Learning to do life in Uganda

We have been in Uganda for 7 days now, and we have already learned so, so much about how to do life here!

We arrived in Jinja on Sunday and it was so great to finally meet the Segner family face to face! All of the kids, 11 total, hit it off right away, and they are having a great time doing life together. The Segner family lives not far from the home that we are staying in, and there are currently 3 interns working with Healing Faith who live in a different house, just down the street from us. It is nice to have so many great places to walk to when we need a change of scenery.

For our first 6 weeks we are staying in a tiny home. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room/kitchenette combo room. That is all. I keep thinking of the old country song, “Love Grows Best in Little Houses”. It really has been a great place to be though. We are all together playing, talking and getting along very well for the most part. Carter mentioned just yesterday, “Halie and I haven’t fought once in Africa!” Of course today he decided to change that and they were annoyed again with everything the other one said and did. I guess it’s good to know that not everything has changed here!

The kids are loving life, and they have adjusted so well. Wren was throwing up on Monday, and Carter was on Wednesday, but each just had upset tummies in the mornings, threw up a few times and then felt fine from that point on. I am assuming it was simply nerves. Today my stomach is churning, but that was a common occurrence in America as well. Halie may be allergic to her mosquito net. Some mornings she wakes up with red, itchiness around one or both eyes. We are hoping that as the nets air out, she will not be as sensitive.

On Tuesday we did go into the village for the first time. It was a children’s ministry day, so we were able to meet with some families, gather a ton of children for songs, games and a Bible story, and do a health check. After our activities, Jason began the very informal clinic. Mothers line up with children and explain to Miriam, our translator, their child’s symptoms. Miriam passes on the information to Jason and he does his best to give advice. This day in particular there was a little baby with tiny bumps all over her body that keep coming and going, a girl with a fever and stomach ache, a baby whose mother thought she had a fever, a sweet little girl with an infection on her toes that made the skin painful and cracked, and a man with a burnt leg, among others.

Jason does an amazing job talking with the families about what he sees and advises, but it is hard to not be able to treat each and every ailment. Healing Faith is a malaria education, prevention and treatment organization. It is registered in Uganda as such, and they are only allowed to treat as they are permitted. This means that many conditions are beyond their scope, and the families must take the initiative on their own to get to a clinic for some things. There is help available, but to see the crying child and not be able to help immediately is hard. Jason did a few malaria tests, and all were negative.

As with any great ministry, the physical work being done is not the whole of what Healing Faith does. Building and maintaining relationships is the cornerstone of their work.  Both on our way into the village and on our way out, we stopped to meet with families, check in on those that the Segners have worked with previously, and even bought charcoal from one household. The more we can support those who are working hard to support themselves, the better off the village will be.

At the very first home we were able to hand deliver a Baby Kit that so many of you helped to provide. I was able to hold the new baby and whisper sweet prayers over her as she slept in my arms. The baby kit will provide her with 2 outfits, a blanket and a hat. The mother was extremely grateful for the resource for her daughter.

At that same house, I was shocked to look next to me on the bench and see Wren holding a baby rabbit. For those of you that don’t know, Wren is my shy, always scared of everything, clinging to Mommy or Chloe kind of child. Today though, she was all about this adventure. She was walking with goats, chickens, roosters and rabbits all around her and she was happy to be doing her own thing!

The animals have been a dream come true for my kids. Our very first day at the Segner’s house, Jasmine came running around the corner with 2 goats on leashes pulling her along. Out the back window, Brice and Halie were feeding rabbits in the hutch, and all of the kids were chasing these giant, ugly birds that are all over here. We have caught chameleons in the village, and there are little geckos running on the walls all around our house. The Segners have several dogs of all shapes and sizes that the kids love, and at our home there are 2 dogs and one adorable puppy that have claimed us as their own.

Each home is on a “compound”, so while there may be more than one house, the property is secured either by a fence or a concrete wall as well as a guard at the gate. It is so nice that the kids have such a large, safe space to be in without us having to watch every single moment or worry that they are wandering off or that anyone else is wandering in. When we first left our compound to walk down the street, we assumed that our dogs were stuck inside. We were about a block away though, when suddenly the dogs were walking right beside us, barking at anyone who came near us. There must be a hole is our fence somewhere, but it is such a blessing to have guard dogs that follow us and then return home after we reach our destination.

