kid chaos

all for the glory of God.
clothing drive a success to say the least.
thank you all for your donations!

fed five thousand.

God gave me a heart for victory primary school. week after week, i noticed the kids always wearing the same outfits. dirty, and destroyed.  I inquired and soon found out their entire wardrobe, was what they were wearing. 

i undoubtably decided i was going to give most of my clothes away to some of the children, then God spoke.  i was consumed with the thought of an idea of reaching back home to hold a small QUICK clothing drive to provide some of the kids with more clothes. 

i reached out and action took place faster than anticipated.  people overwhelmingly provided t-shirts and underwear for these children (most don't have any underwear). 

when the box arrived to fedex kampala, i was awestruck. 

lots of clothes. lots of clothes. thank you all so much for your generosity.  i am truly grateful.

we took a count of all of the pieces of clothing and underwear.  honestly i was a little worried that we would come short for the last class.

we prayed over the clothes that there would be enough, that God would provide and distribute accordingly if we did not have enough clothes. our trust was completely in Him. 

although, a little of me knew He would provide for every child.

and i remember looking at the last three little piles we had for 2 classrooms. i remember praying, five loaves for five-thousand, this is nothing for you, please provide. 

we ended up having extra.  john 6:12-13

praise You Jesus, im literally smiling right now because I am still in awe of His glory.

i swear on the whole world, when we would step into each classroom (keep in mind they had no idea what was coming) you would had thought it was christmas morning, their smiling faces... and at that moment, i know this sounds corny, but i know God was smiling too. 

 sorting the clothes.

 distributing to the first class.

 they kept saying, 'teacher, teacher look what i got!'

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, 

and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails, 

and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields, 

and the cattle barns are empty,

yet i will rejoice in the LORD!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

habakkuk 3:17-18 

love kampala

free christian concert and volunteered and helped 4 people accept Christ as their Savior.
He is everyones, Jesus is gnarly like that.
originally, i didn't want to even come to this event opting to have a quiet saturday to myself alone.... glad my roommates dragged me, it turned out to be one of my favorite memories of africa thus far.
left to right: rachel, paula, sheila, awesome girl.

Slow your speed
Turn yourself around and follow me
Cause i will be the one who preys upon you sweetly

-because the Bible is the best romance novel ever produced. if you disagree, ask the Spirit to prove me wrong.

week 4

it is the last letter, and it is addressed 'week 4'. 
i always start out my week eager to read the following letter written for me.
4 in total, one for each week i am here.
i am finally reading week 4.


i can't believe i am officially in my last week.
i leave friday october 1, just as God ordained for me.
i still remember before this all took place... standing in church during worship, my mind consumed with 
"I am ready to speak, one month jenna, the month of september'
i knew uganda, that had been apparent for a year now.


and for this whole month, 
i have been working in His will.


and now i begin my final week here,
help me to walk in it well, oh Lord.


a verse shared in the final letter,

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. 
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy  

and to walk humbly with your God."

micah 6:8
thank you all for all of your prayers and encouragement.  i am praying for you all in the states, i promise.


please pray for steadfastness, for new heights of faith, endurance and perseverance and i hate to endure it, but His perfect will in this last week here.


this month has been a lot of time for Him and i, and the process of pruning with what feels like a hacksaw :) 
and His mercies have been washing over me, new every morning. 

who God gave me in africa

not a doubt in my mind my roommates are life long friends.

'Don't let the devil steal your joy' -n.wood

natasha and prossy

clive college is one in three of the secondary schools we visit every week. i was able to hear a little of the stories of two girls, natasha and prossy. 
very dear and so in love with Christ. 
we were discussing the topic of miracles in there lives.
again the topic of school dues and where the money comes from is explored.
its apparent God provides for these two. thank You.


surprisingly God has revealed something to me i was not expecting.
i am convinced more than ever that although i live in america, a land FILLED with abundance, we all still struggle.
they are different from those in africa but none the less they are still struggles and for each individual the magnitude of the issue in our hearts is not to be discounted as little. 
i originally came here holding many different expectations. 
they were plagued with pride. 
i assumed that my struggles were so small and there problems were so big.
but minimizing my problems is pride. 
its assuming that i don't suffer or because of where i live and the resources i have, i simply don't struggle really, that i can't afford to struggle with things. such pride it makes me laugh now. 
those close to me know i do have struggles, as we all do. 
emphasizing all.


and i sympathized with these two girls.
i was burdened with their problems.
and they sympathized with me,
and temporarily carried my burdens.

true love is God.
and i have been so grateful and humbled by Him allowing me to love here in 'action and in truth'. 
i guess its just hard to believe, the grace You have poured out on me.
i guess im just starting to see, how You are working in me.
it makes my head spin.


i love that in so many aspects, i have no idea how my God works.

