What's Next?

The more the reality sets in, the more excited I become. I love getting to talk about Uganda and it's been so wonderful to talk to people about what I will be doing. If I could sum up everything I have learned about who Christ is through His work in Uganda, I would use the word "rescuer". Everywhere I go lately the song "You Alone Can Rescue" by Matt Redman is playing. And when you understand that He has rescued you, you understand that He deserves the highest praise. I love Colossians 1: 13-14, For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. I love that I have and I will witness first hand that He is rescuing orphans from the darkness and bringing them into light, love, and community.

So whats next? I leave for Uganda tomorrow. I am leading a team of 10 girls on a two week trip. I am always so excited to watch people fall in love with Uganda and fall more in love with the One who is at work there. Then, MJ will be flying over and we will meet our team members serving with Equip International. Then, MJ and I will meet with the staff of A Child's Voice (where we will be working). I can not wait for all of us to sit down together to pray and plan about what this next year may look like. There are so many things we want to do! I will also get to spend some time with my precious girl! I'm excited to look back at 2013 with her and reflect on how much God worked in her life. She is such an inspiration to me!

While I am in Uganda, many of you will receive a support packet from me. I have to raise/have pledged 3,500 dollars a month before I can leave to go over full time. I also have to sell my house which will go on the market on January 23rd when I get back.When my house sells, and my support is raised, and I complete the required trainings, I am free to leave. Only He knows when that will be, but we hope to by in Uganda by the end of May or beginning of June. Whenever I start to become discouraged about having to raise a large amount of money or selling my house, He always reminds me that He is able. I can look at my Uganda timeline where He has assured me all along the way that this is what I am supposed to do. When I start to tell myself that it doesn't make sense to quit my job, sell my things, and move to another country, I am reminded of all the times in the bible where God asks something of someone that doesn't make sense to us as humans. But from His perspective, this makes sense. There are orphans suffering terrible injustices and He wants His people to be aware. He wants to rescue them and bring them to light. And, sending people to do that makes sense. I question if I am the right person for that or if I can even emotionally handle learning about and witnessing more corruption. But even in that, He humbly reminds me that He has plans for many people in this.

I love writing. It's therapeutic to me. My prayer is that I can share stories on this blog of both the heartache and the victories that I see.  I want to introduce you all to these women and children who have incredible stories because God put together a ministry to advocate for children and families. Just talking about all this gets me so excited!

I ask for prayer as I head back to Uganda. There have been unexpected tragedies occur on my last two trips and I always get a little nervous about what I may see or experience. And, I am trying to quickly recover from the flu!  Pray for my team and that He would do amazing things in the lives of these girls and the people we minister to! I am also planning to go back and spend some time with Marvin's family after the team leaves. God used his short life to ignite this passion in me and I am so excited to be able to tell his family that I'm moving back to Uganda full time.

If you do not receive a support letter from me in the next few weeks and would like to contribute financially to my journey, I would LOVE that. I can add any of you to my mailing list when I get back, so that you will also receive newsletters and prayer requests while I'm there. You can mail a check to Equip, Inc  P.O. Box 1126 Marion, NC 28752. You may also donate online by going to equipinternational.com and clicking on "Donations". Scroll to the bottom of that page and click "Donate Now" and fill in my name when asked what missionary you would like to support. I can receive donations at any time. Some of you have asked if you can donate before the end of 2013 and the answer is YES! I would LOVE that. The sooner I can raise support, the sooner I can leave!

Thank you for all your love, prayers, and support. Can't wait to write more when I am back from Uganda!