Yesterday was our first day without power all day. Dave has a Ugandan phone, but of course it wasn’t charged before the power went out, so that was pretty useless. Fortunately, the modem for the internet at the interns’ house can run for a little while without power, so I was able to post to facebook and check email.

Now, we are playing catch up to try to charge our devices and then hopefully I can make a call to AT&T and find out why my phone is not unlocked like they said it was before we left. When I live chatted with a rep yesterday she said, “Your lines are suspended, we can’t unlock them now. You needed to do that before you left the country.” I assured her that I have every reason to believe that the process was completed prior to leaving. Her response was, “Well, I don’t handle that issue, so you will have to call them after 7am.” I have no idea what time zone she was referring to, but as soon as Dave’s phone has some power, I will begin the process of finding that out. Once I can get my phone unlocked, we will have wi-fi at home, and I will not have to go to the intern’s house to use the internet. Oh, the trouble with technology!

Thank you for all of the love and support that you are sending half way around the world. Even when I can’t check in on-line or throw out a prayer request, I know that we are being lifted up each time we come to mind. Our support system is the best!

We love you all!

We are the Body

25 days until we leave.
My emotions change from moment to moment.
Am I packing away things that we will need in the next few weeks? Am I not packing away enough? Are we trying to bring too much of America with us? Will we wish that we had brought some Fruit Loops?
I don't believe that there is any way to know the correct answers to these questions.

We had an amazing weekend that began with a Coffee House/Art Auction at Jacob's Well, had a jam packed day in St. Louis, and ended with a Sunday of afternoon naps.

The fundraiser raised almost $3,000. That's an incredible amount of money, but I am not so shocked anymore. Every need that we have had, every single request, God has provided for tenfold.

This journey is increasingly becoming more about what God is up to and less about the McMorris family. He has blown us out of the water and any little prideful parts of us that remained have been eliminated.

The art auction contained the creations of many people that we know personally. Several of the musical acts were people who know and love us very much. But there were more. There were amazing works of art by people that we have never once spoken to. Some of the musicians came to share their God given gifts, and had absolutely no idea who the McMorrises were.

This is the Body of Christ as it was meant to be.
We all bring what we have to the altar, and God uses it to accomplish His will.

Not a single person sized us up before deciding to participate. No one wanted to scrutinize what we were going to do or how we planned to do it. Each one simply knew that they had something to offer up to our Creator that He could use to further his kingdom here on earth.

I pray that the Body continues to hear God's voice, God's leading, and chooses to follow in obedience.

What blessing there is in obedience.

It's a no brainer

We will be sleeping under mosquito nets each and every night that we are in Uganda. It's just a no-brainer. Female mosquitoes carry the Malaria virus, and they are active just before dawn and just after sunset. If we are indoors during those times, we are well protected. We are blessed to be able to make this choice. 

Many Africans don't have a choice. In order to survive another day, to keep their families alive, their days begin long before dawn and end long after sunset. Their lives don't allow them to be under a net for those hours.When this is your home, you don't have an "indoors" where you can retreat to. 

We can change this though. We can put an end to this disease. 
We can educate others so that they can know all that we do about this disease. 
We can provide life-saving treatment.
We can spray homes to keep mosquitoes away. 
When we spray multiple homes, we then have protected a village.  

WE ARE OVER HALFWAY THERE!!! 
Our goal was to be able to purchase a fully stocked Mobile Malaria Vehicle that would enable us to reach the villages no matter what the road conditions are. We wanted to do this in one week. God thinks we don't even need 7 days for this!
Within a few hours, Brazos Fellowship in Texas had committed to matching each and every penny donated. 
Within just one day, we were half way to our goal. 
Where will God take us today?
How can he use YOU?

Donate HERE. 

#WorldMalariaDay

Remember when HIV/AIDS was killing millions of people in Africa at an alarming rate?
Did you know that now, a baby born infected with HIV who begins treatment right away can have no trace of the disease in his body by the age of 2?
AIDS deaths are steadily decreasing in Africa and the rate of those receiving treatment to live a full and happy life with the disease in growing by 100s of percents.