Father, help us explore and lay our struggles and sins before You, whether seen as small to us, they are big to You, for they keep us from knowing You more and experiencing what You have for us. Amen.


i want as much of You as i can get in this life before i meet You face to face.

not the originals

but if you know me, you know one month without baking is too long. 

enter african chocolate chip cookies.

by the way, brown sugar here is very different... its pretty much sugar dripping in molasses. 

i showed my american friends here and they gave the same face... yikes.

hand mixed (not literally) all of the ingredients accessible to me and this is what i ended up with...

a bit lacking and with cadbury chocolate bars cut up as chips, but they actually tasted better than good.

worth it.

(these were the ones left for my roommates and i, the batch made about 40 and with 12 people presently in the house, you can imagine how fast they went- but im not fooling anybody, i love when people eat my baked goods)

little crack!

not even intentional. 
just a bit of grace sent from Him. 
i swear its so cute. 
oh, and so is paula. 

lets just be honest...

this child is really cute. and she ran to me, and didn't let go of me the whole time.

our little feet.

taken at Shalom. its a home for the street children.
through even the hardest of times here, i find so much joy with my arms wrapped around these children.  
when i reflect on africa and my time here since getting off the plane i am reminded of two things:
the children of africa.
cockroaches. 
just sayin.

kampala community

kampala community church!
my church planted this church and i was blessed to visit pastor james and take a tour of the buildings and see a building that was constructed by the hands of our church, ROCKY PEAK.
(ps AMANDA- i met sharon's mother and told her to give sharon a big hug for you)

welcome back!

4 days without internet has left me without an update.
what was an annoyance in the house was very intentional to Jesus.
and yes, i was one of them.
however, overall, it was very good, and much needed.




we went without electricity for 24 hours too.
i was able to say, now this is africa.
we had devotions by candle light and praised God in the dark.


one thing i have learned in africa is how to worship more freely.
clapping, jumping, smiling, singing... (no rolling yet, and not quite as unrestricted as brother franklin, and if you don't know who i am referring to, youtube 'offering time with brother franklin' now. like now.)


God has been good to me here in africa. too good that it is painful. its hard to describe, and its best left un-described but i will tell you the meaning of 'meeting Him in the middle' and being confident of His faithfulness and promises has reached new heights.


im mentally exhausted and emotionally tapped out.
but when i have nothing left, He meets me.
we went to gaba community church this past sunday and i have to say i was never so happy to be in a westernized church.
worship was phenomenal.
i was fed.
and i actually had the opportunity to be apart of the baby dedications.
they invited the missionaries to come up to pray and i was the only one that decided to bite the bullet.
i never know when i will have the opportunity to experience this type of prayer again, and i am so glad God gave me confidence.
i held the little newborn boy in my arms and watched him sleep.
apparently the whole service is caught on tape? 11AM service- gaba community church- i still can't find it.
here are a few of the experience

and i got to meet pastor peter after.  he said 'ohhh D5, D5!!'
thanks papa neil for getting us connected!

not brave, just broken.

she replies, 'jenna, you are so brave, i just had to walk away every time that little girl came to play'
it didn't even dawn on me. 
i saw the little girl, i saw her arm with the blisters and her skin disease. 
i pulled down her long sleeve sweatshirt and kept playing with her.
another MST (missionary) offered to call her parents tonight to ask them to transfer money into her account to allow her to see a doctor.


my heart breaks for this little girl.  im not brave, i just cant isolate a child from having fun because she has blisters all over her arms.


please pray for this little girl...
that God provides health and protection, and heals her from her skin disease. 

humbled by tide.

