Africa 2010

Just a quick update as to what I've been sensing from God lately regarding trips I'll be taking to Africa.

I'm hoping to take two trips there next year. I really feel that God is wanting me to increase my time overseas a little, and the furlough days we've been receiving at work should enable me to go more frequently because I'll have some extra days off -- it's turning into a blessing. :)

Right now, I am praying about heading to Kenya with Mission of Mercy in early June to visit the Home of Hope, an orphanage for babies with AIDS. The Home of Hope has something like a 96-percent "cure rate" for AIDS. They do three things: adult woman are there around the clock to hold and nurture the babies, they are given proper nutrition and medicine and they anoint the babies with oil and pray over them for healing every day. I first heard about the Home of Hope in a sermon I watched during the time God was speaking to me about Africa and Mission of Mercy, and they just happen to be offering a mission trip there in June. We will also head into the bush to work with a child-development center that's been established with the Masai tribe -- sooooo awesome! This will be an amazing opportunity to share the love of Christ with a very tribal people! Kenya was also the first country God ever spoke to me about visiting when He called me to Africa at the Brownsville Revival. Growing up, I was always fascinated with Kenya, and I remember even picking a pen-pal to write to from that country as a kid. His name was Boniface Oloo -- I wrote him once and never heard back. How I remember all that I have no idea! lol

Anyway...as for the fall, I am not yet sure which country God will lead me to. I'm not sure I'll be traveling with Mission of Mercy then either. I'm looking into working with e3 Ministries or Overland Missions, but it's too early to tell. e3 is a really great church-planting organization and they do lots of work with unreached people groups. I really want to go to the place of greatest need. Rwanda and Burundi are two countries that have particularly been on my mind lately. I know I am also supposed to go back to Swaziland -- I am just waiting on God to work out the timing.

I'm praying for contacts and open doors in African nations, as well as for a clear direction as to where I'm supposed to head in 2010.

Exciting stuff! God is amazing! :)

- the hype

I'm trying to find the right balance in my walk with God. I want consistency without complacency. And I'm learning that the real deal is more important than the hype. So much to think about.
I'm looking up flights to Africa...

Psalm 31

I've been meditating on this Psalm for the past couple days and found this rad video. Thought I'd share.

With Everything

My heart's cry.

WhatchuknowboutNamibia?

Looking for contacts in Namibia, Africa. Write me if you know of any.

I Need Africa

Shovel
By Katie Herzig
Hearts bend 'cause they can't break
When they can't take 
All that is given to them
Glass eyes on your sad face
It's a sad story somebody's written on you
Love in my heart, right from the start
So please take me with you
Birds sing out the window
Sing out the window sing
Do you hear those birds
sing out the window
Sing out the window sing
Take me with your shovel
We'll burry all your troubles
All your troubles
Oh the light is always on you
Always in the light
The light is always on you
Always on you
Always in the light

Kingdom Mergers and Acquisitions

So I've been thinking lately...


The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)! 
~Revelation 11:15 (Amplified Bible)

Timing is everything. We need to learn how to discern times and seasons.

God has been waiting for the manifestation of the acquisition of the earth.

10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. ¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ¹² that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. 

~Ephesians 1:10-14 (New King James Version)

A merger, by definition, is the joining of two governments — it's a legal binding of governments and corporations becoming one. When they become one, the value of their product rises.  

Purpose and timing determine the value of stock. 

When you became born again, the Lord gave you "stock," and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee (See Ephesians 1:14). 

You have miracle power! And your stock is going up (See Joel 2). 
But you can't trade without faith. Your faith determines your level of withdrawal, and you can't access your stock without faith.
And when the fullness of the times comes, you're not going to need the gifts of the Spirit. When you live in the supernatural, you don't need the gifts. When God created Adam, there wasn't any sickness. Adam lived in the glory of God therefore he didn't need healing. 
The Holy Spirit is earnest payment. So think about this: Jesus raised the dead with just the earnest payment; He turned water into wine with earnest payment; He healed blind eyes and walked on water with earnest payment. The glory He left behind has not yet even been seen and experienced in its fullness! And yet we are living toward the latter end of this spectrum, when the fullness and glory come. God wants to come and pay off the rest!
God could have created us to live at any time in history. He could have made Moses for now, or Daniel, or Joshua, Deborah or Elijah -- but He made YOU for now. 
So what were you designed to do for such a time as this?

