Externally Focused at Watermark

I just returned from another trip to Africa – this time Kampala, as well as several areas in Northern Uganda, where the communities that we serve are located. We were there to conduct some diligence in preparation for an orphan care/sponsorship program that we’re rolling out after the new year to connect 600 children with individual church sponsors.  We also saw and documented water wells – both new ones that have been drilled recently and proposed sites in preparation for Watermark Conspiracy, which is rolling out next Sunday.  We also saw progress on the trade school that we’re building in Pader and visited widow groups where micro-finance programs have had a huge impact, including the development of a pigery, that will bless thousands of widows over the next 5 years.  We also met with ministry partners on the ground to learn more about their discipleship/mentoring of the children in the program.  It was a tremendous trip and opportunity to see first-hand what God is doing through his church.

I thought I would also summarize a few of my personal takeaways:

1. There is a great joy in Jesus when you realize you have nothing to offer Him.

The folks we met, widows, orphans, child soldiers, and others had none of the trappings of success – no cars, boats, degrees, homes, money, jobs, or even food – yet, there was great joy in their hearts at the generosity of a great God that loves and values them so much that He would send His Son for them.  On the other hand, we have all of that “stuff” and whether we admit it or not, there’s a small part of us that believes that the “stuff” we have accumulated somehow gives us value and makes us worthy of God’s attention…

As I walked hand in hand with one of the young girls away from the rock quarry in Kampala, where she had previously worked all day every day busting rocks by hand for 50 cents (and the hope for one meal a day), I’m convinced that until we view our own spiritual poverty in the same way we see the visible material poverty of these people, we will never fully understand God’s grace and love..and therefore cannot truly live to serve Him.

2. There’s a healthy line between guilt and conviction.

At one place, we met a child headed household – a family of 4 – who lived in a hut about the size of my master bathroom (and I don’t live in a huge house) along with spiders, no light, and little food.  Something is simply unjust about the fact that because of these kids’ longitude and latitude, they have no access to even the basics – clean water, food, shelter, and school.

I left there thinking that we can’t feel guilty for what the Lord has blessed us with, BUT, we can and should live in a continuous state of tension and conviction as to whether we are properly stewarding God’s resources.  Why do we continue to pursue and collect things that: 1) don’t satisfy us and 2) don’t help the lives of others?  I repent.

3. When he help folks who are materially poor, we must be careful in what we say, how we act, and what we do, so that we don’t unintentionally make things worse….or create new problems for the communities that we serve or our ministry partners who are there 24/7.  Rather, we must focus on oppportunities that:

- develop people and build leaders;

- invest in strategies where folks are empowered, achieve, feel their value/dignity; and

- share the gospel each time there is an opportunity, which is the true hope for the world.

I’m reading a great book right now on this very subject, called “When Helping Hurts”. I highly recommend to everyone.

Also, if you’re interested in viewing the pictures from this trip, here are two links:

1) link to selected portraits of some of the people that we met – http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffsterlaw/Africa2009SelectedPortraits#

2) link to the complete album (800+ pictures) – http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffsterlaw/Africa2009Complete#

Enjoy!

Three seconds seems hardly worth mentioning. It goes by so fast. What can one really do in such a short amount of time? In fact, it has taken you longer than three seconds just to read to the end of this sentence. So how could it be so significant?

Here’s how: Every three seconds a child under age 5 dies somewhere in the world from a preventable cause such as diarrhea, malaria and measles. Right now, a little girl is breathing her last breath because she didn’t have access to clean water. And a little boy won’t wake from his sleep because he got a sickness that could have been prevented with a $1 vaccination. None of it has to happen.

God has called His Church to reach out to the poor and the needy — to take care of His children. In Proverbs, He tells us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” In James, we’re called to “look after orphans and widows in their distress.” In all, more than 2,000 verses in the Bible address children and the poor. God is that serious about it. He has commanded us to get involved. The very least we can do as a church is pray. Please take some time today to pray for the millions of children in the world who are suffering in sickness that could and should be prevented. Then, explore how you can give and serve on the frontline of the battle. http://www.watermark.org/serve/external-opportunities/africa-partnerships/

Be watching for even more ways to get involved this Christmas…  It’s time. Every three seconds we hesitate is another life that could have been saved.

