their houses and lock their doors. Man I am just getting chills thinking about it. The guy was an ex-GSF kid. They asked him to leave because he had some problems. I think Bob told me that he was demon possessed, which kinda freaked me out even more. So we were on the search for about two or three hours last night and could not find him. The reason why I wanted to tell everyone this was to PRAY! PRAY REALLY HARD! (a panga is like a machete..sp?)
~In Christ,
Chandler
Last night was really intense. Chad, me, Brian, Erin, and Amos were going to watch a movie then all a sudden the power went out. We thought okay it's not that bad, it has happened before. So we called Bob to see if he turn on the generator. He did, but then all of a sudden Brian (he was a guy from the team from NC) got a phone call from Carolyn. She was like yelling and said there was someone with a panga in the house next to us.(in that house were 4 girls) So me, Brain and Chad put on our shoes and went to go get some older boys and went on the search. We told everyone to get inside their houses and lock their doors. Man I am just getting chills thinking about it. The guy was an ex-GSF kid. They asked him to leave because he had some problems. I think Bob told me that he was demon possessed, which kinda freaked me out even more. So we were on the search for about two or three hours last night and could not find him. The reason why I wanted to tell everyone this was to PRAY! PRAY REALLY HARD! (a panga is like a machete..sp?)
~In Christ,
Chandler
True rest and peace is found in Our Abba Father!
Hello My Family & Friends,
Today is my real day off. I didn't realize that being a missionary would be soooo hard, but it is. It is very draining and tiring. When you are a missionary you are so out of your comfort zone and walking on water. You are walking on water by taking steps of faith. Now I know why missionaries go home and rest for a while and then come back. They need that energy booster. That is what I am doing today. Today I am in Jinja with Chad and getting my energy booster from relaxing and then I am going to get my God energy booster because if it wasn't for Our Abba Father then we could not do anything. Praise God for His strength. Praise Him that we find rest and true peace in Him. Praise God that He truly fills us up. Praise God that He is truly all that we need. You know I figuered out something yesterday. It is like when you are teaching children and it seems like they get it and understand it, you feel good. You started out at zero than you raised up to number 5. You get a twinkle in their eyes that they truly get it. That amazes you and lets you know that God is at work. But then all of a sudden they twinkle vanishes from their eyes into thin air. Now you are back to zero. You are like what the crap. What just happened. I thought they understood it and got it. Then a thought comes into your head and tells you that you have to start all over again. That is what makes you discouraged. But you remembered a bird telling you that you planted a seed or watered a seed. You might not see it growing now. Then you are like God you are so awesome! Talk to you later on my friends and family! I love you all. Continue to pray for Chad and I because tomorrow is another day in the battle field. Thank you for the prayers and encouragement so far.
~In Christ,
Chandler
Today is my real day off. I didn't realize that being a missionary would be soooo hard, but it is. It is very draining and tiring. When you are a missionary you are so out of your comfort zone and walking on water. You are walking on water by taking steps of faith. Now I know why missionaries go home and rest for a while and then come back. They need that energy booster. That is what I am doing today. Today I am in Jinja with Chad and getting my energy booster from relaxing and then I am going to get my God energy booster because if it wasn't for Our Abba Father then we could not do anything. Praise God for His strength. Praise Him that we find rest and true peace in Him. Praise God that He truly fills us up. Praise God that He is truly all that we need. You know I figuered out something yesterday. It is like when you are teaching children and it seems like they get it and understand it, you feel good. You started out at zero than you raised up to number 5. You get a twinkle in their eyes that they truly get it. That amazes you and lets you know that God is at work. But then all of a sudden they twinkle vanishes from their eyes into thin air. Now you are back to zero. You are like what the crap. What just happened. I thought they understood it and got it. Then a thought comes into your head and tells you that you have to start all over again. That is what makes you discouraged. But you remembered a bird telling you that you planted a seed or watered a seed. You might not see it growing now. Then you are like God you are so awesome! Talk to you later on my friends and family! I love you all. Continue to pray for Chad and I because tomorrow is another day in the battle field. Thank you for the prayers and encouragement so far.
~In Christ,
Chandler
Friday, June 22, 2007
Here ya go!
