Compass In My Heart

God is not done with her yet...

2011-09-07T15:47:00.001-05:00

This sweet woman is the mother to 2 of our sponsored children. She went to Mulago 2 years ago to give birth and the baby died inside her as she awaited a bed. If you'd ever been in Mulago, you would understand how that could even happen. They had to cut her open to get the baby out and she passed away while on the operating table. But God was NOT done with her. Her story here in this broken world was NOT complete. She regained consciousness but not until AFTER they had stitched her up with staples that were just meant to hold her together until she could be buried. And because she had died on the table, they didn't fully complete the surgery.

For 2 years she's lived in pain. For 2 years she didn't have the means to get the treatment she needed. For 2 years she remained hopeless in her situation. For 2 years she didn't think anyone cared. 2 years. Can you imagine?

That 2 years of agony came to an end this past weekend when she showed up on our doorstep. She explained her situation to George and he told her that our free clinic (to the 1500 people we serve in our village) would be open the next morning and urged her to come see the doctor. She did and was told there was nothing he could do because the infection was too widespread, the organs were beginning to fail, and we just didn't have the means in our little make-shift clinic to handle such a case. He told her she would need to have another surgery and urged her to go into Kampala to seek treatment. I can't imagine what ran through her mind as she walked back home that day. She'd struggled so long. There were finally people that would help her but they lacked the resources needed to do so.

George was away from the village that day so he didn't really know the outcome of her doctor's visit. This morning he got up early because he had a meeting several hours away. As he began to leave, he once again found her on our doorstep. This time, she was in worse condition than she was before. I can't imagine this scene - she's there and is pretty much clinging to life and he is being hurried out the door so he can get on the road for what turned out to be a 13 hour journey. His pockets were empty. We live off of donation to donation, sale to sale. He didn't have the money to send her into Kampala, but he knew with all his heart that he might find her dead when he returned. With a heavy heart, he told her that he had to go but would seek help for her when he returned. I can't imagine what he must have felt pulling out of the village.

He had a long, exhausting day but however much it was draining, he never forgot about her. On his way home he received a phone call from the hospital that we have been taking some of the children to that need specialized tests and treatment. He couldn't imagine why they would be calling. He was tired and had another 100+ miles to go before he reached home. He picked the phone and was upset at what he heard on the other end of the line. It was the doctor that is in charge of the hospital. This mother had somehow gotten herself to them. She had gone in for treatment because she had heard of this place that has us on speed dial. She was fighting for her life and she knew that while George didn't have time to help at that very moment, that he would take care of her. She walked right into that hospital, told them she was from Bugabo Village, and they rushed her into what turned out to be a 4 hour surgery.

The doctor was calling to let George know that she had been in, the surgery was complete, she had been discharged, and they were needing payment. George was tired and given his schedule lately and the fact that we have zero funds available for emergencies, I can't imagine the wear and tear on him mentally. He was upset. Mad if he's completely honest. But as I sat on the phone with him, I heard his voice crack as these words came across his lips: "I felt defeated. I was mad. We have no money. But God didn't allow me to stay mad for long. We are all this woman has. If she looks to me for salvation, knowing that God is using me to get the care she needs, how can I be mad about that? I would have found her dead had she delayed in seeking treatment. Baby, God is using us and people are counting on us to help them. They know that's why we're here. The doctor called on his way from the clinic, so I don't know what the bill is, but I know He will provide. Baby, God is using us."

Tears rolled down my face and my throat closed up like it always does when we find ourselves sitting smack dab in the middle of His will. It was 11pm before he reached the village, so he couldn't check on her. He will do that first thing in the morning. He will also contact the doctor so that we can start asking for help from the body of Christ in paying her bill. Please be in prayer for this family as she heals. While we can't obviously know His story for her, I am amazed at what He's written so far. We have some amazing people among the ones we live with and serve, and it humbles me to the core that we get to share life with them. And I also praise Him that we can play a small role in each one's story. How He places us in the right place at the right time and intertwines our stories together is something we don't take lightly. We're just broken vessels ready to be filled by Him. She's just a mother who trusted Him enough to ask for help from the ones she knows He put there to help her.

It is my prayer that if you have $5, $10, or $20, that God would move your heart to be part of His story for her as well. This is His passion. May we all strive to show this broken world what the body of Christ was created for.

***UPDATE

This morning George went to check on who I now know is Jane. She is doing well and here are a few more pictures:

He also contacted the hospital to find that Jane's bill was $200. In addition to her surgery bill, we stepped out in faith and asked God to provide $100 that we can leave with her so that she can get the care she needs while he travels back here to the US. Wanna guess what God's response was to our request? That's right: PAID IN FULL! To the EXACT amount and not a penny more. Praise His name. PRAISE HIS NAME!!!

ekubo ministries necklace giveaway

2011-08-05T09:57:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of June, just a couple days before I left to go back home, I received a package from Dawn Patterson, of Funky Fish Designs. I've never been a necklace girl. Or any jewelry for that matter. But this necklace? It was too much. I was moved beyond words. I pulled it from the package and right away I saw the word Ekubo. Oh, how we prayed and discussed a name for our ministry for what seemed like forever. Ekubo is Luganda for "The Way". Remember that my blog is titled "Compass In My Heart"? When I named it, I didn't know where He was gonna send me but I knew I was so open to His will for my life that I'd go wherever. Looks like He showed me "The Way", so that's where our ministry's name came from. As I continued to admire the necklace, I saw a compass and then a heart. Oh, sweet Dawn! She couldn't have created this necklace to mean more than it did. Although I was NOT a jewelry person, this necklace made me be one. It was one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever gotten.

At the end of June, I was back in Uganda and Dawn asked me to get on chat. I found her online and she rocked my world yet again. She had created 2 special pieces for our ministry that she wanted to donate in hopes that they'd be used for us to raise some much needed funds. These are exactly like mine but also include a pearl. Uganda is called "the pearl of Africa".

Ekubo Ministries is crazy excited to offer you a chance to win one of these very unique necklaces. Your donation of $5 puts you in the drawing and helps us continue our work being the hands and feet of Jesus to our village of approximately 1500 (with over half of those being children under the age of 12). We don't have partnerships with huge organizations. We don't have businesses that cut us a huge check every month that help us with the never-ending needs that we see on a daily basis. We just put ourselves on the alter every single day and trust that He will provide. And He does that through His body. YOU. The CHURCH. $5 here, $10 there, $25 from this one, $50 from that one, and together, we've made a HUGE impact on this village that was once plaqued with Witchcraft. If you follow us on Facebook, you've heard more stories than I can share on here, even if I committed to blogging daily through the end of this year. God is serious about our work for Him in Bugabo Village. And He's serious about bringing people alongside us to ensure His work doesn't stop. With that in mind, we humbly ask for you to give freely. Give generously. Give, knowing that you're making a difference. Give, fully aware of His blessings on and in your life.

How can YOU be entered to win one of these amazing necklaces?

Make a donation - 1 entry per every $5 donation

Share the link to our blog on FB (in addition to any donation amt) = 1 entry

Blog about this giveaway (in addition to any donation amt) = 3 entries

To make a donation, please click on "Donate Here" in the upper left-hand column of our blog. Once you've entered, post a comment below letting me know which "additional" way you've entered. If you just chose to make a donation, I will see that in Paypal so there's no need to comment. However, if you share the link on FB or write a blog post about it, PLEASE let me know so your additional entries are counted! The giveaway will run until Sunday, August 14th. We will randomly choose a winner and announce it on FB and here on our blog!

We can't thank you enough for the support you've already given to us and we are humbly praying that you will support us again through this giveaway. We can't wait to see how God uses this to bless His work in our village.

our love story - part 3

2011-07-31T22:02:00.003-05:00

The drive to the airport was painful. I kept sunglasses on to hide the tears. I rode in the back with my head against the window most of the time. I didn’t even care if I about knocked my brains out as he hit pot hole after pot hole. I just wanted to be back in the village. With him. With the people that had stolen my heart. Anywhere but in that van. Anywhere. We left crazy early because the people I was with are those that like to be at the airport for a whole day before their flight leaves. Those kinds of people grate on my nerves, especially when I wanted to spend more time with George. We stopped along the way because even THEY could see that we were just way too early. We ate lunch on the shore of Lake Victoria and got to spend even more time together that left me wishing we hadn’t. It was just another memory that I would carry with me. I bet you’re thinking, “geez, did you or did you NOT want to spend more time with the man?” I’d be saying that, too. But I’m just weird like that.

When we got to the airport, I think I stopped breathing. I had luggage filled with things to carry back to sell. I had a promise from a man that I hardly knew that if I said yes, that he would be the husband I’d always prayed for. I had a ring in my carry on that I couldn’t look at. All I could cling to was that George told me to GO and sell everything I owned and come back to serve with him. Reminded me of Someone else I knew – Jesus.

As we entered the area where we had to go inside and where they could go no further, my heart got ripped right out of my chest. I couldn’t understand why I had to leave. I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t come with me. I couldn’t understand why we had to say “goodbye”. Crushed is an understatement. I watched him as he walked away, and he never looked back. That made me cry even more. I knew he was broken but I just wanted to see that smile one more time.

When I landed in Detroit, I quickly found that my cell phone service had been disconnected. Oh, the joys of forgetting to pay your bills while you’re in another country. I made my way to a pay phone and made a call to my sister. She said George had already contacted her to find out if I was home. She paid my bill online and the first call I got was from him. I won’t ever forget his first words to me from half a world away. He said, “Hello, Sweetheart.” I melted. Right there in the Detroit airport. We talked a little and then I found my way to the hotel there in the airport. I was broken. Nothing about America made me feel comfortable anymore. I was in some fancy hotel that I had mistakenly thought my ex-boyfriend had paid for (come to find out, I was the one that had to foot the bill). Everything was expensive. Even a glass of ice. Nothing on TV was worth watching. I felt trapped in luxury for 3 days and 2 nights. I looked at pictures from the trip. I laughed. I cried. I missed Uganda. I missed George. I missed everything about the last 3 weeks. I even missed the people I went with because if it weren’t for their constant whining, complaining, and gloating about what they were going to do to change Uganda, I wouldn’t have distanced myself which brought me closer to what He had meant for me to accomplish during my trip.

And remember the little blue box? Yeah, well, it was burning a hole in my bag. I wanted to look at it but every single time I'd go to unzip the side of my carry on, it was as if I could feel God's eyes peering down upon me. At one point, I was like, "Look, don't you have something else to be taking care of? Why do you ALWAYS have to be looking at me?" Bahahahaha. I'm not even joking. So I devised a plan. I would just work on him until he agreed to let me see it. So when he called again, I told him that eventually I'd say yes, so I saw no big deal in looking at the ring. He didn't budge. It was midnight in Uganda, so he went to bed but that ring wouldn't leave me alone. It was only mid-afternoon for me so I kept trying to work on my plan :) When I talked to him again, I was like, "here's the deal. Since I'm in NO position to say yes, can the ring just be a promise ring? Because I PROMISE that I will say yes one day, I just can't right now." I rattled on a little and he finally agreed. I froze. Then I was like, "HELLO. All that work! No, I gotta get over to that bag!!!" I unzipped it, pulled out the box, untied the bow and opened the box. I was blown away!

On top of the ring was a piece of paper folded into. It said, "Christie Marie Cotney, Marry Me en Come Home". As if my heart hadn't melted enough already, there it went again. Right there on the side of the bed in that fancy hotel room. And then I saw the ring. While I didn't care much for gold, the ring was PERFECT. I noticed ALL the details. The heart. The way the other details formed to make another heart. The bigger stone. The 3 smaller stones that made up some little flower shape. The way it wasn't a "typical" engagement ring. It. Was. Perfect. And the most perfect part was that it was from him. Oh, yeah, I was falling in love.

Stay tuned for the rest of our story...

our love story - part 2

2011-07-30T16:45:00.006-05:00

The next day we awoke to news of the bombings. They’d happened shortly after we’d passed through Kampala the night before. The people I was with had left luggage at the airport and were afraid to pass back through Kampala on their way to Entebbe to get it. They hired someone to do it for them so we spent the day exploring the campus. No matter where we went or what we saw that day, my thoughts were with some guy named George. I wondered how his day was going. I wondered when I’d see him again. He was on my mind all day long. After we returned home, he came over. I was excited to see him.

The following days were spent carrying the other people here and there to meet Dan’s family and do whatever they wanted him to do. I was beginning to get frustrated because the trip seemed to be more about the girl I was with and meeting her fiancé’s family than ministering. I was head strong. I had come here to share the love of Christ, not hop from village to village meeting someone else’s parents. I also didn’t come here to hang out with her friends from America. It was just an awkward situation and I was SO worried about wasting my trip. I vented my frustration to George and that’s when I began to see more of his heart. He assured me that my trip would NOT be wasted and that although I was told we were coming for a much different reason, God would use me regardless. He told me that God was just preparing me for something bigger. Every time I got frustrated with what little we were doing for the people of Uganda versus what we were doing for self, I remembered his calming words.

We were supposed to spend a week in George’s village. Of course that changed because she had other things to do, like meet her American friends at the airport. These people had family here and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why we had to give up days in the village for them. Just seemed really selfish to me. I didn’t even want to go to the village. I knew once I did that my life would change. After all, campus life at UCU was far from “third world”. We had running water and power. And a toilet that flushed. I knew I’d leave my heart in a village that not only had no running water, power, or flushing toilets, but that didn’t even have clean drinking water. But I went. And I fell in love. I fell in love with the children. I fell in love with the parents/grandparents. I fell in love with the hopeless faces that I was sure God had brought me there to shine a light for. I fell in love with the environment. I fell in love with the way they live life there. I wasn’t quite in love with George yet, but boy did we have a strong friendship.

The day we left, I broke down. I excused myself into George’s Mom’s bedroom. She sent him in to comfort me. I don’t remember what all he said, but I got really strong, really quickly. I was more determined to not let those people ruin my trip. I didn’t care what all we had to do, as long as he was there with us. That day he let us know that no matter what we needed, he would be there to drive us. He'd taken time away from work, from school, and had even borrowed his brother-in-law's van. Looking back, I see that he just wanted to be there for me.

The next week, everyone went on a safari and I was supposed to work at an orphanage. George took me to Lugazi and we found the orphanage. I was NOT told that these children were in school all day and that there was little for me to do during that time. I was told that I could either sit there and watch TV or find something else to do until the children got home from school. We took one of the volunteers that was already there with us and went to Jinja for the day. When we returned, the children came home from school and started on chores. I got to visit with them for about 30 mins before it was dinner time. I took George to the side and after spending the day with another volunteer and seeing her frustration with having very little to do there, I decided that it wasn’t the best place for me to spend my week. We headed back to Mukono that night. We fixed dinner and watched a movie. Then I got out my iPhone and we listened to one of David Platt’s sermons. I explained to him that David was my home church pastor. We discussed the sermon and then listened to some worship music. I had a lot of songs by Tenth Avenue North, so we mostly listened to those. After the song “Beloved” was over, George kissed me. I was shocked. But I kissed him right back. It was a moment we won’t ever forget and one that we talk about often.

The next day was more like one of those “what were we thinking?” moments. I kept thinking - WHAT IN THE WORLD? This guy lives in another country. What if it's not God's will that I move back here? This is crazy that I'm in some foreign country kissing on a guy that may never be mine. The day was coming to an end, so when we returned to campus, we pulled into the driveway and sat out in the van like we always did, so we could talk privately. So we talked about it. Well, he talked about it and I closed off my ears to it. I just didn’t want to let my heart get involved with someone. Remember, I was DONE with men! Then I heard the words that made my heart race. The old "I have to tell you something." This isn't EXACTLY what you want to hear in a situation like this. You're there face-to-face. At someone's mercy. Some guy you don't really know. You are NOT exactly sure what's gonna follow that sentence. I think there was like a really long pause before I said "OK".

He fumbled around for a minute and then he was like, "Christie, I'm falling in love with you." I'm PRETTY sure my heart stopped. I was frozen for like 15 seconds. Then out of nowhere, I grab the handle on the door, jump out of the van and wind-sprint up to the house. Oh, I soooo wish I this on camera. He said I looked like a lightning bolt. I'm not exactly sure what happened but I did NOT want anything to do with him for the rest of the day! I went into my room and could see outside that he hadn't left yet. I kept wondering if he was going to come inside. A couple minutes later, he left. I felt bad. He was an awesome guy. Again, WHAT IN THE WORLD was I thinking? I couldn't get him off my mind. I wanted to be around him so badly but I didn't want all that "stuff". That pressure. That not wanting to get involved with someone again. So that night I called him. I asked if he was OK. He said he was. I imagined him thinking I was some kinda crazy girl. So I went out on a limb and asked him if he'd like to spend the day with me the next day. The next morning he came over and we never spoke of that little incident again.

I didn’t want to spend the next couple days doing nothing, so I asked if we could go to his village and work on the rain harvesting tank project. So we did. And sometime over the next few days there, I fell in love. But I didn’t tell him. The night before we left the village, he asked me to marry him. I thought he was losing his mind. What kind of guy meets a girl one night, spends time with her, kisses her, tells her he loves her, gets ran away from as if he's on fire, spends more time with her, and then asks her to marry him? We didn’t even know each other that well. Of course I said no. I mean, I was excited but I didn’t know why. And who cares about my excitement…WHAT WAS THIS GUY THINKING???

We were set to leave in just a few short days. I was beginning to fall apart. I was begging God to give me any reason to reschedule my flight. After all, I didn’t have a job. Well, I kinda did. I was caring for my niece. And that was enough reason to go home. I sure didn’t want to though. A couple days before we left, George asked me to go into Kampala with him. I had no idea what we were doing, but I went. On the way, he told me that he wanted to buy me a ring. I was certain he’d lost his mind. I wore myself OUT trying to talk him out of it. He was really hurt. So I went along with it, thinking that if God wanted him to buy me a ring, nothing would stop him. But something did. He went to withdraw money from his bank and his card wasn’t working. I was saved!!! Well, until he asked me to borrow money. SERIOUSLY? What kinda guy asks the girl to borrow money for her ring? Oh, man! We STILL laugh about that one!

He’d already had my card in his wallet from all the times he’d had to withdraw money for the tank project, so I told him he could go ahead and use it again. I was kinda afraid it wouldn’t work because his didn’t. I knew he had money because I’d been to the bank with him already. So I had butterflies as we stood at the ATM at the mall. It worked and the money came right out. So there we go into the mall. I can’t even describe to you what kind of place this was, but rest assured that I’d never step foot in there unless I was with him. My brain was screaming “HE’S GETTING RIPPED OFF” and even before we walked in the door, I begged him to not go in there. But he did. And he came out with a smile. And a little blue box. But I couldn’t open it. Until I said yes.

My time was coming to an end and my heart was breaking. Remember the unhealthy relationship I had just ended when I arrived? Well, I had a layover planned in Detroit (where the guy lived) because before I had left, we had planned to spend the weekend together. What is it about ending a relationship but wanting to still make one more attempt at it? Anyways, after talking to George more in depth about it, he begged me not to meet up with him there. It was a wonder I even remembered the guy’s name, huh? But I did. And I was supposed to meet him in Detroit. Although I shouldn’t have wanted to, I did. So I emailed him 2 nights before my flight left. And he didn’t respond. George told me that he’d prayed the whole time that if we were meant to be, that this guy wouldn’t show up at the airport. I told him that I hated to be the one to break it to him, but since I was from Alabama and this guy lived in Michigan, and we hadn’t seen each other in 9 months, there was NO way he wasn’t going to show up. I’d been with him for 3 years and well, there was just NO way.

He responded to my email. And it was shocking. He told me that something had come up and that he wouldn’t be able to spend the weekend with me. I was crushed but something came over me that night as I paced around the front yard talking to him. I let him know, matter-of-factly, that I had just met and was falling in love with someone. He seemed upset but knew when I left that my life was about to change. He gave me little hesitation and I knew then that it was over. I went back inside to tell George what had happened and he wasn’t at all shocked. He reminded me of his conversation with God. He KNEW that he wouldn’t show up. I was speechless. And I fell more in love with him as he told me about how God had called me there for far more than a 3 week trip. He even told me that he was certain I’d be moving back there. I asked him how he knew. He told me that God shows him things and, although he might have gotten mixed signals about our roles in each other’s lives in the future, that I would definitely be back serving alongside him in his village. He was certain about that much.

Stay tuned for part 3 of our story...

our love story - part 1

2011-07-29T13:47:00.000-05:00

If I left it up to George to tell our story, it would be titled "she fell in love with the driver". He loves, loves, LOVES to tell it that way. And in all honesty, I love to hear his fun story of how we fell in love. He speaks with such passion. His voice gets higher and higher at the fun parts and he laughs and laughs when he describes the "independent girl that stepped off the plane" that night. Then he matter-of-factly reminds whomever he's telling that I left a changed woman. Broken without him. And he's right. Of course our stories are told from different viewpoints. He's a speaker, so his would be better told on video. I freeze when trying to share face-to-face with someone, so I'm better with writing. That's why we mesh so well :) So let me try to tell my side.

I had no idea who George William Magera was before I got to Uganda. All I was told was that we were visiting his village. I was told that he was the "leader", so I assumed that to be a leader in a dark place like that, he was an older guy. I hadn't seen any pictures of him, nor had I heard too much more about him other than "we'll be working in his village for a few days". I had gone on a trip with a girl and her parents. She had met George the year before and had promised to return to do a needs assessment on his village. While there, she had met a guy and although I didn’t know it at the time, most of the trip for her was to meet his family.

On the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam, I was soooo excited. I tried to burn up a little energy by watching as many movies as possible during that 8 hour flight. When we got to Amsterdam, I was "movied out". It was like 6am and although it was the beginning of a new day, I was tired. I got on the flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe and all I wanted to do was sleep. I was just going with the flow, so I didn't even try to figure out what time it would be when we arrived, so I didn't know if I should try to stay awake longer or sleep. Something hit me when we got on the flight and it was as if I got my "second wind". Tried to watch another movie but it wasn't happening. Found a cool option on the media system thingy that allows you to create a playlist from some of your favorite songs. I created one with a crazy mixture that included a little of everything. One particular song was Michael Buble's "Haven't Met You Yet". No particular reason, I just liked the beat. I fell asleep eventually but every time I woke up, that song was playing.

When we arrived at the airport in Entebbe, we were exhausted. I remember waiting in line FOREVER to get my visa and then even longer to get luggage. As we made our way through the doors, I greeted her boyfriend, then their friend Grace, and when I made it to George, I honestly didn’t even know who he was. He was young. Like, really young. Remember, I had thought that for him to be a leader, he was much older. When I was introduced to him, I was honestly shocked that it was that same guy. He and I both recall me hugging him much tighter and far longer than I had hugged the rest. To this day I remember that so vividly. We made our way to Grace’s van where we all held hands and prayed. I broke into tears. I was overwhelmed with God all at once. I was there. My feet were on Ugandan soil. The heat. The mosquitoes. The feeling of being RIGHT where He wanted me. It was a lot to take in. And seriously, those Ugandan prayers (they take like 15 mins and are SO heartfelt), well, I was just overcome with emotion. We were letting the guys figure out our luggage situation as we figured out seating arrangements in the van. I didn’t know at the time why I was so concerned with George, but I remember looking for him and not seeing him outside the window. It was very dark, as our flight arrived after 9pm. I asked where he was and was told that our luggage didn’t fit and he had driven separately and was gone a few rows away to get it. Something in me blurted out, “I’ll ride with him.” I jumped out and ran to the driver’s side (they drive on the right-hand side). He laughed and pointed me to the other side.

***What I found out later was that he had intended on coming to the airport to pick us but had spent the day in Kampala and called Dan to tell him that he’d just see us in Mukono. He’d been working with an organization and due to the red tape that they sometimes have or create, he was VERY discouraged and was trying to keep his distance from more white people and their “wanting to change Uganda” stance that almost everyone arrives at the airport with. He’d heard it all before, so he was just tired of it. At the last minute, though, Dan called and said he was stranded with no money and needed George to pick him and take him to the airport because he wasn’t sure the other guy (Grace) was going to show up. George didn’t really care, but God moved him to GO.

So here we are, riding together. Neither one of us knows any more than the other’s names. I’m sitting on the wrong side of the truck, in an unfamiliar land, with someone I don’t know and although it feels weird, I feel safe. When I tell you that there aren’t any street lights, I’m not EVEN exaggerating. It was dark, and all I could see were the faint tail lights of the van in front of us that carried the people I came with. I know now that it was a 2 hr drive, which was made a little shorter by the fact that it was late at night so the traffic wasn’t as bad. As I mentioned earlier, I was strong when I arrived. I had already put myself on the alter and asked God not to let me see anything my heart hadn’t already felt. What I meant by that was to keep me strong while I was there, and not to let my eyes see anything too disturbing that would sidetrack my trip. My heart was already head over heels for this country that I could only see bits and pieces of depending on the lighting along the way. There was never a silent moment in that truck. If you know me, you know that’s virtually impossible but something about this guy made me open up like a book.

