Learning to Embrace the Sky

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 

I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest." 

-John 10:10

I had a good-bye thank you party two days before I left for Uganda, and invited certain people from my church and close circle of friends who were the most important to me. One man from church who I look up to very much came up to me before he and his wife left for the evening and said, "Holly, I want you to know that you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself when you go to Uganda. There will be plenty of opportunity to stress about things and I'm sure you'll make mistakes, but I want to give you one piece of advice. Have FUN. Have fun."

I am a person who has a very hard time NOT stressing about things. I take on a lot of stress myself, and have tended to take on other peoples' stress as well. No, it's not healthy or beneficial. So these two words were a huge wake up call for me before I left. Have fun. HAVE FUN! It's okay for me to have fun and not be serious with everything all the time.

John 10:10 is a great example of this for me. Jesus came for us to have life to the FULLEST, not for me to play it safe or to worry all the time. Living life to the fullest means to soak in moment by moment and live my life to the very fullest as if every day was my last. Now, this is not a call to be selfish in my life decisions. It is to live sacrificially and realize that my actions effect others. Having been hurt by one person a month ago through their selfishness, it made me realize that some people don't understand how to live and love selflessly. The problem with living this way is that you don't even realize how suddenly you are left with nothing but regret. Living life to the fullest means to fully commit my life to God; to commit my life to living as Christ did and living every day in grace and love for those around me. And not forgetting to HAVE FUN while doing it. For me that's a bit like learning cantonese.

For some reason, through much of my life I have thought of "having fun" in life in general as living irresponsibly. I don't know where this thought came from. In my mind I keep thinking, "yeah but if I have fun then I'm not looking out for others". But I think this is a lie. Living my life to the fullest means that I give myself permission to have opportunities to enjoy the life that God created me for TO THE FULLEST instead of living timidly. I think so much of the time Christians in North America think we have to live humble, quiet lives with the bare minimum of tension and ripples, but we miss so much and touch no one as a result.

It took me a long time to come up with a name for my blog. I thought of how huge my first experience of an African sunrise was. It was as if I was being swallowed by the sky as the sun rose. I thought, "I wish I could stretch my arms from one side of the sky to the other and hug it to myself". Maybe it was the artist in me. Maybe it was the romantic in me. But it's amazing. There is something breathtaking about the sky here. Even the most ominous thunderclouds are somehow welcoming. It feels like a small piece of heaven pierces earth with every sunrise I have witnessed. Embracing the Sky is not about just having a happy-go-lucky attitude, but a deliberate posture of readiness, arms outstretched and head lifted, to see what God will do every new day I am here. It's about seeing the opportunities to share life with people who desperately need it, and LIVE LIFE to the fullest. I feel like I've come out of a layer of myself into a place where my heart is stronger, and more willing to know where God is in every situation I face here. I embrace the sun and the moon and stars and wind and monsoon rain and thunder. The sky is alive and constantly changing, just like life. But I will learn to have fun through the sun and to dance in the rain.

Appreciating the Gift of Patience

February 19, 2018

Every year has its seasons. And even with the two months I've been in Kampala so far I feel as though I have seen many seasons. But the last few weeks have really been about patience and joy through discouragement.

Patience has been one of the things that I never feel I ever have enough of, and just when I think "yeah I'm doing okay in this area", God humbles me and I realize just how far I still have to go to truly be a patient person.

Kampala is a place that constantly shows me how in need I am; how much I have to learn and how weak I actually am. I remember how out of sorts I felt the first time I was here back in May 2015, and how much my friend and wonderful auntie Terri said, "don't worry about not being able to do many things in a day. In Uganda, everything takes 5 times as long to get done, and at the end of the day, although you've done 5 times less, you are still 5 times as tired at the end of the day."

I feel as though I'm getting more used to that strange pace. In Vancouver, I could get 20 things done a day and be tired at the end of the day, but feel fine, and then go out at night. Here, I can do maybe 3 things a day, and anything after that makes me exhausted and ready to crash on my bed at 8pm. Part of it is the heat, part of it is the chaos and dust everywhere. And culturally everything is very intense, but I still love it.

