It is as official as it is going to get! When we leave for Uganda on May 30th, we will be on our way to a year-long adventure working with Healing Faith Uganda. We will call Jinja, Uganda home as we travel to the surrounding villages to build and maintain relationships that Healing Faith has established in their almost-three-years in this area. The focus of this ministry is malaria education, prevention, and treatment.
The tentative plan is for us to learn from Jason and Kari Segner, the directors of Healing Faith, for the summer. One prayer request during that time is for housing for our family and a second van for the ministry to accommodate both of our families as we serve together.
Once September arrives, the Segners and their children will head to Texas for a few months of furlough, and we will move into their home and do our best to fill their shoes.
Our family prays to be situated in our new, temporary, African life by then. We will spend our days asking God where He would have us serve and who He would call us to love. We will be visiting families in near-by villages, dispensing malaria medicines, and being present in the lives of all those who Kari and Jason have come to know and love.
We could not be more thrilled about this amazing opportunity! It truly is a gift and an adventure planned by Our Creator, who has always seemed to have a much more phenomenal plan for our lives than anything we ever imagined for ourselves.
The kids have not voiced a single concern about this big move. They are obsessed with looking at pictures of the Segner's life in Uganda, and the fact that our now dogless family will be outnumbered by dogs in our new home. They love that Mom and Dad will be their teachers next year, and that they will get to help people.
We have spent the past week completely cleaning our house and getting it ready to "show". While we have a family that we would LOVE to be able to rent to, the top of their budget is only about 1/2 of what we would need. We are praying in a big way for direction as we proceed.
This also leads us to our next item on the agenda...fund raising.
Remember our journey through 7? Remember us living with less and our "mutiny against excess"?
Isn't it just mind-boggling how God was preparing our lives and our hearts for just this kind of mission long before we ever knew of this opportunity?
When we had finally acknowledged the life of excess spending and all of the waste, we changed our habits. Although we are eating more than 7 foods, our monthly expenses have decreased drastically. This has allowed us to save and give away a great deal of money this past year. We have been so blessed, but in order to make this year with absolutely no income possible, we will have to raise money for our living expenses.
Please join us in praying for fundraising plans to come together and be successful. We especially are praying for 20 people to come alongside us as monthly supporters ($100/month) for our time in Uganda.
No worries here though...when we asked for support for Return Ministries' Land, it was provided in just over a month. They are set to purchase the land this month!
What a joy it is to serve God together with such loving, prayerful, and supportive friends!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
How did we get here and where are we going?
A few years ago, I couldn't have identified Uganda on a map. Africa wasn't on my radar, my mind or my heart in any way. And then, God placed little bread crumbs in front of me, and I followed- the entire time laughing, having NO idea what God was up to.
Several of my conversations with God included my telling Him that I had no desire to go to Africa, no desire to adopt from Africa, and no desire to give up this life that I had worked so hard for. Although those conversations began with me telling God what was up, they always ended with me saying, "I will follow where You lead me." I have had my fair share of questioning, thinking that I know best, and living this life on my own. Much of it has been good, but the best things that have ever, EVER happened to me, were the things that God orchestrated without any of my help...
I continued following those little bread crumbs, and last summer that led us to Visiting Orphans, an organization that works with ministries all over the world and brings volunteers for short term missions. In obedience, Dave and I signed up for a 2 week trip through Uganda and Kenya. We only took Chloe along because she was the only one who met the age requirement of 10 years old.
I got on an airplane still shaking my head and talking to God about how crazy this little adventure was.
As always, following in obedience led to joy that I would have never known on my own, a changed heart, and a passion to serve the children and families of Uganda. That trip was a life-changer. What I saw God doing in Chloe was enough to make me want to give up everything, but God was at work in Dave and I as well. You can read more about that in my posts from last summer.
*******************************************************************
Since then, we have been praying like crazy and fundraising (with your help) for a land project for Return Ministries. We have been thinking about taking all 6 of our kids to Uganda. We have thought about anther 2 week trip, and we have thought about spending the summer. Just recently, we decided that rather than going long-term, we would just spend our summers for the next few years in Uganda. We were set. We had a plan. We thought it was a good plan.
