My Cup Overflows!

I am a mother, wife (a youth pastors wife no less!) missionary, small group leader, photographer, adoption advocate/worker, sister, daughter, cousin, adoptee, friend. I wear all these different hats. There are times it gets overwhelming. There are times I want to lock myself in my room and not think about anything. Tonight I am simply filled with a greatfull heart overflowing with the joy of all the ways that God has blessed me. There are no words to describe how I feel about each person in my life and the way each of you bless me in your own ways. (Yes even those of you who don't believe in God and think I am crazy for doing so) To say that the heartaches in my life have been challenging would be a gross understatement. However, God restores. He gives back far more than what the brokenness of the world could ever take. I see His restoration in my life. I am humbled by the great privilege and responsibility of all the many jobs He has given me and the people placed in my path to show unconditional love.

Injustice

Since the release of the film "12 Years a Slave" I have seen some feedback from some, stating that these kind of movies no longer need filming. These statements came from African Americans. Having had not seen they film until now I speculated, and still do, that this was due to many reasons including the belief that it is time to move passed such stories and hurt. That it continues the circle of hate in our country. Perhaps I am completely wrong about those thoughts and perhaps those more educated than I could explain it better. My perspective, of course is quite different, having grown up in a predominantly white community. As much as I hate it I personally have seen racism in ugly verbal ways. I have heard things that to this day make me sick to my stomach. Having studied history I know of the ugly past of this country and the blatant miss use of even scripture to justify it. Films like this never fail to make me angry and sick and heart broken. I can never understand how a human being could treat another in such wretched ways. I too wish there was no need for such films to be made. If stories of the holocaust, slavery, and genocide were fictions rather than retellings of history perhaps they would not hurt so. Unfortunately, these are not only our past but also our present. Injustices still happen every single day. Thousands of other stories are never told all over the world. Even as I write there are thousands in slavery, or under attack for simply holding a belief or being born a certain race.

As much as they hurt I am thankful that a few stories come to light now and then. May they serve as a reminder to us all that injustice should not be allowed to stand.

That those of us who can do something....anything, begin to make a change. That we change in even the smallest ways by treating each person we meet with respect and love. That when given the opportunity to stand up for others we do so with courage. I want my children to know such history. I want them to see it in all it's ugliness, so that they can understand what happens when hate is allowed to grow. So then perhaps they will understand what love looks like and help it to grow instead. Below are images from just a few groups doing just that. I hope you will take the time to look them up and support them in some way. Or take the time to look up organizations that do what is possible to aid in bringing justice to our world.

T.I.A.

Words can never describe how thankful I am to have been a part of this last mission to Uganda. God did so much through our team. I wanted to share just one small story of how you are helping bring hope to Uganda through the school we are partnered with in Toggo Uganda.
TICC is more than just a school where children are getting a good education. It is a place where teachers and staff care about the children and building a better future for them. This is where kids get to be kids and have a little fun. Where children learn not just about books but about life.

One of our goals as we began children's camp, was to teach the children how to share their testimonies. To train them to be a witness of Gods great love for them to those around them. As three children got up to share their stories, one stood out to us all. Many children will tell of how they passed their exams or how they asked God to heal a parent from a sickness and He showed up for them. Wonderful testimonies indeed. This young man told a different story. With the courage of a lion he took the microphone and through the pauses of the interpreter we heard his story unfold. I'm not sure how old his is but from the looks of him he could not have been much older than 10 or 12 so I stifled a giggle when he started "when I was a little child" and paused for the interpreter. He went on to tell us that his father told him to leave. He could not care for him and he was not allowed to stay home any longer. My heart sank. He briefly described how he began to walk and sleep in the bushes and tears began filling not only his eyes but the eyes of everyone else as well. He described walking to the TICC campus to get a drink of water when "Administrator Gabby" found him and began asking what he was doing. He shared through tears about how she gave him clothing to wear, food to eat, a mattress to sleep on and space in the boys dorm. He thanked God for bringing him to a place where there were people to care for him.

I knew the staff at this school cared for children. I knew they were training them to learn and to build their own futures. I knew they wanted to show Gods love to these children every day. Until this moment I did not realize what an impact their love really, truly made in those lives. This young man who had not been loved by his own family now had been shown love. Through giving a little time and Very basic necessities, he now knows what love is. These are the children who's lives are changing through your sponsorship. These are the kind of stories you are a part of when you help send us to Uganda. This is life changing. This is world changing. This is Africa.