We talked about me – How I had just accepted Christ in Jan and God had pointed me to Uganda. How I had already told the guy that gave me the visa that I would be moving here next time. How I had just ended a VERY unhealthy relationship. How I was done with men. Done. Like, I just wanted to go it alone. I felt that was a better choice for me, seeing as I wanted to move to a foreign country, take in vulnerable children and minister to everyone along the way. No man. After all, I didn’t NEED a man. Yeah, we STILL laugh about that one.

We talked about him – How he accepted Christ when he was 12 and wanted so badly to go to a Pastor’s Conference shortly afterwards that he offered to accompany the men on the trip to press their suits and shine their shoes. How during that trip one of the pastors fell sick and HE was asked to preach. How God put the words in his mouth to preach, how the congregation roared and when he finished there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. How badly he wanted to succeed with his work in the village but the support just wasn’t there.

When we reached home (a house we were staying in Mukono at Uganda Christian University), he helped us unpack our things and hung out for a little bit but then went to his house he shared with his brother on their family’s compound. The other guys slept on sofas in the living room. I desperately wanted him to stay so we could talk as long as we wanted, but he left. He, along with a few friends, still remember my status update from that night. I said that I felt I had just met my soul mate. And I didn’t mean that as in a relationship. I meant it in terms of friendship. I went to bed that night thinking about him and his children. I wasn’t sure why he was on my mind so much, but there was definitely a connection.

I started this blog post WEEKS ago. My sister even created a sweet video to put at the end. I was hours and hours into it when I realized this wasn't going to be a quick one. Actually, I had written 8 pages full in a Word document and hadn't even gotten home from my first 3 weeks in Uganda. George was excited to read it, so he kept asking me. When I told him about the 8 pages, he offered to help me "reduce" the story. I tweaked it a little bit, since I tend to be TOO detail-oriented, but I know that some day our children will read this and I want them to read my heart. So "our love story" will be in parts :) Stay tuned for the rest of it...

win a signed copy (or 3) of "Radical Together"

2011-04-28T23:31:00.002-05:00

What's my favorite number? Surely y'all know by now. If not, it's 3. I will be giving away 3, yes I said THREE copies of Radical Together that I got Pastor David to sign last Sunday. You can read the first chapter of the book here.

The fundraiser will run from through Mother's Day, May 8th. On the night of May 8th, I will draw 3 winners. It is possible for you to win 2 copies, or God can get crazy and have that bless you with all 3 copies. These would be perfect for gifts. The time I gave away copies of Radical, some of the winners used them to raise funds for their adoptions :)

As you all know, I serve Him in Uganda. I got there in December and oh. my. goodness. has He done some pretty incredible things since then. I realize that I haven't kept my blog current but life is just so crazy right now that it makes it hard to do so. I am in the States until the end of May so I will try to update you as my heart will allow. I am missing my family terribly and wow, do you guys that aren't following our journey even know about the changes in our lives as of late? WOW! It just hit me how much I have to update. Like, you won't even believe it. OK, so back to the fundraiser. I have been here for 2 weeks and was so excited for Secret Church last Friday. I went ahead and stayed the weekend with Melinda so I could worship Him with my faith family at The Church of Brook Hills on Sunday.

I bought 3 books before Easter Service and went to stand in line to talk to David and get him to sign them. And just like last time, I stood there with my heart beating out of my chest. I had missed this guy terribly. God had used him in a mighty way for His purpose in my life. I wanted to open up and tell him what all had happened in the village. But I only had about 5 minutes. I didn't even think about WHAT to say because it wouldn't have mattered anyways. I would have forgotten it as soon as I started speaking. The last time I stood there with him getting him to sign books for me, I had no clue where I was going. God just told me to prepare to GO. No direction. No plan. Just GO. But here I was with direction. With a plan. With a whole life started in just a matter of months. I had one of those out-of-body experiences for what seemed like 5 minutes. And that's a long time when he could be available at any minute :)

All of a sudden, the person that was speaking with him was finished. I'd already told Melinda to get the iPhone ready to snap a pic. Something told me that she'd snag a good one. Annnnd she did. Here's our convo:

Me: OK, I have more books for you to sign. I'm doing a fundraiser to raise funds for our village, which by the way I DID move to. We built a school and found sponsors for 250 of the children in the village!

David: WOW! You were just here with me a year ago! You did ALL of that in ONE YEAR?

Me: Actually in 4 months.

David: Mouth hanging open. . . . Well, you can see the look on his face!

I left out the other details that I told him because if you're not following our journey on FB, you don't know yet. And now I realize that his facial expressions aren't THAT amazing because you don't know what all I told him. Oh, well. You'll find out soon enough :)

All funds received will be applied to our "Faith List".

How can YOU be entered to win a copy (or all 3) of the book?

Make a donation - $10 = 1 entry or $25 = 3 entries

Share the link to our blog on FB (in addition to any donation amt) = 1 entry

Blog about this fundraiser (in addition to any donation amt) = 3 entries

Once you've entered, post a comment below letting me know which "additional" way you've entered. If you just chose to make a donation, I will see that in Paypal so there's no need to comment. However, if you share the link on FB or write a blog post about it, PLEASE let me know so your additional entry is counted!

We can't thank you enough for the support you've already given to us and we are humbly praying that you will support us again through this fundraiser. We can't wait to see how God uses this to bless our Faith List.

childlike faith

2011-01-28T12:55:00.006-06:00

George has faith like no one else I've ever met. And it's so pure. I like to think that I have that kind of faith. I mean, I'm here because of faith. I walk it every single day here in this village. No church is supporting me. No big time organization is backing me. I am literally living off less than $3/day because every donation that comes in, aside from the one specifically given to sustain me personally, is gone to the next project in the works. Even if the note says "I believe in the work you're doing, so use this however you wish. I just want to be a part of it." And even if the note says, "take this and do something for yourself." Because the truth is, I am doing something for myself. I am serving others. The work ~~I do~~ He does here is my life now. So I like to think that I'm walking in faith on a daily basis. Compared to George, I have a little work to do in that area. He has childlike faith. The kind that Jesus smiles about.

To say that the water in our village has been scarce might be the BIGGEST understatement of the year. Several days it was so low that we had to skip showers. And what I mean by the word shower is that you get about 2-3 gallons of water in a basin. The other days the source was too dried up to get jerry cans submerged enough to fill. On top of that, the weather here has been unforgiving. Heat. Humidity. Weakness. Dizziness. We have a fan but that would mean the power has to be on, which it has been . . . during the night. Who needs power then? We even broke down and put a ceiling in George's Mom's house using the leftover particle board type ceiling pieces we had from the buildings at the school. It cooled it off a little but to say that it worked miracles would be a stretch. Of course I suffered the most. Being from Alabama is not like being from Chicago and coming here but the heat has definitely taken its toll.

We hit rock bottom on Wednesday. Another trip to Kampala to get materials for the school left us drained when we got back home. Another day with no water. A day that I caved and actually bought water, although I have absolutely zero funds left over from my monthly sponsorship money that sustains me personally. But I didn't drink it like I should have. I sipped. Why should I get to drink water when no one else in the village had clean water to drink? Because I have money? That just doesn't seem fair, does it? And yes, I get the whole "take care of yourself or you can't help them" but something about that just seems too selfish for me sometimes. So I paid the price that day. I got a "running stomach". I'm sure you can figure out what that means. Numerous trips to the squatty potty and no water to replace what I was losing. I thought about the other people in the village that are experiencing this. No matter how many times they have a "running stomach" from the foods they eat and because they don't use proper hygiene, when you don't have the water needed to return the fluids, dehydration sets in.

It had been 20 days since I first posted pictures on Facebook from one of our last "good days" at the water source. And Lacy had been raising money on her blog long before that specifically for the borehole. I know God's timing is perfect but I was afraid that somehow I had messed with that a little bit. I lay in bed letting my mind spin about how we chose to raise money for desks instead of for water. How I asked God to find sponsors for children, knowing we needed water first. I mean, how can you educate a dehydrated child? I was so mad at myself for possibly missing this one. So I started to pray. "Lord, this isn't a child's education we're talking about. This isn't monthly support for me so that I can eat. This isn't a bed for someone to sleep comfortably in. And as horrible as this is, it's not helping Charles as He lies in that filthy ward in the government hospital. This is water. I remember when I was in like 3rd grade and we learned the 3 basic needs: food, clothing & shelter. Seriously, those are NEEDS? You can live without food. This is so much more. We NEED water." And I just lay there. Not wanting to go hang out in the pit latrine because I know what a "running stomach" results in - water that leaves the body. And I know what I felt guilty replacing it with - water that no one else has in this village. I fought it all day long. Trying to put myself in the shoes of the people I'm here to serve almost took me out.

I didn't have the faith that George has. I just couldn't find it anywhere. Just Wednesday he had someone come and survey the land for the borehole. He had promised me that once we hit $2000 in donations, we would start drilling. That's all good but I shrugged it off because I like to have the money in my hands before I make plans. To me, it's not about faith, it's about having someone do work that won't be paid. But George? That guy has a direct line straight to God. He exudes faith. How many of you would call a borehole company without at least being a couple hundred dollars away from having it fully funded? I mean seriously. Would YOU call them when our little spreadsheet shows $1600 plus another $500 from the donations Lacy has received? Yes, George has childlike faith. The kind that feels the $9000 just around the corner when your spreadsheet shows $2100. The kind Jesus says we need to get into Heaven. The kind that we all should have.

Last night, after 2 days of prayer and fasting from Facebook, I logged in. I was physically weak but something about George's faith gave me a lift. I posted this: "I'm trusting God for a basic need - water. If you have clean water, it is my prayer tonight that you will use your voice (via FB, Twitter & blogs) to help me spread the word. Everyone of you has the potential to reach ONE HEART. Do something. Anything." We still needed $7500. And it was out there, I just needed some people to share a link to my "faith list" blog post so the people that God had already chosen to help us reach that goal could see it. Again, my job is just to put the need out there. It's His job to bring in who He wants to walk alongside you and use His funds to fulfill that need. An hour later, I received a message from a friend that I met on FB. A friend that joined my journey back before I even made my first trip here. I didn't even notice the title of her message. All I remember thinking before I opened it was, "oh, I miss hearing from her. She has been SUCH an encouragement to me over the last year." Had I been standing, I would have absolutely fainted when I read the following message:

Tomorrow I will send a check for $7500 so you can have clean water. It's almost all our savings, but God won't leave me alone about it. :) Actually, I asked my husband if we could donate our savings and he blew me away when he said yes. He's very very stressed about money right now and he's not really a believer (he doesn't quite have a relationship with God yet)... So i KNOW this is a God thing. Please send lots of pictures of the beautiful people drinking lots of clean water when it happens, and I'll show my husband and show him that God works through people like you and George and him (my husband) :) God bless your life and your work. We love you and your beautiful people and your beautiful Bugabo village!!

SERIOUSLY? I actually logged out of Facebook and back in just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I mean, I was sick. I was dehydrated. I felt like the guy in the dessert that sees water but after taking a closer look (and walking for miles), he finds out it's just an illusion. I don't even remember writing this message, and bless her heart, I might have shared a little too much but here it is:

Oh, Sister! Can I just tell you that I have an extreme case of a running stomach right now and have been trying to hold it because we have very little water here and I know that if I go outside, I will need to take in more water. If I weren't sitting in the bed right now, I would faint. Now I absolutely HAVE to wake George! He had someone come yesterday to survey the land and they're coming back on Tuesday to see where to put the borehole. They were going to start on it on Saturday and we were going to give them 20%. We were then going to walk by faith. George blows me away with his child-like faith. I just can't believe this!

At this point, all I knew was that God had used her and her family to completely bless this village in a way that no one would be able to wrap their head around. It was SO BIG that I thought my "running stomach" wouldn't make it in time to wake up George to go be my security outside. SO BIG that when I woke him up enough to whisper in his ear "someone just emptied their savings and is funding the rest of the borehole" he said, "I don't think I'm awake. First hold on and let me try this again." SO BIG that I couldn't even breathe. SO BIG that it could only be from God. And then it happened. I got the response that would leave me sobbing. It's "the rest of the story" and God, Himself, had to have written this because no human could fathom this kind of love:

Christie, I'm so sorry you are sick! I hope now you can drink lots of water knowing that so much more is soon on its way!! I think George's faith is amazing and I'm inspired by it. Love to you and Bugabo. God bless you and George and all that you do. I can't wait to see pictures of the borehole! What a great story--for such a diverse group of people to come together from all over the world to give to such an important project.

What God is doing through you and through George gives me goosebumps. We are so blessed to be able to be a part of it. It's really an incredible opportunity to let God use us to help your village. We started saving money because I was planning to go to Kenya/Uganda in June/July of this year with a short term missions trip. It was to be a trip of the lifetime--I just wanted to get involved and to help somehow and I thought this was supposed to be how I started it all. My husband and I also decided at that time to have a third child, and instead of doing it the 'old fashioned way', I was able to convince him that we should adopt an orphan child from Africa. It seemed like everything was falling into place according to my plans... and what I didn't realize at the time was that they truly were "MY" plans (not God's plans, like I thought).

Completely unexpectedly and totally unplanned, I find out I'm pregnant and due the exact same week I would have been traveling to Africa. As excited as I am to be pregnant, I'm also, honestly devastated at the change in my plans. I can't figure out what this means? I made plans for this trip more than a year in advance and I'm now pregnant and will have the baby the EXACT same week? And, our adoption plans are now completely affected by the pregnancy too--they are on hold until at least 2012. I just couldn't figure out why God pulled this from me and WHAT was he trying to tell me?? To be honest, I was quite sad and confused.

So I pray. And what keeps popping up? You. Bugabo. Water. Every time I checked out facebook I would see the need for water. Clean water. All this week my son has been sick with a sore throat and he calls out in the middle of the night for water. This morning, he said to me in his little three year old voice, "I so thirsty mama, please can I have water?" and I thought of Bugabo. I thought, 'what if I had to say 'no' to him because I didn't have clean water to give him?' Suddenly, everything made sense. My plans to go to Africa--nixed. My plans to adopt-nixed. My plans to not get pregnant--nixed. WHY?? These were all MY PLANS, Not God's plans. I think, this whole time God speaks through you and this whole time he's been telling us that the needs are right in front of me and here's how we can help. Your comments on short-term missions. . . your pleading for water, for educating the children, . . . everything just started to make sense to me and our current situation. I wanted to ask my husband if we could donate our saved money to help provide clean water for your village, but never thought he would so freely say yes. But I just asked. And he just said yes. Just like that. Thank you GOD! Our God is an awesome God!!!!!

So, in the end, God had it all figured out. I wasn't meant to go on a short-term missions trip after all, and I don't think we were meant to adopt a child from Africa, I think instead we are just meant to help children in Africa. I think this whole time God was leading us to find you--YOU are the one on the ground, in this beautiful village in Africa. You are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. You are his hands and his feet, and I just thank God that he let my compass point to Africa. Maybe not the way I planned/expected it to . . . but in the exact way that he wanted it to be.

And, by the way, the reason I knew you were golden and of God from the very start. . .the reason I KNEW you had the heart of the Lord was because you donated to my friend's adoption fund. At a time when you needed every last cent to help Bugabo, you gave to her. I just was blown away, inspired, and so humbled by that. You'll never know what that did. When some of my closest friends wouldn't even share the link for her adoption, you did. I was so humbled and God taught me so much through that.

I'm sorry that was so long. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I just really wanted to share with you how you and Bugabo were a part of God's plan for us all along. God bless you!!

And after reading through that message again to ensure that specific details were excluded to keep her anonymous, I am in tears all over again. This isn't a family I've ever met. But yet God has created His stories for us to include one another. When we first connected on Facebook last summer, neither one of us could have seen this coming. I get a lot of excuses from others that are also fundraising when I ask them to share my link. That's another post for another time, but I will just say that someone shared my link last summer and that is how God connected me to this family. He knew THEN what His plans were for both of us. It is living, breathing proof that He uses all means possible to connect us to one another. So I say again to all of you that think "there are so many needs out there that no one pays attention to the links I post" - DO NOT JUDGE THE HEARTS OF YOUR FRIENDS. Share the links. Be the voice for the things God loves. Finish the work Jesus started. He changed the world with just 12 guys. We can change the world with so many more. If just one person took responsibility for one poor, destitute person anywhere in this world and met them right where they are, in all their pain and in their filth and squalor, we could alleviate it. We have a voice and it needs to be heard. Both the speakers and the voiceless. The Gospel is meant to be shared, not saved for Sundays. Be encouraged, people!!!

So long, crappy water. The diseases you plagued this village
with are about to be replaced by clean, fresh water!
You know, Living Water. As in, Jesus.

Want to know how YOU can help with other items on our faith list? See the blog post below this one :)

faith list

2011-01-23T11:05:00.010-06:00

I have but one job and that is to make the needs here known to you. God's job is to stir the hearts and bring His people to help. So George & I created, what George has termed our "Faith List" (we KNOW God will provide), and here are the things we will put on the alter:

~~Borehole - $9,000~~ FULLY FUNDED! PRAISE GOD!!!
~~4x4 Van - $12,000~~ FULLY FUNDED! PRAISE GOD!!!
~~School Kitchen - $2,000~~ A SWEET FRIEND IS FUNDING THIS!
Electricity (for entire school property) - $4,500
Teacher's Units (4) - $14,000
Refuge Units (2) - $10,000
Finishing our home - $2,000
Soccer Team - $500+
Village Doctor (sees patients every Saturday) - $300/month
Village Meds - $200/month
School Nurse - $100/month

I need YOU to help me spread the word. Right now, THIS is where we are getting our water:

WHAT is a borehole? It's a well that is drilled down
to the clean, fresh water and its water is never-ending.
Here's a video of me using one for the first time in
a village close to Mukono.

I can't imagine a Christian, a child of God, not feeling a tug in their heart to help us get clean water into this village.

my Christmas money, a bike accident, and time away

2011-01-22T14:42:00.001-06:00

Almost a month without a shower (basin baths don't count) and having a constant line of people outside George's Mom's home made for some long, long days in the village. We just wanted to get away. Away from the pain. Away from the squalor. Away from the hopelessness we see on a daily basis. Just for 2 nights. Just to relax. 10 mins after asking for donations to do so, we had the $140 we needed to go to Vision for Africa. $35 per person, per night and THAT was all inclusive. It's 45 mins away from here. George visited a couple months ago and it is his dream for our village here. By staying there, we were also helping build another organization, so it was a no-brainer. Our last week of 2010 is detailed here, through my Facebook status updates :)

I started the week out by spilling water on the carpet.
Of course I immediately saw Africa. George? Not so much.
So I posted it on FB and everyone agreed. I win :)

Dec 27th – ‎$150 for Christmas. I daydreamed about what I would buy. But yesterday, everything changed. The guy George put in jail came to thank him for saving his life. He also wanted a job so that he could pay for the bike he destroyed & so he wouldn't have to go to prison for 14 years. I watched as his head hung the whole time. I thought about the shame he must feel. George even sent him out so he wouldn't cry in front of us. I thought about what Jesus would do, but moreso what He wanted ME to do. George took the owner of the bike into Kampala today to buy a new one. Happy Birthday, Jesus. I wouldn't have rather spent my Christmas money on anything else. Matthew 25 isn't just for the hungry and the sick. It's for the poor, too. You can't shape that verse to fit your ministry. I came here to serve as Jesus would, and He didn't just serve the cute kids. He served the drunk guy that was facing prison time because he was hopeless. I will never forget him crawling into this house and half-sitting on a chair (after we MADE him get out of the floor), nor will I forget how he had to look to the ceiling to keep the tears from rolling from his eyes. It reminded me of my visit with Charles, as I had to do the same thing. I am praising God that this guy, whose name I don't know, KNOWS that I am doing this on behalf of Jesus. And that makes my heart smile. I am still trying to get over what happened yesterday. My heart races just thinking about it. I am nervous for his court date tomorrow because the system here is corrupt. Praying that because I bought the bike, he won't go to prison. Please pray with me.

Dec 27th – REALLY needs to get away from the village. I can't get anything done. I haven't had a shower in a month. I want a REAL SHOWER, not one from a bucket. I want to wash my hair with clean water. I want a good night's sleep. This 3" foam mattress (and by foam I don't mean memory foam) is killing my back. Just two nights. I just want two nights. The next $75 in jewelry sales is going toward a vacation :)

Dec 28th – It's 66 degrees here and George has on a sweater. I'm not joking.

Dec 28th – was told we were needed outside to treat someone that had a bike accident in front of the house. We got cotton, cleanser and ointment and rushed out there thinking he/she was a child. We found a grown man (my age) with serious wounds. We took him to the clinic in Bombo where they gave him stitches, a shot and tabs. We found it raining when we left so George got in the middle and let me drive home. You should have seen the guy's face when he realized I was driving!!! HILARIOUS!!! I imagined him thinking, "I thought this girl was trying to help me. She's trying to kill me!!!" We took the "bumpy way home" and George finally got out and got in the back. I kinda went a little fast to make him pay for all the times he puts people in the back and forgets about them as he goes fast. It bothers me a little that George said the people think I'm a little crazy for taking him to the clinic when they've seen worse wounds than that. The man needed stitches. There's nothing "crazy" about that. I'm pretty sure Jesus would have done the same thing. Do YOU think He would have turned someone away because his wounds weren't the worst the people around him had seen?

** PRAISE GOD! I went out to find that the guy wasn't outside. I asked George where he went. He said, "He has gone to the church for prayers. I think he has had a change of heart." I am soooo blessed to be living such an awesome life for Him. I truly feel like His hands and feet today.

This is an updated pic of him. His face is healing nicely!

Dec 28th – just got a visit from the guy that I gave my Christmas money to keep him out of jail and he has been cleared of all charges. Praising God for the heart He gave me. A heart that doesn't pick and choose which Scripture to apply to my life because it's the "easy part". There's nothing easy about Matthew 25. I want to encourage you to do something today for someone without wanting anything in return.

Dec 29th – should be packing for "vacation". First thing I'm doing when I get there? SHOWER! George has forbidden me from taking the laptop but I'm thinking about slipping it in the bottom of my bag. Shhhh, don't tell him. Excited to see what God is up to as we have time to just relax and talk about our plans...scratch that...God's plans for the village through us.

Dec 29th – feels like a kid sneaking to get online. 3 hilarious things from today - 1) took the forever long dirt road here & stopped to pick about 4 people when they yelled to the ones behind them & so on. Next thing we know there are 25+ back there, 2) saw a chicken & a goat fight AND have it on video, 3) took a 15 min shower & as soon as George got in, the power went off. You should've heard him scream. Bahaha! Night!

Some of the pics from our 2 days at Vision for Africa

Dec 30th – Me: Do you smell that? It smells like something's burning. George: I don't hear anything.

Dec 31st – ‎"This is the deepest meaning of hospitality - to give each other rest on the way to our eternal home." - Romano Guardini . . . it was good to get away but so good to be home. How many people do you know that have NO check-out time but leave at 11am to get back home? Yeah, we're weird.

Christmas in the village

2011-01-20T11:18:00.000-06:00

This was my first Christmas in a relationship with Christ. And in all my planning, I never expected to spend it in the village. But I did. And it was nothing short of amazing. Here are week 3's Facebook status updates. One day, I'll get caught up and start blogging again :)

Dec 20th – woke up last night thinking about my boy. I asked George if we could stop by and ask him & Elisha if they wanted bunk beds and if so, whether they wanted metal or wood. He said, "they've never had a bed so how would they know?" We just put an order in for a set of bunk beds. $65 worth of jewelry I need to sell to get them :)

George getting a 50 cent hair cut. Bahahahaha.
This is better than the movie "Barber Shop" :)

Dec 20th – is sitting at the police station checking on the guy George brought in the other night. I am praying that he is still alive. George says that the guy whose bike was trashed might be wanting him to help since he rescued him. It's sad that they think that beating a guy within an inch of his life is going to help any. I asked how much it was and George said $120. $120 or someone's life? Heartbreaking.

Dec 20th – has more photos to upload but the network has been down since Sat. This morning we met with some of the parents & children from the part of the village that feels disconnected. George told them that we're making plans to get a road to them & they were excited. Then he told them about the sponsorship program and if they were people that showed their emotions, they would have cried. My heart is full for them.

Dec 20th – stopped to check on Charles on our way home. We recently found out he has cancer. I was NOT prepared for what we found in his home. He hadn't bathed in God knows when & he MIGHT have weighed 70 lbs. He was in the floor on a foam mattress and both it and his pillow were dark brown. NO ONE SHOULD SPEND THEIR LAST DAYS LIKE THAT. God help us.

