141 Days and Counting....

Light of the World

"You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill." (Matt 5:14, The Message)

Linda Griffith, our team leader, shared our theme with us yesterday and our focus verse.  The Jan L'Ecuyer song "Salt and Light" immediately entered my head and hasn't left since I walked out the door at Focus Ministries.  Look it up...good song.


There are 12 going on this trip.  Many who've gone before to our village, some multiple times, and a couple of newbies...including me.  3 men, 9 women. Some retired, some professionals, some students.  A great mix of folks.  Lots of laughs at yesterday's first official team meeting.  (Note to self: Find out blood type.  I'm sure "red" will not cut it on the official forms.)

Overwhelmed?  You bet I am!  Let's see...I have shots to take (yellow fever, hep A, tetanus) and then there are the malaria pills.  Good news is we'll sleep in mosquito netting, but probably on mats on the floor.  I know some of you are wondering about the actual physical setup when we get there.  Me too. :)  You know me.  Yes, I LOVE 3rd grade 4H camp every fall.  This is something completely different!  Plumbing...um...we might have it?!?

Let go and let God.  He will provide the resources to go.  So far, some of my personal fundraising efforts have really proven that He is behind this!  So thankful!  And, I'm sure that by June, I'll have no problem with the thought of being without electricity for unknown lengths of time....or a working toilet.....

149 days....

Since going public with the news of my international adventure, the questions and comments have been quite entertaining.  


1) It is Uganda, not Iguana.  One is a country in equatorial Africa.  The other is a reptile.  
2) No, I am not going to bring home a new family member! :)  I AM going as part of a mission team of 12.  For more info, check out Adopt Uganda!
3) Yes, the news is full of scary info, but stick with facts and don't jump to conclusions.  The Republicans primaries are also getting pretty ugly right here...might be good to get away!  
4)  YES!  It will cost a lot of money, but I have faith that everything will work out for funding to pull through so I can do what I need to do! :)


I figured during my countdown, it might be a good idea to share some interesting facts about Uganda.  Hey, you never know when you might be on Jeopardy!

FACT:  Uganda is a safe and friendly land-locked country in East Africa.  It has a well-developed tourist infrastructure with excellent national parks that showcase Uganda's wide variety of wildlife including mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life..."

So, here's the deal. I'm going to Africa.  And....there you have it!

Yes, I know I've been sitting on this news publicly for a while now as it's taken a lot of personal reflection, prayer, worrying about cost, who's going to keep the world spinning while I'm away, etc.  HOWEVER, apparently people go on trips all the time without major catastrophes.

That being said.  I'm going to Africa.  Uganda to be specific.

WHO - Check out www.adoptuganda.com.  This group is amazing and the family behind it is even more incredible.  Their heart for missions, spreading hope and love across the globe, is really contagious.

WHAT - We'll be primarily stationed in Busia working closely with the people in that village.  My position will be helping local women learn how to work with the children in a church setting....something that sounds so basic to anyone around these parts, right? We'll also be working with the orphanage in addition to the local church congregation.  So, so many needs there....all over.  Clean water, medicine...that's just the tip of the iceberg.

WHEN - Late June of 2012....closer all the time!