Just us

The kids and I have been staying in the Seattle area the past two weeks.  Marc is back to work and we didn't want to be away from him for so long.  We are so thankful for gracious friends who have allowed us to stay at their places.  It's a lot to ask, but I've concluded that I have AMAZING friends.

We are busy preparing for Uganda, but also trying to remember to remain in the moment.  It's tough to not spend all my energy "researching" how best to fly with toddlers, what to bring in a carry-on, what to take and what to leave behind, etc etc etc.

This week I celebrated my birthday.  And I bought birthday candles (for the kids) to take with us for birthdays to come.  Most days I am thrilled to be heading overseas and watching how God works out the details.  There are moments too, where I feel panicky and overwhelmed by this decision.  In those moments of fear I surrender.  Yesterday I was struck how I am going to miss the simple ease and comfort we have here.  Kate was taking a drink from a fountain and I love watching her navigate the water pressure and her attempts at getting the water in her mouth and not all down her shirt.  It struck me that we probably won't have too many water fountain experiences in Uganda.  It's the littlest things, but these are what I am preparing my heart for.  Rather than focus on what I'm leaving behind, I'm choosing to focus on what's to come!  It's a daily surrender.

Below are some pictures of the kids from the past few weeks.

Pilgrim Africa, a dream in the making

So to back track a bit and tell a story...

Twenty years ago I saw an African children's choir perform on a Sunday night at my church, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.  I knew nothing about poverty.  My only image of Africa, up to that point, were the devastating pictures from TV of babies with bloated bellies and flies that swarmed eyes and mouths.  I knew nothing.  I was ignorant. But these children before me were happy.  No, not just happy...they were filled with joy.  My heart raced as I sat through the performance, knowing that my life was never going to be the same.

Fast forward eight years...my first trip to Africa.  I went for 4 weeks to the beautiful nation of Uganda. I met the most incredible people.  I worked alongside women who had committed their lives to taking care of children who had been abandoned or lost their families to war and disease.  At the beginning of the trip I battled loneliness.  I was alone.  I mean seriously alone.  The only caucasion for miles and miles.  And yet, the Lord was so present.  While playing UNO one morning with a bunch of kiddos, I felt certain that in that moment my life had purpose.  I WAS DOING WHAT I WAS CREATED TO DO. (Not sure that UNO was my life calling...but rather the being with children in Africa part!)  When I left Uganda, I was sure I had left part of my heart there too.

Fast forward a little further...I am married to an amazing man and we have 2 wonderful children.  We live in the US, Marc is a Family Life pastor and I am teaching in the public school system.  We are living the "American Dream."  Then God takes us on this incredible journey of faith and we quit our jobs and put our house on the market (a fantastic story for me to write about at another time).  These steps of faith lead us to Seattle and an organization called Pilgrim Africa.

Pilgrim Africa has a Seattle office, but is based in Uganda.  UGANDA!  After years of watching my life head in a different (yet fulfilling and wonderful) direction, the doors open for us to go to Africa.
And we said YES.  This time, I am not alone.  I have a man of God at my side and two beautiful littles.

Below is a video we made this week that outlines what we will be doing in Uganda.  If you would like to come alongside us on this journey, please follow the link at the bottom of this page to donate online to our "Primary Education" account through Pilgrim.

https://www.pilgrimafrica.org/donate/donate-online/

A new adventure

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Over the years this verse has become an anchor to hold onto, during the good times and the storms.  My God, the God of the Universe, has plans for me.  According to this verse great plans.  Really really great plans.  And I'm thankful.  I have much to be thankful for.  

In a few months my family and I are about to embark on a new adventure.  One that has been a dream of mine for almost 20 years (how did I get this old?).  We are heading to Africa.  In December we will be moving to Soroti, Uganda for a year.  We are partnering with an organization called Pilgrim Africa. You should check them out here... www.pilgrimafrica.org  

We are excited and overwhelmed by all that is before us.  There are so many details to consider when taking your family across the world.  Details details details.  I am a detail person.  The details matter to me.  Good thing is, they matter to God too.  But I confess I can get lost in the details and start to lose courage.  At these points I am reminded "to not lose sight of the forest for the trees."  A good reminder as I try to figure out what to take in 12 suitcases half way around the world.

As we prepare for our adventure of serving and following, we have been organizing what will go into storage and what to sell.  We unpacked and sorted through every single thing we owned.  What to keep, what to sell, what to donate.  It was a surprisingly emotional experience as I said goodbye to "stuff".  It wasn't really the stuff that mattered, but the memories attached to the stuff that made it so tough to let go.

This is what the garage looked like as we started unpacking and sorting.  A total, overwhelming mess!

Don't be fooled into thinking this was the garage sale.  No no.  This was just 1 day of unloading the garage to get to boxes that were deep in the belly of the whale.

It was a lot of work, but the sale was a total success.  The things we are holding onto are safely tucked into storage and the things we are getting rid of are gone (or will be finding a new home soon).

Step 1 of preparing for Africa complete...tackle the garage!