Hello My Family & Friends,
I updated my blog on Saturday but it looks like it didn't go through. Oh well. Well I shall update you on what happened on Saturday. The team that came from NC did a VBS and it was so much fun. All the children and teenagers loved it. Plus they got some sweeties. Before I go any further let me tell you that it is pouring down here. I hope it stops very soon because I have to walk up to the school and do devotions. Okay..it's raining super duper hard! holy crap chicken! The past couple of days have been really fun. With the VBS and then yesterday with the water games. Yesterday church was really cool. One of the guys from the team lead the teens bible study and then we went to church. We first sang and danced and had a good time praising Our Abba Father. Then the GSF choir got up and sang some songs. They are really good and talented. God has really talented this children and teenagers. Then after the choir sang the preacher from the village spoke and it was about not trusting man, trust God. Oh wow! That'll get you. Okay i know I am going all the place with this one and I am sorry about that. But on Saturday night we had a good ole' time! Every time there is a team or speical guest GSF cooks goat and and they have a bond fire. I can tell you the goat was actually really good. It was not that bad at all. But before we started eating we starting the night with some dancing. Oh and you know how I am. I got my groove on and danced the night away. We probably danced for about 30 minutes or so. Well it seemed like that. And then we ate goat, bananana stuff, and green breens. Then after dinner we danced some more. While some of us were dancing the rest were roasting marshmellows over the bondfire. Then it came to a time where the dancing stopped and we all ended up at the bondfire and sang some worship songs and just had a good time being all the together before the Lord. I can tell you that night was awesome! Oh by the way..it's still raining very hard!! (rain, rain go away..come again another day) I can tell you that God has been working in my heart in the past couple of weeks. He has been breaking me and telling me not to rely on myself to get through each day. That He is the one that brings me through each day. That He is my strength. I am getting a little tired and discouraged. But I know my thing I can find rest and strength in My Abba Father. I just have to go to Him. I have to TRUST Him. The things that I am speaking the the children about seems almost pointless because I don't feel they are listening. It almost feels like sometimes I am talking to a brick wall. I have been talking about obedience, respect & honour, lying, punishment & consequences, friendships. I know God wants me to talk about those things. But they are so hard to get across to these children. I probably will do series about love, and I am waiting until the end to talk about salvation in Christ. I think I heard Carloyn say last night that our children at GSF are the miniority in the classes, which means that the other children are from other villages. We have some children from Muslims families, and families that pracitice other false religions here in Africa. So I ask that you pray for me when it comes time for me to talk about faith in Christ and what it means. I really don't want to come across and bash their religion and their culture. I want to share with them my best friend who changed my life forever and who lives in me and who forgives me of my sins. And who also died for me. I also would like for you all to pray for Chad. He is still homesick. He told me lastnight that He doesn't like it here. The other day he got bite by one of the boys and that evening he called his mom and his mom said she would buy him a ticket. So I just ask that you pray hard from this young man, Chad. He is a really cool person. I know that Satan is attacking him. I have been in his shoes when I was in Argentina. So also pray that I can encouarge him. I don't know why he doesn't like it. His full name is Chad Grindstaff. Thank you all for the prayers. The team just left about 30 mintues ago. It felt good to be around people from the states for a week. But I can tell you that I am trying to stay focused. Just continue to pray for the both of us. Thank you. I love you all. Chad and I were going to go to Gulu with the team this morning but were unable to and I Chad was a little dissappointed with that. Well I shall talk to everyone later on. I need to finish working on my devotions for the children today.
P.S. Candace...Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your day and have a blast. I miss and love you! Take care and will see you when I get back.
In Christ,
Chandler
I updated my blog on Saturday but it looks like it didn't go through. Oh well. Well I shall update you on what happened on Saturday. The team that came from NC did a VBS and it was so much fun. All the children and teenagers loved it. Plus they got some sweeties. Before I go any further let me tell you that it is pouring down here. I hope it stops very soon because I have to walk up to the school and do devotions. Okay..it's raining super duper hard! holy crap chicken! The past couple of days have been really fun. With the VBS and then yesterday with the water games. Yesterday church was really cool. One of the guys from the team lead the teens bible study and then we went to church. We first sang and danced and had a good time praising Our Abba Father. Then the GSF choir got up and sang some songs. They are really good and talented. God has really talented this children and teenagers. Then after the choir sang the preacher from the village spoke and it was about not trusting man, trust God. Oh wow! That'll get you. Okay i know I am going all the place with this one and I am sorry about that. But on Saturday night we had a good ole' time! Every time there is a team or speical guest GSF cooks goat and and they have a bond fire. I can tell you the goat was actually really good. It was not that bad at all. But before we started eating we starting the night with some dancing. Oh and you know how I am. I got my groove on and danced the night away. We probably danced for about 30 minutes or so. Well it seemed like that. And then we ate goat, bananana stuff, and green breens. Then after dinner we danced some more. While some of us were dancing the rest were roasting marshmellows over the bondfire. Then it came to a time where the dancing stopped and we all ended up at the bondfire and sang some worship songs and just had a good time being all the together before the Lord. I can tell you that night was awesome! Oh by the way..it's still raining very hard!! (rain, rain go away..come again another day) I can tell you that God has been working in my heart in the past couple of weeks. He has been breaking me and telling me not to rely on myself to get through each day. That He is the one that brings me through each day. That He is my strength. I am getting a little tired and discouraged. But I know my thing I can find rest and strength in My Abba Father. I just have to go to Him. I have to TRUST Him. The things that I am speaking the the children about seems almost pointless because I don't feel they are listening. It almost feels like sometimes I am talking to a brick wall. I have been talking about obedience, respect & honour, lying, punishment & consequences, friendships. I know God wants me to talk about those things. But they are so hard to get across to these children. I probably will do series about love, and I am waiting until the end to talk about salvation in Christ. I think I heard Carloyn say last night that our children at GSF are the miniority in the classes, which means that the other children are from other villages. We have some children from Muslims families, and families that pracitice other false religions here in Africa. So I ask that you pray for me when it comes time for me to talk about faith in Christ and what it means. I really don't want to come across and bash their religion and their culture. I want to share with them my best friend who changed my life forever and who lives in me and who forgives me of my sins. And who also died for me. I also would like for you all to pray for Chad. He is still homesick. He told me lastnight that He doesn't like it here. The other day he got bite by one of the boys and that evening he called his mom and his mom said she would buy him a ticket. So I just ask that you pray hard from this young man, Chad. He is a really cool person. I know that Satan is attacking him. I have been in his shoes when I was in Argentina. So also pray that I can encouarge him. I don't know why he doesn't like it. His full name is Chad Grindstaff. Thank you all for the prayers. The team just left about 30 mintues ago. It felt good to be around people from the states for a week. But I can tell you that I am trying to stay focused. Just continue to pray for the both of us. Thank you. I love you all. Chad and I were going to go to Gulu with the team this morning but were unable to and I Chad was a little dissappointed with that. Well I shall talk to everyone later on. I need to finish working on my devotions for the children today.
