Butterfly Fever #covid19 #children

Bethany has been sick with butterfly fever. No one knows how to take care of this. She does not want me to get it though I don’t think a lion can get a butterfly sickness. She is in a butterfly tree -all alone.
At first I was afraid and reminded of how lonely I was without my family. But then I heard a kind voice in the breeze.

“Judah be strong and of good courage do not fear nor be afraid of these things.”
“But how can strength and courage help when my best friend is very sick?”
“The Lord God goes with you (and with your friend). He will not leave you alone. He will not forsake her.”
“So right now God you are taking care of Bethany for me?
“Yes, Judah it is in my promise.”
“I guess courage can sometimes mean we trust God not ourselves. This butterfly sickness has me worried, but you God are stronger than any sickness!!!”

We have friends right now in many countries. The US, Uganda, other parts of Africa, the Middle East.
Some of our friends (like Bethany) are sick and cant get to the doctor. We pray for them and the God who heals and preserves those who are weak that He will be there as He promises.

Other friends can’t get food even when there is supposed to be food given to them (even in the distant villages.)

And there are those who know of the needs who have hope and a little extra  food who are going to these remote areas.

Judah’s verse is found in Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

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A Dark Day #goodfriday #bethanyandjudah

 

I am Bethany. In the Uganda village I am called  la fofo (is that the right way to say it Lawrence?) Judah was a very lonely lion. All of his pride (that’s a family of lions) had gone looking for water. They must have forgotten to tell Judah where they were going.

Judah wanted a friend, but all the animals would swiftly run away in fear.

Judah was out one morning on his regular walk when he found a most unusual thing. Judah you must tell this part.

“A hmm. I found something that looked like a package or a big seed. It looked dead and that made me sad. I could tell it had fallen from the tree above me. Then a voice whispered in the breeze “take it with you.” It’s hard to argue with the wind. I carried the dead seed back to my cave and set it in a safe place.

Each time I walked past the seed I said, “I will remember you as you should have been – alive and beautiful.”

“That reminds me, this is Bethany again, We are celebrating a day that was the saddest day in history. It is the day that God’s son Jesus gave his life as a ransom (that means payment) for my sin and your sin. The ground shook on that day. The sky was very dark. All of nature mourned his death. They placed his dead body in a tomb and rolled a big stone in front. There was no hope on his friend’s faces. Their master and teacher was gone.”

“How would you feel if you had been there?”

“I would have roared very loud with sorrow and then I would have laid down in front of the tomb to protect it. ”

“I think I would have tried to sing a song to him but it would have been through big tears.”

“As many of us spend some time today thinking about Jesus dying for us, please pray for people who are also suffering (many dying) from this Corona Virus. I have had many friends who have gotten sick and they are not feeling better yet.”

 

“Dear Jesus thank you for loving us so much that you died for our sins. There is nothing we can do but ask for you to forgive us and clean us up from our unrighteousness. What you did on the cross was the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. ”

 

We will be back on Easter day to finish the story about Bethany’s rebirth.

 

This is a continuation of a story that we told (with the Ugandan children helping) about a lion named Judah and his friend a butterfly named Bethany.

 

We wish you God’s grace on this day of remembrance.

 

 

A Gift to U #uganda #christmas

 

The gift I send is love

you cant pack it in a box

or wrap it up and send it on a plane with a friend

1000 beads cant take its place

red, green and silver ribbon can’t outshine its beauty

it can’t be sealed in ziploc bags with a kiss

village children won’t make it in class

it can’t be hung on a tree

this kind of love was born in a manager

gave up all priviledge

scratchy hay against a baby’s skin

no kingly courts celebrated His arrival

He was despised, rejected

few heard the songs sung for Him

centuries cant outdistance the meaning

sacrifice became love

love became a free gift

it is what I send to my friends in Uganda this Christmas

and to you!

 

In October I started putting together a package of christmas gifts and crafts for 100 children. Love was placed in ziploc bags. A package went in luggage with a friend who went to Uganda in November. There was plenty of time for the children to receive their Christmas goodies. “The airlines regrets to tell you that your luggage was lost in transit.” I hope somewhere children are able to enjoy the crafts and gifts that were inside that lost luggage.  The best gift is the love I can send to my Pawell, Lacor and Gulu family – each of you is precious and loved beyond measure by the King.