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| Just wanted to share a prayer request as well as a wonderful praise!
First is a girl named Betty. Betty isn't in Pacific Family but when
they needed someone to go into Kampala with her to visit the doctor I
was more than happy to go. She had been experiencing pain in her
abdomen for two years now and since it was getting more and more
severe she needed to have an ultrasound. Since it's not America and
there isn't any "patient privacy" I got to be with her the whole time.
After she visited the doctor 4 times in one week (mind you a trip to
Kampala is a four hour round trip on a road with more potholes than
you can imagine possible!) and received multiple incorrect diagnoses,
she and I were quite frustrated. We felt we had been given the "quick
fix" without really diagnosing what was truly wrong and weren't really
sure where to turn. However, the next week we had a special speaker
from Britain come and share about how we are spiritual orphans before
we know Christ, but after we accept Christ we are adopted into God's
family as his sons and daughters. It was an amazing week discussing
shame, rejection, forgiveness, acceptance, and many other topics that
cut to the heart. Hopefully Chris can write about it soon. But in
receiving spiritual healing many people also received physical
healing. I'ld never seen multiple people healed like this before and
it definitely wasn't anything like I've seen on TV. Nothing flashy
and nothing proclaiming Mark as an amazing man of God. Simply God's
Spirit setting hearts and bodies free at various times throughout the
week. Betty was one of those set free! She hasn't felt the pain in
over a week and usually it would come a couple times in one day! Even
cooler though is the spiritual healing people received. Sounds weird
but I'm not sure what else to call it. One girl shared that she was
able to forgive her uncle who murdered her three brothers and father!
And she is not only able to forgive now, but she wants to bless him
and try to restore the relationship! Unbelievable! Clearly that is
ONLY possible with God.
At the end of the seminar I also had an opportunity to love one of my
"daughters" from Pacific Family. I have not given her name and will
not give specifics but she needs your prayers because she has not been
set free. All week God had been laying her on my heart. Out of
twenty kids I didn't understand why her name was continually coming to
my mind but each time it did I prayed that God would soften her heart
and break through her walls to shine his light and truth. I was
pretty skeptical because whenever I looked at her in the seminar it
seemed she was there in body, but definitely not in spirit or mind.
But still I continued to pray. On Friday with only 30 minutes left, I
looked back and there she was sitting all alone. I felt compelled to
just go sit by her and as I did so she began weeping on my shoulder.
I broke down and cried with her telling her that I had been praying
for her all week and that God had specifically laid her on my heart.
After the seminar we went and sat together and she told me much of her
story. When her father died and her mother got remarried, her step
father despised her and forced her to work long, long hours in the
gardens and eventually sent her away. Since she could find no
relatives she ended up at New Hope and felt like no one loved her. I
spoke the truth about who she is and God's love and told her she had
to forgive. In order to be free from the bondage of bitterness and
anger she has to forgive her mom for allowing her step dad to send her
away and her step dad for everything that happened. Although she was
unable to forgive them at that time, she told me she loved me and gave
me the biggest hug ever. It was amazing to see the transformation in
this daughter. We are continuing to meet and will be reading a book
the speaker wrote, Orphans to Heirs, which will help us revisit much
of the seminar. Pray that her heart would continue to soften. That
her heart and mind would accept the truth of God's unconditional love.
For the strength to forgive and that she would be set free from the
bondage of bitterness. And that God would restore her relationship
with her family. God is in the business of making things new and in
his strength anything is possible. The greatest part of this story is
that Friday morning I was actually not able to attend most of the
seminar because I had massive stomach pain and the lovely "D-word"
(diarrhea). I actually threw up twice as well. You can imagine how
weak I was with nothing left in my stomach! But I really, really
wanted to get to the last session so as Chris helped me walk over
little did I know that God would use me in such a powerful way! I
love it when God so clearly does all the work. I had absolutely
nothing to give and can truly give him all the glory. Please join me
in praying for her! | | |
| Mukama Yebazibwe! Praise God! That’s a very common way of greeting people with the response being Amena. (pronounced Ameena) God is certainly to be praised for our time here. We can’t say enough how thankful we’ve been for what God has revealed about himself. He clearly led us to come here and he has far surpassed our expectations! He and only he is truly awesome.