3 1/2 hours later, i finished 18 pieces of clothing and my sheets.
God worked on my patience, and it ended up not being so bad.

but seriously, is progress being made!? :)
missing you all!

boda-baby

boda-boda

English

[edit]Etymology

From border to border, the bicycle originally being used to transport people between border posts without the paperwork required for a motor vehicle.  (<- excellent, this is news to me)

[edit]Noun

boda-boda (plural boda-bodas)

1. (East Africa) A bicycle or motorcycle used as a taxi.

just to clarify, the boda-boda is a motorcycle slash vespa that drives a little too fast for comfort.  however, it is apart of the experience of living in africa.  we drove it down to the craft market to buy you all souvenirs. turns out being frugal comes in handy when bartering :)

also drove down to meet up with my ugandy-brother Kays Richard.  Son of Neil and Lynn, and myself a daughter of both, it was a blessing to be able to share a cup of coffee with a brother in Christ clear across the world in uganda.  actually, being here is a blessing in itself. there is lots of down time on mondays and i have the opportunity to explore uganda.  if you know me, it should be no surprise to you that i have located the best coffee shop kampala has to offer.  many ugandans don't drink coffee, but the bean is a large commodity sold in the U.S. and so after locating a shop where a few other mzungos frequent for their cup of joy in the morning, i knew i scored.  praise Jesus for chocolate coffee, its a sip of home. 

missing all of you, but truly happy where God has me right now.

killer safari van.

micro lions in the back round yes-sum.

pretending like i got this, but truth be told i was quite frightened of falling off and consequently held on for dear life. no really, the bruises on my hands are confirmation.

giraffes, elephants, and lions oh my!

3 day safari trip! by the grace of God, I was able to experience Africa in its original state.  we woke up at 5:00AM and were blessed with a bright sunny day.  we were able to go on two safari's both saturday and sunday because we did not see lions on the first day.  gifted enough to see
giraffes...

and lions!

what an experience.  
i can check safari off my list of things to do before i die, by the grace of God. 


oh Lord, you are so good. what an understatement. 
proverbs 12:10

falls.

super stoked by God's glory while at these african falls. awestruck by His beauty.

crazy american.

third heaven meets the first.

african puffers

love looking at the puffers.

thank you amanda

forever holy- the glorious unseen.
much needed in a time of confusion.


God, You stand when all has fallen
You embrace the long forgotten
I guess it's just hard to believe
The Grace You've poured out on me
I guess I'm just starting to see
How You're working in me

This is what makes my head spin
You're forever Holy
God of all creation
Pour Your life into me
This is so overwhelming
You're forever Holy
God of my Salvation
Clothe me in Your Glory, yeah

God, You hold when all is breaking
You restore the tired and aching
I guess it's just hard to believe
The Love You've poured out on me
I guess I'm just starting to see
How You're working in me, whoa Lord

uganda is a giant farmers market.

the uganda market place looks more like a massive farmers market.  we drive past them and they are alongside the roads.  they even hang meat, like massive legs of cow on hooks in a little shack. its gnarly to see. 

over the rainbow.

look at her eyes! i fall more and more in love with these children everyday, i mean they are so beautiful.  and they love having their pictures taken. and they love even more when you show them the picture after.
today we went to the primary schools to feed them porridge and play games with them.  each monday we decide for the week who is in charge of what at each project we go to.  i signed up for story time with the very young children.  I told the story with a translator of noah's ark.
when asked what they learned some replied,
"that God loves when we listen to Him otherwise He will flood the earth"
"that the dove brought back an olive branch so noah could go out of the boat"
"the boat was very big and fit a boy and a girl of each animal"
and my favorite,
"when we see a rainbow, it means God loves us"

making porridge for the students in primary school. that is ages 5-12.  sweet children, sweet faces. the girls would curtsy after they are given their porridge in a plastic cup. i didn't know what to do, so i would just curtsy back.

Lord, may i never become numb.

the faces of africa.
my heart breaks.
these children, entrenched in poverty, yet i rarely see a little black face not accompanied by of grin of white.

honestly, tonight was huge in my walk for Christ.  i thought when i came here i would be so filled with the Lord that i would be unable to run from Him.  and i am unable, but the known presence of God was lacking.  and it was the prayer request of all of my roommates as we gathered one night to pray for each other.  where was our fire?  our hearts break, no doubt, but Lord fill me with You was my constant prayer and falling short every time.  what can i do for you Lord?
I spent much time in prayer against the enemy.  i forced myself to my knees, Lord why is it so hard to do so? I am on mission for You, why is this not easy?
humility. selflessness. more He is asking.
tonight i was brought back. its not about bonding, its not even about serving these children, Lord, first it is about You.  I am a servant to You.  Guide me, teach me what it is to obey You.
Lord do what ever it is to bring glory to Your name.
forgive me.

tomorrow we serve porridge to a primary school near here.
the children our served one meal a week at the school by the EAC team, the rest of the week it is up to them to bring their lunch.  apparently these children wait all week to see us and to be served the porridge.
porridge: flour, mill, sugar, water.
Lord, i know i will never be able to not take for granted the many blessings from You. so forgive me please, now and forever.
please pray for humility for myself and the team.

not the san diego zoo

the african zoo's don't fence in their animals.

african transportation

at the falls of the nile river.

bungee

had the opportunity to bungee jump over the Nile River.

dude, the nile river, thats where moses floated... i consider this experience to further my biblical knowledge... muhaha!
missing you all 

mzungu!

mzungu mzungu!