**Trying to find the sponsors for his kids so I can see if they will go together and get him a bed, milk and sugar. Milk and sugar is all he asked for. Breaks my heart. Needless to say I broke the "no crying in the village". For 15 minute...s I cried out to God to help me not cry. But I saw the calendar nailed to the bricks beside his bed that had a picture of Jesus on it and it said "The Good Shepard" and I thought about Psalm 23. I might have held it together had George not started praying. I lost it. I absolutely LOST IT.

** $60 for a bed (actual bed, mattress, sheet set) & $25/month for milk & sugar. I asked George about food but he said Charles wouldn't eat anything and just wanted milk & sugar. He told him that he'd bring him a plate after our Christmas party. He said, "you always remember me." God, that just breaks my heart.

Charles' daughter Stellah. Bless their family.

I hope they never get too used to me that they don't run to the road as we pass by.
I love hearing them yell "Bye Mastah" and "Bye Mzungu".
They never say hey. It's always bye :)

Dec 20th – couldn't find the meds we needed to buy for Maria's Mom in Bombo, so we are going to Kampala again tomorrow. We also have enough to buy Charles a bed so he can be a little more comfortable before he goes to be with Jesus. Please keep him & his family in your prayers. Maria's Mom is having a seizure every day. We desperately need to find her meds tomorrow. Please pray toward that as well. Praise God that we moved that lady into her home to care for her. God is good.

Checking on "Chubby"...er, Maria today :)

Fatimah & Halimah and their brother that definitely needs de-worming.

We've decided to pass out the de-worming tabs at our Christmas Party.
How often can YOU combine the two?

Dec 20th – can't sleep. I'm thinking about Charles & ordering his bed later today (it's 1:30am here), how Maria's Mom must feel not understanding why her body seems to be turning on itself (she has Epilepsy that has gone untreated for years), and I'm praying the rest of the money comes in for our 1st annual "Christmas in the Village" (we need about $80 more). And to think - last year at this time I wasn't even in a relationship with the one Man who died so that I could be reconciled to a Holy God. I'm soooo blessed.

Dec 20th – asks that you pray for all the people I've posted about today. Even the guy George took to jail the other night. And pray for us. We are faced with so much hurt on a daily basis that we feel hopeless, too. We laugh & 10 mins later something comes along to make us cry. We doubt

& then we're courageous. Then we remember that we serve Someone who has walked in our shoes.

Dec 21st – woke up to find George making breakfast & some guy on the sofa. I laugh inside because George isn't supposed to be doing anything for himself. He made us French Toast, fruit and a cup of hot tea. That guy might go back & tell the whole village but he sure ate good :)

** Found out that the guy is Charles' son. George was getting an update on his health since we'd just found out about it. I could go on and on but it's too painful. I will just say that they had given up on him because they had no money. They are happy that he is getting a bed. God bless them.

Dec 21st – delivered Charles' bed when we got into the village. I wanted to get it in place & put the bed sheets on but George said they'd have to do that. I've learned to just agree with him because I don't yet understand the culture here. Charles said to George, "you're trying to kill me!" I asked what all was being said and George said, "too many thank yous." Praising God for Charles today.

Delivering Charles' bed. I will never forget the smile he wore today :)

Pillow, sheets & blanket for Charles. Praying for comfort and

healing for him. Jesus is in the miracle business, you know!

We went to the school to deliver the 100 kilos of rice for our
1st annual "Christmas in the Village" and look who we found
preparing food for tomorrow!!! They were TOO excited :)

LOVE these women :)

Hard at work preparing matooke! Look how beautiful she is!!!

Dec 21st – asks that you pray for the Dad of the family at the end of the village who won't let his boys be profiled and enrolled in our school. Pray that God will pierce his heart. I am saddened to think that we won't be seeing their faces tomorrow at the Christmas party. I pray for them every time we pass their home. Jesus, they need You. WE need You.

Dec 21st – TOTALLY forgot to tell you guys what I found out yesterday. I was telling George that we had 10 days until school starts and he said, "it doesn't start until Feb." When I first got here, he mentioned that they do that when elections are around the corner & said he'd check on it. I guess I missed it because he said he's been discussing it this whole time. Just ANOTHER reason why I need to learn Luganda :) I can't tell you how relieved we are. We wanted to change the name of the school and need to tell George's brother before he screen prints the uniforms. Wanted to change them as well but JUST got new ones for the sponsored kids from July. So we'll give these a year.

Dec 21st – is MOMENTS away from losing my mind. If you've been with me long, you know the sheer terror I experienced from these stupid rats when I was here in July. George said they were all gone and they were, until the other night after it rained. George was sitting in the chair across from me when one touched his foot. He yelled out & then realized it was "just a rat". I went into shock & ran for cover (mosquito net).

Dec 21st – Dear God, what is Your purpose for rats? Seriously. I've had enough now. My nerves are shot. I have to use the restroom but wouldn't get out from under this net to save my life. Did I mention that the noise they make makes my ear drums ache? They're chit chatting with each other in the rafters above my bed. Have you ever had someone pray about rats? I'm such a baby. Love, Christie

George's Mom said she'd always wanted to play
with a white girl's hair, so she did :)

Me: I LOVE that kid's hair. What do you call it? Puffy? George: Messed up.

Yard work with a smile :)

Dec 22nd – dropped the PA system at the party & the kids were dancing when we left! Well, it looked more like they were stomping ants, but still ;) We're in Bombo picking the drinks. All bottles. No plastic. Reminds me of times when I was a kid!

Dancing with the kids :)

Hands washed. Ready to be served food.

They're not used to serving so many, so we have to

work on their serving assembly line skills :)

He got ALL dressed up :)

Melinda's sponsored child Rachel = my niece :)

I think EVERYONE knows who these two are :)

Passing out drinks. Had to wait for the bottle tops to be taken off.

There's no plastic in these parts :)

See this baby's orange hair? She's malnourished. She doesn't

look like it though, does she? We're taking her some formula
tomorrow and praying it provides the nutrients she's missing.

This child can break. it. down. Wait till you see the video.
I'll have to upload it when we go back to Kampala.
I struggled with recording or just soaking it all in.

Here's the little girl that started the de-worming drive.
And she has on the dress I gave her that night.
She can D A N C E, too! I laughed soooo hard!

Lots and lots of dancing!!!

Gettin' down...

Dec 22nd – knows some kids that are going to sleep WELL tonight! I am about partied out, too! They asked me to dance and the crowd ROARED!!! By the time I was done, I think they were crying ;)

Dec 22nd – is spent. We stopped by to check on Charles & there he was, in his new bed. He told George that he slept so well & felt better today. PRAISE GOD!!! I actually took a quick video & didn't even cry when we left. I also watched as a puppy was thrown halfway across a yard today. Joy & Pain. It's rough adjusting some days. Praising God for a good ending. Night, night!

Dec 23rd – just found out that we get to borrow the projector again. Praying the rain will let up. Last night the generator had run for hours during the party and when the time came to show the slideshow (of all the pics I've taken), it went out. We got to show a few. Power & a projector would enable us to have "movie nights". No need for a screen. We used a sheet last night. We're cool like that.

Dec 23rd – Eugene: Holy Bible. Me: Yes, that's my Bible. It's big, huh? Eugene: Huge. If they had such Bibles in Uganda, we wouldn't be able to afford them. How much was that? Me: It was about 35,000 shillings. Eugene: If I had that kind of money, I would feel as if I were in Heaven.

Dec 23rd – Thank you to those who donated so that we could get Charles a new bed, sheet set, blanket, pillow, milk and sugar. Walking in and finding him dying on a dirty foam mattress absolutely crushed me. Something moved in me that day as I sat there and tears welled up in my eyes. He might as well have been Jesus lying there in squalor. No one should spend their last days in that condition. No one. And thanks to the body of Christ, Charles doesn't have to. Selfishly, I pray that God will do what He does best, and work a miracle in this sweet man that has done so much for this village. But I will accept His will. And that is hard, knowing that he has cancer and is wasting away at a rapid pace. I pray that you look past his tiny frame and just focus on his smile.

Dec 23rd – EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! I asked George to pick up some speakers so we could have little mini-parties where we will gather and play music for the village until God provides a projector of our own for "movie nights". We priced a set the other day & they were $60. They're the little ones for a home theater. He just got home with a set of professional 20,000 watt ones that only cost $115. PRAISE GOD! The PA system we rented yesterday cost $75. Oh, and this set came with a microphone. Needless to say, we're MORE than excited. We're about to ROCK THIS VILLAGE :) Merry CHRISTmas to us!!!

I love, love, LOVE George's surprises! Someone
PLEASE let him know you saw his purple socks :)

Dec 23rd – was profiling a kid today and he said he wanted to be a cow when he grows up. We asked several times but he kept saying he wanted to be a cow. I reviewed his notes afterward and guess what his favorite animal is! A goat. Bahahahahaha! Dec 24th – Who remembers my my 3 abscessed teeth one year ago? Well, guess who's heading to the dentist on this Christmas Eve! Poor George. He's been up all night. He does SO much for SO many people and I can't stand to see him in pain. NOT happy about having to go to Kampala today but it's not an option. Please keep us in your prayers. Dec 24th – stopped by to see Brian & Elisha on our way out of the village. They wanted so desperately to be with us today that they asked if they could come. Dirt road, hands shielding their eyes, my heart watching every move they made in the bed of the truck, most likely I will die of love. It's Christmas Eve and there's meat hanging from any tree in the yard of those that can afford it. God is good. Always. Dec 24th – Me: What is Boxing Day? George: The 26th, the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. I don't know what it means. You don't have Boxing Day in your country? Me: No. George: How do you call the 26th? Me: The day after Christmas.

Dec 24th – In the 9 months that George has had this truck, how many problems do you think he's had. You're right - ZERO. I come along & we have a flat. Two friends pull together and donate to get us a brand new set of tires. The very next day, another flat. Today, the air conditioning is going out. We must be doin' SOMETHIN' right. Amen?

Front door of the dentist office - a lace curtain :)

The boys at the dentist office. We asked them what they wanted for lunch

(planning to take them to a restaurant since they've probably never been)
and they said "rice & matooke". I soooo love them but they're gonna enjoy
an American meal today if "New York Kitchen" is open at the mall.

Dec 24th – is leaving the dentist office. George needed TWO fillings. Grand total? Anyone wanna guess?

** Answer: $45

Dec 24th – is praising God that the dentist will be coming to the village to do check-ups on the kids. An hour away from his office. THAT is awesome service. Praising God soooo much for His faithfulness and provision.

Dec 24th – has had an emotionally taxing day. I have been humbled, heartbroken, and hopeful at any given point today. We took our boys to lunch and they ate in a restaurant for the first time. We also walked into the mall to hop on the elevator. 2 more firsts (mall & elevator). They rode for 4 hours in the back of the truck JUST to spend the day with us. When we got on the dirt road between Mukono & the village, they got up front with us. Brian between us and Elisha in my lap. About 45 mins from home, Elisha threw up all over the dash, my lap, my legs and the floorboard. I rode the rest of the way with it dripping from the dash onto my feet. I didn't get grossed out. I just held him tighter and prayed he wouldn't get sick again. Not for my sake but for his. It's official. They have me wrapped around their fingers and they haven't even come to live with me yet. I wanted to ask them so much today but they were just soooo overwhelmed. It's crazy how you feel about kids that you didn't give birth to. I thought about Mom and how much she loves us. And then I remembered that soon it's going to be Christmas Eve night and this is the first time I've been away from her. Today was just one of those up and down days.

Dec 24th – is thinking about Him and how I wasn't in a relationship with Him this time last year. He loves me no more now than He did then. Because His love doesn't change. It's REAL. Without conditions. He loves the ones that disobey as much as He does the ones that leave their comfy, familiar life to serve Him in a village where His light's not shining. That's some kind of love. Let it soak in.

Dec 24th – Dear Santa, I've never really asked for anything since I was in like 3rd grade or something but this year I'm in desperate need. Here's my list: a borehole (doesn't everyone DESERVE clean drinking water?), shoes for EVERYONE, and a 4x4 vehicle big enough to fit 250 kids (OK, 7-10 will do). I know you're more into the material things, so you might not be able to help. What you can't give me, God will provide.

Dec 25th – went into Bombo to get meat, rice & drinks. We bought Charles, Maria, her Mom, & the family that cares for them some also :) It's been raining since lunch but we are praying it lifts so we can have a "movie night". Home Alone translated in Luganda is all we could find. Today is a day of HOPE in the village and you can definitely feel it. Merry Christmas from Uganda!!!

Dec 25th – Moses & Messach put our 20,000 watt speakers out in the yard, turned on some Ugandan music and within 10 minutes there were 100+ children out there dancing. We told a few of them that we'd have a movie tonight. Good news travels fast around here. They're now we're watching Tom & Jerry and then Home Alone :) Wish you could hear the laughter from the front yard!!!

Dec 25th – is thinking about the Baby in the manger that has done more in my life this year than I could have imagined. All the changes left me wondering why THIS is what His story for me looks like. But the very LEAST I could do was to obey Him. One year ago I was contemplating ending my life. And I did. I gave it to Him. What a year it's been. I need a vacation. Someone agree with me :)

saving lives. literally.

2011-01-15T06:56:00.000-06:00

In review of my 3rd week here, I found a recurring theme. We were starting to save lives. And yes, I realize that God saves lives. But we are his co-workers. We can sit back and do nothing, or we can fight for our brothers and sisters. We can donate to the work being done, or we can use the money to buy ourselves another material thing does nothing to better the life of someone else.

Dec 13th – is blessed to have a man who will get up with me at 2am and drive me to to the hospital in Kampala. Never thought we'd make it here but I'm feeling much beetah now!

Dec 13th – ‎"What hurts you hurts me, too. Thank you for allowing me to take the lead and get us the help we needed. You're easy to care for when you're not stubborn." - George

Dec 13th – is in love with a Man who could wipe out the pain & hopelessness I see on a daily basis, but He chose ME to help Him. That's LOVE, people!

Found this on the porch of my new home :)

Dec 13th – never knew what I was REALLY made of until I survived a 2.5 day stomach virus in the village. I did cave and ask God why He chose a pit latrine as my only restroom. For real.

Dec 13th – doesn't mind the bats but I'm asking Messach for a refund if he don't kill that rat I hear in the rafters. I'm hiding under my net, as if it's made of steel. The last thing I need right now is Malaria!

Dec 13th – EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Just had a friend match another friend's $300 donation for new tires on the truck. So tomorrow, if the stomach virus is gone, we'll go get tires and de-worming medicine. There might be slick tires and worms in the village, but tonight there's rejoicing as well :)

I spent yesterday on the couch but grabbed my camera when

the kids gathered to see what I was doing today :)

George's daughter Linda is here for a couple days!

She has him wrapped around her finger. No doubt.

Look what we ran into on our walk up to the school! Right after I took this, he took
off running through the field. It was hilarious but scary at the same time. George
reassured me that it had nothing to do with the flash on my camera :)

Dec 14th – is doing administrative work today. You know, the work most big time orgs pay people to do. But I'm doing it for free so there's no overhead. I'm praising God that He's bigger than all the people that told me NO ONE would sponsor one of these kids without me first having a 501(c)3. Yet God has sent 151 sponsors so far. The attacks are still coming. But that means He's about to do some GREAT things through me :)

Dec 14th – has NEW TIRES on the truck & even had enough money left over for an alignment. Even this girl knows how important THAT is to a new set of tires. Praising God for the 2 sweet friends that donated so that our truck can be a vehicle for Him. Pun intended. George is also checking on the de-worming meds. As for me, I'm finding some VERY encouraging info as I match sponsors with their children. God is good. Period. When I go with George, we get the "Mzungu price" but when he goes alone, they give him the "Ugandan price" and we save enough money to get other much-needed work done. Happy sigh...

Dec 14th – EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Although we haven't profiled ALL the children yet, as it stands now we have more sponsors than children. This doesn't include the partial and/or promised payments. We are still selecting the "new ones" (attending for the 1st time), and getting at least ONE child from each of the 168 homes. NO HOME should have several children in school while the next home has NONE.

Dec 14th – is sitting beside Irene and she's saying (in Luganda), "there is Irene" as she looks at my profile picture. Can't wait to get these kids de-wormed. Every time I hug her and her swollen belly, I cry out to Jesus in my mind. He hears me. He has BIG plans. Bigger plans than all of us could ever dream.

Dec 14th – found a $250 donation in my Paypal acct but only one child was chosen. I contacted her & found out that she sold her doll collection & sent us ALL the proceeds. I'm certain this extra $150 was sent by God to finish paying for ALL the kids to be de-wormed. And HER sponsored child just happened to be the one who sat in my lap that night prompting my plea for de-worming donations. I LOVE how God is in every detail!

Dec 14th – EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! George just got home w/not only 4 new tires but they threw in a brand new spare! And that's not even the GOOD PART! He surprised me w/2 boxes packed FULL of meds! We can now treat EVERY kid for worms! He bought in bulk so we had enough money for Malaria tabs for about 150 kids. We also have meds to treat coughs, colds, wounds (pain & dressing), and stomach upsets! God is good to us :)

meds,

meds,

and MORE meds! best. surprise. EVER.

so long, WORMS!

Dec 14th – Me: Thank you for surprising me with meds today. George: You have to really study you to figure out what it takes to make you happy. The normal things, you don't even look at. Me: What do you mean? Like what? George (pointing to the dried up flowers he brought to the airport): Like those.

Dec 14th – picked an old lady that needed a ride. She got into the truck bed & just stood there. George told her to sit. She asked how much he was going to charge & he said, "do you want to pay me money?" She said no & he said, "Why did you ask? Sit down so we can go." When we dropped her in the next village she took her time getting out & he said, "Oh, man! Leave in the same speed with which you got in!" Bahahahaha!

Dec 15th – is in Jinja for the morning. Breakfast at The Source Cafe & lunch at 2 Friends. Wish I had time to visit with my friends here but it was a last min decision to get away for the morning. George said that we've done more in 2 weeks than he has in 3 years to improve the lives in the village. That's encouraging, seeing as I was down for a few days. Praising Him for his healing power. I feel so much better today!!!

Dec 15th – George: We should call your Mom and thank her. Me: For what? George: For giving birth to you. Me: Whatever. George: Seriously. She could have decided not to have you. But she did. That decision alone is worth thanking her.

Dec 15th – found out today that there's a home with 6 children that are NOT in school. 6 children. The father won't bring any of them to us to profile. Please pray that God will move him to open his heart to Him and to let us at least help the oldest child, if not several of them. I hate to see any home with NO children in school. They are Muslim. The last thing the father wants is for his kids to go to a Christian School. Please continue to pray. Praying that there aren't more out there that feel the way he does.

Dec 16th – woke to the screams of some child that was being beaten for stealing something. Seeing as they burn you alive if you are caught as an adult, a little beating should be for your own best interest. But it really makes me furious. I know kids back home are spoiled but there should be a medium. Period.

Dec 16th – gave Mathias (the child I sponsored in July) new clothes a week ago. He's had them on every single day since. I just had Eugene ask if the clothes have been washed (as if I couldn't tell) and he said no. He says his grandmother is too busy. When we got home yesterday, George said "I look at her & wonder how she does it." Part of me wants him to come live with me when I get in my home. The other part gets it.

Dec 16th – was trying to blog and was overwhelmed with some raw emotions that I'd tucked away. I felt the tears coming so I went to my room to lie down. About 5 mins later, Joviah & Irene's Mom came in and said, "Auntie Christie? You are sleeping?" I said, "No, I'm not sleeping. I'm just a little sick." She said, "I have prepared lunch for you." Reminds me that I have to keep going. Even during the hard parts.

Dec 16th – is looking out the window where two children with swollen bellies have just been bathed from a basin with about a gallon worth of water and now the 4 yr old is washing her shoes from the same water. Thinking about the tubs full of water that are wasted every day on baths when hundreds of people would be well if we had clean water. Wishing George would get home soon. But if he didn't work, we wouldn't make it.

George's son Messach is profiling the kids since he's not here today.
He did a great job :)

Dec 16th – looked on as George profiled a child today. He said, "Ah ha! His last name is Waiswa. Do you remember what that means?" I said, "YES! He's a twin." We asked where his twin was & was told that he died. Heartbreaking. It was easy to sit in the States & talk about how much fun this profiling would be when I got here. It's NOT fun. These kids are hurting. But I'm here to let them know they are not alone.

Dec 16th – just found Joviah asleep with half her body on the sofa and the other half in a chair. I woke her up to reposition her and she's burning up with a fever. In one week we've treated 3 kids with Malaria. If we took a day and stopped by each home, there's no telling what we'd find. Jesus, we need you. Pour out Your mercy on us.

Dec 16th – was barely hanging on when George got home. I told him that Mathias' clothes haven't been washed since I gave them to him. He called him over & asked who did his laundry. He said he did. George asked where the clothes were that he had on when I gave him the new ones. He said he washed them and put them aside. George told him to go put them on & wash the new ones. I broke down as soon as he walked off. George has this rule that when you receive something new, you give "the old one" away. Since those were probably the only clothes Mathias had, so he didn't exactly do what George said. I think he'd been wearing the new clothes the whole time so George wouldn't know he didn't give the others away. Heartbreaking.

Dec 16th – needed to get away, so we took the neighbor to pick something in Bombo. It's very rare that the neighboring villages see a woman driving, much less a white woman. And since George says I am "too white", they saw me coming for miles. A couple of cows got away from some boys and I almost took one of them out. The dirt road to Bombo is quite bumpy so I had to keep apologizing to our neighbor in the truck bed.

Amazing view in Bombo town :)

Dec 16th – can ask George's son Messach to cook me some water for a shower in Luganda. I found out the hard way that mispronouncing the word water in that sentence asks him to cook me some poop instead. I should practice more before asking in front of the whole family. I will also be firing George as my teacher. He had me say "You are my boss" in front of his family. They erupted in laughter! I'm soooo done with him :)

Dec 17th – had George try a dill pickle for the first time. Not sure what he thought it was supposed to taste like but the look on his face was priceless!

Dec 17th – had a boda pull up beside us with a girl on the back who had just been discharged from the hospital from giving birth. The baby's a couple hours old & on a boda with only its Mom's arms for protection. Life is hard here.

Dec 17th – ‎"I don't want to be part of the problem. I want to be part of the solution." - George . . . said about the Karamojong kids banging on my window begging for money.

Dec 17th – just passed through a presidential candidate parade and George said, "they can start rioting RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW!!!" Glad we will be tucked away in the village during elections.

Dec 18th – was teaching Messach how to drive a manual while sitting in the yard. George told me to just show him how without actually driving anywhere, since it was about to get dark. I felt he was learning quickly (and George walked up to the school), so we took off down the road. We ran up on a gazillion people gathered around where one guy was beating (with a thick rope) another guy. Reminded me of Passion of the Christ. Messach got out to see what was going on and he said "he tried to ruin the guy's bike and they're trying to kill him." I quickly turned around, got back to the house and wind-sprinted up to the school. When I saw George, I lost it. I talked him into going to check on the boy, so we walked back to the house. George left and his sister tried to tell me how common it is here and how it's best to just keep walking when you see that. She said there was nothing to it and that George would be back soon because he couldn't do anything. I just shook my head and tried not to cry. 10 mins later, someone said George went by and was either taking someone to the police or taking the bike to get it fixed. I'm blessed that he stands when others sit and watch. I will never understand the parents that allow their children to stand and watch that sort of thing happen. The guy might have stolen the bike, but no one deserves to be beaten in the way that I saw him being beaten. No one.

** We saved his life. No doubt about it. He said he was beaten so badly. He said that because I had already been by and turned around quickly, they were expecting him so they had lightened up on him. George took the guy to jail. That's the best place for him tonight. Praising God that I went down that way instead of staying in the yard like George told me. Also praising Him that George is so respected that his going there didn't cause more problems. That guy had really caused some trouble and was about to set peoples' homes on fire because he was so drunk. But still, no one deserves to be beaten within an inch of their lives. No one. Period.

Giving Mathias a hug after we gave him the 4 outfits we bought yesterday for $7.

He didn't even know how to hug me back. Bless his heart. I sooo love this boy
and am blessed that he spends his days here in the yard.

George's Mom, Mathias, Joviah & Irene

When I posted this next picture, the caption with it read:
We went to one of the "other parts of the village" where I've never been
and we ran into Sharon, one of the sponsored girls that lives there :)

The TRUTH is that Gary Hines, a friend from my hometown, contacted
me and said that his wife, Lauren, had just lost her grandmother and he
was sponsoring Sharon as a Christmas gift for his family. He wanted
some additional pictures so he could create something for them to open
on Christmas morning. Praise God for men that not only care for the
things He cared for, but who love their families that much.

