Week Three

Week  three

June 18

I joined Brittany's team at Sangaalo.  They were out looking at the newly purchased land and I arrived just in time for lunch and bath time.  I fed four babies, Brandon, Nicole, Isaac and Taylor their lunch and then proceeded to the baby washing station.

The aunties have it down to orderly routine. I stood over an empty basin with a clean water bucket next to me.  I had a fresh wash clothe for each baby and a bar of soap. One by one, I was handed a naked baby.  I washed them, head to toe, and passed them on to the next auntie, who lotions them up with Vaseline and then dressed them.  I love getting to spend extra time with the little ones and watching them grow.  Many I've known since they were brand new.

Brittany's team was heading to Kampala and I joined her to head towards the airport to pick up my team. I waited anxiously for those infamous Go. Be. Love shirts to come through he baggage claim doors.  It seemed like hours, but finally we were all together!  No lost bags!  I roomed with Calllie, my new coleader, and we prayed together.  

The next morning, we got on the road to head towards Jinja.  We all got to know each other a little bit. We got settled in at Providence Guesthouse, and headed straight to Abide Ministries.

Abide strives to prevent children from becoming orphans.  They are referred families by the government or social workers that would have abandoned them due to poverty.  They then help those families by teaching them a trade and helping them keep their kids.  The moms LOVED us being there.  We played with the children, danced and sang worship songs. We prayed for their needs.  Such sweet families.

Our team is building relationships.  As a leader, I love watching them come closer to each other and grow in their spirituality.

June 20

Last night, I was woken to a high pitched scream, and the words, "there's a bat in my mosquito net!"  

Today, we took the team into the village of Wakissi to work with Healing Faith.  Healing Faith works to educated, prevent and treat Malaria.  We taught the kids the creation story and had a blast singing and dancing together.  A parachute had been donated and the kids absolutely loved it! Jason, from Healing Faith, tested and treated a few positive Malaria cases.I have seen him do it many times.  It's almost as if I have become desensitized to it.  I sometimes forget the severity of it and the impact Malaria has on those deep in the village with limited to no income and treatment.  One of the Missionary Kids got really emotional watching a girl about her own age suffer with many if the symptoms.  It brought her to tears and then I remembered THIS is why I come.  THIS is why I bring people here.  To be affected.  To see with their own eyes.  To be changed.

June 21

Wow!  That's all I can say! Our team spent the day walking thru about 2.5 miles of rural Ugandan village bush.  We walked until we found any type of shelter where families may live and sleep.  With a translator, we told them why we were there. We explained that we came to educate about Malaria and were sharing the love of Jesus.  We found that many families had no idea what caused malaria.  They all welcomed us into there homes.  They all wanted prayer, they all received nets over all sleeping areas.  It was awesome to see the smiling faces, the receptiveness and joy to have visitors.

As we were traveling, we came across a Jaja (grandmother) that had just lost her son. It is customary for a tarp to be hung and for visitors to come and sit with them.  We sat, and grieved with her.  Although you would never know she was suffering from a loss, because she was so happy we had come.  

The genuine happiness that comes from such simple acts is admirable.

June 22

After an amazing church service at Acacia church, we headed to Sangaalo Baby Cottage.  We spent the rest of the day loving on little ones.  We brought over 100 cloth diapers and about 70 cans of formula.  It was awesome changing the kids from their rag diapers into their new cloth diapers.  We showed the workers how to use them.  No more rags!

Our Nurse and Nurse Practitioner checked all the babies.  Two needed medication and we were able to make a trip to the pharmacy.  

I always love seeing the kids growing up!  I've been visiting these babies for three years, it's awesome to watch the changes.

June 23

Today we were the first Visiting Orphans team to get to work with Sole Hope.  Sole Hope treats children with jiggers and then fits them with shoes to prevent future outbreaks. We divided up into stations.  We have foot scrubbers, chigger removal, shoe fitting and education.  As the children were finished, we entertained them until all others had gone thru.  Truly a team favorite!

June 24

The day of rest...and much needed.    We took a boat road on the Nile river and FIVE team members wanted to be baptized.  What an honor!

June 26

We arrived in Kampala the night before and headed to market to buy a few things for our feast.  We woke up early and started cutting up meat and vegetables.  The kids played outside taking turns loving on us.  Like many children lacking parental involvement, they craved any touch or affection we could give them. Every time I left the kitchen to check on my team, there was always about 5-10 children waiting for me to scoop them up in my arms.  It's overwhelming.  They all deserve individual attention.  They all deserve my love. I do my best.  I make sure to acknowledge them all, and they all get "I love you and you are beautiful" from me.  I've mastered saying it in their native tongue of Luganda. The children were served beef soup and fried rabbit!  One of the boys who lives at the children's home, David, has been building a rabbit business for over a year.  I promised him I would buy from him last November so he was elated when I followed thru.  

