Journals

I have a thing for journals. I love journaling during my quiet times, and I absolutely love filling up journals - meaning I get to start a new one! Here is a picture of the journal that Caroline made me for Botwana last year! Talk about an awesome gift:)

(photo credit - Tyler Crowe)

I thought a fun way to tell the story of how I came upon Ekisa would be to use snippets of journal entries - mostly prayers - to show both the timeline of events and just how faithful our God is in answering prayer!

Tuesday, August 9: (two days after getting home from Botswana)
"Lord, I know you had awesome plans for taking me to, and bringing me back, from Africa. I pray for your guidance and direction now that I am home, and that you show me where and what you want me to do now."

Tuesday, October 25:
"Yesterday I had an advisor meeting to talk with Tina abut possible options for my life. I realized I only have 3 classes to take next spring and 2 for the following spring, so I am just going  to take thm this spring/summer and then would only have 1 more semester next year. Then I was thinking that I could take the fall off and go on a long term (3ish month) mission trip, then come back, student teach, and graduate. These ideas are all very new, but feel this would be such an amazing experience and something that I would love to do. Lord, I pray that you give me clarity and point me where in the direction you want me to go. I want to follow you in the plans you have for me."

Thursday, October 27:
"Last week I thought there was a possibility I could graduate early, meaning I could get a job sooner and not be paying for another semester and could find something to do in Charlottesville, but this week my plans have been thrown out the window. I now have a desire and almost passion for spending the fall in Uganda. Well, Uganda came last night, but I was thinking somewhere back in Africa. I realized how big my heart had grown, not just for Botwana and the people we met there, but for God's people who needed to  hear the gospel, and the childen who needed to be loved - and the more I have been thinking and praying about it, the stronger the pull I feel to go back.
Two nights ago I talked to Mom about my thought process about all this, and she was hesitant.. Then last night she forwarded me an email from Mrs. Sefton which was forwarded to her from a friend, and had a link to a blog associated with Ekisa - it's in Uganda, and it is a house/school for kids with disabilities, as well as being Christian affiliated!!My heart literally starts beating so fast when I think about it, it makes me so excited!
God, I really feel like this is you moving in my life - for one, I don't know how I would have stumbled upon Ekisa on my own, and feel the timing of this all is definitely your hands at work. All the same I pray for my heart, that I don't get so caught up in this and overlook the next almost year I have here at UVA."

Wednesday, November 2:
"God, you work in amazing ways and cease to astound me. I am so thankful for how you work and choose to work. I'm grateful that you open doors and that I can lean on you to guide me."

Saturday, November 5:
"Africa is starting to seem more and more real. I just heard back from their volunteer coordinator with a lot more information about the trip - living, expenses, town, etc.! It's so exciting to be moving forward with this... Lord, you have placed this on my heart, and you are making it happen, and I thank you for that."

Friday, November 18:
"Later today I have a skype interview with Ekisa's volunteer coordinator!"

Saturday, November 19:
"The interview went great, and it just seems that the possibility of me going just keeps growing...
I pray that as I go home next week I am able to talk to Mom and Dad more about it, and they will find comfort and peace, knowing that you've got me. I also pray for my heart as I wait to hear back from them, that it would be settled, and constantly focused on the cross, and knowing that is the ultimate reason I want to go on this trip."

Monday, November 28:
"I got accepted!"

Thursday, February 1:
"I BOUGHT A PLANE TICKET TO UGANDA!
I have a hard time believing this is real! Lord, you are great and sovereign, and you know and call me by name. I praise you, that by seeking you, you have given me the desires of my heart. I'm so excited and know and trust that you have BIG things planned!"

A Little Background:

As mentioned, I went to Botswana last summer for five weeks, on a Summer Project through Campus Crusade for Christ. Before getting into how I felt called to Uganda, I want to share a little bit about how I came to go to Botswana..

At UVA (I am in my fourth year), in addition to school, friends, and intramural sports, I have been actively involved in Agape Christian Fellowship (UVA’s Campus Crusade for Christ ministry) since my first year. I have been in a small group Bible study, gone to large group, and started leading a Bible study with the wonderful Brittney Butler (who is getting married a week and a half before I leave!! Ahh!).

During my second year, I went to Radiate (Cru’s Christmas conference) and heard about the summer project to Botswana and knew almost immediately this is what God wanted me to do. This trip was divided into two parts; first, reaching out to children (something that I have such a passion for!) and second, reaching out to the students at the University of Botswana (something that would completely take me out of my comfort zone). I was unable to go that coming summer, because of Sarah’s wedding (!) and some other pre-planned adventures, but I came home telling Mom and Dad, that the following summer, I wanted to go. God knew that Mom would need a year and a half to pray and prepare for this – and Dad more than likely would need a lot more! Thank goodness He is a God who provides!

To say the least, my trip was absolutely amazing.  God did big things and worked in big ways. For the first half we partnered with a local church, ministering to orphans and helping with other outreach ministries. We spent the first couple of weeks at a feeding station in a small, very impoverished village, called Old Neladi. Many of the children at the feeding station had lost parents to AIDS, lived with either one parent or extended families, and often had many siblings, in which it was difficult to provide for them all. While we were there, we prepared Vacation Bible School lessons and crafts, played with and loved on them, and helped prepare food for them to eat. For the remaining two weeks we were at the University of Botswana, working with a group of about fifteen university students who were trying to start a Campus Crusade for Christ movement. It was amazing being a part of their movement and helping them to reach out to their campus. Apart from our main focuses throughout these weeks, we also went on a safari and a hike which overlooked the city, both displaying the beauty of God’s creation!

On one of the first days we were at Old Neladi, we went on a prayer walk throughout the village, where we walked around, talked with people, and prayed for the families and children that we would be interacting with. Children surrounded us and found such absolute joy in just holding our hands, being held, or hanging on our backs. One little girl named Grace (11-12 y.o.) was walking with me and asked what we were doing. I told her that we were praying for the people and the village. She thought about it for a little bit and replied, “Prayer is good, God is good.”  Slightly blown away I replied, “Yes, He is,” and we continued to talk. When we returned to the church to meet back with our team, I asked the 4-5 girls who were with me if they wanted to pray. They said yes and we sat on the ground, held hands, and began to pray. Grace said she would go first and she bowed her head and recited Psalm 23; the entire thing! I had tears in my eyes as I closed in prayer, thanking God for His hand at work already in these children’s lives.

In my picture up top is Grace - in the orange hat, and the baby is Moose, but his sister was always correcting me saying I was pronouncing his name wrong and I never seemed to get it right haha.These two kids mean so much to me and God really used them to teach me a lot about myself, as well as about himself. After hearing Grace recite Psalm 23, I was immediately humbled before the Lord. This encounter on the first day being with these kids really put it into perspective why we were there. I thought I was going to tell these children about Jesus and help them experience the love of a Father who gave His son up for them, but I guess I didn't realize or think about that they may already know this, and that my purpose there was just to love them and that was ok. 

I learned a lot from Moose and his sister, too. His sister was maybe around 7, and everyday would carry him to the feeding station, share her meal with him, and make sure he was taken care of - in essence, being a little mom to him. Of course we all wanted to hold him, and in the beginning she would let us, but rarely would leave our side. However, by the end of our time there she became more comfortable and trusting of us and would leave Moose with us and go play with other kids and people on my team. At this point I loved watching her just be a child, running around and just having fun. It was hard to see these such young children acting as little parents to their siblings, but they did it with such joy and never seemed burdened. I could go on with stories and lessons learned, but as I continue with this blog, I know more stories will come up and relate to Uganda, so I'm sure you'll be reading more:)