The Gavel is Down and the Numbers are in!

I am seriously blown away by the results from the online auction for my missions trip this summer!
First let me talk a little bit about the auction.  Without awesome donations of auction items from Abbadabba Bags, The Painted Piano, Family Christian Bookstore, In My Mother's Honor, Starbucks, and Jump City this would not have been as much fun.  I loved seeing the chatter between bidders and I'm really going to miss seeing that tomorrow on my facebook feed.  I saw bidders that were new friends, old friends, lots of family members far away, in-laws of my family members, friends of friends, and even an old co-worker of my sister's.  This reached way beyond what I ever could have dreamed.  I no longer felt alone in this.  Watching the bids was greater support for my soul than any amount of money could ever have been.

If you had asked me how fundraising was going this time last week, I would have said that I really wasn't sure how I was going to get to this seemingly insurmountable goal.  Not only did I have the expenses with the Visiting Orphans team, but also for my work in Uganda.  It is with great joy that I share these numbers with you tonight.
My numbers are still a little rough until they purchase our tickets this week or next, but this is a close guess.

Last week I was approximately $1600 short
In my wildest dreams I hoped to raise $500 from the auction
In reality, you all donated $1306!!!!!!!!
Now I am approximately $300 short.  Wow!!!

If any of you bid, didn't win, but still wanted to donate, please feel free to hit the donate button on this page :)
Anything raised above my trip costs will go to a project I'm working on in Uganda.  The pastor at Return Ministries and I are working on a field trip for about 30 kids while I am there.  These children live in a beautiful country and most have never seen past their small village.  Our goal is to show them a bit of the beauty God has blessed them with.  We are going to take them to a zoo/safari park about an hour away.  It will be a carefree day of play and seeing the most amazing animals.  My goal is that they would stop seeing all these Americans coming to visit them and dream of someday going to America thinking that is their only hope.  For many of them, this may never be an option.  I want them to see the beauty around them and start to dream of a better life within their country.  The cost is $20 per kid which includes the bus rental, lunch, and pass to the park.  We will take as many kids as we can afford to, but our beginning goal is 30 kids.  If that is something that you are interested in supporting, just put "Uganda safari" in the memo line when you hit the donate button on this page. 

The generous hearts that are obviously all around me have me in tears tonight.  I always knew I was going to Africa, but now I can really say, "I'M GOING TO AFRICA"!!! 
Thank you

Confession

Last year as I prepared to go to Africa for the first time, I was nervous and afraid.  I had no idea what to expect, no idea if there would be anything there I would eat, and no idea if I would like the people (or more truthfully if they would like me).

After my trip last year, I was amazed at how comfortable I was there and how I connected with people.  I was also surprised that I was dreaming about Sarah's cooking! It's been a heck of a year looking back to see all God had in store for me on that trip.  It is also cool to look forward and see the amazing and previously unseen adventures He has in store for me this summer and in the future.  I love my new friendships that have grown over the last few months.

Here's my confession:  This year's trip is technically a "short terms missions" trip, but in reality it feels like I'm going to visit family and some of my favorite friends :)  What a difference a year makes.  It's absolutely unbelievable to me that God could use an ordinary, kind of boring, nothing special (by worldly standards), person with no special talents like me to do His work!!!!!!  I had heard that this happens to other people but always assumed they were secretly really cool and talented before.

I'm here to tell you, all you need to do it SHOW UP and cool things happen.  You, yes YOU, are one of the people who can be used to change others lives and your own in the process.  Just show up somewhere you might be nervous and bit afraid to go and see what happens :)

Step One: Complete!

I am so excited to hit the first financial deadline of the trip with three days to spare :)
This first deadline was half of the money due, so it was the largest and most intense one.  I'm one step closer to putting my feet on African soil again and could not be happier to think about that!

