Destination: Uganda!

I'm excited to announce that next summer, Gary, Molly, and I will be co-leading a youth mission trip to Uganda with Adventures in Missions. The trip is part of AIM's Ambassador program, designed for students ages 14-18 who want to serve God on trips that vary in length from one to four weeks. We will be ministering in Busia, Uganda (right across the border from Kenya) from June 30, 2010 to July 30, 2010.


According to AIM's website:

Much of the ministry will be will be in partnership with Helping Hands Ministry. The team will be ministering at a school for orphans. There will be opportunities to provide friendship, bible studies, education and the gospel to the children. In addition to the children, you will have a chance to minister to young adults in the area with outreach events working alongside Ugandans who are trying to reach their peers.

The team will assist and learn how to best minister with and to the people of Uganda. There may also be opportunities for the team to work with local churches "in the bush" once a week. The opportunities to join God in what He is doing in Uganda will be many and full of variety.

When I left Africa in 2006, I felt as if I left a piece of my heart there. I have been asking God since that time if it might be in His will for me to someday return and love on orphans in His name. I am thrilled for this opportunity, and am looking forward to four weeks of discipling teenagers while serving together.

AIM is accepting applications now for students who would like to participate in this trip. If you would like to join us, we would love to have you! Click here for more information about the trip!

Molly Update

So in case you haven't heard, Molly departed for her mission trip this past Wednesday, September 23rd. She left out of San Francisco at 6 am (!) and arrived in McAllen, Texas later that day. AIM staff met participants at the airport and drove them across the border to their home for the next two months.

During the training portion of their trip, the entire Novas group will be living and working out The Gateway, AIM's mission base in Matamoros, Mexico. Molly is bunking with 26 girls in a giant room. She reports that it is beautiful and raining right now. The day after arriving, the participants began a two day period of solitude to focus on prayer and connecting with God. They were given reading and journaling assignments. Molly has found this time challenging, but valuable.

On December 1, Molly will be flying to Swaziland with her teammates Jessica, Lila, Katie, Bryan, and John. They will be working with orphans at the Nsoko care point through next May.

Here are a couple of team pics from their training camp last month:



You can follow along with Molly's journey at her blog by here: http://mollymcrae.myadventures.org/.

Also, here is an address where you can send letters while the team is in Mexico:

Molly McRae
C/O: Tag Thompson
Adventures in Missions
6000 Wellspring Trail
Gainesville, GA 30506

They will keep the letters there and as staff goes down to Mexico they will take any mail which comes in. Make sure to send a message of encouragement!

Molly's New Blog!

A couple of months ago, we were thrilled to find out that Molly, the young woman that my husband and I are mentoring through shared life, was accepted to Adventures in Missions' "First Year Missionary" program in South Africa/Swaziland. She will spend nine months with a team in southern Africa experiencing intentional discipleship in ministry and missions.

As part of the preparation process, AIM sets up each participant with their own blog site and gives them specific assignments to complete before the trip begins. Once on the field, the participants use their blogs to keep friends and supporters updated with prayer requests, stories and pictures.

You can visit Molly's site here. She has already blogged about her expectations of the trip, her calling to missions, and the reality of life for orphans in Swaziland.

Here's a snippet from her bio:

I have felt for the past couple years that God might be calling me to Africa, and more specifically He has begun to break my heart for Swaziland. When I found the First Year Missionary Program, I learned that I could serve in Swaziland and be mentored into my future in missions. This program was exactly what I had been looking for. So now, I have begun the journey and look forward to what God has for me next.

Please feel free to visit Molly's blog and leave a comment of encouragement!

It's Not Theirs

Excerpted from this post by Kim Daniels, a World Racer currently on the field in Thailand:

~She sells her body to make money to feed her child.
~4 people in the church of 100 own a Bible.
~She's sick and dying of AIDS. She has been sexually abused more times than she can count. She is 7. And cares for 4 younger siblings.
~He sleeps in the train station. Starving. While there are hundreds of very edible cows wandering on the streets. But he won't dare touch one... because he believes that cow might just be his uncle, father, or friend.
~Her husband was martyred last year, leaving 40 orphans in her care. Somehow, all 41 of them survive on $10 a day.

