We arrived in India about a week ago for our final month of the World Race!! Besides the intense heat and humidity, I love everything about it! The culture, the people, the food, the clothes-it's beautiful here!! After taking a ferry, tuk-tuks, flights, buses, and an overnight train, we made it safe and sound to our ministry site in Ongole. We are working with two other teams this month, so there are about 20 of us. We found out from our contacts that we would have two options this month. We could either help in a children's home for kids with special needs or we could raise funds and go out to a village to plant a church. My initial thought was that I wanted to stay back at the children's home and step into something that was already established, but Allan pulled me aside and challenged me to take advantage of the opportunity to step up and grow in leadership through the church plant. I definitely wasn't thrilled about it at first-especially when I felt like the Lord put teenage girls on my heart-but as I began to pray about it more I knew it was what I was supposed to do.

After praying and asking the Lord what He wanted for each of us, 5 of the girls decided to stay and work at the children's home and the rest of us headed out to the village to plant a church! The leaders have decided to take a step back this month and they are encouraging each of us to step up and take charge of whatever we want to do for the church plant. I have been involved with many different things so far, but my main focus is the teenage girls. They are all BEAUTIFUL, and one of the girls in particular has stolen my heart!  I am also in charge of baptisms and footwashing with Angela. I have been a part of morning prayer meetings with Traci and Julie, and spent a lot of time out in the community with Julie and Jessica encouraging women and praying for them. 

I have absolutely LOVED our time in the village so far, and can't wait to see what God is going to do the rest of this month! 

Specific prayer requests:

• $2000 to build the church
• A plot of land to build on
• 12 people to be raised up in the community to start the church
• People to be baptized regardless of family beliefs
• To be able to show the Jesus Film in the village
• That people would turn from Hindu beliefs/idol worship and come to know the One True God

The last three days of last month, we travelled to Jinja, Uganda to meet up with the rest of the squad. We camped for two nights and just hung out and relaxed on the banks of the Nile River. Some people went bungee jumping and white water rafting, but I took advantage of that to spend time with people, eat some good food, and rest before our long trek to Tanzania (and I'm SO glad I did!). We began a long series of travel days on Friday afternoon, when our bus arrived to pick us up 3 hours late. This is Africa.

[beautiful Tanzania]

We have finally arrived in Tanzania safely after nearly 50 hours of travelling by bus on bumpy African roads. Our bus broke down on Saturday and we had to stay the night in a bus stop/restaurant until another bus arrived to take us the rest of the way to Dar es Salaam. Sleeping on buses and filthy restaurant floors among 40+ people is not an easy task. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much for a few days. We got to Dar around noon on Sunday and still had to find another bus to take us to our ministry site in Morogoro, Tanzania about another 3 hours away. But we made it!!

We met our contacts and soon found out that we would only be spending about a week here staying in a guest house, preaching in churches and doing door-to-door evangelism before travelling to a few different mountain villages to live in tents and minister to some African tribes. I'm pretty excited about finally getting to experience “the bush” of Africa for about two weeks. We will have no running water or electricity (no internet access) during those two weeks. I will try to get on at the end of the month before we head to India, but until then please pray for us as we head into the unknown; and trust that God is using us and protecting us wherever we are! I love you all!!

Our last week and a half in Uganda was amazing!! We had recognized the need for Bibles in the church at the beginning of the month and began praying for God to somehow provide them. The pastors were just about the only people that owned Bibles, and the church did not even have any for the church members to use during services. On Friday nights, the church had a prayer session from 8pm-midnight and since we didn't have transportation, we would usually just break up the time by hour and pray at our house. On the second Friday we were there, Greg and I were praying during the 11pm-midnight time slot. As I was praying more about the Bibles, God gave me a vision:

I saw the church members entering the church in their regular clothes, and when they came out they were running with swords in their hands!! As I asked God what this meant, He revealed to me that the swords were the Word of God, the Bible. In Ephesians, it talks about the armor of God. The sword is the only offensive weapon that we have to attack the enemy. The rest of the armor mentioned in Ephesians is used for protection. These people have been suppressed for so long by the enemy, making them weak, and they have never had any way to fight back! I was really excited about what these Bibles would mean for this church. It would be a way to empower them and allow them to fight off the enemy when he attacks.

We continued praying over the next few days for God to provide a way for us to get Bibles for the church members because there is so much power in the Word of God. In God's sovereignty, He provided the funds for us to purchase 50 Bibles for the faithful church members! At the beginning of the month Pastor Alex kept talking about us bringing a revival to the church. As we prayed more into that, we felt the Lord telling us that the church members were going to be the ones to bring revival after we left. So once we were able to get the Bibles, our ministry eventually changed from door-to-door evangelism to visiting the church members to encourage and empower them. They were all so welcoming and truly loved us well as we entered into their homes to encourage and pray for them.

