6 Tips on How to Avoid Ministry Burnout



Laughter is the best medicine. "Secca" meaning laugh

Sitting down to write a blog is one of the hardest things to get started on. I know that if I get started and I hear the tapping of the keys I won’t want to stop. It will become just another rambling of what has been going on- which I do want to share with you what is going on. I also want purpose. I want to have some big truth or experience God has allowed in my life. When there is so much going on it is hard to sit down and write about these things. But I promise to be disciplined in this post and do my best to share with you all the necessary details and leave the unnecessary out. I cannot even believe that it has been a month since I last wrote on my blog. Like I said I always have good intentions of sharing what’s going on. That is where Facebook comes in handy on the fly quick photo updates- a small window into what my day looks like. Or the best highlight. Seems like I have been running in circles trying to complete the same handful of tasks and missing out on sharing what God is doing in my own life. My dad sent me an email last night giving me a gentle nudge to write a blog and still I felt so reluctant. What is my problem? J



Sandra, my partner in crime, and I starting to dig holes for the mud hut we are building.



This is the original home that is about to cave in on the inside- we are rebuilding a new one. The owners of this home are elderly and we are working alongside the community members to rebuild and empower the community.

 This week has been challenging but our team has found unity through some mild challenges that we have been facing. Ministry is a funny thing: If used for the right reasons with the right heart it can encourage you and help grow your relationship with God but if not it can eat you up alive if you are not careful.




Sweet and sassy Joshua. This boy has my heart. <3

Last Saturday we dropped Porsche off at the airport and I said goodbye for a couple of weeks to one of my biggest encouragers here on ground. I knew with her leaving the devil was going to use everything he could to distract me and think I had a bad week. But looking back I can honestly say this week was a good week.

Betty and her brother Innocent in Zirobwe village.

All of “my” kids are now going to good school and becoming educated in places where they will be challenged but also have opportunities to be bold in their faith. It is always hard for me to say goodbye to them, but I know they are going to have incredible opportunities because of the education they are getting. I feel like they are all spread out all over the country. In every different direction so it Is not even like I can catch up with them on a regular basis I have to wait for their specific visiting day and make sure that I am within the right time limits and bring them gifts and things that are within the guidelines the boarding school has set. Most kids in Secondary schools go to a boarding school so they can have a more focused education.

I have said this multiple times without the realization of how true it is. The Lord has blessed me with such a tender heart towards children and has given me a motherly love. Many times these kids will tell me that I am practically like their mom because I challenge them and encourage them in ways that their own mother never would. It is a blessing and a curse. I have so much more respect for my own mother now and know what it feels like to be “the bad guy”

Empowered Leaders Academy (our school in the village) enjoying some praise and worship on Wednesday afternoon.

This week we went through Psalm 136 and read about all of the challenges that Moses went through- good and bad- and how God everlasting steadfast love remained constant. Steadfast. It is the word that keeps coming up in our family dynamic in Uganda and in Port Orchard. We got to put this steadfast love into action this week by doing dishes, cooking, and fetching water for one of the women in the village who was sick with malaria. Little did we know that was what God had intended for our team.

Sandra and I cooking a matooke. They may look like bananas, but they are most definitely not. They leave a sticky residue on your hands and you have to scrub them with a grocery bag and soap. Learning how to cook like a Ugandan everyday.  

Last week we had a young pastor’s daughter accept Christ into her life after listening to a message about hope from our team. What a cool experience it was to be a part of that follow-up and tell her parents about the decision she had made to surrender her life to Christ.   

These are just a few of the highlights from the week. If I were to write them all they would exceed the word limit on this blog and you would be exhausted emotionally and mentally….I know I am just trying to think of them.



 

I know I have said this before but being here full time has its challenges. In my job here- I am constantly learning new things about the culture and I am mediating the in between for both sides of volunteers and staff. I am not alone in this. But sometimes I can feel completely alone here. How weird is that?

I have been reading the book ‘The Best Yes’ by Lysa T. and she says, “A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul”

I love the truth in this.



Primary school New Brainstorm listening to one of the inter-

national staff sharing about faith and life and how it applies to their lives.

