Compelled...

I am currently reading a book written by a child soldier living in Sierra Leon and it is heart breaking and maddening to me all at the same time. As I read I continually am reminded this continues to go on today. As I read, as I type…children are being abducted and forced to become soldiers killing their families first and then other innocent victims; and they don’t do this because they are monsters but in order to save their own life. As I read my book I am constantly reminded of my promise to God that I would not stay silent but be an advocate for such children facing injustices that I had made during my trip to Kenya and Uganda in Sept. of 08. To be completely honest I really feel like God has been throwing the realities of Africa’s injustices back in my face the past few weeks asking me what I am goind to do about them. Tonight while checking my email I came across a video where I felt God really challeng me was I going to do something about what I just saw and knew was real or turn my back on it and continue on with my "safe and comfortable life here." I can pray and send money but I feel like God has something bigger in mind as I feel this void as if I am missing something that God is trying to reveal to me…a way that God is trying to have a positive impact through me…and something he is providing for me to do. It is my heart's cry that I would surrender my life to for his glory and that I would serve him in any way he asks me to and that he will reveal clearly to me how I can help meet the needs of the hearts and souls of the precious children and hurting adults in Africa. Thus, I feel compelled to start right here… to encourage all of us to open our eyes and recognize the needs and the injustices that in African people experience every day. I have talked to a lot of people and they blame it on the governments in Africa or something else. We, as humans, are always seeking a scapegoat to displace the blame and make ourselves feel better since we didn’t inflict the pain and hurt but now that we have talked about it we can move on and feel good about ourselves…well let’s just get over who is to blame and first recognize there are huge issues concerning people all the way across the continent of Africa and that we can do something about it where ever we are at... in our own way. I dare you to watch the video, The Rescue, created by the organization called Invisible Children. After you watch the video I would encourage you to visit Watoto where you can find out how they are serving the displaced Children Soldiers in Northern Uganda with their Project Gulu. Project Gulu not only provides housing and schooling to the former children soldiers but provides them with trauma counseling, spiritual counseling and a place to call home with a family of their own. Watoto also serves women who have been brutally scared physically and emotionally by the LRA army, which was discussed in the video as well. The Mattaw Children's Village is located in Kitale Kenya. Bud and Kimberly Huffman have poured their heart and soul into creating a place where children grow and flourish. They have replicated the Watoto model where children (orphaned, street children, or just need a safe living environment) live with all their basic needs met along with spiritual leadership and teachings, schooling, a family that loves them and a place that they call home. I love what Mattaw and Watoto are doing as they are not just providing children in ways to meet their basic needs but providing for the children holistically, and providing for children who are dearly loved by first and foremost by the King, Jesus Christ, and then by staff and volunteers and others all the others committed and supporting the work they are doing. Visit Huffmans blog to keep updated on the great work they are doing and the realities of the hardships innocent children face every day in Kitale. Wow, this is rediculously long...sorry but when I get going on something...well watch out! I will work on learning how a blog really works and incorporating some images next time to help break up my ranting...but I thought getting the links on there was impressive enough this time round! Lets just hope they work! But really Linds, I think you are the only person who might read this and well you know all sites! :)

A Flat

Isn't it amazing life seems to be going quite well, trucking a long, not perfect cause life is never perfect here on Earth. But perhaps as of late there has only been a need to add washer fluid due to number of bugs on the windscreen, or quick stop for an oil change. Then all of the sudden, BAM, there it is, you didn't see it coming at all, a large pot hole in the journey. Leaving you with a flat, as well as heaps of other damage done causing you to stop dead in your tracks due to the emotional and physical implications of the situation(s) brewing that created the pot hole. As you look back you recognize there were a few signs, you did have to air up the tires a couple times recently and you did hear that funny sound more consistently, but you hoped they would just go away-fix themselves. But they didn't and now you drove right into them...no turning back, they must be addressed in order to keep on with the journey. Praise God as he is bigger than any pot hole, bigger than any flat and any of those situations brewing! God can heal the people and situations brewing and repair the pot hole if we are willing to lay the situations down before him as well as those involved in creating the pot hole.

An Opportunity

Well I think the cold is here...and whether I am ready or not winter is soon going to be here in full force. I can't even sit in my own apartment with out the thought of hot apple cider or hot coco on my mind! Even though I am bummed a bit about the hassles that the cold brings, I am excited to see the beautiful snow flakes fall and the fields snow covered with the moons light glistening as it reflects of the white crystals! It is something I missed while in Colorado and have been excited for since I moved back...along with the possibility of a snow day or two later this winter! Today, I experienced my first day of teaching music...and for those that know me well, probably feel very bad for the children...don't worry I didn't sing or play and musical instrument! However, they played songs on their recorders and were very flexible as I figured out what I was dong! I find it quite exciting when I get challenged and pushed out of my comfort zone! I have two more days to go with music so we will see if I say I enjoy the challenge at the end of the week! I just received an email from Tom Davis' (author of Fields of the Fatherless and president of Childrens HopeChest) blog. He in conjunction with Patton Dodd of BeliefNet.com are dedicating the month of November to raising awareness and engage in conversations surrounding orphans and poverty. It is their goal to raise $500 per day and to put that money towards helping those who have so little and God loves so much. Loving the orphaned and poverty stricken is something God has placed deep within my heart , more so now than ever. I am responsible to be an advocate for them (see previous blogs) and speak up for those that can't speak up for themselves. I truly believe the work Tom is doing is of God and that he is serving the orphaned, widows, and poor; therefore, I have included his blog site below. You can also go to Tom Davis' blog and learn more about the work he is doing, donate if you feel led and the possibility of winning a trip to Africa. Tom Davis' blog: http://tomdavis.typepad.com/

