Nnyo, Nnyo, Nnyo!

There are only a few months left until our family says goodbye to family and friends, hauls our very heavy suitcases into a car and boards a plane for an 18 hour flight to a little country in East Africa.  Although we've been preparing for this trip for nearly two years, it's hard to believe we are really so close to getting on that plane.  

When we first admitted to each other that we felt God leading us to Uganda, I really thought our journey would begin when we got on the plane and landed in Uganda for three months of serving with African Children's Mission.  Little did I know, or really understand, the journey God would take us on this year.

Some highlights from 2012:

- We broke the news of our Uganda plans to our families, something we were very scared and nervous to do but because we did, we have experienced more support and love from them than we ever expected.

- We received overwhelming love and support from our Sunday School class and church family at HSBC when we finally began speaking about our call.

- I went on my FIRST trip to Uganda!  It was Wes' 6th. Though the first two days were bumpy, full of self-doubt and unrealistic expectations, by the end of the trip we were trying to figure out how to get the kids over without having to leave ourselves! :) We knew we wanted more time to explore God's call and made the official commitment to three months of cross-cultural training with African Children's Mission.

- Wes got approval from work for a three month leave of absence for our trip.  The support he has received from his work was unexpected and such an answered prayer. Some initial uncertainty led us to decide firmly that we are committed to follow God's plan for our lives even if it causes financial uncertainty.  Very scary but…

- We are learning to trust our Father.  If you had asked me a million times before this year if I trusted God with everything I would have said "absolutely!" a million times without hesitation.  This year I have learned that what I saw as trust, was really me controlling everything I possibly could while allowing God little to no room to work in my life.  If I have learned nothing else this year, learning to trust, really and truly trust God, even just the tiniest amount has completely changed how I do…just about everything.  

- 16 years after graduating high school, I finally completed my college degree! In May I graduated Cum Laude (with three kids, thank you very much!) from Birmingham Southern College with a degree in Dance Education. As a sweet Ugandan friend, Johnstone, taught me to say, "I am an artist!" 

- We began fundraising. When I say we, I mean God began our fundraising.  Honestly, we have done little to nothing to raise any funds for this trip.  Every fundraiser, from painting parties to garage sales to Boston Butts to T-Shirts has all been done by friends or family.  Well, technically we put on the garage sale to get rid of a little extra stuff, but mostly things from a business my side of the family recently closed.  My parents and sisters then decided they would rather donate the profits from the garage sale to our trip, that was ALL God! 

- Our kids got their first passports & are officially Frequent Flyer card holders! They'll never admit it, but they agree with us that this is pretty cool! 

- We left our old Sunday School class, full of friends we consider family…people we have grown, moved, cried and celebrated with for almost 10 years and who have supported us tremendously during this time, for Wes to become the teacher of another SS class.  While this wasn't in our plans at all and was one of the most difficult parts of this year, we love our new class so much!  We can also see how God might be using this experience to prepare us for what He is calling us to do in Uganda.  While this has been one of the hardest parts of following God's will this year, it has also probably been the most rewarding as we've gotten to know and love so many new friends and have already seen how God has used them to bless us.  

- The first Jr. Board style group for African Children's Mission, PWC, was created.  Through this group we've been able to work more closely with our incredible friend, Jamie, who is one of the most special people I've ever met and has such a heart and passion for ACM, Uganda and Jesus Christ.  By focusing on the goal to support ACM and promote the work God is doing through them, this group has established a ACM Facebook page with weekly updates and has already been able to raise nearly $8,000 towards necessities for ACM children through their Christmas Sponsorship drive.  I can't wait to see what this group accomplishes in 2013! 

- We've seen friends drift away.  Definitely another one of the hardest parts of this year has been seeing people pull away from us as we get closer and closer to leaving.  A very wise very sweet prayer warrior friend of mine called me out of the blue a couple months ago.  She warned me that dear sweet friends might start pulling away in an effort to protect themselves from being hurt when we leave.  It had never occurred to me until she spoke those words at that moment that many of our friends were doing just that.  How precious of God to give her those words for me so that I could respond to these friends in love and understanding instead of anger and bitterness.  I still pray for a renewal of those friendships, but I can't blame them for wanting to move on and I still love them dearly.

- We celebrated as our son made it 12 and then 13, then 14, now 15 months seizure free!  What a huge answered prayer and blessing upon blessing from God!  Please continue to pray for our son as we meet with his Neurologist in January to discuss his continued treatment for epilepsy.  