Sometimes I really struggle with the ability to say No! to the tasks that are at hand and it always results in feeling like I am completely overwhelmed in my scheduling. I don’t have time to go to a program I used to go to or I am fighting with every deadline. I want to give every yes my best and follow through. I also want to be seeking God wholeheartedly with him at the focus and spend my days in worship rather than stress. Having an overwhelmed schedule almost always leads to burnout.

Burnout; what is it? Where does it come from?  

                Often times for me it comes when I am irritable, when I have a lack of enthusiasm, loss of confidence, feeling of mistreatment, and just no energy.

How do you avoid burnout in ministry and how does scripture help?

1.      Completely depend on God: Our dependency on God is fully up to our responsibility. We need to be seeking him first in all situations. In every season. We can’t find contentment in anything by ourselves- they come from God alone.

Hebrews 13:5-6 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.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

 

2.      Learn to say no: Sometimes you need to say no. You cannot give yourself to every project, every after school activity, and every small group. It is absolutely impossible to accomplish. Don’t even try. God can use us best when we are giving all of ourselves to fewer things.

Psalm 34:17-20 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

 

3.      Exercise, eat right, and get some sleep: I seriously think people do not understand the simple importance of these three areas. If you can get these under control you will be smooth sailing. You won’t need that Venti vanilla Chai tea latte (You have no idea how good that sounds right now) to get your day going. With the right balance your body will release natural endorphins to make you a happier person. If you know me well enough- you know that I need all three of these things.

 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

 

4.      Balance work and your personal life: You need to find areas outside of work (Especially if you are involved in ministry) to have fellowship. To connect with people and just act like a normal person. Cultivate and have deep intentional relationships with people in and out of work. If your work friends are your ministry friends- find a way to separate your conversation. Set up strict guardrails to protect you from getting into a routine of only work. It is so much easier said than done.

 

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

 

5.      Create time to get away: Spend time and money on yourself every once in a while. Take time to be refreshed and do spend time with your family. Be intentional with this time and use it to rededicate specific areas of your life in prayer. Search scripture for the things that are overwhelming you and spend time in complete silence and wait for the Lord.

 

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 

6.      Have fun: It is so important to remember to keep Christ the center of every activity. Ministry is fun. Really fun.

 

James 4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

These are just a few important tips to help keep from burning out and if you are not careful you will get burned. Find ways to be used by God, even when you are tired. Even when it feels like you are not useful God can still take an un-extraordinary person and do something extraordinary with them.  He sure has with me.

My partners in crime from left to right: Kelly, me, Lydia, Jeremy, and Robbie

Joy, Joy, Joy, and Mud

This week there has been so much going on in the village of Zirobwe even though we only head out there from Tuesday to Thursday I feel like it’s a lifetime- except by the time Thursday gets here I am reluctant to get into the car to leave. I cannot wait until the guesthouse is completed and we are able to stay out there long term.

Tuesday evening was filled with some personal ministry. Connecting with individual families and community members. It was a little bit rainy in town during the day I was even able to pull my flannel out and wear it during the day but when we arrived to the village the scorching sun has been so crazy recently. The community is having a hard time planting anything. We walked through the Empower a Child property as the sun was going down as a couple small children trailed behind me holding my hands.  We stumbled across pastor Paul’s small onion garden and the onions had been completely choked by the sunshine. There is no escape from the heat which means the harvest is going to be bad this season and no income, means no school fees or food for families.

 

 

As we had devotions as a team we came across a question that we weren’t really sure how to answer: How do we Empower this community to trust God with finances and realize we as international volunteers, and even the people in Kampala have to exercise in every season of our lives. As of right now community members are having a hard time in believing that we all have struggles and some of them are very similar to their struggles. Namely financial provision- As many of you know I have to completely rely on God for that. There is nothing in my own power or strength that can put money into my bank account. It is by the Grace of God alone. I put in a lot of knee work on this side and trust God wholeheartedly to provide.

Wednesday we led devotions for the nursery section and this week some of the upper classes joined us as they were feeling a little left out from all the fun. It is so fun to keep up with all the friendships there, as I am slowly learning the language my relationships continue to grow deeper. I feel like I meet a new kid everyday or I hear my name be yelled by someone from a mile away and I have not a clue as to who or where I am waving back to most times I keep walking and just wave from where I am at. We shared the story of Zacchaeus and just the impact the Jesus had on that man’s life. We led a skit and showed them how to surrender all to God. While most of these kids stand there and pick their noses or just cry. They are still learning and being impacted at a young age of such incredible Godly wisdom. And the coolest part about it is…they remember everything.

