Uncle G.

On Saturday we welcomed back to Uganda a family in David Family who have been gone for 10 months. After we ate delicious meal of goat meat, chapattis, cassava chips and beans, Uncle G. got up to talk. He began telling his testimony. Before they went on furlough, they didn't really want to go back, but they felt that God wanted them to go and that there would be a reason. That in January he had horrible stomach pains and had trouble eating and after trying many different things to help it get better he went to the doctor. After some of tests they found that he had cancer and a huge ulcer in his stomach. First, he had surgery in his stomach to remove the ulcer and then he began chemo. The plan was for him to have  four rounds of chemo with a check-up after two rounds. On the day he began chemo, when he arrived at home and just wanted to go to bed because he was feeling so bad he found a package of letters from David Family. "God's timing is perfect," Uncle G. said "Why else would He send those letters on the day that we needed them most."

After 2 rounds of chemotherapy, he had a scan to see if the cancer had started to go away. Amazingly, all the cancer had gone! Their doctor was amazed and said that usually there was improvement but never was all the cancer gone! Uncle G. and his wife Aunt M. then got to share with the doctor  the Gospel.

Now they're back, and as they reached the end of his testimony, Uncle G. told us all that even though he had cancer God was still with Him and He was in complete control. He knew that his hope was in Jesus Christ and that nothing, not even cancer, could change that.

The next day in church, we sang a song that says

"I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord!

I'm pressed but not crushed
Persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for His promise will endure
That His joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes in the morning!"

How wonderful it is to know that we have a God who will be our strength in times of sickness, pain and hardship and that He is our healer.