[with a church member and Pastor Samuel]

During our last week, I felt the Lord telling me to speak to the church about spiritual gifts and how to use them in the body of Christ. The pastors are capable of doing everything, but they are eventually going to get burnt out when they have to do things that aren't necessarily their giftings. The church will be much stronger if each member discovers his own gift and learns how to use it to benefit the church. I used to hate public speaking and I would usually be the last person on our team to volunteer to preach a sermon, but I felt like the Lord was giving me a specific word for that church. I decided to obey the Lord's voice by teaching the last Sunday we were there. I know it was nothing I said, but only the words that God had given me to say. I have never felt so empowered and at ease when I was up in front of the church that week! I wasn't nervous and I really felt like I spoke with the power and authority given to me by the Holy Spirit. Everyone seemed to be engaged and excited to hear about the different gifts and how to use them practically in the church. Praise God!

[preaching]

We easily could have left it at that, but we had two days left and I still felt like the Lord had more for us in that place. God had also placed on my heart the idea of sitting down with the pastors to have a meeting with them. I just wanted to talk about our observations, give them suggestions, and talk about how to get people plugged into the church. Previously when Americans came to preach, many people would come to church but they would leave the church as soon as the Americans left. The pastors wanted to know how to maintain their church members and asked us for suggestions. We told them we think it is important for them to be visiting the church members and really investing in them, especially now that they have Bibles. We talked about finding out people's giftings and figuring out practical, tangible ways that they can be used in the church. We also mentioned the importance of taking a Sabbath day once a week to spend time alone with the Lord, away from ministry. They were all very receptive and excited about our suggestions.

[washing feet]

Lastly, God had spoken to me about somehow commissioning the pastors to go forth and continue the progress with the church after we left. I thought a great way to empower them to go on from there was to wash their feet, like Jesus did for His disciples. It was an amazing experience and I really think God used us to spur them on in their ministry. Afterward, they were so grateful and each one took a turn saying how much they had enjoyed us being there and that they had learned so much from us by our genuine love for people. They saw the importance and the impact we had made by sitting down to spend time with people, getting to know them, rather than just preaching at them before we even know where they're coming from or what they're dealing with. I am so excited about what the Lord has in store for Pastor Alex and his church, and I can't wait to hear from him in a few months saying they have outgrown their church building and need to expand!

[the pastors & church leaders]

� � � � � � �Meet Sara, a beautiful 15-year-old girl with an amazing smile. She seemed somewhat shy at first, but she came over and joined us on the bench. We asked her if she knew who Jesus was. She said she did and seemed to know the message of the Gospel. She wanted to know more about having a personal relationship with God. I think she knew English better than she let on, but Pastor continued to translate what I was saying to her.

�I wanted to encourage her that having a relationship with God is more about knowing God and discovering His will for her life. Being a Christian doesn't mean you won't ever experience hard things in life, and it certainly doesn't mean you will get whatever you ask or pray for. God gives us what we NEED, not always what we WANT. He is a good God and He knows what each of His children needs. Sometimes He allows us to go through hard things, and He wants us to draw close to Him in those times so that we learn how to depend on Him to comfort and teach us. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

[Sarah & me]

��������������� Another vision I had last week as I was praying was someone on the edge of a diving board, looking into a pool. They were intrigued by the water and what they saw--people splashing around, playing in the water, having fun--but not quite ready to take the plunge. God revealed to me that someone we would meet would be intrigued about becoming a Christian, but maybe didn't quite know what to do. My prayer was that we could be there to give that person a little extra nudge to jump into a relationship with the Lord.

As we began walking down the dirt road from the church, we came across some children who, of course, were so excited to see us and ran up to greet us. Ginger and Greg took out their cameras and the kids were immediately captivated. Allan and I escaped the scene and met three women sitting together near the dirt path we were walking down. They were working with their hands and talking as we approached, hardly noticing us. Pastor recognized one of the ladies, Josephine, who used to be a member at his church. He said she was going through a hard time and needed some encouragement. He began talking to her, and the other translator was quick to tell us that the other two women were Catholic and Protestant but not “born again.”

