This story is not as much about me as it is about the One who is writing it. At Christmas we sing of "Emmanuel" (God with us). And it is because He has come and is with us, that we can say "YES" to following Him in whatever ways He chooses to use us.

This is the blog post I have dreamed of writing for a long time. For much of my life, I have had people tell me that they felt like I would end up in full time ministry one day. I never knew how to respond to that, but I also felt deep down that these people were right. I had no idea how that would happen or when that would happen, but this past year has confirmed that the time is now.

My church growing up hosted the African Children's Choir for a short period of time. My family opened our home to host 3 boys from Uganda. I loved spending time with these children and it created this desire for me to visit their country. I went to other countries in Africa and didn't really enjoy it to be honest. But still desiring to visit Uganda, I signed up for a short term trip 3 years ago that would spend a week in Uganda. From the second I landed, I loved it there.

Last November when I was in Uganda, I left with a burden and calling to be an advocate for orphans and vulnerable children there. If that sounds heroic or glamourous, I assure you it was not. My eyes were opened to the injustices children suffer there and my heart was broken to learn that many of the children that I loved were the recipients of this injustice. I learned of abuse, neglect, child trafficking, abandonment of children, and all the other horrible realities that children live in fear of and are experiencing there. I came home and began talking to people about what could be done to help these children. We were led to an organization called A Child's Voice. I was so grateful and thankful for an organization that already existed in Uganda and was fighting for orphans and to keep them out of institutions where most of these injustices were occurring.

Over the next few months, my passions grew stronger. I began to think that maybe God had more in store for me in Uganda on a more long term basis. I tried to talk myself out of it because it didn't make much sense. I had a great job, a house, the car I had always wanted to drive, and I was already going to Uganda every 6 months. I had the best of both worlds, in my opinion, so I concluded that every six months was enough. But, I continued to find myself asking God if he wanted more.

Last New Years Eve was a bad day. I was busy at work with a sick baby and trying to meet some deadlines, when I learned of some terrible things happening to the children I love. I spent a few minutes crying in the bathroom and tried to pull myself together to finish out my day. But, I couldn't contain my tears and I spent a lot of the day crying. I'm so thankful to have been working with coworkers who were understanding and helpful. But seeing my heart for what was going on, a coworker asked me when I was going to break down and move to Uganda. I replied that I was already in the process of breaking down (seeing that I had been crying most of the day) and that I would move there when I saw it written on a wall, flashing across a movie screen, or audibly heard the voice of God tell me to move there.

I had New Years Day off. It was a much needed day to sit down and really tackle my passions for what was going on in Uganda. I sat down on my sofa, opened my bible, and turned on some worship music. I asked God again if Uganda was where I was supposed to be. I knew and He knew that it was hard for me to function here when my heart was there. As I begin reading my bible, everything I read pointed to Uganda. I was playing music through my Apple TV when a worship song came on with the perfect lyrics. I looked up to see who sang the song and the word Uganda was scrolling across my TV screen followed by all the pictures of the people I loved there. The screensaver was somehow set to come on and scroll my Uganda pictures across my TV, but I never set that up to my knowledge. I remembered saying the day before that I would go to Uganda when it was scrolling across a screen and here it was.

The song that was playing was called "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong.  I encourage you all to listen to the lyrics of that song sometime as it has become my theme song during this process. I was so confident at the time that I was supposed to move to Uganda that I called every family member to tell them I was taking the next step. I had no idea what the next step was. I was even more encouraged when my family was understanding and supportive of this. I told a few other close friends that day who all just said, "We knew you would end up there one day."

I wish I could say the next steps were easy. They were not. As I prayed for direction, guidance, and wisdom for the perfect place to serve, I ran into many closed doors. I went back to Uganda at the end of May to lead a short term team. May 17th of this year was one of the worst days of my life. I got a call that morning that Marvin had died and I spent part of the day with his family as they prepared for his burial. At the end of that terrible day, I wondered why I even loved Uganda. I told God that everything about Uganda had been heartbreaking. At the end of the day, a deer came up and put his paw in my hand as I knelt down in front of the Nile River. That deer was like a  reminder to me that He was present and the assurance that I needed to know He was at work in the midst of all these devastating situations. One of my best friends who came to Uganda with me, told me over the next few days that she felt certain that God was calling her to Uganda too. We began to dream of the possibility of serving together and now feel incredibly blessed that our dreams have become our reality.

I came back from my May trip a mess. It was so hard to try and jump back into life, especially my job. After time, I began to doubt my calling to serve in Uganda. I began to believe that my intentions for going must be self seeking or that I was going to escape some situation here and that it why doors continued to close. Im thankful for a wonderful counselor and friends who continued to remind me of truth during these months. They all encouraged me to keep going and reminded me that closed doors do not mean God is a confusing God who withholds good from us.

I read a book during this time that God used to speak so much truth into my life. The book is called You're Made for a God- Sized Dream" by Holley Gerth. I think I underlined most of the book. I want to tell you all about this book, but I think everyone should just read it. Holley helped me realize that working with orphans in Uganda was my God sized dream and this is what I'm called to do. The end result will be a deepening relationship with the One who gave me this dream. Another awesome thing God did during this time, was connect me to Holley through a Ugandan teammate! It was neat to be able to share this dream with someone whose wisdom was such a defining part of this journey.


After nine months of waiting, the opportunity to work with A Child's Voice came very unexpectedly. I knew from my previous experience with them how incredible their organization was. I had no idea they would ever consider expanding their team! I am so humbled to get to be a part of an organization that is dedicated to keeping children out of institutions and who recognizes the need for children to have a family. MJ and I will primarily work in places where children are most at risk for being trafficked or abandoned. We will help equip women to care for their children and to become self sustainable. We will also work to provide any emergent medical needs that come up.

There are SO many details I am leaving out. The Lord has confirmed over and over that Uganda is where I am supposed to be. For example, I received a canvas in the mail one day with a picture of children from Uganda with the lyrics to "Ocean" by Hillsong in the mail one day. I have countless stories of affirmation that I have received. So very soon, I will start raising support. We will be going through a sending agency called Equip International who will also train us in providing medical care in third world countries. I will learn how to assess, diagnose, treat, deliver babies, suture lacerations etc in areas where minimal supplies exist. I am excited to receive this training!

I am so humbled and thankful for this journey. "He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love." Thankful for a season to celebrate that He comes to us and shows us the wonders of His love.