George with Sharon & her family :)

When we finished visiting Sharon, we went to a Christmas party
in Pastor Henry's village. One of George's adopted sons, Brian, was staying
with Pastor Henry while George was in school in Mukono.

Brian playing one of the games :)George on the drums. He's actually pretty good :)

Good on the drums but not so much on the dancing!

He might not be any good, but he broke it down for 'em :)

I need a tan. Seriously.

broken

2011-01-05T03:22:00.061-06:00

As I poured over my 2nd week's status updates trying to figure out what to title this post, I came up with one word. Broken. Broken by the culture. Broken by how much a short term mission trip shelters you from the REALITY here. Broken by things I wasn't prepared for. Broken by the faces of the children who didn't even know what was going on as I took their profile pictures. Broken by the stories George would tell me that the kids told him as he profiled them. Broken by wanting to serve but having everyone rush to serve me. One word: broken.

Dec 6th – George: We have to be at the school to profile more kids at 10. Me: How do the parents know what time it is? George: They look at the sun or either the shadows on the ground. Me: Oh, naw. I'm late for everything even though I have a watch. I'd never make it looking at the sun or shadows.

Ever wondered what Jesus' feet look like?

Dec 6th – is thankful to finally be living an uncomfortable life. There is something about this country that draws you in. And it holds you there. Today is the first day I didn't break down. But George did. And he grew up here. That speaks volumes for the work God is doing through us. Volumes. When I visited it was different. I was shielded from the things I saw today. I'm here. It's real. And it hurts.

Be. Still. My. Heart.

Dec 6th – is broken over the absence of affection that is shown to others in this village. You would NEVER know two people were married. Kids aren't shown affection. I've disrespected people twice and today was only my 3rd full day. Good thing I get a free pass with the whole kneeling to men because oh, geez, I'd be in big trouble. When the women kneel to George and he tells them not to do that, it offends THEM. Sigh...

Dec 6th – asks that you pray for the 2 kids George is taking to the clinic now. They have been sick all day with Malaria. Ages 1 & 4. They are the kids of one of the teachers here. I love his heart. It's 9pm here and he's had a really tough day, yet he keeps going because they depend on him.

** They just returned. Each child had a really high fever and got shots. We have to take them back tomorrow morning. Another example of unexpected emergencies as well as unexpected costs that we incur on a daily basis. Even more reason why I need you guys to help spread the word about the jewelry I have for sale!

I've been daydreaming about this g-nut sauce for 4 months now!!!

Dec 6th – I got a message on my wall from my sweet friend-I've-never-met, Grace Hartmann. She's spent a lot of time in Uganda but has yet to spend a night in a village. I'm hoping that happens next times she visits. So she asked how Uganda was going so far. Here's my response:

*** Somewhat rough adjusting because of the things I didn't get to see of the culture last time. It's like I was guarded from it because I was a visitor. Now that they know I live here, it's on. And the kids? Man, that whole part of the culture is disheartening. They aren't allowed to think for themselves. It's going to take some time before they understand that they have sponsors. They have NO CLUE about any world outside this village and I had these crazy dreams of them being excited when I came to take their pictures - knowing they were being matched with a family that chose to help them specifically. They're clueless. Breaks my heart. I am resting in George's ability to show me how to slowly teach them and the parents about the program. Oh man. Another convo with George that left me sobbing. Village life is just so different than other settings. Kids aren't shown affection like they are in surrounding orphanages/homes. You're looked down upon if you give them anything that might spoil them. So all my gifts are at the house and I'm having to figure out how to introduce those. Further proof that short term trips are more harmful than helpful (in most cases). Not mine, of course, because it brought me here indefinitely. But you know what I mean. Oh, and I kinda patted George's back as he did the interview and I offended some of the women. Ugh. Village life is different than having your own home where you can keep some of your own culture, if that makes any sense. I sat down and crossed my legs at an introduction yesterday, too. Forgot that it's offensive. Just trying to laugh my way through this learning curve :) CAN. NOT. WAIT. TILL. YOU. GET. HERE.

Dec 7^th – spent the day in downtown Kampala. Oh, man! I sooo wish I would have been able to take pics of the stuff I saw there but it's getting close to elections and people are looking for an excuse to riot. George locked the keys in the truck and I stood there watching a lady rip the legs off of grasshoppers so she could cook them as the guy tried to unlock the door with a close hanger. We finally found a car thief to show us how to break into the truck. Arrived back in the village to find a gazillion parents/kids waiting to be profiled. Resizing the pics and uploading them now. George has the profile info and he went to Bombo. I'm hoping we get a day off soon where I can get every picture updated. One of the little girls about finished me off. God bless the one who chooses to sponsor her. I prayed very hard to hold the tears back. When George returns, we're going to finally watch a movie. Finally. We need a break. Really.

Dec 7th – Dear God, PLEASE help my heart understand that it is their culture to kneel when they serve me. PLEASE keep the look of shock off my face and I try to gesture that they don't HAVE to do it. PLEASE keep the tears from my eyes as I watch them hand wash every stitch of clothes I wore this week. PLEASE help me from feeling like a big jerk as I watch her on her knees RIGHT NOW ironing my shirts. PLEASE help me. I am seriously about to lose it. You know that feeling right before you break down. The burning in the back of your throat. Yeah. Oh, man. I'm staring at the ceiling but it's not helping. OK, she's done now. God bless her.

Dec 8th – is reviewing the info of the kids we took in yesterday. These are all kids that have never been to school. Some 9 years old. That rips my heart out. My eyes make it past their age to find that they are living with a grandparent. They've lost both parents. They've lost hope. But God gave us Jesus. He is the Hope of this world. I am here to show them Him.

Coming from a culture where kids argue with their parents about cleaning their room, it's hard to see kids working this hard. I'll get used to it. I will.

Dec 8th – is praising God for the friends He gives me. George went to Kampala today and I stayed behind to work on the profile info of the kids AND because I didn't want the guy he's picking to ride in the truck bed. And what do you know? The network is severely unstable today. But I'm praising God for the sweet couple that bought this computer for me. Every time I open it, I thank Him. Every time I turn on my camera, I thank another best friend. Every time I look into the eyes of these children, I thank God for EACH OF YOU who have prayed me here, sponsored one of them or sent a donation for this village.

Dec 8th – Remember the girl who washed my clothes yesterday and was on her knees ironing them for me last night? Today I found out that she is a widow. I was updating the profile info when I got to a pic I recognized. It was her daughter! I called the Mom in and showed her the pics of the sponsors of her two girls. I have NO WORDS for the sounds of joy that came as she saw them!

Joviah & Irene before their new dresses...

Joviah & Irene in their new dresses :)

Dec 8th – went outside to find Eugene, Joviah, Irene, and Mathias, the little boy I sponsored in July, sitting in the front yard eating mangos. Mathias has had the same shirt and pair of shorts on for 4 days now. Do you think they've been washed? They haven't. Does it look like he's had a bath? It doesn't. My heart breaks for these kids.

Dec 8th – (my comment on a convo about a borehole): It's a lot of money and I got really discouraged about that last time. But it's different now. I live here and we don't have clean water to drink. I have money so I can buy it. No one else here does. A borehole is drilled down to the clean, fresh water. Its supply is not dependent on the weather. It is neverending. Where there is a REAL need, He will provide. These children are His heart. NO DOUBT in my mind we will raise the money, we're just having to go one project at a time. Every day is overwhelming in its own right. We'll get there. I believe that.

Looking into the eyes of Jesus...

Dec 8th – broke down trying to discuss yesterday with George, went into my room where we both lost it, got ourselves together and went to the school where more children were waiting to be profiled. George reached to touch the very first child and he was burning up with a fever. George gave him his leftover Malaria tabs and another life was potentially saved. Rough day. Clinging to His promises.

George counting Malaria tabs.

Dec 8th – might not be able to understand Luganda but I saw something on George's face today that met no language barrier. It was pain. It was raw. It hurt me and I didn't know why. I found out later that the boy was telling him that he had no parents and was explaining how he lost them. God bless George. He hears the pain but all I do, for now, is see it in their eyes.

Me: I should give him a new toy. George: He would keep it and continue playing with what he has. Me: Why? George: If you received your very first toy you ever had in your whole life, you wouldn't want to use it either.

Dec 9th – didn't get a shower yesterday because it was pouring rain at my normal shower time. I like to shower at night so I don't have to use a curtain. I'm such a pro now that I don't even need George standing out there with me. The bats flying overhead don't bother me anymore. It's just me, them, the stars, a washcloth, warm water in a bucket and Jesus. Oh, and the Dove body wash.

Looks like they've been watching me bathe!

Dec 9th – just took a shower and washed my hair in water that most people would refuse to wash with. And I'm not complaining. I'm thankful that it rained last night and that we had water in our collection tank. It was not run through some fancy schmancy filtering system. It came from our roof :) Praising Him for the life He chose for me. Because there's no way I would've signed up for this! ‎

Dec 9th – "We have to get you an African toothbrush. This mzungu one is not working. You do everything like we do except for that." - George Magera

Dec 9th – There's a rooster here that crows at 3 minutes before the hour. Every hour. Without fail. He's off by 3 minutes? What's up with that? It's 3:35pm and another one is sounding off. George said that he must have eaten something bad. Ba. Baha. Bahahahahaha!

I'm STILL not used to the "new" Maria. Check out those yummy rolls :)

If you donated to have the floors and walls finished in the church/school, check it out now!!!

Dec 9th – just had a father show up at the house with his daughter to be profiled. Today was a day of rest. We were hiding inside. We just needed a day. But I fell in love. I called her inside and she sat in my lap while George profiled her. I gave her a new dress and another outfit. I asked George why her stomach is swollen. She probably has worms. My heart is broken again. We need YOUR help. Please.

Here she is in her new dress. Notice the smile. That is what HOPE looks like. She knows someone cares. Right now that is the mzungu in the village. Soon that Someone will be Him. I will tell her. I promise.

Someone asked George how soon he could start on the borehole. Here’s my response: We need to be careful when discussing projects with George. He will make one phone call and MINUTES later they will be drilling a well. Believe me. You don't know this guy. He moves fast. And you never know what hits you until you walk up on a project that you were just "discussing" the day before :)

Dec 9th – George just told me about a fight that happened today. Our neighbor got saved 2 weeks ago and her family came from Kampala to kill her because of it. His Mom was next door fighting for the girl's life while we were in the house here. God bless her. He also told me about our neighbors across the road that practice Witchcraft. They put things up at the church and one man that came to church a few weeks ago was forced by spirits to go home and boil hot water & pour it on himself. He died a week later. Spiritual warfare is real. Please pray.

Dec 9th – was purchased for a price. And you were, too. I encourage you to spread His love today. To everyone you see. Everyone you talk to. Everyone you touch. Everyone. There's no one that you don't like enough not to share the Gospel with. No one you don't like enough not to want to see in Heaven. Do something. Anything.

I drove up to the school yesterday and ALL the women were in shock that I could drive. George's nephew Eugene says I drive better than Uncle because he has to ride in the truck bed and I drive slow enough where dirt doesn't get in his mouth.

Remember the brand new soccer balls we brought in July? Yeah :)
Tried to give them a new one. George says they will "use that one up"
before using the new one. We have A LOT to learn from these people.
A LOT. God bless this village. Bless them.

‎”Christie is holding a kid of the lady that is helping us at the house. She saw it and said that the kid is going to be spoiled. She has no time to love on them because there are so many problems around her. The sister is just here very amazed. Expression of love is not something people here know to do. It is sad that people cannot love freely and openly.” – George Magera

Dec 10th – must have "picked a nail" in the village because we had a flat tire before we got to the main road. Guess who left his tire iron in Mukono? I told him that I was tellin' Momma on him ;) Praise God for people in the village that had a tire iron even though they don't own a vehicle! The back two tires are slick and I noticed that the night he picked me from the airport. MUST. GET. NEW. TIRES.

Dec 10th – really NEEDS new tires on the truck. This is not a WANT. However, we also NEED to get the children de-wormed & get clean drinking water into the village. We can have a borehole set up so that water is distributed to the rain collection tanks that we put there in July. There is no rain. I am asking that ANY of you that feel God tugging at your hearts to help with ANY/ALL of these projects, to step forward.

Kids watching Master Georgie change our tire :)

All this guy wanted was a picture with this cow. It was tied to a rock. As the guy got close to him, it took off dragging the rock all over the place. Good thing I have an awesome zoom lens :)

Dec 10th – just drove an hour to Garden City to switch internet providers. George thinks that it might be a good idea for me to go ahead & pull my hair out because he won't have to help me wash it. I am praying for sanity. It's very frustrating. Pray this new service works!!! As I type this, we're sitting in traffic and there's a guy at my window trying to sell me something. If he can read, he's reading this. Bahahaha!

Dec 10th – EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Someone just donated $500 to get the kids de-wormed! Praise God with me, people! He's on the move. Don't miss this...

Dec 10th – has someone that will match $300 in donations to get us new tires. Again, this is a NEED, not a WANT. We had a flat just this morning. If you donate via Paypal & send the money to compassinmyheart@yahoo.com and click on the Personal tab and then click on "Payment owed", Paypal won't keep the fees. PLEASE HELP. We need about $600 for 4 new tires. We have half!!!

LOVE this :)

Dec 11th – is disappointed that the new internet service provider won't let us connect at all. We got into the village last night, shortly after posting that last video and found the power off. I gave George's son Messach and his nephew Eugene their first Snickers bar. George went to lie down and I watched Messach & Eugene play "Go Feesh" by the light of a kerosene lamp. LOVE MY LIFE :)

Dec 11th – is thankful that He reminds me that although I feel very dim some days, I shine like a city on a hilltop.

Dec 11th – just had a mother show up at the door with a little boy with a high fever. I did not know where George kept the tabs so she went home while we looked for them. I found the Infants' Pain Relief drops that I brought last time so we walked to her home and gave him some. He didn't want to have anything to do with me. Bless his heart.

Family looking on as the child took medicine.

Dec 11th – is cringing as George is having a jigger dug out of his foot. Does anyone want to donate so we can have the village sprayed?

**response to someone asking how much it costs: We'll check tomorrow. My head is spinning. So much need. I know this much . . . God didn't put that jigger there for no reason. I try to address things as I see them. Just like the girl that sat in my lap with a swollen stomach. Normally would've worn a 3T, yet it was too tight around her belly. She left here in a 5T and it was hanging off of her except the shoulders. I watch two more kids being bathed outside the window here with swollen bellies. Heartbreaking. Makes me furious that these kids live like this. Breaks my heart that a couple years ago I made $72k, drove an Audi A6, lived in a $250,000 townhouse and was proud of all the STUFF I owned. I could have been making a difference in the world. But I didn't know anything outside the American Dream. Breaks. My. Heart. Period.

Just another day in the village...

Dec 11th – is eating watermelon, mango & pineapple by the light of a kerosene lamp and this computer screen. I hear George talking to me but I can't see him. He says my skin "gleetahs" in the dark. Usually his teeth glow. But not tonight. Joviah & Irene are sitting at my feet singing some song in Luganda. God is good to me :)

Dec 12th – should be blogging but my stomach is giving me some pain. George went to get his daughter. He promised me he would study while I watch her today. He misses her so much. I think I should go lie down before she gets here. She's gonna give me a run for my money. And I'm broke.

Dec 12th – George is teaching me Luganda in front of his family. You can hear them laughing all over the village! There's no telling what I'm saying ;)

George is getting GOOD at washing my hair!
I'm glad that Eugene is good with the camera because I was afraid I wouldn't ever have any pictures with me in them :)

so long, familiar

2011-01-02T14:18:00.010-06:00

I've been writing this blog post in my head for over a week now but now that I'm actually looking at the screen I have no idea where to begin. I'm afraid I can't put into words for you what life has been like for the last 2 weeks. But I'll try!

Let's start with the night before I left the States. I had 4 containers that were inch-per-inch the maximum allowed dimensions per Delta's regulations. Do you think they had a single thing packed in them at 6pm? Yeah, not hardly. You see, I get crazy anxious when things are all done and I'm just sitting there waiting on the next thing. In this case, the next thing would have been getting in the car and heading to the airport. Sleep isn't even factored in, because I don't sleep when I'm anxious. That being said, I started packing at around 7pm. I didn't have the fancy scales that you hook to the luggage and get a nice digital number for how many pounds you have. Nope, I used the old fashioned method - me and the floor scales. I just weighed myself then got Melinda to hand me the container to see how close I was to 50lbs. The clothes I packed for the kids and the stuffed animals were all in space saver bags. Some of them were 15-20lbs each. I think the containers were like 5lbs each to begin with. So we packed and weighed and removed and added and weighed again.

I didn't buy anything for me because I was going to pack the things I had for the kids and see how much room I had left. But I had none left. My two small carry-ons were all for my things. I brought my clothes, 2 laptops, camera, blanket, neck pillow, and CDs. And personal items? WHAT personal items? I had deodorant, toothpaste and a toothbrush. Nothing else. My "last minute trip to Walmart" where I spend money I wouldn't normally spend because it isn't "last minute" didn't happen. I figured that if I'm going to be living here, I need to act like it and start using the products from here.

We arrived at the Atlanta airport an hour before we were supposed to. My flight left at 12:50 and I kinda told Melinda noon. She got out of the van with me and helped me carry all 4 containers inside to check them. I was pretty proud of my "old fashion weighing system" because the weights were 49, 49, 47 & 46. And don't EVEN think I didn't beat myself up over the wasted 9 lbs. 2 containers were free and I was told that because I was traveling on a missionary status, that the 3rd one would be free as well. But it wasn't. With all the opposition I had faced in the weeks leading up to my departure, I kinda expected it. Didn't mean I wasn't upset. I think what hurt the most was the lady that said if someone had made notes in the system, I would have been allowed to take one for free. Like that's all that's needed? It's against the rules BUT if there are notes, I'm allowed? Something about that doesn't sit right with me. If you don't allow it, you don't. Period. Don't tell me that "we could have IF". If you don't allow it, you don't. Period.

After forking over $400 ($200 per extra container), it hit me just how far that $200 that I wasn't (but kinda was) expecting to pay would go in Uganda. I cracked. In all my travels, God has always made me pretty strong at airports. Until that day. It wasn't even about the money. It was that I had finally arrived at "the day". I wasn't just going to visit a country that had stolen my heart. I was moving there. I was standing there having already said bye to Mom and was about to say bye to Melinda for who knows how long. I mean, my return ticket says March but we all KNOW that means nothing. I knew what I was leaving behind. I also knew what was waiting for me in Uganda. It was a different feeling than the last time. I was just going to "visit" and see what God moved me to do. I was anxious, but not sad. This time, I was sad. I said my goodbyes and prayed with all my heart that I wouldn't sob all the way through security.

WOW! I wrote all of the stuff above on Dec 16th but couldn't finish it. Instead of moving forward with what would now be one whole month worth of info, I'll just post some of my Facebook status updates. The network here is more like dial-up without the up. In the city, the speed is 100-150 kb/s and here in the village, I'm good to get 12. Yes, I said twelve. So it was just easier to throw a status update on Facebook but my New Year's Resolution, whatever THAT means, is to blog more. So I'm here. I'll do one blog post per week that I've been here so they're not crazy long.

Dec 1st – We're on our way to the airport. Today is World AIDS day. I want to encourage everyone to educate themselves today. If you are sponsoring a child in the village that I’m moving into, it is highly likely that your child is an orphan as a result of AIDS. Also pray for all the children waiting to be adopted only to get bypassed because of someone’s ignorance.

Dec 1st – Lady: Where you headed? Me: I’m moving to Uganda today! Lady: OH. Is it because you want to, or… Me: Funny you should ask. I once told my Employer to send me anywhere but there, and look where I’m headed. Lady: That’s unfortunate. They shouldn’t be allowed to do that but they always do. I hate working for people like that. Me (whispering): I work for God :)

Dec 1st – My bags weighed in at 49, 49, 47 & 46. And don’t EVEN think I didn’t kick myself for the 9 lbs I wasted. I worked all night trying to get them as close as possible without going over. Speaking of working all night – Mom & I filled orders for 50+ more necklaces from 3:30-5am.

Dec 1st – GOT a hot chocolate at Starbucks. Woot! AND the guy that walked up with a cup from there that made me want one is ALSO going to Uganda. About 2am I decided to check again to see if I could select my seat online and it finally let me. GET THIS – he’ll be sitting in the seat right beside me. God bless his ears :)

Dec 2nd – is in love with a Man who calmed the ocean with a word.

Dec 3rd – good news: I got to sit in World Business Class on the flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe. bad news: It was snowing in Amsterdam and our flight was severely delayed. George arrived at the airport at 6pm because I was supposed to arrive at 8:15pm but I finally got to see his face around 1am. Bless his heart.

Dec 3rd – just woke up in Entebbe and am getting a REAL shower, then heading to the village! I am beyond blessed.

Dec 3rd – is eating breakfast with Master Georgie. He just said herbal WITH the H! He said I could give him a hard time about English so he would give me a hard time when I try to learn Luganda, IF I learn it at all. Haha! Looks like we’re off to a great start!!!

Dec 3rd – hopes that one day seeing children picking through the trash will be the exception, not the norm. Heartbreaking.

Dec 3rd – just got mauled by a gazillion kids! I’m blessed to be HOME! Profiling 30 kids, then going to see Maria!!!

Dec 3rd – REALLY expected to break down when I saw Maria and her Mom but I stood there in utter shock because they are almost unrecognizable! They are soooo chunky!

Dec 3rd – note to self: the squatty potty does NOT work best with jeans on, much less in the dark. You have to be a REAL woman to pee on the bottom of your pants leg and go on as if you didn’t.

Dec 3rd – We pulled up to the school and the kids surrounded us. They were banging on the truck and on the windows. We just sat there waiting for them to calm down and the next thing we knew, the door came open. George said, "they found out how to get in!" Bahahahahahahaha!

Dec 3rd – Here are the kids that were sponsored in July. The only 3 missing are the bro/sis combo of Grace, Moses & Rachel. They're here with their new shoes and we measured them for their uniforms.

Dec 3rd – asks that you pray for the parents of the children that are in school. We came to the village after having very little rest and only profiled 30 kids today. George asked that everyone go home except the 30 families of those kids. He told them that we would take more tomorrow. They were afraid if they left, their kids would not get an opportunity to go to school in January. Bless their hearts.

Dec 4th – woke up to the sounds of a rooster and some goats. Then I did it! I took a shower African style. I made George stand on the other side of the curtain as if something was going to get me. He’s awesome! Now we’re going to eat breakfast (10:45am) and go profile some more kids!

Dec 4th – is listening to Moses, Messach & Eugene giggle as they watch a movie on George's laptop. I'm about to start back putting the profile info under the pics. Will just finish the names and ages and do the rest tomorrow. It's been a long day. Parents from surrounding villages brought their kids to try to get them accepted into the school. Of course we had to turn them away. Praying for their hearts tonight.

Dec 5th – A picture is worth a thousand words and this one totally reinforces what George has been trying to teach me about the culture here. I gave them a brand new ball (that we brought last time), yet the continued to try fixing the old one that we gave them in July. LOVE these people!

Dec 5th – Found out that Mathias, the child I sponsored in July, moved into the house across from George's Mom's. The lady we had move in to care for Maria and her Mom used to live there. Mathias lives with his grandmother and brother (who has Epilepsy like Maria's Mom). He spends a LOT of time here. I got THIS awesome shot of him before we left for Kampala.

Dec 5th – just saw a child chasing his piglet through the village, got a video of Maria, had her Mom extend her hand to shake mine, and just saw Pastor Henry for the first time since I've been home! It's going to be a great day!!!

Dec 5th – wishes y'all could see what I'm seeing right now. Praying that the body of Christ would stand for those who cannot stand for themselves like we were CREATED to do! This isn't optional, people!

Dec 5th – just left the mall in Kampala. We had to get a new kettle to boil our tea and shower water. I am feeding George sour cream & onion potato chips while he drives us back home. It's his 1st time having them :) I LOVE hearing him talk to the traffic!!! Bahahaha!

Dec 5th – is thankful for a man who spends 15 mins at a roadside market to find me some oranges (for my cold), only to return to the truck with green/yellow little fruit :)

Dec 5th – wanted to find out how many children in the village have HIV so we can better help them get treatment but am discouraged that we can't get them tested. My heart is broken today for this and other things I've learned about this culture. God bless them. I serve a God that is bigger than the hurt I am trying to hide today.

Dec 5th – went to give Maria a baby doll and some clothes and by the time I got back down to George's Mom's to shower, the power was off. It's already dark outside so either way I'm taking a bucket shower in the dark. This ought to be fun. Should've brought a head lamp :)

**And Mom, Maria's Mom reached for my hand and shook it. She said to thank you for the blanket you made for her :)

Dec 5th – just showered under the stars and had to have George help me wash my hair for the very first time here in the village :)

George's two sons, along with his nephew, were killing dinner while we were washing my hair. I asked them what they were doing and they said they didn't know the English word for it but then said, "undressing the chicken."