P.S. Candace...Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your day and have a blast. I miss and love you! Take care and will see you when I get back.
In Christ,
Chandler
Here ya go!
Hello My Family & Friends,
I updated my blog on Saturday but it looks like it didn't go through. Oh well. Well I shall update you on what happened on Saturday. The team that came from NC did a VBS and it was so much fun. All the children and teenagers loved it. Plus they got some sweeties. Before I go any further let me tell you that it is pouring down here. I hope it stops very soon because I have to walk up to the school and do devotions. Okay..it's raining super duper hard! holy crap chicken! The past couple of days have been really fun. With the VBS and then yesterday with the water games. Yesterday church was really cool. One of the guys from the team lead the teens bible study and then we went to church. We first sang and danced and had a good time praising Our Abba Father. Then the GSF choir got up and sang some songs. They are really good and talented. God has really talented this children and teenagers. Then after the choir sang the preacher from the village spoke and it was about not trusting man, trust God. Oh wow! That'll get you. Okay i know I am going all the place with this one and I am sorry about that. But on Saturday night we had a good ole' time! Every time there is a team or speical guest GSF cooks goat and and they have a bond fire. I can tell you the goat was actually really good. It was not that bad at all. But before we started eating we starting the night with some dancing. Oh and you know how I am. I got my groove on and danced the night away. We probably danced for about 30 minutes or so. Well it seemed like that. And then we ate goat, bananana stuff, and green breens. Then after dinner we danced some more. While some of us were dancing the rest were roasting marshmellows over the bondfire. Then it came to a time where the dancing stopped and we all ended up at the bondfire and sang some worship songs and just had a good time being all the together before the Lord. I can tell you that night was awesome! Oh by the way..it's still raining very hard!! (rain, rain go away..come again another day) I can tell you that God has been working in my heart in the past couple of weeks. He has been breaking me and telling me not to rely on myself to get through each day. That He is the one that brings me through each day. That He is my strength. I am getting a little tired and discouraged. But I know my thing I can find rest and strength in My Abba Father. I just have to go to Him. I have to TRUST Him. The things that I am speaking the the children about seems almost pointless because I don't feel they are listening. It almost feels like sometimes I am talking to a brick wall. I have been talking about obedience, respect & honour, lying, punishment & consequences, friendships. I know God wants me to talk about those things. But they are so hard to get across to these children. I probably will do series about love, and I am waiting until the end to talk about salvation in Christ. I think I heard Carloyn say last night that our children at GSF are the miniority in the classes, which means that the other children are from other villages. We have some children from Muslims families, and families that pracitice other false religions here in Africa. So I ask that you pray for me when it comes time for me to talk about faith in Christ and what it means. I really don't want to come across and bash their religion and their culture. I want to share with them my best friend who changed my life forever and who lives in me and who forgives me of my sins. And who also died for me. I also would like for you all to pray for Chad. He is still homesick. He told me lastnight that He doesn't like it here. The other day he got bite by one of the boys and that evening he called his mom and his mom said she would buy him a ticket. So I just ask that you pray hard from this young man, Chad. He is a really cool person. I know that Satan is attacking him. I have been in his shoes when I was in Argentina. So also pray that I can encouarge him. I don't know why he doesn't like it. His full name is Chad Grindstaff. Thank you all for the prayers. The team just left about 30 mintues ago. It felt good to be around people from the states for a week. But I can tell you that I am trying to stay focused. Just continue to pray for the both of us. Thank you. I love you all. Chad and I were going to go to Gulu with the team this morning but were unable to and I Chad was a little dissappointed with that. Well I shall talk to everyone later on. I need to finish working on my devotions for the children today.
P.S. Candace...Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your day and have a blast. I miss and love you! Take care and will see you when I get back.
