Be Strong and Courageous

Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9

These past months have been really difficult for us and while there are lots of reasons why we won’t share details, we also don’t want to pretend that everything has been good. I know lots of you pray for us here, and I think that sometimes a real update is important, even if some stuff is left out of it.  

I’ve sat so many times to write this all down, but each time I snap my journal or laptop shut, unhappy with the way it came out.  I wasn’t ready yet… I wanted to be able to tell you a victory story; one that talks about God’s compassion and grace, and although lots of times we were overcome with sadness, loneliness and anger - I am confident that there has been purpose in everything that has happened. We have walked through it, hand-in-hand, while being held up by something far greater than either of us could have ever imagined.

It happened months ago now.  The phone call from nowhere.  The worry.  I prayed and put our monkeys to bed like nothing was wrong. I kissed them all a little bit more as I tucked them in that night and then I sat, and I waited until word came that he was on the way home.  

The first days were too quiet.  I tried to keep the kids busy, and Matt had things he had to do.  We didn’t sleep and he didn’t talk much, I worried lots. We sat at the kitchen table, saying nothing and wondering what was going to happen next.

Only now can I say that we see the end.  We’re here, shaken but still standing.  A team.  Tonight, we’ll dust the sand off of the sandals of 2017 and step into 2018 and whatever it has in store for us, together. And although it still can be hard for me to find God in all of this, sometimes I get a glimpse into how perfect His schedule really is and that amazes me.  God’s faithfulness in the small things this year has helped me see it in the larger ones, too.  

In September, the timing of Fred’s elbow dislocation and misread x-rays lead to me to be having a coffee with a pilot’s wife, who also happened to be a radiology technician from the Netherlands.  She spotted the break and the bone fragment in the elbow joint weeks after doctors here had missed it, which put the wheels in motion for the rest.  And instead of having to go to South Africa for surgery, we were put in touch through a friend with a visiting surgeon from America - the head of Orthopaedics at the Children’s Hospital of LA - who squeezed in Fred’s surgery and nerve repair here in Uganda before flying back to the States that very night.  Even my super organized self couldn’t have put those pieces together in such a detailed way.  

This past summer, He gave me kind and caring people in airports all over the world - people who took an interest in the kids and I travelling alone (and at times stranded!) between here and Canada.  Strangers who chatted and played with the kids while I waited in long re-booking lines and who sang silly songs for Charlee when she was overwhelmed by crowds and uncertainty.  Because of these people, our travel, despite cancellations, reroutings and setbacks went very smoothly.  

Charlee was kept safe during a seizure at school by amazing teachers and we were given contacts for a paediatric neurologist here in Kampala who was able to check her over well and change her medication to one that has had far less side effects.

He’s given me friends, who at one panicked phone call ran over and helped me search for over an hour for a missing Theo, calling his name up and down the streets and then staying afterwards to help me calm my shattered nerves once he was found safe.  

He’s given us glimpses throughout this difficult year of His faithfulness to us. He’s given us a wonderful family and beautiful, thriving children who brighten our days and give us real joy.  He’s kept us here, and safe, and together.  I am so thankful, I could not ask for anything more than that.

All of this has shown us how God has been hidden in these hard things.  And no matter how alone we’ve felt, how many times we’ve wanted to give up, God has not left us.  We’ve never been alone. He’s been here the whole time, and we’ve seen it in so many circumstances that have unfolded while this bigger scenario moves on around us.  

God is taking care of us. This is our victory story. If He’s in the smaller stuff, He is so definitely in the bigger stuff, too; even though I can't always see how when we are in the midst of the turmoil.  Tonight, when the fireworks end and a cheer goes up over Kampala at midnight, I will be thankful for the hardships of this past year and the character they’ve created in us, and I will be hopeful for the joy coming in 2018.

A very Happy New Year with love from Uganda,

Chaundra & Matt