Uganda, here we come!

So I leave for Uganda this week. In two days. I have been wanting to post about it, but honestly never sure what to say. People ask if I'm ready....yes, I have everything ready to pack. But am I ready emotionally? Ready to see people who live in poverty I can only imagine...people who know the love of Christ and find that it is truly enough. People with faith and joy, but none of the material blessings that as westerners we somehow tie into the equation of God's favor on our life. Am I ready to see those who have lost hope. Those who do not know the love of Jesus or the hope they can have in Him. Am I ready to see children who have no family. Those whose lives were torn apart by years of civil war. People living in slums. Friends killed by the LRA...parents killed in front of them. Stories...stories, stories....I'm guessing I'm not ready for that. I know they will break my heart. I will want to bring little kids back in my luggage. Pretty sure that's not allowed by TSA! I am so excited and nervous all at once!

We will he helping a village that Brentwood Church has adopted in Gulu, up in the northern part of Uganda. Helping build a piggery that will provide a means of income for them to continue on their own. Just as importantly, we want to build relationships...connecting people to Aloysious, a local missionary from southern Uganda who runs a farm teaching villagers the basics they lost in the IDP camps for 20+ years. He is there day in and day out, has been for 10+ years, and we are so thankful for people like him and the long term impact he has. I had the privilege of hearing him share in person a few months ago. It was refreshing to hear him say "Ugandans don't need lights, and fancy houses, etc. All they need are the huts they have lived in for decades, an education, a sense of community restored, Jesus Christ, and to be taught the things that have been lost in the last generation while in IDP camps(baking, farming, etc)."

We depart July 19th, and return on the 30th. Provided we have internet, you can follow our global blog NOW10/40.com for real time updates from our team. Thank you for your prayers!