As many of you would expect we are constantly faced with disease and death. Once a week we hear of at least one death somehow associated with New Hope. Whether it’s a parent, sibling, or child everyone we know has lost a close relative either from the war or from disease. It is truly sobering and forces us to face the reality that life is fleeting, even if one is privileged to live 90 years. In this context we have spent a lot of time digging into the issue of suffering and pain. I know Chris just wrote an email on pain but as many of you know, I am not one that handles suffering well. I can remember many times I would just weep, and weep, and weep completely overwhelmed by the problems in the world. Many times asking the same question I think we all have, “Why God??!” I can remember one time in high school we were watching a movie about WWII and in it two Jews were hung. I couldn’t watch and just had my head down on my desk crying and crying. I can still picture it too vividly as those two represented for me the 6 million other Jews, the millions in Russia, China, Rwanda, Sudan, Northern Uganda,… and the 10,000 children that die daily from starvation. We live in a nasty world. I don’t think I have to argue that point too strongly.
My Dad has asked me numerous times how I’m going to handle working with orphans who have lost parents, been possibly abused, forced into slavery, or never even received a hug. How will I handle these tough issues when my heart is so easily broken? I could never answer but knew God wanted me to show these kids his love. But I’ve finally found truth to hold on to. I don’t have all the answers, but an answer that brings hope.
For a long time I’ve thought sin was man’s big goof. That God intended life for humanity to be lived in perfect harmony forever and that we messed everything up. Because we disobeyed God, he had to figure out how to restore the mess we created and therefore had to send Jesus. I wouldn’t have worded it quite that way, but that’s essentially what I unknowingly believed. However believing that man could change what God intended doesn't give God the sovereignty and power that He deserves.
God’s ultimate goal is to reveal himself so that we will be overwhelmed with who he is and worship him. Throughout history God has been revealing himself. In Genesis, he shows us he is creative and lovingly created all things. He revealed himself to Moses and the Israelites on Mount Sinai as a cloud of fire and smoke – utterly holy and to be revered. Again to Moses and the Israelites in giving the law – the law reveals God’s nature (we don’t lie because he is Truth, we care for the poor, orphan, widow, sojourner because God is their Protector and Defender Exodus 22:21-24). He revealed himself to the Israelites again and again and again. But each time the picture of who God is grew. Abraham had a much smaller picture of who God is than Moses had, who had a much smaller picture than David, who had a much smaller picture than Jesus’ disciples. In Jesus God was completely revealed. Yet somehow we still have a smaller picture of who God is than when we see him in all his glory in heaven! So God has slowly been revealing himself throughout time, ultimately in Jesus.
Because his ultimate goal is to reveal himself he allowed man to sin. God could have destroyed Satan the moment he stepped out of line and the world’s problems never would have begun. The serpent never would have deceived Eve and man could have gone on living in the garden in perfect harmony. This sounds so appealing! But God didn’t do that.
"Why didn't he?" is obviously the next question. I don't know for sure, but I don't think we would have known both God's grace and mercy if we had never sinned. In Genesis when you read about creation, God speaks and says "Let there be" and "boom" it's there, but when he makes man he says "Let us make." He doesn't just throw us together with a word, but he takes time to knit us together. For God to form something so carefully and then allow it to sin or "break" so quickly, I can't imagine that he didn't have purpose even in our fall. Even today the times when I learn the most are from my mistakes and failures, not when I am doing just fine. For when I think I am fine, that is when I become prideful and overconfident and I forget God. This seems strikingly similar to Adam and Eve's situation. They were in perfect communion with God, no problems, until Satan told them they could be like God. Then they turned. I constantly need to be reminded of my complete weakness apart from God, which in turn reminds me of God's unending love for me. This is what makes God seem all the more glorious, that he would take something as messed up as me and make me an heir as his daughter. This is one of the foundational truths of the Gospel - that God adopts us into his family even though we don't deserve it. It's grace that makes me rejoice.
The angels have seen God in all his glory yet can not understand grace and mercy like we can because they are not the recipients. Just as David had a fuller picture of God than Abraham and Moses, we will have a more full picture of God than the angels. In Hebrews 1-2 the unknown author explains this distinction between the sons of God (Christians) and angels. It’s mainly discussing Jesus throughout the passage but the author does weave us in.
Heb 2:6-8 (based off Psalm 8:4-5) “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.”
Heb 1:14 “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to SERVE those who will inherit salvation?”
