New Family, New Home, Good Times...

Hi everyone! Well, this is my first blog posting in Africa. :) My team and I are in Kampala, the capital, of Uganda for a few more days and then we will be making the long busride trek to Kotido town (where Karamoja is). We've been getting a lot of things done here in Kampala, from changing money to Ugandan shillings, to buying a cell phone for here, to buying fruit from the market...I love it here. It's wonderful. The change of pace has been absolutely spectacular. It's nice to not always be going, going, going...and to have the realization that it doesn't have to always be like that anyway. We can slow down, enjoy life, get things done, be fruitful but also rest. :) Even take some time to pet the pig (we named Penelope), check out a preggo mama goat and her 2 babies, watch the monkeys carry their babies on their chest, and go around finding and eating the different fruits grown right here at the hotel. See the pics below...lol.

So our hotel is very interesting. hehe. It isn't the "fanciest" but it has everything we need. And by all means, we don't need fancy. It's just nice to have Westernized toilets, hot showers, beds, and good food. All we need. Backtracking a bit, it was quite the experience getting here via planes. Kristi and Kenneth (and kiddos) Williams' flight from DFW was cancelled (we were on separate flights) and they didn't get another flight until Thursday. I had trouble with my ticket from Brussels to Entebbe which made me miss my flight. I decided since I had an entire day to hang out the airport until my flight the next morning, it would be safer to get a hotel in Brussels for the night. It ended up being very restful and somewhat fun. I spent the day/night sleeping some, watching tv in English & French, taking a hot shower, and then having breakfast (morning time) Brussels' style. It was tasty. Got on the flight the next morning with no problems and my team was there in Entebbe to pick me up. The Williams' family got here the next day (Saturday). We were all relieved that everything worked out just fine and that we had all made it finally. Felt like family finally reunited...can't wait until August when all our family members will be here & together:)


So we've got just a few more things to do in Kampala before leaving. Andrew & I are going to try to go ahead and get our international driver's license since we'll have our own vehicle. If we don't get it now, we'll have to make the long trek back here at some point. Trying to capitalize on our time here. Couple other small things to do and then on to Karamoja! I can't wait. We're all excited. :) Well, please continue to keep us all in your prayers.
-Good health for all of us (Kerri in particular)
-Safe & smooth traveling at all times
-Quick adjustments for the Williams' kiddos...some of them are having a little tough time with the time change, etc.
-That we would spend good time with the Lord and continue to grow & seek Him first
-That our families and friends will adjust well to our being gone for a year+
I love you all and am so grateful for you!! Keeping you posted...

Fulfilling His Promises...

I can't even begin to explain how the past week has been going. How God has just provided again and again and again. I'm in awe. Seriously. Just standing amazed at Him. :) So much has transpired lately to where I KNEW that God had called me to leave for Uganda on the 16th (this Wednesday) but there were roadblocks that seemed to arise everywhere. Stress stress stress. But God continued to tell me "Do not worry. I've got it all under control. Rest in me. Rest in my promises that I've already shown you and those that I haven't even begun to unveil. I am good. I am bigger than anything you can ever possibly imagine."

He keeps reminding me of this and you know what? He's totally right. Lol. The Lord has got the funniest sense of humor, I swear. Just a couple of examples. Nothing seemed to be panning out with me renting my house out. So I had decided I was going to go with a management company to take care of things. Some good friends pointed me to the right person. We talked and she told me what she'd be able to charge for rent...unfortunately for me, it was going to be a couple hundred dollars below what my actual mortgage is. So, I had begun stressing over this...how am I going to be able to get enough funding for Uganda much less have enough money for money to go toward my mortgage? How is this going to work? Yadda yadda yadda. Well, I'm in the beginnings of refinancing my home and knew the mortgage would drop some but there would still be money I would need to pay. I began just saying "ok God, you've got this. You'll make it work somehow." And so I let it go. Well praise God! Today I got a call from my guy who is refinancing my home and my new mortgage payment will be $3 less than what the renters will be paying. Isn't that incredible!!!! AND, my house showed twice on Sat. and twice yesterday...and someone is already in the application process to lease it. :) HE IS GOOD!!!

