His Grace in Miracles

 She was 27 weeks pregnant, riding home on a bodaboda, the local motorbike taxis, when the accident occurred  From where she landed, they were telling her the baby would never live. She had already lost her first child from heart failure in the first four days. “Favor”, she had called the little girl.

Now her face was broken up and bleeding, her arms twisted upward at an odd angle, unable to move, and her swollen stomach scraped, bloody and bruised – where the main impact had gone.

“Please God,” she had cried. “Save this baby and I will name him whatever you want. He will be for you. Please...”

“Gracious”

The scans had shown no broken bones, and she walked out of the hospital that day, knowing she would be giving birth less than two months later. His name is Gracious.

“God still performs miracles today.” Maurice was saying. He and his wife, Jean, are missionaries from Scotland, and currently living as teachers in Watoto's Suubi village. I was sitting in a small circle of people, in a local's home, on the outskirts of the community. Each week on Wednesday, everyone who works for, or is part of Watoto Church, attends a “cell” group. There are hundreds of these groups, as they are composed of about 7-10 people – an accountability circle and discussion on God's Word. Often, there are a list of questions and thoughts discussed from what was shared in church on Sunday; following, people share what the Lord has done for them, or showed them in the past week. They have showed to keep the church together in relationship, and learning and growing in Christ. Maurice was reviewing the book of Jonah, drawing out miracles that happened throughout the account, while referring to current events he had recently seen happen in Uganda.

“We don't seem to realize the weight of Jonah's assigned task, to go to Nineveh and tell the leader he was terribly wrong, and him and his people would befall judgement and die,” he was saying. “What if you...” he asked a group of Ugandan girls, “were woken by God in the night, and told to go to Kony and tell him he was wrong, and would suffer God's wrath for what he did.” Woah. That hit home. I probably would have taken the nearest boat out, as well.

“Then think of how when Jonah did finally go, the king repented...” In that light, that aspect of the story really did seem like a miracle.

There were more, before and after. The way God weaved his timing and purpose into that account was miraculous  For one, after being in the belly of the great fish for three days, Jonah would have been bleached white from the acid. The Ninevites feared the “god of the sea”, so perhaps when they saw Jonah walking up to the city, bleached white, from the sea...

Not long ago, a young boy suffered a stroke in Suubi Village. He was unable to move anything on his body, save his eyes. For two weeks, they joined to lay hands and pray for him; the third week, Maurice shook his hand as the young boy walked into church - completely and totally healed. With a stroke...that does not happen. It simply doesn't. Yet even in these days, God has shown to be able. He is ...the God of Grace. “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” And how great...is that Gift.

Sunrise from our Balcony