His grace covers me… When I’m happy, when I’m sad, when I’m
excited, when I’m heartbroken, when I’m joyful, and when I can’t find the words…
His grace covers me.
As many of you know, my brother from Africa—Duncan Okuku,
came to visit our family in Minnesota this past summer… and it was such a
wonderful trip. I’ve had so many of you ask me about the details of his trip…
how it happened—How in the world did God arranged that? …I’ve been wanting to
share this story with all of you for such a long time now… because it’s
beautiful… it’s a beautiful reminder of God’s grace… and how He has great plans
for His children … and how His timing is perfect. Always.
…And so I’ve been wanting to share with all of you the fun
and exciting things that have been happening—Duncan’s visit to
Minnesota … as well as to share with you my heart for the orphan… and to
share with you about God’s unfailing love.
So, here it is.
If you’ve followed my blog and have read from the very
beginning…Or if you know me, and maybe you don’t even know me that well—but either
way, you most likely already know that I have a heart for Africa. …And so what does that mean, exactly? A heart
for Africa? It means, for as long as I can remember (somewhere since middle
school) …my heart has ached for the people and children of Africa. It means
that always—every single day—they are on my mind, on my heart and in my
prayers. It means that I long to learn more about them… to educate myself, to
know all that I can… because any type of knowledge could be valuable and maybe…
just maybe, something I learn, read or hear could help them—somehow, someway.
It means that I adore the people of Africa. It means that despite all of the horrible
statistics and sicknesses that so many of these people face, I think it’s the
most beautiful continent. I adore these people. I want to help make a positive
difference in their life… I want to somehow, lighten the burdens that so many
of them face…
But wait, I’m just one person? Can I really make a
difference? Is that even possible to do to so many people who are hurting… so
many children who are lonely, hungry and in need of love? …These questions can
be defeating. They can be suffocating…
knowing there’s just SO much that needs to be done… that there are SO many
children in need. And so sometimes, I wonder? …God, I have a heart for Africa… but is that enough? And time and
time again He reminds me… That when I fully give HIM my heart, my efforts, my
talents, my life… He will take it and MULTIPLE it for good. For HIS good. To bring GLORY and HONOR to HIS kingdom. So although the
statistics are enormous and only seem to increase by the second, He reminds me
that HIS LOVE is far greater than any statistic. And that HE brings comfort, healing,
protection, satisfaction and LOVE to the needy, the the sick and to the orphan.
…And so I take a deep breath, I remind myself to live my
life by having faith like a child…
knowing that God is in control and that all I have to do is love Him and live
for Him. Everything else? He has it in
the palm of His hands.
During the summer of 2011, I went on my very first mission
trip to Africa for 2 weeks. It was pure joy and pure heartache… all at the same
time. Then the following summer, I went
to Africa for 3 weeks in July of 2012... My second trip was even more amazing
and my heart broke even more. So, after
I got back, planned my wedding and married my sweetheart… I looked ahead to the
spring and summer months. I was almost
certain that I would go back again to Africa that summer … Of course I would go…
My heart is for Africa. My passion is to help the people of Africa. I long to visit orphans and to care for them…
even if it’s just a short period of time. Yes, I need to go back… again. I didn’t
have all of the details quite figured out yet, but I never had the details
figured out, so that didn’t surprise me…
I was confident that God would direct my paths… He would tell me what
the plans were and He would let me know when the time was right. So, until
then, I continued to pray and be confident in His plans. So I waited. I prayed…
and I waited… and I prayed some more.
To my surprise, as the time went on… I found that God was
telling me the complete opposite than what I had thought He was going to tell
me. Instead of, “Yes, daughter. Go.” It was, “No… just wait, not yet.” I remember being so confused, like what? Wait…
did I hear you right? Did you just tell me NOT to go to Africa this summer?
Ummmm… Don’t you know my heart? Don’t
you see the desire I have to go love your children there??
Yes. Of course HE knows MY heart. HE created it…He created me and formed those
desires in my heart to love and care for His children in Africa LONG before I
was even living here on earth. Yes, He knows exactly what I want… But more
importantly, He knows what I need and
what I want even before I do. So
although I was completely shocked and confused with His answer, I was committed
to listening to Him. Listening to His
ways—Even though it wasn’t what I wanted to hear… and even though it wasn’t
what I wanted to do. I decided to wait on the Lord… and to wait for His
direction.
My heart was sad, but it didn’t bother me too much… because
I knew for some reason God was telling me to wait to go to Africa… the time was
not now. I didn’t understand, but I didn’t need to. All I needed to do was
trust Him. Yes, I’ll choose to trust You God.
Everyday …I’ll choose trust over fear.
As the time passed, I had been in contact with Pastor Benson
and our team leader Diana. The word was
that Pastor Benson was planning a trip over to America at the end of the summer…
And he was wondering if we would like to help care for Duncan during
his visit to America. Immediately I said
YES! … I doubled checked with Patrick and his response was the same as
mine. So we said YES... and waited with excitement for this adventure that God was preparing.
That afternoon, I sat down and realized something. I so badly wanted to go to Africa that summer…I
really really did. And although I had
peace in my heart, I still missed it.
And that’s when I realized… I might not be going to Africa this summer,
but the next best thing was going to happen...
A little bit of Africa would be coming to me.
Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your grace and for your love that always covers me.
