1. Trip to Memphis to meet Lindsey and Le, Ruta, and Alazar.  So slobbering excited about that.  We’re doing the Mojo Music Bus Tour and staying right on Beale Street.  I love the blues, and I loooovvve Lindsey and fam, who I feel like are our counterparts in Oklahoma City.  Can’t wait to talk sponsorship coordinators, Uganda, Ethiopia, adoption, and do some major laughing and celebrating, all while listening to killer music and eating barbeque.

2. The final batch of Adacar profiles should arrive any day now.  I keep checking the mail to see if they’ve come.  I’m just really excited to get all the kids sponsored.  Right now I have a ton of people to follow up with, but slowly I’m seeing my database of kids be filled with sponsors’ names.  Still a lot of blank ones, but people are slowly getting their payments set up.  And we’re making progress on the CarePoint.  More about that when I have concrete info.

3. HopeChest’s partner conference followed by the Together for Adoption conference.  I’m so excited to have quality face-to-face and hugging time with the Warrior Girls and to get to see Joseph (Uganda country director) again.  And to meet more and more and more adoptive parents.  Honestly, I’m meeting so many adoptive parents these days that it almost seems weird to me when I meet a family with all biological kids.  “Like, really?  You made all of these and they all look like you?  Weird!”  Ha!

4. Back to school!  I know, it’s cruel and unusual for me to look forward to that, but I abhor summer and all things shorts and sweating.  I love getting all my high school girls back on a regular basis, cooler weather, layering clothing, and being able to take Elliott to the park without getting a third degree burn.  Fall frolicking is around the corner, and as the leaves die, I start to live.  And one of my favorite things in fall is Vertical Reality, the fall retreat with the high school students.  I can’t wait to spend a whole weekend away with them.  We’ll have so much to talk about, starting high school and all.  I wouldn’t repeat that for a million dollars, but I love walking this road with them.

5. A referral?  Fall should mean we get to “meet” our little one, at least on paper.  I’m so excited to find out boy or girl, and hopefully that knowledge will give me lots to dream of and work on through the winter until we finally get to go.  In the meantime, I am happy to report that we’ve found a delicious Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta (Thank you, Beattys!!), and I’ll be making lots of trips there to soak up the culture and shovel in the food.  As some of you know, Alex and I tried Ethiopian food years ago in Georgetown and it was terrible!  I love almost every kind of food on the planet, so I’ve just been sick about it (both literally for 24 hours after and figuratively).  I’ve been praying for God to allow me to love it, because both Ethiopia and food are such huge parts of my family.  Anyway, one bite at Queen of Sheba last week and we realized that Ethiopian food is DELICIOUS!  Our first experience in Georgetown must’ve just been BAD Ethiopian food, just like I’ve had bad American food.  Queen of Sheba was good, good, good, oh so good, and Elliott adored it, too, rising on his knees over the big family-style plate and scooping up the food with injera.

Okay, that’s enough anticipation for one post.  And just typing it all out has elevated me from my waiting funk and reminded me of what’s to come.  I also want to balance all the things to come with the things of NOW, because I don’t want to live in the future.  The now is good and is not to be wasted.  The now is digging into God, spending time with friends, kissing my husband, building really tall Lego towers with Elliott, helping unite sponsors with kids in Adacar, wearing my cute Sseko sandals (maybe the one benefit of summer weather in Georgia), and spending precious minutes with my parents.  Two of my close friends lost their parents last week, and I’m reminded that life is fleeting, there are no guarantees, and I want to enjoy every minute.  So, this post is kind of rambly, but I think I just blogged myself into a really hopeful and positive mood.

So, since we keep asking and God keeps providing, we’re going to ask again!  HopeChest’s partner in India has a whole list of rescue missions and is just waiting for the funds.  Today God brought in enough for these ten girls, plus enough to get started on the next rescue on the list.  Yay!  HopeChest was planning on running the fundraiser through Monday, so we’re going to continue raising money and seeing just how many rescue missions we can fund!  Wouldn’t it be incredible if we set out to fund one rescue for 10 girls and end up funding 2?  Or 3? 

