New Year, New Beginning

We are ever so close to the end of 2011. Just days now from 2012.  Much has happened in our world, both good, and not so good.  I don't want to reflect on the not-so-good because I know that even the not-so-good are things that God is using for our good.  I want to reflect on the oh so many blessings of 2011, sent straight from the loving hand of our Heavenly Father.  I'm sure that in the abundance of His goodness, I will inevitably leave out some of the multitude of His grace, mercy, love, provision....so right now I want to say thank you to my Heavenly Father for ALL that He has done in 2011, even the things that I fail to pen in this blog entry today. 

Looking back, I see water in a dry and thirsty land...wells in Karamoja, given in love by our Heavenly Father through the channels of generosity from His children whom He blessed with the means to provide.
 
I also see children receiving medical care, a young girl who was severely burned now able to lift her arms, not only to dress herself but to praise the very God who loves and cares for her.  I look back on trips to Uganda where we were able to show and share the love of God to the lost and hurting, to the poor and needy, to the sick and the dying.

I look back at our humble desire to buy land, build and orphanage, and a school......2011 was the seed that was planted...I know that 2012 will be the year that God waters and makes that seed grow into the reality of what is now a prayer vision.  So many gifts from the hands of our Father, so many reasons to be thankful, to trust, to wait in obedience. 
 

There are more sponsored children now, about 50 who are going to school, being fed, have a bed to sleep in, and under a mosquito net.  God is so good, so merciful, so able to do far more than we can ever think or imagine.  I praise Him for that.  I praise Him for what is yet to come, because, you see, He is always faithful, never changing, always ready to hear and answer prayer.  Father, thank you for all of Your blessings of 2011, and for all of the blessings we know you will pour out on us in 2012.  Make us useful, usable instruments of Your love and Your mercy.  Lord, make 2012 a year of unimaginable glory to You, and a year of tremendous spiritual growth in Mercy Uganda, and the lives this ministry touches.  We love You Lord, and thank You for loving us!

Family Pack Picture

New Project to help Families in Karamoja!!

 Mercy Uganda and Ezekiel 37 Medical team are excited to announce a new project to help the people of Karamoja.

On the last evening in Karamoja during the trip in September, Gabriel asked us to think and pray about helping the people of Karamoja with basic household needs.  He went on to explain that it is not uncommon for a family of 6 or 8 to only have 2 plates and no cups.  No wash basin to wash their clothes or bathe their children.  It is so easy for us to not think about needing these types of items.  We run to the closest department store to get whatever we need.  They do not have that luxury in Karamoja.

Both villages that Mercy Uganda works in Karamoja (Kokorio and Kayapas) have received wells and now that they have clean water they need items to improve the overall hygiene.  The majority of the illnesses that are treated on the medical trips can be prevented by cooking with clean water and cleaning their bodies.  They need a wash basin, soap, and jerry cans to carry the clean water.

Gabriel also stated that it wasn’t uncommon for an old man or woman of 80 years to have never slept on a mattress…..let that set in a second.  NEVER slept on a mattress.  Think about the last time you haven’t slept on a mattress.  Imagine sleeping on the ground night after night for 80 years.

Based on all the information Gabriel (Our Karamoja Field Manager)  gave us we have created the following packs to change the lives of people in Karamoja.

 FAMILY PACK: $25.00 INCLUDES: set of plates, set of cups, wash basin, soap, bathing sponges, and a Jerry Can.

BEDDING PACK: $65.00 INCLUDES: Mattress, Sheets, Blanket, Mosquito Net

COMBO PACK: $90.00 Includes all items from the Family and Bedding Packs

For those of you who already sponsor children with Mercy Uganda you can send your child’s family these packs.  Even if your child lives in Kyamagemule, Bugiri, or Entebbe.  We will make sure your family receives the items.

Christmas is right around the corner and perhaps you don’t know what to put on your Christmas Wish List or don’t know what to get for someone who “has everything”.  We’d love for you to consider sponsoring a Family, Bedding, or Combo Pack and we’ll be happy to send a card to your gift recipient.

To become a sponsor please email Laura Knetzer at mlknetzer@comcast.net. 

MY LIFE, A testimony from Gabriel Lobu

Today, I want to share with you the precious testimony of Gabriel Lobu, our Karamoja Field Manager for Mercy Uganda.  Gabriel is such a precious young man of God and a powerful witness to God's love, mercy, guidance, and provision in the lives of His children.  We have heard Gabriel speak of his life and have often encouraged him to put it in writing.  To think back about pain and suffering, loss and grief is difficult, but Gabriel was finally able to sit down and remember. His remembering is about the pain, but so much more too.....it is about the God who led him through that pain, and is using his past to touch lives today.  I hope you will be moved by Gabriel's testimony.  I know I was!