I've started having little bits of money come out of the woodwork from places I never would've imagined. Blessings! And I've just begun trusting more, deeper, bigger, wider, longer...it's such an amazing process. I wish I could list everything that the Lord has been doing so that you could all rejoice in every specific detail...but just know that God is all over this journey to Karamoja. He's got us in the palm of His hand...we are tightly knit...we are being molded, refined, renewed. I am so excited to leave for Uganda this Wed!! I've got so much to do in just one day...but I'm praying for the day to lengthen and for all important things to be taken care of in time. I know HE will provide. :) I'm expectant of it and awaiting it!!

I do want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who have been praying for me and my team, helping me in physical ways, financial ways...just being there with me through the preparations. There aren't enough words to describe just how much you have blessed my life and how I can't thank you enough!! To everyone reading this, please just keep me and my Karamoja family in your prayers as we are about to embark on a new chapter in this thing we call life. I can't wait to turn these new, fresh pages and see what the Lord is waiting to show us. You all are deeply a part of this journey...take that in. You all are a huge part of this journey. We can't do this without your support, prayers, and love. Thank you!!!

Until our departure on Wed the 16th, just know these things and rest in the peace and comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ that He has a lovely, beautiful plan and can't wait to unfold it bit by bit. Be blessed!!

Love is everywhere...

It's been an incredibly difficult yet rewarding several weeks. I had my wisdom teeth taken out, had huge difficulties afterwards with my migraine headaches being triggered daily, had to finish working at my job which actually entailed quite a bit, and am still waiting on getting my house rented. The attacks have been coming strong but I still know that God is bigger than...anything. I still know that God desires for me to go to Uganda...there's nothing that I'd rather do in this world than go to Karamoja and be amongst the Karamojong. I've been terribly disappointed with a lot of things lately, but through this disappointment, God has shown me Truth, blessings, authentic love, great realizations, and a deepening of trust in Him. I am His beloved, His creation, Chosen for His Kingdom...He's unashamed to call me His own. He is my Sustainer. He is all-sufficient. He's all I need. :)



God has truly blessed me in the past week and 1/2 by me having an amazing visit with my family and friends back in my hometown of West Monroe, Louisiana. It was deeper than any visit I've had in a long, long time. I hung out with a couple of friends, new & old, who have become a substantial presence in my life and whom I know will always be in my life. I've realized in preparation of being with my new family in Karamoja that I need more of my family here.
It's a realization that might seem silly if you see your family all the time but I see my family a couple times a year now. And that's been completely acceptable for me. I've grown accustomed to it. I've liked it. In this though I will say I've had lots of work to do on myself these past couple of years and God has had to do quite a work in me. I've had to do lots of healing from many things, but God has made me new. So new. :) And now, I realize how much I need my family MORE in my life. How much I actually do miss them. And how much I love them. I've actually been deeply contemplating moving closer to my hometown or even back to West Monroe, Louisiana when I return from Uganda. THIS is something I NEVER ever thought I'd ever say. But God has been showing me so much in these past couple of months. What will be when I return from Africa is yet to be shown, but I am fully confident that the Lord will show me, tell me, and reveal to me in whatever method He wants to where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing.

I just have to laugh at the changes going on in my life. I chuckle at God's sense of humor and I'm amazed at His goodness. He is moving me and showing me much in abundance. My life is changing...for the better...and it's so exciting to me to ask God and to receive...in His timing. It's exciting to not have a plan. To just let Him lead. It's exciting to see His plan unfolding before me...sometimes one step at a time, sometimes multiple steps, sometimes huge leaps....just incredible. God is amazing...so amazing.

My Uganda family has seriously been under attack lately, dealing with different health issues with several people on the team to support raising, houses selling/renting, etc.
Kerri: has been dealing with some issues with her WBC count (white blood cell count) being extremely low resulting in low energy, low immunity...to the point to where they didn't know if she would be well enough to leave on the 16th for Uganda. And their tickets are non-refundable/non-exchangeable. HOWEVER, we've all been praying hard, hearing from God, and are confident that she will be well enough to go. Just got an update from Andrew & Kerri yesterday and she had recent bloodwork done...her levels have drastically improved, energy is returning, and it is going to be safe for her to travel to Uganda. Praise the Lord!!
Kenneth: spontaneously began having an intense allergic reaction to something this week and there's no explanation for why this is happening. So, keep him in your prayers for healing, good health, and strength as he leads his family of 6 (not including himself).
Me: Still waiting for my house to rent. Struggling still with my migraine headaches and jaw/nerve pain from my surgery. Satan has also been attacking me with complacency and I don't want that. And just praying for everything financial to get take care of...financial support, things in the present... I need 2 medications for an entire year (for my PCOS and my migraines) and it looks like my health insurance will only cover 90 days worth. So, to pay for the meds outright will be quite costly.
The Fulks (Cody, Michaela, and kiddos): Praying for all financial obligations to be taken care of, house to be sold, kids taken care of (passports, any $$ remaining off of adoptions, etc.).
The team as a whole: Just all the details to be taken care of, staying strong/finishing strong before embarking on this next adventure, financial obligations taken care of and all support to be raised or to be sufficient to go. Safety. Physical healing. Good health. Spiritual strengthening and expansion. That time with family and friends would be rich and fruitful.

