A new part of the adventure...by Tamra

Sorry it has been so long since I've updated! Truthfully, since the end of the church plant, not much has happened. Also, in the meantime, we've been many days without electricity, which makes things difficult. Also, I do have a couple of things that I still plan to post about from the church plant, but I need Floyd's computer to do it and that hasn't been an option with no power. So, I promise I won't forget.
Today, we began a new leg of our adventure (and really it is the last leg). A team from the US arrived at New Hope yesterday and we are included in their projects. An optometrist came to do a vision clinic. He has never done this sort of mission before and he didn't bring any assistants or people to specifically help. Kim and I have experience in the vision clinics on our church planting trips, but really it is different in many ways. Of course the doctor uses all sorts of equipment that we have no understanding of and his vocabulary is very technical. On the other side, he's heard of but never seen some of the equipment that we use in our clinics. We have equipment that is portable and very basic, but yet very detailed. That sort of things isn't need in America because everything is so much more advanced.
We helped set up the clinic area and Dr. Jim trained us on some testing methods that we are using to gather information for him. Once we finish that process, they got back to the doctor for more detailed testing and an official response. For those that need only readers, the doctor gives us a range and we take it from there. We pull out frames in that range and let the people try them on and test them with a reading card. Of course, there is a larger variety of glasses than what we have in our usual clinics, so we help the people to see which one fits best and looks good on them. This afternoon, we even brought out a mirror.
If they need a more detailed prescription, we have two options. The doctor has many frames that are labeled as to what prescription is in them. If it is the exact prescription and fits the person, then they take them right then. If there is not one to fit, we have a selection o frames for them to try on. Once they choose a frame, we make note of the style, color, size, etc and save the form. When the doctor gets back home, the glasses will be made for each person. When they are completed, they will be sent back to New Hope with the next arriving team.
I really enjoyed working the clinic today! It was very exciting to see the reactions when the folks could see. Of course, I've seen that before, but it never gets old. Also, it was exciting to see them look in a mirror and like the frame that they see. To give them a choice is even more exciting because it is more personal.
Months ago the doctor shipped a crate to Uganda with more supplies, but it is still 800 miles away. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that some of what we had would have been helpful. If we had thought to ask and Rafe (our missions pastor) had agreed, we could have provided even more than we realized. For example, the simple equipment we use to check for near-sightedness would have been so helpful. We could have easily used it here, then brought it home with us. I'm sure it's just sitting in a desk at CF by now. Also, we sent home a few boxes of glasses cases that we didn't use. Here we have no cases to give out, except for the few glasses that happen to have come with a case. Fortunately, we did think ahead and receive permission from Rafe to bring some of the left over eye drops (some antibiotic and some just for dry eyes). That is something that is very useful as well and much appreciated. Of course, we know all of the supplies that were taken back to McKinney will be put to use in future clinics, it's just interesting to see how useful they could have been here and now. :)
For the rest of our time here, I'll be serving in the vision clinic. Kim will do that as well until she heads to the baby house in the late afternoon. This week the kids will help clean and paint classrooms at the primary school and next week they will help with VBS for about 400 children. Floyd will continue to work in the business office, as he received 6 more computers needing work today. Of course, he will also have some time out with the team as well. Next Thursday we head to Entebbe where we will board our first flight in the homeward journey on Friday.
Tomorrow night we have a special dinner with our Pacific Family, so we'll share about that afterwards.
To add one other side note, I've received and accepted a request to continue teaching at the school where I taught for the last 4 months of the previous school year, so when we get home, I'll begin preparing for that journey. I'll need to make sure the kids homeschool stuff is ready before I report on August 16th.

Door-to-door Evangelism...By Kim

Yesterday was the 3^rd day of the third village we were in. Usually the third day is a half day for us to allow our teams a time to rest, and repack the suitcases for the next village. However, a few of us were able to join the Victory team for door-to-door evangelism. I had the opportunity to do this last year as well, so I was very excited to once again participate in this time.

When we arrived at the third village, we found out that we would join that church for service, and then go out for our evangelism time. Attending church in Uganda is quite the experience. They truly participate in corporate prayer (everyone praying at the same time). It is loud and passionate, and such an amazing experience. We worshiped with them for the first hour. Although we did not know the words to many songs, you could not help clapping and dancing. They asked several people to stand and testify to what God has done in their lives. It was very humbling to hear people say that they were thankful that God brought the “whites from America” with medical and vision supplies. After the testimonies, one of the guys from our team preached the message. Then they invited people forward to be saved. It was like a tent revival…and we were literally under a big tent with the breeze keeping us cool.