In Christ,
Chandler
I updated my blog on Saturday but it looks like it didn't go through. Oh well. Well I shall update you on what happened on Saturday. The team that came from NC did a VBS and it was so much fun. All the children and teenagers loved it. Plus they got some sweeties. Before I go any further let me tell you that it is pouring down here. I hope it stops very soon because I have to walk up to the school and do devotions. Okay..it's raining super duper hard! holy crap chicken! The past couple of days have been really fun. With the VBS and then yesterday with the water games. Yesterday church was really cool. One of the guys from the team lead the teens bible study and then we went to church. We first sang and danced and had a good time praising Our Abba Father. Then the GSF choir got up and sang some songs. They are really good and talented. God has really talented this children and teenagers. Then after the choir sang the preacher from the village spoke and it was about not trusting man, trust God. Oh wow! That'll get you. Okay i know I am going all the place with this one and I am sorry about that. But on Saturday night we had a good ole' time! Every time there is a team or speical guest GSF cooks goat and and they have a bond fire. I can tell you the goat was actually really good. It was not that bad at all. But before we started eating we starting the night with some dancing. Oh and you know how I am. I got my groove on and danced the night away. We probably danced for about 30 minutes or so. Well it seemed like that. And then we ate goat, bananana stuff, and green breens. Then after dinner we danced some more. While some of us were dancing the rest were roasting marshmellows over the bondfire. Then it came to a time where the dancing stopped and we all ended up at the bondfire and sang some worship songs and just had a good time being all the together before the Lord. I can tell you that night was awesome! Oh by the way..it's still raining very hard!! (rain, rain go away..come again another day) I can tell you that God has been working in my heart in the past couple of weeks. He has been breaking me and telling me not to rely on myself to get through each day. That He is the one that brings me through each day. That He is my strength. I am getting a little tired and discouraged. But I know my thing I can find rest and strength in My Abba Father. I just have to go to Him. I have to TRUST Him. The things that I am speaking the the children about seems almost pointless because I don't feel they are listening. It almost feels like sometimes I am talking to a brick wall. I have been talking about obedience, respect & honour, lying, punishment & consequences, friendships. I know God wants me to talk about those things. But they are so hard to get across to these children. I probably will do series about love, and I am waiting until the end to talk about salvation in Christ. I think I heard Carloyn say last night that our children at GSF are the miniority in the classes, which means that the other children are from other villages. We have some children from Muslims families, and families that pracitice other false religions here in Africa. So I ask that you pray for me when it comes time for me to talk about faith in Christ and what it means. I really don't want to come across and bash their religion and their culture. I want to share with them my best friend who changed my life forever and who lives in me and who forgives me of my sins. And who also died for me. I also would like for you all to pray for Chad. He is still homesick. He told me lastnight that He doesn't like it here. The other day he got bite by one of the boys and that evening he called his mom and his mom said she would buy him a ticket. So I just ask that you pray hard from this young man, Chad. He is a really cool person. I know that Satan is attacking him. I have been in his shoes when I was in Argentina. So also pray that I can encouarge him. I don't know why he doesn't like it. His full name is Chad Grindstaff. Thank you all for the prayers. The team just left about 30 mintues ago. It felt good to be around people from the states for a week. But I can tell you that I am trying to stay focused. Just continue to pray for the both of us. Thank you. I love you all. Chad and I were going to go to Gulu with the team this morning but were unable to and I Chad was a little dissappointed with that. Well I shall talk to everyone later on. I need to finish working on my devotions for the children today.
P.S. Candace...Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your day and have a blast. I miss and love you! Take care and will see you when I get back.
In Christ,
Chandler
Oh what a glorious day!
Hello My family and friends,
Once again today is such a beauitful day in the land of Africa. The air here is so beautiful and so is the land. Just to breathe each morning is so awesome and it reminds me of what an incredible God we serve and how great He is! Each morning when I wake up at 6:30 in the morning to go and encourage and pray for the secondary students (probably what we know as middle and highschool) I think to myself why am I here. Why am I here in Africa? Why am I in Jinja, Uganda? Why am I teaching the children devotions in the morning? I mean what am I worth to tell these children about respect, honour, obedience, and friendship when at the same time I myself sometimes struggle with respecting, honouring, and obeying authority. Wow! God has been working in my life with these simple concepts that I have been trying to teach the children for the past two weeks. Who would of thought? I think that is so cool to see how God works. God is changing my heart; the way I look at life and the way I look at others. I can tell you one thing God has been changing in my life is to totally run to Him and rely on Him. If you think about it we cannot rely on each other because we are such finite beings and not perfect. We are even liarss, cheaters, etc. God showed me the other day after talking to Carolyn, why do I rely on mere humans. Mere finite beings can lie to me and maybe even steal from me. You get the picture. But I think we all put to muh reliance on people than we put on Our Abba Father, Himself. It talks about in Psalm 27 that He is our stronghold. I love that word. He is our strength. He knows when we are weak. He knows when we are going to be tired and fall down. So guess what. He is right there to be our stronghold, but so many of us run to our family, friends, drugs, sex, pornography, smoking, etc. You also get this picture. We want to run to someone or even something that will comfort us. I myself have troubles running and talking to God first before I talk to anyone else, but that is how we should do it. The other day I had a problem with my Primary boys on the soccer field. They were fitting and I had to pull they off and comes to find out they were actually fighting over pencils. One boy said it was his, and they other Joshua said it was his. Oh wow! Who was I supposed to believe. Someone was lying right to my face and it hurt really bad that they would not fess up to it. And the pervious day I had talked about lying in devtions. Guys I am so serious, I had no idea who to believe! It was really hard. That was one of my discouraging times because the day before I talked about lying and talking about what the Bible said about lying and that we are commanded not to lie but these boys didn't get it. And that is when I realized wait...I need to rely on God for strength and for help. I am admiring parents every time I am in that situation. And guess what...right when I turned around a couple of the boys were hitting each other. Then I was like...man oh man! I am through! But you know what....every time we as Christ followers do something bad and ask for forgiveness, God forgives us. And the kicker is that He LOVES us no matter what. Okay..wow I know I just rammbled a lot of things God has been teaching me, but dude it's cool. Gotta go because we are doing VBS with the children and then tonight we are having a bondfire! Love you and miss you all.
P.S. I do not know the date but I know it is close to my older sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Candace!! Love you and hope you enjoy your day!!
