Sarah

In Kampala we minister to a woman who is named Sarah. Sarah lives in one of the slums. She takes care of 6 kids and I am honestly not sure which ones are hers or the neighbors or relatives; it is so hard to tell here with so many children roaming around. Their home is a one-room, mud walled, tin roof home. She has been amazing. When we first got to meet her she was so happy to see us. It was so awesome to see such happiness just because we came to see her. We made it very clear, when I say we I mean Irene our translator, that we were there to serve her and for no other reason. And so for the past two months on Wednesdays we have been going to Sarah’s home and serving her in different ways. Mostly washing her clothes and dishes, and it has been going amazing. Even though we don’t speak the same language or understand each other at all when talk it has been great. We gave her a Bible a few weeks ago and she had never even owned a bible she had tears in her eyes when she took it from us she was so excited! And so the last couple of weeks have just been amazing being around her and seeing how much she has grown. This past Wednesday when we normally give a word but this time she wanted to share some scripture with us and give us some truth to chew on. I was so excited to hear what she had to say because we knew that God had been working in her heart and in her life. She read the first 2 verses of psalm 122.  While I was reading the verse in English, Sarah was reading it in Luganda. Oh, and a side note she could barely read when we first gave her the bible and now she was reading much better, and I believe the only way that was possible was through Gods love and grace. He was teaching her how to read with His Word. But the Psalm is titled “Let us go to the house of the Lord” and I was not entirely sure where she was going to go with this message but it was amazing. She shared about how she knows and is happy about having community. She was happy that we were there, she is happy about attending womens group, she is happy about her new friends she is making because of what God is doing in her life. She said that she knows that she needs the community and has it because of the faith that she has in God. It was amazing to hear this come from her, just weeks before she could not really read the bible we had given her, but she told us and promised us that she was going to work to read it and practice reading it, and she did. Because of God working in her life she is now able to read better, and get the truth from His Word. It was just so amazing to see this woman that had not even really understood God a couple months ago and now because of what God is doing through His Spirit she is now growing closer to Him and worshiping Him. And I think the most encouraging part is that she knows it is because of her faith and no other reason that she is able to read and tell us a lesson from the Bible. She is so encouraging and it is so great to see her grow every week when we go back! It's really relationships with Ugandans like this that are going to make going back to the States so difficult. But I am fully believing that God is going to keep her in community and keep her in His hands. 

Power of Faith and Prayer

Power of Faith and Prayer

Well to begin I need to say I am sorry for not posting as frequently as I said I would, I had no idea I would be as busy as I have been for the past month. The past month I have learned so much about this country, my faith, and myself. It has been one of the greatest times of my life that I know I will never forget and I thank you all for supporting me through it.

But last week on Wednesday when we were with our family I heard a message that is not commonly spoken of in the States. Because we are in the slums and the people we minister to do not speak English well, we take a translator with our group and our translator is Irene. Irene fits in so well with our family, God has been so faithful throughout this summer to provide Sozo with people that we get along with and connect with so well; it is truly a testament to his plans for good in our lives. But the previous week I asked Irene if should would mind sharing some scripture with our family in the slums next week, and of course she did not mind and she was actually very excited about being able to do it. I had not gotten in touch with her the few days leading up to us going to serve our family in the slums and day of going into the slums we met at the mall near Kabalagala and I asked what she was going to share and she told me Mark 16:17-18, And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands and if they drink any deadly poison it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Well needless to say I was a little concerned about what direction this could take knowing we were sharing this with a woman who had only heard the gospel a limited number of times and had gotten her first bible 3 weeks before. But I was very confident in Irene and her ability to share these words effectively. And also I saw that it could be very influential for Sarah and her friends to hear the word from a fellow Ugandan and a woman. I did not want her to think that only Mzungus (white people) could have such a faith but Ugandans can too. And I did not want her to think only men can have a vast knowledge of the word because in Uganda men are typically the ones preaching and sharing the gospel which is great but I think for a woman to hear it from another woman that she can relate to, would be most effective. So we begin our walk into the slums and I asked Irene if we could change up things today and share the word with Sarah (our families mom) first and then wash and do other chores she had for us, and Irene said, “sure that is not a problem.”  So previously we washed her clothes and did her dishes and then we shared the word which always seemed to be rushed a little because we would be crunched for time and this time I did not want it to be that way I wanted Sarah to be able to ask questions and for us to ask her questions as well about how she was doing and what she had been reading in her bible we had given her. And then we got to her and we told her we were going to share the word first this week so she ran and got her friends from the surrounding homes so they could listen to what we have to say as well. So now it is Sarah and 3 other women one of which has 2 children with her that both look pretty malnourished, which is sadly a common sight in the slum. But we greeted all of them and then Irene began to share the word. When Ugandans begin to share the word it is so amazing, the tone of their voice changes and they get a very serious look on their face that is really just a respect that they have for the scriptures and God and how he works here.

