Roller Coasters and Jet Liners...

Leaving for Uganda in 2 weeks and 2 days.  As I make preparations, it's feels a bit like I'm on a roller coaster climbing to the top of the first hill.  Committed, strapped, and locked in there's no turning back at this point. Although not much is happening yet, there is this anticipation/fear/excitement that is building as I approach the top where the adventure really begins.

Thoughts fill my head like: 

• 'Is this safe?' 
• 'What did I commit to?'
• 'Ahhh, this could hurt!'
• 'This could be really fun... or not.'
• 'Am I gonna get sick?'
• 'I'm not comfortable and I'm kinda scared...'
• 'Why am I doing this again?'

I know there will be ups and downs. Yet there is this hopeful anticipation that I will get off this ride and say, 'I wanna do that again' and maybe it will all be worth it in the end.

Then I am reminded that it is not about me. As we in America process the tragedy of the bombings in Boston including the senseless death of an 8 year old boy. We all want to do something to help. We ask, 'How can we prevent this from happening again?'  

I am reminded of a book I once read, written by the president of World Vision.  The Hole in Our Gospel, has a chapter entitled '100 Crashing Jetliners'...

"Whenever a major jetliner crashes anywhere in the world, it inevitably sets off a worldwide media frenzy covering every aspect of the tragedy. I want you to imagine for a moment that you woke up this morning to the following headline: 'One Hundred Jetliners Crash, Killing 26,500'. Think of the pandemonium this would create across the world as heads of state, parliaments, and congresses convened to grapple with the nature and causes of this tragedy. Think about the avalanche of media coverage that it would ignite around the globe as reporters shared the shocking news and tried to communicate its implications for the world. Air travel would no doubt grind to a halt as governments shut down the airlines and panicked air travelers canceled their trips. The National Transportation Safety Board and perhaps the FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement agencies and their international equivalents would mobilize investigations and dedicate whatever manpower was required to understand what happened and to prevent it from happening again. 

Now imagine that the very next day, one hundred more planes crashed - and one hundred more the next, and the next, and the next. It is unimaginable that something this terrible could ever happen.

But it did - and it does.

It happened today, and it happened yesterday. It will happen again tomorrow. But there was no media coverage. No heads of state, parliaments or congresses stopped what they were doing to address the crisis, and no investigations were launched. Yet more than 26,500 children died yesterday of preventable causes related to their poverty, and it will happen again today, tomorrow and the day after that. Almost 10 million children will be dead in the course of a year. So why does the crash of a single plane dominate the front pages of newspapers across the world while the equivalent of one hundred planes filled with children crashing daily never reaches our ears? And even though we now have the awareness, the access, and the ability to stop it, why have we chosen not to? Perhaps one reason is that these kids who are dying are not our kids; they're somebody else's."

I am reminded that it's not about me.  It's about these kids who need love, medical care, education, hope and a future. There is an ongoing tragedy in which we don't get to choose all the endings, but sometimes we are asked to take risks and be the rescuers .  So I'm choosing to make some sacrifices and do something.

If you'd like to donate to the work I will be doing with Palmetto Medical Initiative, the deadline is this Friday.

Here's the link:
https://bos.etapestry.com/fundraiser/PalmettoMedicalInitiative/Uganda/individual.do?participationRef=3841.0.250385423

Thank you for your prayers and support!

I'm excited to share the rest of this adventure with you.

Colorado Beauty

Thankful for this peaceful place as God prepares my heart for Uganda and beyond. @ The Hideaway

Returning to Uganda

I have been feeling a tug on my heart to return to Uganda.  It has now been three years since I have been in Africa. In May I have the opportunity to return for two months to work with two stellar organizations that are empowering Ugandans to break the cycle of poverty. 

With less than one doctor per 12,500 people on average (1 per >25,000 in some areas) the need of quality medical care in Uganda is great.  In many areas the only access the people have to a doctor is a 'witch doctor' who often does more harm than good. Ugandan children die at a rate of ten times that of ours in the US of curable diseases, infections and malaria. This statistic hits home for me as my incredible Ugandan nephew, Clinton, is the only survivor of his nuclear family which included a loving mother and her 4 children. They all died separately and probably of easily curable diseases but none of them even received a diagnosis as the only doctor in their village was a witch doctor.  Clinton bears burn scars over his spleen from the village doctor, most likely from a bout with malaria. He remembers the 'fire' the village doctor used when he placed hot coals on his skin to 'treat' his enlarged spleen. For those of you who don't know much about malaria, this is NOT the proper treatment. 

My time in Uganda will start with Palmetto Medical Initiative (www.palmettomedical.org). This organization is dedicated to providing quality medical care to those in need.  They have established a full-time clinic in Masindi, Uganda and have trained and empowered Ugandan doctors and nurses to provide ongoing quality health care. Four times a year they bring a group of medical professionals and students from the US to staff large outreach clinics.  I will be working as a medical provider with these clinics and learning from the best how to deliver quality medical care in a 3rd world setting. 

Next, I meet up with Come Let's Dance (www.comeletsdance.org). This organization was founded by my good friend Shane Gilbert in 2005 and I have had the privilege of watching it grow from a dream to a beautiful reality. They are doing so much to improve the lives of not only Ugandans, but also American volunteers who travel to Uganda.  CLD has many projects that are focused on sustainability and empowering Ugandans to be leaders in their country.  I am excited to see the progress since my last visit. What was empty land, animal stalls filled with fleas, and a small house during my last visit, now houses a fully functional school (that my sister Lauri helped start) and a small medical clinic. I am excited to work with CLD staff, volunteers, and Gladys- the Ugandan nurse at the clinic.

The last 10 days of my trip I will be joined by my parents, Lauri, and Clinton.  It is my parents first trip to Africa and we plan to show them the CLD projects and travel to the village where Clinton's grandmother lives. 

These are my plans, but I hold them loosely knowing that Uganda is rarely predictable and that God's plans are better than mine. I'm choosing to leave my comfortable life and trust that my sacrifice will have significance beyond what I get to see.  This verse has been speaking to me lately, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

I want to invite you to partner with me on this adventure. I am setting up a blog to share my experiences with you. As I head to the front lines, I need your prayers more than anything! My plane ticket and housing are paid for, but I would like to raise additional funds for the organizations I will be working with. If you feel led to give financially, know that your money will go directly to funding projects on the ground in Uganda.  There are two tax-deductible options. Both of these organizations are doing incredible work! 

To donate to PMI you can click this link and then click 'sponsor me' to donate online: 

https://bos.etapestry.com/fundraiser/PalmettoMedicalInitiative/Uganda/individual.do?participationRef=3841.0.250385423  

The deadline for this is April 18th. 

To donate to CLD you need to write a check to Come Let's Dance with my name in the memo and mail it to CLD.

Heading back to Uganda soon... Missing these faces!