In Christ,
Chandler
Once again today is such a beauitful day in the land of Africa. The air here is so beautiful and so is the land. Just to breathe each morning is so awesome and it reminds me of what an incredible God we serve and how great He is! Each morning when I wake up at 6:30 in the morning to go and encourage and pray for the secondary students (probably what we know as middle and highschool) I think to myself why am I here. Why am I here in Africa? Why am I in Jinja, Uganda? Why am I teaching the children devotions in the morning? I mean what am I worth to tell these children about respect, honour, obedience, and friendship when at the same time I myself sometimes struggle with respecting, honouring, and obeying authority. Wow! God has been working in my life with these simple concepts that I have been trying to teach the children for the past two weeks. Who would of thought? I think that is so cool to see how God works. God is changing my heart; the way I look at life and the way I look at others. I can tell you one thing God has been changing in my life is to totally run to Him and rely on Him. If you think about it we cannot rely on each other because we are such finite beings and not perfect. We are even liarss, cheaters, etc. God showed me the other day after talking to Carolyn, why do I rely on mere humans. Mere finite beings can lie to me and maybe even steal from me. You get the picture. But I think we all put to muh reliance on people than we put on Our Abba Father, Himself. It talks about in Psalm 27 that He is our stronghold. I love that word. He is our strength. He knows when we are weak. He knows when we are going to be tired and fall down. So guess what. He is right there to be our stronghold, but so many of us run to our family, friends, drugs, sex, pornography, smoking, etc. You also get this picture. We want to run to someone or even something that will comfort us. I myself have troubles running and talking to God first before I talk to anyone else, but that is how we should do it. The other day I had a problem with my Primary boys on the soccer field. They were fitting and I had to pull they off and comes to find out they were actually fighting over pencils. One boy said it was his, and they other Joshua said it was his. Oh wow! Who was I supposed to believe. Someone was lying right to my face and it hurt really bad that they would not fess up to it. And the pervious day I had talked about lying in devtions. Guys I am so serious, I had no idea who to believe! It was really hard. That was one of my discouraging times because the day before I talked about lying and talking about what the Bible said about lying and that we are commanded not to lie but these boys didn't get it. And that is when I realized wait...I need to rely on God for strength and for help. I am admiring parents every time I am in that situation. And guess what...right when I turned around a couple of the boys were hitting each other. Then I was like...man oh man! I am through! But you know what....every time we as Christ followers do something bad and ask for forgiveness, God forgives us. And the kicker is that He LOVES us no matter what. Okay..wow I know I just rammbled a lot of things God has been teaching me, but dude it's cool. Gotta go because we are doing VBS with the children and then tonight we are having a bondfire! Love you and miss you all.
P.S. I do not know the date but I know it is close to my older sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Candace!! Love you and hope you enjoy your day!!
In Christ,
Chandler
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My day off!!
Hello my Muzungu friends,
Today is my day off and I even hate to say that, but Praise God that I find rest and strength in Him. A team from NC came in yesterday and they seem to be pretty cool. Today some went rafting on the Nile River (class 5 rapids..not me..nope) and then the rest of us went to a children's hosptial and came to Jinja to shop and and eat. I can tell you that going to the children's hosptial touched me heart. Just to see some of the children there..WOW! Some of the team memebers thought it was cool to take pictures but I thought it was not cool and plus my heart was just a little aching for the little ones to take pictures of them and bring them back to the states and gloat over them. Right now i am in an internet cafe in town called The Source. It is also a church. It is a place where missionaries come and hang out also. So I am glad that I find rest and strenght in our Good Shepherd. Okay in a little while I go back to hang out with the preschoolers and then play soccer with my boys from 4-5. I am so excited. I scored two goals already. YES!! A Muzungu can really play soccer. Okay love you all. Please continue to pray for the children. Miss you all!! Bye!
Chandler
Today is my day off and I even hate to say that, but Praise God that I find rest and strength in Him. A team from NC came in yesterday and they seem to be pretty cool. Today some went rafting on the Nile River (class 5 rapids..not me..nope) and then the rest of us went to a children's hosptial and came to Jinja to shop and and eat. I can tell you that going to the children's hosptial touched me heart. Just to see some of the children there..WOW! Some of the team memebers thought it was cool to take pictures but I thought it was not cool and plus my heart was just a little aching for the little ones to take pictures of them and bring them back to the states and gloat over them. Right now i am in an internet cafe in town called The Source. It is also a church. It is a place where missionaries come and hang out also. So I am glad that I find rest and strenght in our Good Shepherd. Okay in a little while I go back to hang out with the preschoolers and then play soccer with my boys from 4-5. I am so excited. I scored two goals already. YES!! A Muzungu can really play soccer. Okay love you all. Please continue to pray for the children. Miss you all!! Bye!
Chandler
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Today is a new day in Africa!
Hello my friends and family!
