When God is in our midst, we are healed, not despised or rejected. He fills us with good things and brings deliverance! Grace and Alice showed me so much of God’s goodness in Kampala and even at the school dance competition at Togo. They danced and worshiped with their whole hearts, and were quick to include all of us! – Teresa #raiseurvoice #joyfuldancing

Psalm 22:19-31 English Standard Version (ESV)

19 

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 

Deliver my soul from the sword,

    my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 

    Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued[a] me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 

I will tell of your name to my brothers;

    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 

For he has not despised or abhorred

    the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

    but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 

The afflicted[b] shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

    May your hearts live forever!

27 

All the ends of the earth shall remember

    and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

    shall worship before you.

28 

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

    and he rules over the nations.

29 

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

    even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 

Posterity shall serve him;

    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

    that he has done it.

Footnotes:

a Psalm 22:21 Hebrew answered

b Psalm 22:26 Or The meek

Before we left for Uganda, I was blessed with a vision of a very tall, “well cared for” young man who appeared paralyzed and unable to get on his feet. I asked God to show up for this young man and told God that I would trust His powerful mercy and grace to work through me. After meeting various young people, I became aware of the lack of funding for college education at a secondary level. Similar to our country, in Uganda the young people who are “well cared for” may also be at the greatest risk. They are at risk for becoming immobilized by false expectations of social media setting for them unrealistic expectations of fame and fortune. The every day hard work of showing up, setting goals and plodding from point A to B to C may not always be glamorous but necessary for character development. Throw in a healthy dose of Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and we will see an unstoppable generation for God’s glory. I trust you, Lord, to show up in a mighty way to provide this message to the young people of today’s generation. I trust, Lord, that You will even use a miniscule life testimony like my own to speak about the importance of our tiny mustard seed of faith. -Teresa- #socialmediadangerstothosewhocanaffordaphone #prayingdaily #yourlifeisignificant

Matthew 17: 14-30 (ESV)

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon,[a] and it[b] came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.[c] 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”[d]

When Peter realized the significance of Jesus’ life (“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”) he also tried to assert a worldview of prosperity to that role ( “Far be it from you, Lord![d] This shall never happen to you.”). Peter could not equate God’s glory with suffering. I have this same mind block many times. If something arises that causes pain, I want to eliminate it from my life instead of embrace it and learn why the pain is there. At times, I find the pain is a result of other’s sin (those who I love). Even worst is when I discover that it’s a result of areas needing healing in my own life. There’s nowhere to hide with that- only naked transparency before the Son of the living God. The good news is that He calls us to follow His example, to embrace suffering which ultimately in His plan brings healing. Just as going through grief causes our hearts to break but eventually mend. Death to self causes our hearts to break but in time He brings about His glory and purpose. It’s not always about us, but about His purpose for our lives. – Teresa #don’tkickagainsthegoads

Matthew 16:13-17:9 English Standard Version (ESV)

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock[a] I will build my church, and the gates of hell[b] shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[c] in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord![d] This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance[e] to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

I’m overcome by these two beautiful members on our team: Annika and Riley. Annika made a picture book/with words to touch my heart and Riley exudes sharing friendship, always authentic. When your day is rough, remember the people God puts in your life to bring a bit of joy!!- Teresa

Psalm 16:1-2 (NIV)

1 Keep me safe, my God,

  for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

  apart from you, I have no good thing.

When someone acknowledges your worth, You are validated and esteemed in God’s eyes. If you come across someone who treats others as worthless, remember that they may have a far deeper need- held captive to the fear of man (vs. fear of God). Those who had the biggest impact on me in Uganda were the children in Pastor Steve’s family. The young people of their household have a deep joy for life and energy that pursues God spontaneously as well as intentionally. They are wonderful big brothers and sisters for the students at the school (more than 1,000 students have been enrolled between the primary and secondary campuses). Pastor Steve and his wife Rosa are wonderful examples of discipling first at home. This blessing has rolled over exponentially to the whole city and surrounding villages.- Teresa #fearnot #Heprovidesworth #Heknowsmeintimately

Matthew 10:28-33 (ESV)

.28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[c] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[d] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Little did I know when we were standing on the beach in Dubai at Midnight that this small team would meld and accomplish the tasks that God had in store for us and the Ugandans. Each one had their own personality, believe me!! Together, we were able to trust God for His unique provision and patience with each other. What seemed easy for one was a step of faith for another. My experience was questioning God’s wisdom in asking me to keep up with the millenials #bougieandblessed. Truly, my body took the biggest hit from this lifestyle (still recovering : ). My best team memories came when we were all depleted on the day before the last day of the kid’s camp. We had a team hug (with some tears shed) in the morning and a team huddle before our eventful dance off competition that evening (this group dance was literally thrown together in about 30 minutes- aka we needed a divine blessing)! God showed up and brought more than we could ask or imagine. – Teresa #God’slove>humanlove

When you are loved and love others (because He first loved us), I propose that healing begins. The sermon that God put on my heart for the church in Uganda was about blessings and wounds from our ancestors. By His stripes we can be healed from sin sickness. By trusting Jesus Christ in faith, we can leave our “ancestral father’s” house to have a new identity. Forgiving can only happen when we understand how much we have been forgiven. In the midst of sharing, I realized that God was healing my heart by allowing me to authentically express my struggle with those whose hearts had been prepared for this message. They understood and identified, embraced me in love in spite of my differences. My personal experience of healing in Uganda made it the trip of a lifetime! – Teresa

1 John 4:19-21 (NIV)

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sisteris a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Isaiah 53:5,6 (NIV)

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

  he was crushed for our iniquities;

 the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

  and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

  each of us has turned to our own way;

 and the Lord has laid on him

  the iniquity of us all.

Psalm 45: 10,11 (NIV)

10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:

  Forget your people and your father’s house.

11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;

honor him, for he is your lord.

• Although the country of Uganda is desperately poor, their faith is unstoppable.
• They live together in community with great joy and participation.
• Even the smallest of them has a job to do (obeying their parents or aunties or grandparents).
• They share everything (one bite or one sip with friends is better than the whole thing alone) and they show respect and honor to those older than they are.
• As they rebuild their country from years of being under a ruthless dictatorship, they have tremendous hope in the next generation rising. #passingonthetorchofaith #bringingeducation