Pictures!

These are a few of the pictures to show you just how crazy connected we are in this world even if we are thousands of miles apart.

This is Christine and we got to take her some school fees that she needed, we learned about the need through Lashae who attended Bible study and Lyne shared a prayer request of Christine's on the same day we were in Christine's town IN UGANDA, and the money was the exact amount given to us the day before we left and we were told to find a need and use it for wherever the Lord shows us.  Well, He happened to show us on the first day, and it blessed us to give it, blessed Lyne to have her prayer answered on the day she prayed it and it blessed Christine who needed to continue her schooling.  God is Good and He doesn't worry about people living oceans apart....He's  watching over ALL!!!  

This is the beautiful family we are staying with.  They have a ministry that is incredible here in Uganda and they are wonderful hosts.  We are blessed to know them, and we met them in Powell Butte, through a lady that attends Bible study and she told me about a family that was living in Culver at the time and they were from Uganda.  Crazy connection!!

This is Simon's mother and Patrick and Simon and Beatrice.  This family is special to us.  We have sponsored Simon  and Patrick for several years now, and we got to meet the rest of the family.  Simon has been hanging out with us everyday and will be traveling with us to Jinja as well.  He is our Ugandan son.

This is a church building that has been planted by the ministry of the family we are staying with.  They also have a beautiful farm, which is the ground around the church.  Charlie was out there learning about the farm.

This is Sam's foot.  He has a very nasty burn on his foot, and Teresa (my friend and running partner), from T's Tonics  sent me with a package of her product to bless others with and boy did it bless this boys foot.  

  It is so much fun to be in the family of God, because to God we are all family and distance and color and language do not make any difference.

 He can bring us all together in crazy good ways.

On a Mission

I thought I would blog a bunch on this trip.

  I'm just at a loss for words most of the time that I'm here.

The people are beautiful, the needs are tremendous and we are praying for guidance and direction on what the Lord would have us to do.

I'm doing the Bible study "Experiencing God" (very very good by the way, if you want to do a Bible study that will change your life)....and it talks about recognizing where God is working and join Him rather than  trying to do anything on our own.

We are just going and doing what God lays on our hearts everyday and asking Him to show us what He is doing and how we can join in His work.

Yesterday was overwhelming, we spent the day at an orphanage that was just full of precious precious lives and I feel completely helpless and heartbroken.

Many people tell me that it would be too hard for them to come and see so much need, but I  have had to have my eyes opened for my heart to open.  It isn't pleasant to see hurting people and children without families, but as it is the reality of millions of children and I know that God does not want us to turn away because it's too hard to see.

I will try to post some pictures soon.  I can't post pictures of the orphanage we were at, as they don't allow pictures.  But I will tell you this.....EACH CHILD THAT WAS THERE IS GOD'S BEAUTIFUL WORK OF CREATION AND THEY ALL DESERVE THE LOVE OF A FOREVER FAMILY.  The mamas that work there are working very very hard and they are taking care of those children to the best of there ability but there is no substitute for a family.  Family is a basic human need like food and water.

John 15:5

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Blown Away By God

I have once again been blown away by God.

  I don't want to put a number or a measurement on what blows me away, because sometimes.....it's a simple dinner brought by a friend that comes at the exact right time, or sometimes it's a sweet conversation that puts words to exactly what you have been saying to only God and He just "speaks" through that conversation or sermon or verse,and you know that you know that He has heard your prayer.

Once again He has reminded me that He is with me and He hears my every prayer.

In the final days of getting ready to "GO" to Uganda, God has been so present.  He has blown us away with BIG HUGE things and amounts that bring us to our knees,  and also just those sweet "winks" from God that remind us that He is in the big things and He is in the little details and He has heard EVERY prayer we have prayed.

God knows that I am especially weak and I need a TON of constant reassurance and constant confirmation of His Sovereignty and His love and kindness and faithfulness. 

 He has been just lavishing his LOVE on this family so thick that I can't help but see Him.

Exodus 34:5-7

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁵ The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.⁶ The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands,^[a]forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Thankful for Thanksgiving

THANKFUL...BLESSED!!!!

Pictures are worth a thousand words. 

These Great Aunties were in heaven.  They got to kiss and love and lick on Miss Maubry...but this Grandma kept a close eye out....because I know these Aunties can get a tiny bit out of hand when it comes to loving on these babies.

We are missing one sister in this picture.  Tawnya is in Texas now and it was just too far to come.  We will get to see her in June.

Kole!!!! and others.  haha

Cousin time is THE BEST!!!!

Football!!!!

We had a very wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.  

We had an early birthday party for Reece because we will be in  Uganda for his birthday and he had ALL his favorites here to celebrate anyway.

Jordan is Reece's best friend and cousin.  Reece has prayed and prayed for God to heal Jordon because he has a crack in his skull from a bad fall.  Well, God is healing our Jordan and he added the gift of letting Jordan come to Reece's birthday .These 2 boys are so much alike...they have about the same amount of energy and enthusiasm!!!

We are now about ready to "GO" to Uganda, and isn't it just like our kind and loving God to have all my chickies in my nest together just days before we leave.  

 Kole is exactly where he should be and the Lord has again confirmed it to my mother soul.  Kole would walk around the house singing worship songs!!! 
 Talk about make a Mama's heart jump with joy and THANKSGIVING!!!!

 Lashae and Chaney are geared up and ready to take on the troops and also my niece Ashton is here and  ready to play with Lashae, I mean help her with the kids and the cooking and cleaning.