After church we all gathered in a circle to pray for our time going door-to-door. Then we were placed into groups of 4 or 5 and sent out. I had an amazing translator (Kristen) with me. She informed me that I would be doing most of the work since people were more willing to listen to a "white". But I reminded her that since she knows the culture better than I do, I wanted her to feel free to add to or explain anything she thought would be helpful. We stopped at the first house we came to. There were several women outside sitting in the shade with the children playing around them. One of the men with us (a pastor) made the introductions and asked if they would allow me to share with them. They said that was fine, and several other women came to sit down as well. In all there were 5 women and 4 children sitting around me. I knelt down on the ground with them and began sharing the reason we were there. Yes, we were bringing medical and vision aide, but most importantly, we were there to share about the love of Christ. After talking with them for several minutes, 3 of the women said that they wanted to be “born again” and I was able to lead them in the salvation prayer. We celebrated together, invited them to the crusade that night, and then continued on our way to the next house.

We did not make it to another house, however, because we ran into a group standing in the road. Many of the children already had the gospel bead bracelets on their wrists, but there was one teenage girl that did not. We asked if I could share with her the meaning of the beads. That time about 12 gathered around me. After I shared with her, she prayed to accept Christ as her Savior. Then, we realized a young man had come up to the outskirts of the group. He asked what I was sharing, so I told him the message of Christ and he accepted as well. There was one other woman in the crowd who was a Muslim. She did not pray to accept Christ at the time, but I invited her to the crusade, and she came!!! When I saw her I was so excited and she came and gave me a big hug. I don’t know whether she ever prayed to accept Christ as her Savior, but I know that God will continue to do a work in her life.

We only had about 20 minutes left, so we continued down the road until we came upon an elderly woman. I could tell by the crucifix she was wearing that she was catholic. We stopped and I began sharing with her. It didn’t take long for another group to gather around us. Not only had all the children from the previous group followed us down the road, but a few additional adults gathered around us and sat on the side of the road to listen. I shared with the group, and although no one accepted Christ at the time, I am confident that God will continue to work in the hearts and lives of those people.

By the time I was done sharing with that final group, it was time to return to the church to meet up with the other groups. We shared about our experiences, and then we spent some time praying for those who heard the message as well as for protection for ourselves.

It truly was an amazing day. The Lord continues to amaze me, and I feel so privileged to be used by Him.

We only have 2 more days. Tomorrow is our last day for the vision/medical/dental clinics, and then we’ll have a final crusade on Wednesday night. Everyone is exhausted. They truly have “poured themselves out” at each village. Please continue to pray for us. Pray that the Lord would be our strength over these next 2 days. Pray that we would finish with the same passion and excitement as we started this trip. And pray that many more would come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

As for the Stanley’s and I, we will be heading back to New Hope on Thursday. This will be the first time we are not returning home with our team. I know it will be hard to not only leave our partners from Victory Living Word Church, but also our teammates from Texas. Pray that the Lord would continue to guide us over the next 2 weeks and would continue to provide opportunities for us to serve Him.

May He receive all the glory!!!

Reflections of the day on July 9th by Tamra

Today had a handful of really awesome moments. I'll just share the best ones and try to make it succinct without missing any important details.

1) Because of my specific role, I am the first person that anyone sees when they come into the clinic. This fact means that I am able to share the gospel with any person who has not heard or given their life to Jesus. Unfortunately, for those down the line of progression in the vision clinic, this means that they don't get to share as often because the people have already heard by the time they get to them. With that in mind, and to allow more people to be seen in the vision clinic, I've been even more aware of those around me on the team. When someone tells me that they are not Born Again, I look to see if someone on the team is not busy at the moment, especially if they are the station that this person is going to next anyway.  Then I introduce them and let the other person share the gospel. Some of the interpreters aren't sure how to take this because it might seem that I don't want to share. In fact, I just want others on my team to experience the joy of sharing with a non-believer. 

