Rise Benefit = Success! / June 8 2011

The Rise Benefit was a success! Thank you SO much to everyone that came out. It was so much fun! Thanks to The Stone for letting us be there and to all the bands for playing tonight! Y'all were awesome! Can't wait to do it again :-)

I don't have much to say today except that I got to have an awesome conversation about Africa tonight with a lady that works at the stone and it made me so happy! 71 days!!!!!!!! :-D
The post today is from June 8 2011. This particular day was a big one for me! I met my twins Brandina and Scovia and left a piece of my heart with them. Enjoy the pictures of my beautiful baby girls! I love these babies like crazy.

June 8 2011

One of the babies I fell in love with today at the baby home. If I had a picture of her twin on my phone I would post it but it is on my camera and I’m not near a computer. This sweet baby girl is named Brandina and her twin sister is named Scovia. Their mom died giving birth. I fell in love with these sweet girls today. I would have kept them if I could have! When we had to leave I cried. These beautiful baby girls need a mommy. But I need a husband first...

What a face! Cutie pie :-)

Pretty big brown eyes :-)

Baby girl letting me change her.

What a day!

Today we went to the baby home in Mbale. We got there and were given a quick explanation of where the babies come from (so sad) and where they will end up. Then they explained how an American would go about adopting a child. It’s not easy. Then we were given a tour. Then we got to hold babies! I fell in love with these two girls that were a month and a half twins. The one I held first was Scovia. She was smaller and definitely sick. We couldn’t tell if it was the flu or malaria. Then I held her twin sister Brandina. Oh my goodness I fell in love with them. They are both so beautiful. I wish I could take them home with me so badly! But they deserve a mommy and a daddy and I don’t have a husband yet lol. I held brandina most of the time because scovia is sick and was not liking to be held for a long time. I got to change brandina and put her to sleep and kiss her face off! :-) At one point I was holding both of them at the same time. I got a picture with my camera so I’ll have to post it when I can get to an actual computer. While I was holding brandina she picked up her head and looked into my eyes for a long time. I was done for lol. I told her not to do that to me but she wouldn’t listen ;-). Then scovia finally let me hold her without crying for a while and she smiled a little! (as much as a 2 month old can haha) oh I love these little girls. When it was time to leave I cried. I didn’t want to leave them there but I didn’t have a choice. So I put them down and we left with me crying the whole way out. Haha come on what did you expect it is ME we are talking about.
We left and went to see Wasawa’s brother. That was neat. We got to pray for him. He is older and has heart and kidney trouble. After that we went back to the market to find the woman that sold us our baskets yesterday to give her some shoes. While she was helping us she sort of tripped and she broke her shoe. We had extras so we decided to give her some. She wasn't there. Her husband told us she was at the hospital but called her and let Becky talk to her. That was cool. We left the shoes with her husband. Hopefully she gets them. Then we went to the sewing ladies and when I walked up Musa (yum yum) ran into me and gave me a HUGE hug. I think he thought I was his sponsor or something lol. But it was so sweet. Best hug I’ve had all week! :-) Then I saw Sandra (the little girl we prayed for that has malaria) and I was told that Sandra and Musa just got home from the “hospital” which is more like a clinic. One of the Colorado girls, Becca, said she doesn’t think Sandra actually has malaria. She thinks it might be something else judging by how long she has been sick after receiving treatment and her symptoms. But she isn’t a doctor so she isn’t sure. Poor girl looks miserable. I held her close to me for a while. I wish there was something we could do. But she is seeing a doctor so hopefully she gets well soon. I really like her. She is so sweet and fun. While we were with the sewing ladies it started raining. I love it when it rains but the Ugandans think it’s cold! Haha I guess if I was used to 115 degree weather I would think 90 something was cold too. :-) then we came back to the hotel a little early because we were tired. Now we are chilling in the room. Oh! I have a roommate now :-) her name is Haley and she is 16 and from Katy. She got in at 11 last night. She is so fun and I can’t wait to get to know her on this trip! She reminds me of how much I love and miss my little sister and brother. :-) more later. I’m sooooo tired. Haha





Thanks again to everyone who came out to support Rise tonight! It means so much to me!!!