And then there are some days where I just get so tired of everything, frustrated at how long everything takes to get done, angry at the taxi (bus) drivers and boda boda men and the girls who knock me when I try to walk and people people people everywhere all the time. I love this place, but there are times when everything gets so overwhelming and it's at those times when I am reminded just how much I really CAN'T do this on my own; I can't do life on my own. It requires God to lead me and give me strength and courage and patience for the things that drive me crazy.

Even though I'm now in a house with a family who is Ugandan American, and as at home as I feel in this place, there are times like today where I really miss everyone back in Vancouver. I miss my parents and my dogs and my aunts and uncles and sister and brothers and cousins and crazy art friends from UBC…some days the feeling of distance really gets to me. These are the days where I really wish I could just have someone just KNOW how I'm feeling, without me saying anything, and give me a big hug and let me cry. There is something about having someone who just gets you to know when you're down and squeeze you tight until you can't breathe.

When these days come where everything seems to be driving me crazy, and I get frustrated with myself for being frustrated with others, God reminds me that I need to be patient with MYSELF as well as others, and have grace for myself just as much as with others. The problem is not the frustration, it's the belief that I can do this on my own - which is a lie. And so then God gently reminds me, as only He can, that HE is the one who sustains me. I have to keep seeking Him and surrendering to Him. It's a daily thing - not when I find myself with my face in mud. He is where I find all my strength and patience and grace; He is the wellspring of life. So on a day like today when I am upset and weary and impatient, I praise my God in heaven who dwells within me through His Spirit that I am not in charge, and He is…'cause seriously, He can do it WAY better than I can.

February 15, 2016

Fear and Politics

So Uganda is not the safest country in the world, but it has started feeling like home. The thing I've learned very quickly, starting last summer when I was in Tanzania during the last part of the election, is that East African politics are many times as deeply rooted in people as their tribes. It becomes a major issue when elections are around the corner.

In Kampala for the last few weeks people have begun leaving the country - going to neighbouring countries and or visiting relatives up country to get away from Kampala (the centre for all things politics, as it is the capital city). Today finally something happened. Besigye, the people's favourite presidential candidate, was arrested after being denied access to an arena where he was preparing to have a rally. This rally would have for sure been a massive crowd of people. Basically, the president is afraid of his 30-year reign finally ending. He's doing everything he can to stifle those who are a threat to his power. It's causing problems. The police arrested Besigye when he tried to hold a rally in the street and sprayed tear gas over half of downtown Kampala.

Pray for peace in Uganda. There is so much fear. Fear from the president himself, fear from the military and fear in the hearts of the people. Pray for peaceful elections, pray for humility, pray for Thursday's election results to be done well and for no vote rigging to occur. And no retaliation from those who are angry at whoever takes this next presidential term.

Sometimes Life is Walking Uphill Through Mud, Holding Jesus' Hand.

Romans 12:3-21

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do no be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. One the contrary:

"If your enemy is hungry,

feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

In most translations this chapter is split up into four separate passages, but I think the chapter itself is extremely connected read from beginning to end, even though it deals with different themes.

This past month as been one of the most challenging I have ever faced. There have been so many times where I have wanted to throw my hands up to the sky, pack my suitcases and go back to Canada. But then a voice comes to the very centre of my soul and says, "You're here for a reason. It's not time to leave yet."

Two weeks ago, the mechanics decided to make good on their threats to take justice in their own hands and deal with the kids who stole their phones and fought in their shop. Two weeks ago, Tuesday morning, the group of mechanics found every child they could in Kivulu and beat them mercilessly. It didn't matter if these kids were from the street or had homes of their own, they beat them. They even went as far as going to the house Hope Street meets at and beat the mom, daughter and twin grandchildren to make a point. After that they all but destroyed the local pastor's boys' dormitory at the church before the police finally showed up and stopped the mechanics from going any further. Except they didn't arrest the mechanics, they arrested all the street kids they found.

At the end of the riot, at least five boys were taken to the hospital, blood all over the slum. One boy was so badly injured that even the police thought he was dead because he was unconscious when they carried him to the ambulance.

Andrew and I went to the police station in Kivulu the next day and tried to talk to the OC in charge - he refused because he was too afraid of what everyone in the slum might do to him if they saw him talking to me. Both he and another officer tried to scare me from ever coming back and working in the slum again. "If they had seen you yesterday they would have killed you!" (This was an exaggeration. No, it would not have been safe for me to be in the slum during the riots, but at no point would my life have been in danger). The real reason the OC didn't want me there is because he was afraid. He is afraid of the mechanics, and he is afraid of the street kids. This is obvious by the fact he never arrested the men who beat these kids until they were almost dead.

