Prayer Request for Kenya...

As you may have seen on the news, read, or heard Kenya recently held its presidential election on the 27th of this month. Until last night the results were unknown and rumours of rigging the election were going around. There has been rising conflict between two of the largest tribes in Kenya and has put life on hold for many. In regions of the country there have been shootings, burning of shops and homes, looting, and closing of roads. Yesterday afternoon Kibaki was announced to have won the elections and was shortly sworn in for another term as president. Many say that if it had been the other tribe's candidate who had won, there was still be unrest, so in terms of being at peace it was a lose-lose situation. So I write this from Kenya still as I am unable to enter Nairobi where I would need to go to take a bus back to Uganda. There are many people who were traveling for Christmas that are now stranded where they are and facing many challenges to return home. But God is in control and always sovereign. The prayer request is that God would be glorified in the current circumstances Kenya is facing and that His people would withstand these trials, pointing to Him. Thank-you so much for your prayers!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from Kenya everyone! I have been at YWAM Athi River in Kenya now for five days and am enjoying my vacation or holiday. I completed my first quarter of SBS absolutely warn out physically, emotionally, and spiritually...so I am so blessed to just get away to a place that I love like YWAM Athi River. (Its the closest to home I can get here in Africa!) As I approached the base I was overwhelmed to tears to realize how faithful God is. I remember in February, after our month long stay, I dragged my feet as we left. But now I am back and feel that I will return many times in the future. So far I have seen so many giraffe that I can no longer count of my fingers! I have enjoyed going for jogs through the bush trails and see them almost every time. Yesterday I saw a group of seven of them and when they saw me they decided to run as well. It was so beautiful to see them as they majestically glided in front of me. Along with my walks and jogs through the bush I have also enjoyed helping out in the kitchen and visiting with old friends and new friends from the current DTS. I really feel like this time that I have off from SBS is a time to renew my relationship with God. To be very honest somewhere in these last three months I have become so wrapped up in the work of SBS and other small things, that my relationship with God has suffered. I know that I haven't completely missed God, but I also realize I haven't made him my top focus. So I'm praying for God to revive my heart, restore, instruct, rebuke, and change me so that I may be able to commit to another quarter of SBS, but this time with my eyes on Him and not so much distracted by the small meaningless things that will pass. I really believe that God wants me in the SBS, but I also realize that I need to re-surrender myself to him in order for me to get the very most that he has for me. I really am seeking to hear God speaking me and directing me as I spend my time here in Kenya and also as I return to Uganda. For Christmas I am staying at the base with a few other people. We will have a chicken dinner on Christmas day and hopefully do some other fun things. I am planning to spend some time this upcoming week making cards, communicating, cooking, helping out on the base, and relaxing. Without snow, family, and friends it is hard to imagine that Christmas is almost here. But I am planning to make the very best of all that God has given me and will enjoy as best I can. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas as you spend time with your loved ones and celebrate the joyous birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who so humbly came to this earth so that we may be restored to the Father! God bless you!

I'm Still Here!