We spent the morning taking inventory of all things EAC and marked/ numbered all the chairs. The people in the community showed up to help tidy up all the chairs and go through and wash them all. At one point I had a baby on my hip and I was walking around bare footed in the loud people filled church..AND I WAS STACKING CHAIRS. I chuckled a bit because as a pastors kid the amount of times I have stacked chairs is totally beyond anything I could count. I am so thankful that God has sent me to the exact place where I can do the same thing that I do at home and have a huge impact in both places. I am such a blessed girl and I know that is such a cliché saying but how can you explain it any better?! Its joy. Pure joy. My Ugandan Dad Lukka was in the church helping, he is always around without fail walked by and I had my camera with me. He always calls me his daughter and asks how I am doing- he wanted a photo with me I turned it around to show it to him and his face lit up as he just laughed. That man is a blessing to so many.

 

In the afternoon we performed another skit over at the school. We took a break from fixing desks to just spend some quality spiritual time with our older kids at the primary school. We call it Scripture Union. It is a lunch time bible study where our school choir leads us in some praise and worship while one of our team members shares a brief testimony and a message from what God is doing in their own lives. This week we shared about the prodigal son. Sometimes just being silly and having fun and teaching in a different way can lighten up the mood of a long school day while still making relationships, choosing joy, and loving others.  
 

 
 

 

 
 
 

 

I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine, this is Geoffrey. He is one of the sweetest and most respectful boys I have ever met. He is always checking in with us to make sure we are ok. This week he brought a pineapple to me because he overheard someone tell him it is my favorite fruit. He is trying to make friends because I was also told that he has been sharing his pineapple wealth with other people on the team. Geoffrey has lost both of his parents and stays with an auntie quite a distance from the school. He has two brothers and a sister. He needs a sponsor; he had to drop out of school for a couple years to work and save money. At the moment he is paying for school fees by selling pineapples that he has gardened himself. This term he saved enough money to come to school and sit in his P.7 exams which is so vital. Next year he will attend high school. I think he is 17 years old. So he is quite a few years behind the rest of the kids his age and is one of the oldest kids at our school. If you or someone you know is interested in sponsorship please please let me know! There are so many kids who are in need of just $35/ month. I also met a girl this week whose name is Marisa- Her and her mother were chased from their village because all of the people in the village thought she was a witch. They had a good standing home, 20 goats, and several cows all destroyed because of some village gossip. She too is getting ready to go into P.7 but has nothing but the clothes on her back at this point. Porsche and I have pooled together some money to pay for the first term but in order for her to be able to pass her P.7 exams she is going to need your support. If you are interested email me: shannengrace26@gmail.com

 

Thursday we worked on another wall of the school kitchen. It is a long process of getting a pile of dirt and some water and playing in the mud and every once in a while throwing some onto the wall in order to let the sunshine harden it. It is amazing that they have all the resources they need right in their hands. As you can imagine there is not much homelessness in a village here in Uganda. Our team spent the morning playing in the mud and just fellowshipping with our school cooks while having the coolest mud fight I had ever been a part of. So thankful for this sweet family of mine.

  
 
 
 

Waiting in lines and God's timing

We just pulled into the driveway from three days in paradise.

I am going to try to put it into words, as simple as I can. The week I just experienced in the village was so God given and spirit filled that I feel like I am ready to take on the world. Although I cannot explain fully I will do what I can. I want to just say from the get go that it might be a bit of a ramble. My feet are dirty and my hair is frizzy and standing up from my head. The stink that is coming from me would make mother cry. My feet are cracked and covered in so much mud there it is quite possible there is a handful of jiggers in between my toes. But… my heart is FULL, my bones are no longer dry, and my God is so faithful. 