When I left after that "non-interview" with the OC, I was angry. So angry and filled with an indignation at the injustice and fear that I see towards these children and the lack of ability for people to do the jobs that they are being paid to do - how is that keeping people safe???

Thursday Andrew and I went to visit some of the boys who were in the hospital. This hospital was not like any hospital I have been to before. Because of the elections coming up in two weeks, the government has stopped handing out any medication for any ailment. This means there is more money for campaigning and military transport. It also means that people have to pay outrageous amounts of money for all drugs that the public hospitals should be providing.

When we got into the area of the hospital these boys were in, it was a giant, open room with beds, and many sights and sounds that were hard to digest. The boy we went to see was the one who everyone thought was dead in Kivulu. He has a fractured skull and brain damage from the beating he took. And there was one boy who had been transferred to the ICU because his injuries were even more severe. This boy was barely conscious when we prayed for him, his eyes rolled back into his head and he kept scratching his face - obviously uncomfortable and in pain. It was heartbreaking to see.

Over the last week, the uncles with Hope Street have been trying to get meetings with the mechanics and police to figure out how to sort things out so that our program can start again, to no avail. Pushing, pushing, pushing, and seemingly no change.

Then yesterday for me was spent going from one government official's office to the next, walking all over Kampala, trying to get permission for interviews pertaining to the incident in Kivulu, and to flesh out in more detail the issues that these kids deal with, and how it also effects the community as a whole (as well as those in government). The first lady I spoke with in the morning was like ice. I've never had a discussion so cold before. Even my Fine Arts portfolio interview for the University of British Columbia was better than that. I felt like vomiting in the office I was so anxious as I spoke. And that's kind of how the day went.

I was so frustrated by the end of it. GOD, WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO HARD???? WHY ARE YOU TEACHING ME PERSEVERANCE SO INTENSELY RIGHT NOW??? WHY CAN'T I JUST HAVE ONE WEEK THAT'S SMOOTH SAILING??? And do you want to know something? There was no answer. God was silent. I think sometimes God brings us through a season that is so challenging that our muscles are strengthened. I know that's the season I'm walking through right now. It's like I go from one s*show to the next, and yet I feel God is near, not far off. He may have been quiet yesterday, but He was still present.

Romans chapter 12 is exactly how I feel right now. In the first paragraph, we are reminded to use the gifts that God has given us, specifically in the way He has given them to us. Use what you have been given. Regardless of the way we feel emotionally, we should use our gifts to bless others, because in that we rebuke the devil and receive blessing ourselves.

In the second paragraph we are reminded to always love. ALWAYS. Not just when we feel like it, or when it's easy, but ALWAYS. I think that's why verse 12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." There are many times, even most days, when I do not FEEL like loving people. But Paul reminds us to be joyful, patient and faithful. This is stuff of courageous people who persevere through it all. I did not feel like loving that woman I had a discussion with yesterday morning. Not at all. I felt like telling her where to go. But I know God will fight my battles. And what He calls me to do is be obedient to where He has called me to walk.

This brings me to the last part of the chapter. 

"Bless those who persecute you…do not repay evil for evil…

"If your enemy is hungry,

feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

God is the one who fights my battles. He is the one who has control over my circumstances and sees the end and way out when I do not. And I do not see a way out of these predicaments. But He does. And I have to trust that He is already working in the hearts of the mechanics and the hearts of the police officers and in the hearts of the government officials. I believe in miracles and I believe in God's faithfulness and that He will never leave me.

My mom sent me a devotional yesterday that was exactly in line with what's been going on, and I'm going to share it now:

"Follow Me one step at a time. That is all I require of you. In fact, that is the only way to move through this space-time world. You see huge mountains looming, and you start wondering how you're going to scale those heights. Meanwhile, because you're not looking where you're going you stumble on the path where I am leading you now. As I help you get back on your feet, you tell me how worried you are about the cliffs up ahead. But you don't know what will happen today, much less what tomorrow will bring. Our path may take an abrupt turn, leading us away from those mountains. There may be an easier way up the mountains than is visible from this distance. If I do lead you up the cliffs, I will equip you thoroughly for that strenuous climb.