God has once again provided everything we need to "GO"!!  

And He always throws in FUN...Lashae and Ashton are going to have fun they are both the oldest of their MANY siblings, and they have a lot in common and truly enjoy each other's company.  

Thankful - Uganda- Change

Psalm 100

The Message (MSG)

A Thanksgiving Psalm

100 

^1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!

    Bring a gift of laughter,

    sing yourselves into his presence.

³ 

Know this: God is God, and God, God.

    He made us; we didn’t make him.

    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

⁴ 

Enter with the password: “Thank you!”

    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

    Thank him. Worship him.

⁵ 

For God is sheer beauty,

    all-generous in love,

    loyal always and ever.

10 days until we leave for Uganda.

Some things have been "changing" around here for our family.

 I often just wonder at God's timing on some things, but then it always brings me right back to Him and total dependence on Him. 

 He loves us enough to want us to look only to Him for our security and our provision and our joy.  Because He is the only true source of those things.

We were told very recently by a wise man, "Do NOT lose your joy in the Lord".  I think there is danger in losing your joy in the Lord....So for a few days I was feeling a little "beat down" and now I have the joy of the Lord back.

I'm constantly impressed and amazed at the body of Christ....so I put a few requests on facebook of things we could bless Redeemer House kids with and the outpouring was instant and huge.  

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE God's people. 

 They are just good family.  

No questions about the requests....other than the really super fun ones....like, "Are you bringing home any beautiful Ugandan children?"  WELLLLLLLLL, not to my knowledge, but we are OPEN OPEN to WHATEVER (don't tell Charlie)....I have learned to just let God tell him stuff like that and that way it just saves us some tough conversations. 

 Shhhhhhut it and pray is my motto. *well at least I try* hehe

 We have lost control of our lives several years ago...of which we never really had control, but we thought we did. Now we realize that we have no control and it is a good feeling to submit to the Truth, but it also opens us up to more change and crazy things.

 It scares and excites me to go to Uganda.  I totally trust that this is the path the Lord has laid out for us and I totally believe He has some exciting plans for us.  A few things have unfolded and I already can jump up and down with a big fat praise to Jesus.  

P.R.U.N.E.D.

John 15:2

English Standard Version (ESV)

² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes,that it may bear more fruit.

3 years ago yesterday on November 11, 2009 Charlie cut his hand with a chop saw.  It was on the same day that my sister and brother in law brought home Isaiah, my nephew from Uganda.

*if you are squeamish.....you may not want to scroll any further....I posted a icky picture of the physical pruning (hand injury).*

  This day was significant to our family in many ways because it is the mark of many changes that have occurred in our family and in our extended family.

When I texted my brother-in-law, Justin (the one waiting for my sister Shauna and their newly adopted son to arrive home from Uganda) I asked him to pray for Charlie because he was going to need surgery on his hand.

He texted back this verse:

John 15:2

English Standard Version (ESV)

² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes,that it may bear more fruit.

And he added:  Well, He didn't cut it off so he must be bearing fruit.

That has stuck with me for 3 years.  I think it was true in so many ways and now that I can look in hind sight of the last 3 years I can say we have been 

P.R.U.N.E.D. 

in many areas of our lives.

God has been kind and loving and done so many great things for our family during this time.

  We have felt His presence and guidance more than ever, but it has

 CHANGED

 us and 

CHANGED 

many things in our lives.

I know we are not even close to where we need to be, but I know that 3 years of dramatic pruning should bring about some "big 'ole fruit".  


I am praying for A CROP OF BIG WATERMELON size fruit for this family.

Freedom / Encouragement

Galatians 5:1-18

The Message (MSG)

The Life of Freedom

5 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

^2-3 I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ’s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.

^4-6 I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

^7-10 You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.

^11-12 As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn’t matter one way or the other. Why don’t these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!

^13-15 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

^16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

Encouragement does not cost a person a single thing.  There is  a reason that during a race people are clapping and cheering and excited - IT HELPS!!!

People can do crazy awesome stuff with encouragement.

I love what has happened in our community with adoption of Redeemer House kiddos.  

It is God at work - it is wild and it is love in action. 

These kids were all in Redeemer House Orphanage in Uganda, and now they all have families of their own and they still have their Redeemer House family.

What has happened is nothing short of a MIRACLE.

We were the first to adopt from Redeemer House. 

But not one family has followed in our footsteps or had the same experience.

Every single family has had their own experience with different circumstances. Every case every family every child is unique.  

In other words we haven't done ONE BLASTED thing to help or push or work these adoptions through....

We have PRAYED and ENCOURAGED and those 2 things are just a privilege. 

God through these families have done ALL THE DOIN'.

Whenever someone asks me about adoption I say, "DO IT"!!!! 

 They will always say...we can't afford it, we are too old, we don't have time...we are too this, or we are too that....

BLAH.DE.FREAKIN.BLAH

I know EVERY PERSON that has it on their heart to adopt or do anything else to love on others....CAN!!! 

 Every time it is true.

Not because of what I say but because God is FAITHFUL and all we have to do is encourage - and pray and leave it to GOD.

He has a pretty awesome way with His kids.  He knows each of us and he can work with us if we are willing to let HIM.

So what is our part in all this???

I get to go to airport homecomings and see families bring home kids.  I get to cheer and praise the Lord and be a part of something AWESOME!!!

It's kinda like being in the delivery room and NOT going through the labor...but witnessing the miracle!!!!

IT'S AWESOME!!!

Romans 15:5-7

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.