Today, Steven (from Spoken Truth) was interpreting for me. I explained to him that I've filled this role for 3 years now and I wanted to make sure that others had the opportunity to share the gospel. He totally understood what I meant. After that, every time we had a non-believer, we looked around to see if someone was available who might not have had as many opportunities, if any. If no one was available, of course I took the opportunity to share. It so happened that Raegan and another young lady (I won't give her name because I didn't ask her parents) were at the last 2 stations and one of them was in a position that didn't even allow her to interact with the people directly. So, we called her over the first 2 times, then Raegan the next time, and then a few other young people. They did a great job sharing the gospel message and I loved having the opportunity to witness these young people sharing up close and personal. It was a great experience and it brings me to the next topic.

2) I know she's my daughter, so yes, this is a proud momma moment, but also, Raegan just did an awesome job of sharing the message of Christ! She started by explaining that God had created two humans, who were perfect in a His image. Then she explained that they were tempted and chose to disobey God, thus the world is fallen and we are separated from God. Then she started talking about Jesus. My goodness, was she making His love really known! I already know that Jesus loves me, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that I was literally tearing up as she described it. She even explained that in Jesus' time the cross was the punishment for the worst of criminals and, although Jesus was perfect, He took that punishment. I can't do it justice at this point, but when she was giving the description and explaining that Jesus freely accepted this horrible form of punishment to pay for all of my sins (and the lady she was witnessing to, of course), you could just feel how powerful that was. He didn't just die for us; he died a horrible, atrocious sinner's death; the worst of a sinner's death. Yes, I already knew that, but now I know without a doubt that my 13 year old totally gets that as well. As she went on to explain to the lady about being a new creation with the Holy Spirit dwelling within her and growing in a personal relationship with Christ, I was just so touched by her ability to explain. 

At the very end, she asked the lady if she believed that what she told her was the truth. In a way I've never heard before, she asked the lady 3 different times, in 3 different ways. I found myself thinking, "she already answered you, why do you keep asking?" I just thought it was odd and redundant. It went like this: "do you want Jesus to be your personal Savior?" Yes. "Do you want Him to be Lord of your life?" Yes. "Do you want to be born again?" Yes.

For some reason, this kept coming back to my mind for the rest of the day. Notice that each question brings the decision to another level. It's one thing to say yes to having a savior. It's totally another to saying that you want him to be Lord of your life. And yet another to say you want to be born again-that's not a minor thing, especially in Uganda. Raegan had already explained that born again meant you were a new creation, totally transformed, like a caterpillar changing to a butterfly. 

After having thought about it, I believe this path that Raegan took is an excellent one. She really wanted this woman to think about her answer, she didn't just take the first yes and say mission accomplished. I like that.

Later in the day, when it came to mind again, I suddenly recalled Jesus' conversation with Peter after his resurrection. Peter had denied Christ 3 times, just as He said Peter would. Jesus asked, "Peter, do you love me?" He asked him 3 times and Peter showed obvious emotional response that grew from the repetition of the question. He knew that Jesus knew he loved Him and we know that Jesus knew it, also. So why did He ask 3 times? Some say it was to make up for the 3 denials; some say it was to show Peter the importance of what He was telling him (if you love me, feed my sheep); I'd say maybe it was both. Whatever the exact reason was, Raegan's asking three times reminded me of Christ doing the same and grabbed my heart even more. 

3) at one point, the clinic had gotten so busy, I was not able to look around for others to share, so I was able to have that honor myself. I had a woman and her young son come in. He was probably around 7, but I don't recall exactly. They were Muslims and I learned that the father had passed away. The woman did allow me to share the Gospel message with them. I began telling them about God, our separation, and Jesus, who is the redeemer. Now, I was so intensely telling the story that I realized I wasn't telling her how it tied to the color of each bead on the bracelet. While that might not seem important, I try to make sure I do it because when they walk away, I want them to look at that bracelet and be reminded of the whole story. It may be the most obvious reminder they will have. So, I did a short recap of the first 3 beads-black, red, and white. At this point, the woman just started laughing; not just a little giggle, but a real laugh. I wasn't sure whether to be offended or what. If you have been to Uganda, you know that they laugh for many reasons and it could mean absolutely nothing, but this time, even the interpreter was a bit taken back. She looked at me and said, "she's laughing, I don't know why she's laughing." She then asked the lady. Her answer was that it was just too amazing that you can be completely transformed like that. I remind you, I had not gotten to explaining that you are a new creation. I only explained that because of Christ you are washed completely clean of your sin, you move from darkness to light. That women's laughter at the amazement of Christ was one of the neatest things I've ever experienced. 