God was silent.
We prayed more.
God was silent.
We doubted.
We prayed more.
Still, nothing from the Big Guy.
We were frustrated.
As the time drew near to purchase plane tickets (and an amazing rate became available), I cried out to God...literally, in the van, by myself, I yelled to God, "Show me!!" I didn't want to make this choice, this major commitment if it wasn't in obedience. I needed to know that this was part of His plan. I reminded Him how this was NOT my idea in the first place, and if he walked me to this place, then I needed Him to walk me through. Show me. Show me.
God likes a little cry from the heart sometimes. He likes it when we come to Him with emotion rather than rote prayers and empty words.
The next morning, I received a call from the leader of our Visiting Orphan's trip. In an excitement that I could never put into words, she told me of an opportunity to serve in a ministry in Jinja, Uganda while the directors went on furlough in Texas. Would we at all be interested in staying in Uganda for 6 months to a year? I would like to think that I contained myself and my excitement on my immediate drive over to Dave's school to tell him about the call.
I was prepared for an immediate "No" from Dave, but he just smiled. That was a good sign. I have pulled him into lots of craziness in our 11 years together, and I have learned that I need him to balance me. He was actually excited. In the 5 minutes that we had to talk in the midst of his day teaching, he already was considering the option that he has to take a year leave of absence without losing his job. We will lose his income for that year, but at least he would have a job to return to.
After a few days of talking, praying and considering the impact, we felt sure of the choice to ask more questions.
That leaves us here,
Several of my conversations with God included my telling Him that I had no desire to go to Africa, no desire to adopt from Africa, and no desire to give up this life that I had worked so hard for. Although those conversations began with me telling God what was up, they always ended with me saying, "I will follow where You lead me." I have had my fair share of questioning, thinking that I know best, and living this life on my own. Much of it has been good, but the best things that have ever, EVER happened to me, were the things that God orchestrated without any of my help...
I continued following those little bread crumbs, and last summer that led us to Visiting Orphans, an organization that works with ministries all over the world and brings volunteers for short term missions. In obedience, Dave and I signed up for a 2 week trip through Uganda and Kenya. We only took Chloe along because she was the only one who met the age requirement of 10 years old.
I got on an airplane still shaking my head and talking to God about how crazy this little adventure was.
As always, following in obedience led to joy that I would have never known on my own, a changed heart, and a passion to serve the children and families of Uganda. That trip was a life-changer. What I saw God doing in Chloe was enough to make me want to give up everything, but God was at work in Dave and I as well. You can read more about that in my posts from last summer.
*******************************************************************
Since then, we have been praying like crazy and fundraising (with your help) for a land project for Return Ministries. We have been thinking about taking all 6 of our kids to Uganda. We have thought about anther 2 week trip, and we have thought about spending the summer. Just recently, we decided that rather than going long-term, we would just spend our summers for the next few years in Uganda. We were set. We had a plan. We thought it was a good plan.
God was silent.
We prayed more.
God was silent.
We doubted.
We prayed more.
Still, nothing from the Big Guy.
We were frustrated.
As the time drew near to purchase plane tickets (and an amazing rate became available), I cried out to God...literally, in the van, by myself, I yelled to God, "Show me!!" I didn't want to make this choice, this major commitment if it wasn't in obedience. I needed to know that this was part of His plan. I reminded Him how this was NOT my idea in the first place, and if he walked me to this place, then I needed Him to walk me through. Show me. Show me.
God likes a little cry from the heart sometimes. He likes it when we come to Him with emotion rather than rote prayers and empty words.
The next morning, I received a call from the leader of our Visiting Orphan's trip. In an excitement that I could never put into words, she told me of an opportunity to serve in a ministry in Jinja, Uganda while the directors went on furlough in Texas. Would we at all be interested in staying in Uganda for 6 months to a year? I would like to think that I contained myself and my excitement on my immediate drive over to Dave's school to tell him about the call.
I was prepared for an immediate "No" from Dave, but he just smiled. That was a good sign. I have pulled him into lots of craziness in our 11 years together, and I have learned that I need him to balance me. He was actually excited. In the 5 minutes that we had to talk in the midst of his day teaching, he already was considering the option that he has to take a year leave of absence without losing his job. We will lose his income for that year, but at least he would have a job to return to.