This week started out a little hectic as I am still trying to get a visa from the immigration office. Uganda is trying to seem as if it is all put together but many times their bark is much bigger than their bite (which is so great for me). Porsche and I both have expired visas and we are trying to transfer from tourist visas to work visas and it has been almost as bad as pulling teeth (after current events in Porsches life she may beg to differ on that brief analogy). We have spent the last two weeks jumping through hoops trying to get a special pass while we wait for the NGO board to accept our work permit application. They told us they don’t allow visitors to change the status on their visa while they are in the country. I sat there and nearly begged the immigration lady to let me be an exception, because as many of you know that I just was home for a whole month. I don’t mind having to leave the country I just don’t want to travel over 48 hours through airports anytime soon! She let us by this time by the grace of God,  but then told us we needed to go to a local DTB (like Key Bank or Bank of America). Porsche and I set off on Monday to get everything finished up. We got to the local DTB and stood in a long line for 25 minutes when we got to the teller he told us we needed to go to customer service. So we stood in the customer service line waiting to be helped only to find out that we needed to go to the DTB Head office in downtown Kampala. We stopped by the local grocery store to see our friend and pick up some soda and chips because we had a feeling it was going to be a long day. We hopped on a Boda and headed downtown to the Head branch to which we found a nice air conditioned building with a line of people so we stood in yet another line and waited our turn…again. Only to find out we needed to walk down the street to a different branch to see the right people. We walked down the street and walked into one of the most hot, stinky, African filled rooms that I had ever seen. Disorganization everywhere. Lines coming from every different direction. I didn’t even know where to start. I finally cut everyone in the line and walked up to a counter and asked for help. We were very much so out of place and were the only other Mzungus in a five mile radius. From here we had to stand in a series of lines, answer a few questions, and pay the most ridiculous exchange rate I had ever heard of. A feeling of defeat was coming closer. We hopped on another boda and at that point we were both broke because we didn’t realize how much this special pass was going to cost us. We had US Dollars because that is what we were told to pay in when in fact it was actually Ugandan shillings we were to pay in. So after that we headed to the immigration office. We of course found the offices closed because they were on lunch break. We looked at each other…and just bursted out laughing. Porsche even told me a story as we were heading into the offices (Which are all outside courtyards covered in rocks and dirt. Very informal.) that someone we knew had given their passport to these very same internal affairs offices and they lost it! Only one of my biggest fears. We waited another 45 minutes and ate some Pringles and Mtn. Dew. Once we got up to the window in which several people cut in front of us, the lady spoke not one word to us. Took our passports and had a very unhappy face. She stamped it, threw it on the floor, gave us a receipt and expected us to walk away having knowledge as to why she just threw our passports on the floor and did not stamp it and give it back. She said come back in one week.

With our identity literally sitting in the dirt we walked away in disbelief and just laughed out loud again.   

 

Tuesday was a much better day.

Jackie- my older sponsored kid came by the office because the school chased her away because her school fees have not been paid and it is only the third week of school. Oh! AND I forgot to tell you that Tonny’s little brother Kenneth just moved in with us. Everytime he laughs it brings back so many memories and it feels like a piece of him is here. We sat in the office (Jackie, Kenneth, and I) and we were just catching up on life and I asked them if they could be any animal what animals would they want to be and why? Kind of a difficult question. But their answers surprised me. Jackie would want to be a cow because they are timid and shy and just care free, easy animals that don’t stress anybody too much. What a modest answer from one of the most humble young women I have ever met. She challenges me to be a better person every day of my life, and she doesn’t even know the impact she has on me.  Kenneth is a very shy and quiet kid he told me he would want to be a lion because he wants to be fearless. Coming from a boy who has pretty much lost everything my heart broke but also built up so much confidence for him. I was blown away by his response and totally excited that those were the thoughts he had. Wanting to be fearless.

We headed to the village just after a lunch of rice and peas. We packed the van and we were all ready to head out into the bush and leave all responsibility and office work behind. Sometimes I feel like office work gets in the way of ministry. I am thankful for unplugging and disengaging that side of my brain when we get out to the village. Always a good balance. I can honestly say I didn’t think about my visa or my passport while we were out there. Tuesday night was filled with some personal ministry. Time for us to go out into the community and spend time with our favorite families. To just invest in lives and grow the community. I spent the evening with one of the new comer kiddos to the village and just asked him questions about his life, faith, and family. Both of his parents passed away. He has two older siblings that live in the city area but he chose to move in with his jaja (Grandmother) because she called and told him that white people live in the village with her! J To this I laughed but was taken back at the same time that a young man would give up a life of comfort just to stay near people “like us” like we are something different. Something special. We are not. Not realizing that we are the ones that benefit, we are the ones that are blessed by him being here.  