4) today Tyler had the opportunity to share the gospel message with a tent of people 3 times.  He had several dozen people say that they wanted to accept Christ. I am very proud of him stepping out and sharing so boldly. Tonight at dinner, during share time, one of the young ladies who works in the vision clinic shared a story that involved Tyler. While helping this lady with her eyes, they also discussed Christ. She said that this lady was so excited and explained why. This woman had been born again for several years. She had witnessed to her son, discussed with him, and he had heard the message many times from others but he never accepted Christ. However, she explained that earlier that day, while they waited for their turn in the clinic, a young boy had shared the Gospel message in the tent and this time her son accepted the truth. That young boy was Tyler! How awesome that the God of the universe chose to use Tyler's message to touch this boys spirit and answer this mother's prayer for her son. I know that it wasn't because of Tyler, but because of the power of the Holy Spirit, but however it all came to be, it was so exciting to hear this story and know that my son has already done great things for the kingdom of The Lord at only 11 years old. 

5) one last story for today...it just so happens to be about Raegan again. Tonight at dinner, she shared an experience that was special to her. She has been working at the sunglasses station, which is the last stop for every person. It is the ONLY station that literally speaks to every person. Whether they need sunglasses or not, they stop there to turn in their form and get a loving goodbye and reminder about the crusades that evening. Of course, they also get asked one more time if they are born again. 

One man told Raegan that he had heard the message but that he was waiting to make a decision because he was going to consult his friends before he made a decision. I'll tell you now, my daughter was given some great wisdom in sharing with this man, and here is the short version of how it went:

Do you consult your friends before you go to sleep?

No

Do you consult your friends before you eat?

No

We all agree that sleeping and eating are both necessities for life. Jesus is a necessity for life also. Why do you not consult your friends before deciding about those necessities of life, but you put off deciding about Jesus to consult your friends?

Now, of course, this is not a line for line quote, but pretty much the conversation. I did actually overhear Raegan saying that sleep is a necessity for life and wondered what on earth brought that up. ;)

Some how, this was the wisdom that this man needed to hear because before he left Raegan's company, he accepted Christ. She was so excited, and, I admit, we were all impressed with such simple words of wisdom coming from a 13 year old. 

Floyd jokingly said, "oh great, now I have 2 women in the house who are smarter than me." lol ;)

As you can see, this day was full of excitement and movement of the Spirit! We are grateful to be hear and be used as the hands and feet of Jesus!

A New Journey Begins

Hey Everyone, It’s Kim! I know we haven’t had much time to write lately, but we have the morning off today, so I wanted to take a moment to update you on all that God is doing so far. We are now on Day 3 at the first village, which means that we’ve completed 2 days of clinics/gospel crusades, and since we don’t have clinics on the last day, we will join our partners for the final gospel crusade this evening before moving to the second village tomorrow. I wanted to give you a brief rundown of what we’ve been doing these last few days.

On Friday, we met up with the rest of our Christ Fellowship team (both the youth team, and those that flew in that morning), and after hanging out in the hotel lobby for a while, and loading all of our luggage in the back of a flatbed truck, we set off on our 2 hour drive to Mitiyana. We drove to the hotel where we are now staying, unloaded our things, and spent the evening getting settled, and going to bed early to get enough rest for the first day of clinics.

We woke up nice and early on Saturday (devotional at 6:15, breakfast at 6:30, leave for village at 7:00). That was the plan anyway! :) We have learned to be very “fluid” here in Uganda. We did not actually leave for the village until 8:00, but that allowed us some time for the worship team to meet and run through the songs since it had been a month since we last rehearsed together (with Floyd, Raegan and I coming early). Once we loaded the bus, we set off for our hour-long drive to the village. We always begin by going to the village farthest away, then make our way closer to the hotel with each new village. The ride is quite bumpy, but the scenery is truly amazing. This part of Uganda is much hillier than we’ve seen before, so the drive is like a roller-coaster. But when you are at the top of one of the hills, and you can look out across the valley, it truly is breathtaking!

