We delivered the mother via csection last night. Both baby and mother are stable. Baby boy is needing a little oxygen, but I’m hopeful he won’t need it for long! He is an adorable 3lb 5 oz bundle of joy! Thank you for praying! Keep praying for the little guy!
Here are some pics from the delivery and NICU.
Please pray for a preeclamptic patient that we are treating right now. The baby is 34-35 weeks and very small for his age because of the preeclampsia. Pray that we can keep him in till tomorrow so he can get at least two doses of steroids for his lungs. Pray for us as we care for this premie in our little NICU.Pray also for a boy who has sickle cell anemia and is in need of a splenectomy. We need to increase his red blood cells before they can do surgery, so pray that it comes up quickly!
Thank you all for your prayers!
-Heather
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Today has been another migraine down day for me. 😦 While it is a bit frustrating for me to feel useless and weak, the Lord is using it to keep me humble and give me time with Him. (Mom was reminding me that these headaches are probably my thorn in the flesh and are serving the same purpose as Paul’s in 2 Cor 12:7-10.) So, today the Lord has had me meditating on the fear of the Lord. What does it mean to fear the Lord?
In Hebrew there are two words used in reference to fearing the Lord pachad and yirah. Pachad refers to terror or dread. Yirah refers to reverence, awe, and trembling before the power of the Almighty God. What I found interesting is the context in which these two words are used. Pachad, when used to describe the fear of the Lord, explains the fear of people who walk in rebelliousness and sin should have. It is the dread of God’s wrath. A few examples…
2Chr 19:6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment. 7 Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”
2Ch 20:29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Yirah is always used to explain how God’s people should view Him. It is a fear not driven by dread, but by awe. Awe of the power of the Almighty God. This awe, respect, reverence is the driving force behind surrendering ourselves to His use. He is so great and powerful that it only makes sense for us to surrender. While there still is an element of trembling fear at His power and His punishment of sin, as believers Jesus’ blood has covered us and removed our sin. We need not walk in the fear, or pachad, of His wrath. A few examples of yirah…
Psalm 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
Pro 14:26 In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
What changes our pachad to yirah? I believe that change comes from knowing God. When we understand the character of God, His position of authority in our lives, and His love for us, we no longer dread Him. Instead, we long for Him and are in awe of who He is! We may fear disappointing Him, but it is the awe of His power and love for us turns our hearts from evil and draws them near to God.
Pro 16:6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
Proverbs 2:1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
In other news, last weekend we had another ladies fellowship at church where we got to work on our baskets again. Court and I are both very slow at it, but we had fun! We also were blessed to have a couple of girls nights with our sweet friend Hannah and her cousin Elizabeth this week. Both of them have been a blessing and encouragement to our hearts!
At the hospital it has been a slow weeks, but it has given everyone time to get use to the new forms. Thank you all for your prayers in that! We had a meeting with some of the nurses today to go over them and allow them to ask questions. So far everyone says they have found them helpful and made their work easier. Also, for the most part, everyone has been using them correctly, which is really exciting for us!
I also taught a class on neonatal resuscitation last Monday. It was brief, but we will probably go over things again and have more practice in the coming weeks. I put some pictures below for you to enjoy from the last week.
Blessings!
Heather
It was a slow day at the hospital so I’ve had some time to rest and think about Jesus! In Christianity today we are told that we need to live our lives for Christ….but I think we have it all wrong…
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Saying that I need to live my life FOR Christ gives me a sense of control over how I live my life for Him. It says it’s still my life and I’m just choosing to give Him of my time and abilities (and I can choose how much or how little I give)…however, I think the reality of what God is calling us to is this: I need to let Christ live my life.
So how does “letting Christ live my life” differ from “living my life for Christ”? It’s all about control! Letting Christ live my life says I don’t have any control over how He chooses to live it. It means that I have surrendered everything of Heather, crucified my flesh and my desires, to allow Christ and His desires to live in me! It means that I am controlled by Christ, and allowing Him to call the shots. Dr J said something a few Sunday’s ago that stuck with me, “we cannot rehabilitate the flesh, it must die!” We can’t just clean up our flesh, it’s rotten to the core and needs to die!
So, this is what I want! I want Christ to control my life! Why? Well, I know that His love for me is greater than I can possibly imagine. I know He wants me to have fullness of joy. I know that He created me for a good purpose and for His glory. I also know He has promised to work all things together for good. Therefore, I trust that how He chooses to live my life will be the very best way I could live and bring me fullness of joy! I am saying that I trust that whatever God chooses for me whether singleness or marriage, children or no children, living in the US or abroad, health or sickness, earthly riches or poverty, WHATEVER He chooses for my life will be what brings me the most joy and Him the most glory! Of course as a human I try to take control back and make some messes along the way, but truly my heart desires to be fully and completely surrendered to Christ, and more and more Jesus is helping me get there! And that, my friends, is what Christ is seeking people who are more and more surrendered to Him, who are willing to trust HIM to live their lives!
So, today I ask you, are you letting Christ live your life? Do you want to?
