Paper Beads

This week and last I've been teaching some of the girls that I work with how to make beads - the same way that I was taught in a little wooden church in a slum community called Nabulagala in Kampala. Its been great fun and the girls are enjoying it and are excited about the jewelry that we're going to make together. Its made me so happy to see them embracing this and to know that this is something that I learnt from Uganda that I've been able to pass on as a skill in the UK - I believe that we all can learn from each other, and to see a small part of this actually happening in what I'm doing is exciting!

There is a tension in my heart between my heart for Uganda and my heart for the young people that God has called me to work with at the moment. I'm honestly so blessed by the young people that I work with. They're all beautiful and creative and unique. They never fail to make me laugh, some of them make me cry (for them, not because of them!), they inspire me, they teach me (without even realizing they're doing it) and I'm incredibly grateful to get to work with them. 

Some of our paper beads next to a necklace from Uganda

One of my young people asked me to help her to pray recently. When I asked what she wanted to pray about, she said 'that God will help the people in Uganda.' I smiled and prayed with her. I've always said to the girls that I'll be honest with them - they know that they can ask me anything and I'll be open. That means that they know all kinds of random facts about me, but it also means that they know how I feel about Uganda and this sweet little girl echoed my heart in her prayer. My prayer, is that all of these girls will also know that they are equally as precious to me... I hope that they know that they are the reason I am still here.

There's not a lot I can do about the things, people and places I hold in my heart. Some are relatively easy, like keeping up with friends and family in the UK, some are not so simple and somehow, I have to make them work together... my prayer is that rather than my girls feeling like my heart is elsewhere, this will actually have the opposite effect, and that in knowing what I'm sacrificing to stay here, these girls will understand how precious they are to me and that this might just reveal to them a small shadow of how precious they are to God.

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If you'd like to buy some jewelry from Uganda, I still have a few bits for sale and all the money will go towards a youth ministry that a friend of mine runs in Kampala.

If you'd like to read a bit more about my youth work, I keep a youth work blog here.

Nothing I can do...

God has been challenging me recently about why I do what I do. Its always great when I hear that my young people love our groups and activities. Its amazing when I get to see how God is having an impact in their lives. Its lovely to sometimes hear people say that I'm doing well - encouragement is really important and something that I'm always so grateful for... but somehow I've managed to find myself beginning to believe that in all of this - in pleasing people; in 'doing a good job', I was somehow pleasing God.

The truth is that I could never hope to do anything that is good enough to please God.

That is what is so incredible about grace. I believe in a gospel of salvation by grace. I believe in a God who loved me while I was still broken. I believe in a God who made a way for me to be righteous whilst I was still a sinner. I believe in a God who has loved me from the beginning of time.

God knew how much I would mess up. He knew that I would be imperfect. He knew all the silly things that I would do, all the mistakes I would make, all the hurt I would cause, and he chose to breathe life into me regardless.

There is nothing that I can ever do to make God love me any more, and nothing I can ever do to make him love me any less. I could turn my back on the work that God has called me to and mess up my life more than anyone could ever imagine, but God would still be standing there with arms outstretched, waiting for me to come home. 

My faith, my relationship with God, my salvation and my hope does not rest on what I can ever do for God. It rests in the incredible, outrageous grace and love of my extraordinary God, who loves me simply because he loves me. My obedience to his will and his command is secondary to that - it is for my own good, because his plan for my life is the best plan for my life. In trying to obey him, I'm simply submitting to the fact that he knows what is best for me better that I do.

The love of God is outrageous and I hope that I will always remember that God loves me because he loves me - not because of anything that I can hope to achieve for him.

If you're interested in what I get up to in my role as a YTP youth worker with Isle of Wight YFC, have a read of this blog... http://gunvillemethodistyouthwork.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/winter.html

Why Giving is Not the Answer to Poverty

"Tired of the way they portray you in the media, So I'm trying to bring change in the way that they see ya. Mother who gave birth to the children of Africa."

These are lyrics from a song called "Letter to TINA" by Fuse ODG in response to 2014's Band Aid single. Its from his album "TINA" which stands for "This Is New Africa" and I just love the message of it... 

"It's like were fighting the media, They show us the wrong vibe I've been reading up.I'm trying to show a different side to what they're feeding us. Time to regurgitate the lies we've been eating up."

I can only write from what I know, and that is only a few people in a small part of a small country in Africa. But what I can write from my experience, in absolute confidence is that the people of Africa are beautiful and generous and determined and incredible. I believe that many of us have so much more to gain and learn from the people of Africa than we can ever hope to offer them in return and it breaks my heart that as a continent, Africa is so often portrayed in a way that strips people of their dignity and that shows only a small part of what makes Africa Africa.

Poverty is cruel and unjust and wrong... there is no question about that and my heart will forever be broken by suffering caused by the injustice in this world, but perhaps we need to reassess the way that we fight poverty.

I don't believe that the answer to poverty is to give out food and clothing and shelter. By giving out hand-outs, the symptoms of poverty might be quenched for a short while, but the monster itself is only fed and the solution is unsustainable. I believe that the answer to poverty is to empower people. This way, people can reach a point where they are able to provide their own food and clothing and shelter and whatever else they chose to get, but they will not only have the physical things that they need, but also dignity, purpose and hope that their dreams are actually achievable.

"I'm making music because I want to change the perception of Africa.When I was younger...The perception of Africa was kids with flies around their mouth's and hunger and poverty and stuff like that.But we're grown now, were successful men, were doing our thing."

So please, let's stand with our brothers and sisters as we seek to fight this awful evil that we call poverty, but let's recognize that each and every individual has a purpose and has something incredible to offer, and let's expect to be humbled by the ocean of wisdom, determination, passion and potential that I believe Africa has.

There are countless ways to support and stand with our brothers and sisters... but here are just a few that I think are brilliant:

- Microfinance
By providing zero or low interest loans and the right support and training to people who have an idea, they can be empowered to set up their own business to support and provide for themselves and their families long term.
http://www.lendwithcare.org/

- Child Sponsorship
"Education is Power" was the motto at a school I used to teach at. An education unlocks the door to so many opportunities, and sponsorship is a way to give children across the world an education when their own families might not be able to pay for school fees.
http://www.smileinternational.org/sponsor-a-child.aspx
http://www.compassionuk.org/?gclid=CO_s3Ye9icMCFSWJ2wod9iQAGg

- Prayer
Prayer is the most powerful thing we have. I believe in a God of love, power and wisdom, and we should all be standing in prayer with our brothers and sisters around the world.

Listen to the song: "Letter to TINA" here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYScLhEZC9I