Giving

"As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 'Truly I tell you,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'" 

- Luke 21:1-4

This story is so simple, yet so profound. Anna and I studied this passage with missionary (doctor) Rebekah the Saturday before we came back from Uganda. Ever since then, God has been really challenging me with this passage. Over the summer, I reread 1 & 2 Samuel and I was reminded that God does not look at our outward appearance, but He looks at our heart. And in this passage, again, we see that Jesus does not focus on the outward appearance, but He looks into our hearts. This widow had two small copper coins, which are equivalent to around two pennies. Although what she gave was worth so little, her action pleased Jesus. She gave all that she had to live on and had no idea where her next funds were coming from. I believe her action was a declaration of trust in the Lord's providence. On the contrast, all the other "people gave their gifts out of their wealth..." I realized that it's quite different to give out of your wealth and to give, so that you go without. I, too, like to give out of my wealth because when you have plenty, it's easy to give. But what is it like when you don't have much? Giving is not so much about what you have, but about the condition of your heart. I believe giving all that you have because you trust the Lord - this is the kind of giving that moves God's heart. I don't know about you, but I want to move Jesus' heart. How amazing would that be? Giving doesn't necessarily have to be associated with money, but it can be your talents, time, effort, etc. But before we do all these things, let's have our hearts right before God. Although people may see all the things we do outwardly, He sees the motivation in our hearts.

Another thing that I read last week that's I've been thinking about is - "The Christian life is personal, but is not private." As Christians, we live in context of a community and as much as we have a personal relationship with Jesus, I realized it's important to share with others what God is teaching you. Through this, we can encourage and be encouraged.

Blogs I Follow

I just wanted to share a list of blogs/websites/devotionals that I stumbled upon and follow in case anyone else might be interested! Looking at them, I think they're blogs geared towards girls/women.

shereadstruth.com
She Reads Truth is a devotional website where they post a new devotion every day. I like how they go through series. Over the summer they studied women in the Bible. I like how their emphasis on reading the Bible and living it out. Some days, they had devotionals on women that I quickly overlooked or didn't even know were mentioned in the Bible. I also really like their artwork and typography, which makes the website more enjoyable to look at, haha.

alyssajoy.me/blog
I don't know if you know Jeff Bethke (the guy who got famous from Jesus > Religion youtube video) but this is his wife's blog! I love how she chooses to openly share the difficulties as well as the victories she experiences in her walk with the Lord.

havilahcunnington.com/the-good-stuff
A friend forwarded this study a few months ago and I really liked it because unlike most devotions, this is a video! I just watched the video in the morning as I got ready for school. I don't think I finished it, but I remember learning a lot from it.

deeplyrootedmag.com
I stumbled upon this website while I was on instagram. They have magazine issues that you have to pay for (but I think now they're trying to release a part of the issue for free). But they also have a blog portion that's free (deeplyrootedmag.com/blogs/blog). As you can see in their name, their mission is to help women become deeply rooted in their faith.

www.setapartgirl.com
This stems from Leslie and Eric Ludy's ministry of Ellerslie. I always found their articles to be grounded from the truth and encouraging but also very convicting and challenging. They are also the authors of Authentic Beauty and When God Writes Your Love Story. They also have setapartmotherhood.com for parenting mothers.

These are a few blogs/websites that I wanted to share! If you have other blogs you follow I would love to know. (:

Uganda Reflection

Hello, how are you? I'm fine, thank you. And you?
The deep, rich, orange dirt that never seems to leave your feet,
The unexpected rainstorms,
Blackouts,
The slow paced lifestyle,
Black tea instead of coffee,
6:30 PM summer sunsets,
Imported Japanese cars,
Unending streams of boda bodas,
Mangoes, pineapples, avocadoes,
Dust,
No sidewalks,
Prompt 5:30 AM muslim prayer calls,
Cool morning breezes,
Beautiful countrysides.

TIU. This is Uganda.

Immersed in a new culture with new food, new people, and with new music without the comforts of home, there were days I was counting down to when I was going home. However, when I look back at our stay here, I learned so much. Unfamiliar terms such as KOICA and Vision Care entered into my vocabulary. KOICA and Vision Care are Korean non-government organizations in Uganda with the mission to further the healthcare in Uganda. (On the side-note, once there was a Korea lady who came to the front desk asking for the wifi password. Gloria seemed to know her so I asked her who the lady was and Gloria said "She's a KOICA" but I thought she said "She's a quaker." I thought it was so interesting that there were Korean quakers in Uganda, hahaha then I found out she meant KOICA.)