Tea and Sympathy

Home sick.

"Savannah" by Relient K

My new favorite song.

Swaziland article for P-R

Here's a link to the article I wrote about Swaziland for the Press-Republican.

"Finding Life, Death and Hope in Swaziland"

Photo above is of Mpile eating his lunch. <3

First child

This was the first child I saw at a Mercy Centre in Swaziland. He was sooo excited to see us. My heart broke for him in a way I can't explain. It was a moment I will never forget.

This morning, I'm preparing my message for Sunday at the Methodist church in AuSable. Reporting on the mission trip. Praying to find sponsors for three kids.

Lord, raise up an Ester in Swaziland

When Ester's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

~Ester 4:13-14

7 Hours in Swaziland

Here's a blog written by Lad Chapman, a missionary with Children's Cup in Swaziland. This is yet another portrait of life there -- this is an emergency.

MY LAST 7 HOURS…

by Lad Chapman

…that is, my last 7 hours today … not my last 7 ever…

I woke up feeling like a train ran over me, and it seems the family flu has caught up to me. So Dayquil and Advil it is for breakfast, with a skip the gym morning, and a few extra cups of coffee.

So now you know that anything I write about needs to be taken with an understanding of my physical and emotional condition. I’m a wreck.

8.15am – Mancoba calls me from our CarePoint to tell me that one of our cooks has died in the night. Of the 8 of them, I am not sure who he is describing. I told Him I would see him after lunch.

9.00am – my team shows up for Discipleship team meeting. Good stuff, looking back at this year, and ahead to next. Talking about the transition into Danny’s [new guy] leadership as I transition out for our end of time with Childrens Cup in January.

By 10am we are reviewing our camp from the last weekend with a group of 200 youth, and the conversation turns to the guys/girls discussion time re:sex/love/relationships. The girls were especially interactive and frank, and here was the headline question:

“I hear what you’re saying that we shouldn’t give away our bodies so easily to any guy, but you also say we should obey our parents. It’s spring – the fields need plowing- and my mom tells me to go find an older man who will sleep with me and pay for our fields to be plowed…what should I do?

[long pause - let that sink in]

It’s now 4pm, and I’m still nauseous. If it were one girl, easy, let me pay for the field to be plowed. But according to the 5 Swazi’s I’ve talked with this about since 10am, this is the norm. My teachers said any man can buy a girl for sex from almost any family for an $8- bag of rice, or a $15- fee to plow the fields.

1pm – another meeting, I have no idea what it was about.

2pm – at Madonsa, Mrs Vilikati was the one who died, leaving her husband and 2 kids. She was young – mid-30s, and very healthy looking. I never expected it to be her.

She had the most beautiful smile, always with a hint of mischief as she served. I miss her already.

She had not tested for HIV, even though some teachers had urged her. She was fine, and then went to hospital sick, and died two weeks later.

3pm – As I left the CarePoint, beautiful children chased my car down the ‘road’ calling out my name in Siswati, which means “our hope.” And the tears well up as i bounce thru the potholes… Oh Jesus, whom have I but You?

I have buried 2 staff members and 1 student in 6 weeks. [this is just at our 2 CarePoints]

After 5 years here in Swaziland it hurts more than ever.

I want to be angry. I want to sleep. I want to run. I want to fight. I want to yell. I want escape. I want to curse. I want to weep. And the weeping comes…

And I’m not even the one effected by all of this. I don’t have a mom selling my body for 4 days of rice. I don’t need to sell my kids for food. I am not going to get HIV from a sexual partner outside of marriage. I did not lose my mom or wife today.

Truth is, my last 7 hours would be like a dream for most of those kids ….