Dec 5th – Me (as I was uploading the pic of George helping me wash my hair): Did you know that I'm a person that likes to have someone do something with me? George: FOR you or with you? Me: WHAT? What is THAT supposed to mean? George: I was just asking for clarity. . . . his cute accent didn't get him outta THAT one! He don't know who he's messin' with :)

Dec 5th – George: What are you doing? Me: Trying to see if my camera will take pictures of the stars. George: You don't have stars in your country? Me: Ba. Baha. Bahahahahahaha.

3 days, 3 necklaces, 3 winners

2010-11-28T21:24:00.041-06:00

If you've been on Facebook this weekend, you know I got my new shipment of Uganda Magazine necklaces on Friday. They are made from recycled magazine pages. Pages that would otherwise be thrown away are recycled into beautiful pieces of jewelry. Talk about trash to treasure. My friend Sherry's 8 year old son said it best when he said, "It's amazing that something so beautiful can come from such poverty." Take a look at them!

Aren't they STUNNING? To celebrate the fact that I have 3 days until I leave, I want to give 3 of them away! Want to win one? Yes? Good, because I love, love, LOVE doing giveaways :) So how do you enter? There are several ways:

share a link to this blog post on Facebook - 1 entry
share a link to my blog on your blog - 1 entry
buy a piece of jewelry - 1 entry per piece*

*You can buy here on my blog by clicking on the red STORE button in the upper right-hand corner. I have all of the pieces available listed in a photo album on my Facebook page, so if you want a specific necklace, you will need to comment under it. If we aren't friends on FB yet, just click on the badge to the right to send me a friend request :)

You have several chances to enter. Once you're done, post a comment below and let me know which method(s) you used. If you have purchased jewelry within the last couple days and want to be entered into the giveaway, be sure to leave a comment below! However, if you shared the link within the last couple days, you will need to share it again to be entered.

I will draw for the 3 winners on Tuesday night, since I leave on Wednesday at noon. It is possible for one of the winners to win 2 necklaces, or even all 3 :) How exciting would THAT be?

this sister

2010-11-16T14:22:00.011-06:00

Who accepted Christ in January and prayed to lose her job so she could do something radical? This sister.

Who got her prayer answered 8 days later and was on the verge of being homeless? This sister.

Who got her cable and internet turned off, leaving her with only power and her Bible for a few months? This sister.

Who felt God calling her to work for Him but was mortified at the thought of following Him to the hard places? This sister.

Who decided in May to step out of her comfort zone and raise money for a mission trip? This sister.

Who got an iPhone for her birthday JUST so she can keep up with her fundraising? This sister.

Who gave up her apartment and king size bed for a sofa in her sister's basement? This sister.

Who completely freaked out when she checked Paypal to find her very first $20 donation from a FB-friend-she'd-never-met? This sister.

Who did God start to mold into His image, leaving her at the top of satan's hit list? This sister.

Who felt like she was going insane because of this new roller coaster of emotions that she was experiencing? This sister.

Who struggled and tried to hide it but ultimately decided to be transparent on this journey, sharing the good and the bad? This sister.

Who lied to God when she told Him that she would go ANYWHERE but was really only planning a trip to a location that was inexpensive to travel to? This sister.

Who begged God to send her anywhere but Africa? This sister.

Who kept hearing God whisper Uganda but tried to ignore Him? This sister.

Who was overwhelmed as it became clear that God wanted her in Uganda, so she told Him that if Uganda was His plan, to bring in the money so she would know? This sister.

Who found favor with God and was reassured she was walking in line with His will as the donations poured in? This sister.

Who read blog after blog after blog trying to prepare her heart for what she was about to see? This sister.

Who did the "happy dance" when God raised enough money for her to purchase her plane ticket? This sister.

Who forgot to transfer all the money from her Paypal account, leaving zilch in her bank account to purchase that ticket? This sister.

Who was humbled into an "ugly cry" when one of her friends she hadn't seen since high school stepped up to let her use her credit card to buy the ticket? This sister.

Who did satan start waging a war against after God approved her travel request? This sister.

Who told him he was sadly mistaken and decided to fight back? This sister.

Who was burdened by the fact that a village she would be spending time in did not have clean water to drink? This sister.

Who decided 3 weeks before her departure that God wanted her to raise $2500 for a well? This sister.

Who praised His name as the final dollars came in just days before she boarded the plane? This sister.

Who waited until the night before she left to start packing? This sister.

Who stepped foot on African soil and knew she would move there? This sister.

Who praised God in a church with no walls, a tin roof, dirt floor, chickens walking through the service, clouds of dust that would take your breath, and in the midst of it all, felt Him stronger than she ever had before? This sister.

Who arrived in the Bugabo Village and found that Maria was still alive but was being starved by her grandfather? This sister.

Who asked God if He would provide for her if she gave the last $1000 of her savings to build a home for Maria, her mother and their caretaker? This sister.

Who did God use to bring His love to a village without the means to get clean water, by supplying them with 12 water collection tanks? This sister.

Who found out there was room for 23 more children in the school there and asked God to find sponsors for them? This sister.

Who woke up to find that God had found those 23 sponsors within 24 hours? This sister.

Who spent a very humbling 3 weeks in a foreign land that was stealing her heart every moment of the day? This sister.

Who fell in love with the people of Uganda and cried every single time she realized her departure date was closing in? This sister.

Who sobbed all the way through security as she begged God to give her one reason to stay? This sister.

Who did God tell to come back to the US and make preparations to move there? This sister.

Who found the whole "re-entry process" to be one of THE most excruciatingly painful things she had to go through in her new relationship with Christ? This sister.

Who decided to follow Him regardless of how hard it was, because she wanted to live a life of radical obedience? This sister.

Who did God ask to raise money to build a new 2-classroom building so that even MORE children could go to school in the village? This sister.

Who has amazing friends that let God use them to spread the word about my "Buy a Brick, Build up Bugabo" campaign, leading to the school being fully funded in 3 weeks? This sister.

Who found out one month ago that the 120 children that are now in school will be losing their sponsorship funding after December? This sister.

Who didn't think twice about adding those 120 to the 100 that she already has to find sponsors for? This sister.

Who is on her knees asking that He bring those 220 sponsors before she leaves in 2 weeks so she won't be stressed with the logistics of getting their uniforms, shoes, and supplies all during the month of December? This sister.

Who is trusting Him that all 220 children will be starting school in January? This sister.

Who is humbly asking you to share this burden with her by sharing the needs of these children? This sister.

Who is praising God that you're still reading? This sister.

We have 164 children that still need sponsors. Please click here to read more :)

encouragement from a new sponsor

2010-11-12T15:24:00.010-06:00

God just continues to blow me away with who he puts in my path to walk alongside me on this journey. Getting messages like this from a new FB friend-I've-never-met is not coincidence, people. It's God.

"Okay, you will see our sponsorship donation come through very soon. God has blessed us as a couple to be able to sponsor 2 of your amazing kids. I'm so thanking God for this opportunity and for you. If you were not obedient to Him, it would not allow us an amazing opportunity to follow your journey to Uganda and be a tiny part of it. Thank you with for this, with my whole heart.

Christie, I am so very grateful for you. I don't have to have met you, and I don't have to have had the chance to hug your neck (although I'm praying one day I can)!! :) And I don't have to consider it a "leap of faith" to sponsor a child in your program never having done these things before. I don't have to have these things first because the Holy Spirit is written ALL over you and your awesome program in Uganda. You instant messaged me a few nights ago on fb, but really it was the Holy Spirit that instant messaged me. You see, I didn't like the idea of only being able to afford to sponsor one sweet child from the Bugabo Village for some reason and so I prayed about it and I waited. And the Holy Spirit, as of this morning, provided the remainder of the money to allow us to sponsor 2 children! You see, while I was praying about a sponsorship program (for about 5 months now), and there are SO many to choose from and the fact that we are in the referral period of our first adoption of our first sweet child, who coincidentally (if I believed in coincidences) will be born in Africa, and are saving and saving everything we can, and you see, through this journey He literally led me to your program that I had been praying about for at least 5 months, He provided a way for us to sponsor more than 1 child that He was telling me we would do and He is giving me a new friendship with an amazing sister that I feel such likeness in-hearts with!!!

I am praying so hard for your program and you and the kiddos. It's going to get pretty INSANE for you there, because once all of these 220 kids get sponsored....LOOK OUT GIRL!! You're a momma hen with a WHOLE LOTTA chickens! It's going to bring that saying "Raising children is like being pecked to death by chickens" to a whole new level. Whooo! Praise the Lord! I can't wait to hear all about it! I am praying for you Sister. I'm a mess sitting here @ my computer at work! I am happy and excited and thrilled for you ALL at the same time. The kids living in Bugabo Village are about to experience some seriously crazy love!"

Now THAT is good stuff, people. If you are not part of the body of Christ, you are missing out on Someone amazing. I shutter to imagine my life had I not turned to Him. He's pursuing you, too. Don't keep walking away from Him. Because He won't EVER give up. Trust me.

break the hearts

2010-11-11T17:23:00.008-06:00

Dear Jesus, I know the odds. 183 children and a little over 3 weeks until I arrive to start getting them ready for school. Please bring in the sponsors for the children YOU want to be in school in January. Break the hearts of those that You want to sponsor them. And not just a little. Break them the way Yours is broken when Your children are overlooked. Help them to do something about it. Help us all to remember that as the body of Christ, this is our responsibility.

And here I am deep in prayer and in the background I hear this ridiculous news story about the people that went without power and running water on a cruise ship. What about the people in this world that are dying from hunger or preventable diseases? WHY DOESN'T THAT MAKE THE NEWS? Lord, don't let us sit back and allow these children to be forgotten. Let us not be so consumed with the busyness of life. We need to hurt. So hurt us. Maybe then we will react. There needs to be the same sense of urgency when we remember these children as there was for that news story to be gathered and broadcast just now.

Want to permanently change the life of a child for just $100 for the entire year? Click here :)

I have a secret!

2010-11-05T12:44:00.003-05:00

I am the daydreamer type. Always have been! I landed in Uganda and was overwhelmed with tears as we made our way to the van. We all held hands and prayed. I don't even KNOW what they said because I cried the whole time. And believe me, those Ugandans pray for A LOOOOONG TIME. So I knew then that I would move there. So I started daydreaming almost instantly :)

Right before I left, George and I discussed how life-changing the trip was for me and we tossed around the idea about how we could bless someone else with a trip there. So we decided in July that someone would come back with me at the end of the year. Plans fell through because they were OUR plans. Instead of selling the jewelry and giving away a trip, God had us build a school. And now God has us filling that school.

But we're gonna make it happen after a big fundraiser in March and we'll be giving away a trip. We will bring to fruition what we planned in July. Right there in the village. Around the time those stupid rats freaked me out. The only catch is that there aren't any hotel rooms. You've already seen the restrooms, so there might not be any entries, but God is going to bring ONE of you to the village.

Y'all ready for this? I will be bringing back jewelry to sell in late Feb, early March and ONE OF YOU will be going to THE Bugabo Village. If you have sponsored a child, you will have the chance to meet that child and his/her family. How often do you get to do THAT? For FREE? I have wanted to share this for so long but because God kept changing our direction, it just didn't make sense to. I was going there in October to profile the 100 children to start in the new school, bring back some jewelry (and George - haha), do some fierce fundraising, and "give away" a trip to someone for Christmas! But God had other plans for that as well. He gave me an additional 120 kids :)

The ONLY reason I'm throwing it out there now is because God whispered in my ear to reward the people that have chosen to help me out over the past few weeks with these 220 children that He has put in my path. Because He could do all of this by Himself. But He chose ME and YOU. Not the person in front of you, or behind you, or beside you. YOU. So people have already started to get FREE entries into it. They just don't know it :) Are YOU one of them? I'll let you know for Christmas!!!

Maybe you'll be more surprised than I was on this Christmas :) There are so many things wrong with this picture that I don't know where to start!!!

sponsor a child for Christmas...

2010-11-02T17:25:00.054-05:00

...and give the gift of education that will last a lifetime :) I made a post a few weeks ago but am still getting questions about things that are clearly stated in the post. If you would like to read the story about how God has asked me to find sponsors for 220 children, click here.

Here's what you need to know about sponsoring a child in the Bugabo Village:

Cost - $100 will cover tuition, uniform, shoes, school supplies, a meal during school, and medical/dental visits (as needed) for one year. I would prefer the payment in a lump sum. However, if you can only pay monthly, let me know so we can work out the details.

Child - I will get pictures and profiles of the children when I get to the village and will post them in an album on Facebook. The profiles will tell you specifics about the child (name, sex, age, parent(s) names, favorite sport, how many brothers/sisters, what they want to be when they grow up, favorite color, favorite food(s), and favorite animal) and this info will be listed in the caption of each photo. You can then comment under the child you (or your family) chooses. If you are not friends with me on Facebook, add me by clicking on the badge in the right hand column :)

Communication - I will be right there in the village, so communication with your child will be as often as you want to check in with him/her. This will be in addition to the normal communication - exchanging actual letters, and pictures with him/her when I come to visit the States. I also have a brand new laptop that some friends bought for my ministry that has a webcam on it, and have been daydreaming about the children using Skype to communicate with their sponsors. This is something I think your family would really enjoy, especially if you have little ones at home.

Concerns - God has just recently revealed to me what my ministry is for Him. Due to this, I do not have a 501(3)c to make your donations tax deductible at this time, but I am praying about when I can do that. Until then, if you are more comfortable donating to an organization that will give you a tax deduction for your donation, please leave me a comment and I will give you suggestions. Please note that the Bugabo Village sponsorship is only $100/year and the other organizations are usually a monthly commitment of $30-40/month.

You can sponsor by clicking on the "Donate" button in the right column or by sending a check to:

Christie Cotney
PO Box 401
Alabaster, AL 35007

**Thanks to all of you that are donating an extra $5 to cover the fees that Paypal takes from the donation :)

If I did not provide what you need to know to sponsor a child, please leave a comment so I can add it to the post.

I need each one of you to share this on your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Click here to share it. We need to make sure that every single one of these children has an opportunity for an education. We also need to ensure that they are not forgotten.

I will keep this blog post updated with the number of children sponsored. The donation meter on the sidebar will show the same thing but it doesn't show milestones. Oh, I am just waiting for the one. The one that God uses to start the domino effect and before you know it, I have people asking ME if I have any children left to sponsor :)

11/02/2010 - 15 of 220 sponsored
11/03/2010 - 17 of 220 sponsored
11/04/2010 - 23 of 220 sponsored
11/05/2010 - 29 of 220 sponsored
11/07/2010 - 31 of 220 sponsored
11/08/2010 - 34 of 220 sponsored
11/09/2010 - 37 of 220 sponsored
11/11/2010 - 42 of 220 sponsored
11/12/2010 - 46 of 220 sponsored
11/14/2010 - 47 of 220 sponsored
11/15/2010 - 55 of 220 sponsored
11/16/2010 - 56 of 220 sponsored
11/17/2010 - 60 of 220 sponsored
11/18/2010 - 72 of 220 sponsored
11/19/2010 - 76 of 220 sponsored
11/20/2010 - 80 of 220 sponsored
11/22/2010 - 83 of 220 sponsored
11/23/2010 - 85 of 220 sponsored
11/24/2010 - 89 of 220 sponsored
11/25/2010 - 91 of 220 sponsored
11/27/2010 - 96 of 220 sponsored
11/28/2010 - 100 of 220 sponsored
11/29/2010 - 105 of 220 sponsored
11/30/2010 - 110 of 220 sponsored
12/01/2010 - 114 of 220 sponsored

12/02/2010 - 116 of 220 sponsored

12/03/2010 - 122 of 220 sponsored

12/04/2010 - 124 of 220 sponsored

12/05/2010 - 126 of 220 sponsored

12/07/2010 - 127 of 220 sponsored

12/08/2010 - 132 of 220 sponsored

12/09/2010 - 135 of 220 sponsored

12/10/2010 - 139 of 220 sponsored

12/12/2010 - 142 of 220 sponsored

12/13/2010 - 147 of 220 sponsored

12/14/2010 - 152 of 220 sponsored

12/15/2010 - 158 of 220 sponsored

12/16/2010 - 162 of 220 sponsored

12/18/2010 - 166 of 220 sponsored

12/21/2010 - 170 of 220 sponsored

12/23/2010 - 172 of 220 sponsored

12/24/2010 - 175 of 220 sponsored

12/25/2010 - 181 of 220 sponsored

12/26/2010 - 187 of 220 sponsored

12/27/2010 - 194 of 220 sponsored

12/28/2010 - 200 of 220 sponsored

12/29/2010 - 203 of 220 sponsored

12/30/2010 - 204 of 220 sponsored

12/31/2010 - 206 of 220 sponsored

1/2/2011 - 209 of 220 sponsored

1/3/2011 - 212 of 220 sponsored

1/5/2011 - 213 of 220 sponsored

1/6/2011 - 220 of 220 sponsored

I saw God today

2010-11-02T15:41:00.010-05:00

Ever prayed about something and just put it at the alter? That's what I did about my friend Regina Duck. The morning Daddy was moved into a private room at the hospital, I posted that one of my sweet friends from Alex City was in ICU in serious condition. I couldn't even wrap my head around it, as I had just seen a post from her a few days earlier. I was stunned. Shocked to the core. This was one of my friends. This only happens to friends of friends. This was a family that I had spend A WHOLE LOTTA TIME WITH.

This was a girl that had just celebrated her sweet baby daughter's 2nd month in the world.

This was a girl that also had an absolutely adorable 7 year old.

I just couldn't get my head around it. There was some serious denial going on in my heart. I prayed while my family members were talking it over and then I headed over to "Old Faithful" (Facebook). The flood of instant messages had me busy for hours. I lost count at how many people were lifting her up to Him. How many people are so involved in the journey God chose for me that THEY felt like they knew her. How many people prayed with me that day, that night, and the following days. How many people PROMISED me that they would CONTINUE to pray for her throughout her journey to healing. How many people moved my heart beyond measure.

I continued to keep you guys updated and I posted an update shortly after praying over her one night but I removed it shortly after (for fear that she wouldn't want me sharing the details of her at some of her bad moments). And to tell you the truth I cried like a baby that night after Daddy and Melinda went to sleep. I couldn't understand why God would move me to share such intimate details and hear that she wouldn't be comfortable with them. I messaged it to her so that one day, long after she'd gotten out of the hospital, she could look back and see my heart at that very moment. And she did. She read it shortly after she was moved from ICU and she wrote me back with a simple message that read: "I think it's fine & I thank you for prayers. Hopefully I can go home in a few days. Love you!" And although I was relieved that she wasn't upset or yelling at me through the computer, it wasn't very convincing. I was still so ashamed that I didn't even respond.

This morning, she wrote me another message that read: "Will you post that beautiful statement you wrote me the night you visited?" I immediately started sobbing. Had God heard my prayers? All I wanted to do was share with the everyone how I saw God that day. I didn't mean any harm. And you know what? He ALWAYS makes sure He gets the glory. It might be hours, days, weeks, months, or even years, but He's already won. He won at the cross. Praising God for allowing her to feel a little bit of Him through a little bitty girl like me :)

So here's what I posted to Facebook:

"Christie Cotney got to witness God AGAIN as I stood & prayed over Regina Duck a couple of hours ago. They wanted to keep her on the ventilator for 30 mins after she woke up & 10 mins had already passed by the time BJ & I got to go in. It was heartbreaking to watch as she kept crying & mouthing "I want to go home" over & over again. The nurse was really harsh with her so I spoke up & told her that if she remained calm, she could get the tube out in 15 mins. The nurse looked at me, said (in a really rude tone), "NOT NECESSARILY", & began to explain to her that she has a very serious infection (STREP - TYPE A), blah, blah, blah. I quickly interrupted her & said, "you know, you COULD give her some hope. Explain to her that if she stays calm, she can get it out sooner." It was as if God showed up at THAT VERY MOMENT. She turned & looked at me and then back to Regina. She explained, in a soft tone, what was going to happen step-by-step. Regina seemed so calm & was listening intently. Of course I lost it then. God's presence was just TOO OVERWHELMING. It reminded me of this picture! Praising Him tonight for that!"

The caption below this pic on FB . . . I opened the hotel curtains because the sun wasn't out and I climbed back in bed. Started singing "God of this city" and look WHO showed up. Maybe you can't see Him, but I sure can.

The fact that she just allowed me to post a time that was so raw for me...a time that I felt God for the first time soooo strongly in the same room with me gives me HOPE like you wouldn't believe. Thanks, Regina! I love you dearly, sweet girl :)

sweet blurbs

2010-11-02T02:40:00.026-05:00

When I share links that people post, I never just click "Share" and click OK. I always write something in the text box that Facebook provides. That being said, I'm always eager to see what people write when they share a link to my blog posts. Most of the time they just share it. But sometimes, oh sometimes, they just pour their hearts out on behalf of the children. I am putting them here so I will always have them. I've been meaning to do this more often because I don't get a lot of comments on my blog posts themselves but a lot of comments on FB. Here are some of the ones written when sharing the Child Sponsorship post I did:

"I want to encourage the parents out there who are buying teacher gifts to pool the money and sponsor a child in honor of your child's teachers. Your sweet one can choose the child for the teachers and give each teacher a picture and profile of him/her. What better way to give the gift of education to a child in the village while also giving a gift to the teachers that educate YOUR child :) Who's game? " - Me

"Sounds like an excellent idea to me. As a teacher, I always appreciated the gifts that I received from my students, but this would be the BEST gift that my children could give me. ROOM MOTHERS get a letter out to your classroom parents suggesting a donation to sponsor a child! 20 per class @ $5 or $10. Shoot you could sponsor two children!" - Lisa (Hand in Hand)

"Teachers! Want to teach the gift of giving this holiday season? Have your class sponsor child. $100 for an entire year. Get a picture, name, and address of the child. Have your students write letters to him/her in the new year. What a wonderful way to talk about thankfulness and create cultural awareness. 21st Century Skills? Call me, and I will do a program on Uganda for you! :)" - Lisa

"I'm planning to ask the parent's in E's class if they would be interested in pulling together to sponsor a child. I think it would be an incredible learning experience for the children on giving, other cultures, Africa, poverty, education, and much, much more. Will you join me?" - Mom Friday Designs

"Check out this blog post from Christie Cotney, who I used to work with. It is amazing to see what God is doing in her life, how He is is giving her a love for orphans in poverty, and how He is using her in His mission!" - Andrew

"How about the parents getting together and sponsoring a child or two or three. Seriously we spend 10.00 on stupid knick knack stuff that they have an abundance of. It will just collect dust. Give them the joy of knowing that you appreciate education, that you are giving to another child what they give to yours." - Rhonda

"We all need someone in our lives to hold our hand and make us better, may be it has happened before like me. Come join the cause and help Christie support the kids I have worked for 3 years to give an education and the future. Please join the cause and make life worth living for a child today." - George

"Is God leading you to support one of His children? We are all called to do something for the fatherless. Are you doing your part? Prayerfully consider one of these precious kiddos!" - Ashley

"These kids need your help! Think of how differently your life would be had you not had an opportunity to be educated. Would you be where you are today? Do you teach your own children that getting an education is important? Help your child sponsor one of these children. What a great way to show them that an education is so important! I'll bet it will be a GREAT motivator!" - Melinda (my little sister)

"Consider a Unique Christmas Gift!" - Tiffany

"I know you all read Katie's blog. Christie is also moving to Uganda but she won't be living in a home on a gated compound. She is moving into a village that practices witch craft. Please pray for her and follow on her journey in the early stages." - Linda

"Wow, PLEASE read this blog below. Even if just for 2 minutes!! If you read down to the video you won't regret it!! Please read the journey she is on and the journey we can put these beautiful children on to a new path of a promise and hope! It sure has me praying." - Nancy

"This is a GENIUS idea!! I'm going to email our PTSO president to see if our Charter school can do this." - Elizabeth

"Christie is letting God do AMAZING things through her for Uganda. Please take a couple minutes to check out her blog. This girl is not just talking the talk, she is walking the walk." - Anna

"I am personally challenging MY FRIENDS (yes that's YOU!) to sponsor ONE child this year. I have 495 friends, so that means all of these kids can be sponsored by the end of TODAY! (it is a mere $100 for a YEAR!) split it up into two months and its $50 today and $50 next pay day! I know you have the means, now exercise that particle of charity, the PURE love of Christ and give just a little!" - Deanna

"Pray about sponsoring a child! What do you spend $100 on at WalMart? I can spend $100 to take all 7 of us to eat and to the movies? Sponsorship for a child for a YEAR for $100! WOW!! Make a difference in another's life!!!" - Christine