Wednesday we led devotions for the nursery section of Empowered Leaders Academy (ELA) and performed a skit of Joseph. We went on to organize class rooms, and split up into different groups. Some people repaired desks, while others chopped wood, and then I helped with organizing the media center. Getting term 2 and 3 teacher guides and exams all put in a filing cabinet. It is so challenging when you don’t have all the access to the normal office supplies that you really have to get creative. I love working on stuff like that so the time passed so quickly. After lunch we lead devotions for all of the upper primary classes and had a complete praise rally. I almost feel like a big sister to all of these kids. I stand at the door and as they walk in and I know most of them by name and they ask me in Luganda how my day is, or what I am doing, or that I can’t dance. I am so protective of them. They each bring out something so different in me and God has blessed me so much by having them in my life. One of the kids asked if I would sit with them during our scripture union and saved me a seat. He chose to sit smack dab in the middle of all the craziness. Amidst two hundred kids is where he chose to sit. I squeezed my way through after greeting all the kids and found my seat- but it wasn’t long until I was up again singing and dancing for the praise and worship. As the choir danced, so would I. Such a huge sense of community fell on me while we were singing. After scripture union the sun was up and it was HOT! So it was nap time for most people but it was too hot inside the church and we all want to take advantage of spending time with our loved ones in the village so it really turns into personal ministry time again. I was hanging out with Alex, and one of our good friends Sande- who is supposed to be heading to school fell really sick this week and was asking for me. So Alex and I went to see him. But in Uganda everything has to be done with a purpose and you don’t just go somewhere to go somewhere. So we went and fetched some water to bring to Alex’s moms house which was just down the road. All in all it is probably a mile and a half from the church. But with the sun shining in the sky it feels like it is about a 5 mile walk and a billion degrees outside. We put a stick through the top of the jerry can and walked it to the house together. We got to Sandes house and he hobbled out to the mud hut living room and just laid there in pain we spent some time laughing together and just sharing what was going on. Then spent some time in prayer and asking God to heal this boy so he can get to school as it is his first year in high school and he can’t miss any more of it! Like I said you have to have a purpose when traveling to anyones house, That 20 liter Jerry can of water on a hot day was getting very heavy very fast. Sande has a bike. So after we prayed with him we borrowed his bike to carry the water the rest of the way. When we got to mama Alex’s house she was not around because she had went to pick water from the tap. She arrived just about 10 minutes after we got there and she was so excited to see me at her house. When you get to anybodies house they offer you a chair and whatever was the last thing that was cooking. Most people in Zirobwe know how picky I am so they usually don’t offer anything but fruit. They know by now that is what I will eat. On the way back to Sandes house I hopped on the back of the bike and we headed back to the church.

We were prepping for the kitchen for Thursday so as I was sitting at the tap I was struggling because if something is broken in Africa you don’t fix it you just figure out how to use it until it completely breaks. So the tap was slowly leaking water out but we had two empty cans that needed to be filled. So there is a special way you have to wrap a piece of plastic at the bottom of the tap and hold it place just the right way to get a trickle out of the faucet. Since I am just a dumb mzungu everyone just stands there and laughs…until I heard a soft sweet little voice and saw a shadow standing in front of the sunshine that was hitting me. It was Dora, my sweet girl that reminds me so much of my Violet in America. She stood there and didn’t say much but helped me fix it. We played in the stream of water that was pouring out of the bottom and just watch things float down the small ramp. The water just kept flowing. It reminded me of Gods constant ever flowing love for us. Who will stand in the sunshine when it is too much for us to handle.  We walked to her house together and played in the backyard, ate some passion fruit, and just laughed together.

On Thursday we started construction we got to help rebuild the kitchen walls which of course is made out of mud, and of course resulted in a huge mud fight. We sang songs, and just spent time laughing and sharing our adventure together. Some of the boys in the community even came over to help us and spent time giving us tips on how to do manual labor the Ugandan way. This afternoon we had bible study with the local gamblers and after we read scripture we prayed with them individually. I prayed with a young man named Mpita because his eyesight is not well right now, after I prayed with him I explained that I would commit to praying for him every day and when I asked him if he understood (in Luganda) he looked at me with a big grin and just said yes ‘you me girlfriend’… You win some you lose some, but just don’t ever give up hope. We may be getting mocked and teased for the time we spend around that table. It is impacting these men whether they know it or not. Their hearts are being changed one by one. I am excited to be a part of an organization that not only changes the lives of kids but empowers a community.

