Happy Birthday Jesus

I had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas with my family. I am very blessed to have a loving, supportive family that's also lots of fun! I am also thankful for their generousity. They all went together to get me a really nice camera.

My mom decided to start a new Christmas tradition. All the grandkids made a birthday cake for Jesus. I thought it was a wonderful idea. They had a blast! My neices Abby, 7yrs, and Katie, 9yrs, wrote Happy Birthday. My 4yr old nephew, Conner wrote Jesus. They all did a wonderful job. Then Conner asked, "When is Jesus going to get here?" We told him Jesus is already here. He's everywhere. After we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, Conner, realizing the cake had no candles, said, "blow out the frosting!" Yes, Conner likes sweets like every kid, but he does eat healthy. As a dietitian of course I'm proud of my healthy nephew. My sister-in-law, Shelley, wrote this about Conner on her blog:

Conner and Grandpa were eating dinner, Conner had milk and Grandpa had pepsi. Conner asks for a drink of pepsi. When handing it back to Grandpa:"This is not healthy for you."

Gulu

Earlier this month, Pastors Greg and Kristin Evans and I took a Go Global planning trip to Gulu, Uganda. It was tough to see the extreme poverty, illness, and malnutrition. However, I'm excited about our church partnering with Watoto to bring hope and restoration to this community. The following is a history of the war and a summary of what we saw.

For nearly 20 years, the people of Gulu suffered the devastating effects of a civil war. Joseph Kony led the Lords Resistance Army in a rebellion against the government. As people grew weary of the war, Kony and his commanders resorted to abducting and brainwashing children to be killing machines. More than 30,000 children were forced to be child soldiers, making up 80% of the LRA. To escape abduction, many children left their homes in the villages and slept under verandas in the city. The Uganda Government required people to relocate from their rural homes to IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps for protection from the LRA.

Though relative peace began over 1 year ago, devastation remains. Child abductees return, without a place to go and knowing only how to fight. Girls as young as 12 years of age return as mothers and live in fear their 'husbands' will return to claim them. An estimated 1 million people still live in IDP Camps. At these camps, we saw evidence of malnutrition, illness, unsanitary conditions, and extreme poverty. People in the IDP camps carry the highest rate of HIV infection in all of Uganda (18% according to a World Vision Survey). Still children ran to us with waving hands and smiling faces, older children carrying their infant siblings. Many of them know nothing else other than life in an IDP camp where promiscuity, drunkenness, and child abuse are common. The government encourages IDP inhabitants to return to their villages, however, many do not have a home or know where they came from. An estimated 90,000 orphans live in the area of Gulu. An alarming 80% of Central High School students in Gulu tested positive for HIV.

Still there is hope. The answer is a local church reaching out, empowering, educating, and rehabilitating the people with the love of Christ. In 1992, Kampala Pentacostal Church (KPC) began Watoto ministries to house, educate, and build up parentless children in a Christ-centered environment to become leaders in Uganda. In addition to multiple campuses in Kampala, KPC planted a church in Gulu in August of this year. The church already has 1,000 members and plans to expand the Watoto ministry there with a reception/rehab center and villages for these war-effected children. KPC also plans to partner with other ministries such as a vocational school for young mothers, another Christian church, and elementary school. Exciting transformation is already occurring. We (Go Global) will be partnering with KPC and Watoto in Gulu next year. Through the local church and global partnership, these children will find their worth in Christ and learn to love a life of peace.

A family of orphans and house mother in Bbira, a Watoto village and Bullrushes, the Watoto baby home in Kampala, Uganda.