Africa has turned the AIDS epidemic around.

We CAN do the same with Malaria. We MUST do the same with Malaria.

Today is World Malaria Day. 

Will you share this post to educate someone about this deadly disease?

Why on earth would we move our 6 kids to Africa? 

Because we can be a part of putting an end to this...

·       A child dies from malaria every 60 seconds

·       Most of the children are under 5 years old

·       In 2010, almost 600,000 children in Africa died from malaria

 Malaria is preventable, treatable, and curable. The Healing Faith team, which we will be a part of in just 35 days, encounters 6-8 positive malaria tests each week. The testing a treatment for a single person costs less than $3! The average cost of a mosquito net is $4, yet this might as well be a fortune for the Ugandan families who live on less than $2 per day. 

During the rainy season, which they are in the midst of right now, the cases of malaria skyrocket, but access to the villages are impossible due to the muddy, slick dirt roads. It is devastating to be unable to reach a child who has tested positive for Malaria. 

Not another rainy season will pass without Healing Faith having the means to get to those children. This week we begin a campaign for a Mobile Malaria Vehicle that will be able to travel the mucky red dirt roads year round and will be fully stocked to meet all of the medical needs of the villages. 

On this World Malaria Day, will you join Healing Faith as we seek to raise $25,000 in just one week for a Mobile Malaria Vehicle?

CLICK HERE to be a part of the life saving efforts!

As if saving lives was not enough, a donation of $50 will get you this t-shirt. A donation of any amount will get you in a drawing for one of these t-shirts as well as the newly designed logo shirts!

Bless you for being Jesus' hands and feet for children around the world!

An update in pictures...60 days left in America!

First of all, please acknowledge the restraint that it took for me to only end that title in one exclamation point. Thank you. I am often called out for too many exclamations and smiley faces. :-p

Today is April 1st. We get on a plane at 1pm on May 30th and fly from O'Hare Airport to Newark to Brussels to Entebbe. Just 60 days until this chapter of our family's life begins to be written by the author and perfecter of all things.

We are all excited. We are fairly certain that we have all of the paperwork and preparations done that we possibly can. This week we will be making a decision on the renters of our house. (We have one offer and one more showing this Thursday.)

This picture will mean little to anyone except our dear, sweet neighbors who know how full our garage is typically, but while others were basking in the sun on their spring break, he was in the freezing cold garage purging and cleaning. Between storage for the homeless ministry and 6 kids' worth of toys and bikes and junk, this garage and the loft above it was packed. It is fun just to look at it now. Beautiful!

However, we do not feel that same sense of joy when we walk into our basement. As we have cleaned out the bedrooms and every other nook and cranny of the house, we have ended up with PILES of things for a garage sale that will take place as soon as the weather gets nice enough. (p.s. If you have any items that you would like to donate to our sale, we would be happy to take them.) Our garage has plenty of space now. ;-)

Also during spring break, our family was invited to visit with a wonderful group of women who make up Fibers of Love. They meet every Tuesday to sew dresses to be donated. Often the boxes of dresses that they make get sent to the Dominican Republic or Haiti on mission trips, but this time, they offered to sew dresses and shorts with our kids, for our kids to take with us to wear. 

They let the kids pick out fabric, help them sew and just poured so much love into these dresses and shorts. I was envisioning 1 or 2 dresses a piece, but when I went to pick up the box yesterday, there are at least 5 or 6 for each child and even some for me. Amazing, amazing provision. 

How much we have to pack up our house will depend on who the renters end up being. We offered to leave the house furnished if  needed. I am also waiting for winter to end so that I can pack away all of the cold weather gear and then only get out what we will need for summer. The boxes are ready and waiting. 

Likewise, our packing has begun, but is slow-going. Every day we find out a little more about what we will need to bring and how much of it to bring. We are allowed to bring 2 containers each weighing under 50 lbs...that is 16 suitcases or tubs. Can you even imagine what we will look like as we enter the airport?!?! I will be sure to send pictures of that!

