T.I.A (This is Africa)!

Hello all!

     "The steadfast love of God never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"-Lamentations 3:22-24     

     In a lot of ways, the past two weeks have been pretty discouraging and tough. Almost everyone that was here when I got here is now gone. That has been hard. Also, there has been some discouraging talk going around and an absence of joy in a lot of areas. In everything, God is teaching me to remember the reason I am here. He is not abandoning me now. His steadfast love never ends, He is my portion. He has done so much to get me here and this is only the beginning to an amazing adventure! For the first four weeks I FELT God so much and experienced His joy, and I haven't felt Him recently. I came to rely on that feeling, but He is teaching me it isn't all about how I feel. He promises that He will always be faithful and will always be there for me. Just because I can't always feel Him it doesn't make the fact that He is still just as close to me any less of a reality. It is quite humbling to not always feel Him, because it leads me to have to trust in Him for all things.   

     Two weeks ago we left to go to Kumi, a small village five hours from Kampala. We spent a week building a house for one of the sponsorship kids, George, and his family. I had to leave early because I got tonsilitis, but the team was able to finish the entire house and even come home sooner than expected. At first I was very discouraged about leaving, but God taught me that He knows best. He does all the time, even though I won't ever really understand why I had to get sick and leave.

     This past weekend, we had all the sponsor kids come to the house for an end of term check up and party. It was a hectic few days getting ready, but it was so amazing to see all the kids and put faces to names. It's so cool to see the actual kids that people back home only get to dream about. God is definitely working through the sponsorship program and it was awesome to see the fruit of what people all over the world are investing in! 

     On Sunday, Justin (the only other guy MST) and I went into town to meet with a pastor that his church back home supports. It was great to be able to spend time hearing about what his church is doing and to be able to encourage him. In the conversation, Rwanda came up and the fact that he lived there for five years and met his wife there. For the past few weeks, I have had Rwanda in my heart and have been praying for a way to get there. I asked him if he ever goes there, and he told me that he is probably leading a team there early next year and that he would love for me to go along! Please pray for that, and that everything will come together. I am seeing the importance of getting involved with things outside of EAC this next year, and also more involved in the ministry of EAC. Please pray that God would give me wisdom in what to take on and that He would open the doors that He wants open. I want to make the most of this year, and at the end know that I did exactly what God had for me. I don't want to miss out on anything!

     I love you all, and I appreciate your continuing prayers. You are all apart of what I am doing here, that's why I keep this blog. God has used each of you, whether financially or prayerfully to impact his work here. I am so thankful for your sacrifice! Without you this would not be possible, I'm humbled by your willingness to listen to God's voice and partner with me!

    Praise be to God!

    -Craig

   

God is good all the time!

Dear friends,
     It has been two weeks since I've written an update, but I think I am going to start doing bi-weekly blog posts since most stuff is pretty routine. This past week was a pretty slow one, and the toughest one yet. Last Monday four people left the house that I was very close to. It's hard seeing more and more people leave. It doesn't get any easier. Please pray for continual strength.
     Innocent has been doing great. I didn't get to see him this past Thursday, but the week before that he told me that he had gone to court and that he is to be realeased on August 15th. Although I am very excited for him, I have been struggling with the fact that I don't think he is ready to go. He has nowhere to go, and I'm afraid he will fall back into his old ways. I was very excited about building into him for the next six months, but I know God knows best and he has great plans for Innocent. Please continue to pray for him.
     This next week we are going to a village about 6 hours away from Kampala to build a house for a family. It's like a missions trip inside a missions trip. The villages here are what most people picture Africa to be. No running water or electricity, and far away from any civilization. It is such an amazing place to be, and I am very excited to be there for an entire week. Please pray that God would use us in huge ways, and that He would give us strength to work our hardest as it will be a tiring week. Please pray about the relationships we will build with the family and the rest of the people in the village. I woke up today very sick. I have a fever, sore throat, muscle aches, and chills. It's a really bad time to get sick, so please pray that I feel completely better by tomorrow so I can give my all in the village!
     It's crazy to think that it has already been a month. It has flown by, and God has taught me so much. Thank you for your continual prayers. I love you and miss you so much!
  God bless,
   Craig