Reflections

I have been home for four weeks now and am just starting to grasp glimpses of what God did with my heart while I was in Kenya and Uganda. Here are a few of my reflections... A Glimpse of my Experience: God is doing a mighty work as he raises up his beloved sons and daughters- like Bud and Kimberly Huffman of the Mattaw Children's Village and the Kampala Pentecostal Church, home of the Watoto Project, to create a radical change in lives and communities throughout Africa. It was very encouraging to see the work that both organizations are doing. They are not building orphanages that were under staffed and lacking basic essentials but they are building homes for children to experience what it means to have a family. They are not focusing on meeting the basic needs of the children and adults they serve but they are focusing educating and growing a healthy child in all aspects of their development. They are not sending over a group of foreign missionaries to do all the work, although they have partnerships with various foreign ministries, they are utilizing the people within the communities they live and work in. They are building future leaders that can impact their communities and their world with the love and hope of Jesus! David, a boy soldier, spoke at the Watoto Conference and what he said touched my heart deeply. David began by sharing how he was forced to kill his own family members, burn down villages and strap infants to trees and cane them to death in order to save his own life. He spoke of the guilt he lived with and the nightmares he was tormented by. Through Gulu project, a new project by Watoto to support child soldiers in Northern Uganda, he learned of a new life and the hope of Jesus as his personal Savior. David concluded his message by saying, "I no longer have nightmares, but I now have a dream." The words David spoke pierced my heart as I considered that David's statement was only made possible by the power of Jesus Christ and his church willing to fight injustice. Both at Mattaw Children's Village and throughout the Watoto Conference and Projects I saw the face of Christ over and over again through his church creating a love revolution to change eternity one person at a time. Time and time again I was challenged by the stories I heard much like David's. Some were told by those caring for the small infants and children left to die in a toilet or orphaned from AIDS, some told by the widows tattered and bruised left with only the scars on their bodies to remind them of the horrors of their past, others simply told by looking into the pain and suffering in the eyes of a woman sitting on the road side or by a teenage street boy sniffing glue as he walked along trying to earn a bit more cash for the next bottle to suppress his hurt and hunger. But the reality is I can choose to be overwhelmed by the each story or I can choose to do something about the injustices I encountered. God Spoke: "Justice can't be a fad in your life Katie but part of your DNA. As Christians justice is in our DNA." God grabbed my heart as I heard these words spoken to me, conviction flowed over me. How can I possibly turn my back on these children, men and women who have nothing but the clothes on their back when I have so much at my finger tips? As an individual living in the developed world I have so many resources that can go so far in a town or village in Africa. But more so, as Christians we have the Creator of the Universe on our side, so what am I waiting for? If Christ is with us who can be against us! How can I possibly neglect my responsibility to help break down the walls of injustice going on throughout Africa, and throughout the world? I can't, therefore, I will be an advocate from wherever God has me. While in Kenya God made it clear that Africa was not where he is directing me now. He pressed upon my heart the importance of raising awareness of the injustices going on in Africa and challenging others, especially his Church to take action. God is opening my eyes to what it means for me defend the cause of the oppressed and to seek justice! What Now: During my time at the Mattaw Children's Village I was able to observe the school one morning. Kimberly had asked me to make suggestions of how one might make schooling more interactive and fun! I was thrilled with the invitation to provide some new ideas and suggestions! While I was able to provide some ideas on the spot, I continue to work on a few projects/game ideas that we had discussed for the teachers to use at school and send them to Bud and Kimberly as they are completed. There is much that can be done to help those in need both in our own communities and throughout the world. I challenge you to consider what you can do to touch a life of a stranger in need and fight the injustices occurring in our world. I have attached the websites of the Mattaw Children's Village and the Watoto Project below if you are interested in more information on either organization. Mattaw Children's Village: http://www.katalystministries.org *Bud and Kimberly Huffman's Blog: http://huffmansinkenya.blogspot.com/ Watoto Project: www.watoto.com

Welcome to the great adventure I call my life...

It has been about a week since I have returned from a two week experience to Kitale, Kenya; where I visited the Mattaw Children's Village and the Watoto Villages in Kampala, Uganda. The work there that Bud and Kimberly Huffman and all of their staff are doing is quite incredible and encouraging. People ask me how my trip was and I have a hard time saying good or amazing as I might label other excursions I have been on...when you have traveled to a third world country and see, hear and smell the horrific things that go on in ones life, you see the trauma and tragedy in the eyes of the people your heart breaks and you just can't say that it was a "good" trip. So for those of you who want to ask me it was a life changing trip...one can never be the same after an experience like that. Praise God for people like Bud and Kimberly who are being obedient to the call the Lord has set upon them to assist the people of Kitale out of dispair and be blessed with the hope of Jesus Christ. Jesus, your name is a shelter like no other...what power that has as I think about the Kenyan people who some literally have nothing, no shelter other than their hope and faith in Jesus Christ, and then those many that literally have nothing because they have never heard of Jesus. I apologize as I realize this is me processing on a blog...needless to say I have a lot more thinking to do, a lot more heart work to do and I am excited to see what continues to reveal through it all! As for now I am on a new road...not certain where it will lead but excited to see what the next little adventures are to come in this journey called life. I have a job interview on Monday for a position where I would assist elderly people in tasks that they can not complete on their own and provide them some companionship. I am hoping I get a job soon or the substitute teaching positions begin to roll in or I just might find myself getting into trouble with too much time in on my hands! :)