- We went to ALOT of football games!  Between the girls dancing with their middle school dance team and me coaching the JV dance team at the high school, we spent most of our Monday, Thursday & Friday nights at one stadium or another! Seeing my daughters dancing together on the same field was so special, not to mention that they are smart and beautiful and look pretty cute in sequins!  It was also amazing to be one of the coaches on the field at the State Championship Game in Auburn as I watched my dancers perform for the last time.  I consider my job teaching and mentoring these girls such an enormous gift and love every minute of it.

- We purchased our plane tickets!  It's official, we leave for Uganda at 11:45 am on May 2nd!

- We helped my sister, best friend, business partner, and main source of support outside of Wes, move her family 10 hours away.  A few months later, we helped move my grandmother 4 hours away.  While these moves might be what was best for each them, they were heart wrenching for me.  My sister was definitely the hardest.  But with each move and every tear shed, I knew that God was preparing me for an even harder goodbye in a few months and that He was calling me to trust Him over and over again. What a bittersweet lesson.

- We saw the creation, through the handwork and support of many many people, the first ever ACM Short-Term Missionary Handbook & Devotional.  This labor of love will hopefully prepare short-term missionaries physically and spiritually for the work they will do in Uganda and will help them to return home with a renewed passion for those things that are close to God's heart. 

- While we are definitely not going to change career plans to modeling anytime soon, we recently had our first ever professional family pictures made…no, not at Sears.  We're talking on location, with just the right lighting, beautiful talented photographer family pictures.  I know, many of our friends have these done twice a year and it shouldn't be a big deal, but this was a first for us and we are super excited about the results!  

More than anything else, 2012 has seen us learn more about our Father, our selves, and our relationship with Him.  None of what has been accomplished in 2012 has been done under our own power, but through the power of God. If anything, our biggest lesson has been that His promises are true, that His strength is glorified in our weakness, that we can accomplish nothing without Him but that He will never leave us. 

Like I said, I originally thought this journey would begin in Uganda, but we've learned quickly that our journey began when we said, "yes".  God has already taught us so much and we still have so much to learn, but we are so very very blessed.  In Luganda, the language spoken in our area of Uganda, they say, "webale nnyo" which means "thank you very much" but people often add several "nnyo"s when something is so good..better than good…more than expected…much much much.  That was 2012 for us, nnyo nnyo nnyo.  

"But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God's gift of undeserved grace is what saves you!" Ephesians 2:4-5

Learning to Pray with Belief

A few weeks ago Dr. David Hogg served as a guest preacher at our church.  While preaching on Joy in Prayer & Thanksgiving leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, he told a story from when he was in seminary.  A young African man was in his study group and asked for prayer about a serious situation regarding the safety of his wife and children while he was away at school.  On their next meeting, the rest of the group desperately wanted an update on the situation but the young man was surprised at their asking. "Didn't we ask God to protect them? Why would you then ask me if they were protected?" What faith.

Throughout this journey there has been a million times that I have prayed or asked for prayer about something and then stressed out like crazy about whether or not God would answer that prayer. How dumb am I?

The biggest example has obviously been in fundraising.  Over and over again I've crunched the numbers, over and over again I've tried to grab the reigns away from God and make things happen on my time instead of waiting on His, over and over again I've doubted…everything.  I KNOW God is in control, but I don't act like it very often.

Recently some sweet friends put on a fundraiser for us by selling smoked Boston Butts.  We were so humbled by their offer…and then I started worrying.  How many people have ordered?  How much money will we get?  What do we think we'll make total?  Did I tell enough people about it often enough?  We still have so much money to raise, what else can I do to get the word out?  Is my flyer snazzy enough?

It was exhausting because I was trying to do it all within my own power.  Finally, I said enough and let go.  The last count I got before I let go was around 25 butts.  The final count was 59 and we made around $1,000.  I'd definitely say God out sold me!

There is no doubt that I will have to learn this lesson a billion more times in the next 152 days (and the next 100 years!) but it was awesome to see what God can do in and through the people we love and that love us when we let go and let Him work.  We continually get sweet phone calls and emails encouraging us, asking how to pray for us and donating financially to our mission trip.  With a little more than 5 months to go, we have a little more than $5,000 to raise.  We are continually longing to be working on the ground in Uganda, to be with the people God has put such a love in our hearts for but we believe that this calling is from God and is in His will so we know He will make this a reality.  What an honor it is to be in this situation, seeing God work first hand despite my doubt and control issues!