"Circle Dance" at LudzeLudze

Here's a video clip I took of the kids at LudzeLudze Mercy Centre

in Swaziland doing the famous "Circle Dance!" It was so amazing

to play with the children and hear them laugh at our silly dancing! :)

I love and miss them. So precious. <3

"All Ye" Coffey Anderson... <3 this!

Swaziland (almost) Report

It's taken some time for me to process the things I witnessed in Swaziland. It was a hard place to leave, and I really miss it. I have a lot to say and a number of stories to tell, which will be coming soon.

For the past two weeks I've been writing my article for the newspaper about the trip. My deadline has been extended a few times for various reasons, and now I'm down to the wire...dun dun dun! :)

Once that's finished, I'll tell you all about what it was like to meet the boy I sponsor, 10-year-old Philelani. He's just awesome. It was a very special time.

But, yeah, God has just been swinging doors WIDE open for me, even as we were traveling back. It was like a switch was flipped. I was offered two completely different jobs within two weeks, without even inquiring about them.

A new ministry has opened to me, which I'm applying for and am already very active in, right in Plattsburgh, and God just keeps growing my vision. It's part time btw, so I will still be at the Press. It's extremely exciting, but I'll be honest and say I also don't really know what I'm doing...lol BUT, I guess that's where faith and trust come in...and grace! And I know I will learn quickly. Everything seems to be accelerating. It's cool.

Anyway, I'll tell you more later. For now, here's a photo from my trip to hold you over. :)

I have great expectancy for this trip to Swaziland.

I start the journey Saturday morning as I head from Burlington, Vt., to Chicago. There, I'll be meeting two of my best friends, who were part of our team in Ethiopia last summer. We'll stay in Chi-town overnight and then meet the rest of the group late Sunday. Our plane leaves Chi-town at 10 p.m., from there we'll head to Frankfurt, where we have about a 9-hour layover -- enough time to tour a castle or something, and then we fly to Johannesburg, South Africa. Once we get there, we take a 5ish-hour bus ride to Swaziland. It will be so nice to sleep laying down after all that traveling lol!

Why has no one come to you?

TTR3 - Kachipo Ministry Trailor

Missionary Quiz

For giggles, I just took this quiz to find out "which famous missionary I am most like." I like the results (especially his favorite saying!):

The famous missionary you are most like is:

Hudson Taylor

Hudson Taylor was an amazing missionary to China. He was what you call an “all or nothing” type of a guy. When he went to China, he wanted to fit in so badly that he adopted Chinese dress, dyed his hair, and even wore a ponytail. Also, to prove his faith in God’s provision, he determined not to take a salary and never to ask for money. He believed that he should just put his trust completely in God. One of his favorite sayings was

“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

As a kid, Hudson was raised as a Christian but totally gave up his faith until he was 17. After that, he was all in. Once during church, he got so mad that everyone was singing happily about their salvation while so many were perishing that he walked right out of the service.

By the end of Hudson’s life, he was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to the China which directly resulted in 18,000 Christian conversions.

Click here if you want to take it: http://www.missionslaunch.com/blog/2009/05/21/quiz-which-famous-missionary-are-you-most-like/

Put this in your heart

I want you to see some of the faces of Swaziland. These photos, taken by Mark Pluimer, were from a mission trip there in 2007. I can't wait to meet these children. 

   

Fundraising Update

God is so faithful!

To date, I have met every payment deadline for the mission trip to Manzini, Swaziland. 

My third payment is coming up on May 30, and I'm about halfway there. I need $500 more, then another $1,000 for the final payment, which is due June 20. 

It's exciting to see God's hand upon this outreach and how he's using people to accomplish His purpose and plan for Swaziland.

Please continue to pray for this trip. Pray that God would prepare the hearts of the people we encounter there, and please also pray for our safety.

I can't believe I will be in Africa in 3 months, almost to the day!

It's very exciting.

Thank you so much, and God bless!

"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Luke 12: 29-32

Arise, shine!

Just a quick, but important, note...