After a long day of feeding and loving on kids, we headed up for rest.  My team was completely overwhelmed by the huge need for love.  I've seen it many times.  All I can do is smile.  When my team members are broken down in tears, I know that God is breaking their hearts for what breaks His.  That is the whole purpose!  He wants more for us!  He wants US to be the solution!  We have to take that pain we feel and use it to change things.  To have an impact.  To be His hands and feet!  I. LOVE. THIS. STUFF!

June 27

Today was our last day as a team.  We participated in a chapel service with about 400 children in a small church.  As always, their worship was over the top! 

This team rocked it!  We young and old, single and married with kids, all different denominations and from all over the US and Germany.  We all came together to serve and to love. Mission accomplished!

Week Two

June 10

Today, our family traveled with Healing Faith in their Mobile Malaria Unit, to the village if Wakissi.  Healing Faith has been working with this village for over a year educating, preventing and treating Malaria, and ministering to the spiritual needs of the people there.It is still rainy season, so the dirt roads looked more like an obstacle course of mud holes.  It was an adventure getting to the village.  On our way, we stopped to check on a family that had recently had a new baby, and one that had just lost a baby.  This was the kids first real encounter with village life.  As we pulled up, goats, chickens and rabbits roamed around.  Marley fell in love with all of the bunnies!  

When we arrived in the village, the kids were in school.  They joined us in the field for some games and a bible study.  I watched my children interact with the village kids.  Both hesitant at first, but eventually, they warmed up.  Marley got bucked by a cow, and Miles got whooped in a game of soccer.  It was a good day!

June 11

Sangaalo baby home is where little baby Brandon lives.  I had the honor of naming him last summer.  He is about a year old now.  My Brandon finally got to meet the little baby that wasn't expected to live.  We brought the toddler Lego blocks and the kids went crazy!  They loved them!  Miles was beginning to see how much his efforts were appreciated.  

Brandon and I got to spend some time with Jason and Kari, from Healing Faith.  I'm so glad God brought them into our lives!  

June 13

Brandon left today.  This kids were so distracted playing with the Segner kids that I'm not sure they fully understood that they wouldn't see Daddy for a whole month.  Hadlee on the other hand is going to miss her Uncle Boo!  Our family really enjoyed spending time with Kari and Jason!

Today I learned to navigate around with my cane on my own without my husbands strong arm on my side.  I think I got this!

June 14

Our morning started with some family worship and a devotional.  Miles chose the songs and then read the story of David and Goliath.  We talked about what we can learn from that story.  Miles blew me away when he said that he knows that God has power over the enemy.  Miles, like most American kids, is addicted to video games.  He said that he is now going to rely on God to give him the strength to overcome that addiction.  Proud Mama here!

The kids and I braved traveling on our own today!  We stepped outside our compound gates and waved down a Boda driver.  All three of us piled onto a motorbike with my cane!  Ha....it was a funny sight.  The kids loved it! We ate lunch, got some groceries and then headed back home just long enough for a nap.  Then Brittany, my coleader from last summers team called.  She had just arrived in town.  We caught another Boda to eat dinner with her team.  On the way back home, around 8:30pm, my Boda driver got lost!  For a second I feared the end of our trip would be at some black market mzungu sale!  We eventually made it home safely!  I learned to always keep the address of the guesthouse with me!

The kids are adjusting wonderfully!  We have settle into a routine.  They wake up to the sounds of roosters, birds and all sorts of animals and insects.  I cook them breakfast.  I have been getting creative with our menu options of bread, bananas and eggs!  Then they venture out onto the compound we are are staying on and play with Boone, the guard dog, or whatever other animals are around!  They have been playing with Legos until we are able to take them to some kids. Miles has been journaling and Marley working on her alphabet.  They play and I love it!  Occasionally I reward them with some electronic time, but that is becoming less and less.  They are content running around barefoot and exploring!  I am happy they are adjusting!  

