People See Him Through You

"I see you driving a van. There are a lot of struggles on your road, but you keep going. Why? You know you don't have to be the one driving..."

she reaches for my hand + smiles. I reach for hers and force a smile, forcing the tears back. I wait for her to speak to me, but she just sits + looks at me with eyes full of joy.

today, I am having someone I never met before speak to me with words given to her by our Father. 

as I sit in a wooden chair in the crowded room surrounded by soft music + familiar faces of local missionaries in town also surrounded by unknown faces + I start to feel nervous and unsteady. Not because they made me feel that way on purpose, but because I had no idea what to expect or do in the given situation. Is this normal? Did everyone else here with me feel the same way?

suddenly, the girl with her hand on mine says, "You are SO beautiful." 

those four words. those four words everyone needs to hear to encourage them. I fight the tears + force a smile. I couldn't tell you the last time someone told me that, let alone the last time I told someone else that. It was so comforting + sincere + refreshing. 

"When I look at you, I see a long distance swimmer. Strong, steady, and graceful. I can already tell that you have so much strength + endurance, + God is still making you stronger every day."

How could someone I never met before, let alone from Paris, know just the right words to say to me? There are things in my life that have caused me so much sorrow + pain. Times that I thought I couldn't endure anymore. I've felt so weak + useless for many years. Always thinking I was not strong enough to be here in the first place. 

as she holds me tight, she continues to speak to me words of encouragement: "I don't know how you do it, but you love everyone you meet. You go the extra mile and are so sweet and sincere, even to those who turn away from you. God loves that. People see Him through that."

how did she know so much about me, and yet i know so little about her?

after meditating on those spoken words, i realized that's it! this is how God wants me to spread His word-- through love. It comes so naturally to me + now I understand why. I am sent out to be a light in the darkness. to show Him through love.

over the past two years, I went through some hard times. I endured so much hardship + struggle that I kept to myself. but, He took it all away in a matter of eight and a half minutes. He used her, a complete stranger, to tell me exactly what I wanted to hear + He knew that it was time I let go of everything I was holding onto + gave it to Him instead.

as my arms are wrapped around someone I hardly knew, the relief swept over me in the form of tears + I had never felt so refreshed + renewed. what a holy + wonderful relief.

for those that are wondering the question, "are you okay?" the answer is a resounding "Yes." I am more in love with my Savior than I ever have been before. I pray that each + every day will be filled with my growing love for Him. He is good to us, friends, + He doesn't ever, ever leave.

Katie Sandy

This Is What Makes It Worth It

as the line of our malnutrition clinic grows, as does my love for the children and their mothers.

i know that God has brought these women + their children to us to hear His word + find His love. 

we hold our clinic every monday morning. it usually lasts from 9:30am-5:00pm. we meet with a range of 40-80 women and children each time. we start off with a song of worship, then a devotion and prayer, followed by some facts about malnutrition. then, they are divided up into new women + children or ones already enrolled in our program. we then measure their amount of body-fat, take their weight, + file their basic information (sounds like fun, eh?).

even though in the end, we only provide small amounts of medicine + basic ingredients for porridge, these mothers + jjajjas are beyond grateful.

to me, this is what makes no power, no running water, only a few english-speaking friends all worth it, that gratefulness. the fact that God can use me to make someone that elated makes me forget i miss tv + normal food + having clean feet. i would give everything i own for that one moment of happiness, to see the gratitude on those mother's faces. 

Katie Sandy

He's In Charge, Not Me

a major question i get asked around here a lot is, "so how long are you staying?"

i'm set to be leaving Mbale May 23rd and going to work through the summer to save up. for what, you may ask? i honestly have no idea.

i've been spending time in prayer asking God if this is where he wants me, show me. Lately, I've been feeling so comfortable in Uganda. Like it's home. 

everything just seems so confusing and too large to conquer. so many questions come to my mind when i think of where i will work, how will i fund myself, are you ready to be completely seperated from everything you once knew?

sometimes i dont know what God is doing in my life or why. but every day His plan is better than mine. and every day i am just so glad that He is in charge, not me!