Like Dr. Hogg's friend, I want to pray according to God's will, believing that He will answer me, without doubting that He will do what He's promised me He will.

"It is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him." ~ 1John 5:14-15

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

A little Tom Petty for your enjoyment! :)  Seriously though…why is the waiting the hardest part?  Shouldn't the challenge itself be the hardest part?

Joseph, Marco, Isreal, Faith, Inno, Alicia, Benja & Enyana

Throughout this process, our family has been acutely aware that God is continually teaching us and refining us for the trials and challenges that lay ahead.  Sometimes (read: all the time) we want to rush this process and just BE OVER THERE ALREADY!!  

Being reminded that, "God's timing is perfect" is so true but still frustrating sometimes.  I, especially, am such a control freak.  I just want to go through the steps it takes to get us there, get on the plane and be in Uganda now!  Obviously that isn't God's plan. Boo :(

As we wait it's easy to just let go of our dream of Uganda and get sucked back into life here.  It's easy to stress about the line at the grocery store or even the election…what's hard is keeping our eyes on our future, working towards that goal and not letting the things of today distract us.  So often people have told us "you're here in this room, but you can tell your hearts aren't really HERE".  

We miss Uganda.  We miss our friends.  We are anxious for answers that can only come from Him.  

We've bought our tickets, our flights are booked, some of our luggage is already there.  We're just waiting on Him to provide a way to make it all a reality.  

Sometimes I worry about what we are missing here by leaving our hearts there.  Sometimes I worry that I'm romanticizing what it will be like with three kids in Africa, so far away from my constant sources of support here in the US.  Sometimes I worry about the risk of the kids getting hurt, or sick so far from western medicine.

But then I think about what it will be like to watch Wyatt try to keep up with the kids at Ekitangaala playing soccer while trying to tell them about Jesus…or Ashley reading to a bunch of sweet babies rapt with attention under a giant jackfruit tree…or Katie Mae becoming best friends with a Ugandan teenager…or our whole family sitting on our porch under the most stars you've ever seen in your whole life…or watching Wes teaching a young Ugandan man lessons his daddy should have taught him…and I think, I guess I can wait just a little longer.  177 days longer, but who's counting? 

Isaiah 8:17-18a "The LORD has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him.  Here I am with the children the LORD has given me."

Fun, Fellowship & Fundraising!

Upcoming Fundraiser! 

Thank you to all of our friends who are helping us by contributing to our fundraisers and also by organizing fundraisers on our behalf! 

It is amazing to watch God work through you!   

We absolutely could not do any of this on our own! 

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up!" 

- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

God's Into Details

I love to be reminded about how much God is involved and concerned about the details of our lives.

 {The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives}  I love this New Living Translation of Psalm 37:23!  It not only speaks to God's sovereignty, but also to His intimate concern for our lives. 

Last week was a tough one for our family.  Nothing major.  It just began our month long pace of an over-scheduled, over-extended life.  (If you need me any Monday, Thursday or Friday this month, I'll be at a football game. I hope my family doesn't expect to be fed!) In addition to our schedule craziness, we were helping a mission team from Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham prepare to leave for Uganda, and all the logistics that entails, while watching with heavy hearts as they boarded a plane to somewhere we long to be. On top of all of  THAT we got a lot of disappointing news for our family and people that we love.  

But in the midst of all of this God kept wispering over and over again that He loves us, that He is moving mountains on our behalf and that like the disciples who were told to wait in the upper room for the Holy Spirit, we were being taught lessons in our waiting and would be overwhelmed by the power that would come upon us. 

Over and over again throughout the week, God sent people or experiences into our lives to remind us of His care.

One day it was a friend I went to kindergarten (KINDERGARTEN!!!) with and haven't seen since but have kept up with on Facebook, that emailed me out of the blue that he would be spending the next two hours praying for us at his church and wanted to know what specific things he could be praying for. {humbled}

Another day a high school friend we haven't seen or talked to in 16 years contacted us out of the blue wanting to donate to our trip. {overwhelmed}

Then two families from our Sunday School class contacted us just days apart to make final plans for two different fundraisers they were each planning on our behalf. {grateful}