Keep your mind on the present journey, enjoying My Presence. Walk by faith, not by sight, trusting Me to open up the way before you."

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still. Exodus 13:13-14

Blog 3:

I Bring it all to Him

January 24, 2015

I have cried and felt like crying all day today. I don't know why, but God often brings me to the bathroom to meet with Him. I found myself weeping in my bathroom today (don't worry, it was clean), kneeling at the toilet, my face on the toilet seat lid and my chest heaving so many tears.

Now, for those of you who know me, this would not come as a surprise. But this was the first day like that for me since I arrived in Uganda.

Today the weight of what God has called me to was too heavy today - I was filled with loneliness and despair and overwhelmed by just how much pain and suffering I see around me. I guess part of it was compassion, but the other part was the devil trying to bite at me again and try to get me to listen to him instead of Him (God).

And it was in that crying that God began to speak:

Me: God, I can't do this. It's too heavy.

God: I gave you this opportunity. You were obedient. You said yes. I love you. I didn't promise you that the call would be easy - I promised that I would be with you through it.

Then a song from one of my favourite bands came to mind: "I Bring it to You"

"I bring it to You

There's wonder in all that You do

I bring You the scraps that make up my soul

And You make me whole

I'm Yours"

This line stood out:

"I bring You the scraps that make up my soul, and You make me whole"

Sometimes all we have to offer God are the scraps of our soul. But the god thing is that He is the one who can make us whole again.

It is when I get to the end of my strength that God shows just how strong He is. And if me being in Uganda has little to do with ME  but all to do with my HEAVENLY FATHER, then of course it makes sense that I surrender all the pieces of me to Him. "He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ever ask or imagine." He makes up for in spades all that I lack. And boy do I lack.

Today was not a great day emotionally for me, but God is still here with me, leading me through the times where I start taking on the burdens I see around me instead of giving them to Him.

Blog 2:

Ready vs. Willing: Are We Ever Really Ready?

January 22, 2016

Last night I had a dream I've had a couple of times. In this dream I'm about to board a plane, but when I get to the final gate, I realize I don't have my passport and I don't even know where my luggage is, and on top of that, I realize my passport is in my carry-on that has been checked in by mistake.

When I go to the stewardess I start to panic because I can't figure out how I'm going to get on the plane, nor do I know where the plane is heading to. I start crying in the dream, and when I woke up I realized I was panicking and feeling extremely stressed.

So during my devotions this morning I asked God, "What was that dream all about?" And I felt Him say, "Will you ever feel ready for the call I have placed on you?"

And that got me thinking - Are we ever really ready?

Are we ever ready or fully prepared or abled for the call God has for our lives; for the journey He wants to take us on? Or is what He wants simply a person who is WILLING to say "yes" and let Him take us, in His strength and not by our own, to places we never dreamed we would go?

Nothing can fully prepare us for what God calls us to do. All that He wants is for us to say, "Here I am, send me."

This morning I was readying from Oswald Chamber's book My Utmost for His Highest and I want to share the devotion, since it fits perfectly with the challenge God gave me of readiness vs. willingness.

CALLED BY GOD

"I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me'" (Isaiah 6:8)

God did not direct His call to Isaiah - Isaiah overheard God saying, "…who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God's call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear "the voice of the Lord" continually asking, "…who will go for Us?" However, God doesn't single out someone and say, "Now, you go." He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, "Here am I! Sent me."

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard - "the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, "Here am I! Send me."

-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Hi everyone,

So these next few blog postings will be outdated, because I was just able to get internet connection (from a coffee shop about 10km away from my current house). I will post them each individually, but you can see them all here as well.

Blog 1:

Small Acts of Love and Defiance

January 20, 2016

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,

Let me walk upon the waters,

Wherever You have called me,

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,

And my faith will be made stronger,

In the presence of my Saviour"

These are very dangerous words to speak. And yet I find these are the words of my heart every day here in Kampala; to be led into the unknown by the Spirit who understands it all. They are dangerous words because when you finally let yourself surrender to Jesus, (and again and again and again we surrender), He takes us outside of our comfort zone, into a place where we have no choice BUT to trust Him for everything. And although this is a terrifying concept to, in some ways, every single person on this planet, relinquishing OUR control for HIS guidance, I see again and again how faithful Jesus really is.

