if it's true and you believe it.....well,then, do it!!!!

First of all, Mom, Happy Mother’s Day and to all the other mothers I know and love! Thanks for putting you life, heart and soul into your children!
This week Court and I hung out a lot with a few of the Suubi women. We went to Freda’s house the other day and Christine was there with her. We just hung out with them until it got dark enough that we had to start walking home. Freda knows a lot more English than she lets on to know. At the Suubi meetings and at English class, she doesn’t talk very much and so I just assumed she didn’t know. However, when we went to hang out with her at her home, she talked a bunch and knew enough to have conversation with us the whole time. Her children did a song and dance for us, it was really sweet, Freda sat back with the proudest look on her face and a big grin, she was showing off her children and we were loving it!
Another day we went to Getu’s house and helped her wash dishes and clothes. She is not fully capable of doing all of that right now because her foot is still swollen and paining her from about 7 weeks ago when she stepped on a nail. People would pass us and start laughing because they were not used to seeing white people doing work like that here in Uganda. Then, right before they would pass us, they’d say, “well done, mzungu.” I admit, I felt a little pride after hearing that!
Yesterday we were with Santa (another Suubi woman) most of the day. We made necklaces with her for a while and then she fed us a great lunch. She made us goat, posho, cabbage, potatoes, noodles, g’nuts (short for ground nuts which are peanuts), and tea. After we had a bunch of food, there was still a lot left over and Santa was disappointed that we didn’t eat it all, she said we ate too little and we were going to starve. They eat about 3 or 4 servings of food at each meal, it’s unbelievable. We did the dishes for her and then just hung out with her and the village children that were around at the time. Again, we got to see a group of girls sing and dance for us… so, so cute.
This week was just full of hanging out with the women and the children, we had so much fun!
Oh, and Court leaves early tomorrow morning, so I will be 3 weeks without her which is going to be sad. Courtney has been a great person to be volunteering with here and I will miss her so much. It will be a little challenging without her around all the time, but I am trusting that God has me here for a little while longer for a purpose and I’m excited to see what He has in store!
We also painted our marks as volunteers in the back room of the Suubi building. I wanted to put a lot of thought into it because I knew all the Suubi women would be seeing it along with a bunch more volunteers. I started out by just doing the background and then had to put the brushes down and come back another day to figure out what I wanted my picture/mark to mean. So, I began to think of the overall theme that I’ve been seeing here and hearing from God. I couldn’t help but think of meeting practical needs and being Jesus to these people. Walking these streets as He would and providing for the needy and hungry as He would. So, one morning I read in I John. This is where I found the meaning for my volunteer mark. “But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.” (I Jn 2:5) and “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence.” (I Jn 3:17-18). So, the jist is that we can read the Bible all day long and believe that we are commanded to help the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked..etc, but it’s not enough to believe because if we truly have God’s love in our heart, then we would “love with actions and in truth” and put our belief to work. All my life I’ve believed these words but in order for God’s love to be made complete in me, I’ve got to show His love, really show it and not just in “words or tongue.” True, you have to look a bit harder to see the needy in America because we don’t admit our needs and poverty is not as prevalent, but that does not change the relevance of the scriptures and what God calls us to do. So, my mark on the wall is a bunch of colors thrown on the wall, not at all good artwork, but the words “let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” are painted on top of the colorful mess are the best portrait of why I am here in Uganda with these women of the Suubi project.