I'm sure there are things going on with my team that I've failed to mention but these are the highlights of big prayer requests. Please keep us in your prayers as our departure is coming quickly (June 16th). I'll leave you all with some words from Isaiah 40: 28-31 --
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

A little vision...

This video was created by Kristi to remind us of the orphans across the world who need our help. Most of this footage is taken from their trip to Karamoja last year. (Double click on the video if you can't see the entire clip on my page...it'll show up on a separate page.)



And this video was created by the Fulks...just a glimpse into Karamoja and the Karamojong. :)

Under attack...

This last week even up until now, I've felt so under attack from the Enemy. It's not that things haven't been falling into place...it's just that it's been extremely difficult to get them done. Many impetuses stemming forth and trying to make me swerve off track. I've got so much to get done but I KNOW that God is for this journey to Uganda. I KNOW He wants me to go. I seem to have people that support my going yet at the same time, I'm not getting any help from those that I'm closest to. I'm not trying to be selfish by any means. It just seems that I'm having to continue to reach out for help when people know that I'm in need or am struggling. But then...wow. When I shut off the noise for a bit, just hear the sound of my fingers tapping away at the keyboard, and take in what I am typing, God begins to speak to me.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me." (Matthew 25: 40-43)

I hear this. I read this. And am reminded of eternal perspective. I'm convicted of my own faults of not doing, helping, going, being...just not. I've been on both sides of the fence, as well all have I imagine at one point or another. I've been completely "safe" and feeling like I'm in a stable position (financially, emotionally, spiritually...), but did I remain in complacency b/c I was "set"? And then in the last year or so, I've experienced TRUE need in various realms. Oh how it's easy to point fingers at others who don't seem to be there or seem to help when it's actually just my own mirror of how I can be sometimes.

I think if I can get across one thing about Uganda, it's this: it's not just some mission trip. It's a journey of love. It's put forth and set forth by God and is His desire for those of us going to be going...and to GO. It's not like summer camp where the goal is looking for a fun experience, lots of pictures, yet without yielding to ourselves...without struggling...without hurting. No, this is not it. This journey is about love. Love for God. Love for people...ALL people. Love for the least of these. LOVE.



Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should di it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. (1 Peter 4: 8-11)

How I pray for renewed vision...for inspired hearing...for a peaceable tongue...for a heart that loves like Christ. This week and weekend has been pretty rough and those of you who know me well know that I am pretty open about how I'm doing, where I'm at, or what's going on in my life. So, I speak all of this openly, humbly, and vulnerably to you all...that you might lift me up in prayer...that you might pray for renewed strength, patience, tenacity, and good health for me!! It has been quite challenging lately. My list of things to complete seems to be growing longer with my time here in Dallas becoming shorter. Time is fleeting...this is such a multi-faceted statement. The past couple of weeks my migraines have been exacerbated and considerably worse. It's detered me from work, my clients, getting things done for Uganda, and just taking good care of myself the way I want to. I realized that my wisdom teeth needed to come out and this is a big reason for my increased incidence of migraines lately. So, I'm going tomorrow to get my wisdom teeth taken out. Taking a couple of days off work. Not bringing in hardly any income currently. Praying furvently that God will provide somehow and someway. I've had a stomach bug additionally for the past couple of days. Sigh. I got a speeding ticket today driving to my basketball games that I coach. Just another bump in the road for me.