On Saturday, while unloading luggage for the HSBC team at the curb of the airport, a stranger came up to us and asked where in Uganda we were going (my father-in-law was wearing his Muzungu shirt!).  Turns out he runs another organization that works in Uganda, reminding us that everywhere we go God is pointing us to Uganda. We had no reason to be sad that we weren't going on THIS trip because we ARE going! {such a God thing!}

To cap it all off, I was unexpectedly reminded of God's HUGE answer to a prayer.  Friday we celebrated our son, Wyatt, who has epilepsy, making it to ONE YEAR SEIZURE FREE!  I think our whole family had tried to purposefully forget what the date of a year seizure free would be, but God didn't want us to miss it!  Wyatt may have a seizure today, he may have one next week, but God still answered our specific request for one year without seizures. {awed by our Creator!}

I could go on for pages and pages telling you every way He reminded us of His promises just in those seven days. Thank you to each of you who allowed and continue to allow God use you to minister to us! There were several other bible verses, daily devotionals, sermons, emails, texts, facebook messages and conversations where God used His word and His children to encourage us, lift us up and renew our strength.

{But those that hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:31}

Lord, help us to remember to place our hope in you.  None of this depends on us.  Thank you for loving us enough to not only be involved in our everyday lives, but also to give us a way back to you through the death of your son. We are so unworthy.   

P.S. Stay tuned for more details regarding upcoming fundraisers!  They will each involve something great for you while also  helping us reach our goal of Uganda! 

Something You Probably Won't Hear About in the US News

The number of issues plaguing Uganda are too numerous to count. One I've recently become aware of is the trafficking of young Ugandan girls to other countries with the promise of jobs. Recently five brave Ugandan girls that were rescued after being trafficked to Iraq gave their testimony before the Ugandan parliament committee on Gender, Labor and Social Development. You can read more about their story HERE.

Another informative article can be read HERE

As wonderful and amazing as these girls' dramatic rescue by American Marines is, I was shocked to read about it on a Ugandan news site…having never heard about it on the US news. Even more upsetting is the 145 girls (just those mentioned in this story, there are reportedly thousands more Ugandan girls who have been taken in this way) that have not been rescued. I wonder how many other stories like this we are missing.

It breaks my heart to imagine the precious girls, in this picture, that we visited in the village of Lwanjuki, or any other child, being exploited and abused in this way. But in a nation like Uganda with such generational poverty and little to no hope of improving their station in life, many girls like these hear the promise of a good job and a way to help their families escape from poverty and are eager to take that opportunity. Unlike my daughters, these girls haven't been taught about "stranger danger", "if it's too

good to be true it probably is", and a million other little life lessons we take for granted.

Thankfully, there are organizations on the ground in Uganda. Some, like African Children's Mission, start at the roots by helping to provide a firm foundation of hope through education, a strong support system, the love of Jesus Christ and a way toward financial improvement. Others, like Kwagala Project are actively working to rescue these girls and then counsel, educate and provide financial assistance once they have been found and have returned home.

You can help by supporting these organizations and you can help these girls by sharing their story. I just did.

"They are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed. 'But I, the LORD, will punish them for these things; I will take revenge on this nation.' " Jeremiah 5:28-29

"The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4:18

Words...

This is where our minds and hearts are, pretty much all of the time…

*In case you don't recognize it, this shape is the country of Uganda* :)

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer"

Psalm 19:14

Stories from our trip - Episode 2: The One With The Chick & The Duck

There are tons of different animals you might see while at Ekitangala Ranch in Uganda….

chickens are everywhere…

as are cows, this is a working dairy ranch after

all...

there are many various types of reptiles…

and there are lots of goats….

The first day Wes and I were in Uganda in January, he took me on a tour of the ranch property on the "new" side. We spent a lot of time walking around and learning about the buildings, projects & people and just taking it all in. Wes wanted to show me the ponds and we saw lots of animals using them as a watering hole. There were wild dogs, goats and lots of birds. But as I'm sure you can guess and can probably tell by the pictures above, it was some nasty water! This was the height of the dry season & everyone was praying for rain!

A few days later, when I was walking through this area again with some ACM staff members, I saw people form the surrounding villages using their jerry cans (the big yellow cans people in Uganda use to carry water) to collect water from these same ponds. I was shocked to learn that some people are still using these ponds for their drinking water.

It is one thing to hear that (according to the Ugandan Bureau of Statistics) somewhere between 11 & 14 million Ugandans do not have access to clean water…but it is devastating to watch a mother and father collect water from the same source as wild animals. Water that likely carries millions of microscopic parasites and numerous water-borne illnesses that can kill.

