Answered Prayers: Above and Beyond

God continues to work in some huge and very personal ways since my last post. First of all, an update on Susan after eye surgery. The doctor originally told us before surgery that she'd probably need surgery on her other eye as well after she recovered. However, when they've checked her eyes multiple times since surgery, her eyesight is perfect. The doctor said he's never seen this happen before. It healed on its own (rather, we know The Great Healer went above and beyond to fully correct and perfect Susan's eyes. At age 19 she can finally see properly!!! Praise God. As I type this Susan and her sister Florence are on the bus heading back to Adjumani. Florence hasn't been home since January of this year!! It will be a very very special homecoming.

Another way that God has gone above and beyond in answering prayers was with my friend D (for her privacy.) On Friday I got a phone call from my dear neighbor friend that another friend of ours was in a dire situation. She asked if I could come and talk with her and pray for her. So on Saturday I went over and heard D's whole story. She used to live in our neighborhood at the beginning of this year and got involved in our church and some of our weekly classes. Her four children were always coming over to play at our house. She's from a different tribe in Eastern Uganda, near Kenya, but married a Madi from here.  I knew  her husband was a difficult man, using all their money for alcohol, running off for long periods of time and life had been a struggle for D. About 2 weeks ago her husband took off without leaving any food or money in the house. The landlord ended up coming to collect rent because they were two months behind and since D didn't have even a single coin, the landlord locked them OUT of their own house with all their belongings inside! All they had were the clothes on their back. By the time D came to our neighbor for help, they'd been wearing the same clothes for a full week and moving from one friend to another's to spend the night. She looked very thin and her lips were all cracked. She reminded me of the story of Hagar in the Bible - when Hagar was out in the wilderness with her son and they ran out of water and food and she had given up hope and was ready to die.

But my sweet friend Justine took her in even though she can barely feed her own family. That day with D, the Lord gave me encouraging words to share: that God loved her and even though her husband abandoned her, God would never abandon her. I prayed with her and encouraged her that we would find a way to help her. She was hoping to somehow raise enough money to take the bus back to her village, to her relatives. I took over clothes for her and the kids and gave her some money so she could go to the landlord to pay some of the rent so they could get their stuff out of their house.

On Sunday, D, Justine, and the four kids came to church. D seemed to have a glimmer of hope on her face. And guess what God did? D's husband showed up back home, discovered it was locked up, went to a neighbor and found out where D was staying. When he arrived, he was  changed. He sat down with his wife and explained everything: he can gone out to the woods to burn charcoal. He took a young man with him to show him how to do it. That young man turned out to be a follower of Jesus and shared the Truth of the Gospel with this man and he came to Christ. He repented of his alcohol problems and other bad habits that held him in bondage and he gave his life to Jesus! He couldn't wait to tell his wife everything. Later when D recounted all of this for me, I'll admit, I felt skeptical. But D shared that she's never seen her husband like this! He is a new man! And he is begging her to stay so he can prove to her that he's changed.

So in a matter of a few days, D and her husband have reconciled, D has decided to stay in Adjumani and try to work things out, God provided a hut and kitchen hut in our very neighborhood and he's going to continue charcoal-making and she will sell it from home at the roadside! Many of us have encouraged him to join a church so he can grow and learn more about God and the Bible. He and his family are going to start trying out different churches to see what will be a good match for them. We are praying fervently for him to stand strong because the temptations will come again (for alcohol and his old life). And we're praying for this precious family to rebuild with Christ as their solid rock.

I admit that this wasn't the "ending" of the story I was expecting. I expected we'd be putting D and her kids on a bus, never to see them again. But instead God went above and beyond and grabbed a hold of her husband's heart and made a new creation. What an awesome God He is!

Their new home