(white person)

its like a movie, kids run after our bus screaming mzungu at us while waving. 

matisyahu

Sometimes I lay under the moon
And I thank God I'm breathing
Then I pray don't take me soon
Cause I am here for a reason

Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know someday it'll all turn around because

All my life I been waiting for
I been prayin for
For the people to say
That we don't want to fight no more
They'll be no more wars
And our children will play

One day

my saturday

went to watoto village today. God is working in this community.  The Watoto Church has been able to be blessed enough to create a village that is dedicated to the facilitation of orphaned children and rehabilitation of invisible children (those that are forced to fight in northern uganda in the war at ages 8-17 and are considered good soldiers if they kill their families).  although horrible, God is in the process and has successfully healed the hearts and traumatized minds of many of these precious children.

psalm 127:3

this is Desire.  she was dumped at the police station in a box. 
God has grace.  she loves Jesus, i can tell, she wouldn't stop playing with my cross necklace.

10:12pm and not ready for bed

I lie awake thinking of you, 
meditating on you through the night.
psalm63:6

stretched-

and its a good thing.  i needed it.  i need to be spiritually stretched. didnt eat much of the trip because my health was poor, my stomach a wreck.  basically fruit.  arrived at the airport and that was an experience, i was mildly tested, but by all means given grace, had all my luggage, yes all 98 lbs of it, and came to my new home for a month and no food because it was so late, i slept for 4 hours before i was up for devotions which is everyday at 8AM.  up to learn it was a day of fasting.  oh man that was intense to hear, and i was tired and there were already many things for me to do from orientation to going to the secondary school (amazing) and prayer and then i was finally able to nap for two hours, and then we broke fast for dinner.  my headache from all day from lack of our daily necessities, food and sleep were stretched, but God is so good, because He didnt have me suffer long and most of all my health.
im thankful my health is well.  i ate dinner and have felt fine. my stomach is not in the slightest upset by ugandan food (two words: homemade tortillas) but the very thought of airplane food made my stomach turn upside down.  so i basically had a lot of fruit. american fruit, amsterdam fruit, delta fruit, klm fancy fruit.  i almost took a picture of my fancy uneaten meals from my flight on KLM but the man next to me insisted on basically moving onto my seat so i couldn't reach my bag/camera.  He seemed like a nice french gentleman, we didn't exchange a word though, which was such an odd experience for me :)
but honestly even that was a blessing because i got to sleep for a bit.  like two hours, so grateful. and then here is the best part it was not a full flight so the man ended up sitting by his friend for the entire time i slept so i put up the arm separator and set all social norms and pride aside and slept in a ball. 
now for the good stuff:
Welcome to Amsterdam!
Welcome miracle #3: God put ANOTHER sister in Christ next to me.  her name is Tesfa from Ethipoia and she is living in Wisconsin with her family.  Wisconsin is close enough to the east coast for us to talk a decent 35 minutes about how badly I desire to see fall on the east coast.  She was so sweet, she spoke much about God's grace and the testimony's of many people from Ethiopia to Pakistan.  She was so beautiful and really had an accurate depiction of who Christ is (she calls Him, Isa).  So often I miss the boat of who Christ really is because His grace is so hard to comprehend, so i miss out from time to time.  But He is faithful and endures and thats obvious in our crazy awesome relationship, i love Him and i feel so blessed to be serving Him right now.  
She even offered her email address and told me to email her when it gets closer to me coming home and she would ask her brother who lives in amsterdam to show me around.  All Christians, so beautiful even though its unlikely because it will be 5AM.  but her heart was so pure, she was truly a blessing to me in the midst of being anxious about amsterdam and wearing a money belt to uganda and not being picked up.  Honestly though by flight three and into hour 20 on a plane, I was ready to just be in Uganda.  And it was most certainly worth the wait, I would fly another 20 hours to get her. 
and thankfully I say that because I know I dont have to :)
but really, africa is amazing.  i was actually giggling in the car ride back to the EAC house in kampala.  sitting in kampala traffic, it still had not dawned on me that i was in africa. 
it was not until this morning, when light struck, as I walked outside and took that picture, and stood on the wall where i can see over the barbed wire, that i looked down the alley and saw children playing with sticks and tires, singing, walking around in dirt, a woman holding a basket on her head (like, that really happens) with fruit and stuff in it, and the smell of almost a musk smokey, maybe from burning trash, i don't know, i liked it though... it reminds me of camping and all of the gross things like using a dirty toilet, not washing your hair, smelling like a fire just ignited on every piece of clothing you own, and you eat food called franks and beans... all these gross things began to seem neat, and acceptable, because you are camping and thats what you do when you camp. 
well im in africa, and although its nothing like camping (except in the respect of a squatty, which didn't seem all that bad, till i saw a cockroach the size of my fist, and im not exaggerating). by the way i just spell checked cockroach and never thought i would ever type that word, gross. 