In the beginning we struggled to overcome jetlag as well as getting adjusted to the lifestyle here. Things that are so simple in America was difficult to do here (doing laundry, going grocery shopping, etc). However, somehow in these two months, I learned more about Africa than I ever knew. This side of the world that I never really thought about became real. From the missionaries, I learned how they traded a comfortable lifestyle for a difficult one in Africa. Despite the setbacks they received they sacrifice to love as Jesus loves. They have a heart not only for Uganda, but for the whole continent of Africa, that people may come to know Jesus truly as their Savior and King. They continue to pray to pioneer new chapters throughout Africa. But it's difficult. Before I came here, I didn't really understand why it's so difficult to pioneer a chapter in Africa, but now I understand. Even as a person with a professional degree, it's difficult to find a good, stable job. There are many parts of Africa that are still developing and there are so many issues and problems that still needs progress. And depending on the region, people speak different languages. Even in Uganda, other than English, people speak different languages. Also only the educated people really speak English. With the rich being super rich and the poor being super poor, there are so many people who need help. To continue to pour out love and compassion over and over when you see no progress is difficult. It's difficult not only for yourself, but also for your children. For example, the missionary's kids here go off to a boarding school in Kenya around middle and high school to receive a better education. I think the hardest part is that no matter how long you live here, it's difficult to feel like you truly belong. Because as a foreigner, you get ripped off in the market places and have to pay the foreigner price, which is two or three times more than what a Ugandan has to pay. Also since there is a lot of theft in Uganda, you always have to be alert and aware wherever you are.

But in the midst of all the struggles and difficulties, God is at work. Although it is a continuous struggle to raise up disciples who will stand to follow Jesus with everything and to stand above what their culture deems to be acceptable, I see God working. Maturing doesn't happen overnight; it is a process. I hope that God will continue to raise up leaders from Uganda that will live truly for Him. I'm thankful for the friendships that were built over early morning prayer meetings, long talks, dinners, and outings. I will never forget the friendships that began here and maybe one day we can meet again (in the US?! haha). I believe even if I came to Uganda to encourage and build up one person in their walk with God, it was worth it. First time living away from home in itself, I learned so much.  Although it was difficult commuting freshman year, I'm so thankful that I can live at home throughout college. It's one thing to live in your own room, but it's a whole another world to have a roommate. Though it was a struggle at first, I learned some very valuable life lessons. There are things such as - who's cooking what for dinner, who's washing the dishes, who's taking out the trash that seem so small but amount to a lot of work. Maybe I had an expectation (an expectation I didn't even realize that I had) that since we were living together, we would do everything together. But I realized that we're so different. I like to sleep around 10:30, but Anna's a night owl and doesn't get tired until late into the night. I like to eat breakfast, Anna doesn't. But over the two months, I learned to just accept things how they are. I learned to fall asleep with half the lights still on, to be diligent, to not only think about myself, but to consider others above myself. I learned to appreciate the slow paced lifestyle of Ugandans. I learned to live without coffee (haha, jk I'm not that addicted to coffee, but I did miss drinking coffee). I learned that I'm more like my mom than I ever thought I was (and somehow in the midst of all this, I realized my mom's sort of a perfectionist). I learned to love Uganda - to love the people here and to appreciate their culture. Above all, I learned to be content.

Philippians 4:4-13 - 
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what is is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength."

Uganda: Week 6 & 7

Hi everyone,

            It’s hard to believe that Anna and I have been in Uganda for almost seven weeks. Last Thursday Dr. Luke Lim arrived to Uganda. We received the ping-pong nets and rackets. Thank you!

This week has been pretty eventful. On Monday, we visited another branch of the clinic at the village in Buvuma Island. Christopher, Dr. Luke, Dr. Luke’s two friends from Korea, Jinsil, Anna, and I left at 5 AM in the morning in order to reach the island around 10 AM. We drove for two hours, took a ferry for one hour, and then drove another hour up to the village. Although the journey through the dirt roads was difficult with many uneven roads, the view in the village was beautiful. We also tried jackfruit, which tasted like a mixture of a mango and an orange. Afterwards, we went to Jinja and took a 30-minute boat ride in Victoria Lake. Connected to the lake was the source of the Nile River.