I Almost Forgot! 2 events you should be at!

I almost forgot to mention that there are two events coming up that you should be at!

Rise is having a benefit night tomorrow night (Friday night) from 7-10pm at The Stone coffee bar in Gruene, TX! There will be some awesome live music from Jordan Daugherty, Maggie Heath, and the amazing Rise Band! We will have a raffle and let me tell you...the prizes are AMAZING. Ladies...does the word SPA mean anything to you?! We will be selling shirts and bracelets, and everyone that comes will be given the opportunity to add a link to our prayer chain that is presented at camp. I promise you DO NOT want to miss this event!

IChooseYou will be having a benefit on Saturday March 31 at Cypress Creek Church! This is another event you do not want to miss! Tickets are $15 (you can purchase them from me) and it includes dinner! Don't miss out on the auction, fellowship, and shopping! This is a great opportunity to find out more about IChooseYou and support us at the same time! (More information to come about this event!)

See y'all there!

A story, a video, and June 7 2011

Before I post the rest of day two from last years trip I wanted to share a few things. Today I went to downtown Buda and talked to Businesses about ichooseyou and the possibility of sponsoring my trip this summer. (Yes, I did all of Buda, the whole street!) Most of the people were nice enough to at least listen with a smile and seem interested whether they actually were or not. A couple people actually seemed excited! However, as one would expect, there was a small handful of people that obviously thought I was completely wasting their time. At first I had to convince myself I wouldn't let it bother me. I had to tell myself it's not personal, they don't know me, they just aren't interested. Then I thought about the kids and the miracles that we witness when we are there. I thought about the joy that fills my heart just imagining those beautiful Ugandan faces staring back at me. I thought about Teko, Scovia and Brandina, my baby girl, and many other wonderful things about Uganda...but then I thought about redemption.
As I sit here now it's almost to overwhelming to type! I have had the highest honor of experiencing redemption and Christs redeeming love. I have had the privilege of sharing that love and testifying of redemption. I have been blessed beyond measure to see physical and spiritual redemption working hand in hand in Uganda just the way the gospel tells us it should be! It occurred to me, as I walked away from a woman that made it clear rather quickly that she wasn't interested, that my brochures and my informational handout may be the closest physical picture of redemption these people have seen in a long time, if ever. It was a lot harder to question why I was spending time talking to people about something they weren't interested in when I thought of the story of redemption they were hearing.
I ate with my dad at our favorite restaurant tonight (Yeah Texican!!!) and I was talking to our waitress, whom we have had for a couple years off and on now, about Uganda. She had so many questions and was really intrigued but she said something that hit me hard. She said, "You hear about the need and think that someone else is taking care of it but it's cool to see someone actually getting up and going." I couldn't help but smile and say yeah it is cool! It's cool because God got up and came here. Jesus went way out of his comfort zone on a mission trip. It was a long term mission trip, it took him a very long time to get here (9 months to be exact), it was extremely costly, and it resulted in death. Thankfully it didn't end there! Jesus took his mission trip to another level, or as a friend of mine likes to say "He took it too far" and conquered the grave! Jesus rose from the dead and gave us all redemption. He achieved the ultimate stereotypical missionary goal to save the world! :-) It was a nice reminder of why I am doing this. I'm not doing this because I am in love with the Ugandan people, even though it's true, or because I think it's a good cause, which it is, but because there is a story of redemption that needs to be told!!! I hope and pray that I never lose sight of that.

On another note, I wanted to share the ichooseyou video with you! It always fills my heart with joy, I hope it fills yours as well!

The song at the end is Runaway by Mat Kearney and I just love the lyrics in the chorus

"Nobody knows the trouble we've seen
Nobody knows the price of this dream
And nobody knows what it took to believe
Nobody...

She wants to be free, like a runaway ay ay ay
Trying to believe, gonna find a way ay ay ay ay
We got just one life, tonight we're running all the lights
Trying to break free, like a runaway ay ay ay ay ay"

And now the moment we have all been waiting for...

