Over Christmas break, Patrick and I had the opportunity to go to Orlando, Florida. As most of you know, Patrick was in the Army for 7 years and on June 8, 2005 he experienced a day that forever changed his life: He was wounded due to an explosion from a rocket. Thankfully, by God’s grace, Patrick survived this terrible explosion. However, ever since this day Patrick has never been the same since. He suffers a great deal of pain in his back on a daily basis and has a heavy heart every day for those soldiers that were lost.
The event that we attended in Florida was for Wounded Warriors and is called Tee it up for the Troops. It was such a great event…It was so nice for Patrick to see his friends and to meet new guys who have all experienced and deal with similar situations. As we were there my heart couldn’t help but smile. I’m SO proud of Patrick—All that he has done and experienced in the Army…As well as how he has handled everything since getting out of the Army.
Blackhawk Helicopter...These are the ones Patrick used to jump out of!
The color guard.
Some of the Wounded Warriors
This Bald Eagle was getting a little too close!:)
Going out for supper with Kent, Diane & Noami!
Supporting our Go.Be.Love/MAN UP & Simply Love Orphans t-shirts!:)
Patrick spent a majority of the day golfing with all the guys, so I had a lot of downtime—Which was really nice! And as I sat there, I kept thinking how great it is that God has blessed us both with things that we are so passionate about. Patrick loves helping people and really wants to reach out to soldiers and veterans as much as he can. This is his passion…This is something he enjoys…and quite possibly, this might be something that he’ll participate in for the rest of his life. As you all know, I’m passionate about children in need and orphans around the world…And I too hope this is something that I can do for the rest of my life… I don’t exactly know all of the details…But I do know that God knows my heart and that He sees how I long to do this…so I’ll continue to wait on Him until I can better understand exactly what His plans for my life are.
As Patrick and I were flying to Florida I was so excited. This was our first time flying together, so that was fun for us!:) …Plus we were going to Florida for a few days and would be staying at Reunion Resort, which is an absolutely beautiful place. But as I sat there in my airplane seat, my heart quietly longed for Africa…I sat there thinking how great that would be if we were on our way to Africa!! …I felt bad that I wished we were going to Africa….since we were going to be attending a great event in Florida…But again I can’t help what my heart longs for..and it’s simple… it longs to be back with all of those precious kids in Africa.
As I had time to hang out I finished reading Kisses from Katie. This book was SUCH a BLESSING but continued to make me miss Africa even more. I strongly suggest that you all go out and purchase this book! By purchasing this book you’re supporting Katie Davis and hes sweet girls…as well as her Amazima ministry.
Here is a quote from Katie’s book. This passage in her book really tugged at my heart…and tears grew in my eyes because I couldn’t agree more.
Many days, I am still overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need and the incredible number of people who need help. Many days I see the destitute, disease-ridden children lining the streets in the communities I serve and I want to scoop up every single one of them, take them home with me, and feed and clothe and love them. And I look at the life of my Savior, who stopped for me.
So I keep stopping and loving one person at a time. Because this is my call as a Christian. I can do only what one woman can do, but I will do what I can. Daily, the Jesus who wrecked my life enables me to do so much more than I ever thought possible.
People often ask if I think my life is dangerous, if I am afraid. I am much more afraid of remaining comfortable. Matthew 10:28 tells us not to fear things that can destroy the body but things that can destroy the soul. I am surrounded by things that can destroy the body. I interact almost daily with people who have deadly diseases, and many times I am the only person who can help them. I live in a country with one of the world’s longest-running wars taking place just a few hours away. Uncertainly is everywhere. But I am living in the midst of the uncertainty and risk, amid things that can and do bring physical destruction, because I am running from things that can destroy my souk: complacency, comfort, and ignorance. I am much more terrified of living a comfortable life in a self-serving society and failing to follow Jesus than I am of any illness or tragedy.
Jesus called His followers to be a lot of things, but I have yet to find where He warned us to be safe. We are not called to be safe; we are simply promised that when we are in danger, God is right there with us. And there is no better place to be than in His hands.
Isn’t this passage just POWERFUL? She is such an inspiration and I feel like she is my BFF after reading her book!!:) I read this book every day we were in Florida and each night I went to bed DREAMING BIG…PRAYING BIG…Praying for God to USE me and to LEAD me to His LONELY, HURTING and DESPERATE children.
Life is a little scary, isn’t it? There is so much hurt and pain and negativity in our world. So many “what ifs” that can drive your mind crazy…But as Katie said, God encourages us to step UP and step OUT…and so I will continue to do this. Yes I wonder if I can figure out all of these funds?! Yes sometimes I wonder if He really WILL provide?! But before I start to let this stress me out, I am reminded that God holds my world in His precious hands…He really is in control of EVERY single detail in my life—No matter how big or small. I KNOW that He CAN…He DOES…and HE WILL.
I’ll be going back to Africa for sure for 2 weeks…BUT, I’m still looking into a few other options. If it works out, I’d LOVE to spend a month in Africa this summer. SO, I’m praying for God’s direction more than ever! I’ll be doing a few speaking engagements coming up over the next few weeks about my experience in Africa. When I go to these events, I’ll have some Acacia Necklaces set up on a table in case anyone wants a unique necklace from Africa—As well as help and support my trip. I did do this fundraiser about a year ago, but thought I would try it again. Please don’t at all feel pressured to buy one—I only want you to purchase one if you truly do want to. But, if you do, I’d like to say thank you so much! Fundraising is SO hard—I don’t want to bother or bug anyone…But the more God tells me I need to go, the more I know what I need to do. Plus, God has placed it on my heart that by fundraising I am able to help spread the word about the orphan crisis in our world and that maybe, just maybe, I can bring Glory to God by encouraging others to take a leap of faith and to live out James 1:27: to care and visit orphans.
If you at all interested in purchasing any of these necklaces, just let me know!! Feel free to send me a message on Facebook or shoot me an email!:)
Here is a video that just BROKE.MY.HEART. I watched it in Florida before we had to head down to one of our events. I tried to hold back the tears as well as I could…I didn’t want to go down stairs a crying mess. But I couldn’t help it. My tears became bigger and bigger with each sound of this child’s cry. And as I sat there with my eyes glued to this video—I thought of Katie, and how she deals with children just like this on a daily and weekly basis. SO sad, SO heart-wrenching…I didn’t want to go down to supper where I would see people throw away places of food and classes of clean water…All I wanted to do was sit there and cry my eyes out. I went to bed this night thanking God that Katie was in Uganda and is stopping for one child at a time…and is saving more lives because she simply let Him use her.
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