I've seen their faces.
I've looked into their eyes.
I heard the unique tones of each voice.
I've smelled their homes.
I've slept in their rat infested rooms.
I've held them as they've wept.
I've tasted the sourness of their food.
I've laid on the dirt under the stars, holding sick, dying orphans who don't speak a word of English, falling in love with them as their bright eyes smile up at me through dark skin.

So its real to me.

And over and over again, I try to innovate new ways to help them. Because over and over again, it reverberates in me: "This is not just THEIR problem."

When a part of my body isn't functioning right, it manifests itself, sometimes through a cough, a sneeze, or weakness. When something isn't in sync with the rest of my parts, we'd say that I'm sick, and begin to do what needs to be done to get me healthy. If my lungs, stomach, or head suffer, the rest of me suffers, too....

When a part of the Body of Christ isn't functioning right, the rest of the Body suffers. When we who CAN do something do nothing, it affects everyone, even though you might not see it externally... eventually, what's going on internally will manifest on the surface.

Their conditions are not just their problem. And I'm not just talking about physical conditions. I'm talking about emotional and spiritual as well. Far too often we all walk around in a cloud of self-consumption, saturated in our present level of depression or happiness, the price of gas and the economy, our relationship issues, or any other situation we can keep our minds busy with.

And we miss the big picture. Starving children in Mozambique aren't actors in a Compassion International infomercial. They really do exist. I've held their boney frames. Women enslaved by the sex trade aren't statics. I've seen the emptiness in their eyes, and heard their unspoken cries for a Friend.

You know you're awake because you want to wake everyone else up, too.
If you don't want to, then maybe you're still sleeping.
Maybe you need to walk straight into something uncomfortable. Something you don't understand. Something that even frightens you a bit.
Until you do, the real world keeps passing you by, while you live in the Matrix.
True, waking up requires much more effort. But I promise you, its worth every tear, drop of sweat, and question that keeps you up at night.

Feeding starving orphans is not just the orphan's problem. Loving the love-starved is not just the love-starved's problem.

And waking sleeping people up is not just the sleeping people's problem.
I've decided its mine, too.

Sell and Give

Here's an interesting challenge by Children's Hopechest to encourage a spirit of giving. This ministry focuses on providing for orphans in Russia, South Africa, and Swaziland, but the concept could apply to raise money for any charity of your choice (as well as clearing your house of stuff you don't use!).

Check it out:

What I Have

May 11, 2008 - The Day of Pentecost

SELLING THEIR POSSESSIONS AND GOODS, THEY GAVE TO ANYONE AS HE HAD NEED. - ACTS 2:45

SILVER OR GOLD I DO NOT HAVE, BUT WHAT I HAVE I GIVE YOU - ACTS 3:6

The early church was known by their generosity. Christianity was even criticized as a "religion of widows and orphans." As we celebrate the church on the Day of Pentecost, let's seek the same criticism and live with the same life-giving generosity. There are millions of orphaned children waiting for you to give them what you have. Give what you have.

SELL:

*Choose a personal item of value (a leather coat, an electric guitar, a video game system, a canoe, jewelry, furniture, a collector's item, etc.)
*Sell the item. You can use whatever method is most familiar to you: eBay, Craigslist, a yard sale, a consignment shop, or the classifieds.
*Collect the money.

GIVE:

*Go to http://www.hopechest.org/; choose "GIVE" and fill out the form.
*Write "What I Have 2008" in the Notes/Child Reference Number field.

PROMOTE:

Click on the links below to download promotional materials for use in your church, small group, or school. There are several versions of the poster formatted for different sizes and usages. Feel free to re-post this information all over the Internet too (on Facebook, your blog, MySpace, or wherever your online home is.)

What I Have - POWERPOINT SLIDE
What I Have - POSTER (11x17 format)
What I Have - BULLETIN INSERT (8.5x5.5 format)
What I Have - FLYER (8.5x11 format)

These funds will be directed toward the most urgent and strategic programs in holistic and long-term orphan care. Some of those outreaches could include:

*Feeding programs
*Educational initiatives
*Health care
*Community development
*Spiritual discipleship

If you have any questions, contact Daniel at daniel@hopechest.org or (719) 955 4009.