"Please read and help if you can! If you cannot help financially, help with Prayer! WAIT - I have that backwards, please help with prayer AND give if you can!" - John

"I know this woman... She's a friend of mine... And these beautiful kids need sponsors to be educated, get clothing, one good meal, books, shoes! Please help if you can. We are sponsoring a child in honor of A's birthday." - Deb

"Please take a minute to read over this post. As a mother, I couldn't imagine my child being denied the simplicity of waking up and going to school. Christie is seeking people to sponsor these kids and get them an education. She has chosen to give up her life in the states to eventually move to Uganda and personally educate these kids. Her fundraising efforts include some really beautiful handmade jewelry, too! So look at her posts, buy her jewelry, and most of all keep her and her efforts in your thoughts and prayers...I know I do!" - Megan

"I have found a new friend on Facebook and her name is Christie Cotney. I didn't know her, someone on my page just comment on one of her pictures. I got to reading the blog on her page and cried my eyes out all day. She has gone over to Uganda to help the children over there. I learned we take a lot for granted, that the things we have will always be here. But think for a minute, what would you do without running water, power, or a bite to eat? I plead with you please go on to her page and at least buy some jewelry. I am sponsoring a child for just $100.00 per year. It pays for their tuition, shoes, uniform and a meal while they are at school. These kids have really won my heart over. And if any of you know me that is hard to do. DO IT FOR THE KIDS. THEY NEED EDUCATION." - Stormy

"I have seen some pictures about Uganda and thought kids might need extra supports there. Most of us have not been there yet but some have done it and still are. Can you take some couple of minutes from your time and look at the work Christ is doing through our sister Christie? You will love it and consider pushing her forward!" - John

"Let's rethink Christmas dear friends, and the sometimes not so valuable quick gifts we have to pick up for teachers/friends...consider this great idea of joining with other parents and giving the gift of education/food to a child in Uganda and change a life this Christmas. You won't regret it." - Mandi

"Christie went to Uganda, raised money to get 23 kids sponsored for school, then raised money to build a bigger school, then the organization that had sponsored the other kids pulled out, She stepped in and is moving there, but now has 220 kids to get sponsored for the January start." - Mark

"Can you put a price on education? I can't. Christie has a passion for the children in Uganda. She is moving there to become the headmaster of the school (which she raised funds to build) but has 223 kids that need sponsorships. Only $100 for the year, we spend more than that in fast food in a month! Will you sponsor a child and change a life?" - Lisa

"Suppose, for a minute, that you drink two cokes a week. And that these cokes cost about $2 apiece. That’s $4 a week. What if, for the next year, you decided to drink just ONE LESS coke a week? How much would you save? About $100. Enough to send a child in Uganda to school for a WHOLE YEAR. Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?" - Morgan

"This would be a great gift for you, your family and a child who needs help to go to school and more.....read below...only $100 A YEAR can change a child's life!" - Melody

"Would you please consider sponsoring one of these kids for a year? School, uniform, shoes, medical and best of all.... HOPE. $100 for the YEAR. PLUS, this is the type of sponsorship that you would get pictures and see exactly who, what, where, etc. Frank and I sponsored 2 of the kids back in the summer and Christie was able to get us a TON of pictures of the kids, their families, their homes, the kids at school.... you can't get that through other sponsorship programs!" - Kryste

"I think what this person is doing is an amazing testament to her faith in God. Please read her blog and consider sponsoring a child for only $100 a YEAR. I plan on sending in our sponsorship this week. Need a teacher gift?? What about collecting $5 from 20 students and present the teacher with the gift of sponsoring a child in a small village in Africa with an education. There is even the possibility that Christie may be able to Skype when she gets there. Cool classroom project!?! I plan on trying to coordinate this with the mom's in E's class. Mrs. P would love it!" - Mandy

"$100 will cover tuition, uniform, shoes, school supplies, a meal during school, and medical/dental visits (as needed) for one year! Considering giving someone you love this as a gift in their honor! a lot more fun than yet another bottle of lotion of soft squishy socks haha" - Erin

"It is $100 to sponsor a child for an entire school year!! A child that you and your family will get to know, and correspond with!! Maybe you don't have $100 in a lump sum that you can give right now, but how about $10? Find 9 friends willing to partner with you and donate $10 and you can change the course of a child's life!!" - Tracy

"This would make a GREAT Christmas present ...hint hint :)" - Kelly

"What a great Christmas gift!" - Tanya

"Sponsor these kids so they can get and education! This is a FB friend who is moving to Uganda - totally grassroots (not some big organization), trying to make a difference for this village in Uganda." - Heather

"What do you get someone who has everything? How about providing the bare essentials to someone who has nothing in their honor. Please check out how you can sponsor a child in Uganda for only $100 per year!" - Beth

"You know what would make an awesome Christmas present??? Sponsoring one of the beautiful children at the Bugabo Village in Uganda. For the $100 cost of sponsorship it will cover school tuition, school uniforms, shoes, school supplies, a meal during school, and medical/dental visits. What could be better than that? And this is for a whole year! It would not only make a great gift to receive, but it would make a great gift to give someone." - Sarah

"What a blessing" - Paige

"I would seriously like to encourage all of you to consider sponsoring a child. This ministry would be a GREAT place to invest a little of what He has given us to do BIG things in the life of a child. This lady is not just collecting sponsorships, she is moving to live and care for these children. Maybe everyone is not called to adopt but we are all called to care for His children. Your $100 could change a life!! Let me add a GREAT idea!!! Honor your child's teacher with a sponsorship in their name. Instead of buying a gift for each child's teacher why not honor those teachers by sponsoring a child for a year and providing them an education! Make a cute frame with a pic of your sponsor child and give it to your child's teachers. As a teacher myself, I'd be so honored and who needs another monogrammed coffee mug?!" - Jenny

"I am glad to report that all of the World Vision kids that we had for our house party are officially sponsored! However there are still plenty more kids who need help in our world...so check out this opportunity to sponsor a child in Uganda's school fees for $100 for the whole year...." - Jenn

"Please Share this link! Within the next week I will have a letter that you can send in to your "room mom" at school or to your teacher :)" - Emily

"What are you doing for Christmas? Here's an idea!" - Kristie

"Give a child (or two) the most amazing gift of knowledge. It's something that can't be taken away. It's not something that can be broken. It's not something that they will lose. What these kids learn will improve their lives a thousand fold and help them improve the lives those around them ten thousand times over. Not to mention...you'll feel pretty good about yourself!" - Katie Chesley

If your blurb makes it to this blog post (I'm updating as we go), you will be entered to win my "Orphan Sunday Giveaway". Too bad you don't know what you'll be winning :) But THIS isn't the blog post that you need to be sharing. Share the "Sponsor a child for Christmas..." one.

If I missed anyone, please let me know :) Also if you have links that you want me to post with your name or if you want me to remove the link that I posted with yours, just leave a comment.

We still have 210 children available for sponsorship. Right now I am just trying to get them sponsored and will provide pictures and profiles of each child when I get to the village. I would like to have the money before the beginning of December so we will have time to buy their uniforms, shoes, and school supplies in time for the new school year.

You can sponsor by clicking on the "Donate" button in the right column or by sending a check to:

Christie Cotney
PO Box 401
Alabaster, AL 35007

I can't pretend to know...

2010-10-18T23:31:00.008-05:00

I NEVER thought the day would come when God would ask me to put a donation meter on my blog with the top number being $22,000, but He did. It all happened on Friday. Do you want to hear the story? You do? Good :)

I got a message from a Facebook (FB) friend asking if I had any children available for sponsorship. I kinda freaked out a moment because we JUST built the new school, as you might recall from this post, and hadn't discussed the details for the 100 kids that we could now find sponsors for. In that same post, I told the story about how I found sponsors for 23 kids while I was in the village. We came up with a rough, impromptu figure of $50/year, which turned out to be less than what we needed. The $50 paid for their tuition for an entire year, a meal while at school, and uniforms, but it wasn't enough to cover shoes. And don't think I found that out the easy way. You see, George doesn't tell me everything. A couple of weeks before these 23 started school, I was talking to George when he let it slip that we didn't have enough money to cover the shoes. I guess our trusty, rusty calculations were just that - rusty. So I had to come up with about 30,000 shillings (roughly $15) per child and get it over there quickly so they could get new shoes for school.

So here I am with a message asking me about sponsorship and I had 100 kids needing sponsors but I didn't have an amount to give her. Right then, George signed onto FB. I told him about the email and asked what the new sponsorship amount should be. I didn't even allow him to answer before I started blabbing about how $50 was too low. Don't forget about the shoes. What about medical? What about dental? Remember how you had to hire someone to take the kids into Kampala to get their feet measured for their shoes? You had better add that in there this time. What about de-worming the kids? What about the white sores on their heads? Doesn't that just require ointment? How much is THAT? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Poor George. I bet he wished his power would have gone out during all that :)

About 15 minutes later, he finally responded. He said, "I was hoping to discuss this with you when you got into the village." I thought for sure I had just put too much in his brain for him to sort and that with a little more encouragement, he would agree to discuss it right now. If you know me, then you know I pressed on. "But if we can talk it out, I can go ahead and put the need out there and have people praying about it. Why do I need to be in the village? What's going on?"

It started with "you promise not to get upset?" Yeah, something about HIM saying THAT always ends with me sobbing my eyes out for a good 15 minutes. But today was different. I had gotten up early that morning and oddly enough, I felt like I was ready to take on the world. Believe me, that was one of the mornings where you look back and you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that God went before you. He knew I had just spent the last few weeks preparing for my move to Uganda, only to find out the Saturday after I booked my flight that my Daddy has to have open heart surgery. He knew that I had just suffered through 3 weeks of having an exposed nerve in my tooth decide it was going to show its ugly side. It was shaping up to be my worst month yet in my new relationship with Him. But God had different plans.

A little side note . . . On Tuesday, I had to go with Daddy to have an abscessed tooth of his removed. I was in horrendous pain myself and had to get up and walk out of the dentist's office so I could cry without anyone seeing me. There I was, the very day that I had planned to leave for Uganda, STILL in the States, at the dentist's office with my Daddy, getting his teeth worked on with his fancy, schmancy insurance covering most of the cost. But me? Oh, I have no insurance. So instead of raising money to get a root canal, I hid the pain from everyone (as best I could) and secretly popped a few Ibuprofen (I'm SUCH an anti-medicine kinda girl) as often as I could without it doing damage to my stomach. I was going on 2 hours of sleep because, well, it's hard to sleep with the side of your face feeling like it's about to throb off. So there I was in the parking lot of the dentist's office, crying out to God to just take the pain away. I was begging Him to just make it stop. I told Him that I had already canceled my trip, like I felt Him telling me to do, so I could be with Daddy during his recovery. I told Him that I didn't have the money to get it fixed and I was going to do His work, but was asking Him how effective I could be with pain that severe. When we got back to his house, Melinda called. She said that Mom had called her (I have very limited cell phone reception in Alex City) and said for me to call because my friend Lisa had booked me an appointment in Warrior, AL (2 hours away) and they were going to do my root canal FOR FREE. I wondered how in the world she pulled that off. Bet you're wondering, too :) She called her family dentist and he agreed to do it for half the cost, if she would come up with the other half. But she's unemployed, so that wasn't an option. Did she contact me and ask if she thought we could raise half? Um, NO. The girl Googled "Alabama Dentist God" and called the first place that came up. So Mom and I got up, left Alex City at 7am and made the 2 hour drive to Warrior, AL. And guess what? I got the root canal, and walked right out of the office without being tackled and having the police called. Amazing, huh?

Back to Friday morning. God knew what was about to unfold, so He went ahead of me and got me ready for the day. So when George said, "you promise not to get upset?", it was different. He began to explain to me that the organization that had helped him raise funds to build the other school buildings is not renewing their contract to sponsor the children. I couldn't be shocked or caught off guard because I didn't have the slightest clue what he was talking about. I knew that there were 120 kids in school when I got into the village but I never asked how they were able to attend school. I assumed the parents were paying their tuition. As I learned more about the other organization and how they had paid a certain amount, and George had to figure out how many kids could go using that amount, it hit me. Remember in this post when I said: So I asked George if I could work on getting sponsors for them. He loved the idea and so I asked him how many children we had room for. He told me to see how many we could get sponsored and we'd go from there. I quickly said, "No. You tell me how many we have room for and God will get them sponsored. We aren't doing this the other way around." ??? Now it makes sense to me. The other group gave him a certain amount and he had to work with that. He chose to use the money on school, even if it meant that some of them didn't get shoes. Noooooow I get it. That's why you'll see kids in uniforms with no shoes. As I looked back through the pics, I saw George's heart in every single picture. Like here, notice the ones in uniforms with no shoes?

That's because George ensured they had an education, even though they might not have shoes. I sooo love this guy :)

We went on to discuss all the things I wanted to do for the children. Like get them medical check-ups:

And dental care:

George and I were bouncing ideas and amounts around and they were anywhere from $75-$100. Then his power went out again. So I posted on FB about how I had just found out that we had 120 more students to find sponsors for and started talking with some friends about it while I waited on George's power to come back on. I told them that I understand that I can't just take the kids and do EVERYTHING for them, as much as I want to, because the parents have to be responsible for some things. But my heart breaks to see them, knowing they are walking around with worms, those white spots on their heads from parasites, broken teeth, etc. I know that there is a line that I can't cross, leaving them dependent on other people for the care of their children, but I am willing to go ALL THE WAY to that line. ALL THE WAY. Then I started discussing it with one of my best friends, Emily. She was with me the day I talked with George about the shoes costing extra. Somewhere in the convo, I decided that $75 was cutting it too close, so I went with $100 as the new sponsorship amount. Right when I said that, George signed back in. I joked with him and said, "While your power was off, I went ahead and made the executive decision to go with $100 instead of $75." His response was, "You are in control Ma'am." And then his power went out again.

About 15 minutes later his FB status update read "It is now official, Christie Cotney is the new Headmaster of the school in the Bugabo Village. You are no longer supporting me but her work now. I started, now she is finishing the work. I do thank God for this because am transitioning into my long sought career of leadership development and a training institute for great leaders. Thank you for all your support and prayers!!!!!!!

WHAT? Headmaster? What does this even mean? I sooo expected to just slide into the village and help out where I could. I imagined myself going in and running the kids back and forth to the clinic while George ran the school. I know absolutely nothing about heading, mastering, or teaching for that matter. I kept Marlie for months and I don't think I taught her a single thing. I'm still not sure why George (or God, for that matter) thinks I can do this. And how did asking about sponsorship land me a job? And not just any job. THE job.

So within an hour or so, I find out that I am the new Headmaster at the school in the village AND now have 220 children depending on me to find sponsors so they can attend school. Ironically, 30 minutes earlier, I had posted THIS on FB:

JUST realized that since all the kids at the school will now be my responsibility (as in not relying on another organization for their sponsorships), we can change their uniforms and finally rename the school. Oh, this is going to be fun. I admit, I freaked out a little when George told me we have 120 more kids BUT I'm just gonna lay it on the alter with all my other requests. So far, God's pickin' up what I'm puttin' down. Some days I wake up overwhelmingly sad that I'm not there. Other days, I just crawl into His hand and chill there for a while. Today, I'm just rejoicing that He chose ME. Now these 120 kids that were already in school will have someone to write to. They won't just have money coming in from a "group". And what's weird is THAT was one of my concerns. I wondered what would happen when I got back to the village and asked the 23 kids I got sponsors for to write to their "families". Oh, I am sooo stinkin' excited how God worked this out. I sooooo love that Guy :) So now, ANY of the children in this video could be the one you sponsor!!! Enjoy!

What I love most about the education they receive is that they will be taught about Christianity. I am sooo thankful that God is sending me to a place where I can teach kids about Him. To a place where I don't have to "watch what I say". To a place where I won't be reprimanded for sharing the Gospel.

As it stands now, we have a brand new school building but only 23/243 kids sponsored when the new school term starts in January. And I'm the new Headmaster? Talk about inheriting a JOB. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I will do all I can do, and that is to put the need at the alter. I am asking you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to step up and help me with these kids. 220 kids is A LOT of kids. $22,000 is A LOT of money. But to God? Pffffttt, that's a drop in the ocean to accomplish His plan.

I am not a parent, so I can't even pretend to know how it feels to have a child of my own. I can't pretend to know how it feels to have someone have to sponsor them, just so they have a fighting chance of getting an education. I can't pretend to know how it feels to be told that THAT sponsorship will be over in December. I can't pretend to know how much it would hurt to have my child ask me why they aren't getting up and getting ready for school come January. I can't pretend. My heart aches for these children. And I'm about to have 220 of them. 120 that are having their sponsorships no longer paid by the organization that has been sponsoring them for the last 3 years. Then another 100 that we all JUST built the new school for. Prayerfully consider sponsoring one of these children for just $100/year. Yes, I said PER YEAR. As soon as I get into the village, I will be getting pics and profiles of each child available for sponsorship and will list them on FB so you can comment on the one that you and your family choose to sponsor. Is giving any one of these children HOPE FOR A FUTURE worth $100 to you?

You can sponsor by clicking on the "Donate" button in the right column or by sending a check to:

Christie Cotney
PO Box 401
Alabaster, AL 35007

Paypal deducts 4.2% from each donation, and while that's not a lot from one donation, it really adds up over the course of the $22,000 that is needed. It's actually almost $1000 in fees. To help cover the fees, some friends have donated $105. Thanks, guys. What a blessing that has been!!!

I want to encourage the parents out there who are buying teacher gifts to pool the money and sponsor a child in honor of your child's teachers. Your sweet one can choose the child for the teachers and give each teacher a picture and profile of the him/her. What better way to give the gift of education to a child in the village while also giving a gift to the teachers that educate YOUR child :) Who's game?

come to the waters

2010-09-17T05:58:00.009-05:00

What's my favorite number? That's right! It's 3. God seems to do things in my life in increments of 3. Example: 3 weeks before I boarded the plane for Uganda, I started what seemed at the time to be an enormous feat of raising $2500 for what I thought was going to be a water well. I prayed. I begged. I pleaded. I got people to share a link to my blog post on Facebook and then I prayed some more. The money came in at a steady pace, but from the looks of it, I was still going to be raising money when I got to Uganda. That's when God showed up and showed out. 3 weeks to the day, the "well" was fully funded. It was exactly 3 days before I boarded the plane ~~that I~~ that God raised the final donation that put us at the $2500 mark.

The day before we went to the village for the first time, George and I had a meeting. I was very excited as I explained to George how God had raised $2500 for a well for the village. It was then that I learned that the $2500 wouldn't be enough for a well that provided clean water. It would only provide a shallow well and the water drawn from it would be contaminated. I was heartbroken. I remember seeing George's mouth move but I had to ask him later what he had said. I kept thinking about what all I had done in those 3 weeks to raise money for this well. I was too focused on "clean water" that I felt myself rejecting the suggestion that George was offering. I didn't want to accept that I didn't have enough money. I didn't want to accept that I could not give them clean water. When I finally stopped giving myself a hard time about it and started to listen to George, I quickly realized that he was the only one that knew what the village needed. He lived there and knew what would be more useful.

He gave me two options:

1) Raise another $5000-$5500 to provide a borehole, which is a type of well that is drilled deep down into the water that is not accessible from the surface. By keeping the water in a closed system until it reaches the tap, the interaction of that water with surface pollutants is minimized. This type of well is the most reliable and secure source of clean water for people.

Here's a video of me pumping water from a borehole for the very first time:

2) Use the $2500 to buy as many rainwater harvesting tanks as we could. Rainwater harvesting is a pretty process. Rain falls onto the roof, runs into the gutters and is collected in a tank that is closed off from all the outside elements. The only immediate issue I saw was that the water would not be clean, so it would still have to be boiled.

Since I came thinking we were going to be using the money to drill a well, I had already researched them. But this tank business? Oh, I had no idea about these. When I have my heart set on one thing, it takes a bit of convincing to get me on board with a new idea. But I listened to George. I listened to him explain how the women and children spend hours on end walking and hauling water to their homes. I listened to him explain his desire to see the day when those women and children could spend more time at home with their families. I listened to him explain how there are 120 homes in the village and one borehole wouldn't be enough for everyone. I listened to him explain how the borehole would have to be placed in a central location and the women and children would tire of spending long hours in line and revert back to the contaminated wells for their water. I listened to him explain how strategically placing the tanks at specific homes throughout the village would create community, by having the surrounding homes share the tank. Then the conversation came full circle as he explained that by getting their water from the nearest home that had a tank, they would be spending more time at home with their families. I was sold.

But what was the cost? How many could I get for $2500? Would it be enough to make a difference? I had a million questions. And since it had been a while since George had purchased a tank, he didn't have any answers to my questions. But he knew someone who did. He suggested that we take a ride and go see the tanks. I thought we were going to ride around the campus and see some of the ones they were using there. But we didn't. We went through the security gate and down to the main road in Mukono. Right across the street sat the people that would be making the tanks. We got out to look at the tanks and gutters and ask about prices. I tried not to laugh as they stood there and bargained. I even heard George say to the guy, "That is not a good price. Stop looking at her. She is not going to pay." It was then that I realized we were getting the "mzungu price"! You see, mzungu means white person. And we often got charged more for things than Ugandans, so that's how we coined that term. Since the guy didn't seem to be budging on the price, George said he would come back later and bargain with him. And believe me, I was all about him getting a "Ugandan price"! I snapped some photos of the tanks before we left.

Although I hadn't been to the village yet and didn't fully understand this whole tank business, I was excited. I asked George if he would take me by the ATM so I could make my first withdrawal. Because we had already been in Uganda for a whole day, I had pretty much figured out Dollars vs. Shillings. But when I went to the ATM and withdraw 1,000,000 Shillings, there was still something exhilarating in handing George 1,000,000 Shillings instead of 500 Dollars. Seriously, people. Wouldn't that excite you, too? It was then that I declared I would be talking in Shillings instead of Dollars from there on out. The notes I took in my iPhone are even written in Shillings :)

When we returned to the house, we were so involved in conversation about the tanks and how much 1,000,000 Shillings actually equaled in Dollars, that we didn't make it out of his truck for at least another hour. We tried to figure out how many tanks we could get based on the figure that the guy gave us. We talked about how the homes that would be receiving the tanks would be chosen. Somewhere in the conversation, George mentioned that the families receiving the tanks would need to provide certain items on their own in order to receive a tank. I wouldn't have any part of it. I let him know really quickly that I had worked hard to raise that money and I wanted to spend it all on whatever they needed. That's when I heard him say something I never thought I would hear. He said, "The worst thing you can do is to go into the village and start handing out things." I was heartbroken. There I was trying to help and I didn't understand why he wouldn't let me do what I had come to do. He told me that he had worked hard to build the community through leadership training and he felt it was important for them to take ownership in what they receive. So he suggested that we buy the tanks but make it a requirement for the families receiving the tanks to buy their own gutters and provide a concrete or brick foundation for the tank. By providing their own materials for the tanks, they would take pride in maintaining it.

He told me about a pilot project they had done the year before where chickens were purchased and a coup was built and given to a family. The family started with a couple of chickens and now has 20+. They sell the eggs for extra money. The success of the project put a fire in the hearts of that family and they took the extra money they made and started investing in their home. And although these tanks won't make anyone any money, I'm hoping it will start a fire in the families that receive them and they will be moved to do the same thing. Most of their roofs are really rusty, so maybe they will take enough pride in their new tanks to invest in new roofs as well.

The next afternoon, we went into the village for the first time. It was then that I realized what a blessing these tanks would be to so many people. Up until this point, we had been staying on campus at UCU, where we had a shower, a toilet, and even running water from the faucets at the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Besides having to boil the water before drinking it, nothing was different thank being back home. But in the village? Everything was different in the village. Look at their previous "rainwater harvesting systems":

The first delivery of tanks arrived while we were there and 3 tanks were brought in at one time. There God is with the number 3 again :) When discussing the cost, we failed to figure in delivery charges. And until the tanks were delivered, we didn't know what those charges would be. The tanks were 370,000 Shillings each and they delivered 3 tanks for 150,000. So that left each tank costing 420,000. There I go again with my trusty, rusty, scientific calculations for those of you who have never been in a math class. Yeah, it's only like 4am and I'm still bloggin'. There was a point. The question is...am I getting to it??? Ok, $2500 is roughly 5 million Shillings. After we got the new price per tank with the delivery charges, we realized we could only get 12 tanks, and I had to pay an 40,000 for the overage (which by now you can figure out for yourself is only $20). So the final tab for 12 tanks was $2520.

