More Hurdles

The judge says we have a few more things to complete before he will move forward.  We are searching for the best ways to get this done.  Praying for wisdom and resolution.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  We love you all.

Call to Prayer

Tomorrow at 12:00pm (4am CST) we have a court hearing scheduled. I have no idea what will happen. I won’t lie, I am scared. I have had too many crazy things happen at this point to really go in believing that this will be “it”. I am grateful that Cody will be with me through it all. Such a blessing! We are praying for major movement tomorrow. We are praying that the judge will hear our case, see us in a favorable light, that the truth will speak for itself, and that he will decide to give us a ruling. Best case scenario he would schedule a hearing for the ruling within the next week. We know that God can do anything and we pray that He will really show off and do some big things tomorrow. We also pray for our hearts to be at peace no matter the outcome and for God to be glorified in our story and in our actions. God is in control and He does have perfect timing. Will you join us in prayer? Will you ask those around you to also join us in prayer? Feel free to share this request with anyone (facebook, blog, email, etc.). I promise to update you all as soon as I can tomorrow.

Fun with Cody

We are having a great time with Cody. Tomorrow morning, very early, we leave for the village where Cody will be teaching all day. So, if you think of it as you get ready for bed, say a prayer for us (especially Cody). Pray for travelling safety, for Cody as he teaches and for the people to understand what he is teaching.

We won't have internet access the next few days, so don't expect any updates from us until Sunday or Monday.
Here are a couple of quick pics...


Can you see how thrilled Mercy was to see Cody?



Sweet girl!

And last chance on Love Mercy t-shirts.  I will hold off and place the order on Monday since I won't be back online until Sunday.  So email me at melissabusby@hotmail.com if you want one.

Quick Update

Cody arrived safe and sound last night. So glad my dream of him being stranded in Brussels was just that. We had a great day together today. Mercy took a few minutes to warm up to him, but he won her over with some craisins and now they're good friends again. I promise to write more tomorrow and add a few pictures.

Random Udpates

Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA this past week.  The power was out for several days, so I wasn’t able to be online much.    Nothing like no electricity for a few days to make you really appreciate the finer things in life like hot showers, fans, computers, and refrigeration.  Hard to imagine how many people in Uganda and all over the world live every single day without power. 

Cody flies out this afternoon.  He’ll have about 24 hours of travel time, so he’ll arrive in Uganda late tomorrow night.  He has some pretty quick connections times, so pray that all goes smoothly.  I dreamed last night that he missed his flight in Brussels and was stranded there for a few days.  Oh, I sure hope not!!  As you can imagine, I’m pretty excited to see him.

Later this week, Cody gets the chance to teach some local church leaders in a village several hours outside Kampala.  Cody is really looking forward to it.  He’s hoping to be able to complete a survey of the Old Testament.  These leaders have little, if any, formal training on the Bible.  Cody is really hoping he can make it through all of the material and that they will understand it all.  After he teaches we’ll then spend a day or so sight-seeing at Lake Mburo National Park.  We’ll be enjoying some “rustic” conditions, which always make for some good laughs.  Should be fun!

Mercy is learning so many new things each day.  Her language is exploding and it is so fun to watch.  The other day we walked just down the road to a little market.  On the way back, a motorcycle passed us.  She said, “boda boda”.   She said it so clearly it made me and the boda driver laugh.  Another new favorite is telling me to “come”.  She will stand there motioning for me and saying “come” over and over until I get up and see what she wants.   And then she has full conversations in what we call “Mercy language”.  She is so serious and she gets so upset when we don’t have a clue what she is talking about.  She is also getting very good at climbing things and going up stairs.  Let me tell you, this girl gets into everything.  Watching her is really a 24 hour job.  When you aren’t looking she will reprogram your phone, put on makeup, tear apart tea bags, climb up the stairs, pour water on the floor, and cover herself in body wash… just to name a few.