Galatians 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”
The first passage discusses both man and Jesus on earth. Jesus became lower than the angels by putting on flesh and we are lower than the angels because we are fallen. Yet after Jesus rose from the dead he was crowned again with all his glory and everything is under his feet. Also, when we die (or Christ returns) our salvation (and therefore perfection) will be complete and we will also be crowned with glory (glory only bestowed upon us by God, not in ourselves). In this we are no longer slaves, but adopted children of God, co-heirs with Christ!
So, although we are lower than the angels right now, when we get to heaven and fully receive God’s grace and mercy through Jesus we will have received a full revelation of who God is because of the grace given to us. Unfortunately sin was necessary to reveal these aspects of who God is. Man’s sinning was never out of God’s control. Jesus death was not out of God's control. He is the “Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” (Rev 13:8)
But how does one truly believe this when hurting so much?? Only by faith. It’s not logical and on my own I can’t do it but God does love us, want the best for us, and he is in control. That's where our hope and faith has to be. That we can trust God because he is good, loving, wise, faithful, with us (Emmanuel), and has given us a perfect comforter in the Holy Spirit. Looking at others who have suffered and gone on before me still holding strong to their faith to the end...this is where I also find my hope. And "hope does not disappoint."
I'm sure that I will continually have to reread this to myself as I face life's frustrations, pains, and sorrows. But I have a firm hope and truth to stand upon in those times. Not because I understand, but I have faith in what God has created and in the work of Christ on the cross.
I wanted to mention a fabulous book that would give you an amazing picture of the history of New Hope, but also give you an insight to some of the struggles of working with orphans. The Long Road to Hope is a novel written by one of the missionary kids that grew up right here at New Hope. She's a few years older than us and has come back to continue working here with her family. I think what I've learned most in being here is the long road ahead in working with orphans. You can't just love them, provide for them, give them an education and expect them to be incredibly thankful and love the Lord. In fact, it is more likely we will experience rejection, hateful words, and watch them make many bad choices because their pain and feelings of abandonment, abuse, and neglect are very deep. Only God can transform their hardened hearts. So if you're interested in walking with us on the road God is continuing to place before us go to newhopeuganda.org where you can order a book. I think it will give you an amazing insight into how to join with us and pray for us and the children.
Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement! With love, Chris & Rebecca | | |
| More pictures! :) go to www.flickr.com/photos/chrisandrebeccavogt
Chris and I have had the privilege of caring for two babies from the Baby House a couple weekends this last month. Grace is about 9 months and Benjamin is 2 and a half. They are adorable and it has been so much fun to love them over the weekends. :) The picture of 6 in the Vogt family is with the McFarland's kids because we were babysitting while they had a meeting for all the career missionaries. So the Vogt family expanded in one night from 2 to 6! It was quite exciting. Bathtime in a basin!
Next are pictures of the church. As you can see it's just a big open concrete floor under a tin roof and they set up benches every Sunday. It's nice that it's open though because the breezes can just flow right through. Services are supposed to start at 10:30 however it's not uncommon for them to begin at 10:45 or even 11. And although lunch is usually served at 1, many times we are still worshipping until 1:30! In the pictures it was Welcome Day at school for all the new kids. (their school year follows the calendar year.) All the staff and students met at the church for an assembly where they had all the new kids go up front and then each of the staff stood behind a student and laid hands on them while Jay (founder and Father of New Hope) prayed over them. After the prayer we just loved on all these new kids giving them hugs and telling them how glad we are that they're here. Many of the kids have NEVER received a hug and they would literally stand there with a completely bewildered look on their face while we hugged them! Finally after 4 or 5 hugs they would start to smile and open up and even hug back. It was amazing to watch the transformation that took place in just 5 minutes in so many of these kids!
Plowing with oxen! Nate and Emily were visiting us the weekend our family plowed their fields. Needless to say our lines were NOT straight, the plow was way too strong for me, and it was hilarious! Walking right behind the oxen and dodging their poo was interesting to say the least.
Next is a picture of Chris with 2 new friends - Chameleons!
This is a MASSIVE moth bigger than my hand. As they say, "Everything's bigger in Africa!"
Last is me with the twins, Peter and Rebecca, from Pacific Family. Aren't they so cute!
Hope you enjoy! :)
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| Hello again from Uganda,
We hope you are all doing well on this beautiful day. I'm not sure what kind of day it is where you are, but here at New Hope it is wonderfully warm and sunny. Today is Sunday for us although this email will probably not get to you until later in the week because we often write emails at home and then later go and use the internet to send them when the power is on.