The work that African Children's Mission is doing in this area is more than helping local villagers provide clean drinking water for their families, they are using actual water to teach Ugandans about the love of a father that provides LIVING WATER!

John 4:13-14 "Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'."

Anyone who knows me or my sisters, knows that we LOVED the TV show Friends. I'm sure God was laughing at my over-reaction to this family's pets in Nituti Village…a chick & a duck!

(Photo credits: Heidi Angel & Alicia Wilbanks)

One Step Closer!

Just a quick post…

The kids' passports are in!!

One step closer! Only 37 weeks to go!

Wes has been teaching our new class through Acts and we've spent a lot of time discussing the miracle of God's sovereignty. How comforting is it to know that He has already seen all of our paths…that the Lord of the universe has worked everything out for our good & His glory?!

Job 31:4 "Does He not see my ways and count all of my steps?"

Well You Gotta Have Friends!

The desire to have good friends has always been with me. I have always been what you might call "social" (or what my parents might have called embarrassing) as I constantly chatted up strangers as a child.

I remember, very clearly, filling out one of those, "I wish…, I hope…, I fear….," questionnaires in 3rd grade at Shades Mtn. Elementary school and writing: "I want…to have friends like in the Sprite commercials." What does that mean? You might ask…well, here ya go! :)

Did you see them? No, not the lady hiding a pig in her fur coat (what?!?), the girls sitting on the bench…thisclose to each other, laughing, being silly, not caring what anyone thought of them because they were in it together.

That's what I longed for, what I prayed for, for years and years and years...

My sister often sweetly tried to cheer me up by telling me that I had three sisters to be my friends. :) And that was very true, my sisters and I are very close and I love them so much. But I wanted friends that CHOSE me to be their friend, not because mom would ground them if they wouldn't let me play with them, but because they just wanted to be my friend.

I think God was teaching me so much through that time, how to rely on Him when I was lonely, to see that I wasn't always a good friend myself, and more…I think it also helped me to learn what a good friend is and what a good friend does.

Over and over again during this journey we've gotten to see what good friends (sisters, mothers, cousins, grandmothers, brothers, fathers, uncles, etc. included) look like.

Well…they look a lot like this:

These women (and the husbands, grandparents, etc. that stayed home and took care of the kids!) supported us in such a mighty way! They came out in DROVES to support our family through Jennifer & Brad Bradley's Fundraiser this past Sunday by creating beautiful hand painted frames that they got to take home.

Jennifer & Andrea Castleberry are some of the most creative women I know and create amazing art! Who wouldn't want to come learn from them and support a good cause in the process?!?

Not only did these women show their support by raising $800 ($800!!!!!) for us during this fundraiser, they have demonstrated their love and support to us over and over again through their friendship.

In addition to the Bradley's support through this fundraiser (and a repeat in October because there was such a great response!) and the Davis' support through our t-shirt fundraiser, the Schroeter's children set up a lemonade stand & raised money for us…the Diggs family is planning a Boston Butt sale…the Watson's will be hosting an Ugandan jewelry party…Mia Storia provided us with an outlet to share our story…many people have offered to donate items for a silent auction...not to mention the many who have sent money just because, or have sent an encouraging word or, most importantly, have been praying for our family.

Humbled, overwhelmed, grateful, blessed, in awe of what God is doing.

We have experienced all of these feelings and so much more!

Here's a little snippet from my journal during our January trip to Uganda….

{January 14th, 2012: …but seeing how loved we are, through the financial support, calls, emails, letters and gifts was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I will need to pull this journal out if I ever again feel lonely or without friends. God is so very very good. }

From day 1 Wes and I have been amazed over and over again by how God has used YOU to bless us. Thank you just doesn't seem like enough.

Ephesians 4:15-16 "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body so that is builds itself up in love."

Much much love.

Our Storia

One way we have been especially overwhelmed during our build up to Uganda is through God's use of our friends. Like the Davis family's t-shirt fundraiser project, here is another example…

Some amazing friends of our have started a new company

{Mia Storia}

Their mission is to help families preserve their stories for future generations as well as to use their gifts to support charitable organizations, including our favorite .org, African Children's Mission. Our family was honored (and a little terrified) to be one of their first projects.

I think we can all agree that movie stars everywhere can breathe a collective sigh of relief that Wes & I will not be stealing their jobs any time soon!

Our kids & dog however…wow, the camera loves them! :)

Click here to watch The Wilbanks Storia!