On Tuesday, Anna assisted Dr. Song in breast cancer examinations. Dr. Song and Dr. Park, good friends of Dr. Luke was visiting Uganda for a week. Before they left for Korea on Friday, we joined them on a trip to the Queen Elizabeth National Park for a safari. On Wednesday we left early in the morning at 6 and after driving all morning, we arrived around two. We went on a boat ride at five and saw a lot of hippos, elephants, crocodiles, and birds. It was such a beautiful sight! The next day, we drove through the safari tracks and saw a lot of deer, antelopes, and buffalos. Unfortunately we did not get to see a lion.

Yesterday Anna shared 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 during our fellowship meeting. We were reminded to have an eternal perspective in order to fight the good fight to the end. We know that our labor in the Lord will not be in vain. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Although we may experience hardships in this life, we will never be crushed. In the end, God will surely accomplish his sovereign plan in our lives.

Lately there have been a lot of guests from here and there. It’s been good having fellowship with other girls here through going to the market and eating dinner together. Next Sunday, we will share what we learned in Uganda during the Sunday service. I see that everyone is preparing for the conference in the upcoming week. I look forward to attending the conference and seeing everyone in a week!

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These are a few pictures from the safari! Although the journey was very difficult, the view was soo amazing. I have never seen a view more beautiful! While I was looking at the scenery, I realized that heaven is going to be even better than this.

Uganda: Cultural Observations

I wanted to write a blog post on the cultural observations I made so far in Uganda as well as some challenges and experiences we have had while living here. 

1. Life is slowly paced here. You can tell by people's attitudes, behavior, and even by how they walk. Most people take their time while walking. After a stressful semester, I've had time to relax and take life at a slower pace for the summer.
2. I learned that it's really hard for people to get jobs in Uganda (in Africa in general). Even after people graduate college, they are often jobless for a couple of months. I suppose it is similar back in the US, but I think it's more severe in Uganda. 
3. If you invite someone to come for dinner or a meeting, they will say "yes, I'll come" but half the time they won't show up. I asked Gloria why Ugandans do this if they know they won't show up. She said that it's because they don't want to hurt the person's feelings.
4. They tend to marry early and have a lot of children. They say that having three children is the minimum.
5. The rich are so rich and the poor are so poor. When you hear that people live off of $1 a day, you wonder how it's possible. But I realized why it could be possible. $1 is currently equivalent to 3,200 Ugandan shillings (Ugsh). A regular sized avocado is between 500-1,000 Ugsh, a pineapple is 2,000 Ugsh, a mango is between 500-1,000 Ugsh, a bunch of bananas is 2,000 Ugsh. Fresh fruits are really cheap here while processed foods are extremely expensive.
6. Art is appreciated. I found this to be really interesting, but apparently there are really famous world-wide artists from Uganda. When we visited the Kyambogo University, I learned that being an art major is really competitive and more expensive. This is so different from how being an art major is viewed at UMCP.

These are just some of the observations I've made the past month and here are pictures from my phone. (I find it a lot easier to take pictures with my phone than my camera because it's less bulkier and obvious. Also it takes forever uploading pictures from my camera on the internet here.

Pictures

As you can see, there are no sidewalks here. And as Asians, we are often referred to as Chinese people. We also stand out a lot whenever we walk in the streets.

All private properties have guards next to the gates. I heard that Uganda is one of the safest nations regarding theft in Uganda. This is the compound where the Bethesda Medical Center is as well housing for three families as well as some volunteers.

This was from when we were helping out with the children's eye exams. This Anna and John putting eye drops to dilate the children's eyes.

All the windows here have a certain pattern to them. It's to keep out burglars but I think they look pretty.

There are sooo many butterflies in front of the clinic! Who needs to go to the butterfly garden?

more butterflies

Living in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, it's hard to see what life in Uganda is like for most people. But when we went to visit the land where the future hospital is to be built, it had more of a countryside feel. It really reminded me of the village Jerusalem in Mexico. I loved the fresh air and the quietness of the land. Even though it's been over a month, sometimes I have a hard time sleeping through the all the car noise and sound of the city. Also there is a mosque near the hospital and they really do pray 5 times a day. The prayer goes through a speaker and we can hear it all the way from our room and sometimes it wakes me up at 5:30 AM in the morning.

Anna

One of the main public modes of transportation is by these vans called "taxis". Taxis fit about ten people and are fairly cheap. Another main mode of transportation is by a bota bota, which are motorcycle.

