Last night I had just gone downstairs to go to bed when I hear the door to the basement slam open.
"Catey?" A timid voice calls from the top of the stairs.
Great. Getting into bed late again. "What do you want?"
"Ummmmm, I can't tell you what happened, but where's the Neosporin?"
This isn't usually something you want to hear from the injury-prone sister of the family at 11pm. I ran up the stairs. Joss is standing there, flashing one of her impossibly large, impossibly goofy and unreal grins. "Hi Catey."
"Why do you need Neosporin?" I already had a million crazy thoughts running through my head. This is the same sister who ate rocks as a toddler, broke her finger twice playing volleyball with balloons, and almost broke her nose when the swing she was sitting on broke. (Needless to say, none of these things were her fault. But that's the scary thing- what if she had accidentally severed an artery or something????)
Joss pulls me bodily by my pajamas into the bathroom. "I kind of sliced my finger." She held up her thumb, adorned with a Cars bandaid. (The only kind in our house)
"Meaning?"
"You know that new razor Dad gave me?"
Oh no. Joss is the most razor-challenged person I know (with the honorable mention going to my friend Emily) She's sliced her legs so bad they scarred. My mind raced. What was my dad thinking, giving her a sharp razor????
Then I remembered. She wasn't even showering that night. What had happened?
"Well," she continued, "I was looking at the razor, trying to open it. And I looked and it had this little arrow: up, close, down, open. And I was like, 'Okay, I'm so smart, I know how to open a razor.' And I went down and shing! it slices my finger open. Blood is everywhere. I'm not even in the bathroom! I had to get Carli to open up for me."
Twenty minutes, five bandaids, and about a quart of Neosporin later, I sent Joss upstairs with a newly bandaged finger.
I couldn't help thinking of Delilah and Samson.
Heaven help whatever man gets between my sister and her razor!!!
A few days ago, I shared an interview with Kate Weber about her unique calling to boldness in Christ. I’d like to share an interview with Kate’s older sister, Emily Weber, for her perspective on this.
When Emily Weber came back from her short term mission trip to Uganda, she told me that Africa felt oddly like home. Now, two years later, Uganda will be her home- at least for the next year or so, before Emily returns to the States for College. That’s really not a surprise to people who know her. Emily can tell you countless stories of how she would witness to Muslim kids at McDonald’s playgrounds or pray over people at her fast-food job.
Here’s what Emily has to say.
Catey: Have you always known you would want to be a missionary?
Emily: Absolutely . . . not! As a matter of fact, being a missionary who left America was something that I did not wanted to do at all . . . ever. It's amazing how God changes your heart . . . and even your desires, if you let Him!
Catey: That’s a surprise to me! How has God revealed his plan for you in your life?
Emily: God's primary plan for my life is this: for me is to love Him with all that I am. Beyond this, God shows me His plan for me one step at a time . . . it can get frustrating at times, but then I remember that if I love God and continually push into Him with everything within me, I'm going to end up right where He wants me.
Catey: What's the spiritual climate like in Uganda?
Emily: In Uganda, and in most of Africa I'd assume, the spiritual realm is so much easier to see. The darkness there is so dark, but the light shines so brightly. Because of the stark contrast between Jesus' followers and those who've fallen into the traps of Satan through witchcraft (mixed with "Christian" or Muslim beliefs), miracles and works of God are so visible there. The spiritual climate is intense: either you are going to be all-out for Jesus, boldly standing up for him even in the face witchdoctors, demons, and evil - or you are going to go home scared and defeated.
Catey: What are some fears that you have about becoming a missionary family?
Emily: Personally, I get scared sometimes when I think about coming back to the States for College. Since I'm the oldest, the rest of my family will be in Africa, and my friends will be in a state that I can't attend college in, I'm going to be alone by the world's standards. I have to continually remind myself of God's promise: that he will never leave or forsake me.
Catey: What are you most looking forward to?
Emily: The people, for one! It's difficult to explain with words the way the people there love. I hope to learn from the American staff there as well . . . who knows what lessons I can take from this new experience that God will use for the future!
Catey: How can we get involved in supporting God's people in Uganda?
Emily: There are many different ways you can get involved with different organizations. If you would like to know more about New Hope, you can go to http://www.newhopeuganda.org/. For information about our family, you can go to http://www.urmyhope.blogspot.com/. There are many other good organizations out there as well. No matter where you get your sources though, a couple of things you can do are . . .
PRAY. Please pray for the children of Uganda, as 50% of the population there is under the age of 14. Pray for open hearts. And please pray for those that are working there for God's kingdom, that they will be protected and that they will bring God's light to the darkness of this world.