Here’s a good Mercy and “Lo Lo” story for you.  The other night, Lawrence, Mercy and I met some people at a very nice Italian restaurant for dinner.  The place had glass everything and white tablecloths.  So we were having a hard time containing Mercy while we were waiting for our food.  Lawrence decided to walk Mercy around for a bit while we waited.  They came back in a few minutes and Mercy was holding a cookie.  Lawrence then told me that they went to the kitchen.  He said that Mercy told him to “come” and led the way like she knew where she was going, so off they went into the kitchen.  I told him, “Lawrence, you can’t do that.”  He said, “It’s ok, they all really liked Mercy.  The cooks all held her and then they gave her the cookie.”  Oh my!  Pretty sure we should never go back there again.

I must brag on my skills and tell you that I successfully removed Mercy’s yarn braids by myself.  Ok, it’s really not that hard, but I was still proud.  All you do is cut them past where her real hair is and then untwist.  This is what it looked like afterwards. 

It’s amazing to me how much her hair is grown.  It’s hard to tell normally because it is so curly that after you wash it the hair shrinks right back up into kinks.  She’s going au natural right now and I think it’s very cute.   

She did not really want to cooperate with photos!

Another funny for you… this morning I was trying to pick out Mercy’s hair.  I was going to apply some coconut oil.  I could not get it to come out, so I squeezed the bottle a bit harder and coconut oil spewed out everywhere!  Thank goodness we were on the porch and not inside, and now Mercy and I smell very tropical.

Good news on Mama Kits.  I’ve had a couple of people contact me recently that want to raise money to buy more kits.  One woman is trying to raise enough money to buy 300 more.  Very exciting!  This afternoon I get to deliver 50 kits to another crisis pregnancy center that works with teenage mothers.  And I’m hearing good reports that the kits are making a difference.  A mission team that stayed here with us a couple of weeks ago, visited the home where we first delivered the kits.  Without knowing that the team knew me, the director told them what a blessing the kits had been.  Also, one of the missionaries that I gave kits to told me that she passed all of hers out and wants more because they’ve been so helpful to the mothers she’s ministering to.  I have leads on two more ministries that might be able to use Mama Kits.  I hope to follow up on those in the next couple of weeks. It’s so exciting to see your donations in action and making a difference in the lives of the women and babies of Uganda.

 Don’t forget to get your t-shirt orders to me by Thursday.  Thanks!!

Progress and T-shirts

We made several steps toward progress for our case today. I got an important paper that I needed and I was afraid I would not be able to get. A meeting was arranged for tomorrow, which has been put off for a long time. And… we got a court date! The hearing is scheduled for March 15th. I’m so glad Cody will be able to go to the hearing with me. This will actually be his first time in court, as his first trip was after our ruling. Please start to pray now for this hearing. Pray for all of the things that need to be done before then to be completed. Pray for softened hearts, wisdom for all parties, and we are praying for a miracle that somehow we could all travel home together on the 22nd. 

And back by popular demand... Love Mercy T-shirts!  I have at least one friend that needs a couple more shirts.  This sweet friend who lives in another state ordered shirts in November.  Cody mailed them to her in early December.  I just found out yesterday that she never received them, but she did see her neighbor wearing one out in the yard.  My friend asked her if she knew me, and the the woman started acting funny about it and said her friend gave her the shirt.  Oh, how I love that apparently this woman stole my friend's package and is now walking around wearing a shirt that says, "act justly, love Mercy, and walk humbly".  I don't know why, but this strikes me as so funny! 

The design on the shirt symbolizes how a relationship with Christ changes our hearts on the inside (white arrows) and therefore, changes our outward actions toward others (black arrows). The words come from the verse God gave me for this adoption, Micah 6:8,”This is what the Lord requires of you, that you act justly, love Mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”


I'm taking shirt orders until March 10th.  The shirts are $15 ($16 for XXL and XXXL). They are available from Youth XS (2-4) - Adult XXXL and are a 50/50 blend. Payments can be made through PayPal or by sending me a personal check. I will email you payment info after receiving your order.  Feel free to spread the word to your friends and family.  Just have them email their order to me at melissabusby@hotmail.com and put "Love Mercy Shirt" in the subject line.

More than just surviving (a Cody post)

WARNING: This is a tad long, so feel free to take it in bite-size chunks!