When we arrived, our partners were working hard to put the stage together. This is no small task. While they were hard at work with that, we began setting up the vision and medical clinics. Tickets were passed out, equipment was set up, and we were ready to begin. The first day is always a bit slower than the second b/c it takes so long to get everything set up for the evening crusade. Many of our translators are busy helping with that, so we have a limited team working in the clinics early in the morning. However, by the afternoon, we are in full swing. So much so, that this year, we did not even stop for lunch until after 4:00, and the crusade did not begin until almost 6:00 (usually we eat around 3:00, and the crusade begins at 4:00). Needless to say, we had to condense some of our worship time so that the message could be preached before people had to walk home.  We ended up leaving the village and headed back to the hotel around 8:30, dinner was at 9:30, recap was at 10:00, and bed was quick to follow. We knew that morning would come quickly!

Sunday was another great day in the village. Since the other villages we’ve been to in past years are so far away, we were not able to send men to go preach at them. But one of the youth, Grayson, was able to preach at the village we are in right now. It was exciting to see God use him in such an amazing way. When he walked up to the front, he literally threw his IPad down on the ground and explained that although he had a message prepared, the Lord gave him something else to say in that moment. So he just opened up the Word and gave the gospel message. He spoke with great confidence and you could tell it was exactly what needed to be shared that day. After church we started up the clinics again and worked until about 4:00, when we ended for lunch. The crusade was able to begin much earlier the second day, so we spent a good 2+ hours worshiping. Whether it was Victory Living Word Church Mass Choir up front,  our worship team, a group called “Spoken Truth”, or all of us up there together (which is always my favorite time), we were worshiping and praising God. It truly is an amazing thing to join with our brothers and sisters from Victory in Worship. It has become one of my favorite, favorite things, and I always miss it when we return home. 

We have seen some wonderful things so far on this trip. Many people have had an opportunity to preach to a tent of people, and we’ve seen 30-40 people pray to accept Christ from each of those times. During the clinics, we are constantly shouting out “Perfect Salvation” which is our way of celebrating that someone has just chosen to accept Christ. We shout and clap, and have a great time rejoicing. Each time Rafe has preached, many have come forward to accept Christ. I’m not sure about the numbers, but for a place that has no churches established, and where most of the people have a muslim background, we are very encouraged to see how the Lord is moving in this place.

Please continue praying for us. Tonight is the last night in this first village. Then we will break down the stage after the crusade, and load it on the truck so that our partners can drive it to the next village where they will put it together tomorrow morning. It is not a task for the weak, so pray for endurance for the guys as they help with this, and pray for extra rest for us as it’s usually a later night for us. We will continue to update you as we can!

To Him be all the Glory!!!

Part 1 of our Journey

When we created this blog, we explained that our trip would be broken up into several parts. The first part would be spent at New Hope learning the culture and how to live here in Uganda. Part 2 is the Church Planting Trip we are about to begin, and part 3 is returning to New Hope without our church team for the final 2 weeks.

As we've created relationships, participated in family devotions, and learned how to live in Uganda, I've tried to capture some of those moments with my camera. These are obviously only a few of the wonderful moments the Lord has given to us...and all from my perspective. I'm sure Tamra will have many other pictures to share in the future. But I hope that you'll enjoy seeing the faces of those we've shared stories about, and those who have captured a huge piece of our hearts. I know I can speak for everyone when I say that we really have had a wonderful time at New Hope. It was very hard to leave this morning (especially since, as Tamra shared, I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I wasn't able to go to our final family group time). God has used so many people to bless us and to teach us more about "the fatherhood of God".

Click on the following link to view the first SmileBox Slideshow!

Uganda 2013-Part 1

Enjoy!
Kim

Bittersweet...by Tamra

Well, tonight is bitter sweet. We had a night of worship with our family, Pacific Family. It was great because we took turns choosing the songs, having many in Luganda and many in English. It was a great time of praising together. The bitter part came when it was time for us to go back to our house.

You see tomorrow we leave New Hope to join our teams from back home. In the morning we'll go to Kampala to reload on some supplies, then we'll head to the hotel where the youth team has been staying, and then finally we'll join them at Victory Living Word for the end of the youth conference. On Friday, they will head home and we'll join our church planting team for the two week trip. 

There's one thing we've all forgot to mention about our family times. When it is time to go, most nights at least some of the family members walk us part of the way home. They say, "we'll give you a push." For some reason, I just LOVE that. We stroll down the dirt road, in the dark, just chatting and/or being silly. Sometimes they walk us to the guest house, we here we stop to fill our water bottles for the night, and other times they just walk us to the main road (a big circle drive in the center of the property). Tonight they walked us to the guest house and then we gave hugs, hand shakes, and good wishes. 