I have been working hard on a fundraiser that will happen this weekend at a children's consignment sale.  Glad for all the donations of children's clothes, toys, and furniture that people have given for this event and I'm praying that big things happen on Friday and Saturday to give me a jump start towards my next deadline. Next deadline is to be at $3200 by May 19th. 

In May I have an online auction coming your way.  I'm excited to share these great items with you.  I have items I picked up in Africa last year, passes to local kids venues, and a few friends are joining in the fun like Abbadabba bags!!!  This is going to be fun, so get ready for it!

Exclamation alert... I'm excited!!!

**WARNING: there will be MANY exclamation points in here!!!!**

I am so excited to announce that I will be returning to Africa this summer!!  I never could have imagined the adventures God in store for me when I went last year.  I was stretched in ways I wasn't sure I was flexible in anymore.  The living conditions, restrooms, lack of creature comforts, and not having things sanitizingly clean were things I always imagined would bother me.  In the states I won't even go camping in a cozy sleeping bag after eating yummy smores over the crackling fire, but in Africa it seemed just fine to sleep with cockroaches, take ice cold showers, and use squatty potties.

Korah

After having my eyes open to how many others live, the old me would have said "this was a nice experience but I'm not going back again."  The new me says, "can I go back now?!"  After meeting the wonderful people I spent time with in Africa, none of those details mattered.  I'm excited to spend time in both Ethiopia and Uganda again with the majority of the time being in Ethiopia in my favorite place... Korah.  I will be going with Visiting Orphans again and we will be serving with Project 61 and Mission Ethiopia while we are there.  I am ecstatic to be able to spend a week with my sponsor son, Teshome!!!  Absolutely a dream come true!

The first day with Teshome

The other dream come true is that I get to take this journey with my best friend, Kendra!  Last year, as I was spending time with kids, I would literally be thinking "Kendra should be here."  This year she will be!!  Some girl friends take trips to Napa valley, spa weekends, or maybe a cruise.  We are choosing a girls crazy adventure week to a leper/trash dump community in Africa and could not be happier about it!

Can't wait to walk these streets in Korah again

Vanessa

After Ethiopia, Kendra and I will part from our group and head to Uganda to visit with Return Ministry for a few days.  This could be challenging for two gals who get lost going to places we go to all the time :)  It will be neat to see Africa outside of a big group.  Can't wait to spend time with Pastor Samuel and his family, visit the little girl we sponsor, spend time with the women making the beautiful jewelry I have been selling and have time with the children we have been feeding. 

Village of Busega

If you want any information on the organizations I am serving with or ways you could get involved, please let me know.  Otherwise, I'm sure you will hear from me over the next few months as I prepare for this next great adventure.

In My Mother's Honor

What I am about to write about brings me so much joy!

This summer while I was in Africa I would text home everyday where my mom and Neil were taking care of the children.  On the day I texted Neil about wanting to leave my sneakers for Teshome, I knew something interesting was going on in my mom.  I texted Neil about it because he had just purchased me those shoes, but when he read the text aloud to my mother, her immediate response was to leave them and she would replace mine before I even got home.  Now, my mom is a generous person, but this quick response made me think, "could Africa possibly be stealing my mother's heart as well?"

 

Coming home and starting to share stories, my mom wanted to hear every one of them.  One afternoon after retelling some stories at her kitchen table with her neighbor, they came up with an idea to sew dresses for the girls in Africa.  She texted me to see if I knew somewhere they could send them, and I was thrilled beyond belief!!!  I sure did know where!  The village of Busega in Uganda had me wrapped around it's finger and I thought of the children wearing ill fitting clothing, tattered clothing, and some no clothing at all.  The wheels were set in motion, my mother's sewing machine started smoking pumping out all these beautiful dresses, and the two friend's vision In My Mother's Honor was born.   

 

Miracle after miracle started happening.  People stated donating money for sewing supplies and eventual shipping, donating fabric, and even dresses they made themselves.  After every phone conversation I would have with my mom about this, we would just be in awe of what God was doing.  It started with a brainstorming session at my mom's kitchen table and ended up with these beautiful dresses for the girls in Uganda!! 

