*82 days*

Today I opened my iPod with a notification from my "countdown" app.

"3 months to Uganda trip!"

Oh my, oh my. 

90 days from today I'll be back on a plane to my favorite place on the planet!!!

I check my iPod multiple times a day just to remind myself how much longer.

90 days isn't truly that long, but it feels like eternity.

it seems so long to wait to see the little ones I love so dearly again.

I'm so excited for everything we have planned for this July/August!!!

4/21/2013

****

The days in between are flying by.....

and yet ticking by ever so slowly.

Wasn't it 105 days yesterday?

Obviously I meant to post about it at 90 days.

I glance down at my countdown and suddenly it's 82 days.

I'm SO thankful that I get to go back to beautiful Uganda so soon!!!!

Me and Granjan will be staying there for a month, teaching sewing, playing with babies, dancing with kids, doing crafts, and so much more!

(Just saying, your grandma will never be as cool as mine)

We'll get to spend good amounts of time in both Jinja and Kampala.

We're teaching sewing at a girls' home in Jinja.

And of course my time in Jinja will be spent loving on my babies, a lot. :)

In Kampala we'll get to spend time hanging out with the SASCU kids.

Granjan is planning tons of different crafts and games and I can't wait to see all of them again!!

I can't believe how incredibly blessed I am go to Uganda for a month, 2 weeks is great, but a month filled with nonstop love and fun is more than I could ask for!!
I adore Uganda with all that I am, I long to be there, always.
To be with the little ones all day long.
Covered in dirt and sweat, holding multiple babies at once, sounds like the most amazing place in the world.
Uganda holds my heart is almost nonstop on my thoughts.

We got to go see the Watoto children's choir last night and it made me quite homesick <3
It was a BEAUTIFUL performance with 20 or so Ugandan children sharing their stories and their incredible gifts with us.

We talked to Innocent and a few of the SASCU children on Skype today and they asked me when I was coming back, it's SO amazing to get to tell them Soon!! 
Miss Sophia was so excited when we told her she had a sponsor! Innocent told us she was doing very well in school, so proud of our girl <3

Sophie and Isaiah <3

Me and Henry :D

Visiting the Primary children at school!!
Olivia, Witness, Me, Maria, "Mommy Laura", Irene, and "Daddy Mark"

We got to visit some of the Secondary kids as well!! 

One million minus one.

153,000,000 orphans

The number is overwhelming and could very well be higher.

That number does not include abandoned children. 

millions.

That's enough to make us want to drop everything.

There's so much we can't do.

But there's so much we can do.

We can save the life of one.

Although it may not seem like much, that is one more child.

Some people may say that it's not worth it to save one child, there are millions!

But that is a million - minus one.

Every child matters, the Lord cares about every. single. child. as an individual, why shouldn't we?

Every single child deserves to know what love is, every one of them deserves to know that Jesus loves them, and that no matter what, he always will. They deserve to know that they are not just another face in the crowd, that someone cares about them for who they are.

Would you be willing to let them know that? Would you be the one that shows them the love of Jesus?

You can change the life of one child today.

You can sponsor a child, and show them that love.

Show them that someone loves them, it will give them hope, to know that someone cares about them.

You will be providing safety, which is huge, inside those walls, the kids are safe. Safety is a luxury most children don't have. Out on the streets, they are afraid to go to sleep, but inside those walls, they know they are protected from any harm that could come to them.

You can give them an education.

With an education, these kids have the potential to do amazing things.

They can be the ones to change the poverty that is all around them, to be the leaders and adults their nations need.

Sponsorship is more than just "Send us a check and we'll take care of it", you will matter in the life of one of these kids.

You can have a personal relationship with your child, to remind them everyday how much you care about them, and to show them that someone loves them, and that they mean something to you. To show them that  no matter what anyone has told them, that they do matter, and that you believe they are worth something.

Thousands will die today, that's no small thing, that's no small number, but isn't every child worth saving? Don't you think it's worth it to have them know they are more than "just another child"?

One million starts with one.

Click here to get involved in the life of a child today.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

They may not have much, but they have joy. <3

This is why Uganda

Because they deserve to be loved.

What am I doing here again?

Can someone remind me? 

Why am I here when I could be cuddling babies at Sonrise or chasing kids at SASCU?

I can't stand not being there.

I never thought I'd miss it this bad.

Crying as I scroll through pictures of my babies, tears every time I think of them.

Hearing about the kids at SASCU, looking at pictures on my computer, it all brings me to tears.

A day doesn't go by that I don't spend thinking about them.

My heart aches more and more everyday I'm not there.

I miss it so much. Everyday I want to go back more and more.

Summer seems so far away. Does someone want to take me now? Pretty pretty pretty please??????

I miss it more than I EVER thought I would. 

I never thought I'd fall so deeply in love. 

I never thought I'd spend every free moment thinking about them. 

I never thought I'd cry every time I talked about them.

But it happened. 

My heart is broken. Shattered. 

Everyday I feel more and more called back.

It's where I want to be. 

Forever? I don't know, I'd absolutely love to, but that's in God's hands and is a long ways away.

I don't know a lot of things, all I know is that I'm in love.

Uganda, you hold my heart <3

Praise GOD!!!!

Faithful God!!

I just talked to my little brother on Skype for the first time in, what? 3 Weeks? How long has it been now!?!?!?!

God is GOOD!!!!!!!

NEVER give up on the power of prayer!!!! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you God!!!

Edrine on Skype just now, SOOO happy to be back with his daddy!!!!

I KNEW the lord had this worked out from the beginning!!!

Keep praying until we get him back to the USA!!!

Thank you for your prayers everyone!!! As you can see they DID make a difference!!!!!

WHY?

As we sit and wait for what seems like decades, sometimes I feel like stopping and asking,

"Why?".

"Why us?"

"Why now?"

"Why would this happen to a.n.y.b.o.d.y.?"

"Why would we have to wait 2 1/2 years, finally get a child, and have this happen!?"

I think there has got to be a good reason.

But truth be told, I realize I truly know the answer to that question, even if I don't like it.

The answer is Satan.

Satan does. not. want. these children taken care of.

He doesn't want them in loving homes.

He doesn't want them to be loved, happy, and protected for the rest of their lives.

And he will do everything he can to stop that from happening.

As I come to that realization, I remember something else.

Satan isn't in control.

GOD is in control.

Of everything.

Of every situation.

And God has a plan.

I know who's in charge.

And it's not the devil.

God won this battle, before we knew anything of it.

Before it had even begun.

I know he will get us through it.

I know God already has this taken care of.

I know my little brother will come home with us.

I know it.

How do I know that?

Because Satan doesn't want these kids loved.

But God does.

He want every child in a loving home.

And again, God is in control.

Satan is not.

It's really that simple.

Although sometimes that's hard to remember. Right now that's all we know. But that's all we NEED to know!

Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone praying for us right now.

Pretty sure it's the only thing keeping us from losing our minds :)

Oh! And before I forget, Zai's surgery was moved to today so PLEASE pray Isaiah!!!!

The funds aren't completely covered but I know God will provide! (Please continue to donate if you can)

Thank you to everyone who has donated!

(I don't know who has right now so just thank you to everyone :) )

Just keep praying!