I saw this scripture in a new way tonight, and it absolutely transformed my thinking and refreshed me. It's very important to draw close to God right now and to stay there -- to really press in to Him. People are scared to death about the economy right now. The economy is being shaken globally. Just talking to people, everybody is concerned, everybody is worried about this financial crisis. I have learned that if you don't stay close to God, it is so easy to get caught up in the cloud of fear that is consuming many people. Now is a time to draw near to God, draw near to Jesus, because for His children, this is not a time to be afraid; it is a time to rejoice.

The Glory of Zion

¹ "Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
² See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
³ Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
⁴ "Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the arm.
⁵ Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
~Isaiah 60:1-5

• Notice in verse 2 that the thick darkness is over THE people, not HIS people. The glory of the Lord rises upon you (that's US).
• I believe this is a time when God will transfer wealth from the wicked to the righteous. * the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. (verse 5)
• Not only that, but nations and kings will see our light, they will see what God is doing in us, and then they will come to our light, which is God in us. * Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (verse 3)

There is just so much in there! I could go on, but I need to go back to some things.
I will let you examine this passage, and I pray the Holy Spirit reveals wisdom and insight to you in this exciting times.
Draw close to Jesus so you are not swayed by the fear of this world. :)

Taking Action!

I've been really seeking God this week and praying about the call that is on my life. I so cherish my alone time with God. I love God's Word -- I love chewing on the meat of His Word. 

Did you ever notice that when Jesus preached to crowds He found that the multitudes needed "milk" -- they needed/wanted an easy Word because there were many babes in the Lord among the crowds. But then Jesus would leave the multitudes and go away somewhere, and the disciples would follow Him. And He would spend quiet time ministering to His disciples and His disciples to Him. And He would give them a tough word, speaking from the realm of eternity, and these words did not always immediately make sense to the disciples, but it was meat to chew on. 

And so I am learning how to cherish this special time that I have with God as a single woman, and I am learning to let God be my first love, as He should be. And I just treasure that. 

God has shown me A LOT of things this week. Tonight He confirmed my call to go to Swaziland. I have to be honest that up until about an hour ago I didn't really know for sure that that was where God wanted me to go. I really felt that it was, but I was hesitant because it wasn't a clear commissioning like Ethiopia was. I didn't have a miraculous Moses/burning-bush moment so to speak. But as I was studying tonight and listening to a podcast from a mission summit report by Zion Bible College, where my cousin Melissa goes to school, everything I envisioned was confirmed, and God has given me this special passion and burden for a people group -- something that I so desired. 

I NEED to go to Swaziland. I am crying as I write these words. There are people in Swaziland -- children, mamas and daddies -- who are lost and dying and who have never heard the name of Jesus. They deserve to hear about Jesus. Have we forgotten how far we've come by the grace of God that we do not remember the place that God has brought us out of? The place He rescued us out of? If I only touch one person while I am there with the Gospel, it is all worth it. And so I am going after that one person, that one lost sheep because this is a lost and dying world, and if we don't go, WHO WILL? This is the message God has laid on my heart.

Isaiah had a vision where He saw the Lord sitting on a throne and angels were ministering to Him, and it was like the Lord and His angels were looking out over the Earth searching for someone who would go.

Then Isaiah heard the Lord asking the angels, "Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?"

And then Isaiah said, "Here I am. Send me."

And the Lord said, "Yes, go..."

(Isaiah 6)

Tonight, again I say, I am willing. Send me! I hear Jesus saying this today, and I am responding to His call. A call requires obedience, and that obedience requires action. And I take action today to be His hands and feet in this world so that God's purpose can be accomplished.

I just need help to get there. I know God is in control, and He will provide. I do know this, and I know that He will speak to someone to help, and I pray that those He speaks to would be obedient to His calling and to what He asks. Praise Jesus someone responded today to a letter I wrote. The first response I have received, with a check for $50. Thank you Lord, and thank you so much to the giver. I have to raise $600 more by April 30 to meet this deadline. I will need $2,000 after that. A lot of money in this natural realm? Yes. But who can quantify a soul for God's Kingdom? And so I don't look at dollar amounts in this aspect, because my eyes are on eternity. Eternity is not only futuristic, but eternity is now. 