The next week, George and I went back to stay in the village while Dan, Rachel and her parents went on a safari. We had planned to go around and profile each of the 12 families that received a tank. We ended up leaving the village the day before we had planned, but we went around to each of the 9 homes that had already received their tanks. The last 3 were coming the next day. George profiled each family and then I took pics of them with their tanks. The first thing I noticed when we arrived at the very first house was that 3 of the children, who were all old enough to be in school, were playing in the front yard. I asked George why they weren't in school. Yep, you guessed it. They were 3 of the 200+ children that could not afford to go. I asked George to make that one of the things we made sure to note as we visited each home. God had already planted a seed in my heart to build a new school and I wanted to show that as we went around profiling the families for a totally different purpose, we found tons of children that needed sponsors. I wanted to ensure they could attend school once the new school was built.

Let's meet the families that received the tanks!!!

Samuel & Joyce Migabo; 5 kids - 2 at school, 3 at home

Asuman & Harriet Kaddu; 3 kids - all go to school

Salongo Bulego; 4 kids - 1 goes to school
*no one was home when I took the photo

Rose Mayemja; 7 kids - 6 go to school, one out of school

Joseph & Specioza Kakembo; 6 kids - 3 go to school, 3 stay at home

Rose Nakoto; 7 kids - 4 go to school, 3 stay at home

Mohammed & Sarah Kantunsumbi; 7 kids - 5 go to school, 2 stay at home
*the 2 pictured have since been sponsored and started school just this week!

George & Zaituni Kawulukusi; 5 kids - all go to school

Franko & Justine Musisi; 8 kids - 6 go to school, 2 stay home

Charles Kitake; 4 kids - all go to school
* no tank yet - another shipment of 3 was on its way :)

How stinkin' cute is that last guy, Charles? He didn't even have his tank yet and he was still smilin' big. Not everyone could say "thank you" and quite frankly, not many of them even knew what to say had they known how. But they all were proud. They were proud of their tanks. I pray with all my heart that you can see the renewed hope in their eyes.

If you donated to what you thought was the "water well", I hope that I have shared this story in such a way that you are proud of the decision that was made to purchase the rainwater harvesting tanks instead. And while George and I have discussed raising funds for an actual borehole one day, I am excited to see what changes the tanks make for the village. I am excited to see what kind of community is created here. And I will get to see that firsthand, because I am moving into the village next month :) God has provided the funds for my one-way ticket but I need some help with expenses once I get there. If you would like to help, please do so by donating on my blog or sending a check to PO Box 401, Alabaster, AL 35007.

buy a brick, build up bugabo

2010-08-23T03:03:00.010-05:00

The first time I met the children, I was too overwhelmed with them to notice anything but a million brown hands flying at me. We played with every single toy I brought with me that day. I was exhausted by the end of the day and when I went back to George's Mom's home, something just didn't sit right with me. Why were some of the children in uniforms while some of them were in regular clothes? Could they not afford uniforms? Were their uniforms dirty? Could we buy them extras? I had about a million questions in my head but it was only my 2nd full day in Uganda and besides, we were exhausted. We had a little meeting there in the living room where George read Scripture and we each talked about the experiences we had that day. He prayed over us and we all crashed.

The next day I worked very closely with George and asked him about the children that weren't in uniforms. Turns out, those children were just at the school that day because they knew we were there. They didn't have on uniforms because they weren't in school. But they were old enough. Why weren't they in school? The heartbreaking answer I got was that they cannot afford to go to school. So I asked George if I could work on getting sponsors for them. He loved the idea and so I asked him how many children we had room for. He told me to see how many we could get sponsored and we'd go from there. I quickly said, "No. You tell me how many we have room for and God will get them sponsored. We aren't doing this the other way around." Yes, it's my first day to work with George and he's already getting a feel for "Christie" :)

He said that we could fit about 20 more children into the school without putting too much of a strain on the 2 teachers that were responsible for the 100 children that are already there. One of the teachers was out on maternity leave and another teacher had left without any explanation. So we could get sponsors for 20 children before having to build an additional building and hire a couple more teachers.

Over the next couple days, we worked out the details of how much it would cost to sponsor each child. I was fully prepared to hear a price/month type of deal, but I didn't. It only costs 100,000 shillings for 3 quarters (they go to school for a quarter and are off a month, and then go back for another quarter, etc.), which is roughly $50. George made a phone call to the other leaders in the village and we left them to select the 20 children that we would get sponsors for. I tried to wait for them to be chosen but I just COULD NOT contain my excitement!!! I went on Facebook and posted a status update asking for sponsors and within 24 hours, YES I said 24 hours, we had the money!!!

The next week we went back into the village to get pictures of each child that was available for sponsorship and while I was working my photography skills on them, George was asking them 10 questions that I thought the sponsors might want to know about them:

1) Name
2) Sex
3) Age
4) Parent(s) names
5) Favorite sport
6) How many brothers/sisters
7) What they wanted to be when they grew up
8) Favorite color
9) Favorite food(s)
10) Favorite animal

This was one of the best days of my trip but also one of the most humbling. Since George was sick with Malaria, we had the children come to his Mom's home and we did the profiling there. When I say that it was an ALL DAY EVENT, I couldn't be more serious. Some of these children walked for miles just to have their picture taken and give a few details about themselves. We had been out there forever and had just finished "interviewing" the 16th child. Everything was going as planned until a little boy and his mom showed up. Everyone was speaking Luganda so I had no idea what they were saying. But I didn't have to know. I could tell by the disappointment in their eyes and on their faces that they weren't "on the list". They walked away and my heart stood still. I kept asking George what was going on and he kept trying to reassure me that everything was OK. But I knew it wasn't. My heart was hurting and I didn't know why. I finally got him to tell me that the little boy wasn't one of the 20 children chosen. I told him that if he had room for one more, I would FIND a sponsor for him. He told me that if I did that for one, I would have people that weren't on the list lining up in front of the house. But I didn't believe that. Did they all know beforehand that they were getting the opportunity to go to school? Did they just surprise them that day? We'd been out there for hours already. Surely this little boy and his mom had heard about us and were just coming in hopes for a miracle. There wouldn't be any more. This was a one-time exception. And I was right :) I kept on at George until he sent someone after the little boy and his mom. He had stolen my heart and so I was the one that chose to sponsor him.

Meet Khalid Mulindwa. He is 4 years old and lives with his parents, 4 brothers & 3 sisters. He loves football and wants to be a teacher when he grows up. His favorite color is white, he loves to eat rice & beef and his favorite animal is a cow.

By the end of the day we had somehow gotten 22 children in all, which was OK because I had more friends wanting to sponsor children than I had children available. Here are the rest of them:

Then last but not least is my 2nd sponsored child :) He is special to me because on the last day I was in the village, I went around and met all the families that got a tank as part of our "Water Tank" project. While meeting the family across the street, George spotted a little boy and called me over to the driver's side of the van. He told me that he had been trying to help this little boy, whose Mom & Dad had abandoned him and who was living with his grandmother. He had already been raising money to buy him clothes and would really like to get him in school. George asked if I thought I could get a sponsor for him and I told him that he was looking at her :)

Meet Mathias Bikula. He is 8 years old and lives with his grandmother and 2 sisters. He loves football and wants to be an engineer when he grows up. His favorite color is green & black, he loves to eat rice & beef and his favorite animal is a cow.

Please take a moment to praise God with me that the sweet faces you see above will be starting their first day of school in less than 2 weeks. Pray for their little hearts as they adjust to a different daily schedule. A schedule that includes a chance at an education. To these children, an education is the key to ending extreme poverty and hunger. An education ensures that they learn valuable skills that help them grow, protect themselves from diseases, earn a better living, and empower them with the knowledge and leadership to build up their community.

I left the village that day knowing with all my heart that God Himself was smiling at the work George & I had done that day. But I also knew that He'd just planted a seed in my heart that I couldn't ignore. George and I talked on the way back to Mukono and already, I was trying to figure out a way to get EVEN MORE children into school. And while we had just brightened the future for 23 precious children, there are several hundred more that could receive an education if we just had room for them. Doesn't every child have a right to an education? So I took a deep breath and asked George about the possibility of building a new 2-classroom building like the one they have now. I think my eager heart was a little too much for him. He brushed me off at first but I kept on and on about how God had gotten those children sponsored in exactly 24 hours and how He had sent above and beyond the number of sponsors we needed. I had at least 10 more messages from people asking if I had any children left. But it wasn't that easy. We needed a school before we could get any more children sponsored. So I told him to work out the details and just give me an estimate of what it would cost to build a new 2-classroom building. Just give me the amount and I would pray over it and then give it to God.

When he got back with me about an estimate, I admit, I was floored. $5000 is A LOT to come up with. It just sounded like a huge mountain that I didn't have the energy to climb. Sure, these kids were important enough but I had just asked for $1000 from my Facebook friends. And besides, the additional people emailing me weren't asking to donate toward building a school, they wanted to sponsor a child. But then I felt God whipping me back into line. You see, to Him, $5000 is nothing. These are His children. He sent me there to ensure they had a voice. He sent me there to see their need and make their needs known to my brothers and sisters in Christ. This was His battle and I was just His little warrior. Why was I belittling Him? I had one simple task and that was to make their needs known. That was it. Why was I trying to make all these executive decisions? Why was I rattling my brain wondering how I was going to present to my friends that we had to raise $5000? Why was I already trying to figure out who would help and who wouldn't? Why was I not trusting Him to send my brothers and sisters in Christ to walk alongside me to get His children in school? Was I going back to that individualistic mindset that I had before I asked Him to take control of my life? What was the purpose of having Him live in my heart if I wasn't going to give Him the full reign He deserves. Man, I was really backsliding for the rest of that day.

Over the next few days, I prayed over this new project that was burning a hole in my heart. It JUST might have taken over my every thought had we not had so much other stuff going on. By the time I returned home, I had 2 more projects ahead of this one. I am praising God that they have since been completed, even before I could process the 3 week trip and write a blog post about them!

One week ago, I started putting the money from the sales of my Uganda Magazine Jewelry and the donations toward the $5000 needed for the school. The jewelry has been quite a hit, especially the bracelets and earrings. Because, you see, I have a TON of adoption/orphan advocate friends that have the necklaces but few have the bracelets and/or earrings. So I've sold a lot of them to those friends. And while I am hopeful that all pieces will be sold and we will raise a lot of money from them, I have been racking my brain for another fundraising idea for those that might want to help by donating. Sure, you could just donate $10, $20, or $30 but why not make it more exciting.

So here I sat the other night, looking through the pictures when I ran across the picture of the 2-classroom building that is already on the school property. The building that we were using as a model to estimate the costs to build another one. And that's when it hit me. Why not ask for people to "Buy a Brick"? I thought it was a great idea until I realized that I'd need to know how many bricks the building had before I could figure out a price per brick. So yeah, I spent then next couple of minutes trying to count each brick.
When that didn't work, I counted one area and multiplied it until I calculated how many it took to build the front. Then I doubled it for the back and again for the sides. I added in a couple thousand to make it an even 10,000. So 10,000 bricks is what we're aiming for :) 10,000 bricks of love and several hundred pounds of mortar of hope and God will have that school built and we'll be ready to get 75-100 more children sponsored for their shot at an awesome education! Oh, and the best part about the bricks is that they are made by the people that live in the village. So your money is staying within the village and that is another reason I chose the title "Buy a Brick, Build up Bugabo" :)

Using my trusty, rusty scientific calculator, I figure that $5000/10,000 bricks is roughly $.50/brick. Quick, somebody check my math :) So what are we waiting on? Let's pull together and watch God work through His people to get this school built! Let's watch Him raise that money the same way we are going to build: brick by brick. Let's watch together as the donation meter on the left-hand side of my blog reaches the $5000 mark. Who's with me? Who is going to come alongside me and ensure these children get the education they deserve? Is God speaking to YOU to be one of them?

Are YOU ready to "Buy a Brick"?

Check out how many bricks you can buy:

$10 = 20 bricks
$25 = 50 bricks
$50 = 100 bricks
$75 = 150 bricks
$100 = 200 bricks
$200 = 400 bricks

Did I just seriously do all those fancy calculations for you? Yeah, that's in case you haven't been in a math class in, oh, EVER :)

George has decided that we will go ahead and start on the school. We feel that if people see it being built, it will encourage them to prayerfully consider becoming a part of such an awesome project. So we are going to build it just as I mentioned earlier: brick by brick, as I get the money to him. With God’s help and the generosity of His people, we are moving forward in confidence.

PLEASE help spread the word by sharing this on Facebook & Twitter :)

if God were in human form...

2010-08-05T10:51:00.001-05:00

...he would be in Africa. Wow! It's been quite some time since my last post. Raising the $2500 was an experience that I will never forget. I spent quite a lot of time on that last minute project and God allowed me to hold His hand through the whole process. I got the last few dollars just 5 days before I boarded a plane. If you've been reading my blog from the beginning, you already know that it's just like Him to have me on the edge of my seat and trusting Him completely. He is incredibly faithful. Soooo faithful.

Nvuddeyo! That's Luganda for "I'm back!" I have so much to tell you guys but I am allowing my heart to process the trip and have been praying without ceasing so that God will give me the perfect words to share such an incredible experience. I can give you pictures all day long but to share the story BEHIND those pictures is something that I fear I can't do. So I'm turning to Him. He's the only One that can help. So I apologize for being a slacker on the blog home front. Internet service in Uganda is very unreliable and when I did get a chance to get online, I updated Facebook and posted as many pictures that I could. I figured that people would want to see pictures before reading a blog! So, if you are friends with me on Facebook, you have gotten to share each and every experience that I posted. If you aren't, please add me NOW :)

One week ago today, I was making the dreaded journey back to Entebbe to board the plane back to the States. I was confused. I was heartbroken. I was sick. I was searching my soul for any reason to jump out of the passenger seat and just stay there. Right there on the side of the road until George & Dan dropped Rachel and her parents off at the airport. But God was moving me to return home. I have no idea I WHY, but He does.

Until I process the best 3 weeks of my life and until I sort through the feelings that this huge heart of mine has for His children, I will just share with you a couple of projects that I have going on in the village:

This is the building used as a school during the week and a church on Sundays. The floor inside is dirt and traffic causes a lot of dust. The walls are also unfinished. This is an open project that I have and we need $300 to finish the floors and the walls. So far I've gotten $100. To donate to this project, please specify on your paypal form :)

This is the 2 classroom building that is used to teach some of the 120 students. If we get an additional building built, we can then get sponsors to invest in and send another 75-100 students to school. EVERY child deserves an education but we can't take in any more students until we get another building. The cost of this 2 classroom building is about $5000. To donate to this project, please specify so on your paypal form :)

I will save Maria's new home for another post because there is soooo much to share with you if you are just a blog reader and have not been following me on Facebook. Actually, you won't even know who Maria is. But soon, Maria will be a household name :) As for now, I am taking the kids to my Aunt Carol's for a much needed day of swimming and more swimming!! It's been one week since I boarded the plane in Uganda and it's one week until Alex starts school, so that coupled with tons of my friends either getting referrals for their new babies, visiting foreign soil to see their babies for the first time, passing court, or bringing their babies home sure has this heart all over the place these days. I'm praising God for each and every one of His mercies and I pray that this blog post finds you doing the same!

we NEED...we SHOULD...we WERE CREATED...

2010-06-19T12:19:00.008-05:00

Enter the Bugabo Village in the Luwero District of Uganda. This is where I will spend a couple days helping Rachel with the health assessment and then teaching the kids about Jesus while she teaches the adults the "Family Planning" portion. When Rachel was here last Friday, she showed me several pictures of the village and God has laid a couple of them firmly on my heart. Here are what the ~~huts~~ homes look like in the village:

Do YOU see what I see? Is that a child on the makeshift pallet on the ground? Yes, that is a 9 pound 9 month old. Here is a closeup of her with her mother:

Meet her mother. A mother suffering from Epilepsy. A mother whose milk had dried up to the point where it was no longer supplying her child with the nutrients she needed. A mother who lives in a village that practices Witchcraft. A mother who was outcast by the village because they labeled her as demonic because of her condition. A mother who was eventually sent away because of this also. A mother who had to leave her daughter behind because she couldn't provide for her while in the village; so what more could she do for her on her own?

So this precious family has been on my heart and although I might not be able to help what happened in the past for them, I am praying that God will go ahead of me and pierce the hearts of the people in this village that don't know about Him. I'm praying that they will hear ~~something~~ SOMEONE through my words that gives them hope. I'm praying that they will turn away from Witchcraft and trust the love of the one who crafted them. Maybe it's a stretch but I will pray that they replace Witchcraft with Godcraft. Yes, THAT is my prayer. Because, what I understand Witchcraft to be is, for an example, say someone gets sick and they go to the leader and ask to be healed. This leader sends someone out to take the life of a child by beheading them and then offers the skull to the sick person, and they believe that this heals them. Whether or not this works is something I don't have the answer to---and by that I mean that I'm not sure if they are healed "coincidentally" by God when they are given these skulls. But what I DO KNOW is that God is THE ONLY ONE WHO HEALS. What if He heals the sick but the Witchcraft is glorified as the reason for their healing? This only deepens their belief that Witchcraft works. What if they came to know Jesus as their Healer? What if? How much different would life be for these people? These precious people and their children were created for a bigger purpose than practicing Witchcraft and deserve more than what I will see when I get to the village.

So what are WE, as Christians, as children of God, going to do about this? This is what I was praying about when I ran across yet another picture that will be forever burned on my heart and in my mind. As I have posted about several times on FB, the water supply within the village is non-existent. The women and children have to walk a little over a mile for water. And this water not clean. Matter of fact, the people upstream defecate in the water. The picture below is heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking.

EVEN IF you were in the middle of the woods here in the U.S., how many of you would stop to quench your thirst with this water? If not, then why should THEY? There are about 5 of these on the outskirts of the village and during the dry season, 2 of them dry up completely. That leaves 3 of them to supply this ~~dirty, nasty~~ deadly water for a village of 500-600 ~~people~~ of God's children. We NEED to do something about this. We SHOULD do something about this. We WERE CREATED to do something about this. With His help, we CAN do something about this.

I have been researching different avenues for helping to get these people some sort of fresh, clean water into this village. Some sites I found last night had showed costs upward to $7000 for a well, and THAT was in 2007. I felt defeated last night and so I prayed and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well. I dreamed that I handed out purified water bottles full of dirty water with little handmade signs that said, "would you drink this? if not, why should they?" and people gave me money by the truckloads. I woke up refreshed, as if I had a purpose for this dream. I signed on to FB and that's when Dan said Hi to me. Dan is a Rachel's friend that she worked very closely with during the 3 months that she lived there last year. He is a professor at Uganda Christian University and founded MICAH (Mission for Community Awareness and Health). He told me that a well would cost around $2500. I WAS ECSTATIC!!! So for $2500, these precious people can have clean water! This $2500 would absolutely be life-changing to these people. I could go on and on about the benefit versus the seemingly large amount of money that God has laid upon my heart to raise. I could complain about how it's a lot of money or I could praise God that trust that He will provide! I bet you can't guess what I'm going to do? I'll give you all the time you need, I know this is a hard one :)

I remember when Rachel left me with this quote after a long night of conversation about how tough it was for me to raise the money needed for my trip: "Remember that God owns a thousand cattle on a thousand hillsides and He can sell one for you" and HE WILL!! That's ~~the good news~~ the promise He made to each and every one of us. He WILL PROVIDE through donations from His children. If one of those is you, please obey Him and help these precious people, these brothers and sisters in Christ.

Dan also told me that he could start contacting people about the construction of this well in the remaining 3 weeks that we have left before we get there. He also is fairly confident that it could be completed within 2 weeks! This is more than EXCITING for me. WHAT IF we all pulled together to get these people clean water? WHAT IF I was there to witness the construction? WHAT IF I was there to unveil God's gift through US for His people? WHAT IF God laid it on your heart and you found no excuse NOT to give? WHAT IF I had 25 brothers and sisters in Christ to donate $100 each? WHAT IF I had 50 brothers and sisters donate $50 each? WHAT IF I had 100 brothers and sisters donate $25 each?

We NEED to do something about this. We SHOULD do something about this. We WERE CREATED to do something about this. With His help, we CAN do something about this.

formula and toys and uniforms, oh my!

2010-06-17T01:36:00.011-05:00

Still trying to grasp the fact that I only have 23 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 13 seconds until until I leave for Uganda!!! WOW! Like, that's not a lot of time to get done what I have to get done. I met with Rachel on Friday for the first time face-to-face and we had an amazing day! I got to see pictures of the village we will spend a few days in doing health classes, more pictures of the kids in the orphanage and also pictures of the area in general. This is going to be an amazing trip because it's God's trip for me! He had me waiting ~~patiently~~ on the edge of my seat for 5 months while He worked out the details. Africa was one of the only in my dreams trips and I'm glad that I let Him pick the destination. I prayed for months that "I'll go WHEREVER you want Lord, just send me SOMEWHERE. But He knew my heart. He knew that I was lying. I would go WHEREVER, just so long as I had enough money for the entire trip before I booked the flight. And, unfortunately, those were only the destinations really close to home. Totally not where He wanted me to go. Have you ever had one of those hard lessons to learn, where months later you look back and you can't help but see how He went ahead of you and paved the way? Well, this was one of those times.

So, what can YOU do to help me get prepared for this trip?

FORMULA:

Photo courtesy of Brighton Their World

If any of you have any unused powder formula (any brand) please send it to Brighton Their World, PO Box 1975, Powder Springs, GA 30127. I first mentioned them in this post. For those of you who haven't read that post yet, Tymm & Laura started Brighton Their World in honor of their son, Brighton Asher, who passed away at his orphanage in Ethiopia before they could get there to bring him home. They have been an amazing source of inspiration for me and when I first started really praying about Uganda, I mentioned to Tymm that I wanted to start a formula drive so I could take some over with me. He quickly let me know that they would take care of that for me and even drive it over to me all the way from Georgia! Because I got such an awesome response from everyone at the very mention of collecting formula, I decided that it would be an awesome way for all of us to pull together and support their organization even after I have all that I need for my trip. So when I get home and share the pictures of what YOUR FORMULA DONATION meant to the orphanages, I hope that we all can continue to get formula to Tymm & Laura for future mission trips. They send out formula with anyone and everyone. THAT is the whole purpose of Brighton Their World!!! Join their Facebook page so you can keep up with where they are sending formula next! VERY excited for God putting this family in my path!

I will be reserving one suitcase JUST for formula! 30,000 children die each day from hunger or preventable diseases and if that is NOT OK with you, go check your cabinets! Even if you only have one small "sample" container, send it! Forward my blog to your friends in case they have some they would like to send. I raided Melinda's cabinets and found 4 containers that she was given to "try" for Marlie. Also, if you work for or know anyone that works for a pediatrician's office, I have been told that they have TONS of formula that they give away as samples. If any of it is expiring soon (within the next couple months), PLEASE send it because it will be used IMMEDIATELY! They need any and all they can get! I have a friend who didn't have any at home but wanted to help so she ordered some online and had it shipped to Tymm. They also have a baby registry at Babies "R" Us (Registry #45547788), so if you want to purchase it there, it will ship straight to them. On Saturday, June 26th, Tymm & I will do a formula exchange. He will bring me a suitcase full of formula and I will give him what all I have collected up until that point. I am very passionate about what they are doing and I love, love, love this family!

If you are a creative person, you are totally going to be all over this one . . . they have also started a "Covered With Love" ministry!! They are collecting "handmade" blankets, wraps, booties, head caps, etc, to send to the babies and children in the orphanages. There are no rules or regulations, so feel free to make them whenever you can and send them in your own time. As I mentioned before, they send formula with teams all the time, so your heartfelt, handmade creations will be placed in the suitcases as they send mission groups to each country.

Photo courtesy of Brighton Their World

If you have any questions at all about the "Covered With Love" ministry, please contact them through their website or post a message on their Facebook page.

TOYS:
During Rachel's visit, I suggested we go to Dollar Tree and I was humbled by that trip. Humbled. I kept picking up cute, cute things that I could take over with me and it broke my heart that I couldn't . . . like nightlights (and realized they have no power), hairbands (and realized they have to keep their heads shaved because of lice), etc. Unforgettable trip to Dollar Tree, that's for sure. But I DID FIND a lot of things that I would love to take them and that's where you come in :) There are 36+ kids (depending on whether or not any more have come in recently) and I would love to take each one of them their own gift, although some of these can be shared. I got one each of some of the goodies I found so I could take a pic to post:

I will have to find out the exact ratio of boys to girls and will update this post when I find out. Things like towels and toothbrushes, I will obviously need 1/child but some of the toys can be shared. It was amazing how light all of the things I picked out were. Even more excited to cram as much into a suitcase as I can!! There were a few more things that I found that I didn't take pics of, such as:
~ Pencils (sparkly ones)
~ Colored pencils
~ Stickers (assorted)
~ Puzzles (they have some small 25 & 50 piece ones)
~ Punch Balloons
~ Balloons
~ Soccer Balls (deflated - soccer is BIG there & balls are expensive)

If you would like to purchase any of these, feel free to do so and just send them to me at PO Box 401, Alabaster, AL 35007. If you live in Birmingham, I would be glad to set up a day for a group of us to all meet so I can collect what you guys have. If you would just like to donate the money and have me get the supplies, feel free to do so by clicking on the donate button on my blog.