Here are the posts from June 7 2011:

June 7 2011

Wow continued…

After we left Namatala we went to Mama Aidas house for lunch. Pastor Moris and Mama Aida have been blessed and live in a real house, just like you would imagine a regular middle class American living in. That is very rare around here. Most people live in huts or what look like shacks. Anyways we had lunch at Aida’s house and then came back to our hotel for a rest. After that we went to the sewing ladies and looked at what they were making and talked to them for a while. I played with one little girl named Joyce for a long time before the rest came home from school. She was so cute! We couldn’t understand each other AT ALL because she doesn’t go to school so she doesn’t know English but boy were we having fun! I was trying to teach her to pound it and she was so Confused. Then one of the girls from Colorado that are working with us told me to say “bonga” so I did and she did it! It was awesome :-) I also taught her some other stuff you will see when I get the chance to post pictures. Then the school kids came home from school and we got to meet them. A family that we have fallen in love with has a little girl named Esther and another girl named Florence. A friend of mine is Esther’s sponsor so I told her hello for her and and took pictures with her and loved on her for a while. Later her mother pulled me aside with tears in her eyes asking me to tell my friend how thankful she is. She would never tell anyone she needs help because she doesn’t want to burden anyone but she is so grateful that God brought her help. It was beautiful. Then the older girl Florence and I talked for a while and she kept telling me I was beautiful! Oh goodness I love that little girl :-) she was so sincere and so sweet. Speaking of beautiful, Florence is BEAUTIFUL! Oh so sweet. Well I don’t have much more to say right now but I’ll write later.

June 7 2011

Short update about today

Where to begin… Well this morning we went to the school and were introduced to each class. You would be amazed at how much they are learning at such a young age! They are so bright. For some reason it made me cry a little. They are thriving in the WORST conditions. Then we went to Namatala to look for a little boy Ted is trying to find. While they were looking for him I looked for my little girl. No one was successful. Then we walked around for a while looking for various people unsuccessfully. We each had at least two kids holding our hands at all times. I had 4 at the end! Then we stopped because we were waiting for Wasawa to come get us and an old woman holding a baby came up and wanted her picture taken. (I told you they LOVE having their picture taken.) I wanted her baby haha so I held the baby for a minute but it had never seen a mzungu before so it cried. Then this baby walked up and gave me the sweetest look so I picked (her I think) up and held her and loved her for a while. She was horribly congested. She sounded awful. You could feel the congestion in her body when she would breathe. I was so upset. I wanted to do something for her so badly but we can’t do it all. There now 20,000 people in Namatala. We just don’t have the money to help every person. Becca, one of the girls from Colorado, had some chewable fun flavored vitamins in her backpack and gave her one. I prayed hard that God would heal her. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, congestion, but when you have nothing, it is. They don’t have a CVS or Walmart to stop by and grab some medicine. And who knows why she was so congested. It really makes you appreciative of what you have. We stopped by the hospital and tried to check on the baby that had surgery twice before he was actually out today. And he has a name! His name is Loru, his moms name is Maureen, and his dads name is Sully. We have really noticed how our driver, Wasawa, has taken initiative with this family. He really cares about this baby and has been such a blessing to them. Tonight we went back to finally see Loru and Wasawa started speaking and pointing and giving orders to put the mosquito net around the baby’s bed. (I couldn’t understand a word, just figured it out when they started putting the mosquito net down.) After that he started talking again (I couldn’t understand again) and when he finished he told us that he told them to call the doctor immediately if they were worried about Loru. It is amazing the love Wasawa has for this child. Beautiful. That’s about it for now I think. OH! sometime between Namatala and the hospital we went to the market. It was…interesting…to say the least. While we were there we looked for baskets for the sewing ladies to put their material, needles, thread, beads, etc. in to store them better. We stopped and looked at some and the lady that was selling them had a TINY baby and let me hold it!!! Oh I was in heaven. I took her and she immediately got comfortable and almost fell asleep. (I shouldn’t be calling the baby a girl. I don’t know if it was a boy or girl. It’s hard to tell around here. I think she was a girl though.) Ok that’s really it for now. God is good, all the time!