This past weekend we have had a little two year old boy staying with us named Benja, short for Benjamin. He is one of the babies at the Hope House, which is the home where the infants and toddlers stay until they are old enough to enter one of the families at New Hope. We often will take a baby home with us for the weekend to give the staff a break with all their responsibilities, sometimes we have two of them. We absolutely love doing it. Benja, is close to being three years old and arrived here when he was ten days old. He was abandoned by his mother who is caught in prostitution, so there is no way to know who his father would be. I don't really know who I feel worse for, Benja or his mom. Either way, God is watching over both of them and just as Benja's Lugandan name means "Faithful" God has definitely been faithful to Benja and will continue to be. It is amazing how even through something so ugly God can bring something so beautiful. Benja is a beautiful boy and has received such great care here. This weekend while he was with us he was not always so pretty, he had some stomach problems. He threw up many times and had bad diarrhea, I am seeing the value of diapers so much more now, and thankful my wonderful wife was willing to change them all! I'm learning though and am no longer putting them on backwards which is an improvement! Despite being so sick he rarely shed a tear and was still a joy to be with even though at many times he was in pain.
Pain is something I have really been confronted with lately, not just because I am in a third world country where there appears to be more suffering, but I see it back at home, in myself, and in much of our discussion we have here. True, when you are working among orphans, there are bound to be deep pains of rejection, abuse, and abandonment that you wouldn't typically find in a nice suburban environment. And in America we don't have as many people living in blatant poverty before our eyes, nor do we have fighting and conflict in our backyards. But pain and suffering is still there although less easy to see and easier to hide. All of us have or will experience the loss of someone close. From hitting your thumb with a hammer and touching a hot stove, to abuse, sickness, accidents, anger, fear, absent fathers, betrayal, broken families, abandonment, regrets, stress, loss of jobs, forgotten, left out, belittled and taken advantage of, all of us experience pain. There is no way to judge this pain though because we mask it. Someone may look like he has it all together but deep inside may be hating himself because he never feels like he can be good enough. However a child who is birthed into a pit latrine and literally abandoned to die can experience great joy.
I don't think pain is the problem, the problem is how we deal with it and who we give it to. Now of course I don't believe pain is something to be pursued, nor do I think pain and suffering is something God ultimately desired for his creation, but it's here and I believe God uses it, even for our good.
Most of us try to devoid our life of pain, we use pain killers to numb our headaches, toothaches, backaches, and whatever other ache we may have. We surround ourselves with soft things that feel good, the best couches, softer pillows and beds, good shoes, soft carpet, and leather everything. We spend thousands of dollars on technology to improve the use, function, durability and comfort of gripping any household tool or appliance. It must fit perfectly in our hands and feel good when we use it, no blisters possible and if blisters occur find the proper gloves. Rebecca and I have backpacks that we bought to take to Uganda and they couldn't possibly be more comfortable, if the load is too light or too heavy adjustments can be made. If it hangs too low, just pull on some straps to raise it up. There is a back support, shoulder support, waist support and I am guaranteed to hike in comfort. If it doesn't suit me, I bring it back for another one. There's even a water sack built into it for when I get thirsty. It's funny because most of the things we buy as a culture are to help us make life easier, nicer, improve our atmosphere, or our appearance. And we can go on for eternity getting "the next best thing." There is always something better and guaranteed to be the best.
Philip Yancey, an author many of you probably know wrote a lot about pain. He has one book called "The Gift of Pain" and another called "Where is God When it Hurts". In both he takes time to examine the life of those with leprosy. Leprosy is often misunderstood by most people - it is not a disease that eats away at your flesh, it is a disease that greatly affects the nervous system and kills the nerve receptors. Many lepers lose the ability to feel or sense touch because their nerves have been killed. This is a horrible thing because they lack the knowledge of knowing when to loosen their grip on hand held objects. Something as simple as playing the guitar can be disastrous because they cannot tell when their finger tips have exhausted their use; they will continue to play oblivious to their bleeding hands. Without the use of nerve receptors to warn them of pain they will continue to play because it doesn't hurt. Many others do not feel pain in their feet. When we get tired of walking we rest or adjust our walk so that we do not continue to put all our weight on one area of our foot, but for a leper he does not adjust his walk because he cannot discern his need to, thus in many cases feet can be worn down to stumps. Or for a child, he knows when to pull his hand away from the stove because it is hot, but for a leper he will not notice something is burning until it is too late. Pain is vital to our survival, it is a gift, not a curse, it is our warning system of further pain. God is sovereign even in our pain.