This Friday, July 17^th, the first of two teams of Watermark Single Adults leaves for a trip to Asela, Ethiopia.  They will be working with E3 Partners to evangelize the lost and help establish churches among the Oromo people group, an unreached people group of over 2.5 million.  The second team will be leaving Friday, July 24^th.  We would encourage you to go to their blog and follow along at http://watermarkinafrica.blogspot.com so that you can be encouraged and know how to pray. 

by Wes Butler, Director of Single Adult Ministry

By Stephanie Schweinfurth

We have truly been to the other side of the world and seen Jesus in the people of Burundi Africa! Our journey started in the capital city of Bujumbura. We were met by the warm and welcoming ALARM staff and the first sights on the road were overwhelming; women carrying large baskets on their heads and babies tied to their backs, people washing clothes in ditches, men on bikes carrying very large bundles and the automobile traffic as dense and aggressive as in New York City. Our first night’s dinner was unforgettable as were served whole fish, eyes and all. But we were blessed to hear the personal story of Deo, the director of ALARM in Burundi. At the time of the rebellion, his “neighbor” killed his uncles and hired someone to kill his father. Deo later became a believer and went back to this man and forgave him and asked for forgiveness for the terrible thoughts he had through the years. It was a powerful story and a somber reminder of what these people have been through. We started the next day, Sunday, with an incredible worship experience. Each of the choirs sang for us, the children, the young adults and the women. The music and singing was angelic.

After worship, we headed north to Bubanza. As we would later learn, we were the first white people to spend more than one night in the Bubanza province since 1993. The reception was warm and welcoming and many joined us in our three day conference. We covered topics including conflict resolution, bible study methods, health and hygiene, AIDS/HIV, parenting and family planning. The women were eager to learn and brought to tears when they received bibles as gifts and reading glasses. One woman began crying as she put on her glasses, as she had not been able to read in quite some time. The women learned bible study methods and broke into groups to practice their skills. They also had many questions and difficult situations which they shared with us during the conflict resolution session. During our time together we were serenaded often by these sweet women and their harmony. By day 3 we were embracing these women and they sent us off with special blessings and testimony as to how much they had learned.

Our last day in Bubanza was spent serving and being with the community. The governor arranged for us to plant trees in the town’s center where we were quickly surrounded by hundreds of elementary students, many of whom had never seen a white person. They loved shaking our hands and practicing the few phrases they knew in English. We also got to witness a dance group practicing for the final dance competition in the province - the same competition documented in the movie “War Dance.” We were then taken by the governor to a remote refugee village, home to 300 families. The governor addressed the people and knew the families by name. We distributed beans and cornmeal to each family. The dwellings in this area were small and made of sticks and we were told that the water source was a 2 mile walk one-way. It was hard to see a people with such hopelessness in their eyes, but we were encouraged to see in the crowd one of the women who attended our conference.

Our last night in Bubanza was spent at dinner with the governor; he was appreciative of our service to his people and encouraged us to return. We left Bubanza to return to Bujumbura for one more night. We were treated to a great meal at Deo’s home and were excited to experience AC and warm water. What a treat! The ALARM staff and drivers took incredible care of us and were such an encouragement to us through the entire experience.

Thanks also to all of you who prayed for us during this incredible experience. What a privilege to serve people so far away in the name of Jesus and on behalf of Watermark. I pray that we would continue this service both here in Dallas and also in far away places. There is much more work to be done.

I asked Brooke Mauritzen to share a bit about the ladies’ trip…

What an amazing trip!  We started by spending Sunday in the capital of Kampala.  The team from Watermark split up and went to two separate churches.  At the church I attended, our group was asked to give the main message in the service.  Our bags had been lost at the airport the night before, so we all spoke about different situations in our lives where we thought we needed something but were denied whatever that was (using the lost luggage as an example).  The underlying theme was in the midst of not having that “missing piece” to our lives, God really showed up and provided for us despite what we thought we were lacking,  In particular for me, I got to share with the church members my story of singleness, including how the Lord has really grown my heart over the last seven years from a thought pattern of making marriage a goal to a place where I am willing to be in whatever phase of life He thinks I can serve Him best in.  Since there is a negative stigma in the Ugandan culture with being single, I hope and pray it really resonated with some folks who may struggle with that issue!   Sunday evening we spent some time with some widows in Kampala at an IDP camp ALARM has been involved in.  Barbara Roberson taught the women to knit and crochet so they could learn a new skill to support themselves with.