            I have thought of perseverance in the past as little more than just survival. I have persevered in different types of situations; the night before a paper is due; or on pull-up day in 7^th grade gym class; or when hit by the urgent need to use the bathroom with thirty minutes left on the drive home. However, my understanding of perseverance has been challenged as of late. So I recently spent a night looking up the many uses of the word in the Bible in the hopes that I can persevere better.

            I was surprised to find that the word is only found in the New Testament. There are certainly Old Testament equivalents, but the actual English word is only found in the NT. Now the word is used largely in two ways. First, perseverance refers to clinging to Christ and his salvation through the entirety of one’s life. Second, perseverance is used in reference to outlasting persecution in the name of Christ. So I acknowledge up front that the perseverance I am experiencing does not relate specifically to persecution, or salvation per se. Still, a glimpse at some of the ways the word is used might be illuminating for you, as it has been for me.

Luke 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

            So landing in good soil doesn’t come without its struggles. Otherwise, why would this seed need to persevere? The seed in good soil still faces challenges. The good soil doesn’t keep the seed from difficulties, but enables the seed to live beyond them. I have often thought that good soil was that place where I was immune from problems. Not so. The good soil is God’s Word, which enables us to persevere through our trials.

            Not only does God's Word help us to persevere in trials, but it also helps us to produce a crop in them. How crazy is that? Most of my persevering has been done in the fetal position with my thumb in my mouth! However, perseverance is a time when the word of God nourishes us in the midst of trials, and yields a crop a hundred times more than was sown. Oh, to bear fruit in perseverance. So far I’m only seeing raisins; and little ones at that.

Romans 5:3-5 …but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

            Suffering produces perseverance. What if it didn’t? What if I chose not to allow the suffering in my life to produce perseverance? According to Paul’s logic, without perseverance I have no character; without character there is no hope; and without hope there is unceasing disappointment. So perseverance is active, not passive. It is not merely waiting. Perseverance is an interior work of the Holy Spirit, creating a firm hope that does not waiver based on our circumstances. (See also James 1:4)

Romans 12:11-12 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, [persevere] in affliction, faithful in prayer.

            In this section of chapter 12 Paul is rattling off different admonitions related to basic Christian living. In the middle of his basic Christianity is the challenge to persevere in affliction. Perseverance is a core trait for all Christians, not just the pitiful ones. Are we ok with that? How does it change our understanding of suffering if we realize on the front end that we are to be well stocked in perseverance?

Romans 15:5 May the God who gives [perseverance] and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus…

            God gives perseverance. He is the source. Surely his storehouse never runs dry. Spurgeon wrote, “What more could you need with Omnipotence on your side?” Perseverance is not found in any source other than the Father. In times of trial, deeper communion will lead to greater perseverance. It has always been my experience that when I run away, I crumble. 

1 Corinthians 13:7 [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

            Love perseveres so that we might share the gospel, reach the unreached, minister with our spiritual gifts, be a voice for the voiceless, stand up against injustice, feed the hungry, give our resources away, heal a marriage, care for the sick, complete an adoption. Without perseverance love is painfully incomplete.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

            What is “Christ’s perseverance”? It is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is sweating drops of blood. It is being beaten and mauled. It is hanging naked and humiliated on the cross. It is giving his life for mine. When I need a model for how to endure my trials, I need only to look at the cross. Isaiah wrote in the Messiah’s voice, “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Is. 50:7). Christ persevered through the greatest agony for the joy set before him.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

            I believe James is speaking more directly about clinging to your faith in the midst of persecutions. Still, I want to be that blessed man who has persevered under my trials, whatever shape they take. There have been days that were faith-rattling. You’ve been there right? How amazing will be the day when we receive our reward from God. (See also John 16:21)

Revelation 2:2a I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.

            Jesus is speaking here to the church at Ephesus. Here he says that he knows their perseverance. I’ve never thought of my perseverance being on display before Christ. What does that mean? I understand it like this. He is present in my affliction. Not watching from afar, like a distant spectator. He is present in the midst of it as a co-sufferer. Perseverance is made easier when I remember that God is with me.

So there’s a bit more to perseverance than just surviving. Our perseverance is given by God, attended by Christ, and enabled by the Holy Spirit. The Godhead is on your side in seasons like this.  May God give us strength and grace as we learn to live in Christ’s perseverance.