but i'm here, i'm in africa, and it is remarkable, God is so good, so glorious, and is victorious here.  i promise you, God is worshipped in remarkable ways here, and i get to experience it.

while at LAX...

I was met by a brother in Christ.  after calling my grammy to say good-bye to her one last time, I was telling her the miracle of the lady from baggage claim allowing me and my mom to walk to the gate together and pass even the security check point! amazing! (so great because i was bummed i didnt get to hang out more with my mom the night before because of frantic packing) anyhow, while sitting on the phone with my grammy a younger man named Gage actually gave me advice that i felt was heavenly sent.. 


"Remember Jesus is your best friend and that best friends share secrets... make sure you keep some of the things Jesus shows you and allows you to experience  between the two of you..."


That advice was so encouraging.  I have never heard that before, and I felt so blessed to have been told that before I leave for the month of september.. 


So therefore, I will not be blogging the remainder of my trip.




ha, ok so thats a lie.  But I praised God for revealing that to me and appreciated that man's words.  He was in love with Jesus too and really was encouraging, he was traveling home from australia because he was checking out the hillsong united school! what! rad!  anyway, he was on his way home from three weeks traveling alone with Christ, and in a way was passing the torch to me we both decided.  Thanks Gage!


And now as for Jesus and I, lets make some secrets! 
love and miss you all, really, i brag about you all to my new friends here...

this is africa

from the EAC compound, thank you all for many answered prayers... I am so jetlagged and we went to a secondary school and that was amazing, I will post later, but I wanted to post one picture before taking a nap.

miracle one and many to follow

miracle number one: the airlines let my mom take me all the way to the gate!

procrastination.

The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait on Him

a slew of His miracles that led to uganda I had wrote to p.mike.

First, I am so privileged to call Rocky Peak my home church.  The people God has surrounded me around has been so humbling, and such a blessing.  I know it sounds cliche, but I can really call them family.  Recently I got to experience that when I graduated from UCSB and I looked behind me and saw close to twenty-five people there waving at me and about 7 of them from lifegroup.  Such a moment of gratitude! God has captured our hearts and I feel so fortunate to be allowed to see it and experience it.  

Second, this series you just finished today has transformed me in real ways.  The weekend of 7/11 was where I really was given provision for what He wants from me.  Lets see if I can get this story together enough to make sense to you, I am horrible story teller, lets see if it proves true for this story as well! 

Last time I spoke with you was at Lynn Johnson's Bday party.  I was talking to Neil the night before the sermon P. Dave gave on accepting grace and trying to earn it.  I had shared with you how I struggle with perfection as a root sin and how it tends to be the reason for other areas I struggle with.  Since then, God has been taking a file some days and a chisel other days at this.  I can say it has been rough to really believe God can re-train my mind, but He has... slowly (thank you Jesus bc its HARD).  I even remember reading the Word and specifically feeling Him speak to me in

Lamentations 3:22- 24: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, For his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness, I say to myself,

" The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 

while reading my Bible in the psalms, psalm 147:10-11

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, 

nor his delight in the legs of a man;

the LORD delights in those who fear him, 

who put their hope in his unfailing love.

That one might sound unlikely, but I felt Him talk to me.  He is answering my prayers, slowly and gently.  

Ok, so fast forward, I graduate and now I say, NOW WHAT?  I am restless, and then I hear your sermon "Waiting on the Lord". that sermon was so AWESOME.  Timing was absolutely perfect.  Gosh lately, thats the story too, Im walking out saying, gosh He gave another sermon just for me.  And every Sunday I walk in saying I would love to hear from you profoundly, but its ok if not, I don't need that holy moly feeling of conviction and victory, i am not worthy.   But then you gave the sermon on 7/11 and yet again, it was for me, but that day it was different from the rest.  It was like, ok, no more waiting, its time for action.  