We spent Monday traveling and visiting some areas that Watermark has invested in.  We flew from Southern Uganda to Pader, a district where our church has financed a water well and is currently building a trade school for former child soldiers.  I was incredibly proud to be a part of this body when I saw with my own eyes the practical ways we are loving the people of Uganda!

After visiting Pader, we settled in Kitgum, the northernmost region of Uganda.  Our conference started late Monday afternoon, and I really feel that we got the opportunity to minister to the women who came.  I can say with assurance that they most definitely ministered to our team from Watermark!  It was so revolutionary for them to hear the curriculum we taught on, which was primarily Marriage, Trauma Healing, Forgiveness, Conflict Resolution, Teaching Children, Health/Hygiene, HIV/AIDS, and Sharing Your Story.  Lucina Thompson did a great job of leading out with all that we taught, and her experience teaching these subjects really blessed everyone in attendance.  We could tell that our words (God’s words, really) were not falling on deaf ears, and we even heard stories that the women who stayed at the conference center overnight stayed up late to discuss what they were learning with each other.  On the last day, we spent about an hour and a half listening to their own testimonies and the impact the conference had on them.  It was truly overwhelming!  I still can’t fathom some of the difficult situations these women have been through, from war to being widowed, losing children to adopting a house full of orphans.  One woman in particular shared how she has struggled to forgive someone in her life, and as a result of what she heard last week knows she needs to find the strength and courage to offer forgiveness to the person to killed her brother-in-law.

Our short time in Kitgum was full of making new friends who live an ocean away, laughter, tears, dancing (we even taught them the chicken dance, to the beautiful sound of Beth Rudy’s violin), sweet conversation, and a new deep and abiding love in all of our hearts for the people of northern Uganda.  One more quick story of how the Lord taught me on the trip.  On Tuesday night, Tracy Alexander got a stomach bug and spent all of Wednesday sick in bed.  When we shared this with the women on Wednesday morning, they were all so intentional to stop and pray for Tracy.  She persevered and was a real trooper!  On Thursday, Tracy was back in action and really did a great job of teaching that day.  I was so encouraged by her faithfulness to do what she had came over there to do no matter how she felt!  She accomplished much through what she taught as well, and the women mentioned how grateful they were to hear from her.

Thank you to all who lifted us in prayer and encouraged us during our time over there.  Your prayers were most definitely felt and it is a privilege to have you play a crucial role in our ministry time in Uganda!

by Brooke Mauritzen

I asked Aaron Graft to share a bit about his team’s recent return from Africa…

…we started the trip by spending Sunday in the capital of Kampala (minus our luggage, but we weren’t really surprised by that…).  We spent Monday morning visiting some areas where Watermark has invested with ALARM.  That afternoon, we flew from Kampala to Pader, where Watermark has financed the construction of a water well and is currently funding the construction of a trade school to train child soldiers that are being rehabilitated into society.  It was moving to see how God is using us to do something tangible half a world away from Dallas.

After visiting Pader, we traveled by car to our ultimate destination of Kitgum.  This is in far northern Uganda and has been a global “hot spot” for many years due to the fighting between the rebels and the government.  Our conference began Monday evening and went through Thursday afternoon.  Approximately 80 men attended – mainly church and civic leaders from Kitgum and the surrounding villages.  Almost all of these men had lost close family members to the fighting that has gone over the past 20 years.

We covered topics of biblical leadership, forgiveness, suffering and the sovereignty of God and conflict resolution.  By the last day of the conference, many of the men told stories about how they had asked for forgiveness at home and from their neighbors and practical steps they will take to apply what they had learned.  It was encouraging to see so many of them genuinely respond to the teaching.  We were also amazed and encouraged by the great faith and joy of these people despite the poverty and hardship that dominates their day-to-day lives.  As I told them the last day of the conference, I am convinced that eternity will show that Christians in Africa have exhibited a faith far beyond that of their western brothers and sisters.  I can honestly say that the Watermark team got as much or more out of the experience than the Africans who attended the conference.  I was personally convicted about how selfish I am and how often I run to God to remove little discomforts in my life while these people struggle to meet the basic needs of food, water and shelter on a daily basis.

In summary, I am honored to have had this opportunity.  God is alive and working all over the world!  It is encouraging to see Watermark expand its focus to participate in His kingdom work all across the world.

by Aaron Graft