Total: 108 dresses and 40 pairs of short... all handmade and in about 4 months time!!

 

In this picture above, two things stand out to me personally.  The dress in the front with the bird on the pocket was made by my wonderfully talented sister, Monica.  She was the only one paying attention while my mother was sewing and what a beautiful way she chose to express her love though this dress on this sweet baby!! The second thing is the girl in the second row with the light color flower print dress.  This is our sponsor daughter, Vanessa.  Vanessa lost her mother a few weeks ago and is now an orphan.  My mom was able to bring sunshine through her talents to Vanesssa just like she does for my boys here in the states.  She's a good grandma :)

 



Pillow case dresses were the way to go.  Easy to sew, or so I'm told since I can barely replace a button, and super cute.  They can also grow with the children since the ties are adjustable.

This is one of my favorites.  Think you don't have money to give to big organizations so you can't help?  All you need to do is exactly what God had already given you the talent to do!  In fact you can use what you already have on hand to get started.  These beautiful dresses were made from my mother's curtains... how Sound of Music is that?!!!  Melts my heart.

Girls are girls all over the world.  A new dress that makes them feel pretty will also make them a bit giggly.



Okay, it doesn't get much cuter than this picture!!  Don't you just want to scoop these three precious babies up?  

Here's one of the most precious parts of the dresses.  Each one has a tag saying "Made just for YOU by Jeannie" (or whoever made the dress).  My mother and her neighbor had read some articles about children being kidnapped for the sex trade.  In the article it talked about children looking like they belong to a group greatly diminishes their chances of abduction.  Dresses of the same style and same tags are one step closer to this.  What an awesome idea they had!  Instead of placing the tag where the children could not see it, the loving hands put the tags on the front, near the bottom, and facing up toward the child so they could read everyday that someone had made their pretty dress just for them.  It's important that they feel someone cares what is happening to them...that they are not forgotten. 

 

Since receiving these pictures this morning and posting a bit on facebook about it, more people with big hearts and a talent for sewing are offering to join the cause.  I hope to personally take the second batch to the village this summer.  I can't wait to see what God does with these next few month and the newly energized Jeannie.  I have always had so much respect for my mom, but I am so truly HONORED to be her daughter now!

 

What talent do you have that could be used to touch another corner of the world?

What a Difference a Year Makes

What could it look like if you follow God where he is telling you to go?

This time last year, I had just about finished my fundraising to go on my first missions trip in June 2011.  The thought of going to Africa both excited me because I had always dreamed of going and also terrified me because it was so far away and so unknown. 

To say I "picked" a missions trip would be such a lie, it picked me... or better yet God laid it right in my path for me to trip over.  After reading about the organizations we would be working with and researching them a bit, I fell in love with P61 and decided to sponsor a child.  When Neil and I received our information and picture of Teshome we thought he was so handsome and were thrilled to hear he was living with his mom, dad, brothers and sister.  I was also excited that after a year of supporting him to go to a local school, I would have the chance to meet him and his family.  For Neil and I this seemed an easy sponsorship, much like the ones everyone else I know participates in.  Send money, get a letter each year, feel good about helping.  It felt "hands on" but in actuality was so "hands off". 

Once I got to Africa and met Teshome, I was SHOCKED to feel such love for him only moments into meeting him.  I probably embarrassed him something awful because I just couldn't stop hugging him.  Then it was time to visit his home.  That's when the walls of our "easy sponsoring" came crumbling down.  The information we had about his family was all wrong.  An intern with P61 had interviewed Teshome about his family and to him his parents and siblings were still his family even though his reality involved none of them.  He lived with his aunt and uncle whom we met and had a coffee ceremony with but all along felt there was something strange about the situation.  The mood in the home was much different than what I was experiencing everywhere else in Ethiopia.  I knew leaving Ethiopia that we were more important to this young boy than we had first realized.  It wasn't until I was home that I learned of the abuse going on and that the good people in Korah were able to get him out of his home, into a safe shelter, and eventually into a boarding school.  Now we were his family.  What if I hadn't gone to see with my own eyes?  Here was a shy boy who wouldn't want to bother others with his situation.  He needed help, but didn't believe that help was there for him.  He needed to see how loved he was before he would ask for help.

