"JUST TAKE THE FLIPPIN' WATER!"

Sadly, when surrounded by poverty daily, your eyes become accustomed to the pain. Not that my heart does not sink every time I walk the streets of Kampala, because it does… but somehow poverty has begun to seem normal. It seems like just another way of life.

This definitely is the case during streets programs. I remember the tears that flowed two years ago when I attended my first street program. I remember the shocking realization that children ACTUALLY slept on the streets at night. Now, I have completely wrapped my head around it. I am no longer in disbelief… because daily I see it happen.

Though it seems normal, just last week I was reminded that, in fact, it is not “normal.” In the middle of leading bible study, in walked a little boy wearing nothing but a t-shirt. Street children surround me on a daily basis, but never have I seen a child without pants. I thought to myself, “maybe they are somewhere drying.” My mind began spinning thinking about what possible reason this child would have for not wearing pants while my mind refused to believe he did not own any. When approaching a Ugandan staff member about it, he too assumed the boy must have pants and just was not wearing them. After some simple investigation at the end of the program, he found out this boy in fact did not have any. Can you even imagine… no pants?

When this boy was told he would have pants bought for him, he said, “they sell them in the morning at the market, I will wait till tomorrow.” You may assume by this statement that pants are only sold in the mornings in Africa – but that is not the case. They are however sold at a cheaper price in the morning. So, yes… this child without pants who was offered pants, offered to wait till they were sold cheaper.

Directly after street programs, I was walking down the street and met a woman who said to me, “Give me a cold water.” “Excuse me,” I said, assuming I heard her wrong. “Give me a cold soda,” she once again said. I did not have a cold soda, but did however have warm water. I kindly went to hand it to her, to which she responded, “no, I want a cold soda.” I explained to her that I did not have it but did have water to offer to her. Just when I thought I could not have been baffled enough, she said, “Give me money for a cold soda.” Maybe it was because she specified that the soda needed to be cold, maybe it was because she demanded rather than asked, or maybe it was because she did not want the water I offered, but my response was to become angry. “JUST TAKE THE FLIPPIN’ WATER,” I thought!

I walked away confused wishing the woman I had just encountered could have a heart like the little boy without pants. I wished she would be grateful for what she was offered rather than thinking she was owed something more. I wish she knew that water was good for her and would sustain her, yet soda was not. I wish she had been content to go without like the little boy was.

Soon after I had an epiphany. Was I like the boy without the pants or like the woman demanding soda? I think, I am like the woman demanding soda, unfortunately.

How often do you think God looks at us and thinks, “JUST TAKE THE FLIPPIN’ WATER!” I think very often. As he continues to give, we continue to ask for more.  Not only that, but we demand our soda to be cold. We tell God what we want, how we want it, and we think we are owed it. He tries to give us what is good for us, like water, and yet we think we know what is best for us.

How often do you think God looks at us and see us as the little boy without pants? How often are we content with what we have, asking for nothing? I think not very often.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

May we live a life that exemplifies that we believe that: He will never leave us nor forsake us… whether that be in pants or not.

Whatever life situation you may face today. Whatever hand of cards you are given. Whatever things in life you feel you are lacking. Whatever gifts from God you are undeservingly given. Remember:

“JUST TAKE THE FLIPPIN’ WATER!”

God knows what He is doing. Be thankful for it. He will never leave you nor forsake you. God has given Himself, and that is all we need.

Xoxo,

Jordan

She Cost Less Than My Salad

We asked, "How do you know she is a prostitute?" The man responded,  "She just propositioned herself to me." So off we went - to encourage a group of prostitutes.

It was my first street outreach since I moved to Uganda, and there I was standing in the middle of the red light district at 11 at night, along with four other girls and one (big and tough) guy.

Unable to understand, I stood and listened as two women explained explicitly what their "job" entailed and the harsh way they are treated while simultaneously spreading their legs open and shut, provocatively.

At this time, a group of men walked past with lustful eyes. It was then that one of the very young girls stood up and walked over to this group of men. I did not need to understand the language to know that she was selling herself to them. She attempted to sell herself for 5,000 shillings, which is equivalent to less than two dollars. All the men responded, "that is too high."

Many times during this short conversation, both women took turns walking away to sell themselves. The response was the same every single time; "that is too much money."

I left that night overwhelmed with hurt. Yes, I knew that women prostituted themselves, but seeing it occur made it real.

The next day I had lunch with one of the girls who also participated in this street outreach. We were eating at a western place where we were overjoyed to order a salad. It is crazy how much joy eating something familiar brings. It was during this joy that my friend looked up and said, "our salads cost more than they did," and my heart sank.

