Dear Friends,
It’s been a very difficult week for all of us, and I thought you could use some good news: Yesterday, our very first V127 baby was born! (Would she be considered our grand baby??) Annet and Edward are the proud new parents of Eliana Ariella Lubega. Eliana’s name means “God has answered”.
Annet was our very first V127 child. Her father died when she was young and she was raised by her grandmother. When she came to us, she was praying that God would 1) make a way for her to complete secondary school; and 2) send her a sewing machine. He answered both of those prayers! She worked hard and completed her diploma in Fashion and Design from the YMCA vocational school, and then married Pastor Edward almost 3 years ago. They minister alongside Pastor Herbert at Victory Covenant Church, and they are such a sweet couple.
To watch this young girl go from the depths of poverty and hopelessness to becoming a confident young woman, pastor’s wife and now mother to a beautiful baby girl has been simply amazing. Praise God!
A quick word of encouragement to you in these turbulent times. Be the voice of calm in a world filled with anxiety. Our God is in control and we can trust him completely.
Psalm 91 is one of my favorite chapters and I’m hoping it will encourage your heart today.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Much Love,
Jan