Do You Wear Glass Slippers or Running Shoes?

Run the Amazing Race with me!!

“Sherry,” you say, “it has been a long time since we heard from you. What is going on?” Well I am gonna tell you. It feels like I have been running since the beginning of summer and someone told me the other day it is fall. May thru June we went to Uganda; July 4th weekend, we closed the Heart To Hand store in Murray; moved the store back to Mayfield; opened the store the middle of July; Nelson started school in August which means running here and there for football practice and games as far away as Princeton, KY and Paris, TN. Nelson was accepted to play basketball with the Atlanta Playmakers and had a tournament in Atlanta, GA the last of August; basketball practice just started at school. On top of all that, I had contracted a stomach bacteria that lasted for seven months. So we begin another round of running to and fro. Will I ever see the finish line?

I began thinking about running this race and realized we all should be running the race for Jesus. “Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV

Our amazing race began in 2001, going overseas to do mission work in Africa. When people heard this they got a glamorous picture of what it would look like. They imagined me holding orphans and seeing amazing places, but they never imagined the hard stuff. So there we were in this beautiful country called Uganda; where the dirt literally sticks to your skin. The kids act as if you’re their older sister. And your nickname is now Muzungu.

What’s so hard about that? So here’s the hard stuff.

The Race is a lonely place:
On our amazing race, we had some friends who were supportive and encouraging. But after month two, month three, and month four, the number of friends that we heard from dwindled down. It is as if our closest friends had forgotten that we were alive. We realized that doing missions overseas meant being alone or feeling lonely. It meant that God is the only true friend that will be there to listen and talk to 100% of the time.

The Race means missing big occasions:
On our amazing race, Richard’s grandchildren were babies and now they don’t know him. I had two young nephews who are grown men now. It is hard because sometimes we felt that we were missing out on significant moments in people’s lives. But then we realized that people missed out on significant moments in our lives as well; the day that 30 prisoners got saved, the day that an entire family was lead to Jesus, the demon possessed man foaming at the mouth at the mention of Jesus’s name, the first church service held in the newly constructed building at Trace Creek Mission with over 600 in attendance, the day a baby was born and mom asked us to name him.

The Race means no alone time:
On our amazing race, we were with people 24/7. At first it is awesome because you need someone to talk to about this new adventure in a different country. But once you get used to living overseas, all you need is to be ALONE! Your sanity now relies on earphones and earplugs. You can’t take a walk without having to have one other person with you. You can’t read your Bible without the church in front of your house blaring their worship music at all hours of the day or the mosque down the street reciting the five prayers at dawn, noon, afternoon, after sunset, and at nightfall over a loud speaker.

The Race means loving people:
On our amazing race, love is hard. Sorry to pop your bubble about love, especially when you don’t initially click or “like” the person. We realized that there are many personalities and people in the body of Christ and you have to learn to love. We learned to get over our flesh that wants to seclude ourselves from those people and instead put out our hands and introduce ourselves.

The Race means not being there:
On our amazing race, our families had gone through hard times. Times that I wanted to be there to listen, talk, hug, cry, and to understand. Two of my cousins died, one from a gastric bypass operation leaving behind a wife and child, one from an accidental overdose, leaving behind three children, my maternal grandmother passing in 2006. I saw things unfolding from half way across the world. I couldn’t reach through the screen and hug my Mom when I knew things were too much for her to handle. Sometimes I couldn’t even make the phone call (no network!!) needed to make sure that she was okay or tell her that I loved and missed her.

The Race means awkward moments:
On our amazing race, there were a lot of awkward moments. Those moments sitting in the Land Rover and the body odor of 10 people is so bad that you throw up in your mouth or that small child whom you were holding decided to puke on you five times. There are times when you shake hands with someone only to wonder was that “poop” on their hands. Oh, help me Jesus, where is my hand sanitizer!!! There are times when eating in the village and you hope that was just a piece of gravel that you chomped on in your rice and not your tooth but you swallow it and smile.

The Race means dying daily:
On our amazing race, I learned that it is not about me. It is about serving and empowering others to become leaders. It is about discipleship, patience, and love. It is about giving room for someone to step and lead in the areas God has gifted them.

I have counted all these things as blessings because they have refined me and drawn me closer to my Father. God is bigger than I imaged. His love and heart for the lost has changed me from the inside out. I had plans before this amazing race, I had desires for my life. It has been rewarding to think back and challenging to think forward. God is giving me peace about my next steps and showing me how to trust Him.