Puzzle Pieces

The other day, I was running and saw puzzle pieces spread all over the road. Even the box was crushed and torn into pieces. I thought, wow, I’m so thankful God doesn’t do that with our lives. We don’t always see the completed puzzle right away or know exactly what God has planned for our future. It’s often like looking at a bunch of puzzle pieces. But if we trust in Him by taking the pieces He gives us one at a time, we see a more complete picture of God’s plan for our life. Often times, we try to fit in the wrong puzzle pieces that come from our own plan and desires. These misplaced pieces hold us back from seeing the beautiful picture of God’s plan. I admit, much of my life was like a jigsaw puzzle. I tried to fit in the wrong pieces and even some of the right pieces at the wrong time. I suffered from depression and doubted I could ever be used for something great. It took me years to realize God has awesome plans for my life! Once I developed a personal relationship with my Savior, planted myself in a local church and began to serve, I realized the awesome things He can do in and through me!
As I begin a new chapter in my life as a missionary intern, I look back and see how God placed pieces together so perfectly, bringing me closer and closer to finding the center pieces, my purpose. After graduating with a degree in Dietetics and passing my RD exam, I was set on moving to Kansas City, MO to be near my brothers. Well, nothing opened up in that area. I took a consulting job, however, I felt like God had something better for me. Finally, I threw up my hands and said, "God, show me where you want me and I will go. Please send me somewhere I am needed, where I can make a difference." So I put my resume on a nutrition jobs site and got the call from a hospital in Memphis, the city with the highest obesity rating in the country. They flew me down and offered me the job. I knew 1 person in Memphis I met a few months prior to the move. Still I felt comfortable in this unfamiliar place. I believe God fills our hearts with peace when we take a step of faith in the direction He leads us. I admit I still worried, mostly about where I would find a church. If you look up churches in Memphis, TN area on yellowpages.com, you will find 2,350. I could visit a different church every Sunday for the next 45 years! Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought of beginning this search. Praise God I never had to! A few days after the move, I drove up Germantown Pkwy to look at a furniture store. When I got out of the car, I saw to my right, The Life Church of Memphis. I thought, what the heck, gotta start somewhere. I walked in and saw a smiling face sitting on the counter behind the front desk. She said, "Hi, I'm Heather, can I help you?" She gave me a tour and answered all my questions. Wow! I heard all I needed to hear. Multicultural, relevant, contemporary, spirit-filled, a worship band...and best of all, mission minded. I just got back from a mission trip to Guatemala a few months prior and definitely wanted to be involved in a going church. The Sunday service was all she described and more. I never went to another church.
I continued to work as a dietitian at a hospital while I completed a ministry training school called Damascus Road at The Life Church of Memphis. As Pastor John prayed for us at our last class, I heard the words, "Sonya, Go!" In Mathew 28:19-20, Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Though we each have different roles as goers and senders, we are all called to reach the nations for Christ. God was telling me He wants me to be a goer!
In response to that command, I applied for a 10mo internship with Go Global Missions, initiated by The Life Church. The mission of Go Global is to raise up a passionate, going generation and to establish Care Points (local church/missions training center/mercy ministries hub) around the world. These care points meet specific needs of that country or area while sharing the love of Christ. A short-term Go Global mission trip in June 2007, confirmed my decision to join Go Global full time. The orphans touched my heart and stirred a passion in me to continue reaching out to them.
I begin the internship January 2008. I will be working alongside Heather Goff directing each of our short-term mission trips throughout the year. Yes, this is the same Heather who introduced me to The Life Church 2yrs ago! We are planning trips to Uganda, Swaziland, India, China, Peru, and Brazil. I will also be involved in local missions as we launch Servolution. I am helping with the medical outreach, gathering medical professionals and resources to meet needs in the poorest areas of Memphis. Poverty, crime, malnutrition, lack of education and access to healthcare gives Memphis the highest infant mortality rate in the country. An infant dies every 43hrs here. God gave me a heart to help the helpless, hurting people around the world. That does not mean ignore the ills of the community I live in.
Though the weight of the world’s problems seems overwhelming, I remind myself, we cannot do everything, but we can do something! I'm thankful to be a part of a church that takes action, responding to God's word.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice,” Proverbs 31:8-9.
The Message version of Romans 12:1:
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God."
As I go about my busy life, even in ministry, I often focus on the things of God rather than God Himself. This passage reminds me to stay in awe of God, praising Him for all He has done in my life and offer it all to Him. God uses even a weak, 25yr old, single, sinful woman like me to do mighty things. We all sin and fall short, but we are made righteous through the blood of Christ. When we come together to serve one purpose, spreading the Good News and love of our Savior Jesus Christ, God's power will be evident wherever we go.