I really like the trees here.

A leaf I found on the street.

I think one of the challenges is doing laundry by hand, haha. Every time I do my laundry I pray that it won't rain so that my clothes can dry. 

This is a picture from when we taught CBF one Sunday.

I was surprised when Aizhen sat in the front of the car without a seat belt...haha I guess there are no laws about kids sitting in the front here. Apparently cars are not manufactured in Uganda. So all the cars here have been imported from countries such as Japan. And all the cars are so so so old. They say that an old car in another country is brand new in Uganda. They also sell them for the price of a new car. This contributes to the pollution in the city.

Food

In high school I was never really interested in cooking so I never really cooked at home. My mom taught me how to make things like kimbap and a few things, but I didn't know much aside from that. Perhaps it was the fear that I would end up being terrible at cooking that prevented me from trying and learning, but I have definitely learned a lot this summer about cooking from google + trial & error. We've also made dinner and invited our next door neighbor Seul-Gi (Sophia) a couple of times as well as Gloria.

Lunch

This is typically what we eat for lunch here. The first week, everything tasted kind of bland but after the first week it started tasting good. The pineapple here tastes sooo good. It's much sweeter than the ones back at home. 

I just thought the gradient was really pretty. Spring onions!

We don't eat nutella as much now, but when we didn't know what to cook or make for breakfast, we ate a lot of nutella sandwiches...haha I really like nutella banana sandwiches but Anna doesn't really like bananas.

One of the first meals we actually cooked.

We also learned how to make spaghetti. To make the tomato sauce, you need around 10 tomatoes for 2 people.

Are we in India? At the supermarket near the clinic, there are so many Indian spices...only if I knew how to use them. I think it must be because there are fairly a lot of Indian people in Uganda. Surprisingly, there are a bunch of Koreans living in Uganda as well. However I think the number of Chinese people in Uganda surpasses the number of Koreans here.

I'm so thankful for missionary Mary (From Kyambogo UBF) for making us kimchi. I didn't really miss kimchi for a few weeks, but eating it after not having kimchi for a while made it taste so good! Missionary Mary went back to Korea to visit her children and will go to Swaziland to pioneer another chapter with her husband, doctor Samuel.

The sweet potatoes here taste really good too. So we made gam-ja-tee-geum (deep fried sweet potato).

This is when Anna got really into making Korean pancakes for a week or so.

I miss coffee. Although Uganda exports a lot of coffee, not a lot of people drink coffee here. So I've been drinking a lot of black tea (which is what is in the picture above).

I learned how to cut pineapple! We failed in our first attempt to cut a pineapple, but now it's solid. The process goes from L to R.

Uganda: Week Four

This was written on Thursday. I meant to post it on my blog, but I haven't had wifi on my laptop the past few days.

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Hi everyone,

Last week was Anna and my fourth week in Uganda. Nothing much has changed since our third week in Uganda. Our days consist of attending prayer meeting, helping out at the clinic, giving violin and English lessons, going to the market, and making dinner. Some days at the clinic are really busy while other days there is not much going on. Last week, while Seul-Gi gave eye check-ups to Ugandan students, I helped her communicate with the students by translating while Anna helped dilate the students’ eyes. However the clinic has been very quiet this week.

Last Sunday, Dr. James Ocita gave the message. We helped out by teaching the younger kids about the birth of Moses. However, since the Sunday Worship Service begins at 9 AM and CBF occurs during the Sunday message, we were unable to listen to Dr. James Ocita’s message. We met Dr. James Ocita after the service and gave him the gifts. This Sunday, Cornerstone fellowship (the fellowship we are part of while in Uganda) will lead worship and play a special song. Please pray that we can glorify God as we do our best to sing and play our instruments. For the special song, I will be playing a violin-piano duet with Eunhye (Dr. Livingstone and Grace’s second daughter).

It seems that people constantly come and go from the Bethesda Medical Centre. This Saturday, another Korean volunteer from Vision Care will be coming to the clinic to do the administrative work. She’ll be living across the hall from us. I pray that we can welcome her and help her adjust to life in Uganda. The staff is also preparing for Eye Camp from July 20-25, which we unfortunately won’t be able to attend since we will be returning on July 21st. Eye Camp is a week full of free eye check-ups and glasses for anyone who comes. In preparation for the Eye Camp, there will soon be a lot of visitors from Korea.

