What I've Been Busy With!!

I can't believe it's been since Thanksgiving since I've posted. We had a busy Christmas season and then spent a few weeks resting and reflecting on last year and what is ahead of us for this one.

We are cautiously excited...we have some different things in store for this year. I won't go into detail with all of those now. I will just say we are being challenged and stretched, but it is all very good and all for His glory.

I do have one thing I want to share with you now, though. If you've been around here for a while, you may remember that I had an incredible opportunity to go to Uganda, East Africa last summer. You can read the first post here. There are several in a row, so feel free to spend some time in last summer's posts...

I came home from that trip different. I knew that I had to go back. A piece of my heart is in Africa. I think it's always been there, but it is undeniable now. I know that I will spend more time there and, Lord willing, make a lasting impact on some of the people there.

My husband, Brad, is the worship pastor here at our church in Colorado Springs. He has had a desire to take our choir on a trip for several years. That desire, combined with my passion for Africa and contacts in Uganda, has led us to plan a trip for this summer.

We will be leading a team of 20-30 and we are also going to take our 2 oldest children, Caleb and Emma. We are all so excited....it's kind of all we talk about around here right now!

We will be working with Christian Life Ministries and a couple of other churches in Lira, Kampala and Seeta, Uganda. We will be visiting 2 orphanages where we will help build a perimeter fence and spend time with the orphans and orphan moms who work there. We will also visit a Compassion center, the largest slum area in Kampala and a village where over 200 people were killed by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army several years ago (although I assure you that we won't be going into a current war zone).

Can I ask that you pray with us and for us? Pray for the people of Uganda and for our team. We know the power of prayer and we believe that it is absolutely crucial as we are embarking on this trip.

Another way that you can help is through financial support. We need to raise $6,600 as a family for the 4 of us to go. That seems like such a large number but every bit adds up, even $10 or $25 will help so much.

There are a few ways you can give. You can click on that "donate" button over there to the right to pay through paypal. Paypal charges me a small fee for every transaction so not all of that goes directly to our trip, but after I pay the fee the rest of it will go directly to our Uganda fund.

Another way is by clicking here. This will take you to the New Life Church website. You can click on the "give" tab and then follow the instructions. All of this money goes directly to our trip and your gift is tax deductible. You will be asked to create an account but you won't be added to any mailing lists. This information is so that you can receive your tax statement next year.

If you'd prefer to send a check through the mail, you can contact me through email and I will give you more information on how to do that.

I can't wait to give you more details as we get closer to our trip! We are all very excited and thankful that we get to be a part of something so amazing!