(The pictures are: top-Gabriel with Kefa Sempangi, founder of the orphanage Gabriel grew up in; Gabriel with his mother in Karamoja; Gabriel with Henry Mello giving out clothes in Karamoja; and the bottom picture is Gabriel pumping water from a new well in Kokorio)
MY LIFE: By Gabriel Lobu

My Life:

I am Lobu Gabriel Silva a Ugandan by Nationality, a Karamojong by tribe, born in 1982 in Bokora County Moroto District. I am a Christian loving God with all my heart because I know where he brought me from and strongly believe that he has good plans for me. 

My father died when I was three years old and that was in 1985, after his death, life became completely difficult and very hard on our side. Our Mother had no job and no one could take care of us, when our uncle heard that our father had died, he came and shifted us from Karamoja to Mbale town and life some how changed, but unfortunately he also died after three Months and life became more harder than it was before because we were new in the area and mom was still jobless and had no money to pay for the house since we   were renting. So mom started going around looking for the job to do and I could go with her dig in people’s gardens, banana plantations and they gave us some food and money which we used to pay for the house, but unfortunately we were forced to leave the house due to the failure to pay in time. 

In the state of confusion, my lovely mom decided to go to the streets of Mbale town and started begging so that we could get something to eat and survive, so we eventually we  made the street our new home. Mum took me to the streets because I was the only boy and she thought I could do much work than girls. As the situation worsened we could just go on picking food that people had thrown in their rubbish pits without minding about whether it was clean, poison free or not but as long as we could find something eatable in the pits and we call it a day. Tears flow from my eyes every time I remember those days of misery and I don’t know what to say but honestly speaking God has been so merciful to me, I don’t know what I would have done without him.

  On the streets still life became harder even when the people who used to give us food and clothes became tired of us, neglected us and started sending us away yet we had no where else to go and nothing to do. Mum started to cry to people for help but no one could respond but instead threw food to us as if we were dogs but still we had nothing to do apart from picking it up since we needed it in order to survive. As the bible says that God always has good plans for our lives and he will never leave us neither forsake us, still though there were tough times but still my heart trusted in the Lord and he heard our cry. One day my brother (cousin) Philip came looking for us and he found us in the streets of Mbale town, Mum requested him to take us with him but he couldn’t because he was also staying in an orphanage home of which he couldn’t manage to take good care of us, mum kept on pleading to him and then he promised her that he will only take me to an orphanage home where he was staying by then. After some time, my brother (cousin) Philip came for me and took me in an orphanage home without even a shirt, this Orphanage was  called Africa Foundation Children’s Home were I spent over 17 years.

 After my Secondary level, I joined high institution of Learning and I did Brick laying (building) and then from there I went in a very big farm for training of about six months. After training I came back and started working for Mr. Rashid Luswa and Mr. Sam as a builder. Two years later I came up with a vision of helping young children who were

suffering, since I had no money I couldn’t do this alone because it was such a great decision to take. I prayed about it every single day that passed by and God is so great because he brought a very good friend of mine called Ronnie. Ronnie was one than willing to stand with me in terms of helping the children. At the moment Ronnie is like a brother to me because we have gone through a lot together and we have seen a lot. So I shared everything with him and since he is also an orphan he knew how painful it is and he was more than willing to help so we joined hands together.

 Since we both had no enough money, Ronnie came up with an idea of going to different churches asking for spare clothes from people. As I was building, I used to get very small money but we could always join and go help the children who were orphans in Karamoja where I came from because this place is full of orphans who have no one to take care of them yet they also need care, love, support and they also want to grow up normally like any other child.

 We continued looking for support from different people and praying so that God opens doors for sponsorship and connect us to the right people who will be able to stand with us. Surely God is so faithful he connected me to the godly family which is so kind, merciful and his name is Mark and his wife Laura. They have always been on our side trying to get us sponsors for the kids and indeed God is so wonderful because so far now a number of children have sponsors and are able to go to school.