I am still unclear about this concept in Africa. Everyone is so quick to judge whether or not people are Christians and difference in religion creates barriers. It is difficult to do ministry the way they expect us to do it here because it is so much different than we are used to. I am a very relational person and love sitting down to meet people and hear their stories. However, our translators are often quick to say, “Ok, now ask if she is saved!” before we even know her name. Or they will say, “Just give her a word!” without even knowing anything about her circumstances or what she's going through. It can be very frustrating at times…

Today was no different, so I just remained calm and started by asking her a few questions about herself and her family. Her name is Rose. Her husband died recently of AIDS, and now she has been infected with the deadly virus. She has five children that may also be infected. As I was talking to Rose, she wouldn't look at me and she had tears in her eyes. She seemed hopeless. I asked if I could pray for her and if she had any requests. Hers, unlike many others we've met, were requests that could ultimately be the difference between life or death. Most people we meet ask us to pray for money, phones, cars, etc. But Rose's request was for healing, not as much for her own sake, but more for the sake of her young children who will soon be left behind as orphans. I can't even begin to imagine what will happen to them when they wake up one morning and realize their momma is gone. Perhaps they will starve to death, turn to the streets, or even prostitution.

[some of the kids]

This is not uncommon in Africa. AIDS is truly a pandemic that plagues so many families here. Many times, husbands are unfaithful to their wives and they acquire AIDS from another woman, which is then transmitted to their wives and passed on to their children. Because of the husband's unfaithfulness, the whole family is destroyed. Kids are left behind to fend for themselves. I am not sure if this is true in Rose's case, but it is an unacceptable reality in Africa.

We followed Rose to her house and she brought a bench outside for us to sit on. Then, Rose brought out her sister who was very sick and she wanted us to pray for her. We prayed that the sickness and pain would leave her body…that peace would overcome her…that she would be healed. But my mind was still on Rose. There was just something about her that drew me to her. Something about the hopelessness, the tears in her eyes, and the way that she put the needs of others above herself intrigued me.� She was beautiful and fascinating, and from what I could tell, her heart reflected Christ. She was selfless. She really loved others more than herself. She made sure everyone else was comfortable and taken care of before she worried about her own needs.

[Rose with her sister]

When it was finally her turn to join us on the bench, Allan began talking to her. He told her about the Gospel and that Jesus died for the sins of the world and that He desires to have a personal relationship with her. I could tell she was beginning to get excited. When he was finished, she told us that she had met Jesus before (we're assuming she meant that He had visited her in a dream) and she wanted to know more about him. She had been on her way to go somewhere that morning, but she stopped when she saw us coming down the dirt path toward her. She felt in her heart that she wanted to know more about Jesus, and she must have figured the white people would know more. God had divinely placed us in that specific place at that specific time to meet Rose.

�She prayed with Pastor Alex to accept Jesus into her heart, as I sat next to her with my hand on her shoulder and continued to pray over her silently. When we finished praying, I encouraged her that having a personal relationship with God means that she can talk to Him whenever she wants. Not just at church. Not just with us. He is there whenever she needs Him. He will be there to comfort, strengthen, and encourage her when she's feeling discouraged. In Him, she can find hope even when she feels hopeless.

[Rose doing laudry]

This month is quite different from last month in Kenya. Last month, we were living with our pastor's family in a small, tight-knit community and didn't have much time to be together as a team, away from everyone else. We ate every meal with the family and other neighbors and visitors who stopped by. This month, we are renting our own house up in the mountains about 20km from Kampala, Uganda overlooking Lake Victoria�"cooking for ourselves and living on our own. It has definitely been nice to have more time to spend with just our team, working on relationships and investing in each other. We generally wake up around 8am, make breakfast (and coffee!) and gather together to start the morning off in worship, reading the Word, and prayer. It has been an amazing time of fellowship to start off the day.

[view from our house]

We are working with Pastor Alex Kirega at his church, Christ Miracle Center . We have about a 20 minute walk down the mountain every morning from our house to the church. Then from there, we have been walking around doing door-to-door evangelism in the community with Pastor Alex and some other church members and pastors who help translate. We generally have two or three people from our team that stay back at the house to intercede for the rest as they go out into the community.

At the beginning of the month during Debrief, I felt the Lord speaking to me about stripping away my pride. As I prayed more about what I was being prideful about, I realized I take a lot of pride in the fact that I have not been sick this entire trip (praise the Lord!). I have never missed out on a single day of ministry this year. So I felt the Lord calling me to take a few days of being off the front-lines of ministry and stay home to pray and intercede for my teammates. It has been a really cool thing learning more about intercession, and being able to share in the victory of what my teammates witnessed during the day through their ministry as I stay back to pray for them. It has definitely been a humbling experience!