I first want to say Happy Father's day to my papa and granddaddy! I miss the both of you dearly and I hope you liked your cards alot. I have little time to talk but I just want to say that God is so out of this world! He is so Amazing! Everday He blows my mind and shows me something new about Him and even about myself. I have learned what it means to be the minority. Oh yes..when people look and stare at you all the time and all they want to do is come up and touch and rub your skin and your hair. You might hear a laugh or two. We are known as the "Muzungu." The "white man." I would have to tell you that even though I am a Muzungu God is still teaching me so much and working through me. I will tell you a story one of the girls told us last night as we were having a bond fire and singing praise and worship songs. She said, " she thanked me for the prayer that I prayed for the older children before they went out to secondary school that morning because they almost got into an accident. When I heard that I was like Praise God that you kept them safe." And she also said thank you for the encouragement that I have been giving them. Well I can say these children have been such an encouragement to me as well. Oh yes! I think and am praying about coming back. Don't know when yet. Praise God! I do devetions in the morning with the children and it is so awesome to see already God working in the children's lives. Praise God! Okay I will keep this updated when I have time. We only have power 12 hours a day here and then the guy that I am with has been using the internet a whole lot because he is homesick because he misses his girlfriend and parents. I mean I miss my parents and friends but I have already been away from home for almost a year..so I am used to this, he has not. So just keep him in your prayer. I will talk to you guys later on. Bye for now. Thank you for the prayers!! They are much needed. Love ya'll and miss ya'll!!
I first want to say Happy Father's day to my papa and granddaddy! I miss the both of you dearly and I hope you liked your cards alot. I have little time to talk but I just want to say that God is so out of this world! He is so Amazing! Everday He blows my mind and shows me something new about Him and even about myself. I have learned what it means to be the minority. Oh yes..when people look and stare at you all the time and all they want to do is come up and touch and rub your skin and your hair. You might hear a laugh or two. We are known as the "Muzungu." The "white man." I would have to tell you that even though I am a Muzungu God is still teaching me so much and working through me. I will tell you a story one of the girls told us last night as we were having a bond fire and singing praise and worship songs. She said, " she thanked me for the prayer that I prayed for the older children before they went out to secondary school that morning because they almost got into an accident. When I heard that I was like Praise God that you kept them safe." And she also said thank you for the encouragement that I have been giving them. Well I can say these children have been such an encouragement to me as well. Oh yes! I think and am praying about coming back. Don't know when yet. Praise God! I do devetions in the morning with the children and it is so awesome to see already God working in the children's lives. Praise God! Okay I will keep this updated when I have time. We only have power 12 hours a day here and then the guy that I am with has been using the internet a whole lot because he is homesick because he misses his girlfriend and parents. I mean I miss my parents and friends but I have already been away from home for almost a year..so I am used to this, he has not. So just keep him in your prayer. I will talk to you guys later on. Bye for now. Thank you for the prayers!! They are much needed. Love ya'll and miss ya'll!!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Journey begins in 2 days
Hello my friends,
I have to say that I am still awestruck that God even wants me to go over to Uganda to minister to these orphans. I mean look at me! I am just a natural born sinner. I am a finite being that screws up many times. I am a small human being that thinks about himself even before he thinks about others. That my friends is what we would call being selfish. I tend to be argumentative. My parents made me realize that I am what is known as stubborn. I can be prideful at times. I can go on and on and on and on. However, if I was to go and name every flaw that is within me and list every horrible thing I have done or said I think that everyone would get hit right in between the eyes. I also think that for the people reading this would feel guilty because I would have listed or said some things you struggled with or still struggle with. All I know is that I am nothing without Christ. If I did not have Christ, then I would be nothing. My whole entire life would amount to nothing. I would just be living the empty, everyday normal life and to be honest I do not want to live that way. I want to live like a revolutionary would and shine for my Abba Father's glory. And my friends that is why I am still awestruck as to why God would allow me to go over to Uganda. I can tell you that it is by His grace that He has opened a door for me to part on this incredible journey. Words are just not enough to describe how I feel right now! In two days I will be heading to Jinja, Uganda with Chad (the guy I'm going with) and cannot wait to see what God and the Holy Spirit is already doing in Uganda, especially at Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage. I do not want to be a typical American and try to bring everything from my American culture and try to immerse it in their culture, especially my denomination. I think so many of us Christ Followers from America think that we are the only Christ Followers in the world. And no we are not superior to our brothers and sisters in Christ in others countries. And if you think that I pray that God would break your heart and convict you, right now! We are called to go and serve them. We are called to go and make them disciples. It does not say that we are called to go and make them Southern Baptist, or Pentecostal, or Methodist, etc.. (you get the picture) Okay friends I will try to update as often as I can and I just found out from Chad that GSF only has power for 12 hours daily. So my time will probably be limited. And I am sure to take lots of pictures. Take care my dear friends. Ya'll are in my thoughts. Take care and I pray that God does a "WoW" in your life! Ciao!
~Chandler
I have to say that I am still awestruck that God even wants me to go over to Uganda to minister to these orphans. I mean look at me! I am just a natural born sinner. I am a finite being that screws up many times. I am a small human being that thinks about himself even before he thinks about others. That my friends is what we would call being selfish. I tend to be argumentative. My parents made me realize that I am what is known as stubborn. I can be prideful at times. I can go on and on and on and on. However, if I was to go and name every flaw that is within me and list every horrible thing I have done or said I think that everyone would get hit right in between the eyes. I also think that for the people reading this would feel guilty because I would have listed or said some things you struggled with or still struggle with. All I know is that I am nothing without Christ. If I did not have Christ, then I would be nothing. My whole entire life would amount to nothing. I would just be living the empty, everyday normal life and to be honest I do not want to live that way. I want to live like a revolutionary would and shine for my Abba Father's glory. And my friends that is why I am still awestruck as to why God would allow me to go over to Uganda. I can tell you that it is by His grace that He has opened a door for me to part on this incredible journey. Words are just not enough to describe how I feel right now! In two days I will be heading to Jinja, Uganda with Chad (the guy I'm going with) and cannot wait to see what God and the Holy Spirit is already doing in Uganda, especially at Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage. I do not want to be a typical American and try to bring everything from my American culture and try to immerse it in their culture, especially my denomination. I think so many of us Christ Followers from America think that we are the only Christ Followers in the world. And no we are not superior to our brothers and sisters in Christ in others countries. And if you think that I pray that God would break your heart and convict you, right now! We are called to go and serve them. We are called to go and make them disciples. It does not say that we are called to go and make them Southern Baptist, or Pentecostal, or Methodist, etc.. (you get the picture) Okay friends I will try to update as often as I can and I just found out from Chad that GSF only has power for 12 hours daily. So my time will probably be limited. And I am sure to take lots of pictures. Take care my dear friends. Ya'll are in my thoughts. Take care and I pray that God does a "WoW" in your life! Ciao!