 I have witnessed people sleeping empty stomachs, dying of simple diseases, massive poverty which unable parents to pay for their children’s school fees and fail to provide to provide basic needs in the family. Tears always flow in my eyes every time I remember them in my prayers and always pray for them and when I saw them suffering I felt so sorry for them and felt down. I thank God every single day that passes by for the great love that he has for his people may be if it was not for his Grace and Mercy, may be we wouldn’t have been who we are today.  (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 My prayer is that the Lord opens up doors so that we can be able to reach out to the Nation and in different parts of Uganda and so that we can be able to get more volunteers.

May the Lord bless you a lot.

Lobu Gabriel Silva

You Just Never Know

You just never know how your life impacts others.  You never know the effects of one act, whether an act of kindness or otherwise.  You never know whose life will be changed because of something you do, regardless of how large, or how insignificant that something is.  I have had the awesome privilege of seeing large and small things done by many people.  I have had the awesome privilege of seeing how those things have changed lives.  I have seen children go from desperation and hopelessness, to a sense of hope, and a heart of gladness.  I have seen a tired and thirsty people refreshed and full of life.  I have seen those on the brink of death, now looking forward to life again.  These things have all happened as God has worked through people all over the United States,  people who have heard about some  project, or some need that Mercy Uganda has addressed. Seeing God bring people together to provide for His children inspired us to start our newest work....the FAITH 500 Vision.  This "project" is a giant leap of faith.  It is a huge undertaking, too big for us, and more than we can ever accomplish, but it is not too big for God.  This FAITH 500 will allow us to buy land and build an orphanage.  Yes, there are orphanages in Uganda, but more are needed, good Christian, loving, homelike orphanages are needed....not institutions that house orphans, but a home where they are loved and nurtured, and taught the love of Jesus.  The FAITH 500 Vision will also allow us to build a school.  Yes, there are schools in Uganda, but good, Christ-centered, high quality schools are needed, a school that will have at its very root, Jesus Christ.  This school will also provide opportunities for Fine Arts, and life skills, things that most schools in Uganda do not provide, yet children need to help them learn problem solving skills. 

The FAITH 500 Vision will also allow us to develop and maintain an agriculture and livestock program which will teach the children valuable skills for the future, will provide food for the home and school, and a level of self-sustainability for them as well.  You just never know how your role in this will multiply for God's Kingdom's work.  You just never know how many lives will be saved....how many souls will be saved through what God is and will be doing through this project.  You just never know.

Remind Me Of This

One of my favorite Christian recording artists is Sara Groves.  One of my most favorite songs of hers is called "Generations."  This song has such a powerful message, and I think that when we listen to it, we normally think of how our bad decisions and poor choices affect other people for generations.  However, the other day when I was listening to the song for probably the thousandth time I thought about how our good choices and decisions can be equally as powerful.  Before I tell you specifically who and what I was thinking about, I want to share a key part of the song with you.  The words go like this, "Remind me of this, with every decision, generations will reap what I sow.  I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know...." There is a beautiful and precious lady named Marion whom I have never met, who lives in a different state than I do.  She is an elderly lady whose health has not been good of late.  Through means that only God can orchestrate, she and her daughter became involved with Mercy Uganda.  What a blessing they have been. Together, these ladies have been sponsoring children, providing sewing machines, and now.......providing water.  Here are the words of her daughter: "I so much want to help drill the well in Lokop.....I think my mom and I were meant to help answer that prayer.  She has talked about wanting to drill a well for such a long time but never did anything but talk about it.  I always planned to use some of my inheritance to drill a well in her memory and ask that it be called Marion's Well (which we have named it!).  When I walked to the post office yesterday I thought about you and Lydia (one of her sponsored children) and Mercy Uganda and wells and water the whole way.  I decided to talk to Mama when I got home and suggest that we split the cost of a well.  Now I have tears in my eyes thinking that we will be helping to drill a well in a village where I already know people (at least one of her sponsored children is from that area).  That's almost unbelievable.  I am so thankful that Mama and I can help do this through you and Mercy Uganda.  I'm glad that the process can be started now and she will know that what she has wanted to do for such a long time will be done....."
Her "sowing"  seeds of love and generosity, of selflessness and kindness are already ""reaping" hope, and joy, life, and thankful hearts.  Her "sowing"  will be "reaping" new life for generations.  Marion and her daughter are  are passing on a blessing to those they will never know.  I thank God for Marion and her daughter.  I thank God for how He brings people together, how He binds the hearts of His children together to accomplish His awesome purposes in each of our lives.  I pray that God will remind me of this every day of my life, so that I will make decisions, choices, that pass on a blessing too....