People are getting really creative with ideas for raising money to fund rescues.  If you think about it, it’s your chance to live in an action thriller movie.  These courageous, highly skilled Indian agents are doing reconaissance, nailing corrupt officials, raiding brothels, and saving innocent little girls and boys under cover of darkness.  We pay $10 to watch movies with that kind of action.  We read gripping novels in our beach chairs about these kind of covert activities.  Now we can join in the excitement!  By writing a check, having a garage sale, auctioning some items on eBay, or holding a fundraiser, we can fund covert missions for God!  I love a good thriller, so I’m in!  One of my friends is raffling off a Coach purse.  A pretty, pink, Coach purse for the lives of some little girls.  Duh, no brainer, and so very cool and creative.  If you want to pay $20 for a chance to win the purse and save a child, visit her website here.  If you want to help fund a covert mission, click here.

I lack the kung fu and numchucks skills to BE a covert operative and raid brothels in the name of God.  I’m not even sure if I spelled “numchucks” right.  The only reason I’ve even heard of those things is because of my deep love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Michaelangelo in particular.  But I CAN serve God by finding Michaelangelo some money for his numbchucks.  Nutchunks?  I am a not-so-covert operative – I am an OVERT operative for God, boldly flapping my lips and waving wildly at people to flag down some money so the truly sneaky people can get these precious ones to safety.  Join me?

Please read in Tom’s words:

My favorite story from the day is of one of my Adacar sponsor moms who called me asking if there was still time to give.  Her daughter had accidentally hit a button on the computer which caused my blog to pop up.  This sponsor mom read about what we were doing and thought, “Oh, I wish we could help, but we don’t have any extra right now.”  The mail arrived, and there was a surprise $500 check from a grandmother.  She immediately thought of the kids in India!  When I thanked this sponsor mom for choosing to spend her gift money on school fees for a child she’d never met, she answered, “How could I not?”  Wow!  I LOVE that!!  She had such joy and excitement in her voice, and that’s just it.  When we choose to give, not only does the recipient feel blessed, but so do we!  We are filled with joy and exuberance, and it’s such a fulfilling act of worship to God, who gives so generously to us.  Last Wednesday was such a special day.  I loved asking BIG and seeing my God respond even BIGGER.

Now, we’re asking God for $4884 in the next two days.  The HopeChest team in India has identified 12 kids in need of school fees, at $407 per child for tuition, uniform, and supplies.  School starts on Thursday.  That’s 2 days from now, and if they don’t have the money, they don’t go to school for another year.  Many of these kids are children of the women working in brothels in the red light district of Delhi.  Their mothers brought them to Asha Ministries to get them out of a life in the brothels.  Would you please join us in praying for these kids?  Would you consider giving toward their education?  As we saw with Bosco, if everyone gives a little, it adds up quickly, and all of a sudden, God saves a life, rewrites a future, and uses US to do it!!

Okay, so to give, click HERE, and put “India School” in the notes section.  The money goes through HopeChest to the team on the ground in India right now.

To read posts from the HopeChest team in India, click HERE.

To read more on the kids needing school fees, click HERE.

Getting involved in the one-day campaign to save Bosco’s life back in the fall changed my life forever.  You never know when a simple act of choosing to give could change yours.

“Our child is Jenifer.  My wife and I are thrilled at this opportunity.  I lost a son 5 years ago in a plane crash in Peru.  He had spent the previous 2 years building water reclamation projects for villages in the jungle for the Peace Corps.  He originally had spent a summer in Africa building a school house in Kenya.  He joined the Corps hoping to return to Africa.  He got detoured to Bolivia, I guess by the hand of God.  After seeing the beautiful children yesterday, I knew then why my son fell in love with the people (especially the children).  In this very small way we are returning our son, his love and ours back to Africa.  I hope all the children found sponsors.  Jenifer’s picture is above this computer as I write.  Thank you for making this happen.”