God IS good all the time! Amen!!!


73 days!!! Last years blog entries as promised :-)

73 days left! :-D

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would be posting the blog entries from the time I spent in Uganda last year. I realize that probably no one other than my best friends and maybe my mom read this but I like to pretend like someone is reading and has been DYING to read the posts from last years trip. :-) So...these are the first two! (I will normally just do one but the first one is rather boring :-) so I added the second one as well!) Happy reading!


June 5, 2011

I made it to Uganda!

I am writing this on my iPhone from my hotel room in Mbale, Uganda. I'M IN UGANDA! haha :-) there is so much to say I don’t know where to start. Well, the plane rides were fine. I sat next to cute Italian man on the first flight and next to a guy with an incredible story about his wife on the second flight. During our layover we decided 10 hrs was too long to spend in the London airport so after asking a few questions we ventured into London. I wish we had more time but from the little time we did have I think I like London ;-) haha. When we landed in Entebbe it felt like a movie. All around us were trees, grass, and red dirt. Then we had to walk down some stairs outside to get off the plane. It was cool. Then we got in the van and started driving to Mbale. There is so much I want to say but haven’t been able to process it all yet. Basically while we were driving I had to ask God for forgiveness. It is so easy to pretend like what you hear about people living in huts and scrounging for food is just a story that someone made up to make you try to be thankful for what you have. But driving past all of those people, real people that have basically nothing, makes you know it’s unfortunately not just some made up story. Like I said we haven’t been to Namatala yet but we are going first thing in the morning. I’m sure I will have plenty to say about that tomorrow night. Until then please go to ichooseyoublog.blogspot.com and read about what God did in the first team. Also please read about the 11 month old boy that needs surgery for his stomach/intestines. I don’t want to have to explain and we are going to see him Tuesday so I’ll be writing about it later. I love all of you so much! Thanks for supporting me on this journey :-)



 June 6 2011

June 6, 2011

This is very typical of the area we are in. This is “downtown” I don’t have a picture of what “the neighborhood” looks like on my phone but I’ll try to get one up soon.

 

 

June 6 2011

 

June 6, 2011

This little girl has STOLEN my heart :-)



June 6, 2011

Wow.

That seems to be all I can say lately. Wow. I have never seen people that have so little in my entire life. I also have never seen people that have so much joy and love so well. Today we went to Namatala. As soon as we got there we went to pray with the little boy that is having surgery tomorrow. (I’ll try to figure out what his name is soon.) After we were done praying for him his dad came out of their hut. Apparently this was everyone’s first time meeting him. He said thank you a bunch of times and said “God has blessed.” that opened the door to Becky asking him if he was a Christian and he said no he was a Muslim. Then he said that he knew that God did this for him and he needed to change and he wanted to change. Then Becca lead him in a prayer of salvation after explaining to him that the prayer doesn’t save you, it is what you believe in your heart. It was beautiful. Then we went on to see a woman named Regina that has been very sick. They have prayed for her already with the first team so we went to check on her. She said she was beginning to feel better. She is still sick but definitely better than she was. We prayed for her again and talked with her for a while. She was so thankful to God for healing her and she isn’t even 100% yet! After that we went to see an old lady named Margaret. She was also sick. We prayed for her and talked to her for a while. Being at Margaret's hut was the first time it sunk in how bad these people have it. When we walked up Becky told us that all of the different piles of rocks were graves of family members. Then we saw Margaret working and while she was working we saw her throw up. Speechless. Heart. Broken. Working hard while your sick. And she has to be at least 85. Anyways. After that we walked around for a while then went to find Musa’s mom so that Lauri could see their hut. When we were at Musa’s hut someone told us that Sandra was sick with malaria. So we went with Sandra’s mom to their hut to pray for her. Poor girl looked miserable. But they were all so thankful for our prayers. After that we walked around some more and began our hunt for a 12 year old boy that Ted is determined to find. While we were walking and searching another group of kids came up to us and with them was the little girl in the picture I posted. She can’t be older than 1 1/2 or 2. Her poor little tummy was sticking out and she wasn’t really saying anything or playing which worried me. I picked her up and tried to get her to do something like laugh or play or SOMETHING but all I got was a quick smile. I sure hope she is ok. Guess we will find out.
Everywhere you go here there are kids running up to you wanting to hold your hand or be held or have their picture taken! It’s so sweet and fun :-) I have a ton of pictures that I can’t wait to post when I get home! (too slow here) I have sooo much more to say but it is dinner time so I have to go. I’ll finish telling about my day later tonight!
If you would like to help or support your prayers are ALWAYS welcome. If you would like to support ichooseyou financially please consider sponsoring a child. The blog is “ichooseyoublog.blogspot.com” for more information.