~Chandler
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Rest In Peace Doctor Jerry Falwell...Something learned from this shocking news!
Hello Friends,
We will all miss Doctor Jerry Falwell! I necessarily did not agree with everything that he spoke about, but I can tell you that he was a great man of faith. However, I did truly respect him! He was a great visionary! He stood his ground and did not back up. I guess you can call him a great warrior of the Lord. Yes, he spoke his mind most of the time. And yes, he was really not afraid of what people thought about him. Well all I know is that he spoke the truth, and most people don't like to hear the truth. Because at times "the truth is never sexy." We just need to remember that it was his time. We need to remember that God Almighty can do whatever He wants to. He can take someones life if He is ready for them. We as mere finite beings might not be ready, but that doesn't mean God isn't. You know one thing I have learned from today and my accident is that life is not promised the next day. We have to be grateful and thankful for the life that Our Abba Father allows us to have. I mean, we have to realize that God himself did not even promise us the next day. We have to learn from this tragedy because I know that Doctor Jerry Falwell is in Heaven and having a honking party with the angels. He has a new body and is glorifying his Saviour right now. I know that Doc. Falwell will not want us to be sad because he is in a much better place than this temporary home we are on right now. We have to remember his wife, children, and grandchildren in our prayers. Liberty University student body are in my prayers and we have to rise up...rise up! Abba Father, let your light shine during this time of mourning!! Rest In Peace Doctor Jerry Falwell! You will always be remembered as a great man of faith. Ciao amigo.
~Chandler
We will all miss Doctor Jerry Falwell! I necessarily did not agree with everything that he spoke about, but I can tell you that he was a great man of faith. However, I did truly respect him! He was a great visionary! He stood his ground and did not back up. I guess you can call him a great warrior of the Lord. Yes, he spoke his mind most of the time. And yes, he was really not afraid of what people thought about him. Well all I know is that he spoke the truth, and most people don't like to hear the truth. Because at times "the truth is never sexy." We just need to remember that it was his time. We need to remember that God Almighty can do whatever He wants to. He can take someones life if He is ready for them. We as mere finite beings might not be ready, but that doesn't mean God isn't. You know one thing I have learned from today and my accident is that life is not promised the next day. We have to be grateful and thankful for the life that Our Abba Father allows us to have. I mean, we have to realize that God himself did not even promise us the next day. We have to learn from this tragedy because I know that Doctor Jerry Falwell is in Heaven and having a honking party with the angels. He has a new body and is glorifying his Saviour right now. I know that Doc. Falwell will not want us to be sad because he is in a much better place than this temporary home we are on right now. We have to remember his wife, children, and grandchildren in our prayers. Liberty University student body are in my prayers and we have to rise up...rise up! Abba Father, let your light shine during this time of mourning!! Rest In Peace Doctor Jerry Falwell! You will always be remembered as a great man of faith. Ciao amigo.
~Chandler
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Loneliness transformed into a God moment!
Hello Friends,
Currently I am taking a break from studying for my last final. I just wanted to share with you what God has been teaching me. For the past couple of months I have had this sense of being all alone. I have had a feeling of loneliness. I don't know about you, but I can say that nobody wants to be alone and to feel lonely. I am sure whoever reads this has had sometime in their life the sense of feeling all alone. It's like you want to hang out with your friends but they give you the most common excuse in the world, "Oh I am too busy right now!" Yeah I have had that excuse for some time now. I know for me I try my hardest not to use that excuse on anybody. I don't know if it's because I almost lost my life and value people (family/friendships) a whole lot more. Personally I don't think that is a good excuse to not hang out with your family and friends. What a person is saying is that their work or whatever they are doing in that very moment is more important than you. I am just speaking the truth and living the reality of life. For me I have given that excuse to the one who loves me no matter what I have done in life. Yes, you are right...God Almighty. Who is my Abba Father and My Daddy! During my alone times I have found that the only person who is never too busy for you. The person who does not use "I am too busy" excuse. The person who will never give up on you. The person who will never leave you nor turn his back on you. The person you can count on throughout the course of life. The person that loves you unconditionally and invest in you life. That person is God, The Father. That person is Jesus Christ, The Son. That person is the Holy Spirit, The One who guides. A couple of weeks ago I was having a hard time and I wrote a poem. I don't know where those words came from, but it is all about God. I have been wondering if God has allowed me to feel this idea of being alone so I can minister to the orphans at Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage in Jinja, Uganda better. I have learned this, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Okay here is the poem that I wrote after a refreshing time with Our Abba Father:
God is our comforter.
