Thursday, September 12, 2019

Back Online (in an airport, of course)

Best dog in America

It’s been a while since I’ve written (and some of you have pointed that out), but it feels fitting to start again while waiting in an airport for a flight that has been delayed indefinitely, possibly jeopardizing my entire trip and messing up plans involving dozens of other people connected to Neverthirst in Uganda. Just my normal. Nothing really unexpected in the life of Amanda. That said, the life of Amanda has not at all gone how I expected this past summer. It’s been quite painful actually, but it’s when you’re not comfortable that you notice the comfort that comes from the Comforter. During the times when you know you shouldn’t have peace, but you have it (occasionally), you recognize it as a gift from the Prince of Peace.

I’m coming off a few weeks of time with my family, holding me up, pulling me through, praying through the Word with me, pointing me back to the Truth in the midst of lies. I’ve been drinking in the Bible—I always needed it, but when you think you have everything under control, you can read a bit for fun. When you know you control nothing, you have to devour it for survival. I’ve been in 1 Peter a lot. I’m stuck on 1 Peter 4:19 “Let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to the faithful Creator while doing good.” As I focused on how I could serve other people, it helped pull me out of the darkness a bit. And God gave me the chance to help a lovely family I met through my Dad’s ESL class at church. I was so blessed to be able to go to the emergency room with them and pester the nurses for various things they needed and help connect them with others who could visit and pray. Of course, they returned the favor, praying for me and encouraging me as well.

Will be back with these wonderful people soon.
As a life-long wanderer, I’ve had so many people help me out when I’ve been the foreigner—people who took me to the hospital for an infected toe in India, people who took me to the hospital for a staph infection in Rwanda (I really have to be forced to get medical care as a general rule), people who lent me their face veils and robes so that I could pass as Yemeni in case of kidnapping on the road I had to travel, people who stayed after church to help me fix my car in Northern Ireland, people in South Sudan who hid me with their family in the bush while our town was being shot to bits by warring tribes, and so many others. I don’t usually get a chance to help people in the country where I’m not a foreigner (though often I still feel like one), so it’s nice to have a small opportunity to give back.





Good people I love working hard.
And now I’m headed back to Africa—a place where I’m clearly a foreigner, but where I have so many people who have been family to me. People who have checked in and assured me that they are there for me. It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of the family of God—the support you have from all over the world is really encouraging. My life of wandering has assured me support in prayer from every continent (except Antarctica—haven’t made it there yet), and that’s pretty cool. Things are not going the way I had expected or hoped or planned, but God is still good. He is still at work around the world. And I get to be a part of that work.

Please pray for my friend Odette. She is a wonderful godly woman who needs a miracle of healing right now. 

And if I make it to Uganda, you'll probably find out. 


Please enjoy the following photos of my parents' dog with a mohawk and bangs/fringe. 
He's so stylish.



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