good ending to a long week

You could feel the exhaustion from all teammates when we sat in the round room at the Stevens' house tonight. We have all worked hard this week. When the phone rang at 7 am and teammate Jessica reported that the premature babies and their mothers were locked in the small room in the peds ward and no one had the key, then you know the day is going to be a doozy! Handyman Travis was able to use a hammer and screwdriver to open the door and rescue the trapped families who had been receiving food and water through the now-cut screened and barred windows. Sometimes, all we can do is laugh at the things we find ourselves doing.

Sickness has visited our team. All of my crew was wiped out on Wednesday with various ailments, necessitating a sign on our door that said "Sick here. Come Tomorrow. Webele". Two other teammates are battling a nasty g.i. bug. And it seems there has been an official declaration of a cholera outbreak in this area. This comes on the heals of a measles outbreak. (Note: our teammates do not have cholera, but have a virus).

In the midst of the absurd and the difficult, it is good to gather to discuss why we are here. In our conversation about John Piper's book "Holy Ambition" we read that missions is "about the worship of Jesus and the joy of all peoples"(p32). He desires worshippers from every nation and that includes from our little valley shadowed by the tall Rwenzoris and bound by the Lamia Congo River. So, we thank him for a full week. We enjoy our evening together filled with good discussion, pizzas made in the rain,   real salads from lettuce grown by friends in Fort Portal, and even a silly animated film.

And we press on. Because He is here and is calling worshippers from all peoples to Himself.