God is our encourager.
God is our everlasting love.
God is God, not me.
God is our deliver.
God is our sustainer.
God is our redeemer.
God is God, not me.
God is our rock.
God is our fortress.
God is our strength.
God is God, not me.
God is our peace.
God is our center.
God is our joy.
God is God, not me.
God is our initiator.
God is our maker.
God is our author.
God is God, not me.
God is our armor.
God is our shield.
God is our sword.
God is God, not me.
God is our helper.
God is our teacher.
God is our master.
God is God, not me.
God is our hope.
God is our healer.
God is our light.
God is God, not me.
God is our life.
God is our father.
God is our friend.
God is God, not me.
God is our song.
God is our worship.
God is our prayer.
God is God, not me.
God is our designer.
God is our inventor.
God is our creator.
God is God, not me.
God is our Lord.
God is our King.
God is our sovereign ruler.
God is God, not me.
God is our grace.
God is our mercy.
God is our compassion.
God is God, not me.
God is our refuge.
God is our shelter.
God is our fortress.
God is God, not me.
God is our stronghold.
God is our defender.
God is our protector.
God is God, not me.
God is our advocate.
God is our supporter.
God is our champion.
God is God, not me.
God is our provider.
God is our source.
God is our origin.
God is God, not me.
God is the only one.
God is the truth.
God is the way.
O, God is God, not me!
I hope that poem blesses you and refreshes your spirit as it did mine. Ciao!
~Chandler
Currently I am taking a break from studying for my last final. I just wanted to share with you what God has been teaching me. For the past couple of months I have had this sense of being all alone. I have had a feeling of loneliness. I don't know about you, but I can say that nobody wants to be alone and to feel lonely. I am sure whoever reads this has had sometime in their life the sense of feeling all alone. It's like you want to hang out with your friends but they give you the most common excuse in the world, "Oh I am too busy right now!" Yeah I have had that excuse for some time now. I know for me I try my hardest not to use that excuse on anybody. I don't know if it's because I almost lost my life and value people (family/friendships) a whole lot more. Personally I don't think that is a good excuse to not hang out with your family and friends. What a person is saying is that their work or whatever they are doing in that very moment is more important than you. I am just speaking the truth and living the reality of life. For me I have given that excuse to the one who loves me no matter what I have done in life. Yes, you are right...God Almighty. Who is my Abba Father and My Daddy! During my alone times I have found that the only person who is never too busy for you. The person who does not use "I am too busy" excuse. The person who will never give up on you. The person who will never leave you nor turn his back on you. The person you can count on throughout the course of life. The person that loves you unconditionally and invest in you life. That person is God, The Father. That person is Jesus Christ, The Son. That person is the Holy Spirit, The One who guides. A couple of weeks ago I was having a hard time and I wrote a poem. I don't know where those words came from, but it is all about God. I have been wondering if God has allowed me to feel this idea of being alone so I can minister to the orphans at Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage in Jinja, Uganda better. I have learned this, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Okay here is the poem that I wrote after a refreshing time with Our Abba Father:
God is our comforter.
God is our encourager.
God is our everlasting love.
God is God, not me.
God is our deliver.
God is our sustainer.
God is our redeemer.
God is God, not me.
God is our rock.
God is our fortress.
God is our strength.
God is God, not me.
God is our peace.
God is our center.
God is our joy.
God is God, not me.
God is our initiator.
God is our maker.
God is our author.
God is God, not me.
God is our armor.
God is our shield.
God is our sword.
God is God, not me.
God is our helper.
God is our teacher.
God is our master.
God is God, not me.
God is our hope.
God is our healer.
God is our light.
God is God, not me.
God is our life.
God is our father.
God is our friend.
God is God, not me.
God is our song.
God is our worship.
God is our prayer.
God is God, not me.
God is our designer.
God is our inventor.
God is our creator.
God is God, not me.
God is our Lord.
God is our King.
God is our sovereign ruler.
God is God, not me.
God is our grace.
God is our mercy.
God is our compassion.
God is God, not me.
God is our refuge.
God is our shelter.
God is our fortress.
God is God, not me.
God is our stronghold.
God is our defender.
God is our protector.
God is God, not me.
God is our advocate.
God is our supporter.
God is our champion.
God is God, not me.
God is our provider.
God is our source.
God is our origin.
God is God, not me.
God is the only one.
God is the truth.
God is the way.
O, God is God, not me!
I hope that poem blesses you and refreshes your spirit as it did mine. Ciao!
~Chandler
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Testing, Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3
Hello Friends,
I am new to this whole blog thing. I just created this so I can stay in touch with my family and friends while I am in Jinja, Uganda. Once I am there I will do my best to post daily. Today marks a month before I start on this incredible journey that God has graciously allowed me to be a part of. I still have to finish my finals and then get all of my things ready for Uganda. I will post later on. But until then, ciao mis amigos! This post is just a test to see if I did it right.
I am new to this whole blog thing. I just created this so I can stay in touch with my family and friends while I am in Jinja, Uganda. Once I am there I will do my best to post daily. Today marks a month before I start on this incredible journey that God has graciously allowed me to be a part of. I still have to finish my finals and then get all of my things ready for Uganda. I will post later on. But until then, ciao mis amigos! This post is just a test to see if I did it right.
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