When are we moving to Africa?

We weren't even in Africa a week before Dave declared on facebook, "The Mcs are moving to Africa!" In the 4 months since we have been back, the first question everyone seems to ask is, "When are you moving to Africa?"
Honestly, the answer is, "As soon as God tells us to."

The instant we met those kids in Kampala, I was just as in love as Dave was, but it was so overwhelming, that I knew I wouldn't be able to hear God's whispers above my own breaking heart.

There also were a few minor details like the house we own in America, the jobs that we need in order to pay our bills and then there are those 7 pesky kids that God had already called us to parent. ;-)
I knew, without a doubt, that this was not something to jump into, and not a decision that I could make based on emotion. If I have learned one thing in the past few years, it is that God has a better plan for me than anything I could ever imagine for myself. I needed to wait on His plan.
God bless Dave for his enthusiasm though!
God is working on my heart in so many ways. I am confident that He is leading me and preparing me to be a part of His work in Africa. I don't know exactly what that looks like yet, but I am okay with that.
Right now, what we are considering and praying about is going to Africa next summer for an extended period of time...possibly 3 months. Dave, being a teacher, has the summers off, so we would be able to maintain his income  and not make any drastic changes before we get our feet a little more wet in the Ugandan culture and lifestyle.
We also don't know if we would stay at Return Ministries that entire time, or if an extended stay would give us the opportunity to visit a variety of ministries.
We are talking with others who have gone to Uganda from the US, and we are collecting insight and wisdom.
I am confident that we are not called to international adoption. I LOVE adoption and I it is wonderful in so many ways, but God is not calling us to that. I have heard the "starfish" story, and I even believe in it with all of my heart, but when I pray about adopting a child from Uganda, the answer I feel in my heart is that I am not to take one child out of Africa, but to bring my family to love on them all.

You know what I envision? When I picture us in Uganda, I always see us, our whole family, just being a family with all of the children who need us. I would love to be the Mom to an entire village. It takes a village to raise a child, and I want to be a part of a literal village that raises children.
Again, I don't know what that looks like logistically, but that is the vision that God has placed on my heart. I watch my children, so prepared to love others, so prepared to care for little ones, and I know that God has been doing a great work in their hearts.

So, this is just an update. This is what I am praying about. This is what is on my heart. I am at peace. I trust that the plan will be revealed to me one step at a time, and I am ready to live in obedience.

Thank you to all who are praying and donating with us. Our family is truly being carried through each day by your love.

It's a Spiritual Battle, not a Financial Battle

I am a goal setter. I always have been. I challenge myself, and I like to challenge others. I get such a thrill out of setting a goal and then reaching it as quickly and as efficiently as I can.
It is no surprise that I flew into fundraising for Return Children's Home in Kampala, Uganda with that same determination.
Last week, as I spoke to a fellow supporter of this ministry who lives in the US, my eyes were opened to the fact that my perspective has to change. She reminded me of Pastor Samuel's perspective. While in Uganda, every word that came from Pastor Samuel's mouth was so full of hope and love and Jesus. There is no doubt in his mind that all that is taking place in Africa, and with their ministry in particular, is a spiritual battle, not a financial battle.
On several occasions, investors have offered to fully fund the land, community center, church and children's home that the Samuels' Family feels called to build. The only problem was that every time, there were strings attached.

They would be happy to give all of the money needed, as long as they would teach
no religion...
a certain facet of the gospel, but not the whole gospel...
a different religion...
or
if they could have complete control over the project.

What the Samuels' Family has dedicated their lives to is not just a building. It has long been their passion to care for the physical needs as well as the spiritual needs of those in their village. Currently, Pastor Samuel and his wife Sarah rent a small house for them and their 2 children, ages 4 and 6. The pastor's elderly parents rent a small house as well as the empty land next to the house. Within that house 17 children live and grow and learn to be a family. The house is tiny. Most of us probably have garages bigger than this house.

In the empty dirt field next door, so much takes place throughout the week. The children from the village come to eat a few times per week, they can play on the 2 makeshift slides, they can attend church and Sunday school classes, and the teens enjoy weekly "Coffee Time", which similar to a youth group.
The vision, the greatest asset that we can give to this ministry is land. Once they have a place to call their own, they can create a self-sustaining lifestyle. This entire village can be changed if they simply had a place to be...a place to grow...a place to create their future.

"When god pushes you to the edge, trust him fully, because only two things can happen. Either he will catch you when you fall or he will teach you how to fly."

Learning

I mentioned in a previous post that children are lacking a purpose in Africa. That survival is the only thing on the agenda each day. It broke my heart the day I asked about this sign.

This poster is a guide for the exam that children must take to advance in school. This was hanging in the P1 and P2 classroom...the earliest grade in school. Not only do these children not have someone whispering in their ears how special and cherished they are, but they are taught, in school, that their only value is based on what they can do for their families. Another question on that test is something like, "Why do parents have children?" I can give you a list of American answers to that question, and topping the list would be to share the love that they have together with a family. 

You know what the "correct" answer is? 

To fetch water.

This is the uphill battle that many ministries are facing. We hold them and love them and tell them that they are loved by a God who is so big and so mighty, who created them with a purpose on this earth at this time, and then they have to write on a test that parents have children only to fetch the water.