Red Dirt

Photo Credit Heidi Angel

It's amazing what little things can impact you when you've been to another country or another culture in what seems like {another life}.

{FEET} can be pretty gross. As much as I love

getting pedicures, I don't think I could handle that job…touching strangers' dirty, icky feet hour after hour, all day long. My sisters all have crazy foot aversion syndrome (I just made that particular syndrome up but it adequately describes how they feel about feet!) and can't stand to look at, touch or talk about feet. As a matter of fact, if any of them are reading this they are probably already cringing and hoping I change the subject real soon!

Sorry Ks, but hang with me…

The Bible talks a lot about feet…there are verses "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" Roman 10:15B, stories of Mary washing Jesus' feet in the book of John chapter 12, Jesus washing his disciples' feet and tons of other references, Jesus telling the disciples to "shake off the dust from your feet" when they aren't received in a village (Luke 9:5, Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:11), Ruth laying at Boaz's feet wishing for him to redeem her (Ruth 3:14), I could list tons…{feet}, and their parts, are mentioned more than 300 times in the bible.

What is it with feet?

In the verses above it isn't difficult to see how the feet symbolize people, our souls and our true selves as God sees us.

{But feet are dirty, dusty, sometimes ugly looking things…

yet God calls them beautiful, clean, swift, well lit, secure, He sets them upon a rock.}

But feet are also one of our most unprotected & at risk body parts. The U.S. military places a great deal of importance on taking care of your feet. The Marine's Officer Candidate School even has foot care spelled out in their daily schedules.

In Ephesians, Paul tells Christians to put on the "armor of God" and that our feet should be clothed in the gospel Ephesians 16:5. Prepared in this way, we are charged to use our feet to take the gospel "to all creation". Mark 16:15

{Without shoes we open our bodies to all kinds of infection, disease, foreign bodies & injuries that could lead to illness and even death.}

Photo Credit (and Mzungu foot!) Heidi Angel

Before we left for Uganda in January I spent a lot of time researching & finding the perfect shoes for this trip. I knew I didn't want to be clomping around in heavy tennis shoes & socks in the African heat, but I also knew it was important to wear closed toe shoes to protect my feet from injury so flip flops were out. I finally found the perfect shoes, a pair of Mary Jane style slingback Keen's that were even 50% off (being that it was Christmas time & all) & I quickly bought them, excited about my

perfect Uganda shoes!

There's a quote in a well known movie about the color of the dirt coming from all of the blood that has been spilled in Africa.

I believe it.

In Uganda the dirt is {red}, like RED red.

As I walked and biked and rode and walked and walked miles and miles and miles in my new shoes over the next two weeks, they quickly changed from a goldenrod yellow color to a pinkish red. At the end of every day I actually thought I had tan lines from my shoes until I would shower and realize that my tan lines washed away.

My feet were just colored by the red dirt!

When I got home I developed a love/hate relationship with those shoes.

They still had that red Ugandan dirt clinging to them and every time I'd wear them I would sadly watch a little more of the dirt fall away…but every time I wore them a little of the dirt would be on me and would remind me that I still carried Uganda with me.

I guess it's like those people that take little glass bottles to the beach to scoop up some sand…or buy the bottles in the little knick knacky shops found in every touristy beach locale…or give the perfect gift of a little glass vase of Alabama dirt to a sweet sister moving to Florida.

Even my friend at Ekubo Ministries in Uganda wrote about the red dirt coming off of her shoes when she first came back from Uganda & how heartbreaking it was for her.

{We love the idea of taking a little piece of a special place back with us.}

When you are in a place with such heartbreak, poverty & lostness as we see in Uganda, it is difficult to come home and reconcile

what you have seen & what you have experienced & who you are there

to what you see, experience and are home in the states.

As I watched my shoes get cleaner and cleaner, I felt myself slipping further and further back into my old life…my life B.U. {Before Uganda}.

The problem is that I don't want that old life. I don't want to forget the amazing friends I made there, or the amount of need that I know exists. I don't want to lose the memory of the hopelessness that is evident on the faces of those that are lost, or the joy in the eyes of those that are not.

I want to live over and over again, every single day, the lessons that God taught me in those two weeks, even if it makes my heart hurt to do so.

Unlike the Jewish tradition of shaking the tainted Gentile dust out of their cloaks, or even the beautiful picture of Jesus washing the road dust off of the disciples' feet, I want to gather all of the red Ugandan dust I can and hold onto its real, tangible, physical presence.