I wrote him back, sobbing at my computer, and asked his permission to share his story.  This is how he responded:

“ABSOLUTELY.  We have LOST a lot BUT GAINED MUCH.  Steve always amazed me at always being able to work around problems to achieve his goals.  Steve HUMBLED his father in so many ways.  I do not want this to be about us.  It should be about the children.  Even one voice “crying in the wilderness” can make a difference.  This is so insignificant in comparison to how he lived his life.  God’s given us back some of what He took away with Jenifer.  In the process it has made me a better parent and truly appreciate the legacy of my son.  This is the time and the place to channel our love to such a beautiful child.  Somewhere in the heavens above there stands a young man with a smile on his face saying, “Dad, congratulations! You finally get it. “‘

Yes, I’m crying again.  God is continuing to use Steve’s love for Africa, his legacy, to change lives and make a difference in the world, in David’s life and in the lives of people who hear this story.  I’m so grateful to be able to share it here.  Both David and his wife, and Jenifer, an orphan, have experienced tremendous loss.  They have been broken.  And yet through their loss and brokenness, God has brought them together.  I’m thrilled that today Jenifer has a sponsor family.  She isn’t alone anymore.  She has David and his wife praying for her and writing to her and loving her.  What a tapestry God weaves!  Someday I will love to see Jenifer, and Steve, and his parents all worshipping together at the feet of our truly awesome Lord.

Here is part of my meeting with Harriet.  When Alex saw my reaction to her name, he started filming the crazy muzungu crying and hugging the bewildered African girl.  One of the biggest lessons that God laid on my heart while I was over there is how much He loves each one of us.  There is no end to the extent of His love.  He holds us in His hands.  Each of these precious orphans is His special child. 

On the bus on the way to Adacar the morning that we met Harriet, God led me to Acts 4.  I shared with some of the team on the bus the following verse: “They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen” (Acts 4:28), saying that God had already decided beforehand what would happen in Adacar that day.  It wasn’t up to us what would happen.  God had already decided, and we just needed to be ready and willing to be His hands and feet.  I had no idea that God had decided to lead us right to Harriet’s home!

Check out the following video, which features photos from four of the HopeChest care points we visisted in Uganda.  Most of the photos are provided courtesy of Ashley Bryan from Embrace Point.

I can’t hit everything that’s happened in the last two days, so I’ll just try to tell a few stories, some beautiful, and some terrible, some encouraging, some discouraging, but all motivating.  Yesterday, we found George William, our sponsored child, who is Elliott’s age.  He was very scared of us, and I quickly backed away and tried to avoid him, because he cried and thrashed whenever I got close!  Awhile later, a young teenaged girl grabbed my hand and pulled me into a concrete building.  They had George cornered in there and were whipping him to try to make him come to me.  He was sobbing and bleating like a hurt animal and writhing on the ground.  The girls were trying to please me.  I shouted, “No-no-no-no-no!!!” But they kept on, so I left, thinking that they’d stop when I leave.  I started sobbing and Greg immediately went in and saved George.  I had to get back on the bus and put my sunglasses on to hide my tears.  I pulled myself together, took a deep breath, wiped my cheeks, and got back out of the bus.  I think everyone thought I was sad because George wouldn’t come to me, not because they’d just beat my boy!  I want to make sure and clarify that his tormentors were young girls, maybe 12-14 years old, not the disciplers or leaders of the community.  Alex went into George’s torture chamber and gave him a lollipop.  George immediately perked up and let Alex hold him for a long time.  I gave him a second pop and rubbed his back.  He’s the same size as Elliott and so shy and precious.  It kills me that he received a beating because of me.  Today I sat down next to him and tried to give him a pop, but he started whimpering and wouldn’t take it.  He associates me with his pain, probably thinks that I caused it.  I’m wrecked about it.  Alex played with him all morning, so at least he’s comfortable with his sponsor dad.  George doesn’t have a daddy here, so I’m glad that he got some quality time with the best daddy in the world.