Children's HopeChest is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

World Vision Experience

Yesterday morning, Gary and I had the privilege of walking through the World Vision "Step Into Africa" experience at Cornerstone Church in Livermore.

The experience (totally free, by the way) is a tour of sorts through the life of a real child affected by AIDS in Africa. As you put on the headphones and step through the curtain, you take on their identity and walk in their footsteps. You see pictures of them with their family. You sit in their bed. You consider what you would do if you were faced with the same decisions, if you were treated the same way by others, if you found yourself in a similar situation. My child was Emmanuel, a young boy in Uganda, orphaned by that deadly disease.

It was interesting for me to walk through this experience after having spent time in Africa in 2006, to feel a sort of familiarity with what I saw. But for red earth under my feet, and the heavy smoke of burning trash heaps in the air, I could have actually been in a hut in East Africa.

The idea of this experience is to break past the overwhelming statistics and make the reality more personal. 1 million orphans in Kenya alone - these kind of numbers can paralyze you. But to understand Emmanuel's life, to walk in his shoes for half an hour, reminds me that even sponsoring one child will make a positive difference in the world. While there is much to be sad about, there is encouragement to see that something can be done.

Sunday evening, Gary and I will be going back, this time with a few high schoolers from our church. We are going to hear from Princess Kasune Zulu, Dr. Sam Huddleston, and a special choir. Following the service, we will walk through the experience together, then as a group purchase and assemble a few AIDS caregiver kits.

I invite you to join us for the event Sunday evening, or to check out the experience on your own any time through Wednesday.

Milestones on my Journey

We have all had certain experiences or encounters that, though seemingly inconsequential at the time, have had a profound effect on the rest of our lives. A few of those major experiences for me have been spiritual in nature, and have shaped the core of my identity.

My mission trip to Ireland when I was 13, for example. I simply knew I was supposed to go on that trip (my first encounter with that still small voice, I think). I wasn't conscious at the time that my concept of the missionary - evangelist - "superchristian" was to be eroded away. After all, if God can work through a self-conscious 13 year old girl, He can surely use anyone!

Another profound experience for me was leading our junior high youth group through the 30 Hour Famine for the first time. Newly married, I had all kind of concepts about what I "needed" to furnish our apartment home. After going through the studies and videos provided by World Vision for the youth event, I was completely floored by how badly I'd confused my wants with my needs. God was starting to break my heart for the poor, though I didn't know yet what that meant for me.

The next 'breakthrough' moment for me came during a general seminar at the National Youth Workers Convention in 2004. These seminars are always encouraging and thought provoking, but one in particular cut right through to my heart. The speaker was Princess Kasune Zulu, a Zambian woman who spoke about the effects of AIDS in her country, and her dramatic story of how she has been affected personally.

After the seminar concluded, our group headed to lunch at the nearest Del Taco, but I was so overwhelmed I wasn't able to get out of the car. I just sat back and sobbed. God was piercing my heart, taking me to a new level of brokenness: so painful, but so undescribably right.

What I most remember Princess specifically saying was how other governments had begun to provide assistance to those in need in Africa, money for food and HIV tests and treatments. And that was all good. But, despite all of that, the church should have already been there.


The church - God's chosen means to demonstrate His love, His care, to pray for the sick, to provide for orphans and widows, the church - had missed it's call. It had fallen down. And in that moment, I cried, not just for the sick babies and widows forced into prostitution and all the horror that goes with poverty, but at the realization that when we as a church, we as individuals, do not live out the purpose God has designed us for, the world suffers. There are horrible consequences to our resistance to 'get involved'. And I was just as much a part of that as anyone.


It's funny to me, that at the time I had no overwhelming call to go to Africa, or sponsor an AIDS baby, or anything that specific. Some people are called to do those things. Others are made for a different purpose. But at that moment, a veil was lifted from my eyes, and I received a glimpse of what could be possible - what God might accomplish through His people if we were only willing. What suffering might be alleviated. What lonely people could experience love for the first time. What freedom might ring if we chose to stand up for the oppressed. What joy might resound if we loved the Lord with ALL of our might.

