Good morning yellow banana!
It was two in the afternoon and Yahaya entered the roomful with his sincere greeting. There’s a certain level of joy when a five-year-old comes out with those words. But his joyful combination of known English words made me wonder about the importance of greetings.
In Luganda, a most common greeting for believers is “Mukama yebaziwe”. The greeting is used prior to beginning any conversation or even greeting with the usual “good morning” or “good afternoon”. Translated, it means “praise God” but the literal translation of words is “Give God thanks”.
Language is beautiful in its intricacy and simplicity. The simplicity and the intricacy are one in the same – that “praise” and “give thanks” are created from the same words and are interchangeable. How our perspectives are transformed when we see thanksgiving as praise in and of itself – a way to worship and honor God. And how, perhaps, our conversations and actions shift in light of this truth – when we begin each conversation with a small thanksgiving, a token of gratitude to Mukama.
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April is gently closing as the rain has finally begun to drizzle on all of our seedlings planted deep in the soil. As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers.
Here are some of the beautiful highlights from this past month:
Water: The rain has arrived, but it delayed in its coming. We praise the Lord for his provision that as we suffered from the lack of rain and easy access to water, the water project on our main campus began. A pump and pipes were installed at our borehole down in the valley to pump water via solar energy uphill to water tanks. Now, water is here and is in plenty all year long! We now have running water flowing from spickets at three major access points including running water in most of the houses including a functioning kitchen sink and a flushing toilet! And not only does pumping the water allow easier access for our community and the surrounding villages, it allows access to safer water. The groundwater pumped from the borehole is naturally cleaner, but even the process by which it is pumped and stored will likely prevent many water-borne illnesses. This is grace.
Good Friday & Easter Sunday: We gathered at our evening altar on Good Friday to remember the life Jesus walked, the prophesies fulfilled, and the death He died for our sake. And on Sunday, we rejoiced and celebrated as we memorialized Jesus’ return – sin and death defeated for eternity and our ability to stand in right relation with our God; the sacrifice paid in full on our behalf. We prepared and feasted with our church and community after Sunday service – a beautiful way to serve one another, to remember, and to rejoice. This is grace.
School holiday: All schools throughout the country are on holiday break, including our primary and vocational school. We have enjoyed this holiday break and lavished in the extra time spent with one another. We have kept ourselves busy with gardening, games, math practice (primarily motivated by food), and reading books. Last week, we travelled to a nearby city and took all nine kids to the swimming pool. None of them had been swimming before, and it was lifegiving to see their facial expressions when they felt, for the first time ever, their bodies weightless in the water. This is grace.
A testimony of Joseph and Aisha: As I began writing this email update, I looked back at the email I had sent last April and was reminded of the reality then: Aisha (11) and Joseph (5) were taken to the hospital for brain MRI’s to offer insight into a proper diagnosis and more specified treatment for their seizures. We praise God that after a whole year, Aisha has been completely healed from her seizures and Joseph is continuing to improve with seizures less frequent than any other time since he arrived here at Father to the Fatherless. This is grace.
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And again, I’m reminded of the words I shared many months ago in a blog post:
Luke 22:19 says, “And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them. . .”
In the original translation, “He gave thanks” is the word “Eucharisteo.”
Eucharisteo.
A word weaved throughout scripture, embedded in thanksgiving, with the root charis meaning grace. Jesus, before he was to die on the cross, took bread. And in that moment, he saw the bread as grace.
He saw grace.
And seeing the bread as grace, he gave thanks to the Father.
He gave thanks.
And not only did he experience grace, but the derivative of eucharisteo is chara meaning joy.
So, he took the bread, saw it as grace, gave thanks, and in giving thanks, he experienced joy.
He experienced joy. [1]
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May all these many words fall softly upon you to strengthen and encourage; to nourish and to grow. And, as a friend once told me in the Adirondack wilderness, "do not merely pray for sunshine, pray for the weather in which you will grow."
Click below to read more on my blog and what is happening in my life. Thank you for walking this journey with me.
With grace & gratitude,
Nicole Harkreader
[1] Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 2010), 31-32.
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