UNIFORMS:
I would also like to purchase school uniforms for the 36+ children at the orphanage. The uniforms are available for sale in Uganda. I will be staying at the orphanage for a week and during this time I will be able to get lots and lots of pictures of the gifts that you helped give these children. I am not sure about the total amount needed to cover the costs of the uniforms but I will find that out and post it. Rachel has been corresponding with the orphanage owner but because the power over there is not very reliable, it may be a few days before I know an exact total.

Do you have some cool things that were a hit when you visited? If so, PLEASE SHARE!!! I will also need some gifts for the adults. These need to be more sustainable items. Any ideas???

Wow, and I promised this was going to be a quick post! Sorry, guys, I'm just VERY PASSIONATE about these children and I haven't even met them yet!! I will also be teaching them about Jesus while Rachel is teaching the "Family Planning" class, so I stocked up on some cute VBS supplies from Dollar Tree. I don't even know where to begin with teaching children that may/may not understand English but I am more than confident that God will put into my mouth the words that He wants me to say. Besides, LOVE is universal, right? Please keep my heart in your prayers, as well as the hearts of each and every person that I come in contact with. I need God to go ahead of me and pierce the hearts of these people, so that they might let me share the love of Jesus with them. They all NEED TO AND DESERVE TO know that HE LOVES THEM!

Please comment below if you bought any of the toys (and the amount) so we will know what has been purchased :)

2 more Radical giveaways :)

2010-06-16T20:30:00.007-05:00

The winner of the first Radical giveaway was Lynn McVey!! I think I heard her squealing all the way here in Birmingham! Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway! Because I got such a great turnout from that specific giveaway, I am giving away 2 more signed copies of Radical. I will be getting the books signed with the message of your choice on Sunday, so the drawing will end on Saturday night. If this is your first time entering the contest, you can learn more about it by clicking here.

For the last giveaway, one method of entering the contest was to share my blog on Facebook. All I asked was for this to be done once, yet I kept noticing in the news feed that some of you shared it continuously and THAT means the world to me. Because, you see, sharing it over and over again made sure that everyone saw it. Believe me, I shared it at least twice a day for a week and I still had some people miss it. It also led to more entries which is the reason for the two extra giveaways.

So how do you enter? You can FOLLOW ME if you have a blog, share a link on your blog, share a link to my blog on Facebook, and/or share a link to my blog on Twitter. You will be entered 1x per method. Once you're done, post a comment below and let me know which method(s) you used.

I had quite a few people let me know that they didn't know how to navigate the blog to leave a comment. If you click on the Title, the comment box will be at the bottom of this post. If there is not a comment box, then you are on the main page, not the specific post. If you have any questions, just ask. I would like EVERYONE that wants to enter to do so, as that's the reason for the giveaway ;) I believe that EVERYONE should read this book...EVERYONE!

Watch this video and you'll know why:

favor in His eyes...

2010-06-10T04:57:00.004-05:00

So much has happened since my last post that it's literally taken me this long to process His grace! No, really. I have already been forewarned that posts are better kept short so I'll go ahead now and apologize for what's about to be a novel. It's my blog and I need to document my thoughts so you can truly see God in my story. Somehow, after all my prayers for the last 5 months, I have found favor in His eyes. So this one? THIS ONE'S A MUST READ!

I must first thank each of you for your prayers and donations and kind words and for entering the Radical giveaway and for keeping me in your thoughts and for sharing my journey with your friends and for sending me an ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF VISITORS and for loving my run-on sentences! Seriously, people, I've had like 500+ visitors since I posted the Radical giveaway...and I went ahead and blocked my own IP address so I wouldn't register on the tracker! Oddly enough, I've only had 30+ entries to the contest. But the donations? Oh, I've had more donations from perfect strangers than I have from people I know, even if they are just Facebook friends. It's the craziest thing I've EVER seen. Crazy, but all God-orchestrated! And believe me, every little bit helps! So if God has laid it on your heart to be help me serve His children by donating to my mission trip fund, DO IT! When you see the pictures that I post during my trip, your heart will smile knowing that your donation helped get me there! I am sooo thrilled that you all want to be part of ~~my journey~~ God's journey through me. So again, thank you!

Now, if what I'm about to share with you does not completely have you sitting here with your mouth open in awe of God, something is wrong! :) As many of you know, I had 2 trips to choose from. One was the trip to Uganda with One Way Ministries that I talked about in this post. I was waiting on that team to return from a mission trip in Guatemala. Then Sheryl was going to check with their travel agent about finding me a flight and adding me to the trip. Then one night I was chatting with my friend Rachel, whom I met on Facebook, about her upcoming trip to Uganda. She was excited to find out that we would be there at the same time and contacted me to find out the details of my trip.

It was during that conversation that she would utter the words that would change the course of my life. She said, "if that trip doesn't work out, you are more than welcome to go with me!" I admit, at first I blew it off because she was going alone and although she mentioned living there for 3 months last year, I was thinking the safest route would be for me to go with a team. I was discussing with her the completely overwhelming feeling I had about having to raise $4000 to go on the other trip and how I was struggling trusting God to provide and she said, "You are great and I know God is preparing you for great things! I know how it is to raise money, I have done it LOTS for missions. God ALWAYS provides, He has never let me down." We talked some more and before she had to go, she left me with this: "Remember that God owns a thousand cattle on a thousand hillsides and He can sell one for you, bye."

That was at 4pm on Friday. God was working in my heart for this girl! He burdened me with stepping out in faith and not giving up on the one girl that had provided more insight into His own heart than most people ever know. So I waited patiently for her to log back onto Facebook (which I will from here on out refer to as FB), and she showed up after midnight. I was sooo extremely intrigued with how God placed her on my heart that I was desperate to find out more about her trip. If you haven't already figured out, my heart is the ruler of everything I have done in the last 5 months. That is where the Holy Spirit dwells within me. And like I saw on a church sign not too long ago: If God is your co-pilot, swap seats! So she finally signed back onto FB and we chatted for probably 2 hours about anything and everything. She has her Masters in Public Health and lived in Uganda for 3 months last year during which she did health assessments on villages so that she could return and implement solutions for them. So this is the trip where she will make good what she promised them last year.

During our conversation, I was toggling back and forth from FB to my blog when I noticed I had a new comment. The new comment read "I too live in Birmingham and just found your blog. I hope this will cover your trip!!! God will ALWAYS get his family to help each other out!!!" It was like 1:30AM and my brain was barely functioning so I had no idea what "I hope this will cover your trip" meant. It took about 5 mins before I even THOUGHT to check Paypal. But when I did, I found God! He had really worked some love into my account from a sister in Christ that I had never met before and had NO friends in common with on FB. Seriously, HOW did this woman find me? My blog was brand spankin' new and it wasn't even searchable in Google. I was floored! I immediately shared my good news with Rachel and she filled me in on who sent the woman...GOD! And she was right! The woman added me on FB the next day and sent me a message. I confirmed her as a friend and immediately inquired about how she found me. Her response: It must have been God. Seriously, people! God has this thing rigged!!!

But the story doesn't end there. Stick with me, I'm a talker. I try to paint the story exactly how it was imprinted in my heart so if you want a 2-3 minute story of just the highlights, you have come to the wrong place!

It was now 2AM and I had a yard sale to be running in a few short hours. I said goodnight to Rachel and tried my hardest to go to sleep but I couldn't. My mind was running with thoughts of this mysterious woman finding me and about Rachel and her enormous heart for the people in Uganda and about faces of the children on the Agape Total Childcare Center website that she sent me right before we said goodnight. This is the orphanage where Rachel said I could spend some nights. These are the children that I could tuck into bed those nights. These are the faces that I would see as I woke them up in the mornings and served them breakfast before they left for school. I finally fell to sleep that night but it was not easy. I must've gotten 4 hours of sleep when Derrick woke me up to get ready for the yard sale. I was dragging. Oh, was I dragging. Then I remembered the night before and all of a sudden, I had a little spring in my step. During the yard sale, I shared my story with every single person that walked up. I told them about how I was "living radically in my sister's basement" so I could save money for a trip to love on who Jesus refers to as "the least of these" and how I had just recently found out about a second trip that I could take if the first one didn't pan out. People walked away from the yard sale promising to pray for me. It was nothing short of amazing.

On Sunday, Derrick and Melinda went to take Alex to Alexander City, our hometown. He was sooo excited to go stay with Derrick's parents so he could take swimming lessons this week. So I had the day to myself to pray about God's will and let Him know that I was fully ready to surrender to His plan for my life. I was ready for Him to pick my destination. And let me tell you, that is no easy feat! My mind started to get the WHAT IF SYNDROME! What if I pick the wrong trip? What if I can't meet anyone and share the love of Jesus? After all, this trip is not only about hugging some orphans or providing a lap for them to sit in. This is about spreading the Gospel to the lost, even if that means sharing it with the orphanage workers who will, in turn, share it with those that are too young to understand yet. Sure, I'll hold them and love on them but my purpose was so much bigger.

Sunday afternoon was my first of 4 Impact classes at church. David spoke to our class for an hour out of that time. Since the classes last from 4-5:45, we will be going to the 6PM service for the next 3 weeks. The class let out and we snagged FRONT ROW SEATS!!! Check out what we get to see while Dr. David Platt preaches the Gospel! Nothing fancy about it is there? It looks like the dump of some of the poorest nations in the world!

And get this...his sermon was entitled "WALKING IN WISDOM" and the very first thing in our notes was: The Question We Anxiously Ask... What is God's will for my life?

Like, are you kidding me, God? Is this man about to preach on what we've been discussing all weekend? Is he about to shed some insight into how You are going to lead me if I will only ask? So yes, after 1 1/2 hours of me with my mouth hanging open, he closed with this: The Answer We Gladly Receive...God desires for me to know and follow His will so much that He lives in me and leads me to accomplish it. I was blown away!

So I spent the rest of the night praying and asking God to give me wisdom that I so desperately needed and to guide me in His wisdom wherever He wants me to go. Another sweet friend-I've-never-met signed onto FB chat and while we were discussing the 2 trips and how I wish God would just give me clear direction, I shared the link to the orphanage website with her. It was then that I ran across a picture that rocked me to my core:

Like, seriously, God??? Does this say Alexander City Water Tap? I mean, what clearer direction can you give? I've asked you before to send me an email but this...this is too much! If you'll remember a couple paragraphs back, I am from a little city in Alabama called Alexander City! I told Alaina to go to pic #11 and she said, "Hey, isn't that where you're from?" I still stand amazed at how she just recalled that from my profile in an instant, as I am friends with so many new people that I can't tell you in an instant where they're all from. So yeah, we decided that God was at work here! He had heard my prayers about needing clear direction and He knew my struggles with not wanting to pick the wrong trip. Instead, He knew that I wanted Him to give me my destination. Wow, when He is serious, it gets serious! I looked for Rachel but she wasn't online.

The next day Alaina sent me a FB message that said, "Isaiah 30:21. I thought of this verse this morning when I was praying about which trip you should go on." So I went to my Bible and found that Isaiah 30:21 says, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." I immediately added it to my blog header and it serves as not only how He was about to direct my next steps, but it also ties into my whole Compass In My Heart theme!!! I spent the rest of the day making a futile attempt to play out some pros and cons in my head. My mind kept going back to Rachel and her heart for these kids and I longed for her to sign on so I could figure out this whole Alexander City Water Tap thing! That's when even crazier things started happening! I made 2 comments within a short amount of time during which the security/captcha thing contained the word Uganda and I typed it in and clicked OK before I thought to get a pic of it. The very next one said...

Yes, God, that is my goal - defend the ones who can not defend themselves and I will do it with all my heart! Then, as if the day couldn't get any crazier, I got this one...

Again...seriously, God? I can't breathe here! I thought You wanted to help me, not land me in the ER. I get it, you can stop now. This is too much for one day...too much! When Derrick got home, I decided to take a break from the computer and run check my PO Box. Yeah, God wasn't done with me. In there I found this:

There was no return address or anything, so I immediately posted the pic to FB and asked who was responsible for the tears I was crying! The package was from a guy from my hometown, Daniel, and his wife. She had these made for me so I could use them send letters from Africa, or maybe request donations from some local business owners. WOW! This kinda stuff just DOES NOT happen to me. Like, before this new life, get gifts, I gave gifts! God is REALLY blessing me!

Rachel signed on that afternoon and oddly enough asked if we should do a pros and cons list. I'm NOT kidding. But before that, I had to know about this Alexander City Water Tap thing!! So here's her story: "The guy who owns the orphanage is from Rwanda and he came here to Alabama as a refugee. He had a very lucrative construction business before God called him back to Uganda to develop and run an orphanage. The people that helped fund the water tap and drilling of the well were from Alexander City, AL." Did you catch that? Did she just say that the people who drilled the well were from my hometown? Have you picked yourself up off the floor yet? I'm in awe as I type. I could re-live this moment over and over and over again! Alexander City is a small town and how in the world someone from there ended up drilling a well in Uganda is craziness! Is it possible that God sent them there before me to do this so it would provide clear direction for me? You know, He DOES go before us and make a way! God is at work here, people!

It was in that moment that my decision was made. I tossed the whole pros and cons and told Rachel that I'd be joining her on this trip. It was in that moment that I made the crazy FB update that said "I am DONE. God has just spoken to me for the LAST time today. I can't take it anymore!!! Oh, this is too much!!!" Under my update, my friend Kelly wrote "Hang in there sweet friend!" and Keri wrote "Thinking about you constantly. It is exciting to see God working." and Jennifer wrote "He is speaking loud and clear, My Dear! :)" but they had no idea what was going on right now!!! I spent the rest of the night searching for a flight that matched Rachels. It was no where to be found. I went to bed with mixed emotions. Had God brought me this far to turn me away now?

That night, I dreamed this and posted it as a FB status update:
I dreamed I was teaching little brown hands how to correctly fold the corners of the wrapping paper on Christmas gifts. Soooo, either I will be in Africa again for Christmas or I will be at one of your houses. But please, people, don't fight amongst yourselves. There's enough of me to go around! ;)

After breakfast, I turned the TV on for Marlie so I could continue searching for a flight. One small problem...I didn't have the money to book the flight. I mean, collectively I had enough but some was in Paypal, some was in my savings account, the other was in a check I had yet to cash. I couldn't possibly get all that worked out at that moment. To make matters worse, the flights had gone up from $2400 to $2700 and that was before taxes! An angel then appeared to me in the form of an email from a friend stating that I could use her credit card to book the flight and just pay her back! Sure, she'd offered that before but it was several months ago when I was planning to go to Haiti! AND it was for a plane ticket that was more like $700, not $2500!!! I was stoked! I spent the next few hours praying and searching but coming up empty! I sought out prayers on FB and decided to take a much needed break from the computer. I prayed and the computer kept calling my name so 45 mins later I decided to give it another look. I found the flight and tried to book it but I failed to get the exp date from her. I called her...no answer! I sent her a FB message AND a text...and then the unthinkable happened! The session timed out! I frantically searched for the flight but it was gone! Then I got a text with the exp date! 10 mins later I found not just a comparable flight but I found the EXACT flight...AND it was now $2300+ ($2500 TOTAL)!!! I won't bore you with all the other edge-of-my-seat details that made up the next hour of my life but it was CRAZINESS! It was then time to make the best post yet on FB:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! I submitted my travel request to God & HE APPROVED! I have a playdate with some orphans in Uganda, the lost in the villages that practice witchcraft & the street kids that don't know they have a Father who loves them! A dear friend stepped forward & allowed me to use her CC to book my... flight. She's the SAME friend that gave me my very first donation for Haiti...which is now Uganda!

But it didn't stop there! I posted a link again for my "Radical giveaway" because I had just stepped out in faith and committed all of my donations thus far to a plane ticket and really needed God to move some hearts to donate to the remainder of my trip. So when I went to post the link, guess what popped up! Check THIS out...

I have no more words...

what a "Radical" giveaway!

2010-06-06T13:19:00.024-05:00

I will be giving away a copy of Radical that I got Pastor David to sign last Sunday. You can read the first chapter of the book here.

Although I have been going to church for 2 months, I hadn't actually met Dr. David Platt until last Sunday. I have been sharing this video with everyone on facebook:

I am often told by the people that do not run in the same adoption/orphan advocate circles on Facebook that I run in that they would LOVE to read the book. Soooo, I thought about doing a giveaway when I started my blog!! After the 9am service last Sunday, I went to buy a book at one of the kiosks outside the worship room and told Melinda, Derrick & Jeff that I would be meet them on the other side of the church where Marlie's and Alex's classrooms were. Well, I bought the book and God planted in my heart (in an instant) that it would be sooo much cooler to do a giveaway of a signed copy! So I immediately turned around and headed back into the worship room. I stood in line for 20 mins to get my turn to talk with him. My heart was beating out of my chest. This was my chance to talk to the man who I sat among my faith family and missed almost all of his message because I was just praying to breathe and not break down into tears and run out of the room. This was the man that had an aura follow him all over the stage as he preached STRAIGHT FROM THE WORD EVERY SUNDAY. This was the man that people came from all over the state and from out-of-town to hear speak. This was the man that God spoke to me through time and time again.

Before I knew it, it was my turn to speak with him. I shook his hand and said, "I'm Christie and I posted you a message on The Radical Experiment Facebook Page (he had us post our questions and he spent an hour answering as many of them as he could) about how I had given up my car in November, prayed for and lost my job 2 weeks after accepting Christ as my Savior, and was about to move into my sister's basement in an effort to raise money for my first mission trip. The only problem was that because it was a novel, you skipped right over me." He laughed and apologized as I let him know that someone contacted me via a Facebook message and asked me to call the church to talk about it with them. I then said that I had made the move and was now "living radically in my sister's basement" and he said, "YOU ARE AWESOME!". I also told him about my fundraising efforts to go "live out James 1:27" and I got to see that huge smile of his. About that time, they were dimming the lights for the start of the 11am service, so he asked me to come over and have a seat with him while he signed my book. He wished me luck with it and I told him that if it was that successful, I'd be back this Sunday for another one. We both had a laugh and then the music started. I ~~walked off~~ floated off...on cloud nine. So since I have that cool story behind the book, I will keep the copy I have. But that's even more exciting for you because the copy that is won can be personalized with your own message from him! How does that sound? Get excited, people!

So what do you have to do? Well, for starters you can FOLLOW ME if you have a blog. But to enter, all you need to do is share a link to my blog on Facebook, share a link on your blog and/or share it on Twitter. You will be entered 1x per method. Once you've done either or both, let me know via a comment on this post. Follow me on here as well, if you'd like :) The drawing will be held next Sunday, just to give everyone a chance to enter. David will be speaking at the SBC conference next Sunday so he will not be at church. So Father's Day will be the next opportunity I will get for him to sign it with your personalized message.

So, it's simple! Spread the word by sharing and enter to win! But that's not all folks! Here's where I'm beginning to sound like a infomercial. For a limited time only, if you call now...ok, seriously...one of my FB friends that is selling T-shirts for their adoption is throwing in a shirt of your choice:

or

Most everyone I know already owns the book but get a signed copy (with your personalized message inside) as either a gift OR for yourself, and give your old copy to someone else. How sweet is that? So, what are you waiting for? Start spreading the word! And feel free to leave a link to your blog in your comment! Someone might find something on your page that inspires them for today or changes the direction of their life forever! God is good!

2 anonymous donors, 1 merciful God

2010-06-04T11:05:00.040-05:00

On Thursday, I had someone contact me and offer to match $100 in donations and I met and exceeded that goal within 20 hours (with the majority of those being overnight)! Ever wondered what God's up to? Well, yesterday He was working some LOVE into my paypal account! I felt sooo undeserving of His mercy! But He is SERIOUS about me and Uganda! Another friend was so encouraged with the way God is working in my life that she stepped up and offered to match another $300 in donations!! So, if you have been praying about supporting me through a donation, now is the time! Your $5 becomes $10, your $10 becomes $20, or your $25 becomes $50!! This is so awesome! You can securely pay with a credit/debit card by clicking on the "donate" button on my page. I will have to purchase my plane ticket on Mon or Tue, so PLEASE share the link to my blog with anyone that can help and let's turn this $300 match into $600 :)

Remember the friend-that-I've-never-met that I mentioned in this post? Did I just link back to the previous post as if I were digging through years and years of posts to spare you guys the pain of remembering it? Hahahaha, yeah, I did. Anyways, she didn't want me to share her identity with anyone because she didn't want to be boastful about her donation. It reminds me of the person that just walks up to the Salvation Army volunteer at Christmas and nonchalantly drops a diamond in the bucket. Yep, she might as well have given me a diamond. I have ALWAYS been so independent and God is teaching me that I can't be independent and raise funds for my trip. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. All of our money belongs to Him, and fundraising is His confirmation that you are doing His will. Had I had all the resources I needed when I first put my heart and soul into going on a mission trip, I wouldn't have met all the amazing people I have. I remember crying and crying everytime one of MY plans fell through. What I failed to realize was that these plans are not mine. If you are a follower of Christ, you have no life. You give up your life for Him.

This is the handwritten message that I saw on the back of the adorable purple envelope that I got in the mail: "With God all things are possible!" And you're right, girlfriend, you're right! The note on the inside read:

Christie,
I know God has amazing plans for you. I can't wait to see how God uses you. Please know that I am praying or you. I can't wait to meet you. God Bless.

Although I had been expecting her $700 donation, what I wasn't expecting was to see $1000 on the check instead. I did a full blown "God dance" in the driveway and when I got inside, I broke into the "ugly cry". Of course this prompted Alex to ask me why I was crying. I explained to him, through tears, that someone had just done something really special ~~for me~~ for God and that it made me really happy. He said that if I cried, it meant that I wasn't happy. So people, keep that in mind next time you cry "happy tears" :)

If you guys follow me on Facebook, you have surely read some funny stories about Alex. When my mom moved out of my place and back to our hometown, I took on the role of nanny for Marlie and after-school-carpool-driver for Alex. So most of our precious conversations happened during the drive from his school to either my apartment or his house, both less than 10 miles away. I will forever cherish those conversations and would post them on Facebook in an effort to 1) remember them and 2) share them with friends and family. Since he's out of school for the Summer already, I get to have these conversations all day now. What a ~~treat~~ blessing! Here are a couple of fun things from yesterday that should make you smile:

Me:So tell me something fun about God.
Alex:Does He have eyes in the back of His head?
Me:He made eyes, so yeah, He sees everything. And what's cool is He knows everything too! He knew you were going to ask me that just now.
Alex:Well, sometimes I try to trick Him because I think something but say something different. But nah, He already knows that too, don't He?

and...

Alex LOVES to draw and color, so all day he asked me what I wanted him to draw me. Here were my responses:

1) plane...although it was flying over the "EMPIRATE State Building", it was flying in the direction of Africa

2) something I'll see in Africa...a yellow lion

3) the faces of the kids I'll see...he said he didn't have brown so he would have to use a little black. He said that this one was my sweet Moses!

So how fun was my Friday so far? But believe me, it got better. We went out to dinner at Stix for my friend Jeff's birthday. And although I didn't pay for my meal, I had quite a hard time fathoming paying $25 for a meal, even IF I was sharing it with Melinda and Alex. Do you feel this way about everyday life? I know that in the past 5 months, I have seen the world in a totally different perspective. My heart burns for the things that I really didn't notice before. Things that might have made me sigh in disbelief now make my stomach churn and I tend to stew on them for a little while longer. I find myself wishing people "got it" and felt the way I do about things because how could they not? I have to remember that He judges the hearts of others. I have to remember that EVERYone is a child of God, whether they choose to follow Him or not. I have to remember that He died for ALL OUR SINS. I have to remember that I am just as undeserving as the next guy. But it keeps me humble. I pray that this does not go away. I will always want the wound I have in my heart for those who can not afford to eat, much less afford a $25 meal, to be fresh and I never want to take ~~my life~~ His life through me for granted.

To those who have asked me where I came up with the name "Compass In My Heart", it all goes back to what I wrote below the picture of Africa that I have had posted as my profile picture on Facebook since January. The caption reads "Everybody has a compass in their heart and mine points to Africa. The heart is located over Zambia, where my sweet Moses is but my heart burns for all the little children of the world!!!" Then today, I got asked again and I thought about it in more detail and posted "The compass in my heart points to God, and more specifically to His children in Africa! Where does yours point? If yours points to all the pleasures this world has to offer apart from Him, I URGE you to get it calibrated! Spend some time with Him, He will definitely change your life!!! What do you have to lose if I'm wrong? If I'm not, you have EVERYTHING TO LOSE! Trust me ;)" as my Facebook status. So tell me, where does the compass in YOUR heart point?