But it's so easy to slip back into comfort-land…so easy to forget that there are mothers ignoring their expanding bellies because the infant mortality rate is so high, and they don't want to get too attached in case they should lose their little babies…to forget there are women, men and children fighting for their lives due to a disease whose cure costs a measly $7….to forget there are seven little bits of my heart waiting to cry out "hallo Malicia!" as I come to hug them & play with them & learn Luganda from them…to forget

there are people in this world who have never heard

of the saving love of Jesus Christ,

that they have been set free from sin through

His death and resurrection and that

THE God of the universe is working

now and in the future for their good and His glory.

A little red dirt helps me to remember the gospel.

{Without the gospel our souls are left vulnerable to infection, sin and death.}

Photo Credit Heidi Angel

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved" Ephesians 2:4-5

Fundraising Update!

Fundraising
progress thermometers
to track the success of your fundraising ideas

It is amazing! We have a little more than 10 months until our trip and our amazing friends and family have already helped us raise more than 10% of our goal! Our family has been overwhelmed to see how God has orchestrated people and events in our life to support our goal in glorifying His name! Thank you for being part of our team!

About a month ago, an amazing family came to us wanting to be involved with our mission and offered to help with the idea of fundraising through t-shirts specific to our family and our goals. Within days they found an awesome graphic designer willing to donate his services & knew of a t-shirt wholesaler willing to make a deal on selling us the shirts. Not only did this family step in to make this all happen, they covered the cost of the shirts as their donation to us!! How amazing!! Because of them, 100% of all sales of our family's shirts will go straight to support our mission to Uganda! God is so good!!

Not only was this a team effort in getting the shirts printed, our whole family was involved in the design and planning of these shirts, down to every last detail. Ash came up with the idea of the words inside the continent of Africa, Kat stayed up all night one night looking for the perfect verse (Mark 16:15), Wy chose the heather blue color of the shirts, Alicia worked on the details & Wes added his favorite quote to the back: "If you have come to help me you are wasting your time, but you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us struggle together". We love them and are excited to see people wearing them at church and around our community!

If you are interested in supporting us through the purchase of one of our shirts, you can click on the paypal link on the right or email me at akwilbanks@charter.net! Please make sure you specify quantity & size. They are $20 each and come in Adult S, L, XL & XXL as well as youth XS, S & M (Youth large is the same as adult small. Adult M are sold out).

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

(Mark 16:15 ESV)

Come visit our garage sale this Saturday!!
More info HERE

Stories from our trip - Episode 1: The One Where Everyone Cried

I thought I would periodically share some stories from our trip here. I really have no plans or intentions with these except to share whatever stories come to mind so you can share in our experience with us! So here is the first of, hopefully, many…

Mary Daniel's cousin Cheri was part of our team in January. I believe she is from North Carolina but she flew into Atlanta to meet up with Wayne and Mary and came over to Uganda with them and another team member, Beccah.

Cheri is such a sweet woman but was always very quiet and a little reserved. She isn't the type of person to walk up to someone and start a conversation but is very friendly to everyone she meets. Cheri began sponsoring a little girl through ACM some time ago, but because of some mix-up, had not gotten any information about her for a while. After asking around, Mary was told that Cheri's sponsored daughter had moved to a different school and they were having trouble finding her. Cheri was resigned to knowing that her money was going to help her girl get to school, have uniforms, pay for her supplies and books, pay any medical expenses she might have and ensure she has a good meal each day and gave up hope of getting to see her girl. {all with $300, for a YEAR! Crazy, right?!?}

{when someone comes to the ranch that is sponsoring a child through ACM, a great deal of effort is made to try to allow the sponsor to meet their sponsored child in person}

While many people really enjoy going on home visits while in Uganda, Cheri just wasn't feeling comfortable going on them. I'm not sure what specifically made her uncomfortable but it was my understanding that she felt like she had trouble starting conversations with the families we would visit and was worried that she was imposing on them. {the opposite is actually true, the people in Uganda view receiving visitors as an honor and hospitality is a very important aspect of their culture, they also, like most people, love just having someone to talk to and share their day with! Bonus for me, who, now this might be a shock…loves to talk! :) } So for a couple days Cheri decided not to go on the home visits, and instead found other activities to be involved in. After spending some time talking to Mary and better understanding what these home visits mean to the Ugandans, Cheri finally decided to give home visits another try.