I don't tell you all of this to make it seem like I'm being a Debbie Downer and am having a pity party. I tell you these things to be honest. That I've never been more certain about moving to Uganda but I speak openly to show in a small way (without being extremely detailed) that the Enemy sure doesn't want me to go!! God wants to use me and my family there in Karamoja to do HIS work and the Enemy doesn't like that one bit. I'm led to this passage of Scripture regarding all of this...

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saaved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4: 12-19)

I take a deep breath. I inhale goodness, mercy, and grace and exhale negativity. I can rejoice at my present trials for the outcome is all for the glory of God. I do ask that you all keep me hard in your prayers for this next month especially...I leave a month from today. :) I love you and I'm so glad you all are walking, running, crawling, limping, victoriously traveling on this journey with me. :)

Walking this road alone? Reminding myself that my Beloved is with me always...

So this past week was really amazing. God's provisions just keep being brought to the surface, obviously in His timing and not mine. :) It's a complete time of TRUST...just total trust. God has proven time and time again just in the short month & 1/2 that I'm supposed to go to Uganda this June. It's incredible to look at the big picture of what has transpired thus far and how God's hand has been in this from the beginning. Really incredible. Of course, I have difficulty staying patient all the time and tend to have a couple of overwhelming days...like last night and like today. There are like 15 different tasks for work, for preparation for Uganda, etc., that are swirling around in my head and when this happens, I just seem to shut down temporarily. I can't seem to be productive because my brain is in overload and needs a rest. But alas, I go to the Father and He reminds me that I'm going into my "control mode" and I've just got to relax. He is in control. He's got me covered. I am safe in Him. I need to stop looking at things as pesky tasks that need to get done and instead, just look at things with an eternal perspective. It's not all fun...it's not all what I'd like to be doing...but things have to get done.














[L to R: The Fulks (Cody & Michaela, Joshua, Malachi, Janaya, Carter,Samuel), Andrew & Kerri Meador, Chloe Nelson, me, Misty Kearn, The Williams (Kristi, Kenneth, Nevaeh, Zion, Ezra, Israel, Selah in Kristi's belly)]

So, I flew out to Colorado last Thursday and came back to D town on Sunday. It was a wonderful time with my team, my new family. I got to reconnect with Kristi & Kenneth, who I haven't seen since college! And then I met my new family and it was as if we had known each other forever. I'm so excited to embark on this new adventure with these great people and to begin to share life with them. Very, very cool how God brings a random group of people together. :) So, we decided on a departure date in June and we bought our tickets!! We're leaving (the majority of the group) on June 16th. It's coming quickly!!! One passage of Scripture that I always come back to is Isaiah 55: 8-9 --

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Oh how I try to control things, how I unconsciously believe I know what's best for me, how I try to create my own way...I can do this only so long before I fall, I break, I become overwhelmed. Then I am reminded of my Beloved's promise to me -- "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I have to keep in mind that things will eventually come together with getting my house rented, raising all the support that I need, and getting everything completed before I leave on June 16. I keep hearing the phrase "Finish strong. Stay strong. Finish strong."



Please continue to keep me as well as my new family in your prayers as we continue to prepare to leave. Also, please keep Cody & Michaela Fulk (and their kiddos) in your prayers as well. They want to leave in July but have financial obligations currently that are providing a roadblock. They need to sell their house, pay off some debts to be completely debt-free upon leaving, and to raise the appropriate amount of money to support their family in Uganda. God is big. He's good. He's called us to go and serve in Uganda and I am expectant that the Fulks' needs will be met. And mine as well. :) Thanks, as always, for your thoughts, prayers, & words of encouragement. :)

Updating on God's Provision...

I just wanted to give an update on how BIG God is...how AMAZING He is...how He has his hand in EVERYTHING. My friends Kristi & Kenneth Williams have been in the waiting game with the selling of their house in Colorado. They literally needed to get a contract on it this week in order for them to be able to leave for Karamoja in June. Well, it literally came down to the wire with them getting a call yesterday evening around 5pm from their realtor saying that they had a contract on their house!! Talk about God's timing, right? We've all been praying for a literal miracle for their house to sell in time. Isn't this incredibly amazing?? God's hand is all in this trip to Uganda. He is providing for us, preparing the way, and continuing to show us all the possibilities through His good, good, good plan.

Never underestimate the power of prayer and how it is also so encouraging to know that you are being prayed for by others. Thank you so much for those of you who have been praying and are committed to praying for me and my team. It is so powerful and is also so uplifting. More to come! :)