I have been here for almost three weeks now, finally settling into a rhythm of the hustle and bustle of this chaotic city that I love. Last week I began my public art project in the slum of Kivulu (chi-vulu) near Makerere University in Kampala. I'm not going to lie. I was scared out of my mind at the magnitude of this project. It's one thing to have an idea for a project, it's a very different thing to actually see that the project happens. This is especially daunting when you are the one in charge of every detail and decision there is to make.

The organization I am working alongside with in Kivulu is called Hope Street Uganda. It has been running in this slum for three years now, and meets three times a week in this slum, along with having a boys home for youth trying to transition out of the slum and go to school. This organization is made up of all-male staff, all of whom used to be on the street at one point in their lives. I cannot speak highly enough of these men. They have already been a blessing to me even in the short two weeks I have known them. Both the uncles at Hope Street and the 100 boys involved in the program have been extremely excited to be taught art and also to participate in the making of the art. There have also been an additional 30-50 children, boys and girls, within the slum of Kivulu who have been participating as well, because a little chaos is good, right?

This week Monday and Wednesday have been full of excitement, good and bad. On Monday, a ugandan man in his 60s came up to me while we were working on the mural and said hello, then proceeded to tell me that he had been in the ugandan army for 30 years and that these boys, (street kids in general), were bad and needed to be taught how to behave better. He said that they were little more than garbage, and didn't agree that they should be the ones to paint these murals because they didn't deserve it.

Well, I'm not going to lie. What this man said made me mad. It also shocked me that he came up to me, the only white person standing there, instead of going to any of the six uncles also standing around. He spoke about these boys to me as if they weren't present -in fact they were standing five feet from me and understood his english perfectly fine. That was my first encounter with anyone saying things like that and it gave me a new realization for just how important these public art projects are to those involved. To talk about or hear about how these boys are mistreated or judged immediately just based off of their appearances is one thing, but to actually witness the abuse is quite another. It gave me a new and deeper understanding of just what Jesus meant when He told us to "care for widows and orphans" and to stand with those who are oppressed.

Sometimes all a person needs to have dignity restored is to have someone stand alongside them and walk next to them. Yes, culturally they may all be cast as the "dirty, rude, thief of a street kid", but that is not their story, and every person, no matter their circumstances, deserves recognition of their value and worth.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I saw something I will never forget. We had just started program when a boy came sprinting out of the slum, shirt torn almost off his body. We heard shouting coming from behind the building, and suddenly eight grown men, mechanics, came out carrying large sticks and metal pipes, shouting at this boy in Luganda. Then things started unravelling. Some of the mothers from the slum shouted at the men, the men shouted back, and the uncles from Hope Street sprang up from the grass where they were sitting and ran over to intervene. This went on for ten minutes, dissipating just before I thought a fight may erupt.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with these men coming back and forth, complaining in Luganda about something I wasn't made privy to until much later in the day. You see, earlier that morning a different group had been meeting, and had sent a soccer ball flying over the fence and down into the mechanic's shop. When they went to retrieve it, the kids who were there started fighting with the mechanics, and stole their phones before running away. When Hope Street arrived, the child who had been beaten up and chased from down in the slum was one of the boys from the program, not one who had been a part of the stealing, but just around the vicinity of the shop. The mechanics tried to kill him, and would have succeeded had the uncles from Hope Street not stepped in to calm the situation down and do a little rough justice to get the men to not hurt this boy.

Yesterday I realized just how untamed this place I work is. No, at no point did I feel in danger or that my life was at risk, but I am definitely not "safe" and "comfortable". But I don't think being obedient to God ever is. Once you say "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, Let me walk upon the waters, Wherever You have called me", your life is no longer your own, but His. And yes, some days I wish I could be comfortable, but I think there is far more danger in that than there is in the untamed life that obedience can bring.

I am living life alongside youth who may not even eat one meal a day, who are constantly beat up and stolen from and sleep under the elements at night. They are told by most that they are worthless, and futureless. But the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Teaching art, encouraging their talent, laughing at their silliness and challenging them to live better is serving. I see Jesus in these small acts of love and defiance that I take part in every day. I see Jesus in these faces, and I see His goodness and faithfulness and mercy in every testimony I hear from them.

"Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Saviour"

-Holly.

 PS- can you find me in this picture?