So Irene is sharing the word in Luganda and I have no idea what she is saying. I can kind of pick out little words here and there but I most definitely can not put together what she is saying which I was okay with because the way the women were listening was so great. They all were listening to every little sound coming out of Irene’s mouth and Irene was getting it she talked for longer than any of us Mzungus had before and it was amazing to see the way that they were listening to her. But after Irene was done she gave us a quick run down in English of what she had said and it was just that through faith and faith alone that we have this power that God blesses with. And I asked Irene if there were any questions so she asked the women and Sarah wanted to know if we could pray over her to heal her cough. And I said of course and so we prayed over her Irene in Luganda and me and the other group members in English and it was amazing to do that. It is such a strong practice and real practice that you never see in the states. We so often run to man to heal things which is not an evil thing by any means, God has definitely blessed those people with great minds that can heal sickness but in this place in Africa there is not that kind of opportunity, yeah sure there is a clinic on every corner it seems but the people can just not afford that. So we prayed over Sarah and for healing of her cough and then the woman with the children asked if we could pray over her daughter Doreen because she had not said any words yet and this girl was probably 4 years old. And so we asked her mother to comfort her and tell her what we were going to do and so we placed hands on this tiny framed girl who had nearly every bone in her body visible because she was so malnourished and the more we prayed you could tell the more comforted she seemed, you could really see and feel the spirit come and comfort this girl, it was so amazing.

James 5:13-15. As Americans I think we are missing a huge part of faith and the power of prayer. Prayer heals. Yes the doctors and nurses do great works and it may even seem like a miracle at times but they are not the ones truly doing it, it is God and the Spirit doing these works. It was just so cool and very humbling to see that all these people had to rely on was their faith and the faith in God being a God that heals physically as well as spiritually. He is the One, through faith, that heals. This in an event that will never leave my mind. It was truly life changing to be a part of and witness.   

 

Me and Haley at Murchison Falls 

God is Love

So much has gone on this past week and I have learned so much about myself through change and the Holy Spirit working within me. One of the biggest things that happened this past week is that we (my family) moved from Sozo house 3 to Sozo house 1. This was so hard to do simply because house 3 had really become my home. I was comfortable in my own room no matter how small it was. I had my own bathroom, even if there was a gecko and about a thousand mosquitos in there. It was nice and comfy; it was home. And the physical things about house 3 were homey but they were not the only things. The people under that roof were so amazing. I had fallen in love with every single one of them. Aunty Dora and I were getting along so well we both understood each other’s sense of humor, which is so great because she is hilarious. And then Joel, I don’t even know where to even start with Joel, he is one of the funniest people I have ever met. There was more laughter in the 3 weeks I was there with Joel than I could have ever expected. He has a sense of the Holy Spirit like no one I have ever met or even heard speak. He knows when the Holy Spirit is speaking to him and he communicates it to the people around him so well.  He is really so close with God and the Spirit more than anyone I have ever met, he is so great. And then leaving those 4 wonderful boys, Samuel, Ronnie, Daudi, and Wilson, I felt like I was really a brother to each of them. Matthew 12:50. I knew them each so well, and it had become so easy to love on each one of them.  I realized how much the boys looked up to me when Samuel took a sharpie and drew a tattoo like mine on his ankle. Though you could barely see the sharpie because he is so dark, it really made me realize how much I love them and how much they love me. God is so good. God is love.

Another big moment from my week is the moment that I saw the woman we had been ministering to in town. It made her seem real, and human. I guess up until that point we would just go to her home on Wednesdays and wash her clothes and do her dishes and give a word to this woman who we did love very much, but I never thought that I would see here in other places out and about. And seeing her, a familiar face in Kabalagala, was so great. I got to yell SARAH! HEY! And I think she had just as big smile on her face as I did on mine. It was just such a real moment, I suppose, that I shared with Sarah. I really felt like I saw the Spirit in her, and working in her. And her seeing me allowed her to know that we are there to serve her and the community we are not just giving her some lousy lip service, but we really are there to love her and her community. Since we are talking about Sarah, Wednesday when we went to serve her it was very cool. Well we got there and the interpreter was talking to her and said she was sad because we got to her house so late, and that she was scared something had happened to us. She loves us equally if not more than we love her, and serving her. It is a very special feeling to go into serving and really not expect anything in return for serving, not because you would not want anything but because you do not think the family you are serving has anything to give. Not that I am here to serve to gain something, but I am here to serve because it is what Christ calls Christians to do... James 1:27.  But the more and more I find out about these wonderful people here in Uganda the more I understand that “things” are not always physical. Love is something that everyone has to give, may that be love in Christ's name or not, these people have love and they know how give to love. Even though sometimes the love may not be from a Christian, it feels so good. I think many of us in the states could learn from this love that Ugandans have.  Even though their motivation of loving may not be God, God is still working in that love and He created love that all people share. Ugandans love because it is all they have to give in most cases. It feels so good to experience and to see this love. The love here is so great and real. 1 John 3:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.” God is here in Uganda even though you may not see it because the “things” that the people have here may not be shiny new or they may have nothing at all but God is here through love and the Spirit of God is here in this place.  

This is some of the kids at Rays of Hope School praying over their porridge breakfast

1 John 3:11 “Beloved if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Who Created God?

Who Created God?

As you all probably know I am in Uganda. I left for Uganda on May 17^th and did not get to Uganda until May 18^th, which was a very epic 29 hours of traveling. Someone puked on someone else on the plane and the plane ride was just ridiculously long. So long that when I got off the second flight to Amsterdam I felt okay but then as soon as the 3^rd flight started going I just felt like poop. I could not eat, sleep, move too much or do anything. But it was totally worth it. Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa and I can really see why. I have never seen such a place, with beautiful rolling green fields and mountains scattered farms and homes, it is so great and has really captured my heart. The country is like nothing that I could have pictured or even imagined in a dream. But anyways back to what I have been doing The first 5 days I was here I stayed at Sozo House 1 and met some of the most Godly people I have ever experienced in my life. God has provided some truly great people, I had never met anyone or spent much time with them but we all got along so well and so perfectly. The way these people interacted with the 24 orphans at house one and the way thier heart spilled out during these interactions it was just so encouraging.

So during the first week I was told that I am going to be a family leader. And I had no idea what this meant. When I first got my group of 3 girls (there are only 2 full term guy interns) I was not sure what to think at first. I knew God was going to make it okay but I just was not sure what to do or think of the people in my family really because I did not know them. I did not even remember them from the Sozo weekend that the interns had to attend in February. So the first meeting we get to talk about ourselves to everyone in the family and tell them just something about us. And that first meeting went great; God really put our families together perfectly. We all opened up and shared about ourselves and really put ourselves out there in faith because we saw that this is going to be our family for the summer. After the first week needless to say we were so close all of us were like brothers and sisters. It was very comforting that God put us together so perfectly to bring himself glory.

While at house 1 I got to experience devotion with the little children there which was amazing. Every night all the children gather in the living room and sit in a big circle and we sing and dance while some of the older boys play drums. It is so African and so great. After the worship one of the older girls states a prayer topic and everyone prays for that, typically it is something like give thanks to God for today, and everyone prayers out loud at the same time. It is so cool to hear English and Lugandan prayers mix and low voices and high voices all calling out to God. It is so awesome. Then after prayer one of the interns would read Jesus calling and all the little kids say "we have to do Jesus Is Calling". As one of the interns reads one of the children that speaks great English will translate into Lugandan for everyone. It is so awesome when we are worshiping to see the children singing with there eyes closed and heads looking up really calling out to Jesus from their hearts and you know what most of them have been through and they still see the need to praise the God that has brought them to where they are now.