I just can't believe that tomorrow night, I won't see them. It made me realize how hard it will be to leave them on August 1st. This time, I know I'll see them in two weeks. When we return to New Hope on July 18, it's a Thursday, so the next evening will be family game night. However, on August 1st, I'll leave not knowing if or when I'll ever see them again. Of course they'll always be in our hearts, but we don't yet know God's plan for the future, so it will be tough to leave. 

Please continue to pray for us as we seek to follow The Lord. Pray for the church planting trip and that the youth team makes it home safely with no delays or loss of baggage. Also, please for Kim, as she wasn't feeling well today. She doesn't have malaria symptoms or anything like that, just an upset stomach. 

Our connectivity may be significantly reduced for the next 2 weeks because we'll be in a different place and we'll be much busier with all the clinics and nightly outreaches. So, keep praying. Your work is just as important as ours. The mission could not be successful without the fervent prayers of each of you. 

"Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done." Col. 2:7

Being Thankful was the focus of our message at church yesterday. I know that Tamra already wrote about the worship experience (which I completely agree was wonderful), but I wanted to focus on the message that Uncle Jay challenged us with. I think what struck me the most was the simplicity of the challenge, yet something we often forget to do.

The service began with the reading from 1 Chronicles 29:10-15. This is David's "Prayer of Praise" after the offering for the temple was taken. The people gave freely and generously, and David was filled with joy. He goes on to say, "O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength. O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you have already given us!" (NLT)

The first thing Uncle Jay did was ask people how they show that they are thankful for something. I loved that he made the sermon interactive, and he called upon people from the congregation to share their thoughts. Many people talked about using words to show our thankfulness. When someone gives you something, you often tell them "thank you" to show them you are grateful. However, someone also shared that our actions speak of our thankfulness. In Uganda, they have a way of accepting a gift that shows gratitude and thankfulness. The person receiving the gift faces the person giving the gift, has a slightly bowed posture, and holds both hands out in front of him to accept the gift. The part of this that I loved the most was that the person receiving the gift has his eyes on the giver, not on the gift he is being given. The point that Uncle Jay was making was how often are we focused on the THINGS that God gives us, rather than God Himself??!!

Uncle Jay then asked people to think of places in the bible where we are told to be thankful. I loved hearing the scriptures that people shared. As I've had time to reflect on the message, these are the verses that stood out to me:

"Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done" Col 2:7

"Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 2 Chronciles 20:21

"I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you." Ps 35:18

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Rom 1:21

That last verse reminds me of another point that Uncle Jay made yesterday. God does not need our thanks. He is not up in heaven just waiting for us to thank Him for things. Being thankful is for our benefit. It reminds us (just as the verse in 1 Chronicles states) that everything we have comes from God! We are placing him as the greater, and we ourselves as the less. When we give thanks to God, we give Him the praise and adoration He deserves.

The final point of the Uncle Jay's message was to think practically about all the things we have to be thankful for. Next week is the Thanksgiving Celebration here at New Hope (and we are very sad to be missing it). They have a school for the deaf coming to join them on Sunday, and Uncle Jay talked about how these children are treated because they can not hear. Many of them were abused, rejected and abandoned because of their handicap. Yet how often do we take our ears for granted? When was the last time we thanked God that we could hear the birds singing (as Tamra and I are listening to right now), or the gentle rustling of the trees as the wind blows through them? When did we last thank God that we can go to church and HEAR the word of the God being preached? Or that we have eyes that allow us to read the words on the pages of our bibles? Or that we have minds to understand the message? So many things we take for granted.

The final challenge that we were left with was to take a passage of scripture (such as Psalm 139) and to reflect upon all the ways we can thank God as we read the words. For example:

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me..." When was the last time I stopped to thank God that He knows who I am? With the 6 billion people in the world, God knows me...and He knows you. And even more than that, He knows us so well that He sees when we sit down or when we stand up (v. 2).

I said at the beginning that one of the things I loved about the message was the simplicity of it. May we all take some time today to reflect upon "all He has done" in our lives. May we evaluate whether our eyes are on the things He gives us, or on the giver Himself. May we acknowledge our complete and utter dependence upon Him for everything. And just like the psalmist, may we "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever"

Kim