I spent much of my time in Adacar speaking with Greg and Joseph and learning about the area, the needs here, and talking about our development plan.  There are actually three communities colliding at Adacar, so we have a monumental task ahead.  The well is broken, so we got a mechanic out today to access the damage.  First step.  I have more information and some really positive news, but I’ll wait to share everything until I have a better picture.  So far, we’ve started a daily feeding program for the kids, which includes meat once a week, we’ve hired two disciplers to work with them, and we have the money for the kitchen.  We are in phase one of a three-phase development plan.  My visit to Kayango gives me hope for the future.  Today Colleen, the nurse who came on the trip, spent all day assessing children.  Ringworm is rampant.  There was a young woman with a broken wrist, and they got her to the hospital in Katakwi to have it set.  Total cost for transport and hospital visit?  $10.  An impossible figure for her.

Yesterday, we helped cook and serve the food, including meat for the kids.  We kept scooping, scooping, scooping until we ran out of meat.  We kept scooping, scooping, scooping until we ran out of broth.  We kept scooping, scooping, scooping until we ran out of rice.  We fed 400 kids, but over 500 showed up.  Our hearts were heavy last night knowing that there were over 100 kids at Adacar with rumbly tummies.

I was on broth scooping duty, and as I ran out of broth, Joseph pulled me out and told me that we were going to see Bosco a day early.  Stomach flop, and I was immediately self-conscious of the chicken broth stains down my skirt and congealed chicken fat between my toes.  As I walked away from the feeding area, I knew that we were almost out of rice, and I walked past a long line of children waiting and the older children waiting patiently under the big tree.  Oh no.  Do none of them have plates?  No, no.   Oh no. 

Alex and I piled into the truck with Joseph and took off for Ngarium.  We arrived to find Christine, his mother, the Teso widow for the area, Joyce, and the elders of the community meeting to plan a big celebration in our honor for the following day, when we were expected.  Surprise!  We’re a day early!  We felt bad.  Everyone had pooled their food to cook a big meal.  When they saw us arrive, Christine got in the truck with us and everyone else filed away.  Meeting adjourned.  The celebration starts now.

Bosco was washing clothes when we arrived at his home, and someone went to fetch him.  While we waited for him, Christine and several elders of the community brought us chairs.  Everyone grouped around us.  I got out bubbles and started blowing them at the kids.  They LOVED it.  Oklahoma peeps, bring lots of bubbles when you go in two weeks!  When Bosco walked up, I handed the bubbles to the girl in front of me and smiled at him. 

Rather than try to describe our meeting with Bosco, Alex recorded most of it, so when we get back home, he’ll edit it and stick it on the blog.  Our time together was a dream come true, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Before, during, and after our time with Bosco, I was filled with so much joy.  I smiled so hard that my head hurt.  I was just so happy to be with him and his family.  Later that night, the hard reality of his life started to sink in.  We both held his baby brother, the one who had malaria.  Joseph said he looked worse than when he’d seen him a couple of months ago.  His hair was too light, his nose was running, he was congested, and he had a cough.  I have no idea what’s going to happen to him.  Bosco is 13, but he looks about 8.  Christine has 5 kids, and after Bosco, the other ones are spaced about a year apart.  Bosco’s leg is healing, but he still has pain near his ankle.  The doctors have said that he needs more nutrients in his diet or he will not continue to heal.  Joseph has been supplying him with silverfish, which the doctors have said will help.  He explained to me what the leg looked like when he found him, and it’s so much worse than I could have ever imagined.  It was gangrenous and open all the way down to the bone, with pus oozing out from the bone.  The entire leg was covered with 1000s of flies, and at the knee, his bone was flaking off in pieces.  All this was happening to him and he had NO PAIN KILLER.  I cannot IMAGINE his agony.  And yet, while he was in this pain when Joseph came to profile him for sponsorship, he somehow managed to smile the sweetest smile for the picture that eventually made it to my refrigerator door. 

I am so thankful for the Oklahoma City team from Lindsey’s church going in two weeks.  Our time was so short.  I hated to leave so soon, but I’m comforted knowing that an awesome church is coming to spend time in Ngarium alone.  That all their focus will be on these sweet people.  I love being part of Ngarium’s sponsor team, knowing that I can pop over whenever I visit Adacar, but that this incredible church body is investing as a community in Bosco’s village.

