I'm off!

My flight from DFW departs in just a few hours! I'll connect in London and then continue on to Uganda. I'll arrive at the Entebbe, Uganda airport late Thursday night (early afternoon in the States). I'll stay in Gayaza, a small town outside Kampala, the capital city, for two nights and then take the six hour bus ride to Gulu on Saturday morning.

Here I am ready to go - 4 bags and 2 carry-ons. I'm 3 pounds over the max, but I'm hoping they'll let that slide!!

Thanks for your continued prayers! The next update will be from Uganda!

Final Day

In the midst of the packing, saying goodbye, and soaking in American culture, I am so thankful for the Gospel, the gift of grace through Christ that has so undeservedly been bestowed upon those who accept it. It is the reason I am heading to Uganda tomorrow. God is so good.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9

Everything's Coming Together!

It finally feels like everything's in place for Uganda! My visa arrived yesterday, overnighted from the Ugandan Embassy in DC. They only granted me three months, but I am told that it should not be a problem to extend once I get there. At this point I'll take what I can get and worry about the rest later!

I have confirmed flights, someone to pick me up when I arrive, and the bus schedule to get to Gulu from Kampala the day after I arrive in Uganda. It will be an exhausting couple of days, but I can't wait!!

I'm still not packed, but everything is neatly laid out on our living room floor, categorized and weighed. Dad will probably pack me this weekend - he doesn't have the spacial challenges that I seem to possess. I'm still collecting clothes to take with me, and I'm so thankful for the extra baggage allowances that will allow me to do so.

My Skype is up and working - I tried it out last night with my aunt in Singapore. Very fun! I would love to talk to you while I'm there, so please add me if you're on Skype!

Packing (the fun part of it)

An important update: my trip has been pushed back two days due to a couple of minor details. I'm actually really thankful because there's still so much to do! I will now be leaving January 20th at about 5. First stop: London, second stop: Entebbe, Uganda. I should be in Gulu somewhere between the 22nd and the 24th, depending on how long we spend in Kampala (the capital of Uganda) before paying $5 each to ride a bus 6 hours north to Gulu. By "we" I am referring to whoever from "Team Gulu" picks me up and myself.

Other than that, this post really doesn't serve any great purpose other than sharing some of the fun stuff I've gotten (or been given) in preparation for Africa. At this point, I have most of what I need. The only thing lacking is bugspray. I can take three 50-pound bags and am going to pay to take a fourth. Bags three and four are clothes, shoes, balls, books, etc. for the kids: solely ministry-related supplies.

My mom found this really awesome bar soap and shampoo. The soap is citronella soap and is meant to deter the mosquitoes and other bugs. While I'll be smelling like a walking candle for the entire time I'm there, I suppose it's worth it if I don't get malaria! :-) The bar shampoo is a really awesome idea - don't know if it works well, but it saves me a couple pounds in packing, which is really valuable when trying to pack for an extended time.

This nifty gadget is really exciting! All you do is put this in water and the UV light kills all the bacteria, meaning I can drink the tap water after this 60-second treatment. It's highly effective and super convenient.

Sunscreen. Lots of it. I've never worn SPF this high, but I've also never lived in Africa.

Amelia, here's a picture of the colorful skirts - just for you!

Grandma shoes - when you walk everywhere, totally necessary. These are seriously some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. They have excellent support, will dry very quickly, are very breathable, and have velcro - how can you go wrong with velcro??

When you wear velcro shoes and Chacos, live half the time without electricity, and kill your own chickens for dinner, girly polka-dot shoes are necessary. Because cute heals aren't an option.

Without TV, Internet, or consistent electricity, my book-reading time will most definitely increase (assuming that the times without electricity are accompanied by a lantern or candle). I'm really looking forward to all of these. I've never read anything by Elmer or Thrasher, but they both came highly recommended.

My family knows me well. Plus Katie Davis has one too, so I feel way cool!

Dakota doesn't actually get to come with me, but I wanted to include her just because she's way cute. She does cool tricks like brings in the paper; gives high-fives, "pounds," and shakes; and places the ball into your hand rather than at your feet if you say "I can't reach it!" I'll have a dog in Gulu too, but there's no way he'll compare!

That's all I have for now, but I continue to feel your prayers! The Lord's provision on this trip has been overwhelming. I'm amazed daily by His undeserved grace.