In Christ Alone

 This is such a beautiful arrangement of a beautiful song.....
the group is Owl City.  The words are so fitting when thinking about the people....the children of Uganda.
I hope you enjoy the song and are touched by the message 
(Just click on the link below and it will take you to the song)

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLRHv9QPBdXQ&h=OAQB5VOOg

 

Children

After our recent trip to Uganda it seemed only natural to write about the children.  There are so many things we can write about, but every one of them comes back to the children.  Water, food, education, health.....children are affected by the provision of, or lack of all of those.  What we have seen with our eyes, and heard with our ears, felt with our hands, and been touched by in our hearts is the children.  It is a fact in Uganda that if you touch the life of a child, it impacts the whole village.  We believe that is why God has placed such a burden on our hearts for these precious little ones.  It is a fact, too, that water, food, education, and health are all linked, inseparable in their roles and their impact on the children.  A child who lacks clean water is sick alot.  A child who is hungry can't learn well, and is sick alot.  A child who lacks an education is stuck in a cycle of poverty that continues the cycle of hunger and illness.  We have seen so many children hungry, so many sick, so many lacking the opportunity for school.....it is overwhelming.  But we serve a big God, a God who knows and understands, a God who hears and answers us when we call on Him.  God is changing lives in Uganda.  God is allowing Mercy Uganda to be a part of what He is doing.  We have been able to put three wells in three different villages.  We have children receiving sponsors and go to school.  We have children getting medical care through our medical team, and through financial gifts for specific medical needs.  Last year, when I went to Karamoja for my very first time, I was overwhelmed by the extreme poverty.  There had been a drought of 5 years, cattle had been raided, a serious lack of water and food.  The village smelled like a barn due to the people in the village not being able to bathe.  They seemed a people without hope.  Then God did amazing things as He always does.....He provided rain, then a well, then sponsors for many of the children in the village.  We went back in May, just over a year after the first visit and saw a green landscape.  We saw a well (or borehole as they call it there), with a lady doing laundry, children drinking water, and gardens of food growing in every direction from the well.  The people in the village were clean, with big smiles on their faces.  Life had returned.  Hope had returned.  God was present there.  God is still present there and doing amazing things....physically, emotionally, but most of all, spiritually.  We still have much to do but know that God is our Father, our Provider, our Healer, and He has Karamoja, He has Uganda in the palm of His hand.....they are His children and He loves them.  God is opening doors for us to begin work on raising funds for land in Uganda to help the children of Karamoja and others in Uganda by building an orphanage and small school.  This, along with a plan for an agriculture and livestock program will provide safe shelter, love....God's love....our love too.....to the children. It will provide an education, and training for the future.....it will provide so much.  It will change the lives of the children, and therefore of the village, of the country.  Please pray for us, and with us as we seek God's will, direction, guidance, wisdom, and provision for this work.  Please pray for these precious children, that they would know their Heavenly Father intimately, that they will see His hand upon their lives, that they would grow in Him. Pray that what He is doing in their lives will bring hundreds, thousands of others to Him too.

 

                                                                                      

Going Back

First of all, I want to say how sorry I am that it has been so long since we have had a posting on the blog.....life has a way of "getting in the way" for things like this, and between work, things at church, and other things, I just have not been able to sit down and put thoughts and feelings into written words.  I could sit down daily or weekly and just tell you the marvelous things that God has done, and is doing in and through Mercy Uganda.  I'll have even more to tell soon!  We leave in three weeks to go back to Uganda.  My husband Mark, and I will be traveling together, just the two of us.  This will be the first trip that only the two of us make to Uganda together.  We are usually with a team, and usually one or the other of us is going.  So we are very excited about this trip! We have much to do while there and are looking forward to getting involved in what the Lord has planned for us. 
We will travel to Karamoja and visit the 2 villages we are working with, and will visit 2 new ones, one where a missionary family lives.  Karamoja is a beautiful, desolate place, with some of the most precious people you will ever meet.  The struggles, poverty, uncertainty about everything in life is evident there.  As in the bible, many worship "an unknown god".  It is our prayer to make the one and only true God known to them.  We will also be looking at land for our agriculture and livestock program, and for us to build a small home to live in.  Yes, that's right.....we are, in faith, moving forward with  a move to Uganda.  We want to be obedient to the Lord, so we know that if He doesn't want us there He will guide us.  This land will be used to train the orphans in our sponsorship program how to plant and harvest, buy, and sell.  It will teach them care and work with livestock. It will provide them a safe, Christian home environment.  It will cost us about $75,000.00 for the land, so we are working on fundraising for this project.  Please pray for us.  Pray for us for our upcoming trip. Pray for us for the land, and please pray for us as we seek God in our plans for a move to Uganda.....we want to be obedient to His plans for us.  We'll keep you updated as we prepare and go.  We'll keep you updated on our fundraising for land, and we'll keep you updated on all the Lord is doing in Mercy Uganda.