All that to say, I made a decision that day: I don't want to miss an opportunity; I want to fulfill my purpose. Have there been other milestones in my life, in my journey of faith? Sure. And I pray that there will be many more.

I suppose I share all this with you now, because I just learned that Princess Kasune Zulu will be sharing in a local church this Friday, and I am elated to go and see her again. God has brought me oh so far since that afternoon in the Del Taco parking lot, and I know He ain't done with me yet.

Praise God.

Help our Kenyan brothers

Adventures in Missions is accepting donations for those who would like to help those trying to get food in the wake of the recent violence in Kenya. They recently posted the following information here on their website:

Kenya Update 2008: Election turns violent but you can help

The latest news out of Kenya is that over 300 have died and 70,000 have been displaced in the wake of a flawed election. Please help us reach out to the poor who are most affected with a donation to help us buy food for the orphans in the slum of Kibera. Any money you give will be wired directly to our base to buy food.

Click here to give.

The country’s economy has shut down and most neighbors at our Kibera base simply have no food to eat – the situation is dire and they are desperate. Alex is an example. He is a close Kenyan friend of ours who was shot in the uproar and languishes in a hospital with minimal care.

Our Kenyan staff has asked God what he would have us do and they feel that he wants us to help provide food and share the love of Christ in tangible ways. Yesterday some of the poor in our neighborhood were able to buy a few small vegetables at a very inflated price. Those in the slum who already struggle to get food on a daily basis are suffering the most.

When we buy food, we work with local pastors to distribute it to those in the worst condition. There are a few staging areas beginning to develop and two have been identified thus far that we are going to try and fund.

Please help bring hope to this horrible situation.

Here’s how you can give.

World AIDS; Every Day...

MBABANE (AFP) - Nearly a third of Swaziland's children are considered orphaned and vulnerable as AIDS takes its toll on the country, a study commissioned by the state's emergency response council said Friday.

"There are currently 130,000 OVCs (orphaned and vulnerable children) in the country, which represents 31.1 percent of all children countrywide," the study said.

"However, it is projected that the OVC figure could rise to 200,000 by the year 2010."

It added: "HIV and AIDS is permanently altering the structure of Swazi society. It is expected that by 2025 there will be a thinning of the older age groups and the very young."

Life expectancy in the country dropped from 60 years in 1997 to the world's lowest of 31.3 in 2004, while the mortality rate has sharply increased across the entire population over the past 15 years, the report added.

According to UNICEF's website, HIV prevalence among 20 to 30-year-olds is nearing 50 percent, higher than the national adult average.

In Swaziland, close to 40 percent of adults are living with HIV and AIDS, the highest infection rate anywhere in the world, UNICEF said.

Breathe Africa

Here's a way to support women and children in Swaziland while getting your Christmas shopping done:

Check out Breathe Africa.

In May 2007, members of Breathe Africa found almost 40 orphans in Nsoko, Swaziland. The children had been without food for about a week. These are the poorest of the poor, the worst we’ve seen in Swaziland. It was at that moment that we knew we needed to do something…. Presently we are helping to make sure that the children have enough food, as well as working on getting them all clothed.

We also have long term goals, as we are working on building a children’s village – it will have a community center, gardens, fish ponds, 6 – 8 homes that will house double orphans and have a mother and father in it to care for the children, a home for a gogo (grandmother), lodge (to house teams that want to come and serve), a market and café (there will be sustainability projects, so that they do not need to always rely on the support of others but can provide much of the money for themselves).

Purchasing items from Breathe Africa allows us to continue to move forward in our endeavors to provide, protect, and encourage these children and others like them.

Everything Counts

As much as I think and pray about helping orphans in Africa, especially Swaziland, it surprises me sometimes how (relatively) little I blog about it. I've continued to investigate opportunities for getting involved, and thought y'all are about due for an update.

Saint's Coffee - This is a brand-new Christian-run company that was started with the primary intent of raising money for orphans in Swaziland. Each purchase feeds an orphan for a month, and the website claims that in their first five weeks of sales, they've already been able to feed 270 kids 8,100 meals! That's great!