Well, after the first 5 days we interns were getting split up into different houses, and this kind of made me feel nervous/anxious in a way.  One reason being that I had no clue where I was going to be placed, I had no idea about the parents at the other 2 houses and all the interns had really grown such a close relationship together that we did not want to leave one another. But when I found out that I was going to be placed at house 3, I was even more nervous. House 3 is just a different house compared to the other 2 houses and mainly the nervousness came from the locations of house 3. It is in another district and the other 2 houses are in the same district. And House 3 is on the other side of town from the other 2 houses. But nonetheless this was going to be my home for the next 3ish weeks. And did God ever turn it into a home for me. At this house there are normally 14 teenage boys that live here but 10 are off at boarding school and that leaves 4 at the house. Their names are Daudi (Lugandan for David) Samuel, Ronald (Ronnie), and Wilson. At first the boys were very shy but man have they opened up. God has really blessed us here at house 3 with such an awesome group of boys. They have such good hearts and all of them really love the Lord and love hanging out with the Mzungus (white person in Lugandan). And one of the biggest blessings to me while I have been in Uganda was meeting Saka Joel. Joel is the headmaster of the Rays of Hope School on the edge of the slums. He has a spirit like no one else I have ever experienced. His laughter is so great and big for such a small guy. And his heart for the country of Uganda and for the children there is remarkable. He has really become one of my best friends, we laugh so much that you would think we were little kids. He is has such a heart like Christ, more so than I have ever seen in anyone before. He has such a child like faith for a grown man, he lives and breathes from the Word and really longs for the Spirit to guide him. He lives on every word that comes from God. I can’t really describe how wise he is in Christ; it is so great. Gods provision in the people he has surrounded me with has been remarkable. He has really shown me that He is the provider.

So the past few weeks have gone on a schedule. Mondays are our “off” day. This is the day that we, the interns, can do what ever really. The first off day we just chilled at our house, and got to know each other more now that we were on our own. And the second off day, which was this week we went to feed the monkeys at the botanical gardens in Entebbe. Which was amazing. It was so beautiful and the monkeys would come up and take bananas right from your hand. Then Tuesday is the day that house 3 gets to go to Rays of Hope on our own. It is where the girls teach and I do some kind of construction work. The first Tuesday I cut some boards for doors to the latrine and the second Tuesday I got to paint the outside of one of the buildings. Wednesday we are at Rays of Hope again, this time all the interns are there and this is the time we use to meet with the family we are serving in the slum. The slum is something like you would never find in America. There is no running water at houses, you have to carry jugs to different community water areas. Also, there is no sewage system, it's either a latrine or there is a series of ditches throughout that take away rain run off, sewage and trash. The people mostly live in 1 room houses some with concrete floors, mostly with dirt floors. They just don’t have much of anything. The family we got assigned to serve the first time was great. Me and another girl in our group told the interpreter to gather some of the women hanging and tell them that we have a word for them. So we got like 4 or 5 women gathered around and I sat on the ground because I wanted it not to seem like I was talking down to them or that I was better than them and I told them why we were there: to serve them just as Jesus came to serve us, like it says in Matthew 20:28. And then I shared some of Deuteronomy 8 and just told them about how God is a provider, spiritually and physically. This went so well. I am so excited to see what God is going to do to us through this family because he always uses the least of these. Also Wednesday we have started a men’s group for men in the slums to come and discuss the word, hear the word, and have an opportunity to grow.  This is where my title comes from, because the first question of the group was “Who created God?” I had never even thought about this. I just thought that He was. And there is no questioning that. But this lead the discussion to talk about how faith is such a necessity to worshiping fully and really showing that you are relying on God. It is by faith that we draw nearer to God Hebrews 11. Without faith it is impossible, everything is impossible, you have to have faith. The men’s group is another thing that is so exciting and God is really blessing us with it. Thursday’s are field days for Rays of Hope. We take about 150 kids a few miles down the road to a soccer field and have a huge field day with them. This is as organized as possible and is so much fun to watch the kids run and laugh and smile! Then Fridays we stay home at house 3 and help Aunty Dora clean some. This is a good day for some rest and recovery. Saturday is a day that we help tutor the boys and we just get to hang out with everyone as a family. Then Sunday we go to church, this is always exciting. Last Sunday we went with the boys to a traditional African church and we were there for 3 ½ hours. It was ridiculous. So much singing and dancing and yelling.  But that is what most of the weeks consist of while I am here.

God has matured me so much in just the little bit of time that I have already been here, and taught me so many different things. One of the main things is just the importance of worship. Just really sitting down and maybe not dancing and singing but telling Him thanks and showing Him how much he means to you. God loves hearing our praises. Psalm 106: "Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" Another is just the power of prayer. I have really loved praying the prayer in Ephesians 3:14 it is just a prayer of spiritual strength. Just to praying and seeing those prayers so perfectly answered for my own good and for His glory. It is so rewarding and you feel so loved when you see this. Also just how we are all one body. We are all on the same mission no matter how different we look, or how different we act we are all here to work together for the same God, and His glory. Another key lesson he has really spoken to me is the importance of faith. And how much of what we do is all in faith. The men in the Old Testament that you read about all stepped out into faith and really knew that God was going to provide. And in the days prior to Jesus being crucified, he knew what he had to do. He had faith that his death would be the ultimate sacrifice so that Christians after him would be able to experience Heaven.

