Safely in London

I am now in London enjoying some time with my teammate Christine and trying to keep ourselves entertained before we board our flight to Uganda. Still got 3 more hours to kill. My flight from Seattle to London was great. I even had a whole row to myself and was able to lay across the seats. The best sleep I have ever had on a plane. I would like to ask though that you pray for my luggage. Two of my trunks did not have a good place for the tracking tag and so the person who checked me in had to create a loop with zip ties and so I am a little nervous about the tags falling off and my luggage getting lost. So please pray that they arrive. Thank you for your continued prayers for my travels. I am happy to report that I am half way there! It has now really set in that I will be back in Uganda tomorrow.

Leavin on a Jet Plane

The time has finally come for me to head back to e. Africa and start a new season of life in Mundri, s. Sudan. The last four weeks have flown by and even though I am getting on a plane tonight, it still hasn't quite set in that I am leaving. I am so thankful for God's perfect timing and how He has brought all the details together. I am feeling mixed emotions as I think about leaving. I am of course sad to leave the Seattle area and all my friends and family here, but I am also very excited about what lies ahead for me in Mundri. Thank you all for your prayers, especially in the last year as I raised support and waited for it all the come in. God is GOOD!
I will try my best to keep my blog update.

The Rescue

This last Tuesday I saw a showing of the most recent documentary put out by Invisible Children. Invisible Children is an organization that was developed by 3 young guys who came across the "night comuters" (Children who leave their home each day and walk to the nearest town to sleep because of fear of being abducted by rebels) in northern Uganda. They put together a very impactful documentary title Invisible Children following the lives of some of the night commuters. Through this documentary they are trying to make the world aware of how this one rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army is affecting the lives of so many. The most recent documentary The Rescue is about the peace talks that the governments of Uganda, Congo, and s. Sudan are trying to have with LRA leader Joseph Kony and how at this point they are failing. I wanted to make you all aware of an event coming up Saturday April 25th. Many will be gathering in 100 different cities around the world. Invisible Children is asking all to abduct themselves and meet at designated "abducted sites", then you will march to the "LRA camp", and once arriving at the camp you will stay until rescued. This sounds like an amazing event that will allow many to unite and fight together for the many innocent lives that have been affected by the LRA. No longer is the rebel group abducting and killing in northern Uganda, but have now moved onto both Congo and s. Sudan. If you would like to know more please visit www.invisiblechildren.com You can watch their most recent documentary on their website. Please also pass this along to your friends and family and let's keep praying that Joseph Kony is brought to justice and those that have been abducted are set free.

Hopeful Anticipation

I apologize for my silence in the last month. I feel like part of it was because I was really at a loss for what to share as I continue to take one day at a time focusing what is right at hand, trusting in the Lord, and waiting on Him. As various things continue to unfold I can’t help but be in awe of the ways that my heavenly Father surprises me and assures me that He is faithful and true and that His timing is perfect. On Thursday morning I opened my devotional book and broke down because it was exactly what my heart needed to hear and so I would like to share it with you now:

“Waiting on Me means directing your attention to Me in hopeful anticipation of what I will do. It entails trusting me with every fiber of your being, instead of trying to figure things out for yourself. Waiting on Me is the way I designed you to live, all day, every day. I created you to stay conscious of Me as you go about your daily duties.
I have promised many blessings to those who wait on Me; renewed strength, living above one’s circumstances, resurgence of hope, awareness of My continual presence. Waiting on Me enables you to glorify Me by living in deep dependence on Me, ready to do My will. It also helps you to enjoy Me; in My Presence is fullness of Joy.” (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

I have been in a clear season of waiting and of course the waiting is not over. But as far as waiting for my Sudan departure, the Lord is faithful and is revealing to me that my waiting period is soon to be over. I am at 97% monthly support and already have been blown away at how the Lord as provided so quickly in the last couple of days. I can only be thankful for this waiting season, although difficult; it has caused me to truly live in deep dependence on the Lord and step forward solely on faith. I now continue to move forward with hopeful anticipation of what the Lord will continue to do.

Trust and Thankfulness

“Trust and thankfulness will get you safely through this day. Trust protects you from worrying and obsessing. Thankfulness keeps you from criticizing and complaining, those sister sins that so easily entangle you. Keeping your eyes on Me is the same thing as trusting Me. It is a free choice that you must make thousands of times daily. The more you choose to trust Me, the easier it becomes. Thought patterns of trust become etched into your brain. Relegate troubles to the periphery of your mind, so that I can be central in your thoughts. Thus you focus on Me, entrusting your concerns into My care.”
(Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

What does it mean to truly trust and be thankful? It is easy to trust when things are falling into place exactly how I imagined it would. It is easy to be thankful for the things that bring bliss and freedom. But when there is pain and uncertainty the ease shifts to fear and worry. In the last week or so the Lord has been showing me that trust is a choice and not just a onetime occurrence. Trust is a constant surrendering of the circumstances both good and bad. The Lord has also been challenging me in the area of thankfulness, asking me, “Why Kim do you only thank me when things are turning out how you want them to? When your support comes in? When things go smoothly?” Ouch. He has opened my eyes and heart to allow me to see that really I need to be more thankful for the hard times than the smooth times. Because it is through the difficult times that there is no possible way I can rely on my own strength. It is through the uncertainty that I am drawn closer to my maker the author and perfector of all things, who knows all things, and uses all things for my good and His glory. So I write this blog entry today with a trusting and thankful heart, full of faith, believing that my heavenly Father is going to draw me closer to Himself through each moment of each day no matter what it holds. I write this blog entry with a greater hunger and desire to walk in the light of HIS presence and rejoice in HIS name all day long.

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.” Psalm 89:15-17

Heat and Hunger Bring Strength and Satisfaction

A couple of months ago I bought a new bike to take with me to southern Sudan. Up until today the tags were still on, the seat was still in the lowest position, and the tires did not have one speck of dirt on them. But now I live really close to the Green River Trial and have no more excuses. I also felt the Lord urging me to come and take a ride with Him, to the peaceful waters, quiet my mind and listen to Him. So with that I put on my warm clothes, my helmet of course, and was off.
The Lord never ceases to surprise me. He always knows exactly what I need to hear and leads my heart in the direction it needs to go. While I was riding two passages came to mind:

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Here I am about to leave the land of plenty and head to a sun scorched land. The Lord challenged me today to think and pray about what is and will keep me from being like a tree planted by the water? As I think about leaving the life I have grown used to in Seattle, it does not scare me to leave the luxuries of this place such as plumbing, 24 hour everything, comfortable homes, technology galore, etc. these things I am very willing to sacrifice. It is the relationships that I leave behind that are not as easy to hand over and trust the Lord to sustain. But through these verses the Lord continues to remind me that I need to have confidence in Him and even though at times I will feel the burns of the sun scorched land or the hunger pains in the seasons of drought, I do not need to worry as long as my roots are firmly planted in Jesus Christ, the stream that never runs dry, and who enables me to be a well watered garden.

Pleasantly Surprised

One of the many unexptected blessings


“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

The Lord continues to show me how true this is. That if I am truly being obedient and loving Him with all my heart all things are worked out for my good and His glory. The other surprising thing, which really should not be surprising but is, is that everything worked out for my good continues to exceed my expectations. Even though I expected to be back in east Africa at this time, the Lord continues to show me that He has better things planned for me than I have planned for myself. He continues to pour one blessing after another into my life to show me that it is not either or, but that He delights in giving me all the desires of my heart. He continues to increase my greatest desire which is drawing me closer to Himself as I continue to step out and trust in Him and where He is leading.