Encouragement email 2/11

Feb. 11, 2013
As most people know, I've been given this grand calling by God to not only go back to Uganda, but to bring a team of both Christians and non Christians back with me this summer. Through all of the trusting and growing I've gone through in planning this trip, I still get discouraged sometimes and just worry about the "what ifs. " This morning was another one of those panic moments as I woke up at 6 a.m. and had the team on my mind as it raced over what all still needs to be done and how much money we need to raise. There was NO WAY I was going to calm my mind until I got up and worked on some things for the trip.
So I rolled over and grabbed my phone and was going through it, deleting the new junk emails that had popped up over night and I scrolled down to see the emails that my dad had forwarded to me a couple days ago. In procrastination, I hadn't read them, and sometimes I just delete them because I don't want to take the time to stop and read through them (most are pretty long and are just emails that he's gotten from someone else with pretty pictures from around the world or a devotion that someone got from a book). But this morning, one of them caught my eye and I decided to go ahead and open it before deleting it to see what it had to say. To my surprise, it was exactly the encouragement I'd need!

Here it is, enjoy:

Isaiah 65:24

This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa .

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby
and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the
baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).


We also had no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.
One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool
that the baby would be wrapped in.

Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly
in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates)..

'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying
over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles.

They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the
baby and the door to keep it free from drafts Your job is to keep the baby warm.'

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage
children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things
to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping
the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily
die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of
our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today It'll be no
good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it,
would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?'

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say 'Amen?' I just did
not believe that God could do this.

Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there?
The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from
the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever,
received a parcel from home.

Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message
was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone,
but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not
open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.. Together we pulled off the string,
carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top,
I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the
knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box
of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be?

I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried.

I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.

Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle,
He must have sent the dolly, too!'

Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly.
Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!

Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll
know that Jesus really loves her?'

'Of course,' I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class,
whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.

And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon.'

'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)

When you receive this, say the prayer. That's all I ask. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever you want �but do send it on.

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards. Let's continue
praying for one another.

This awesome prayer takes less than a minute.

Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this. I ask You to minister to their spirit.
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a
renewed confidence to work through them Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You
to give them understanding, guidance, and strength. Where there is fear, reveal Your love and
release to them Your courage.. Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders
and friends to support and encourage them. I ask You to do these things in Jesus' name. Amen


P. S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something Christ would do.



After reading this, tears came to my eyes. How could I doubt? I feel like there's just no further explanation needed! God is so good =)
Kam