To Uganda We Go!

I am leaving for Africa in less than 2 weeks!  And I still have so much to do! Eek!  But here I am, blogging...for you. So you're welcome...or I'm sorry...whichever is appropriate for your particular situation. 

I wanted to take a break from the planning and the Excel spreadsheet making to tell the story of this trip for those of you (all 2 of you that read this) that might not know why we're going (or even that we're going if you're really out of the loop). So here goes!

First things first. I am going with an organization called Mercy for Mamas.  My incredible friend (and my pastor's wife) Melissa started this organization when she was in Uganda during the adoption of their sweet daughter Mercy, whose mother passed away during childbirth.  Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurence in Uganda, where 15-20 women die every day while giving life to their precious babies.  The saddest part of this is, it's a problem that is, in a lot of cases, simply a matter of having the supplies they need to have a sterile delivery.  For $7, Mercy for Mamas helps provide women in Uganda with the supplies they need to have safe, clean births and helps give these women and their children the chance to have lots of time to love and grow together.

I could go on and on and on about Melissa's story, or how incredible it's been to watch her take the idea of Mercy for Mamas and run with it.  I could tell you how proud I am to be her friend and to be a part of a church where adoption and the orphan crisis is such a focus.  But I won't...at least not right now ;)  For now, I'll point you to the Mercy for Mamas website: www.mercyformamas.com. Melissa tells her story way better than I ever could, so go there and learn more about this incredible woman and her mission.

Now...more details on the trip itself.  We leave next Friday - September 21st.  We will arrive in Uganda late on Saturday, the 22nd.  We will hit the ground running and will spend our days in Uganda serving as many people as we can. We will be distributing mama kits to women, visiting midwives and orphanages, helping serve at a couple of churches, and hosting a couple of encouragement events for missionary women in the area, and lots of other stuff in between.  We will be serving in Kampala, Jinja, and Mbale. We will be busy and I know I'll be completely exhausted when we get home on October 2nd...but I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. 

I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to serve on this trip.  And I'm so excited to see how God uses our group to His glory.  I have seen Him every step of the way as we've planned these events and raised our funds and even as we've gotten to know our team members from afar.  He is planning to use these mama kits and our experiences in Uganda to do wonderful things and I am so anxious to be a part of that.

So this is what I ask of you...that you pray for us and for His work.  Pray that our group (there are 11 of us) would push aside our own desires for this trip and let Him take the wheel.  The last thing we want to do is get in the way.  Pray for safety and provision for our families back home so that we have a few less things to worry about.  Pray that we would be brave in sharing the reason we are there - to share His love with His people. Pray that hearts would be softened to that love and that doors would be opened for these people to know that they have an eternal life with their Father waiting for them.

So that's it for now!  I will post info and pictures once we return!  Thanks in advance for your prayers and support for this trip and for Mercy for Mamas!  Seriously...go to the website...now! www.mercyformamas.com

Love,
Beth