There was never a question of "if" we would support him more...he was one of the family now and nothing we do for him feels like a sacrifice.  Would sending your own child to a safe school seem like a sacrifice?  No, it would feel like parental joy to be able to do this for your child.  I was shocked at how deep our feelings have become for Teshome and can't wait to wrap my arms around my child on the other side of the world again.  Leaving Africa felt like abandoning my child, but it has tested my faith in God and trust that he loves Teshome even more than I do and that He has been caring for him every step of the way.

Okay, after Ethiopia my team traveled to Uganda.  To be honest I was feeling like God had just asked a lot from my family and was just beginning to open our hearts in new ways.  That kind of stretching made me cry out to God for a little break emotionally.  I knew taking on another sponsor child was too much for me at that time after all I had just experienced, so when God introduced me to Vanessa I quickly put spiritual ear plugs in and tried to move on from my day spent with her.  However, eventually those ear plugs came out.  It wasn't until after I was back in the states and could not stop thinking and dreaming about her that I contacted Pastor Samuel to see if she had a sponsor.  She did not and my husband and I decided this was what God was calling us to do.  Happily we signed up for an "easy" sponsorship.  Vanessa lived with her mother and we would provide for her school and medical.  We looked forward to praying for her and getting our one letter a year. 

Apparently God had bigger plans again.  Just last week I received word that Vanessa's mother died suddenly.  It has shocked her community and tipped Vanessa's world upside down.  It's making me confront God on new levels again.  Why do children who have almost nothing have to lose the most important person to them?  This time I watched the progression of a child become an orphan.  It breaks my heart in new ways. 

Today I wonder, what if I had not gone to Africa?  What if I had instead used the money spent on the trip to sponsor 50 kids?  I have no doubt that those 50 kids would be thankful for a change in their situation, but what about my two kids that needed a deeper sponsorship... and emotional sponsorship.  My own heart would not have been broken in new ways and I would not see the world through this new filter that has brought me more joy than I ever expected.

Since this time last year, my heart is more broken, I love deeper, I trust God more, I know that saying yes to Him comes with hard things but those hard things are seriously the best things in life.  I know now that when people here in the states see me walking with my kids they see a mom of 3, but when God sees me He sees a mom of 5. 

"Going" could be Africa, Haiti, the shelter down the street, or the local foster care classes.  If God asks you to go, don't be held back by fear of the details or the unknown...GO!  I promise He has big and beautiful things to show you! 

Sick With Myself

This is what makes me sick today.

In anticipation of a move coming up in the next 45 days or so(dates and place are still a mystery), I started to pack some boxes today. I started easy with things we don't really use or rarely remember we have. I packed three boxes that I bet are in all of your houses, too.  "Extra blankets", "extra bedding", and "stuffed animals".

After taping them up and being confident I will not miss these for a couple months if not longer, I stacked them in my kitchen. I was immediately uncomfortable looking at them. Not so long ago, I spent time with families that could fit all of their belongings into these boxes.  Some would have had a box or two to spare.  Me? I have so many "extras" that once I move these boxes to storage my husband won't even notice I have removed anything from the home.

Literally sick to my stomach. What am I going to do about it? I don't know, but I think this move might be painful and also liberating if I can do it right.

My mission now: Find as much stuff as I can that I don't need to hang onto for "someday" and put it in the hands of someone that needs it now. My problem is, if I don't know where to take it I will just give to Rescue Mission.  I would love to know of some other organizations that need items. Any of you know some good ones? My guess is that I will have a little of everything.