Wow, it's been awhile.

Just realized that I haven't done a post in about a month. I knew I kept forgetting something!

This past month has been...a trip in itself. I thought for awhile that going to Uganda wasn't going to happen. I wasn't sure what was going on with our group and communication seemed a little spastic. It was very very VERY frustrating especially since I highly value a person with great communication skills. This past month has really taught me to

1. CHILL OUT 
2. Trust that God has made a promise that I will go to Uganda this year
3. Trust that God has already made the way to go to Uganda in July

Even with trip miscommunications we are officially underway on getting everything together! This means that even with the communication level that I like we now have a bigger problem: financials. I wasn't too worried about it (REALLY, which if you know me is probably pretty amazing to you) until I was filling out my Visa application. It then hit me how THIS IS REAL. I am filling out a Visa to stay in Uganda, somehow I have to get money to get there, and yet God is still going to be the same throughout this time. 

Even when schoolwork is piling up, my laundry hasn't been put away for two weeks, and my fish's tank is needing to be cleaned God is still the same. Even when I start to feel like I need to control everything but that I know it will still slip out of my hands, even when my first reaction is to snap at others, even when I just want to sleep, God is still the same. As long as I keep my eyes on Jesus then everything else becomes strangely dim. And it really does! He promises a peace beyond understanding that will guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7). He says to cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). And since I'm trying to live by the Spirit, I'm trying to stay in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). I thought that for awhile I got it but that just goes to show that I really didn't. I can never fully understand everything that I want to understand, but He promises peace in the uncertainty.

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What I Am Reading

"Blessed, because as truly as the widow's meal and oil failed not according to His word through Elijah, so shall every promise made to His saints yet receive its perfect accomplishment. The unimpeachable veracity, unchanging faithfulness and almighty power of God to make good His Word, is the impregnable foundation on which faith may securely rest." 

-The Life of Elijah by A.W. Pink

Uganda is Underway!

So my parents have given their blessing to go to Uganda come July! And I've done a full count of financials and realized...

I can't do this alone.

Which is why I'm going to need your help! If you would like to financially contribute to the journey, please consider checking out the "Uganda Support" page for bracelets such as these:

Or, if you would like to be kept up to date with emails please email me at righthanddistance@gmail.com.

And, as always, PLEASE PRAY.

What I Am Reading

"Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason-a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world."

-My Utmost for His Highest March 19 by Oswald Chambers

Praising while Praying

So last Wednesday, I found out that I have a spot going on the Uganda trip!!! SO. EXCITED. I have been praising God for the past 5 days because He did make a promise that I would go to Uganda this summer and He made it happen!

Now I am praying that my parents will "officially" be on board with this idea. Or at least quickly-on my time frame-get on board. God is teaching me a lot of patience right now because I have WAY too many ideas going around and around my head for support/fundraising and I feel as though I need to wait for my parents to make their decision. I am an adult, and they recognize that, but they would like to make sure that I am as safe as I could be.

So please pray that my family is as comfortable with the idea as they could be and that they get in touch with all the leaders so that they feel even better about what I will be doing/who is going with me.

(By the by, the summer camp that I went to when I was younger did a blog post on Teaching Spiritual Discipline. Essentially, Waiting on God. Here's the link if you want to check it out!)

Song Lyric That Gets Me

"Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at least.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below."
-Be Still My Soul by Katharina A. von Schlegel

I'm Still Waiting.

So no word on Uganda. Just a feeling that I'm taking as a promise that God has said I am going to Uganda this summer...somehow.
...
...
...

I'M GOING INSANE.

But I'm trying to learn something through this waiting period. 

I'm reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson and thought I could learn to do prayer circles...in a day. So I'm learning patience. And to pray and praise through. That's actually what they say in the book. The patience part is just me.

I also read this article by Kristen from We Are THAT Family titled "When God Says Wait It's For A Reason" today. And yes, the title essentially was God's own tunnel vision to me. 

"Because even when you have the power to make things happen and go your way, it doesn't mean you should."

 And this is my struggle. This year has been where I learned to be the go-getter, the GET IT DONE and MOVE ON kind of girl. So when things are in my power to get it done, I get it done. Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten how to be slow and still. I learned to be a river when I should just be the stream. I'm still moving but it's not all about my power.

So God didn't send the storm to speak, or the whirlwind, or the hurricane, or the train, or really anything else that would have slammed me in the face and made me be more patient. But He's giving just enough encouragement to get through tonight. And He will encourage into tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And until I hear a "YES!" or "Thanks for playing but NO." I'm going to hold on to that promise.

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." -Micah 7:7

P.S. Here's the article by Kristen!