Catey: Any advice for teens who are looking for ways to be more bold in their faith?
Emily: Make sure you have your priorities straight. You will be boldest about what is most important to you. If you don't feel like Jesus Christ is the most important thing in your life, tell Him so. Ask Him to help you fall in love with Him and make Him the "one thing" that's worth living for in your life. It's a hard way to live . . . but it's the full, abundant life Jesus talks about in the Bible. And trust me . . . it's worth it.
Kate Weber is a normal American teenager. She’s a homeschooled high school student who likes to write but doesn’t like speech, who loves her dog and watches TV on the weekends. She lives with her mom, dad and three siblings and goes to church every weekend. But despite her average lifestyle, she’s an absolutely extraordinary young woman. In fact, all that ordinary stuff she’s used to is about to change in the blink of an eye.
Kate is moving with her family to Uganda.
Her dad and older sister Emily have been to Uganda once before on a short-term mission trip, but God worked out an incredible way for their whole family to leave behind the world of comfortable and safe to be bold and radical by leaving everything they’ve ever known. They plan on staying indefinitely.
But that’s enough from me. Here’s what Kate has to say. Catey: Have you always known you would want to be a missionary? Kate: Actually, I never wanted to be a missionary, and considered it to be God’s call to other people. Like when Mr. Gary Wood told dad that they needed an accountant, I was like “Good luck finding one, because we sure aren’t going!”
But God did a work in my heart, and I now know that it is what I have always wanted to do. I always wanted to help the orphans, I always wanted to live in the jungle, and I always had a heart for Africa. I just now realized that I will work for God this way. Catey: How has God revealed his plan for you in this area of your life? Kate: We started out in Indiana, in a comfortable environment, as in, a neighborhood with a pool, ice cream place, a four bedroom, and three bath houses. We also grew up in a church where we were all spiritually dying, until we left that church, and became a part of a home church.
When my dad told us we were moving to Colorado, I flipped out. Leave our family, friends, comforts of home, to go help out a friend start a company? Give me a break! But we still moved, and I loved our house that we moved into. Three story house, on three acres of trees. It was heaven. My dad and sister went on a mission trip to Uganda. A couple of months after the trip, our renter kicked us out. As soon as that happened, my dad lost his job at the company he worked for, so we had to downsize, majorly. . . He was without a job for a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever! Finally, Dad got a good job. That was when God decided to say, “Okay, they are comfortable now, let’s see what they would do if. . .” and that’s how the Uganda started. Catey: Wow! What a neat way to start out an adventure! What’s the spiritual climate like in Uganda? Kate: I haven’t been there myself, but from the stories that I have heard it is very black and white. As in wherever you see darkness, there was always light battling it. I really can’t explain it because I have never been there. Catey: What are some fears that you have about becoming a missionary family? Kate: Well, it might be obvious, but I am going to be a missionary to a place that I have never been. The farthest I have been from the USA is Mexico, right across the boarder. So I guess that I am a little afraid of the unknown. Also, I had my life all planned out, but now with the whole Uganda thing thrown into the picture, it is hard. Catey: What are you most looking forward to? Kate: Definitely the adventure. I am a person who LOVES adventure! I dream it, I write it, and now I have the chance to live it! To not do it would be like a guy offering you a million dollar check, and you slam a door in his face. Not knowing is on of my greatest fears, but it is also the very thing that pushes me forward. Catey: How can we get involved? Kate: New Hope Uganda is a non-denominational ministry that cares for orphaned children in Uganda, East Africa. NHU (New Hope Uganda) strives to bring glory to God through caring for orphans, showing them love, pointing them to His Kingdom through Christ, and bringing them to a life-changing understanding of the fatherhood of God.
Their staff of almost 80 Ugandans and foreign missionaries care for New Hope’s children through the Kasana children’s center (where they run a primary school, secondary school, vocational school, clinic, agriculture program, etc.) Kobwin children’s center, the New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family, and their new youth camp and training center.
Please pray for God’s blessings on New Hope Uganda, and please, be in prayer for the Weber family. We have much to do before we are prepared for this next chapter in our lives.
There are many types and sizes of needs. For information, you can visit the fallowing website: http://newhopeuganda.org/ Catey: Any advice for teens who are looking for ways to be more bold in their faith? Kate: I don’t consider myself any bolder than anyone else can be. Actually, I still have growing to do in my faith, a lot of growing. But my advice would be to just get in your bible every day, and pray for God to speak to you during that time. I pray for God to speak to me, sisten to worship songs, read three chapters, and pray one more time for God to help me through out the day.
For more information on the Weber family’s mission and supporting them, visit their blog at: http://urmyhope.blogspot.com
