Camp

Do you watch NCIS? I think I started watching it in high school with my parents. Brent is way behind, but has now caught up thanks to Netflix, pinched nerves, surgery, and no sleep. Not sleeping meant NCIS became the nightly ritual. The other day we were watching an episode where they go to the Middle East and work to help women get to another country. Refugees. It was totally familiar. 

We both went to a refugee settlement in Uganda. Separate trips. Same settlement. This place is like nothing you've ever seen over here or at least I haven't seen anything like it. I wish you could go visit yourself.

Going to the refugee camp was the one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I am so grateful to our friends for allowing me to come with them and be a part of their ministry there. We did a weekly Bible study with some women. It was set up thru a pastor at a church there. The whole ministry was really amazing. I wasn't there long enough to get to sit down and talk with any of the women about their individual stories, but you aren't living in a refugee camp because it's nice and peaceful in your home country. 

Once, before we were headed to camp, I was reading my Bible, laying on the bed, with my feet propped up on the headboard. I was reading thru Matthew. Matthew 13 to be exact. I was also probably thinking I was behind because I missed a few days of reading. I don't think anything jumped off the page to me during my reading. The driver came soon after and I was head to the refugee camp. 

The Bible study is about 12 weeks long. I only got to go about 5 or 7 times because Kellie and I had conference for 2 of the weeks and then Covid....  There is a young woman, we'll call her "E", who also is a refugee, but has been discipled and trained to teach the Bible studies to the ladies there. I went with her and she would translate so I could understand what they were saying and so they could understand me. This Bible study was written by a Christian psychologist. It is based on the Magdalena film from Campus Crusade. It is an interactive and discussion study.

Because it is discussion-based sometimes we jumped off on a side tangent for a bit. All women love to discuss things so it's easy to get on another topic. Somehow during that day's lesson, one lady attending wanted to know if Jesus had brothers and sisters from Mary and Joseph. More importantly, she wanted to know their names and where in the Bible were they listed. A simple yes would not do. I'm not sure why it was so important to her, but it was. 

Here, in Matthew 13:55-56, it says:

" 'Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?' "

Exactly what I read that day before leaving for camp. When I could immediately tell this woman and show her in the Bible this verse,  I think we were all shocked and amazed. We got in the car to leave and "E" said something about me knowing so much of Bible. I told her that it was not me and all God. He lined up all the events. And that right there is a perfect example of studying your Bible. Had I not taken time to do a quiet time that morning ..... well.

Of course, I could have flipped thru the Gospels right then to try find it for her - sorry, no internet reception there to quickly Google anything. I would have had to use the good ole index in the back of my Bible and hope it was listed back there.  I could have told her I would let her know the next week. But you never know about next week there. You never know if she will be back for the next lesson or if something will happen and the whole world will shut down 2 weeks later preventing you from going back ever again. It was so much more convenient that God just put it right there in front of me earlier that morning. 

For a little while I thought that the small miracle was about me. Selfish and prideful. There you go. That's who I am. (face slap)  You know who that was all about? 

God. 

That woman. 

Him coming to meet her face to face and answer a simple question that wasn't on anybody's radar. 

But God. (side tangent - "But God," Are there any better words in the world? There are lots of verses that start with or contain these two words and they all end with something amazing, something only God can and would do.)   

God saw this woman. This woman, in a refugee camp who knows what she has seen, heard, and endured. Who knows what she believes about God, about life, about herself.  In a country where women are still treated as less than, God showed up and treated her with honor. He didn't laugh off her question or ignore her. He took the time to answer her question about His earthly brothers. 

 He sees you too. He meets you face to face.