Uganda - T minus 10 days

My trip is confirmed! I will be going to Gulu, Uganda on January 18. It is such a blessing that everything has worked out and I can't even describe my level of excitement to go!

A few details:

• I am going to Uganda, a landlocked country bordering Kenya to the east, Sudan to the north, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, and Rwanda and Tanzania to the south.


• I will be living in the town of Gulu, located in the northern part of the country. This city is the location where Invisible Children was filmed; if you've seen that, it should give you a good understanding of what's going on in that region. Northern Uganda has been through years of unrest and rebel violence which ended with the signing of a cease-fire in February 2008. I will write more on the country's history later.


• I am going through Every Child Ministries, which focuses on children in Africa.


• I will work with children from an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Gulu. An IDP camp is similar to a refugee camp, only they are people displaced within their native country. This means I'll be working with Ugandans, specifically Acholi people, a large ethnic group in northern Uganda.


• My focus will of course be sharing Jesus with the people in Uganda. I will be forming relationships with the orphans from the IDP camp primarily through "non-formal education" - tutoring after school.


• I will live in a house with another girl from ECM, Chrissy. Our home is complete with chickens (which we eat and get eggs from), a night guard who is armed with a bow and arrow (don't worry - I've been warned his arrows are very sharp!), and mosquito nets that will hopefully keep the malaria away!

It all seems surreal to me still and not at all like I'm leaving in a little over a week! I've been buying supplies and packing since I got home from Tennessee and am still not finished. I feel like I'm basically bringing a small pharmacy (recommendation of the CDC) AND a small library - I have to admit thought, my "small library" includes both books for me and for small Africa children. I also have to wear long skirts each day, so I have a colorful wardrobe that I'm excited to try out!

Thank you so much for keeping up with what I'm doing! I have felt incredibly covered in prayer the last couple months and have had such a peace about the trip. If you have questions, please comment here or send me an e-mail. I'll try to post again before I leave!

The Front Porch

Love this video! Such an illustration of how Christians should view missions. I'm not saying everyone should do exactly what these people did, but that everyone should strive to live missionally, entering into relationships with those around them.

I feel blessed to work in a place where people get this idea. So many of the people I work with at Emerald Youth Foundation live in the neighborhood, know the families, invest in the kids daily. It really is a 24-7 job, but the impact it makes is truly eternal.

Change, Frustration, and Trust

For what seems like the 100th time in the last month, life has once again thrown a curve ball.

Last time I posted about my trip, I said that AIM would be able to transfer all of the support that had been raised to another non-profit. However, I found out late last week that they would no longer be doing that, but instead would be refunding all donations.

This was frustrating for a number of reasons, but mostly because it meant that I would have to re-raise the support AND find another trip to go on, all before the end of the year. Thankfully, my church has been incredibly supportive and I have been connected with many resourceful and well-connected people. I don't have anything definitive yet, but leads are strong for opportunities in Uganda, South Africa, and Mozambique (if you're reading this after getting my most recent letter, this is different). All of the opportunities are still in orphan-care and would still be for 6-8 months.

Of course, there's still the issue of raising support once again. The two days following the news that the money would be refunded were definitely the most stressful for me since finding out that the trip was canceled. In August, I couldn't imagine raising $9250 once, much less a second time in three months!! However, in those moments, the Lord gently reminded me of his provision the first time and I was assured that those blessings would be no less the second time.

Once again, my church was very supportive in this and is allowing supporters to re-write checks to them, which will then be passed on to whichever organization I end up going through. This is a huge blessing, particularly as it nears the end of the year and people need to get checks in soon in order to use them on taxes.

As I move forward, it is with a stronger trust in the Lord than I've ever had before. It is also with a deeper understanding of His sovereignty and grace in my life. So, while I never would have chosen for my trip to be canceled, there is blessing even in this. I am so thankful that God has given me the eyes to see those blessings.

Starting the week before my trip was canceled, I started memorizing Philippians 3:7-11:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

This experience has helped me understand more of what this verse is talking about. I'm at a point where I can't just talk about trusting in God and valuing Him above all else. I actually have to trust Him. With everything. I actually have to find satisfaction in Him alone. Period.

If I never raise a dime of my support back, if I never go to Africa, if I go to Africa and get malaria, it can't matter because I am found in Christ. My hope is in Him alone.

I'll leave you with a video that I saw on my college pastor's blog. It's only 4 minutes and is well worth watching: