Grateful

“And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!" At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"”

Genesis 42:27,28 

     These verses come from the account of Joseph. Joseph was one of 12 sons, sold into slavery by his own brothers. He became a slave to the pharaoh of Egypt, and through a series of God's protection and love Joseph became the 2nd in command of all the land. During this time there was a horrible famine happening in various areas. God showed Joseph how to prepare for this devastation beforehand, so he was able to stock up enough food to last throughout the whole famine! 

   However, his brothers (who Joseph hasn't seen in years), had nothing to eat and were sent by their father to purchase grain from Egypt. In the process, they met Joseph. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him! After a few days of the brothers being held in custody, Joseph allowed them to return home with their money replenished in their sacks as well as provisions for their journey home. 

  I explain all of that to give better understanding of the realization that happened in these verses. These men were just in custody by a leader of Egypt, who has the authority to take their money if he pleases. This man was shocked to discover it was still there in full! He was so grateful, and so were his brothers around him. Also, they all immediately recognized it was the Lord's doing. At this, fear struck their hearts. I believe it was a healthy fear! One of those moments where they have to take a step back and be fully aware of how enormous and sovereign God is. Also in this moment these men all agree that none of them deserve this gift. They all one way or another sold their brother into slavery many years ago, and there was no explanation as to why they were being granted with grace. 

   This week has been one of understanding how much I am given that I am completely undeserving of. My team is on a service trip on Kalangala Island for 5 days, and it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen! 

This was our day today: 

At 8 we left for a village outreach/kids club a few hours away! 

At 10 we reached the location after an epic van ride on dirt roads with great views of lake Victoria & good fellowship! (Already things I don't deserve!)

By then we had a kids club! This entailed meeting 200 new kids ages 1-15, learning new names, faces, and smiles. We sang worship songs and danced to a few goofy ones, and then we broke into age groups and shared with them from the Bible. It's awesome to see how well these kid's pay attention! Then we played different games with all of them, including sack races, tug of war, sharks and minnows, ext. & at 1pm it was a wrap! I never feel so blessed than when I spend time with the children here. They are so full of joy, even with so little. And I know the gift of spending time here is from the Lord! The children that were able to come today - God directed them there and I am so undeserving to do His work! I am not good enough to be sharing His word or to be loving on His children around the world, but He has given me grace and I have been recognizing more and more recently how much of a privilege it is to be here. 

After kids club, we went to a beach on Victoria lake that had white sand and clear water and we were able to have lunch and debrief with each other! We hiked out through a very jungle-looking area that overlooked the whole lake and it was breathtaking, no doubt. Each of us saw the beauty before us and had to thank God for the view we were all taking in! 

 On the drive home we took a very special pit stop - a pineapple farm! The pineapples here literally taste like candy, they are so good! But best of all, this mother with her three kids were the owners of the farm, and her oldest, Amma,

spoke English! While others were picking their pineapples I was able to spend some time with this family and found out they are also Christians and we were able to encourage each other. They were such a nice family! I was torn inside when it was time to go. When you read this, please pray for their family. Their names are Sharon (the mom), Ama (the oldest girl), Nicholas (young boy), and Marvin (the baby). Pray they would continue to grow up in the Lord and that their farm business would be able to provide for their needs. 

All of that to say, I am given opportunities everyday that I don't deserve and I am so thankful to God for it. He has blessed my life over and above! But what convinced me to grow in this verse is that they trembled from fear of the Lord. As I am noticing the miracles He is working in my life, my fear for the Lord should grow. The more real He is to me, the more fear and awe I should have of His greatness. So I am challenged with that this week and it's been very eye-opening!