 

 This is a small window into a week in the village. I can say without a doubt in my mind that as we approach the day of love I cannot imagine being anywhere else in the world to feel this loved. Not only by this community but by you. Thank you for loving me. <3

Genuine Grace

You know those moments in life that take your breath away? No not the ones like you see in the movies. The real moments. The times when you are so blown away by Gods grace, love, and mercy. It is also in those moments when you hit a low point and just feel like the walls are coming crashing down. Walls. Big fat brick walls. Sometimes I think we put up unnecessary walls all in good faith that we are protecting ourselves from being hurt. But sometimes. Those walls become a wedge from being wholly committed into something, into relationships, into community. In our Christian walk we have to take our walls down, put others before ourselves, and be completely vulnerable. Even if it means we get a few bruises along the way.

This week was a hard week. As many of you already know- I grew up in a 24/7 ministry home. Which means a fun night out was visiting someone at the hospital while dad prayed with them (while secretly I went to get a free soda pop out of the deal) or spending weekends at the church making photo copies or stacking chairs. I am pretty sure I have enough “community service hours” to cover the requirements of all the students at South Kitsap High School. We all know I am pretty skilled at these things. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. It has taught me so much about service but also about just being genuine and putting others before yourself…or well MYself. ;)   

This week I was so challenged in so many different areas. Let’s just say I am so excited this week has finally come to an end. The beginning started out great! My birthday- I was awoken to the greatest gifts of a couple throw pillows and a sweet bracelet from Porsche. She even made me a chocolate cake with the number 20 on it. I am so thankful for her she really makes this place feel like home so much more! I was soaked with water and a ground nut sauce…it was war. We spent the day travelling around the city, getting some local juice, and then out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Fang Fang. Sweet and sour chicken for my birthday dinner. So worth it.

As I sat around the table at dinner and people shared their life experiences with me I felt totally blessed. Being the youngest Mzungu around the table is such an honor- I loved looking around and hearing about life and just different opportunities God has given me to be a blessing to others.

We had a combination of mis-communications, lack of planning, and unforeseen bumps in the road this week. The car breaking down and smashing 13 people into a 8 passenger van. It was an adventure to say the least. Even down to the gas station giving us too much fuel and causing a delay in the days events. Not to mention it is so HOT here right now. As I am writing this I am sitting on my bed in shorts and a tank top with the fan blasted and my water that has been in the freezer over night. There is no escape.

I was listening to a sermon by Francis Chan about joy and I was challenged by some of his words.

Do you live with joy? Is that what you are known for?

Philippians 4 talks about rejoicing in the Lord and begins with the women of the church who are fighting and Paul is telling them get a long because there are more important things to be thinking about. The small things that are distracting you from what you are meant to be focusing on. I want to be completely focused on Christ. It is easy to get into a routine and to start pointing fingers or getting upset with all the little details in ministry. God is so gracious to give us relationships with other believers to show us these things and to bring to light all the things that frustrate us. I think yesterday was the most challenging due to the close of a long week. I am so thankful for the challenges and the struggles (only now looking back at them) because they have taught me so much about myself. I want my walls to come down and I want to be back to being open and vulnerable with my faith. I want to be so bold and have courage like David when he Battled Goliath. At the same time I want to have gentleness and confidence like Esther. I want to be challenged like Ruth. I want to be moldable. That is my prayer.

I am a word girl. I really enjoy taken words a part and looking at the true meaning of something. I like to explain things and talk through what I am going through. That is probably why I enjoy the time I get to sit down and write a blog. My word for this blog and for this season I am going through is genuine:

Definition:

possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real.

 

I think my favorite part of the definition is that is adds the opposite word in there. Counterfeit. What a great descriptive word. Our faith should not be a fake version of what scripture has called us to do. I want to be genuine. That’s how I want people to know my name by.

 

 

Synonyms:

§  Absolute

§  Bona fide (Good faith)

§  Certain

§  Honest

§  Legitimate

§  Positive

§  Pure

§  Factual

§  Sound

1 Peter 1:6-9English Standard Version (ESV)

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,  so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”

 

Though I have not seen Him, I love him. I want to be found at the end of a week such as this one we just endured singing praises and giving all the glory to God.