-Heather
As of today we have been in Uganda for a month, and it has flown by! We still feel so blessed to be here and to be with family. Last week was spent in the hospital as usual. We didn’t have very many delievries last week just one c-section that Heather went to. Our time was spent preparing Nursing Education classes and helping to care for the few patients that were admitted in the ward. Heather did a neonatal class on HIE (Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy). All the staff seemed very interested and enjoyed the class.
On Friday we got to have a family dinner and devotion with our brothers, sister, and their dad. It was a blessed time of fellowship. We will be going through the book of Ephesians for the next few months. We are so excited to be able to spend this time together.
Yesterday was a blessed day at church. We are continuing through the book of Galatians and this week the Lord was reminding me that salvation is a work of the spirit not the flesh! As Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” The good works we do should flow out of what Christ has done for us, and should not be an attempt to earn salvation. Galations 3:3 “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
Later that evening we had dinner with some of our new friends who are missionaries in the area. They work with an organization that drills wells all over Uganda.
Here are some pictures of this last week!
Lydia braided our hair
then the aftermath🦁
Lydia displaying our baking
Swimming
As we have been putting the NICU together and getting inventory of what the hospital has, we have put together a little wish list of things that would be helpful for the hospital to have. The most needed things are the neonatal stethoscope and the pediatric and neonatal BP cuffs. We are hoping to be able to send these things with a team or in a box in the next few weeks! Ordering from the list will make sure the packages get sent to my parents! Thank you for all of your support!
https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/560N1EW83R3M/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awwl_x_JQa0xbZ3R2CQG
Sometimes we look at missionaries and have this idealistic view that they are an elite group of “super Christians” who are constantly saving souls. While spreading the gospel is a part of everyday life, it sometimes looks a bit different that what you might expect. You see, missionaries aren’t “super Christians.” They are just Christians who every day are seeking to surrender their lives more fully to Jesus…but that’s how we all should be. Surrender is not something for an elite group of Christians, it is what every single one of us is called to do. Every day we should be people who are seeking to surrender our lives more and more to Jesus. I am reminded of Jesus’ call to take up our cross daily in Matt 16:24. “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” When you study what it means to take up your cross, it doesn’t represent some burden we have to bear, it represents death…my death…the death of my desires and plans. While it may seem to be a scary thing to absolutely and fully surrender yourself to God, there really is no safer place to be! Who has more right to your life than the One who created you? Who knows you better than the One who created you? Who loves you more than the One who created you? Who desires to give you good things, all things pertaining to life and godliness, more than your heavenly Father? There is no one who loves you more or desires your good more than God! As we surrender ourselves to Him and allow Him to take over and fill us, we find freedom and joy like we have never experienced before! Why? Because it’s not my life anymore it’s His! I’m not responsible for saving the souls of those around me, I am only responsible to be faithful to my calling, to be faithful to point those around me to Jesus. As I do that I am fulfilled because it is “God who works in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure!” (Phil 2:13)
The Lord has been reminding me a lot of these things this week. This week was a little bit of the mundane and there was significant temptation to be discouraged by it. This week was spent with a lot of time in front of the computer writing policies and protocols, a little time teaching staff how to use the new forms we created, a whole day of lying in bed with a migraine, doing laundry, and only a little of actual nursing care and interaction. There was a moment that I had to pause and ask Jesus to show me the eternal in these tasks that seemed less important in the kingdom of heaven. But the Lord reminded me that I am not here on this earth for the short game. He has a bigger picture that He is working out and uses every piece. Writing policies and protocols for the hospital will help improve their care, which will draw more people to the hospital which will give them opportunity to be exposed to the gospel. This hospital is a Christian hospital and it is run so different than any of the national hospitals because the love of Jesus is poured out on patients. So while I may not always feel like I’m impacting the kingdom of God in the mundane tasks, I must remember that we are part of a bigger story that God is writing and I need to do my part with joy and humility! The same goes for all of us! No matter what role we are given to play, mom, dad, teacher, pastor, encourager, missionary, we need to do our role well and to the glory of God. Each of us have a part to play in the church and no part is unnecessary! We must all be functioning properly for the body to grow! Ephesians 4:15-16 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
So be encouraged! Whether you are cleaning up toys and raising children or preaching to the church or working overseas, God is using you for His kingdom and all He asks is that every day you make the choice to trust Him, take up your cross, and follow Him!
Thank you for praying for us please continue! We need more of Jesus everyday!
-Heather
Here are a few pictures from our week….
Lydia is finally with us for her holiday! It’s so nice to have everyone together! Just wish the rest of our family could be here too! Last night we had a birthday party for Lydia! (Her birthday was Aug 24)
There was a solar eclipse last Thursday.
We organized and cleaned the little NICU…I think everything is from the 1980’s!
The plate of food is our typical lunch. Sakuma wiki (collar greens, but some days it’s cabbage), Posho (corn flour boiled till it’s a bit thicker than playdough), and beans. Thankfully we think it all tastes good!
We taught the kids to make donuts and grilled cheese.
And as always, we got to love on some cute babies!
choosingthatbetterpart 