I have learned a deeper meaning of relying on Christ to be my strength, friend, shoulder, trust, and love I need. I wouldn’t ever trade all of this hard stuff for the comfortable stuff of my past. I am a different person now because of the hard stuff and I am never going back.

Forever changed baby! The Glass Slippers are Off!!

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mothers or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30 NIV

Can We Get Too Excited?

Richie Wilkerson leading others to Jesus. He used his voice.

Recently, Richard and I were told that when Richard speaks about the ministry in Uganda, that he gets too excited and that some in this particular church did not think it was appropriate. As I sat and I considered those words, a verse came to my mind, Luke 19: 28-40; the disciples getting the donkey, robes laid out, branches waving, people shouting with joy. Then the Pharisees, wanting Jesus to rebuke the disciples for their exuberance. Jesus responds, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Jesus was so great, the importance of his life and death so magnificent, that if no one chose to receive it, creation would burst forth and do it for all. (The trees in the field will clap their hands.)
The spirit of the Pharisees is alive in our culture today too. We hear it when culture says “keep your religion to yourself.” “Whatever you do, don’t be loud about it.”
Look back at the scripture. It had come time to be loud and exuberant. This had to be said and people who had been gifted by God to speak were shouting Hosanna. And the spirit of the Pharisees was hard at work, “Teacher rebuke your disciples.” And Jesus had one answer, “I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
If those who are gifted with the ability to speak remain silent, then those things that do not have the gift of speech will cry out. Creation will cry out in the only way that it can, all of creation will cry out if we remain silent, if we refuse to put our faith into words. Some things have to be said.
If I ask you what makes you angry, joyful, excited or passionate, what would you say? I get angry when I hear of a child being abused. When I hear about loyal love, I am deeply moved. An exquisite arrangement of words on a page fills my heart with passion. A story of someone’s heartbreak grieves me. Talking about Christ stirs me up. When coupled with Gods calling on our life, these passions point in the direction that deeply impacts people on a spiritual and emotional level.
Remember your purpose is not just about you, it is about what God wants to do through you. Therefore, if you ignore it or neglect what others say about you, your gifts, your passion, you are not only betraying yourself, you are betraying God, because He has called you to a purpose and wants you to walk in it – for others and for your own joy. Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” And then 1 Peter 4:14 tells us that “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” Thank you God!
God has walked our journey, known our lives, carried our sorrows, and forgiven our failures.
For those people in that particular church who said that we get too excited when we talk about what God is doing in Uganda, all I can say is:
All the colors of the rainbow.
All the voices of the wind.
Every dream that reaches out, reaches out to find where love begins.
Every word of every story.
Every star in every sky.
Every corner of creation lives to testify.
For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love.
I’ll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough.
With every breath I take
I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love.
(Testify by Avalon)

We Are Young

It’s hard to be young, especially when poverty expects that they will fail. Challenges of drugs, sex,  crime, and idleness tell them that this life is as good as it gets. Give them an opportunity to go to school, to express themselves, to be healthy, loved and you will see courage, beauty and pride rise from the rubble of defeat.

Children from Timothy’s Home

David and Paul both love animals. If the boys continue to do well with their schooling, we will eventually see that they go to veterinary school.

David and Paul with goats

Insanity??

You can stand at the filthy mud hut and look up at the remarkable clouds that dance across the enormous stretch of the African sky. There’s heartbreak and yet beauty at the same time. Weighed down by the insanity of this broken world, it is difficult to understand how the pieces fit. The same earth that holds the fragrance of a field of flowers can also occupy the stench of Wagari cooking (home-brew made with green bananas). This is Uganda and God is there.

Take 2 And Call Me In The Morning

Filling His Nets would like to thank Nick Hatton and Duncan’s Prescription Center for the medical supplies that will be for Timothy’s Home For The Children. Nick and Duncan’s does this for us every year and we appreciate it. There are bandages, triple antibiotic ointment, iron tablets, multivitamins, iodine, ring worm ointment, Ibuprofen liquid and tablets, Acetaminophen liquid and tablets, and about 40 bottle of cough syrup plus much more medicine. 

Timothy’s Home For The Children’s nurse, Jan’et  said all the children are healthy and no one has been ill for a long time. We are expecting the children to return from their guardians homes next week so I will not be surprised if some of them return with malaria, rashes, flu and runny noses. 

