Mustard Seed Faith

July 15th

I've thought about for the past few days exactly what to say. Story short: I'm leaving Sunday from this beautiful country, a few days earlier than planned.

Last Sunday, i woke up to a normal Sunday morning in Kampala. Everyone was pumped to watch the game that night. At 8:30pm we walked down to a local restaurant/cafe (one of my favorite hang out spots in Uganda.) Little did i know what a 10:30pm a bomb went off in Kampala, and another went off a minute before the end of the game. We left for home a little before the end of the game. When back at the house, i remember hearing something that sounded like fireworks. I thought it was just celebration from the game, but little did i know it was a bomb.

I woke up the next morning was a message from a friend asking me about the bombs. I immediately scrolled through my CNN homepage and saw the headline about an al-Qaeda linked group from Somolia the al-Sharab being responsible for the attacks. The orignial estimation of death was 9, however, by the end of the day the death toll reached 76, one being an american who worked for invisible children and a few being friends of the staff at EAC. al-Sharab has claimed responsibility for the deaths, saying that "Ugandan tear are our happiness." However, they are angry because the African Union, which is trying to establish peace, has many troops in Somalia. Uganda is the main player in this and has the most troops out of any country in the African Union. The al-Sharab says they will continue to raise hell until the troops are removed. The African Union is having a convention all next week in Kampala in which 66 officials, the same officails that are responsible for putting 6,000 troops in Somalia, will be in Kampala. My flight was originally scheduled to leave the last day of the convention. However, i am now leaving Uganda on Sunday, a a few days earlier than planned. However, other bombs have been discovered (confirmed to be planted by the al-Sharab because of the ball-bearings present) but they were luckily discovered before they were deployed. There was another bomb found in Kampala today (also discovered before deployed) and the al-Sharab sent a message to the president of Uganda declaring this was only the start and there was more to come, so the situation is serious. But, i Praise God that i am safe

With all of this said, I am coming home a week early on Sunday. It don't understand why this happened, but i do know everything happens for a reason. I keep being reminded of the verse Matthew 17:20 "He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." I have so much faith that all of this happened for a reason. Just like God knew me before i was made, He also knew that my trip would be cut a few days short.

I'm choosing to have faith. Faith that God can stop this tragedy and bring glory to His name through it, faith that He will bring comfort to all of those affected, faith that no man-made scheme can quench the power of God, faith that God can move and work in BIG ways, and faith that i am coming home changed (even if a few days short.) I may never know why this happened at the time it did, but i do know that the past 7 weeks have altered my life. I choose to not let this man-made scheme over-shadow the big ways that i have seen God working this summer. Faith means believing in something you might not see, trusting that there is a plan, and realizing that God has everything worked out if only i would sit still and listen to his quite voice saying "Trust me. You are in the palm of my hand." God can move mountains and i have His power inside me, and even if i have faith as tiny as the smallest seed, God can work in big ways through me. I will proclaim the name of Christ through my actions and words for all to hear, whether that is in Uganda or in the States.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/07/15/somalia.uganda.threat/index.html?hpt=T1&fbid=X7dc5sCiKqE

Pray

I'm choosing to have a mustard seed faith.