I walked in and we sang "Come thou fount of every blessing" and i sang the lyrics: 

let the goodness, like a fetter, bid my wandering heart to thee.  Prone to wander, LORD, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love, Here's my heart o' take and seal it seal it for thy courts above. 

Right at that moment I said I am sorry I have been dry, I have been resistant to You, and I prayed and gave myself to Him again and honestly it wasn't till late in the service I noticed it was communion.  How humbling!  And emotional! I said in a nervous prayer I'm ready to hear from You, and I knew it gosh, I just knew it with that nervous feeling He was going to speak. And then on the screen came the movement video and I broke down into tears.  Here is a timeline since...

-November 2009- At the OnePassion Thanksgiving dinner, Pastor James spoke from Uganda and my friend Amanda Morehead turned around while He was speaking and said " I think you should go to Uganda.  I don't want a guy to come between you and God." Back then, she knew none of my story, and how much truth and shame came from that very line she said.  I was hurt, and humbled the way I should had been at that moment. 

-Periodically Uganda would just pop into my head, I would discuss it with my mom, and she was very UNsupportive. 

-Weekend of 7/11: They play Come thou fount of every blessing song I rededicate my heart to Him repent, and rejoice that He calls His children back and was so reassuring through that song.

-same sermon: the video on missioning and then on the screen flashed 1 John 3:18, a verse so dear to my heart I remember the first time i read it on the beach in santa barbara and stopping and choosing that verse to be the first verse I memorize since being baptized. Dear brothers and sisters, let us not love with words or tongue, but in truth and action.- He spoke so clearly to me through that verse.

-same sermon: you spoke on journey to generosity, about tithing and offering but I feel God asking me to offer my body as a sacrifice and a giving of myself along with my tithing, asking me to rededicate myself and be willing to give my tie and my body.

-same sermon: you spoke on how you traveled to UGANDA. Oh man i about jumped out of my seat and fell to the floor in praise.

-same sermon: you said we have to hear from Him what He wants us to do.  It takes us to a deeper and new level and that you must surrender wholly first.  so validating because right before the sermon in that worship song I did.

-same sermon: in the closing prayer you said we want to advance the movement here and all over the world.

-after the sermon: i met matt buice who has missioned for years at a time and introduced myself.

-after the sermon: I talked to my mom and I remember months prior saying God please soften my mom's heart because I could never go without not having her trust You enough to send me and know that it was the desire You had for my me.  and it was amazing! She was totally a different person, I told her how the sermon spoke to me and she was so supportive! She said she was on board. God prepared her heart.  Now Mike, that truly is a miracle! ha.

-after the sermon same day: i started to research christian missionary orgs since R.P. isn't going to Uganda till next year.  I was able to only research one org called Empower a Child.  I looked through their website and at their youtube video and my heart melted.  Before I got a chance to look up anymore orgs, I had to go run errands with my family so I left it at that.

-Sat 7/17 For the Underground event in SB, Matt Bice was at the day trip and we talked about missions and we were randomly put on the same team for the scavenger hunt.  We talked about missions and later in teh afternoon I told him I was nervous how this was going to happen because I always imagined my first tip would be with R.P. and I told him that I did look up another org called Enrich a Child.  He corrected me saying do you mean Empower a Child?  I looked amazed saying, yes, how did you know?  He told me he knows a woman named Tara who calls Rocky Peak her home church who is involved in the planting and leadership with Empower a Child.  My jaw hit the floor and I was amazed.  He told me he could get me her info to contact her.

-that night I woke up at 4AM (which is out of character for me because I sleep like a rock and rarely wake up throughout the night) and could not sleep for over an hour thinking about Uganda and I actually envisioned sitting in an airport (its weird because it wasn't a dream) and writing in my journal that this was for me the definition of fear, it was being pulled out of my comfort zone and security and being forced to fully rely on Jesus.  It was not relying on my church or my family, but being in a place where God was all I had to get me through this. That was scary!  But kind of like a good scary? I don't know, it's hard to describe. 

-next sat night: i remember over the corse of the week thinking the time period was: one month. one month. it was always one month. I still dont know if that is, but that was initially the amount of time.  and also its wishy washy but i thought it was Sept of this year.  that was too crazy for me to raise that kind of money for me to go.  That sounds too crazy, so I might be wrong on that month. 

-last sunday: the sermon was on tithing for special projects, I began to thinking ok, this might work...? I am still just surrendering that to God.