And lastly, I would like to apologize for the time it took for me to post this blog. I know you all will understand that I have been busy with different things while I have been here! I also feel the need to apologize for the length of this blog!!! And thank you all so much for the prayers of strength and safety for me while I have been here! It is so important and crucial to being effective here that we all stay safe and healthy. These prayers have for sure been answered and will continue to be answered. Thank you all. And I love you all very much.

This is the house 3 family after church on Sunday: Samuel, Katie, Daudi, Me, Amanda, Ronny, Christina and Wilson. 

Thank you all again so much none of this would have been possible with out y'alls prayers and support!

Prayer Topics

I am now hours away from leaving for Uganda. And to be completely honest it does not feel that real yet. I thought for sure that I would be nervous or have some knot in my stomach, something that would make this feel real, but there is nothing yet! The only feeling is disbelief that I am going to Uganda.  In this post I just want to give everyone a few different topics of prayer that I will need for the entirety of the summer. These are just a couple topics that I would love for you guys to prayer for but please do not limit your prayers to these things.

1)  Walk In Love.  Ephesians 5:2.  “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice.” To do this all the time anywhere is tough. I know personally to love people is tough, they make decisions that I don’t agree with and I am supposed to love them? Love is so much more than like!  This is and will be one of the toughest things that I feel I will have to do while I am there. I also am going to be pouring out so much for the children and I will still have to love the brothers and sisters I am serving with. Prayers that Ephesians 5:2 will be evident and active in my life, and that I will be loving the people I am with much like Christ loved us.

2)  Do not be anxious/Do not fear. Matthew 10:16-23. Persecution is going to happen. Jesus says here that he is sending you (disciples) out in the midst of wolves. I am going to be in a part of the world where voodoo and devil worship is something real. I will need prayers that I will know when this persecution is coming and that I will be patient in my response and not anxious scrambling for words because they will come. 19-20 “Do not be anxious how you will speak or what you are to say for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is now you speak but the Spirit of your father speaking through you”. I want to be capable of allowing the Spirit to speak through me in the midst of these persecutions. The second part of this is that I do not fear in these moments of tribulation. Please pray that I will not have fear or anxiety during times of tribulation while in Uganda.

3)  Patience. James 5:7-11. Anyone who knows me well knows how patient I am, and they also know how sarcastic I can be. Patience is not something that comes naturally to me but it is something that I know I have got to work on and it is something I know will be tested this summer. And by Gods grace alone I think I have matured in the amount of patience I have. So, I ask you guys to pray that I am patient with people, kids, friends, family, and communication. All of these different things are going to be difficult at times, but I have got to patient. “Do not grumble against one another brothers, so that you may not be judged…” Being impatient is just going to lead to judging and grumbling which will lead to an opportunity for the devil to take hold in my life which I can not have while I am there or anywhere for that matter.

4)  Be thankful. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15.  Going into a place where worldly things are not abundant. Knowing that I am excited to see the children and the abundance of Christ in them. I am excited for the encouragement from that and the love that they show because of that. But with everything I am going to be going through, thick and thin, I know that I need to be thankful in all of it. “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved.” We are chosen, God picked us to be saved I should be thankful for it no matter where I am I should be thankful.

Again guys please do not limit your prayers to just these couple of topics. If you feel I need prayers for other things while I am there please do so.  With the topics I have listed I will do a post toward the end of the summer about how all these things were addressed and answered throughout my summer. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

First post, this is pretty exciting. Everything about this post and blog is just crazy to think about. Little did I know that I would be creating a blog to be posted on Sozo Childrens web page when I became a Christian. I am just going to make this first post about me and when I became a Christian and significant events that have led me here to this post.

Well first things first I was born on December 15, 1990. Then I grew up in the church with two of the most amazing parents any human being on Earth could have ever asked for. I really loved my life. I could not have had one complaint other than super minor stuff that I can't think of at the moment so life was peachy just peachy.

Then In 2009, my senior my year, life really got rocked turned upside down and then shook really hard and then put into a blender. I had just finished my first semester of Senior year and was on top of the world or what I thought was "world". And most people who know me or my family know this, but in January my sister died from a brain aneurism. And thats where life stopped really for me. I went on to graduate high school and then went to LaGrange College to play football, but never really moved on or made a true attempt to.