God's blessings continue

It never ceases to amaze me how God provides for us!  How He does it always reminds me that He does not need me to make things happen.....He allows me to be a part of His work, as much to help me grow as a Christian, and to increase my faith as anything else.  Recently several things have happened.  You already know about the two wells, the house, and the piggery.  Well, now it seems the Lord has more in store for us and the precious people of Uganda, and He is greatly working in the region of Karamoja.  When people google specific things like, looking for organizations that are involved in well ministries, or Karamoja, or whatever.....those organizations names pop up....Mercy Uganda's information popped up and we have been doubly blessed.  First, we have met a beautiful missionary family in Karamoja, and then we have met Pat a gentleman who works with Bicycles for Humanity.  I mention both, because it seems the two will now be intertwined.  Our Director, Henry Mello was able to meet with Pat and  his team in Karamoja to assess the possibility of bicycles for the people there....this would truly be a blessing to them as they walk miles, often just to get water.  It turns out the missionary family has been praying for bicycles.....Isn't God great? 

 Another great way that God reveals His work is this......a gentleman in our church had a specific dream about wells and Mercy Uganda, and is convinced that he is supposed to help work on a project to provide more wells for Uganda.  Just so happens that this missionary family works with an orphanage that needs a well.  I suppose you can guess where the focus of our next well project will be.  I love how God does things.  How He brings people into each others lives, and how He provides for our needs, very often allowing His children to be part of it.  I ask that you pray for Mercy Uganda, for our new and dear friends the Fulk family, for Bicycles for Humanity, and for our friend Wayne who has this vision for water......Yes....God IS SO GREAT!!

Generous Givers

We at Mercy Uganda never cease to be amazed at the generosity of others who come alongside us and do incredibly generous things for the women and children in Uganda.  We recently had the awesome privilege of becoming involved with a family who "happened" to come to the Mercy Uganda banquet this past October.  From that "chance meeting" this family felt God leading them to do something out of the ordinary, something that took not just one person's obedience, but a whole family's obedience and tested it. The Donnelly family has been mightily used by God in providing an education for 5 children, a home for them and their grandmother, and a piggery to help her become self sustaining in such a way that she now will be able to provide for this precious family.  Below are a series of correspondences that show the impact their obedience had, and the way God touched many lives through that simple act. 
The message below is from our Director in Uganda, Henry Mello, thanking the family for their gift to this precious Ugandan family....

Dear Joseph,
Am so grateful to the Lord for the wonderful work you have done.
You have tremendously changed lives in this family.  Though it has been a bit challenging, we thank God that the job is done. We have finished the house. We have put up the piggery shelter and I have already bought them 3 piglets which will be brought in two weeks time.
Am so pleased and thankful for this lifetime gift you have given this family. How I wish one day you come and see this by your own eyes but for now adhered are some of the photos.
God bless the Donnellys!  Amen.
Henry.(You can see Henry working on the window of this new home in this picture)

This part is the Donnelly's response to our request to share their testimony...
Thank you for your message. Feel free to use our testimony.  Anything that motivates others to do the same is heading in the right direction.  The way God intended us to lead our lives.

I am very, very impressed at the quality of construction.  Grandmother looked very proud in her photo standing in front of her new home.

This was a great experience in so many aspects.  What other organization can you see such a direct benefit materialize in a very short period of time?  Our children were able to see that yes, you truly can make a difference.  We have yet to imagine how this experience may benefit their futures along with those of the five children in Uganda.  In any case it has touched both sides of the globe!

We really would like to stay in touch with Henry on how we can remain a part of this family's future.  While we can not yet commit to something on the scale of this recent project we certainly wish to continue in any way we can.

Regards,
Jeannie Donnelly

The e-mail below is from the Donnelly's......

Dear Henry:

You have done beautiful, quality work!  Your message and photos made our day!  Thank you so much for overseeing this project and devoting your time to make sure it gets done.

There are not many organizations that provide such feedback.

While we can not control where we are born,  we can however, control what we chose to do with the gifts God gives us.  Your dedication is most admirable!