We spent an interesting night in Katakwi.  No one showered, the electricity and water turned off at night around 10pm and turned back on this morning at 7am.  We stayed in concrete cell blocks, and some kind of wild beast thrashed against the fortified metal gate.  I actually got my best night’s sleep yet.  Maybe I like roughing it.
 
We all pooled the money that we’d collected in donations and agreed to use it on whatever need arose during our trip.  The hardest months for the people of Adacar are May and June, before the harvest.  They are hungry right now.  We took the money that we had and bought 20 100-kilo bags of posho (cornmeal, the staple of their diet).

We talked to the leaders of the community about who were the neediest members of the community, and we made 12 care packages, each made up of a 20-lb bag of posho, two bags of salt, a bottle of cooking oil, and a bar of soap.  We spent the morning with several of the community leaders walking to each homestead and distributing the care packages, singing “We Are Walking in the Light of God” in four-part harmony as we walked.  At each homestead (mud hut), we stopped and presented the gift and spoke a blessing or prayer over the recipient. 

At our second stop, we came to a 16-year-old girl whose father had died and mother had left.  She was taking care of her three younger siblings, and still managing to attend school and win first in her class for physics.  I stood there listening to the translator talk, and I felt prompted to ask David what the girl’s name was.  He looked at the list and said, “Harriot Achom.”  Our God is so good.  Alex will upload a video soon of my reaction to her name, but those of you who follow my blog know who this is.

God continues to lay Harriot’s name on my heart.  It started at the dinner in Canton, when Brandi pulled her packet out of 150 packets and mentioned this young girl during her talk.  I felt led to search for her in my pile of profile packets.  I prayed specifically for the kind of woman that I thought Harriot needed, and God let me to Kathleen, the perfect sponsor for Harriot (Kathleen, I will call you when I get back sweet woman!).  Throughout the trip, He continued to bring her name to my mind.  Harriot Achom.  Harriot Achom.  And out of 500+ kids in Adacar and only 12 homestead visits, God led me to Harriot.  Our God knows His children, and He cares so deeply about each one.  I am so blessed to be part of His miraculous plan for her life.  He holds her so closely. 

After Harriot, we visited homestead after homestead, bringing provision.  Two stories that stick out are a young woman who had lost her husband to the Karamajong, and an elderly woman who had suffered a stroke four years ago and has not left her hut since.  If she needs to poop, she does it right there and has to wait for her elderly husband to clean her up.  She is gnarled and twisted and trapped by her earthly body.

After our 12 homestead visits, I returned to the bus to get the clothes that I had worn yesterday.  I headed out to give them to Margaret, the head widow for the district, to pass out to someone who needs them.  A few yards out of the bus, I see Harriot and her siblings.  Her younger sister’s dress is falling off of her.  Again, God provides for Harriot.  I hand the clothes to Harriot and she gives them to her sister.  Her sister smells them and smiles.  Clothes that seem dirty to me smell clean and are a blessing to her.  Harriot says, “God bless you.”  God bless me?  He is!  He’s blessing me like crazy just getting to be here with you!  Look at the lengths to which God has gone to bless you!  He teamed up a lady from Ohio and a chick from Georgia and sent the Georgia girl to the middle of Africa with provision for you, because you matter so, so, so, so much to Him!  I was able to tell Harriot about Kathleen, let her know that her discipler has her first sponsor mail from her, and how much God loves her and is watching out for her.  What an incredible encouragement from God.  I’m staring at the kids in Adacar, overwhelmed with the need and the numbers and He reminds me so clearly that it’s about one.  Each child has a name and a story.  And I get to be part of it.

The rest of the afternoon while people distributed bags of posho, I held a little girl in a tattered dress who clung to me with all of her strength.  I gave her lollipops, bounced her, sang to her, and twirled her around.  Marching for miles and singing all morning carrying 20-lb. bags of posho, followed by carrying a 35-lb. child all afternoon.  My arms feel like they’re going to fall off, but my spirit feels so good.  Now if only I didn’t have to leave.

We drove back to Soroti and had dinner at Joseph’s.  Delicious food, wonderful hospitality, and it was so nice to relax in his home and meet his family.  Our time with the kids is over.  The days were long and full, but the week has been too short.  I don’t want it to be over.