This particular day we were going to a village that was farther away from the ranch than any we had visited to this point. It was probably about 10-15 miles away, all uphill on very bad roads. The more remote a village is, the worse the roads are…even the good roads have potholes as big as a car! So you can imagine this road was really rough!! We, thankfully, made this trip in the ACM truck, but the children's ministry staff at ACM that are assigned to this village, Johnstone and Heziron, usually make this trip on bicycles! I'm sure it must take them hours to get to the first home but as we arrived we quickly learned that Johnstone and Heziron know every single ACM child in the village by name, they know their stories and what school they are attending. {I never did really figure out the school districting stuff. I think that there isn't much governmental or organizational control over who goes to which school. It seems that if you can pay your school fees, can get to the school and there is room for you, you can go to any school. We heard many stories of families trying to send their children to better schools only to get there and find out there wasn't room for them.}

One thing about this trip that really made an impact on both Cheri and I was how obvious it was that the ACM children's ministry staff really cared about each and every one of these children. Maybe it was because we are so used to the men in our culture being more emotionally reserved or the fact that we are used to hearing so much about absentee fathers, but the loving way Johnstone and Heziron spoke to the kids, helped them clean their faces and hands, soothed those that cried {the younger children especially sometimes get scared when they see these strange looking white people!} and just listened to them was beautiful and incredibly moving. I cannot say enough about these amazing men!

After visiting several families, we were driving to the next home when Heziron suddenly yelled to stop the truck near the village's common area. He was excitedly yelling in Luganda and Cheri and I had no idea what he was saying or what was going on. Johnstone started translating for us…"She's there! Right there! Your daughter is right there!" Everyone started to pile out of the truck as it dawned on us what they were talking about…Cheri's sponsored daughter had been found!!!

Randomly driving down the road, in a village she wasn't supposed to be in, Heziron spotted her precious face in a crowd of people and immediately called to her. It took only a few seconds of translating to explain to the little girl and her father who Cheri was…I'm pretty sure Cheri and I were already crying but if not, her father's reaction did us all in! He immediately went from confused and hesitant to overwhelmed and overjoyed as he thanked Cheri for sponsoring his little girl, raised his hands to God to thank him for sending Cheri, thanked Heziron for introducing them and even thanked me for…being there I guess? :) Cheri introduced herself to her sweet girl and she said something back in Luganda. Heziron translated that she was asking if she could give Cheri a hug. {The Ugandan people are extremely kind and loving but VERY reserved, the fact that this precious girl spoke up at all amongst adults was surprising, the fact that she asked to physically show her love and gratitude with a hug was shocking!}

At this point none of us could keep from crying. {I can't even write this without crying! ;)}

So there we are randomly standing in the middle of the road all crying and praising God for arranging this meeting! I'm sure from the looks of the locals that were watching us, they all thought we were all crazy!

Then her father started telling us a little bit about her story…

He told us how the girl, probably around 9 or 10 years old, had lost her mother and how hard it was for him to take care of her by himself

{I'm assuming she had brothers and sisters as well, it is very unusual in Uganda to only have one child. Actually the average, AVERAGE, number of children a Ugandan woman has in her lifetime is 7. AVERAGE…SEVEN!} .

He introduced us to the woman in this village that had agreed to take the girl into her home so that this sweet girl could get to the school that I'm presuming is better than the school she was attending before…or maybe her old school didn't have room for her, I'm not clear on the details but was clear was that this was extremely hard for her father to do. The pain in his face over the uncertainty of their future was evident. He spoke of how he had worked hard to get her to this village to live with this woman {probably a relative of the girl's mother} and how he was trying so hard to get together money to pay for her school, her uniforms and her books when he found out she had been sponsored. I really wish I was a better writer and could better articulate what this meant to him and his daughter. I don't think I will ever in my life forget the looks of joy on their faces, not only of getting the news that she would indeed be able to continue her education, they were definitely excited about that, but the sheer overwhelming joy they had in being able to thank the person that made it possible, face to face. It was a moment I will never forget!

As soon as we jumped out of the truck and understood what was happening, I started taking pictures. The picture I've attached is when Cheri and her sponsored daughter first met. {After snapping a few pics with my camera I grabbed Cheri's and took a ton more!}

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a learn a little about what we experienced on our trip. I will try to do more in the coming weeks and months and hopefully I won't cry through all of them! haha! :)

Much love,

Alicia