Psalm 81 : Protector

"He said 'I removed the burden from (Melissa's) shoulders; (her) hands were set free from the basket. In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud...." -Psalm 81:6-7

I am just amazed that the Lord put Ecclesiastes 4 on my heart earlier in the week, for last night, 2 were truly better than 1. "...two can defend themselves...." For the past 3 nights, I have not been able to fall asleep until about 4am. No, it is not from the time change or jet lag or whatever one may call it. I have just truly been prevented from sleeping. And each night I end up getting a migraine. I have gotten migraines in the past and was attacked with them while in Kenya. One night, it was so severe that my whole team surrounded me in bed, layed hands on me, and annointed with oil and prayer. Well, leading up to leaving for Uganda, the migraines returned causing me to feel exhausted and unmotivated. Last night, the migraine I had was probably the most severe one I have ever had. At about 3:45am, I got up out of bed to take some migraine medicine, and when I layed back down, the pain flooded over me. I began to cry silently but it became worse and worse. I started crying out loud. Out of the darkness of our room, I heard Nicole say, "It's okay hun." I told her out of my tears, "I have the worst migraine ever." We both knew where this was coming from, and at 4am in the morning, Nicole did just what Ecclesiastes 4 promises. She stood up for me. She came and sat on my bed, held my hand, and called on the Lord to save me. We prayed together and proclaimed the Lord's victory and rebuked every evil thing that was trying to steal my joy, service, and rest. The crying quieted as the prayers continued and the migraine subdued, but didn't leave. I got into a "comfortable" position in my bed, and tried to fall asleep with the sleep mask that the airplane handed out while listening to the thunder and rain storm outside our windows. Little did I know, Nicole was on her knees in our room praying silently like a warrior for me. The Lord told her to pray for me until I fell asleep. So for about a half hour, this amazing woman of the Lord stood up for me on her knees and proclaimed rest and peace over me. I slept for 8 hours and got up at 1:00pm with a note from Nicole with verses written on it declaring God's compassion, victory, healing, and protection. The Lord hears our prayers. He is gracious and kind. He is a God who cares. I believe that the Lord has healed me from these migraines. And I ask that you would continue to lift me up in prayer during the night. Stand up for me just as Nicole has done. These migraines and lack of sleep has prevented me from serving the babies in the mornings, and to be honest it has been completely frustrating. But God is GOOD and I will give thanks and praise in every circumstance.

T.I.A. : (This Is Africa)....
Our house ran out of water 2 days ago, so our housekeeper/cook/handyman named Joel went up to the attick (which in covered with exposed electrical wires) with the hose (which looks more like a fireman's hose) to fill up our shower water tank. He then stepped thru our (yes, mine and Nicole's) ceiling making a huge hole and ceiling material go everywhere. Then the hose turned on spraying water everywhere, going into our room, into the living room, and causing all of us girls to scream and run out of the house laughing. It was really funny, but Joel begged us not to laugh. We helped mop up the water, but told Joel that it is better to laugh than to get angry or upset.

YesterDAY, a group of us went to the Friday market in downtown Kampala to shop around and get more supplies while the babies napped. As I was walking around saying hello to the vendors as they tried selling me things, I decided to start asking them if they knew Jesus. Every person I asked said that they did, so then I asked if they had Jesus in their heart. (A distinction that needs to be made). The Lord allowed me to pray with 3 of the vendors. One was a woman named Vicky. She asked that God would help bless her business so that she could provide for her family. We prayed, and it was so sweet to encourage this sister in Christ. Then I went up to Nicole who was buying these really beautiful cards, and got to talking with Gabriel and asked how I cold pray for him. He asked if I could pray that he would have a bigger heart to serve people and his sisters. I explained that the desire to help others and serve them was the same heart that Jesus had. It was so awesome to pray with him. He is a great young Christian man. He later found me in the market and asked if I would pray for his mama. I said, "Gabriel, your mama is here? I would love to pray for her!" It turns out that she is like a mama to her and that he just calls her mama. He said that she knows the Lord as well and would like prayer. I went up to where she was sitting and introduced myself. She asked that I would pray for healing of her heart. She has clogged arteries and the doctors have said it is very dangerous. I sat down with her in the mud and we praised the Lord together, no matter what He chose to do. We asked for healing, but praised God that He has already healed her True Heart and that she has salvation. Her name is Irene please pray for her. I am going back to the market next week to visit them and I am excited to pray with them again. The Lord is so good and I am loving my time here.