Well its been a few weeks again since my last update so here comes another:Since my last update I went through about a week of life without water, except what came from the few times it rained. It was a very challenging time, but I made it and have grown from the experience. Thanksgiving was well, not really thanksgiving! My fellow American staff member got a turkey for a special dinner for my fellow students and myself. By the time the turkey was ready near 9pm I was on the phone with my family and missed most of it. But to be completely honest I was feeling a little sick to my stomach from the smell of the food and was sooo grateful to visit with my family!!!This past week we studied the book of Romans...wow. The book is very intense and takes a lot to truly understand it as Paul originally intended it to be. Previously when people would ask me what book of the bible was my favorite I often said Romans. But that was because of the verses I took randomly from the book that appealed to me. Don't get me wrong, I still love the book, but in a different way because I have never understood the book as I do now. It was written to unite the church, yet it has been the source of so much division in the church today. Of course the enemy came and attacked our school this week in that very area: unity. Disunity has been growing within us in ways that we don't understand or clearly see, and this week it finally dawned on us that it was even happening. Personally I have been transformed by this book. The ideas I had previously that weren't correct have been challenged and I have decided to exchange them for the truth.Two more weeks and our first quarter of the SBS will be finished! Honestly I am very tired physically and mentally and well emotionally at times as well...so I'm looking forward to it. I am still hoping to travel to Kenya where I will stay at YWAM Athi River for most of the time. This upcoming week we are studying the book of Hebrews and then the final week of the quarter is the book of Matthew. Yesterday I received several of my assignments back and academically I am doing well: mostly Bs, but again I am reminded that I am not here for grades. If I get an A on an assignment and miss God that week in what we are studying it might as well me an F! But I am working hard and God's grace abounds for me to finish my assignments and improve each week. So praise God!Things are changing on the base as the Discipleship Training School and Foundations for Community Development school are both on their outreaches. The DTS is still in Uganda, but is soon leaving for Tanzania and the FCD left last night for the Sudan. So the base has less people and the atmosphere is different. Some of my fellow Americans have also left this week who were on staff and that was been hard for me. But I am so thankful for the time I had with them to help ease my transition into being here in Uganda.As for me, I am well. I do have some specific prayer requests, but there will always be those. I am still having digestive challenges, although it has somewhat improved, it continues to be a discomfort! As some of you know I love to run and since I got here I have been struggling with pain in my left shin that has kept me for the past month at least from running. I have had problems with shin splints in the past, but this is really deep in my leg and doesn't go away even if I don't run for weeks. My friend and I were visiting the other day and I came to realize a few things: I have learned to take advantage of opportunities to pray for others as God puts them before me (special thanks to Greg and Kathy Smith who implanted this principle in me as we prepared for Zambia 2 years ago)! Many times while I have been here in Uganda, I have had the opportunity to pray for people and word has spread about me. My prayers work! People have been relieved of pain and healed after I have gone before the Father with them. It doesn't always happen, but word has spread about the times it has on the base. I truly believe in my heart that God can and does heal according to His will and it has been awesome to see Him using me, who is completely nothing, to bring restoration to others. I'm not saying that I have the gift of healing, because this is something very new to me, but I do know that God has heard my prayers for healing several times now. So my friend and I talked about this and she was telling me that this is a huge threat to the enemy, so where would he likely attack me? maybe in the same area, by causing me pain in my leg? I'm not certain of this, but it is a possibility. So instead of accepting the pain in my leg, I have decided to pray for God's healing and am asking that you would join me. Its not a matter of life or death, but running releases me and boosts my spirit. I feel God's strength in me when I do it because I know that without Him, I wouldn't be able to do it. Also, there seems to be some tension between my room-mate and myself. She is from Kenya and of course we come from completely different cultures. I won't go into details, but I am praying that God would break through whatever is standing between my room-mate, who I love, and allow us to live at peace and enjoy our time together.Well this has become a very long update! Tomorrow is our monthly day of prayer, fasting, and intercession on the base...so it should be a wonderful day. Thank-you so much for your prayers, e-mails, cards, and support. May the love of the Lord be with you all. ~Becky

Update At Last!

