Invisible Children and Papito

Today Invisble Children, a movement designed to help end the conflict in Uganda, came to OSU and let Papito, a 19 year old Ugandan orphan, speak at the Wes Watkins center. Danae, David, and I had the pleasure of attending this event and learning more about the country we will be visiting this summer. Papito has been through some terrible events in his life, and he is even younger than I am! That's sad and frightening to me to think of what happens in some countries, espcially to young children like Papito was. But, that only means that they need to message of Jesus all the more. Thankfully, much of the conflict has been reduced over the past two years in Northern Uganda where the violence is centered. There are still atrocious acts done, but God's hand is working there in that country and bringing it closer to peace. And, what better way to help end the horrors than giving the people their the best message we could give them: that of Jesus Christ. Don't worry Mom, the Lord has blessed our group to be going to Jinja, located in the southern part of Uganda, far away from the acts of Kony and the LRA.

On a more postitive note, we got to watch a video at that same event of some people who, with the help of the Invisible Children organization, were able to go to Uganda. We got to see videos of their reactions and interactions with Uganda and the Ugandas. To be honest, when I heard the Ugandans speaking, I was a little worried. They speak English quite a lot over there, but with a thick accent that's hard to understand. Understanding them was a bit of a problem. I know once I'm over there it will become easier, but hearing it firsthand made it real. All I could think was "This is what my readers will sound like. Get used to it." Also, knowing that many of them speak English already is disconcerting. Will we be of any use if everyone already knows English? Will any readers come at all? That makes me feel a little unnecessary. However, God showed me that he can still use me. I know that if our readers know English well, that means our conversations will not be hindered by our lack of comprehension; God will use us to delve into deep conversations about faith and our Christian walks with God. We can more fully express our love of God and Christ's love for them without the inadequacies of limited vocabulary or linguistic skill. I am so blessed to be able to share God and his words to those in a country that is in need of his love and care.

As always, thanks for reading! Please continue to keep us, our future readers, and Uganda in your prayers.

Getting Excited

As Davis informed me yesterday, our team will be leaving in exactly 6 weeks from today! In my mind, and I am sure everyone else's, that is crazy! We just finished GO weekend with Let's Start Talking and are supposed to be "prepared." I supposed we are in regards to many things, but the challenges we will face are so unknown that we have only God to rely on to prepare us. To think that I was chosen to talk to someone specific over in Uganda blows my mind! God lead all of our hearts to this point for His glory! God called Sam. God called David. God called Davis. God called Amber. God even called me. God not only lead this team, but He has lead each of our parents, friends, and supporters to encourage us and support us (that's you!). God's plan is so much bigger than we realize and so much bigger than each of us. I cannot even describe the excitement I feel when I think of our project and God's work! Our whole team is full of enthusiasm for the amazing way we will see God work! We have six weeks left until we leave. Our team has finals, weddings, and many many more plans that we need to figure out before we leave for Uganda. Please keep all those tasks in your prayers. Most importantly though, please keep the people of Uganda in your prayers. Pray that God works on their hearts to receive His word and that the local church is able to prepare for us as their guests! Thank you for your continued support!