Isn't that mind blowing? How is it possible I consumed one meal that was worth more than the price of a young girl. How is it possible, that one meal cost three times more than the cost that girl was told she wasn't worth. How is it possible, that there are girls that think they should be sold.

The sad fact is that the average prostitute goes for 25 cents in the slums of Kampala.

As much as I hope you never have to watch a young girl sell herself, it was actually seeing it happen that opened my eyes to the reality of it all.

Let your eyes be opened that women like these are all around you. They aren't just in Africa. The truth is, there are a LOT of woman like these in your city wherever you may reside.

I pray we all will be motivated to pray and even act in such a way that these women know that they are worth so much more, that they know they have already been bought at a very high price, and that their eyes be opened and they see the Gospel and price paid on the cross.


"But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?" - Romans 10:14

"For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:20

{THANKFULNESS}

I came to Kampala with the intentions of serving others. I came to Kampala to help teach the character of God to the people of this city. What I didn't know is that the people in this city would be teaching me the many ways my life was lacking characteristics of God. This has compelled me to post several blog entries that will hopefully help you reflect on whether your life possesses these characteristics that I have been missing. Previously mentioned was servanthood. 

THANKFULNESS: 

Growing up, I learned how to be thankful in Sunday School class. I remember that many of my childhood friends even had songs that they sung before dinner and before bed that helped them remember what it was for which they were to be thankful. I distinctly remember teachers asking, "what are you thankful for?" The stereotypical answers always followed: "I am thankful for my family." "I am thankful for a roof over my head." "I am thankful for food to eat." 

While, yes, I should have been thankful for these things, and still should be, the question remains: would I possess the characteristic of thankfulness if these stereotypical things were not things I was able to give thanks for? Would I possess the characteristic of thankfulness if I did not have a family, a roof over my head, or food to eat? 

Here in Kampala, Uganda I have met many who do possess this characteristic, and most of them are under the age of ten. 

My revelation that I had much to learn started in street programs on one Tuesday morning. During that time, I have the joy of worshiping with a bunch of boys and leading them in a Bible study. All of these boys slept on the street the previous night. All of these boys call the streets their homes. This particular Tuesday our director asked the boys if they had anything to praise God for. Many of them quickly responded (with no incentive for doing so). 

The first little boy said, "I praise God for life." Wow. I am not sure if I have ever thanked God for that. These boys’ lives are severely threatened on a daily basis. Nights are hard and dangerous, and coming through a night alive is something to praise God for. 

The next little boy said, "I praise God for a meal." Wow. A meal. Not food to eat, because food is never promised. These boys might get one meal a day or they might not. They are most definitely not promised three meals a day. They aren't even promised one meal a day. Am I really thankful for the food I am provided, or do I think it is owed to me? Do I truly understand what a blessing it is that I have the means to eat whenever I am hungry? 

The following Saturday I spent the day in the village where our boys’

homes are. Three boys and I went on a long walk, which led to us climbing a mountain/hill (in a maxi shirt and flip-flops I might add). The two hour long hike was tiring and all, but I wasn't really worried about my safety or wellbeing. Likewise, I wasn't thinking about how awesome it was that I was on top of a beautiful mountain in Uganda with three awesome boys who God rescued from the streets. 

The following day in church, the pastor asked if anyone had anything to praise God for. Similar to my Tuesday experience, many boys (and a few adults) quickly responded. One of the boys was Henry (one of the three that joined me on the hike). He gave praise to God that I went on a walk with them and he praised God for letting us return safely. At that moment, I felt as if a ton of bricks fell on me. Why had I not thought to thank God for time with those boys? Why had I not thought to thank God for helping me return safely? 

This is thankfulness. It isn't praising God when your life situation is how you want it to be. It isn't praising God when you have all the "things" that you want. It isn't praising God when you don't have anything to grumble about. It isn't praising God when you get around to it. It isn't praising God for a list of things on a checklist.  It is praising God everyday, for everything, and in every season. 

I am thankful for the example of thankfulness, not just in these boys, but in Jesus Himself. He was fully God, who made himself human and came down to earth to selflessly serve His people and humbly thanked his Father. He gave thanks for basic, simple, and often inadequate resources, not out of fear and insecurity but out of knowing who He is, having confidence in relationship with the Father. 

If Jesus himself took time to praise God, then we should as well. If small street children under the age of ten take time to praise God, what excuse do we have? 

So, think about it again. Think about it hard. Do you posses the characteristic of thankfulness? 

xoxo, 

Jordan 

Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd. Matthew 15:36

“At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.” Matthew 11:25

“Jesus responded, ‘Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.’” John 11:40-42