My Dearest Friends and Family!
First of all, let me just apologize for the extended delay in communicating with all of you. Since the last time that I wrote we have covered the books of Acts, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and this upcoming week we will study 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. So time is really flying by and its hard to believe how much we have covered of the New Testament. We won’t finish it before the end of the first trimester, which ends around 16 of December, but early in the second trimester the New Testament will be completely covered. The school continues to be very challenging, but so enlightening and inspiring at the same time. As a school we have been learning to stick together as we go through these nine months of growing in God’s Word together. As in all group situations, there has been some friction amongst us, but that develops character so I praise God for it! Personally, I have been stretched to understand and appreciate the East African Culture more. Not that I have achieved these things, but God is developing them in me and it is a very humbling experience. Because of this, my worldview is also changing and that is exciting for me. I don’t want to live with a closed, small mind, but rather with an open and understanding approach to the world. So I praise God for these things. Also, I must mention how amazing God’s grace truly is. I don’t know how I am able to go from one book to the next as we do in this school, intensely looking into each. It takes such a toll and I honestly feel like I should and would be burnt out if this were anything other than God’s word. But with each new book, I am given the endurance, strength, and desire to press on. In the past there have always been days where I would wake up in the morning and not want to get out of bed to avoid the day’s challenges. Something is happening in my time in SBS. There hasn’t been a single day where I have desired to escape the challenges of the day, avoiding the challenges that will come with the day. I am not saying that my challenges are not great, they are huge, but the grace of God is upon me. Every morning I wake up somewhat early, often tired, and go to spend time with God. Of course there are days when I don’t get my time alone with God in during that time slot, but that has been the trend. I can’t explain how this is possible, there is nothing inside of Becky Lawrence that is capable of overcoming the giants each day brings. The only explanation I can come to is that the Lord’s strength is sufficient for me and by Him, I am conquering the impossible!
As I have mentioned before, this school requires serious spiritual warfare. Last week Wednesday, one of my fellow students from Northern Uganda received the news that his ailing father had passed away. Funerals in Africa are a very significant event that puts financial stress on families and if people aren’t careful it can drain someone’s spirit. (There is time of gathering of family, mourning for the dead, burial, and many other things that require life to be put on hold for the family). Amazingly our fellow student’s father who had denied accepting Jesus as his Savior his entire life, just before he died surrendered his life at Jesus’ feet. For that we had much reason to rejoice. But for him to leave during the middle of the week missing lectures, study times, intercession, worship, etc. cost him a lot. We have all come to realize how important it is that we pray especially for our families, that all attempts of the enemy to distract us with worrisome or disheartening news from them is cancelled. So that would be one of my prayer requests: please hold up my family: their protection from the powers of darkness that attempt to steal, kill, and destroy as I devote this time in my life to growing in God’s Word.
During the upcoming break between trimesters in December I am planning to travel with my Kenyan friends to neighboring Kenya. I am not sure exactly what will happen during the two weeks off, but I am planning to return to YWAM Athi River, where I spent a month of my DTS outreach to visit with old friends and spend some time serving the base again. Many people here ask me if I am going home to the U.S. for Christmas and to be honest I really wish that I were. How I would love to come home for a few days, see my family, friends, eat American food (how I miss it!), rest, and relax, but my heart, lack of money, and time tell me that I must remain on this continent! For many of you, I know that Christmas letters and/or cards are an annual ritual…please let me encourage you to send me yours here in Uganda. I would absolutely love to hear from you as individuals, even if just in brief. It really touches my heart every time a letter/card/note comes in the mail from my loved ones.
Other things to report: My digestive problems are still happening, but it is improving so thank-you for your prayers…please keep them coming! The seasons are changing in Uganda from rainy season to HOT season. Its not humid, but the sun gets intense and the heat does likewise. There is a refrigerator and gas stove in the complex where I stay, so I really enjoy cooking for myself, but even more for others. Some common things I make are eggs or omlets, scuma wikki (spinach finely chopped and steamed), and diced carrots. Today, after church in a neighboring village, I went and bought some meat in the market. The butchers here don’t use gloves or refrigeration, but just have the meat laying out and cut it right infront of you on a large stump, weigh it on a scale and put it in a plastic bag (only if you purchase the bag that is!). While he was cutting the meat, a piece landed on my foot and I was reminded of how far from home I really am. But with that meat that I washed thoroughly, boiled, then boiled again I made a beef-vegetable soup for my fellow students and staff. It turned out quite well and I enjoyed making it. Other than cooking in my free time I jog, sometimes go to town (Jinja), visit with others, take a nap, or go to a peaceful place where I can rest my mind. There are also opportunities to fellowship and mingle with others on the base throughout the week with various events, the majority being meals.
Well I am writing this right before I go to sleep, so I must wrap this update up. Thank-you all soooo much for your prayers and support. I continue to be so blessed in ways that I cannot explain, but know they are in part because of those who are lifting me up in prayers. I am truly honored that so many of you have chosen to stand with me during this time while God equips me with the knowledge of His Word, preparing me for the life of service in the ministry of making Him known to the world as He has called me to. May God be with you and become more real to you each day! Take care and God bless you!
In the Mighty Hands of God,
Becky <><

Sorry for the Delay...

Hello everyone! Sorry that I haven't written on the blogpage for so long. Internet access is very limited and complicated here. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing well and hope to make a new post with more details this weekend. I love you all and am so blessed by your support!

This is War!

Well it has been almost three weeks now of the SBS and God is on the move. This past week we were studying the book of Mark. It was really challenging and the workload was heavier than the first two weeks, but that is to be expected. During our orientation they told us that this was spiritual warfare, but it wasn't until last night that I really started to understand what they meant. The assignments that we have to do each week are really challenging and require a lot of time and work. Well I have been struggling to move a quick enough pace and even with very late nights of studying I was beginning to feel very overwhelmed. Last night I started to feel really sad and anxious about getting everything done by the deadline (tonight 12pm). Then I started to feel extremely homesick and my mind was just running away from me. At the base we don't have power often because well it is Africa and last night was without power. By the end of dinner it was completely dark and I was feeling like I was lost in the dark spiritually as well. I shared my burden with my brother/friend/fellow student in the SBS from Kenya and he was there to pray for me. I was being attacked and was carrying a burden that I couldn't carry anymore. So I had to just cry out to Jesus and run back into His arms. After His peace was flowing through me again and the anxiety fled, I realized that I was spendind so much time trying to get the homework done that my relationship with God was suffering because of it. That is exactly what the enemy wants!!! I am coming to know the truth and it is setting me free. I am a threat to the powers of darkness and am continuously attacked. Satin will make every effort he can to get in the way and I am sick of it! He has no power over me and I have realized his tactics at work around me. So last night I made the decision to lay aside my right to get distracted by the academics of the SBS and put my relationship with the Lord before it all. Because honestly the grade that I get, whether I finish making my charts, read each book of the Bible 5xs, or other distractions...I cannot miss God in this. I don't want to get to the end of my SBS and realize that I got wonderful grades, BUT that I missed God. I also realized that for a while now I have stopped dreaming with God for future ministries for myself and entending His kingdom. I need a vision for the future and am going to make that a priority, that is seeking God to instill vision into my heart again. So I would like to ask that you would continue to keep me in your prayers. More specifically for protection against the enemy, discernment to see what he is doing, stength to stand strong in my faith & fight it, my relationship with God to just flourish and grow as I go into His Word, my digestive system (having a really hard time digesting with the new diet), for vision from God, and an impact for the Kingdom of God everywhere that I am. Thank-you so much for your prayers and support. God bless you!
P.S. Fun facts: saw monkeys on the base, weather is very rainy...making it very muddy, rode a motorcycle back from a near-by villiage yesterday-exciting (they call them boda-bodas)
Here's what my schedule looks like everyday (roughly):
5:30-6:30 wake up get ready
6/6:30 prayer or quiet time with God
7:30 breakfast (bread and tea)
9 worship with SBS (I have led worship several times now-blessing me so much!)
9:30-11:30 class
11:30-12 tea break
12:30-1 class again
1 lunch
3-5 work duties
6:30 dinner
the times not mentioned are spent studying praying, reading, exercising, fellowship, washing clothes by hand, etc.

In Context

Greetings to everyone again from YWAM Hopeland in Uganda. Already, I am into the second week of the SBS and things are going well. Last week we had the assignment to write a letter to someone we dearly loved. Easy enough, right?! Well we all handed our letters in and the next day the teacher brought them out. She would read a random sentence from each letter and that was it. We had spent so much time writing to our loved ones and there she was reading sentences. Our words made no sense to anyone and the meaning of our letters was lost! It was a great challenge for us all. This is the way most of us have or do read God's letters to us...the Bible. We jump around or use a scripture from here or there, without taking the time to understand His heart about the entire issue. The reason for which the book was written, to whom it was meant for, the historical context, what it meant as an entire message, but most importantly we rob God the priveledge of communicating to us His entire message. This School of Biblical Studies is all about this. It is all about praying, reading (countless times), looking again and again for insight, inviting the Spirit of God to speak, taking the context into consideration, and receiving the intimate communication that comes from the Living Word of God! As I have said before this course is going to require so much of me, but to have the oppurtunity to allow God's Word to pass through me verses me passing through it; I'm going to fight for it. I want the Word on my heart and it is already happening. So far we've only completed Philemon, but its in me now and it comes out, it plays itself out in my conversation, thoughts, and actions everyday. This week we have begun to study Galatians. And wow, more to hide in my heart and bring forth into the world as I live. Its truly powerful and such a blessing. Thank-you for your prayers and continued support in the spiritual realms for I am continuously uplifted. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen!

New Things

Well I am safely living and studying in Uganda! I have so much to write about, but unfortunately my time is limited for this visit to the internet cafe. Your prayers have covered me like a blanket since the moment I got on the first flight. God blessed my heart in so many ways on the trip there with things like having a Ugandan to travel with, visiting the Great Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt, staying in a hotel for the rest of the layover in Cairo, and countless others. I feel so spoiled by God! YWAM Hopeland is absolutely beautiful! It overlooks Lake Victoria and the surroundings are fantastic. My favorite place to be is in the prayer garden that over looks the bush and beyond that is the lake. I was a guest at the base until this last Monday when classes for my SBS began. There are seven students right now from U.S., Kenya, and Uganda. We are hoping that another two; one from India and another from Nigeria will still come to join us. The first three weeks of the school are orientation. We are learning how to study, what tools to use, how to lay aside our opinions, preconceived ideas, and just allow the Bible or living Word of God speak to us. So far we have gone through the book of Philemon! It was a great book to start with and I would have never guessed there was so much to it. This school is going to require basically all that I have and my prayer request is that I would be able to persereve through the nine months in order to know God more. I want to be equiped to serve Him and be closer to His heart. This is where I need to be and I am so thankful that I am here. Malaria and stomach illnesses are common at the base, so I have had several oppurtunities to pray for others and see God's healing hand at work. It is so powerful! But if you could keep that in your prayers I would greatly appreciate it. As I said before there are so many stories to tell, but time is short. Thank-you so much for all of your support and prayers. God bless you richly!

Seasons....

I would like to share something that God has been communicating to me lately. In the past I have struggled with the many changes that life brings. Recently, I have been wrestling with that idea of change. I was driving home from my last day of work a few weeks ago and God imparted something in my heart. My mind began to think of the passage from Ecclesiastes, chapter three that speaks of the seasons of life. The author writes, (Ecc 3:1) There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven: He then goes on to list the various seasons of life. I had heard this passage many times before in songs, sermons, readings, etc., but never like this! Let me share with you the relevance this passage has in my life today and maybe yours too.
I have a hard time dealing with the unavoidable changes of life, it is a simple fact. Death, good-bye’s, moving, mourning, making new friends, and countless other events of life are difficult for me to endure. I was reminded of the current season change happening all around me here in Wisconsin. Summer is coming to an end, the temperature is cooler, leaves are changing color, days are shorter, and creation is preparing for winter. Similarly, God is calling me to the other side of the world after over six months of living at home, in luxury, with my parents. A new season of my life is coming as I walk with the Lord. This season is unfamiliar and full of unknowns that make me dread the moments when I will say my farewells to my comfort zone and those that I love. There are parts of every season that I dread as well, like the humidity of summer, dying plants in fall, freezing temperatures of winter, and cleaning in the spring. But, moreover, are the beauties of each season: summer’s sun, fall’s colorful leaves, winter’s fresh fallen snow on the trees, and spring’s promise of new life. Creation’s changing of seasons is a reflection of how life is for us as humans. Seasons always come and go in nature and in our lives as well.
God has challenged me to see and embrace His hand as Creator, as He walks me into another season of the life He has given me. My perspective of change is changing and a new appreciation for all that my life lived for the Lord brings is developing in my heart. There is so much to look forward to as I enter into this next season. But the best part is knowing that through these changes of life my God is with me, holding my hand, molding me, and drawing me closer to His heart!

One Week...

One week from today I will be flying out of Chicago off to the land of Uganda! Exciting, nerve racking, amazing, and all other possible emotions all at the same time. Yesterday was my official send-off by my church and wow...the support I have is a gift from God. Having so many people praying over me, hugging me, crying with me, encouraging me, and supporting me is truly beautiful. With the past six months or so of living in my hometown of Ladysmith, Wisconsin has been wonderful. I am so blessed by His faithfulness to use me when I am willing to be used by Him and to continue to draw me closer to Him. This final week of being in the U.S. for a while consists of final farewells, packing...much packing, sending out some support letters, making final arrangements for travel and finances, spending time with my family and friends, and most importantly allowing the Lord to continue to prepare my heart for what is next. My words are not adequate to express my appreciatation to all who are supporting me with their prayers, financial gifts, and encouragement. But even more I lack the words to express my thanks to my living God who makes all these things possible and has called me to go upward and onward with Him!

Overview for Time in Uganda

The Lord has called me to take another leap of faith and on September 17th I am leaving everything familiar and comfortable to fly to Uganda, East Africa. My flight will bring me to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda where someone from the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Jinja will come to pick me up. From there I will be taken to my new home for the next nine months as I attend the lecture or in classroom phase of a school of biblical studies (SBS). Through this course I will go deep into the Word of God to extend my head-knowledge, understanding of who God is, who I am in Him, grow in my relationship with the Lord, and also serve with the missionary base. (What these services will be I don't know of yet!) In addition to these things I trust that the Lord will provide someone to disciple me further in my walk with God. After nine months of studying the bible in the classroom, the school moves onto outreach phase where we leave the classroom and put all we have learned into practice. So if my math is correct I should enrolled in this school for one year. What will follow this I have no idea, but know that God will show me in His perfect time! So this is a very general overview of what the next year will look like for me. There are so many unknowns and possibilies that make this another true adventure with my Jesus! I am thrilled that God has chosen me to go out into the world and be a light for all to see, so that He will be praised!