After a few days of talking, praying and considering the impact, we felt sure of the choice to ask more questions.
That leaves us here,
- ready for a Skype interview on Tuesday with a representative of the ministry's board of directors.
- looking for someone to rent our house for a year so that we aren't as burdened by the expense of our mortgage while we are gone. (We could pay it, but not having to would be one less concern.)
- praying about fundraising for our daily expenses while we are in Uganda.
- brainstorming how we will home school all 6 of our children and have them on track to return to their school the following year.
- doing some major "spring cleaning" during this polar vortex in order to get our house "show ready" for those renters that we know God will send our way.
Fun Fact:
Katie Davis, the author of Kisses from Katie, will be our neighbor in Jinja. The directors that we will be filling in for are good friends of her and her girls.
Not-so-fun Fact:
Many of you are aware that the IRS owes us over $40,000 for our 2011 Adoption Tax Credit that we never received. We originally assumed that we would use that money to fund this part of our journey. The IRS has made no progress on that front, and it is very unlikely that we would receive that funding prior to leaving, if at all.
Thank you for the support and continued prayers as we walk this path that God has set before us!
A very wise person, who I respect greatly said something the other day that keeps rolling around in my mind. "That's the trouble with faith. It lets you walk into things blindly," he said laughing. I believe that he meant very little by the comment, but my heart has held on to it, and it is empowering me in amazing ways.
Faith does, for sure, allow us to walk into this adventure with many unknowns. Faith allowed me to marry a man with a 9 year old daughter when I was just 21. Faith allowed us to have a child a year later when I didn't have a full-time job. Faith grew my little home daycare to an amazing business which grew our lives exponentially. Faith allowed us to become foster parents and then adopt 3 children when we struggle with parenting just as much as everyone else does. Faith is what gets me out of bed each morning and allows me to sleep peacefully every night.
I don't know if faith is trouble, but who only wants to live a fraction of their life? It is NOT Africa for everyone, it is NOT adoption for everyone, but whatever YOUR whole life is, I believe that faith gets you there. When I die, I want to know that I have lived the depth, height and width of every moment that I have been given. I want to live amazing days. Faith gets a bad rap for the "walking blindly" stuff. I think the trouble with faith is that more people don't have enough of it.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Even if
I have moments of worrying if going to Africa, if spending our money in this way, is right or wrong. If it is the best that God has for us. Like John the Baptist, I wonder if we might go boldly and then not have the experience that we were hoping for. I worry about going back to Jesus and saying, "Are you really who I thought you were? Was I really listening correctly?"
I feel like I am still looking for the one "big thing" that God has for us, and somewhere in me feels like we aren't doing what God calls us to if it isn't that big thing. Why is it that I can not see that all of the little things make up the "big thing"? Why can I not see that the "big thing" is not a certain area of service or a particular activity? The "big thing" is living a life of love and obedience, and that really is a BIG thing.
If the children's home is never built at Return...
I am afraid of regret. I am afraid of not following God correctly. I pray and pray in my doubt, but hear nothing, so I proceed the best I know how. When I don't feel direction in the big choices, I just follow in little choices. Those little choices lead us to inviting people to live at our house for a time, to stopping to help stranded motorists, to a variety of other choices that others label us "crazy" for. (Crazy is the nicest label we get...there are many others that we have to ignore in order to be boldly obedient.)
Then, I am reminded that this is not an all or nothing opportunity. This is NOT either the "big thing" or a waste. This is an amazing opportunity for our children, for us, and for God to work in and through us.
If the children's home is never built at Return...
If our trip is a disaster...
If we never decide to go back again...
If we do nothing to make a difference in a single life in Africa...
...we will have given our children a once in a lifetime experience.
...we will have made the world feel smaller and more accessible.
...we will have spent the past few years drawing closer to our God.
...we will have pulled ourselves so far out of our comfort zone.
...we will have literally and figuratively given all that we have to God.
that we will have no choice but to begin life again, as changed people, as new creations with new experiences...
And that is not a bad way to be.
Monday, October 21, 2013
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.
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.
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.
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.
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