His Mercies Are Enough

I've been thinking about what it means to follow Jesus in Uganda. My trip there made me realize how small my faith is. Really, how can I complain about trusting Jesus when I have a nice house, three meals a day, tap water, and the majority of my family is still living. Really Hannah?

I met Truly John on this trip. He had to flee the Congo back in the 90's because the militant rebel groups from Congo were killing everyone in sight. In his story, he told me how he had lived in the jungle for months to flee violence. He even saw his whole family get killed...with hammers...inside a church. To make it worst, he's lived in this camp for over a decade, come close to starving to death, lives in a mud hut, and doesn't get paid for the intense work he does with Cobruwas. YET, he loves and follows Jesus with his whole heart. He truly knows what it means to "count the cost" He knows what it means when people tell him his "treasure is in heaven." He is on a first name basis with suffering, yet he praises the Lord every day.

You can see the holy spirit in Benson's eyes. He's funny, deep, committed, and loves Jesus more than any man I've met. One of the last times I saw Benson, I told him he was the funniest guy I know. He laughed a little and said, "Well, I couldn't even smile for the first seven years I was here, we have to laugh now, its the only way to survive." He's seen his family die, he's come close to dying from starvation, he lives in deep poverty, YET, he praises Jesus each day.

Convienently, the sermon was on suffering the one Sunday we went to church there. Over two hundred people were packed into a mud room, listening to this man preach on the reasons God lets his people suffer. I sat and watched as three woman came up to the alter and were crying out to God. I reached over to our friend Joseph and asked him what the women were saying. "They're praying that God will let their crops harvest, so they can eat." I don't think I've ever prayed for God to send me food. Help me Jesus with my faith.

The pastor said something that I can't seem to get out of my head.

If we don't suffer now, how can we enjoy heaven?

They go to other countries

people don't suffer

they can get what they want, when they want it

BUT, how can they enjoy heaven when they have everything they need right now

the pain we suffer won't last forever

compared to what we will have in heaven

His mercies are enough

They know that while this life hasn't been good to them, the one to come will redeem everything they've gone through here on Earth.

I have so much to learn from them.