We were feeling sick for a couple of days last week, but now we are feeling much better. As always, thank you so much for your prayers and support!

The Father's Heart

I began writing this post back in April, but it didn't end up going in the right direction. Two months later, I'm here again. I thought I would try again and will see where the post goes especially since today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

I remember while growing up, my family didn't have much. We weren't so poor that we couldn't afford to eat, but we weren't exactly well off either. At a young age I became conscious of our finances and as a result, I didn't ask my parents for much. This is so silly but I would be shocked that parents would buy kids books when they would read it one time and then put it on their shelf. Why not go to the library and borrow books for free (haha, now I buy books because there are some books you can't borrow at the library)? As a result, I didn't ask for things because the answer would be a "no." It wasn't that my parents were withholding good things from me, but there were just limitations with finances. A month ago or so, Aug gave a youth group message on the Father's heart based on Ephesians 3:14-21. He shared with the youth group that often times we don't receive because we don't ask. After hearing this, I kept thinking more about it. As my family became better off as the years went on (when my dad began working as a nurse), I learned how to ask my dad for things. But the concept of not asking my dad for big things or too many things because I think I'm asking for too much - without me even being aware of it, it carried into my relationship with God, the Father. But is anything too big for the Lord? While I don't want to babble on and on with a list of selfish prayer topics to God in prayer, the more I learn about the father's heart, I see that yes, I can lay everything (whether big or small) down before the Lord. Because he cares. Because he is for me. Because he loves me. God, our good Father, withholds nothing good from us. I think as Christians, when we focus on these rules and commandments we must follow, we begin to lose sight of the Father's heart and we forget that yes, God is for us. Rather, these rules and commandments are standards God has for his people to follow because God knows what is best for us. He knows that adultery will create deep scars that will hurt and run deep in families. He knows that thief will create mistrust and dissension among neighbors. Therefore let's not forget that God is for us. A parent's heart is not to criticize every mistake a child makes. No, they correct and rebuke because they want their child to grow and mature into a woman/man of God. They are for their children. And it may be difficult to see it when God disciplines us, but as Romans 8:28 says - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." I would say that my mentality and attitude shifted when I realized and truly believed that yes, God is for me. God is not there to criticize every mistake that I make. Rather, his desire is that I will continue to mature and become more and more like Jesus.

When I see the parents at our church, I see them delight in their children. Their works didn't earn their mom and dad's love. And in the same way, God, our Father, delights in us! And he loves us not because of all the works we do for him. He just loves us. I'm not a parent right now so I can't speak from experience, but here in Uganda, there is a five year old Chinese girl named Aizhen. Her parents are missionaries here to Uganda and they live in the building across from the Bethesda Medical Center. Aizhen likes to come to our room and ask for kim (dried seaweed) and mangoes because she just really likes kim. This is such a small example, but how can I say no? She's so cute! And how much more do parents delight in their children? And how much more does God delight in us?

And the more I learn about God's big heart for me, the more I see that God's heart is for everyone to know Him. I always struggled to understand the story of the prodigal son in the older brother's point of view. Everyone always focuses on the prodigal son - how when he ran away and came back, the father embraced him. It's a beautiful illustration of God's love for us, but for a long time, I could relate more to the older brother. But the older brother failed to understand his father's heart. Everything that was the father's was his. Yet, he was angry that his brother squandered his portion of the inheritance, came back, and now his father was throwing him a party. As Christians, I think it's really easy to become like the older son if we fail to understand the Father's heart. If we never really did anything "bad" persay we can easily feel like the older brother. But God's heart is for everyone to know Him. Yes, God chose me and saved me, but it's not just about me. Also, as children of God, everything that is the Father's, is ours as well. We have such a glorious inheritance! It is worth more than all the riches of this world. So we have this mission to go and make disciples of all nations and share this glorious inheritance. While there are limited resources on this earth, there is no limit to God's love.

I also believe that God places in father's hearts the need to provide for the family. My dad works crazy hours when he's on call to provide for my family (especially my college tuition). I believe this shows me a glimpse of God as the provider God. Because he loves me, is for me, and does not withhold anything good from me, he provides for me in his perfect timing.

As we learn more of the Father's heart, will you join me in asking God to do big things? To come, to move, to stir up hearts - in our families, friends, cities, schools, and nations. Because when we ask according to God's will, I am confident that He will answer.