Katie Sandy

Where Is Home

i've been in Mbale now for two months. 


this past week was the week i was overwhelming flooded with friendship. it was like the flood gates burst open and millions of friends flowed out. or maybe, eight.

as the sun awoke, so did i. i took one of my cuddly pups for a walk around town before going out for morning coffee with a sweet new friend i made a few days back. it was so warming to be surrounded by such a compassionate lady who is so close to me in age. we ended up talking about our families and what we think God will provide for us in the future over a nice warm cappuccino. 

later on, we went to the pool to meet up with yet another friend and we ended up talking for many hours about anything we could think of. it was such a relief to talk to someone new who actually understood what you saying, and then them giving you wise words in return.

with our freshly sunburned skin, we headed home to shower up and get ready to go out that evening. thankfully, one of my new friends had the total package: a hairdryer, a straightener, and make-up. i may live in africa, but i'm still a girlie-girl.

for dinner we sat outside under the wide open night sky eating pizza and laughing until we couldn't laugh anymore. i honestly have never met a better group of people that love Jesus and each other as much as they do. 

but as i'm riding home in the back of a pick-up surrounded by the african sky with my newest group of friends, i close my eyes and open them to make sure that this is all real. then i keep them closed in hope that it's a dream and it will go on forever, praying i never have to wake up.

i'm so grateful for times like this when i am feeling so far from home. or is this home?

Katie Sandy

He Cares For Each Of Us

Prayer is such a powerful tool.

Can you imagine, a God so large He could create the universe, yet so personal that He cares for each one of these children and meets their needs on an individual basis? How blessed I am to be a servant of such a Master.

"have you prayed about it as much as you've talked about it, friend?"

Katie Sandy

The Way That You Love

i cannot express the exhaustion, yet joyful long hours i spend at the clinic every monday. i am not joyful for the reasoning behind their comings to the clinic, but instead, joyful that they come seeking help and wisdom.

my favorite thing to do is to love these mothers and their children. although there are many times when my heart is not full of any love for the mothers that have created this issue for their child, but then He reminds me there is a purpose for why they were brought here.

He brought them there so i could share love. His love. His gracious, undying, unending love.

i do not consider myself an evangelist, and i don't hope to be one. but i believe that you can share Christ with others through the way you behave, the way that you love. i believe that God makes Himself known to these children and all i have to do is show them the reality of His love. i tell them stories of a God who has moved me to a country far from my home and captivated my heart and soul. i tell them stories of a God who has a plan for my life that is always greater than what i have in mind, a God who has a plan for them too. they cling to this hope. so i continue to share it. 

sincerely yours,

Katie Sandy

Then It Rains

sometimes working in a third world country makes me feel like i am emptying the ocean with an eye-dropper. and just when i have about half a cup full of water, it rains: more children from the villages migrate to our clinic in butiru, more abandoned and severely sick babies are found, more people are infected with aids and tb. it is enough to discourage even the most enthusiastic and passionate person. 

one of the staff members looked at me with nervous eyes, "this isn't even the rainy season yet..."

i am trying a new thing. i want to start listing a peak and a pit (AKA: praise and a prayer request):

PIT:
we had 80+ children at our clinic on monday.

we discharged 10 (praise the Lord), but sent 7 severely malnourished children to Serving His Children to be treated.

80+ sick babies. 

i become so overwhelmed at the thought of having more than 80 children seeking my help. & worst of all, the nurses tell me the rains have yet to come. I want to help them all, and in a perfect world, i could. my heart breaks over this fact.

please be in prayer with me and my family as we seek to share Christ with them and through Him alone, they can be saved not just physically but eternally.

PEAK:
WE HAVE GOATS. & WE MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOME.
these are the goats:

this is my humble abode:

sincerely yours,

Katie Sandy