Several of our tubs are designated for items that we will be taking for the people we will be serving through Healing Faith. Right now, God has led them to develop and grow their Malaria education, treatment and prevention program, but as support and God allow, there is a great need for a maternal care ministry to grow as well. 

Meet Sumia and her brand new baby girl! That bag is the "Momma Kit". 

Many of you have been working over the past few weeks to create "Baby Kits" for us to deliver to new mothers in Uganda. Healing Faith currently provides pregnant women with a "Momma Kit" and you wouldn't even believe that all that these women need in order to give birth to their babies, often unassisted in their dirt-floor homes fits in a ziploc bag! Our Baby Kits will then provide a warm outfit, hat and swaddling blanket for them once the baby is born. Although it is hot in Uganda, I am told that the Mommas still like to bundle the babies up like it's a cool, fall day.

One picture that I do not have, but that I pray will never fade in my memory, is of our Great Banquet Community. The love that they demonstrated on Sunday evening as they prayed for us, anointed us and commissioned us for this journey was awesome. Pastor Lori was recalling the story of Jesus walking on water and she asked our kids about Peter, who was walking on the water as well, until he took his eyes off of Jesus. She had the entire community gathered there stand and raise their arms while holding hands to represent the waves that led to fear and that caused Peter to begin sinking. She reminded us in those moments of fear and doubt, to remember all of the  people praying for us and to keep our eyes firmly on Jesus. And as that room full of people lowered their arms, as I looked at each of them, I no longer saw individual faces, but I was looking at Jesus in the flesh, and I was humbled. The love of this community is truly agape. In all that they say and do and in all that they are. 

God is pouring out His blessing on every step on this journey, and I am simply in awe. 

Blown Away

It seems whenever we have a large goal in front of us, the thing Christians say is, "God will provide if it is His will." It is truth. I know that. All I have comes from God. There is no way on earth that I would be living the life that is before me if it weren't for the heaping piles of grace being poured out over me daily.
Despite that phenomenal gift, sadly, I sometimes slide back into the habit of elevating the value of my own efforts above what God is doing. In my head, it sounds something like this, "God, I trust that you will provide. If this is part of Your plan for me, that would be great. BUT...in case You don't...in case it's not, I am going to work really hard to make it successful." Then I move forward with whatever my little human heart is set on.
Sometimes, it ends up alright.
Sometimes, God catches me before it blows up in my face.
Sometimes, God uses it to humble me. And oh, how I have been humbled in this life.

An obedient heart is what I long for. I pray to be smack dab in the center of God's will so that even if I miss the the bull's eye, I am still not completely off the target. Often times, I believe that I begin in the center of God's plan. Then, I invite God to provide and bless what I am doing.
How quickly I get off target.
All along, in everything I do, in every act of service and opportunity to do a good deed, God is inviting me to join Him in the work that He is doing, has been doing and will continue doing whether I choose obedience or to sit on the couch and eat the whole tray of Oreos.
This mission, healing bodies, minds and souls in Uganda, is God's work. He is sovereign over the entire universe, and His beloved children in the US are no different in His eyes than His beloved children in Uganda. God has a plan to bring healing, and part of that is building a bridge between the resources we have and the needs that they have. We are honored to have our heads and our hearts straight as we accept His invitation to see what He is doing. We dedicate the work of our hands and the words of our mouths to HIM.
Because of others who have made a similar commitment, to dedicate a portion of their financial resources to God's work, we have 13 out of the 20 needed Cornerstone sponsors. We have 49 individuals or families who have donated anywhere from $5 to $1200 because they want to be a part of what God is up to.
Friends, there is no way that I can credit my own actions with the fundraising that is taking place. God is just blowing our family out of the water this time. As each and every step falls beautifully into place, we are more and more certain that this is where our family is supposed to be. This journey is being provided for in such a big way by regular people, who all could use a little more money at the end of each month, but in faith have decided to make different choices in order to be a part of the healing is taking place in Uganda.
We had just four months to raise the money needed, and today we are TWO months away from leaving.
If you are not in a place to give financially, I beg to continue following our journey and praying for Healing Faith. To know that we are being blanketed in prayer while we are half a world away brings more healing and comfort than you know.
BUT, if you have been following our journey and have felt a nudge in your heart or have been considering doing something, we invite you to choose obedience.
We invite you to choose obedience to that still, small voice not only for what that will mean to the ministry, but because of the joy and the opportunity that comes when we are smack-dab in the center of God's will.
There truly is no amount too small. God goes before us and knows exactly who He has called and what He has called them to give. He has it orchestrated and is bringing together the body of Christ as well as non-Christians to pool our resources and care for His children.