Precious Savior, You know my needs, and You know what it will take to accomplish Your will, not just in me, but Your will for the nations. You have a purpose for the nations. You have a purpose for Swaziland. You have a purpose for each and every one of us. Each person has a name, Lord, and You know them all. I have sent out Your Word tonight, Lord, and I read in the Bible that Your Word shall not return to You void, but it will accomplish that which You sent it out to do. I commit this situation to Your hands, and I thank You in advance for everything You are about to do in Swaziland and in the nations. Thank you for allowing me to be Your vessel, Jesus. I pray Your glory would be revealed on this Earth in its fullness. And i pray that each person who reads this message will respond and take action to whatever Your purpose is for their life. In Your precious name I pray, Jesus, the Messiah. Amen.

Swazi is ON!

I am just soo excited! I found out that the mission trip to Swaziland is definitely going to happen (I figured it would, but it was nice to actually hear the words "Swazi is on!")! 

Forty-one people have signed up to go! Twenty people volunteered when I went to Ethiopia, and many of us still keep in touch today. They are really like my family. It's amazing the bonds that were created in such a short amount of time. Several of the people from the group have really become my best friends, and I love them all so much. 

So...I am just really looking forward to making 40 new friends! It's actually going to be pretty cool because about eight of my friends from the Ethiopia trip will be going to Swaziland...so this time I'll be going into it knowing others, which is incredibly exciting. It's going to be an awesome time, and I know God's going to do such great things!

I also found out my roommate is 18 years old, and she has traveled overseas before. I'm very excited to meet her. :)

On another note, I am really praying for opportunities to minister to the people in Swaziland -- please keep them in your prayers. The language barrier is difficult, but I've found that demonstrating the love of Jesus transcends language. It's a beautiful thing.

Also, I need to raise $650 in the next three weeks for my second payment for the trip. God knows my needs. I just keep trusting Him because I know it is His will for me to go. 

You know, when I was working on the DVD I made about my time in Ethiopia, God revealed something to me that was really life changing. I came to a point when I needed to start a new segment in the video, and I was searching and searching and searching for the right scripture. I would find one that applied, and then I'd find another one, and I just couldn't choose; I just wanted it to be the right one. So I said a quick prayer asking God to give me the right words, the right scripture because this is not my story I'm trying to tell, it is His. So I'm flipping through the New Testament and almost immediately God shows me John 15:16 -- "You did not choose Me, but I chose you..." Wow!

I just teared right up. It was an incredible moment. That scripture came alive to me in that moment. God breathed upon those words and they became real to me. It was an awesome revelation!

God chose me to go, and He chose others to give, because God's will needs to be accomplished in the Earth. He is just looking for willing, obedient vessels. 

He spoke, and my life was changed

It's been a year -- almost to the day -- since God spoke to me as I sat in my kitchen contemplating my life. At that time, too, I had been reflecting on the previous year, previous relationships, and the pain that inevitably came out of it all. It was really a rock-bottom bit of time. And it's the point when I began to think about my purpose.

My life was no good when I tried to control it. The verse that comes to mind is Matthew 10:39, when Jesus says, "Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it." Or in the Gospel of John 12:25-26, when Jesus tells His disciples, "The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me he must follow me..."

Basically, I had just gotten to the end of myself. What I was doing -- from the small tasks to the large ones -- wasn't working. I needed to be saved.

I cried out for a Savior that night, and God responded in a powerful, life-changing way.

For me, it wasn't an outside audible voice, but it was inward. It shook my whole being. His words cut through my thoughts, interrupting them, and I knew that it was God. You just know. 

When God spoke to me He told me to fast and seek Him. It might sound silly, but he said clearly, "No facebook, no MySpace, no AIM." And then He said, "Fast for five days, and on the fifth day, Friday, you will have your answer." I was looking for purpose and for direction.