A lot of sin had taken hold in my from this great event that happened to me. I had been leaning on anything that I thought could hold me up, none of these things being God of course. I really just had no knowledge of God and his justness and how he had real control in my life. I really just became down right depressed from my sisters passing and really not knowing how to handle it, but really who does? The only thing I really knew how to do and do well was to play football and a week before I went to LaGrange to play I totally jacked up my ankle which lead to me not really being able to perform in football so at this point in life anything I tried to lean on continued to fall out from under me, which really sucked.

So I come home from school for winter break and at this point I had already decided that I was not going to be going back to LaGrange and so I had applied to GGC got accepted and was not really happy about it but I was home and just going to see where life was leading to next. Then sometime in late December Seth Brown (hope its cool to name drop on here) texts me asking me if I wanted to go to a Church conference with him. And to be honest I did not want to go, I just felt as if I was just going to be able to just grind it out and make it through this "conference". Well this "conference" turned out to be Passion 2010. I had never heard of Passion before this moment in my life nor did I know that there were 20,000 college age Christians in the world much less ones that wanted to come to Atlanta.

I don't know if I could ever describe the way I felt in Philips Arena. The only word that comes to mind is denseness.  Though I don't know many descriptive words. But a denseness that is so indescribable so heavy but comforting so crazy! Its like the Holy Spirit was sitting on top of me but in a comfort hug kind of way (clearly not good with words). It was emotionally, spiritually, physically, overwhelming I had never experienced God in this way before in my life. This is when I became a Christian undoubtably.

Now after really seeing God and feeling the Holy Spirit I went to this thing called a family group. This is a "small" room of about 1,000 college students all jacked and excited about Jesus, and what the Holy Spirit is doing and I'm just trying to find someone that looks I can relate to. So I introduce myself to some guys and then one thing leads to another and I formed a family group with them. At this point I am so overwhelmed by what is happening in my heart and in my life and what I just sat through that I am just going with what ever happens next. Well I get elected family leader, which is just ridiculous considering we had one guy who was in seminary another who worked at a Christian radio station and I was the youngest by I think two years everyone was way more qualified to lead than me, but God had is hand in this and it was perfect.

After Passion I was just stoked about life and Jesus and how it all worked together. 2 Cor. 5:17 is so apparent in my life (as it should be) . God really brought in a new me, and it was so great. Well I continued going to college at GGC for the semester and at the same time I visited Seth Brown just about any day I had extra free time because I just wanted to grow and had just a true thirst and hunger for the word and faith and works and everything. I mean life was just so different to me know than before. So a couple months after Passion I feel like I just need to get in touch with Allen, who was in my group at Passion, and I really feel like God is just wanting me to check on him and let him know what I had going on and just see what he is up to. And at this point I really felt called to do missions and just felt like God was telling me to go to Africa. And I was so trusting in this. So I e-mailed Allen and just said hey and stuff and he responded saying how he had felt such a similar calling and since passion he had stopped working at the radio station he worked at and was planning on leaving for Uganda for a few months. I was blown away. This seemed so unreal that I randomly track down his e-mail address and e-mail him where I felt like God was calling me and his was the same.

After following Allen on his trip to Uganda and seeing that he and Jay had gone to Uganda and seen this huge need for a legitimate orphanage, so they started one. They eventually started this organization called Sozo with some help from other people in Birmingham. They started this orphanage that was so needed to take in this children that were not being cared. Now I was left feeling that I needed to get involved with this I had to act on this wonderful opportunity and calling that was in my life.

So now I am here in class writing this blog that Sozo is asking me to create because I am interning for them this summer. I am beyond excited for this, this is what God has placed on my heart for me to do. He has called me to do this. I am going to combine my faith with works in Uganda. Needless to say, I kept in touch with Allen and other people at Sozo and they kept in touch with me and now they have given me the opportunity to work as an intern with them. The timing of this is so perfect, I am now a junior going on to my senior year of college which allows me to receive 3 hours of school credit for this internship. Which is awesome because I need an extra management elective to graduate on time. After a training weekend at SIFAT (missionary training place, pretty sweet I encourage anyone to check it out) in February. I found out the amount I would have to raise to go on this internship. I can't lie, at first I was slightly overwhelmed from this cost but I knew God would provide. Mat. 6:25. This verse gave me comfort in raising my support I knew he would provide. And wow he blew me away with his compassion, I can not tell in words about how overwhelming and shocked I was about the ease of raising my support. I never could have thought that it would come with such ease. Now I am here fully supported two months later. Thank you to all my supporters you guys with have made it possible for me to take part on my calling. Thank you all so very much. Now I am less than one month out and am so excited for this opportunity and blessing.


Thank You Everyone

In class.