Friends, have you ever had that feeling that something huge is about to happen in your life and things are about to radically change? Whether it’s a physical change, emotional change or a spiritual change? I have that right now and my heart is on fire.
This feeling has been brewing up for the past few months with certainties of what it could possibly be about confirmed here and there. For a majority of the time though, I felt completely lost. I felt this calling for something big but had no idea what it was. All I could do was run to God.
My prayer to God everyday for the last 3 months has been “I am yours God. Use me however you need to. I trust You”. There have been a couple of cases that my constant prayer and trust in God has helped me figure out what direction I need to follow, what’s really going on and what I need to do.
One of those situations I have prayed about daily is the desire that God has planted in my heart for Uganda. My good friend Sara and her family have been in the process of adopting from Uganda for over a year now. We all know that the adoption process is never an easy one and things are constantly changing or sitting still. Well, Saras process has been alot of both. Starting off wanting just one child and now having a verbal approval for a sibling set of 3 kids! In October, Sara and her husband Shane brought up the idea of me traveling with them to document the process and I felt like my prayer was answered! This was the “something huge” that was meant to happen. Not only was this an amazing experience I could document for my friends but it would allow me to follow through with some passions of my heart as well!
When we were supposed to go has been up in the air as the process has changed alot since October for Sara and Shane and all I could do was pray for patience in the process, for not only them but for me as well. Things felt like they were sitting still and unknown for awhile but meanwhile this seed in my heart for Uganda was growing! It was looking like it wouldn’t be until late spring until we would be able to go to Uganda to bring their kids home and I knew I needed to get there sooner.
I started looking into some mission organizations and was seriously praying over one called Visiting Orphans. Their mission statement is amazing and all I want to do is go and love on the children of Uganda and that is exactly what they do without the bells and whistles. There was a trip in mid March and I started to wonder if that was the step I should take to get to Uganda…to get my feet on Uganda soil.
Well…God is funny in His timing and over the course of a few events, He brought up an opportunity for Sara to go to Uganda in early February with a friend from her adoption agency. Like me, Sara just wants to get to Uganda and see what it’s all about and how she can use her gifts to help the people over there. She has a huge heart and ALOT of passion and drive and I knew the wait until late spring/early summer was hard on her. Soooo…Sara jumped on the opportunity to go in early February. Not only would she see the inside world of the agency she works with and meet other families going through the process but she would also get to meet her kids!!! When she told me she was going I knew that was it….that was my chance too. So I simply asked her if I could come too and she said sure!
So here we go. It’s looking like February 4th we will be flying out of Tulsa, Oklahoma and making our way to Uganda. I am so excited….all I can think about is the beautiful smiling faces we will be greeted with once we roll into the villages. I can’t wait to see Sara put her arms around her children for the first time. I am excited to love these kids like Jesus. I am excited for my heart to be changed radically. I am ready for God to use me however He needs to. I know opportunity will arise from this experience and I can’t help but wonder what it is…I am just so excited.
Over the past few months, running to God soley, not trusting in my own will to make my “dreams” come true but rather PATIENTLY waiting for His answer has been the most amazing experience ever. He has guided me through a couple of amazing challenges and it all comes down to Him reminding me constantly that He is taking care of me. How did I get so lucky???
I will be documenting this whole process…not only with photographs but journal entries, random experiences, organziations that I am drawn to, scriptures that I’m getting lost in, etc. I am in the midst of working on a personal blog and website for my travel photography and daily experiences and thoughts but for now I will be updating this tumblr to get the ball rolling.
If you have ever been to Uganda or Africa or can relate to any of the experiences I have shared…I would love to hear from you, I would love for you to share your story. If you asked me 4 months ago…I would have never thought up this adventure I am about to take in just a few weeks but the more I tell people about it…the more they can relate to it! I believe in the community of God and I would love for this to be a place where we can come together as well.
=)
links:
Check out Saras journey here! : http://ssdowning.blogspot.com/
Visiting Orphans : http://www.visitingorphans.org/
You are absolutely amazing.
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