First gift

This is copied from Brandi M.'s blog "Living Freely" that I follow. These stories always make me thankful that there are ways that God is using us to help those that otherwise wouldn't receive help. And I was left with the question on my heart tonight about what it is that I really want for Christmas. I'm praying that I will be challenged this year to move away from materialism and more towards eternal gifts this season. I am praying that my and your first gift this Christmas will be towards something lasting and here is a great place to start.

This entire blog is at the request of Joseph, our country director for Uganda. He came across this boy and his family and really wants to see them receive help. He asked Vince and I last week if there were any way we could spread the word. Please read and be a part of HOPE.

"Bosco is a born of 1996, from Obule Ajet, Ngariam Sub County, Usuk County, Katakwi District in Eastern Uganda. Bosco is an Orphan with 05 siblings and a mother (Alinga Christine-29 years). He is in Primary/Grade Three in Obule Ajet Primary School . His performance at school is quite satisfactory. Bosco has horrific story, he was picked by his uncle who is a casual worker in one of the sugar estates in Eastern Uganda called Kakira. While with his uncle, Bosco developed wounds on his left leg which the uncle did not give much attention to treat. The condition grew worse and the wounds became septic. Bosco’s uncle decides to bring him back to the village, however, he did not hand him back to his other. Bosco was left with his relatives who later notified the Bosco’s mother to come and pick her son who was ailing. On responding to the call, the mother found Bosco with a very sick left leg with septic wounds. Bosco was overwhelmed with pain and the mother henceforth decided to seek medical attention from the nearby Health Centres. The condition was advanced so they referred them to Soroti Referral Hospital . On thorough examination, the doctors diagnosed that the condition could not be treated and therefore recommended Bosco’s leg be amputated. Having come up with the cost for the operation, Bosco needs 2,000,000/= Uganda Shillings (excluding upkeep in the hospital and transportation) to have a successful operation/ amputation on his left leg. However, this colossal sum of money is a real nightmare to Bosco’s family. The mother is requesting people of good will and charities to come to her rescue as she cannot meet this cost."

The total comes to $1200 with another $300 needed for his hospital stay and transportation. Joseph asked us to just raise the $1200 and he would cover the rest. Can you believe that? Joseph, my precious African Papa, offering to pay 20% of this need out of his own pocket. Pockets that aren't as deep as many of ours. Pockets that are already covering school fees and needs for more orphans than any of us can get an accurate count on :-) It challenged me and I hope it challenges you to really ask the question: how might God want to use ME in bringing HOPE to Bosco. We'd like to raise the full $1500, allowing Joseph to bless this family or the others he comes across instead. Since we don't get to see all the needs...let US respond to the ones we DO see, am I right?

Go to www.HopeChest.org to give!!!!

In the notes section write: Uganda / Bosco so that it's designated correctly!

I'll update you as funds come in... pray with me for $1500 to meet this precious boy's need.

What waiting does...

What does waiting for something do to you? Are you anxious, nervous, worried, unaffected? For us waiting has acted as huge sifter sifting out our thoughts about this adoption. It seems we've come so far in 4 short months and yet we know we have so far to go. Every day we get deeper and deeper into this thing called adoption...deeper and deeper into this love for a country that we didn't give much thought to a year ago. So where has that love led us? What have we to show for God's calling on us to make a child our own from a country so far away? Yes, we've filled out paper work and sat through interviews and accumulated LOTS of information about our family. But we've also spent countless hours in prayer for a nation we feel deeply for. We've prayed over families who are in different stages of this journey and are finding it difficult to get court dates or embassy approval or are waiting on referrals. We have opened our hearts to love more and our perspective has shifted. And we've been inspired to dig deeper. We've had to look long and hard at our budget and we've had the pleasure of deciding what we could "live without" to help make this adoption a reality. It's unreal to think a continent away there are mothers living in such extreme poverty that they cannot care for their children and must abandon them much less make a decision on what cable package they can live with. Or there are children orphaned from a disease that we can easily manage here with affordable medications. Or worse yet, orphaned children DYING from a disease that currently others in other parts of the world live with just fine because of two little pills. Oh, but for the grace of God that is not my reality and my family. But even with these sobering thoughts we are thankful that we are in a position to add to our family this way. We are blessed to get to walk these paths with our Savior. Even on the days when the letter doesn't come in the mail, or the fees are overwhelming us, or we can't get anyone to answer the phone at an office we need a piece of paper from...we count ourselves blessed. We are also learning that faith without works is dead. And I don't know about you, but I don't want dead faith. We've been wrestling with where God will lead us and we feel like He's been asking us if we'll follow Him or if we're going to lead and keep looking back to see if He's following. We've have felt led to special needs children or to multiple children but the door has not opened for us in these areas yet. I am however confident that God is preparing us for something big, something that was not in our heads at the beginning of this journey and if this has unfolded for us in just 4 short months then I can't wait to see how He leads us there. We do know that we love our Savior and we are striving every day to let Him lead as we wait...and we're sifting out our previous ideas about what we thought this would all look like and the new realities are so much clearer and bolder and scarier...not at all what we thought our suburban little family in Houston would like 5 years ago. But I am so happy and free and excited to say that I love what the waiting does for us...