Working in a ministry means the line between work and personal life is often blurred. You’re responding to a calling that happens to have turned into a job, and you’re working with close friends whose hearts and imaginations have been captured by glorious things God is doing. It’s almost impossible to draw the line in the sand that separates the …
Apathy
Poverty looks different here. When I think of poverty — the extreme poverty that eats away at a human’s existence — I think of bellies distended by malnutrition, calloused feet hardened from miles of barefoot walking to fetch contaminated water, and children rummaging for scraps of food. There’s civil unrest and brutal massacres that have left communities traumatized and shattered. I …
Farewell Gulu
I want to be honest with you. For the first time in my life, I did not want to go to Uganda. I didn’t think it was necessary, and I had become hardened to the work God had called me to. I had convinced myself that by going to the office every day and by advocating for the least and …
First of its Kind
People ask me all the time how I possibly travel the way I do, run a ministry, and care for my three young children. The answer lies in a beautiful and finely orchestrated dance my husband and I have committed to doing together. We purposefully don’t have a nanny or outside help because we know when God calls a family …
Healing in the Story
I’ve learned now that there are stories even the most broken are terrified of telling. Everyone – including the impoverished and burdened of Africa – has their highlight reel they’ve chosen to display in front of their reality. This week I was taken behind that and led to people with a story that has taken me deeper into the heart …
The Least, The Last
If you make it to a place as far Gulu, you need to understand there is a divinely appointed reason that you are there. It’s a place with no maps or structure, a place where time stands still among tall African grasses and primitive mud huts. It is a place from which two decades were stolen. Yesterday, I found …
Hope for the Journey
You have to see this to understand it. And when you see it, only through prayer and surrender to God, can you attempt to not be overwhelmed or even paralyzed by the need. And even then, it takes the wisdom, experience, and sometimes research to really grasp the complexities and the truly devastating effects of poverty, disease, hunger and thirst. …
Protecting Lydia
My son is in a school for children with learning differences, carefully protected by the support and therapies the school provides. I watch everything I say, to make sure my daughter grows up with a healthy understanding of herself and her image. I’m vigilant that my youngest child isn’t exposed to nuances that will encourage him to grow up too …
Happy 2015
I’m quite positive the year 2014 is one for the books. And as I reflect on the days and months that have passed this year, the words “thank you” hold a place of purity and beauty in my heart that I want to share with so many of you; because YOU have journeyed through this remarkable year with me. And …
Welsey’s Story
We were three hours away from the middle of nowhere on a hot November day in Africa. Drum beats coordinated tribal dancing and women who seemed to be 100 years old shrieked and blew whistles. The celebration was complete chaos as we prepared to give beds to 100 orphans in a remote village in Northern Uganda. That morning, the chaos …