Is There Hope For Them?

I smile because they are beaming with promise. I cry because they have lost one or both parents to AIDS. I ache because their hope will be stolen from them. These children represent fifteen million other children in the same situation. Why have we not done enough to embrace this orphaned continent? “Who will care for me now? Who will show me love?” they ask. I hope the answer has something to do with you and me.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

****Decisions, I make on any given day:

Green shirt or yellow cardigan?
Caramel Frappe or Tall Chai Latte?
Stay at home and work on house or work at store?
Text message or email?
Eat out or fix dinner?
Reality television or Fox News?

****Decisions SHE must make on any given day:

Blue dress or blue dress?
River water or puddle water?
Walk once for 4 hours to get water or walk twice for 8 hours to get more water?
Sleep with peasant for food for the children and grandchildren or go hungry?
Continue with struggle or give up?
Curse God or praise Him?

Are You Tasty?

An estimated 70,000 to 100,000 people die annually from a tiny little bite from something that weighs less than two eyelashes. It is Ugandan’s biggest killer. It is the mosquito that carries the malaria parasite. In the 12 years we have been in Uganda, I have never contracted malaria but Richard has had it about six times. The symptoms of malaria is fever, chills, a bad headache with vomiting and or diarrhea. Richard said it is like having the old fashioned flu. Today is Malaria Awareness Day.

Weight Bearing Load

Has your burdens been so heavy that they weigh you down where you feel that you cannot take another step or another breath? Well the past 9 months have been such a heavy load for me that depression made its home in my head and stayed there like a black cloud with no rain in sight. My scripture reading this morning took me to Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery. 

After reading this and pondering all day on the Word, a small ray of sunshine shone through the black cloud in my head. I will not let this burden I was carrying enslave me and rob me of the JOY that Jesus promised me. I will not let my small burden be humongous when there are children in Uganda depending on me. I will not let people steal my JOY that Jesus promised me. 

The picture that I posted is from Uganda. This young woman is a Congolese traveling to Uganda to a refugee camp. Over 60,000 Congolese have embarked into Uganda to avoid the fighting in the DRC. And I thought my burden was heavy. I wonder if she knows about Jesus. That Jesus is walking those tortuous steps with her. My burdens are pithy to her. I wonder if she has the JOY of knowing that Jesus will carry her burdens. There is a song that we sing in Uganda….Cast your burdens unto Jesus cause He cares for you. (That’s me singing in my best British English.)

Over 70 Children Rescued From Trafficker in Kitgum, Uganda

I received this article today from tomorrow’s paper in Uganda, The Monitor, April 20, 2013: “OVER 70 CHILDREN RESCUED FROM TRAFFICKER IN KITGUM, UGANDA.”

When parents sent their children to Active Blessing Uganda, a non-governmental organization, they believed the children would get an education and live a better life. That bubble burst when the parents found out their children were being denied basic rights and exploited. In total, 76 children, aged between four and 16 years, have been rescued from the alleged human traffickers.

According to the officer in-charge of Kitgum Central Police Station, three Ugandan men were arrested for child trafficking. One man stated that under the NGO, Active Blessing Uganda, this organization would take care of orphans and children born in captivity during the LRA insurgency. However, this is not what has been happening. Five children have died of “natural causes”. A majority of the children were malnourished, subjected to child labor, exploitation, and begging. Some of the children herded cattle, did domestic work for other people in return for food and when they got sick, they were not cared for. The children ate their meals in shifts, where the bigger children at times forfeited meals for the sake of the younger ones.

As I continued to read, I am always amazed why people do what they do for the love of money. Yes, this organization received money to help with the children but instead of using it for that purpose, in their pockets it went. At Timothy’s Home for the Children, 100% of your money that you send for Embracing the Children goes directly into that orphanage. Our store, Heart To Hand, in the Mayfield Shopping Plaza, handles all administrative costs.

You can see from the photo, our children are well taken care of. They have 3 nutritious meals a day along with a snack. They receive medical treatment and also an education that they would not have had in the village. At Timothy’s Home for the Children, we also resettle children back into their own homes when situations that brought the child to our home have improved. (2 children adopted and 1 resettled)

I appreciate the NGO board applying stricter regulations for orphanages. It keeps us accountable not only to our supporters but to God.