However, I think most of us think that God goofed when he created pain, or that he some how has lost control when we are confronted with pain and suffering. God did not say, "when you become one of my followers you will never experience pain and suffering". In fact he says in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." And Paul says in Romans 5:3-5, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us."
Here at New Hope the children we are surrounded by know pain and loss in huge ways. This is why it is so foundational for us to know what God says about it. How do we teach orphans that God is with them in their sorrow when we come from a culture where pain is numbed and suffering misunderstood? I do not claim to be an authority on this topic at all, especially since I have not experienced great pain and loss in my life, but from what I know about my own culture and what I see in the world there is much lacking in our response to understanding it. It is much easier to avoid it, suppress it, or blame God for it and not in one of these responses do I find evidence of God's character. When Jesus was on earth he suffered greatly and endured, but he trusted his Father's will to be done. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are---yet he was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb. 4:14-16).
Please pray for us as we encounter suffering and pain daily here, we do not have good answers, but we have the Answer, and we trust in our Father, who has said that he is the "father to the fatherless and the defender of widows" (Psalm 68:5). David says again in Psalm 10:14,17-18, "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand......You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
It is of God's very nature to protect the weak and it is in God's nature to remove our fear of pain and suffering. Not to remove our pain, which he does do at times, but more so to remove our fear of pain. And when our fear is removed we are free to trust him. The reason we hide from it so much is because of our fear of it. But God's love is perfect towards us, there is no fear in love, and perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18).
Thank you all continually for your prayers. God is at work here not only in us, but primarily in the lives of the fatherless breaking the orphan spirit and helping them realize that their true identity is in their Father as a son and daughter of God.
May God also draw us to himself so that we may recognize our own orphan spirits in need of the Heavenly Father and turn to Him.
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| Greetings everyone! This is just a short email to let you know that we have some more pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/chrisandrebeccavogt Here is a quick description of what some of the pictures are. Sorry for not being able to email in a while, we would like to update you all on more of what is happening here, but time does not allow it for us most of the time.
We hope to get another email out soon.
Today we are in Kampala enjoying a day in the city away from the bush. It is nice to come into the city to get needed supplies and see some new scenery. The dry season is here in Uganda, so many of the lush green plants are fading and the grass is becoming brown, however last night we had some rain, which was welcomed since we knew we would be driving on dusty roads the next day to Kampala. There is nothing better than hearing the rain come down at night on top of a tin roof, and feeling the breeze sweep through our mosquito net and cool us down.
Also, I'm not sure if many of you heard but there was an earthquake in the Congo and we felt the tremors of it. Last week Rebecca woke me up from my sleep and brought to my attention that I was sleeping through an earthquake. Yes, I slept right through it. Everyone else the next day talked on and on about it and although I was here for it I had nothing to say because I never felt it. It wasn't huge or even close enough to cause any damage ( 5.2 on the richtor scale!), but I essentially missed it all, I was quite bummed. We are not praying for anymore though.
Well, we will end here, we love hearing from you when you get a chance, we enjoy getting mail. Also, if you would like to send us snail mail our address is:
Chris and Rebecca Vogt, New Hope Uganda, PO Box 16, Luweero, Uganda, East Africa
make sure you mark as airmail and not groundmail.
As I said we love getting mail, everything from postcards to packages are acceptable with us. No pressure though, ha ha.
Below are the picture descriptions.
Thank you all again for your prayers and encouragement to us. We are truly loving our time here. We feel so blessed to be a part of the ministry here and to be learning all that we are.
Have a great day!
The Vogts
Fishing! Samuel Family has a pond and they grow catfish and tilapia
and are able harvest once to twice a year. Here they are with their
big net. They combed the bottom and then brought the net up to land
and got all the fish! It must have been extremely heavy. You can see
some of them have the net with their teeth to hold it up out of the
water! One of the boys had a fish swim down his shirt which was
pretty hilarious!
Last are just some fun pictures of the area surrounding New Hope.
Dodo (the picture of the red weed looking thing) is actually a
vegetable similar to collard greens and as they say "Dodo is God's
gift to Africa!" It grows everywhere in all circumstances. The big
green fruit is jack fruit which is obviously nothing like anything in
America. Can't even really describe, but it's yummy. :) And last is
a HUGE termite hill and these are everywhere! Apparently if you were
to weigh all the termites and humans in the world the termites would
weigh more!
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