Monday, September 19, 2011

Auwma - Africa Part III

This is a beautiful story of how I obtained my Acholi name. As usual I went into the city of Gulu with my partner. As we were wandering the African streets we came across two women with a baby and small son. We talked with one of the women named Rose de Auwma for awhile and then asked if we could pray for her.

She began to tell us that she had severe pain in her back and hips. The pain was so bad she couldn't walk or stand. My partner prayed for her and she said she felt better. We asked her to tell us exactly how she was feeling. She responded saying that her area of injury was hot and tingling, this was a sure sign that the spirit was moving. 

Then I began to pray for my dear Rose. I placed my hands directly on her hips. As I prayed she prayed right along with me in Acholi. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. When we finished praying she could stand. We prayed again. Rose said she didn't feel better but she felt like there were angels in the room and that more were on their way. We prayed again. When the final Amen rang, she popped her head up and never in my whole life had one word been so powerful. All she said was "watch." She proceeded to walk across the room with no imperfections. She could walk. Rose was healed. 

The funny thing is that right before this my partner had been feeling sick. She asked me to pray for her and I jokingly told her that God had not given me the gift of healing. He proved me wrong within the course of an hour!

After Rose had been healed she decided to give us all Acholi names. She saved me for last. She named me Auwma. I asked her what it meant and she responded saying that it was a family name. It was also her name. She told me that she wanted to gave me a name of honor. She told me that now I am one with her and her family. There is no greater honor. I belong to an Acholi family. Auwma will always remind me of this trip and the freedom that I found. 



Lots of Love, 
Katy Auwma 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Sandra - Africa part II

The first story from my incredible trip to Gulu, Uganda is about a flight attendant named Sandra. Let me begin by describing what the journey to Africa looked like: Take a charter bus from Abilene to Dallas,  fly out of DFW to Amsterdam (I WAS IN THE NETHERLANDS), layover in Amsterdam,flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe, and a Drive in a tiny little bus from Amsterdam to Gulu

It was a long trip, to say the least; however, I absolutely loved it. Amsterdam spoke to my heart. Something about it stirred me even though I was only in the airport. Everything was so green and beautiful, the men were freakishly tall and good looking, not to mention people stare all the time and it is absolutely normal. That is my kind of place.

On the flight to Amsterdam my soul was moved by a wonderful flight attendant named Sandra. Sandra is an amazing picture of servanthood and humility.  She genuinely cared for each person she served. I was sitting next to Jessica and we both noticed her beautiful soul. Every time she came around she would stop at our seats and tell us about her life and testimony, it was powerful to say the least.

As hours passed by I felt an urging of the Lord to write  her an encouragement card. Right as I was about to tell Jessica this, she was one step ahead of me. She too had heard from the Lord and was already pulling out paper and pen. So, we wrote a simple card of encouragement.

We handed it to her as we left the plane. She was encouraged before she even read it. As I was standing in line to board the flight to Entebbe I saw Sandra running up to me. With tears in her eyes, she gave me one of the biggest hugs I have ever received. She told me how much she appreciated it. Her heart was stirred and moved deeply. This wonderful woman's heart was dramatically shifted and all it took was a tiny amount of effort on my part. I pray that Sandra will continue to see the heart Jesus has for her.

As I stood in the middle of an airport, with a sobbing flight attendant,  in a foreign country I realized that we were created to love. Love has the power to connect you to complete strangers from entirely different continents. What if we challenged ourselves to write one encouraging note a day. Sandra was so loving and encouraging you would have never guessed she needed encouragement. Im beginning to believe that those are the people who need it the most.

REMEMBER: EVERYONE NEEDS ENCOURAGEMENT!!


Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the law and prophets hand on these two commandments." Mathew 22:37-40

Lots of Love
Katy