I've now sampled three of the blends that Saint's Coffee offers on their website. The mild and medium roasts are unfortunately too subtle to stand up to my Starbucks habit, but the St. George is not bad. If you'd like to sample any of the blends, please let me know.

Christmas in Africa - Children's Cup is a ministry that feeds children in various Care Points around Southern Africa. Each year they provide a huge Christmas party for the children, and this year they are encouraging a personal connection with sponsors around the world.

What you do is order a Christmas card from Children's Cup (preprinted in Siswati or Portuguese), write a note to a child, attach a picture of you and your family (if you like), and send it back along with $6. The money will cover the cost of a Christmas gift and dinner for the child. The child will then fill out a note and send it back to you. I just ordered a bunch to do as a youth group project, and am really excited to see our students connected to African kids.

5 for 50 - This is a charity that Tom Davis talks about in his new book Red Letters (I just received a copy - haven't gotten to read it yet). Each copy purchased results in a donation that goes directly to feeding orphans. On his blog, Tom talks about how they are able to do this: all the money raised pays for shipments of donated food. Not sure this is the right thing to do? Watch some of the videos posted on his blog. Keep tissues handy.

Wherever you are, whatever place you are in life, I pray that you will respond to the tragic need. I believe that we in America have been given rich material blessings, not for our own pleasure but to partake in the joy of giving to others.

So, if you can sponsor a child, do it! If you can send a Christmas gift for $6, do it! If you believe that God answers prayer and wants to heal the brokenhearted, do it! In the kingdom of God, no gift is too small.

Saint's Coffee

If you are a coffee drinker, and you'd like to help orphans, check this out!


I just read on Tom Davis' blog about Saint's Coffee , a new company that was founded by a Christian businessman to raise money for organizations (such as Children's Hopechest and 5 for 50) that help orphaned children.

You can order online at www.saintscoffee.com

For every pound of coffee you buy, you will feed an orphan for a month!

Coffee aficionado Bonnie and I have agreed to order some and give it a try. We'll let you know the results of our taste testing.

Gary Black says:

Brett, Tom, and I were sitting on the banks of the Crocodile River looking over Krueger Park last June with some World Racers. We were thinking up businesses we could do that would help us feed the orphans God has called us to and fund more families to get over here and fight with us on the front lines; Look what Brett has done: Saint's Coffee.

Please try the coffee and if you like it, buy all of it you can. Thanks!

Tom Davis says:

Besides being an awesome concept, here are some other pluses:

Only the top 3% of coffee in the world is good enough for Saint's Coffee - Fair trade - It's organic - It helps the poor instead of lining rich people's pockets! - Roasted fresh and in micro-batches - Cool Blends like St. George the Dragon Slayer dark roast - Flat out tastes better than any coffee you've drank.

Look at it this way, you can know you are really helping a child in need because when you are enjoying that piping hot, delicious, fresh coffee, drinking that cup feeds an orphan for a day.

Be A Saint, Drink Saint's Coffee!

Swaziland Update

Last week I blogged about the orphan crisis in Swaziland, and how badly I desire to do something that would make a meaningful difference. I've been investigating some options, and praying that God would direct me in how to respond.

(Bonnie's already committed to joining me on this journey. Anybody else out there?)

Here are some opportunities I've found:

ABC Ministry in Bulembu,Swaziland. I had the privilege of visiting this orphanage when I was in Swaziland last November. Robyn & Gerry, a wonderful South African couple, have dedicated their lives to caring for abandoned Swazi babies, until they are adopted out or are old enough to join the 'orphan village'. They are currently caring for about 30 young children.



World Vision. This is a well known organization that provides assistance to an entire community, benefitting all the families through the means of child sponsorship.


Children's HopeChest. This is the group that found the 95 orphans I wrote about last week. They are currently developing a way to support these kids, and I have plans to speak with the director when he returns to the states next week. Their organization is working to connect churches in America as sponsors to individual orphanages in Swaziland. If your church might be interested, please contact Tom Davis.

Ultimately, I know that there really isn't a wrong time or place to give to the poor. But, I want to be wise in making commitments I can follow through on, that will hopefully bless the most people, and will encourage others to join along with me. Meanwhile, keep praying that God would provide, and be open to the possibility that He may want to provide through YOU!!!