In the belly of the whale

 

Well it has been almost a whole week since returning “home”

I often got the question when I was visiting Washington, Do you miss Uganda? How do you divide your time? How do you leave your family and everything you know for such a long period of time? How do you know it’s what God has called you to do? Aren’t you ever scared?

It was hard to originally leave my family. Hard to be the first child to move away and in a BIG way. Often times feeling like I was almost …separating the family by moving to Africa. It was even harder this last time, for some reason there was just an extra sense of closeness. Maybe it was all those nights getting to be that cool big sister: laying in bed late at night telling jokes, talking about boys, and how hard that test at school was going to be. Or waking up in the morning after my dad had left and crawling in bed with my mom just to share about life and catch her up on what I was going through. Asking advice. And just sharing our hearts. It was the moments when I was spending time with my older brother playing music and singing for countless hours at night in the garage together. Watching my dad come home after a long day at work and just being able to be there in person. And an occasional disagreement here or there.

How could I leave such a supportive family for the other side of the world? Wasn’t I scared? I was giving up yummy warm mom made meals for rice and potatoes, long uninterrupted conversations for choppy in and out Skype calls, and looooong hot showers for a bucket bath. Sure, there are moments where I would give anything to be with my family. During those school awards or holidays. But what I am more scared of. What I am more afraid of missing out on what God has obviously called me to do, to walk away in disobedience to where the Lord has provided for me.

This week Empower A Child was asked to attend an help lead a children’s conference. The theme of the week was ‘Fishers on Safari’. We were asked to lead the kids in the story of Jonah. We acted it out in a skit. The kids loved it. As we acted out I was hit with this idea that often times we are so much like Jonah and we run from what God has called is. My favorite part of the story of is when Jonah realizes what God was teaching him after being taken into the belly of the whale:

2 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. ² He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
³ You hurled me into the depths,
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
    swept over me.
⁴ I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’
⁵ The engulfing waters threatened me,^[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.
⁶ To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.

⁷ “When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
    to your holy temple.

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols
    turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹ But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
    will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

¹⁰ And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Verse 8 is my absolute favorite because it doesn’t need to be re said any different way. It is just how we should read it. I can’t cling to earthly relationships, food, or the comforts of being home. God has loved me so passionately. So much so that He sent his son for me. How could I ignore his calling in my life?

My life should not be lived in the belly of the whale but in the streets of Nineveh!  

It’s easy to feel this way when things are going well but the real test is when I am discouraged or feeling overwhelmed by the business of the office and working/ living in ministry. Walking through the village of Zirobwe after a long month away. I was so challenged to start working towards my goal for 2015. God has called us to have deep intentional relationships with other believers and especially in a ministry organization. To take the extra time to see what God is doing in individuals lives. I want to be so intentional with my relationships this year and see how rewarding it is to invest in lives of others. Take the focus off of me and what God is allowing me to have and rejoice in what God is doing in the lives of those closest to me!

How can you pray for me?

·         I would love to go to school and I am praying about what to major in. I am hoping applying for FAFSA so I can do online classes. I would like to start working towards a communications degree and maybe being a high school counselor. I know I want to work with people.

·         Pray for the women empowerment program with the prostitutes and the street ministry. A budget is being drafted and the Lord is already providing.

·         For the youth in Zirobwe that they would see Godly counsel and follow the Lords leading in their lives.

·         For the EAC team and everything that we are implementing in this new year. For all of the volunteers the ones that are here and those who are preparing to come.

·         For my personal study time. That I will always make time for that quiet time with God.

·         For Jackie (16) and Dora (7) my sponsored kiddos to see an example of Christ in me and that I will be able to mentor them with so much of God’s love. <3

 

Thank you for your continued support!

 

If you would like to send me snail mail or a care package with some of my favorite snacks I would be forever grateful and I am sure the Lord will give you extra blessings. Things like peanut butter m&ms, peanut butter crackers, chocolate covered raisins, fruit snacks, hot chocolate with marshmallows, hand written letters, and anything else.  J

Shannen Kennedy

c/o Empower A Child

P.O. Box 33273

Kampala, Uganda