The First Week

June 5

Although flying from Europe to Ethiopia is only have the time it would be flying from the States, it still took a toll on the kids.  They were tired.  We arrived at the guest house within only our carryons,  because like true missionary travel, our bags went to Uganda without us.  So at 8:30 am, I had two very tired, hungry kids.  Marley found friends in the guesthouse staff, while Miles complained about being bored.  I was beginning to worry about his transition.  I woke him from a deep sleep for an opportunity to walk to a pizza place. It was a long walk for tired kids, he grew impatient and starting complaining about the smells, the animal poop in the road, and everything else that I have grown accustom to.  Again, I worried about him. In return for a better attitude, I bribed him with a taxi ride back to the guesthouse.  Taxi, really isn't what you would call our hired transportation, but it did the job.  As I piled both kids in to a motorcycle rigged to be a covered three seat car, also known as the blue devils, I saw Miles to begin to find the adventure in it.  

Later that evening, we joined Brandon's team for dinner at the Traditional Ethiopian Restaurant. The day was beginning to look better. Both kids ate traditional Ethiopian food!  And when the dancing began, the kids' faces lit up!  They were mesmerized by the tribal dances.  I couldn't keep my eyes off of my kids.  They were enjoying a culture that is so dear to me.  They forgot about video games, and just observed.  There is hope!  Tomorrow will be another day! 

June7

We arrived in Kampala , Uganda without any problems.  Our Driver, Charles, met us with his giant smile! All four of us piled into the van with all 12 bags.  The kids were too tired to take in the sights and slept most of the journey.  We were warmly greeted by my friends Sarah and Samuel and their three kids.  Sarah had recently had anew baby and I was anxious to hold her. As we were walking off the porch onto the grass to go to our room, I fell. I held to baby up, so that she avoided the rocky path near us.  She was fine.   I handed her off to Sarah and instantly began to fell dizzy.  As I scooted up to sit on the porch, my left ankle popped back into socket.  The toes on my right foot looked a little slanted.  At first, I thought I had dislocated them.  Thankfully, I followed Sarah's advice and went to a hospital.  Nine of us loaded up into a van and headed to get a professional opinion.  Sarah didn't want to miss out on our kids playing, so she brought her three.  Our kids played in the van while I sat in a Ugandan hospital.  They were quick to help me.  After examinations from two doctors, xrays on both feet and $20 later, I was told I had one sprained ankle and three broken bones in the opposite foot.  They didn't have the materials to cast it, so I thanked them for their time and left. 

June 8

We said our good byes and left for Jinja.  Again, my kids could care less about the scenery and slept the four hour trip.  When we arrived at our friends home, we were greeted with warm hugs and smiling faces.  My kids' faces lit up when they finally got to meet the kids that were close to their age. Even though they complained about bug bites, I could see the tone changing.  They were beginning to adapt!

We attended their home church while about 25-30 kids played outside for over two hours.  Miles said it was one of the best days of his life!

June 9

We had planned a family outing, but it poured down rain all day long.  So we improvised.  All 13 missionary kids sat on the floor for over five hours, only breaking for a bowl of rice and beans, playing Legos.  I sat with my leg elevated and iced. I began to see my kids transition to life in Africa ease up.  They were loving it.  Yes, they have bites all over them.  Marley has all kinds of scrapes from falls, but they are having fun!  

After having my foot casted, I hobbled over to a window to see Brandon helping the kids harvest fresh mangos.  Marley came in beaming with pride over her very hard green mango!  She is patiently waiting for it to change colors.

Today was good, my ankle is healing hand I've upgraded to walking alone with a cane.  Tomorrow our whole family will do village ministry together!  

One down…Three to Go!

Brandon is off!  He is on his way to Ethiopia and on his way to experience his first mission trip!  I'm so proud of him!  He has supported me in missions for years and now it's his turn!  All day I've been watching how cool and calm he was.  He never panicked about forgetting something or that we were running late.  He just remained cool.  How does that happen?!  I'm usually a nut case the day I leave!
We parked outside of the train station that will ultimately take him to the Frankfurt airport, where he will fly out tonight.  We prayed.  He was still calm and collected.  We got his bags out and I gave him a hug.  He lost it!
I said, "Boo, it's all right!  I'll see you in a little over a week."  He said, "that's not why I'm crying."  "Then what's going on?" I asked.  "He is so patient with me!  I'm a screw up, and God is STILL patient with me!"
Yes. He. Is!

Provision

God provides!  It sounds simple as it rolls off of my tongue, but it's so true!  I've been watching God come thru financially for years.  Watching others learn about God's abundant provision feeds my soul!  It makes me burst with joy!

For my family, our journey in experiencing God's provision started when Brandon and I started being generous and giving.  We were a young married couple with one meager income and I was in college.  After I graduated, we had about $60,000 of debt in car payments, credit cards and student loans.  Eeek!  Thru Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace concepts, we paid all of that off in about three years.  God came thru!  No, He didn't make money rain down into our bank account.  He gave us the wisdom to live off of one income while we used the other to pay down that debt fast!

A few years later, as a stay at home mom, God called us to international adoption.  We were faced with scary international adoption fees.  While a lot of adoption families turn to loans, we refused to go back into debt.  We asked God for wisdom and provision.  I took on subbing jobs.  We prayed again for God to show us how we afford the fees.  God had given Brandon a gift years before.  Little did we know that that gift was given to him only to be used later to help fund our adoption!  We sold Brandon's 65 Mustang which paid for almost half of our adoption fees!  God provided!

Just about a year after Marley join our family, I came to Brandon with this crazy idea of going on a short term mission trip thru Visiting Orphans!  Brandon is the rational one in our relationship.  I'm the crazy spontaneous one!  He grounds me when I get out of control.  He watched God provide for my mission trip!

For almost four years now, I travel to Africa on mission trips.  God ALWAYS provides!  I've noticed a pattern in God's provision!  

1. You have to be obedient! Whatever God is calling you to, be obedient! Just trust him and do it!
2.  Put forth your effort!  Really!  Get creative, work your butt off, take on extra jobs.
3.  Have the faith, real crazy faith without worry that God will provide.
4.  Completely give it to him.  COMPLETELY!  Don't let worry set in!
Then BOOM, God comes thru!  

I've watch so many people experience this thru fundraising for missions.  Signing up for a trip is their way of being obedient.  They do bake sales, they sell T-shirts, they write letters to friends and family.  They trust that God will come thru for them.  Then the worry sets in.  The deadlines come in and they have $1,000 still to raise.  They pray, then they surrender.  They ask God to bless their efforts.  Then…He does!!!!  You don't get it until you've experience it yourself.  I tell so many, but until they have seen it for themselves, they just don't get it!  But when they do, they are changed!

This past month, our family has watched this happen yet again!  Deciding to fund TWO mission trips and bring our kids wasn't easy.  Okay, so it was an easy decision for me!  But Brandon, the grounded one, kept telling me to quit telling people that all of us were going.  He was worried that we wouldn't be able to raise enough money.  FOUR $1,000 airline tickets!  TWO mission trip fees!  Accommodations, drivers, food, insurance!  ONE income!  God provided!

We are fully funded!  WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!  God provides!  I have no doubt that we are on the right path!  His provision is confirmation for us!

There are still opportunities to give!  We always have opportunities on the ground for blessing ministries with food and supplies!  If you can't go on a trip, send someone who can!  You both will be changed for it!  What is God asking you to do?  Be obedient!  He will sustain you!

I LOVE THIS STUFF!  GOD IS GOOD AND HE PROVIDES!

Miles, Legos and Uganda

I'm so proud of the creative little giver that my son is becoming!  While talking about going to Uganda as a family this summer, he was a little anxious.  He was nervous about the living conditions and lack of familiarity.  We talked thru it and he came up with a plan!  Bring legos and set up a lego building center for the kids.  Please help Miles fill his suitcase with legos and help by spreading the word!

Surrender

Surrender: to agree to stop fighting, hiding, resisting, etc., because you know that you will not win or succeed

Surrendering your own plans has to be one of the toughest things to do.  We all have an idea of how we want things to go in our lives.  Whether it's family planning, careers, financial goals or whatever.

As a Christian, we are called to surrender to God.  We are weak, but His Spirit is strong.  We will always fail, but God never does!  So what does surrendering look like?  It is different for everyone.  I think it begins when we deny ourselves and give our lives as Christians.  Simply proclaiming that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for our sins and rose again to prove that He indeed was the Messiah is surrendering.  As we mature as Christ followers, we have opportunity after opportunity to surrender again and again.  But do we?

Do we  'agree to stop fighting, hiding, resisting, etc., because you know that you will not win or succeed?'  I know I'd like to think that I am in complete surrender, but I'm not.  Sure, I surrender the comforts of materialism so that our family can afford to participate in missions.  But for me, that's easy.  I. LOVE. MISSIONS!  But what if God called me to give it up?!  Would I fight it. Would I hide from it?  Uh......yeah I would!  And He may one day.  As for now, at this stage in my journey, He is calling me to lead teams to experience Him in a whole new way, to serve and love more than they ever have.  

So what is God asking you to surrender?  Is it pride?  Is it authority?  Is it money, retirement, vacation time?  Whatever it is, I beg you to listen to it!  I believe that when we surrender...completely surrender, He takes that and fills us with peace for being obedient.  I can only speak from personal experience.  I have seen Him in action time and time again in my own life provide and give me peace when I have been obedient!  He is our Father!  Just think about it.  If your own kids surrender to your authority and are completely obedient, aren't you more likely to want to meet their needs and desires?
Surrender!

Our Family is on a Mission!

It is finally official!  The tickets are booked!  All four of us will be serving in Ethiopia and Uganda this summer!

I have spent the last three years of my life serving with short term mission teams in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.  Every time I come home, I share stories and photos of my experiences, dreaming of the time that my own family can see it all first hand.  Many obstacles have prevented this from happening until now.

In just about 6 weeks, Brandon leaves to serve on a team in Ethiopia.  I will leave about a week after that with the kids and meet him there.  We have several friends and our former Missouri babysitter on his team so we look forward to getting to see some familiar faces.  THEN…we all fly to Uganda!  The place that has become my home and the place where I am called Mama and Auntie by many! The place that I hope will become our home!  After my family leaves, my Visiting Orphans team will join me.

Our family will have the opportunity to serve together!  I am beyond elated!  I look forward to the giggles as the kids stare at the Mzungu (white person) and her black husband!  I am over the moon to finally share the sweet girls that have called me Mum for the past three years!  Seeing my kids run and play with the Ugandan children that have a piece of my heart may just make me burst with joy!  Oh Jesus, thank you so much for this opportunity!

You can help support the work we will be doing by buying one of our shirts!  We are on a mission to LOVE and SERVE!  

Methods of Evangelism

Recently, I have been learning about the methods of evangelism.  It's crazy how one faith can be so divided about this. This became most evident when I was speaking with a local pastor about the opportunity to support a ministry.  This church asked many questions, all about the methods of salvation that were being used in this ministry.  They wanted to know how this ministry was going to "save" souls.  The answers given were awesome, and real.  But, however, they were not how this particular church does things.  After our presentation and answering questions, we were told that their church only supports missionaries that plant churches.  Initially, I got a little offended.  How narrow minded that was!  Then it got me thinking.

As Christians, we are all called to share the gospel of Jesus and the way we do it doesn't have to all look the same.  Thankfully, I am just accountable to Christ and not my fellow believers.  Man they can be brutal and judgmental if I let that in.  Jesus called us to be disciples, and He also called us to love.  Actually, love is the greatest command that Jesus gave.  It is the one thing that Jesus said is the most important and the key to everything!

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

What is love?  What does loving look like?

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

So if Jesus tells us that loving God and that loving your neighbor as yourself are the two most important commandments of the Law, I feel like we, as Christians, need to check ourselves.  Are we doing that?  Is the method that we are using for reaching others doing so in love?

I do not pretend to have all of the answers.  I'm a work in progress.  Just because my method of reaching others and sharing the gospel doesn't look like yours, doesn't mean that I'm wrong or that you are.  That is the beauty of the way God made us.  He made us with different gifts.  He positioned us all in different environments and circles of friends and family.  We all have different experiences and backgrounds.  We all have different callings on our lives.  I'm learning that, still!

Without a doubt in my soul, I know that God has called me to lead short term mission trips.  He has called me to build relationships within my own community and to love my neighbors.  I don't know what He will lead me to next year or in the next ten years.  But for right now, I have a deep peace.  I am in His will and it feels good!  He has not called me to plant churches, to hold revivals, to scream from megaphones about the pits of hell! So if my method of reaching people, sharing the gospel and love of Christ doesn't look like yours, it's okay!  Because God gave it to me!  And I'm learning to be okay with that!

T-Shirt Fundraiser for Brandon's Mission Trip!

I will soon be embarking on my very first mission trip to Ethiopia starting on May 27th!!  I am going through the I Pour Life organization, and our team will be going to Addis Ababa, and other surrounding rural towns to minister to and serve the people, and help with various projects.  I am very excited to return to Addis Ababa, as it is the birthplace of our daughter Marley.  To make all this happen, I am saving and raising money like crazy!  If you would like to help support me in this venture, you can do so by purchasing an "On a Mission" T-Shirt!  They look just like the one I am wearing in the picture.  If you are interested, you can select your size below and purchase using Pay Pal.

THANK YOU so much for your support!

Sizes

Youth Small $15.00 USD Youth Medium $15.00 USD Youth Large $15.00 USD Adult Small $20.00 USD Adult Medium $20.00 USD Adult Large $20.00 USD Adult XLarge $20.00 USD Adult XXL $22.00 USD