3 months!

I have 3 months to raise enough money to get to Uganda! Please click the link below to check out the fundraiser we're having, there are some neat prizes!

http://createservelove.blogspot.com/2010/12/fundraiser.html

This Is It!

We finally seem to have it figured out! I am going to Sonrise Baby Home in Jinja Uganda, April 9-23 2011. I was very blessed to find a girl who is sponsoring a child there, and she is going to meet the child, and is willing to let me go with her.
 I will fly to NY to meet her, and we will fly together to Uganda. All together, this trip is going to cost over $3000. Wow. It's such a HUGE number! But I know God will provide!
 I am taking on babysitting jobs, cleaning jobs, and looking for a steady job. If you are in need of a babysitter, someone to clean for you, or if you know of someone who is, please let me know! I also "pet sit" if you are going out of town, and need someone to watch your pet(s).
 I'm so excited to be going, and to finally have a plan. It's really a God given blessing not to have to fly alone. I'm very thankful for that.
  I need to get my passport and visa as soon as possible, and currently I don't have enough money too. Any donation you are willing to give would be greatly appreciated, just click the Donate button on my blog.
 My sister is donating half of all sales from her website, if you want to go check it out. www.shophandmade.com/store/lambsandlilies  She also has a lot of books for sale, and will donate half of that money to me. $2 a book. Please let me, or her, know if you're interested!
 Thank you for your continued prayers, I pray God blesses you greatly. I am so excited to see what the LORD has in store for me during this trip, and am excited to tell you all about it!

A Little Bit About Me

My older sister got bored during the yard sale we had this past weekend, and decided to interview me. Here it is.
Favorite:
Color: Blue. Because it's outdoorsy, and pretty.
Season: Fall, because it feels great, and it's normally windy, and I love wind.
Animal: Elephants, tigers, and wolves. Elephants are so strong, and sweet, and smart. Band: Phil Wickam. My favorite song by him is True Love.
Books of Bible: Genesis, Psalms, and Matthew.
Describe Yourself: I'm quiet until I get to know you me and even then I still might not talk if I have nothing to say or I'm thinking. I'd rather listen than talk. I like to cook, clean and keep house. ( She wouldn't say anything else, so mom added that she's a hard worker.)
Pasttimes: Being outside, creeking, hiking, jumping off of really tall trees into creeks, playing piano.
Where would you like to be in Ten Years: Be married, have children, go work in the vineyards in Israel.
What are you most looking forward to about going to Africa: taking care of the younger children. Like the 2-3 year olds. I would like to help build a house, or an orphanage as well.

Camping Trip

We are going camping this Wednesday, and I'm really excited. I love how peaceful it is. It is my family's yearly vacation, and we're going to be there for 13 days!
  It is such a blessing to go and spend time relaxing and having fun with my family, and soaking up the Father's wonderful countryside.
  We have two more dogs this year, to add to the other two, so it should be a new, excting,(probably a little stressful), experience.

 One of my favorite things is at night when the sky is clear and full of stars; I love to just sit there, with the fire going, and worship and talk to the Father. (I can't claim credit for this picture, unfortunately.)

My favorite daytime activities while we're camping are throwing the football with my siblings and dad, and riding my bike.

I think it's Uganda.

So I'm thinking that it's Uganda. That's where I'm going to try to go next year. Did you know there are about 1.5 million orphans living in Uganda? My goal is to raise enough money to be able to go by next summer, the Lord willing. My mom has been talking to several people who are either living in, or are about to move to Uganda, so I have a few connections if this is indeed where I will end up. If you know anyone that could help me by giving me more information about anything regarding going to Africa, living in an orphanage, or raising funds, your help would be appreciated. At the yard sale we had this past weekend, my sister made some signs and a donation jar and set them out. Several very nice people donated :)

Tabernacles

My family and I went camping at a State Park this past weekend to celebrate Sukkot (the feast of Tabernacles). It was so peaceful. Being able to keep my focus on God for two days without the distractions of life was truly amazing.
  I loved watching the children, including my own brother and sister, running around without having to worry about them being poorly influenced by the kids they were talking to. They were all well behaved, and it gave credit to their parents for raising them well, and biblically, and in the love of Christ.
  That's a desire I have for the orphans. To tell them of Jesus's love, because not all of them have heard the Good News. So whether by going to an orphanage, or by supporting one, or praying for one whenever it comes to mind, it's so important to help in some way.
  I'm learning to be content wherever I am. Whether it's it's here in the states saving money, or there, in the good times and bad, I am learning to pray and trust in the LORD.

 Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content

 Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

My Calling

I think God is calling me to go to an orphanage. I have prayed about it, and I think Africa is the place I should go. It's been on my mind for several months now, and I couldn't get it out of my mind, which led me to pray about it, which led me to where I am now.
  I love children. I want to be with orphans. To love on them. To help them in any way I can. I want to live like they live, without all the luxeries I have here. What a wonderful, humbling experience that would be.
  Mark 10:13-16 says "Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.' And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them."
  Jesus loved children.
   I hope to always have Christ's mindset. It's so important to take the little children in, and tell them about Jesus, and not to turn them away, or think of them as bothersome. Children need love. They need it to thrive. They need it to be healthy. They need it to learn. They just need it.
 James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
  That's my calling. To visit orphans in their trouble. It's pure and undefiled religion. What a blessed calling.
  I don't know when I'll get to go, I'm hoping for next year, God willing. In the meantime, I will strive to grow in my faith even more, and to really get into the Word. To know it more by heart, so that I will be prepared to help them.
  It costs a lot of money to take a trip to Africa, and I may not be able to raise it myself by next year. So if I may, I'd like to ask for you help. Be it prayer, or money, or both, I would be ever greatful for your assistance. I will be adding a paypal link to the blog soon for those who would like to donate, or you can give it some other way. And please pray. Pray for me. For the orphaned. For the way to be provided for me to go. Thank You. Bless You.