To make a one-time donation or to set up a recurring monthly donation, click on the link below.
www.healingfaithuganda.org/donate

A new video was created that shows exactly how our family will be spending the next year. Kari and Jason Segner have been working in Uganda for 3 years with their children. This video is a very touching glimpse into the work that God is doing through them.

Why?

Some people come right out and ask it.
Others simply smile, but are thinking it.

Why are we going to Africa?
Why would we leave this life and all of the people that we love, even for a year, to go to Africa?

I asked the kids this question last week, and I planned to have a wonderful blog post with videos of each of them sharing why we were going and a little of their thoughts on the journey. As I recorded them though, it became obvious that they were misguided. They have heard us share about our trip last summer, and we have talked all about Africa in the months since, but we had missed a critical issue.

Our kids, each in their own way think that we are going to Africa to save people, not save souls for Jesus or anything, but to physically save people. Though on some level, we pray that we will be used to help save lives through education, prevention and treatment of malaria, that is not why we are going.

We thought it was cute when Brice was telling people that he was "skipping 3rd grade to be a doctor in Uganda," but until I listened to each of the kids separately tell me that they thought we would be rescuing Ugandans from themselves, from the lives that they are living, I didn't realize how self-centered and egocentric that viewpoint is.

Never once have I felt that the people of Uganda...or our homeless ministry...or any other stereotypical "least of these" groups...need to be saved. Even if they did, I would NOT be qualified, nor would Brice, although he may beg to differ.

We are going to Africa, to Uganda, to Healing Faith specifically, because that is where we were led. We are going to Uganda to see. We are going to learn. We are going because we don't know what lies in front of us in life, but we are confident in the One who does know.

We did not just decide one day that this is where life was going to take us. This couldn't have been farther from where I thought we were headed.

In all honesty, I thought we would get our finances in order, focus our lives on our marriage and our children and finally get to take family vacations every summer. That was the extent of my American dream. I dreamt of having a "family place", somewhere that we would go each year, maybe in Michigan, on the beach. Maybe we would throw in a trip to Disney every few years with friends to mix things up a bit. That is what I thought was in store.

Instead, God had plans to grow us into different people, into a different family.

So, when the call came several weeks ago about serving with Healing Faith, I had no idea if this was going to actually happen or if this was a conversation that wouldn't actually bear any fruit.

As the conversations gained momentum and this did actually seem like it was a real possibility, we were shown just how perfectly God had been planning this. The Segner Family (Directors of Healing Faith) planned to go on furlough a year ago, and it didn't work out at that time. It did lead to several individuals praying for a family to come alongside the Segners in ministry. Before we even knew that they existed, they were praying for us.

Then I was confronted with the same obstacle that I have battled my whole life. Finances. That right there could have put a halt to this whole thing, but again, as we prayed and talked and shared with friends, everyone was so confident that this was exactly the path we were to walk. Before our letter was even written asking for the financial support needed for this period of our life, people were asking if they could send us money. It blew me away. You see, God had been at work in their hearts and in their lives, too. Before we even knew this opportunity existed, before they knew that we would be asking them to surround us as the Body of Christ, God was preparing the way.

We sent out letters to about 200 people. One arrived the day after some friends received an unexpected tax return. God was at work. They asked to be one of our cornerstone sponsors.

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

We are going to Africa to see what God is doing. We are going to learn about the people and the culture. We pray to do good while we are there, but more than anything, we pray to be molded and shaped by our experiences. We walk in obedience where He leads because He has proven to us over and over again that the paths we walk in life are preparation for what is to come. 

Tonight we will begin a special time with the kids where we can talk about Africa and prepare our hearts and minds as a family for the journey ahead. We are hoping that this can become an intentional, weekly gathering and that we have the opportunity to teach the kids about all the ways that Uganda may actually save us.