This message came to me quickly, like lightning, so fast yet so resounding in my spirit that I could never have made it up. 

I remember not even knowing what day it was, so the first thing I did was run and find my calendar to count out the days. Sure enough, the fifth day of my fast would fall on Friday.

Too often we look at a fast like it is a hunger strike, but the real purpose of a fast is to spend more time with God, talking to Him, seeking His face, ministering to Him and giving Him our worship. I was spending a lot of time on the Internet and social-networking sites, and God wanted me to spend more time with Him. He was gauging the new level of my devotion to Him. I think He wanted to see if I was serious. Was I really going to follow Him? Was I really ready for the things He had for me? Would I lose my life in this world to follow Him?

It was during this time that God showed me Ethiopia. During my fast, everywhere I turned it was Africa, Africa, Africa. I watched a sermon that my Uncle Steve gave me years before but had never watched. It was a message by a southern preacher named Dwain Jones. Jones told stories about an organization he works with called Mission of Mercy. The Christian nonprofit was doing incredible things throughout the world, and God was moving powerfully. Babies were being totally healed from AIDS, he said, Jesus was visiting Muslim sheiks in their dreams, instantly healing them of sickness and diseases, upon which they began turning mosques into Christian churches. Dead people were being raised. Acts chapter 2, early church type glory. 

I googled Mission of Mercy and navigated to their site. Out of a handful of mission trips they offered, only one was possible for me to make: Addis Abba, Ethiopia. I immediately felt compassion for the place.

So much transpired over the next few months, it's unreal, and I will post these memories as they come to mind in future blogs, but I should say this:

If there was any doubt that God hadn't spoken to me about Ethiopia from the start, it was eliminated when I found out (months into my planning and fundraising) that my mom sponsors a child -- one kid on the whole planet. I learned that that child, Mihret, is a sponsor child through Mission of Mercy in Ethiopia, and I would get to meet her and spend time with her whole family while I was there. 

To put this in perspective, Mission of Mercy works in 22 developing countries across the globe, with several work sites within each nation. There are 7 centers in Ethiopia alone. Our group's home base was Addis Ababa Mercy Center, the facility that Mihret attends. You can't call that type of thing a "coincidence." God had a greater plan than I ever could have imagined!! 

He knows us, and He loves each of us sooo much. He is so much bigger than we could fathom, yet God cares about the little things as much as the big things. He cares about individuals -- the ones forgotten by the rest of the world. He knows all of the things we go through. The magnitude of this experience still blows my mind. 

I'm not anybody special, but I know who I am in Christ. One year ago, I never would have guessed what has happened would have happened. And I know that without Jesus I would not be where I am today.

Some people said, "You'll never raise the money; $3,500 in 3 or 4 months is impossible." But nothing is impossible with God! 

I would write out checks for hundreds of dollars in faith that God would provide. Each time -- I could tell you story after story -- He would provide, often to the exact amount I needed. I would laugh and cry each time it happened and just rejoice because God has been so good to me! He is so faithful and just desires that we walk in His will and follow where He leads us.

I won't know the magnitude of our group's impact on our Ethiopian brothers and sisters till I get to Heaven. It's kingdom stuff. It was huge. And so many amazing people -- my friends and family -- sowed into the project with prayers and financial gifts. They all played a part in this, and God will reward them for their kindness and their faithfulness. I am so grateful for everyone's prayers. 

I am embarking on a new adventure to Swaziland, in southern Africa, with Mission of Mercy this August 2009. This time, I'll be working at an AIDS orphanage in a country where the life expectancy is only 31 years old. One-third of the population has HIV or AIDS. I can't imagine what they are going through, but I am going because God loves them and Jesus died for them. And I am willing to go for Him and demonstrate the Gospel and Christ's love.

God will always move when He has a people through whom He can work. I want Him to be able to work through me and through those who sow into this ministry. 

Some plant, some water, but it is God who gives the increase.

**The photo above is of me and Mihret, taken by Meghan O'Neill.**