 

To Be Continued...

75 DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe there are only 75 days left until I board a plane to go back to the place my heart was left in almost a year ago. I could explode!!!   There are so many things I am looking forward to doing in Uganda but mostly I am just so ready for God to lead us on new incredible journeys. As I look through my pictures, I think back on last year and the things I missed most when I got home. I think about the things I wished I had done while I was there, and the fears that held me back from doing them and I can't help but think how amazing and full of grace our God is. I am the most unlikely candidate for God's work.

"For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23)
Yet he chooses us...
He chooses the least of these...
Over and over God chooses the unlikely candidates.

I don't know why God chose me to go on this amazing journey across the world and serve these beautiful Ugandan people. If it were me choosing who to send I wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list. I know Callie...I know her well...I know what she has done...and worse...what she has failed to do... God knows me better. I will never know why He chose me, but I will be eternally grateful that He did!

God is choosing you too!  I am well aware that not everyone is called to hop on a plane and fly across the world on missions. However, we are all called to missions. That is not a question.

"³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"
Matthew 25:34-40

This calling should be lived out by living missionally at home; feeding the hungry, clothing those in need, taking care of the sick, and visiting those in prison right here in your hometown. It can also be lived out by financially and prayerfully supporting those that God has called to travel the world on missions.

I don't want this to turn into a plug for my Uganda account, that's not my intent at all, but I do think it should be brought up. I will be the first to admit that it is SO HARD for me to remember that 100% of my money is God's. Giving financially does not come easily for me. I like to blame it on the fact that I am a "poor college student" but I know that's just a mask for the truth. I am scared. I am mistrusting really. It's pitiful when I think about it. What I am basically saying when I hold on to my money so tightly is that I don't trust in God's character. I am saying that I don't trust Him to be faithful. I should know He is faithful by now!!! How many times does God have to prove to me that He is faithful? Last year when the money for my trip to Uganda went from $0-$3200 in one week wasn't enough?! Or around Thanksgiving break this year when I didn't know how I was going to pay my bills and God more than doubled my income...was that not enough?! Or how about that time a few weeks ago when I once again wasn't sure where I would get the money for my bills... I was just thinking out loud to God that it would be cool for the lady I nanny for to ask me to babysit that weekend (even though she has never done that before) AND THE VERY NEXT DAY SHE DID!!! But God didn't stop there...He decided to show off for his daughter and I got a check in the mail that I wasn't expecting for another two weeks!!!!! Yes...I should KNOW that my God is FAITHFUL. If my God is faithful then I know he will provide! Especially when I am freely giving what is already His to his children that are in need.

If you have been reading my blog or following my journey to Uganda via Facebook and keep feeling a tug on your heart but don't know why, don't ignore it. There are so many ways be a part of this amazing thing God is doing in Uganda! You could donate directly to IChooseyou or become a sponsor for one of the 45 children in the program by going to www.ichooseyou.net. If you feel called to donate to my personal Uganda account instead, you can find instructions on the left hand side of my blog.

This is not the only opportunity for giving either! There are so many opportunities in our daily lives to give. I challenge you to try it and see if God doesn't go above and beyond to provide for you! I know I will be taking my own challenge, I hope you will too.

Happy Birthday Mommy!!!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing mom anyone could ever have! I wont disclose your age on here, but I will say that I hope I still look as young and beautiful as you do when I have an almost 23 year old! You're amazing! I love you more ;-)