I do hope that one day we can travel to Uganda to meet this family.

While I did not recognize it at the time, I was involved in a project last year which enabled me to provide additional income for our family.  This involved many hours away from my family, working two jobs, etc.  During this ordeal I was wondering if it was all worth it, feeling discouraged, taken for granted, doubting God's  path. 

In October, we attended the benefit dinner at Covenant, saw the work being done by the Mercy Uganda organization, watched your group via satellite and the sacrifices you and others have made.  At the time, we started to get a glimmer of what life must be like for Ugandans.  A simple convenience we have of having water inside our homes, let alone, having a warm shower every day, while these people must walk sometimes for miles for a bucket of water. 

This whole idea started from water and what others have to do just to get it.    During the dinner in October, we signed up to provide educational assistance for two children on the spot.  Later, Laura contacted us regarding the rare opportunity to provide for these five children.  We were so moved by this and made a family decision to do everything we could to help this family. We were saving for a pool (water again).   Our children wholeheartedly agreed to postpone the pool project in order to make this happen.  Joe sold some stock we had and we emptied the savings account.    It is truly amazing how God works!

We greatly appreciate your efforts in "stretching the budget" to complete the project. 

Please let us know if there are other needs such as bedding, household items, etc.  We would also like to get bicycles for the children to use for school. 

Also is it possible for us to send "care packages" for the children?  If so, how is this done?

God bless you for your heart and efforts!
 
With Regards,
Jeannie, Joe, Kevin and Kimberly Donnelly

 --------------------------(This is a picture of the piggery)

This gift of love, this step of obedience, this generosity of heart.....it has had an impact in ways that will be seen for generations, and will be rewarded in Heaven.  This is one of many stories of generous givers following the voice of the Lord.  Mercy Uganda thanks them....I thank them.  

God is glorified!

 
 

2011

Here it is, January 2, 2011......a new year has begun with new hopes, new plans, new goals......but God is teaching me lessons about all of those things.  I always have a tendency to dream big and plan bigger....sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't.  God is teaching me to seek Him first, to ask what His plans for us are....and then to obey Him, to follow Him.  Sometimes I feel  a little like Abraham....when God told Him to move to a land he did not know.  How hard would that be?  What a step of faith that would take!

To know that you hear God telling you to do something that absolutely makes no sense at all......that's when we want to sit down and write out our agendas, our plans, etc.  When we want to see if it will work or not, to see if it actually makes sense and is realistic.  But then, that doesn't take alot of faith.  Faith is definitely something that God has been working on in my life.  As you can tell from previous blog entries, I struggle with it.....boy, do I struggle with it!  I have found it is easier to have faith when you are praying and seeking something for someone else than for yourself, probably because that doesn't really take so much faith on your part, and you don't really have alot at risk or alot to lose there.  But when it comes to you personally.....it is all on the line.....either you trust God or you don't.  I further complicate that by pondering this....I get passionate and excited about doing things and then wonder...am I excited about this because God is doing this, or am I trying to convince myself that it is God's will because I want it so badly?  I've actually been on that side of it before, and it is not a good place to be.  So, now I'm REALLY desirous that I seek God, and ask Him to take a passion and desire away if it is not in line with His will.  That brings me back to Uganda.  My husband Mark and I have been prayerfully seeking God's will and direction for us as we look into moving to Uganda to immerse ourselves full time into the ministry work of Mercy Uganda.  Yes, this is a big step.....we leave behind a lifetime.  We leave behind 3 adult children, and 4 grandchildren, 2 of them not yet born.  But one thing that God has been teaching us over the past few years, is that our children don't belong to us anyway....they belong to Him.  Whether we are in the U.S. or in Uganda, God still has our children in the palm of His hand....He still directs their steps, and ordains their lives.  So, what we are doing for 2011 is praying, reading scripture, praying some more, and moving forward with plans to move to Uganda, asking God to guide each step, and close doors along the way so we don't try to guide ourselves.  It is a huge step for us but one we want to take if that is what God wants.  This plan involves a 24 month schedule of downsizing, support raising, planning, praying, and sharing.  We hope that you will pray for us too.  We pray that God will be ahead of us each step of the way, and that His will be done, not ours.  Two thousand and eleven will be a year of preparation.  But then, every year should be that. God tells us always to be prepared, in season and out of season, to share the gospel.  Please pray for us.  We want to do things God's way.  Our prayer is found in Psalm 90:17 "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands."