Experiences of Peace and Healing - our faith challenged

Yesterday was our second full day of working in our smaller work teams. Here are two stories: one from a student who has spent time in the Thread of Life sewing shop, and the other who is studying nursing and has spent time with the group working on a future medical clinic.

"Six of us from Team B have spent time at a sewing and craft shop this week. Thread of Life is a project of Come Let's Dance and employs women from a slum called Katanga. The women are empowered as they learn a practical skill and create beautiful bags and jewwelry. The beads for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings are made from old magazine pages - it's really fun to learn the technique of rolling the beads!
It's also been pretty amazing to just spend time alongside the women and their young kids. They're so joyful and welcoming inspite of life's hardships. It's really an encouragement.
Friday when we were at TOL I was holding one woman's baby. His mom was working on rolling beads, and he was fussy, so I took him outside and started singing to him. He eventually fell asleep in my arms, and it was such a peaceful feeling. He rested for a good 30 minutes, and I had a chance to pray for God's blessing on his little life while he was sleeping and still. Definitely a highlight!
Please continue to pray for the team! - Alie"

"Today a group of us visited the local public hospital. We met up with a woman named Rachel who spends her time there praying for people and sharing the love of Christ. We had the opportunity to go into the Acute Care section of the Children's Ward. I have seen hospitals like this before in pictures or in movies, but being there and seeing it for myself was a completely new and very different experience than that which I am used to. My previous hospital experiences have been at some of the finest hospitals in the world, where we have computerized charting systems and patients have plenty of privacy and are cared for quite well. So as one might imagine, stepping into a single room no bigger than 30x60 ft that is packed wall to wall with crib style beds with one center aisle where the beds are two deep on either side, was really quite a culture shock. Parents (mostly mothers) were either sitting or sleeping on the floor next to a child's bed. Families are expected to provide sheets or a pillow for the bed, and to supply their family members with food also. I saw only one doctor and one nurse as I walked through.
Most of the children I interacted with were sick in the hospital with basic things such as fever, diarrhea, vomitting, or flu. Two children had heart conditions, one had a respiratory condition, one child had extreme bone deformity likely due to a tumor from birth. Child after child had their own unique story, and came from all different walks of life in Uganda.
The main purpose of our visit was to pray with the children and their parents. It was definitely a new experience for me. As I went around with a partner and a translator, we prayed for children one by one for healing and restoration. As I touched each child I felt helpless to do anything, but I know that God can do all things. It was a challenge for me to rely on faith and know that God will heal, and ultimately that His will be done. In a hospital like that it seems as though Jesus is truly the only one capable of restoring and healing those children.
I am falling in love with this place. Please keep us in prayer and pray that the Lord would continue to grow my faith more each day. - Jared"

I hope that you can picture what we're experiencing a little better through their stories! I wanted to share one last thing. We've been reading through the book of Mark in our times of bible study - and as I read the stories about Jesus healing the sick and bring restoration to so many lives - I am challenged to believe that healing is possible. Take some time to read through the gospel stories of Jesus and the disciples healing and ask yourself - does your faith include belief in the healing and restorative power of God through Jesus?

Love from Kampala, Kate and Team B