Countdown to Uganda

26 Days.

That's how much longer it is until I leave for Uganda. Actually, in 26 days I leave for Washington DC, where I will spend the night (6:30 a.m. breakfast call. AND, they're an hour ahead of me there. ugh.) before leaving for Uganda the next day. It seems that lately my days are consumed with thoughts of immunizations and packing lists and itineraries and fundraisisng and childcare and hours-long flights and donations for the orphanages.

I started taking typhoid pills yesterday. The typhoid vaccine is a series of 4 pills....of LIVE typhoid bacteria. Um, are you sure this is the best way to do this? I started feeling sick immediately after I took it and woke up several times during the night dreaming about choking. Pretty sure it's all in my head. :) I felt fine this morning. I still have one more shot to get before I leave and 2 when I get back. I will start taking oral malaria medicine 2 days before I leave, the entire time I'm there, and 7 days after I get back.

I feel like my grandma with all her lists and schedules of medicines. Start this one 30 days before your trip, take every other day for 8 days. Start this one two weeks before your trip, take for 3 days. Start this one 2 days before your trip, take for 22 days. Whew.

Right now I'm working on gathering donations to take to the orphanages where we will be serving. Each ministry sent us a list of needs they have, and all the team members will stuff our suitcases as full as we can with things to take to them. Children's medication, craft supplies, sports equipment, games, toys, Clorox wipes, school supplies, hygiene items, and lots and lots of clothing for the kids.

Yesterday I found out I will have a SEVEN HOUR layover in Washington DC on the way home. I've never been there, and I'm so hoping I will be able to spend at least a few hours sightseeing. Hoping I still have the energy after 19 hours of flight time from Uganda!

Our itinerary includes four orphanages, as well as one day working with Katie Davis and Amazima Ministries. If you're interested, you can read more about the orphanages we will be visiting here:

Return Ministries
My Father's House and their Royal Hope Academy
Canaan Children's Home
Amani Baby Cottage (babies!!)

But....BUT....the one thing that has slain my heart more than anything else on our agenda are the places we will be serving on our first two days in Uganda. The places I hinted about at the end of this post.

On our very first and second days in country, we will be visiting, serving and ministering to children from the ages of 1 to 16 in two child prisons. In Uganda they are called "remand centers". Originally, many, many years ago, these institutions were created as what you would think a prison would be - a place for criminals - albeit juvenile ones. Most children were sent there for assault or theft. Most likely, both reasons stemmed from their attempts to simply survive.

But over the years, the prisons have morphed into places where "castoff" children are sent, locked up, and forgotten. Yes, behind bars. Many of them are brought there by family members as a form of punishment for things like rebellion or "stubbornness". Many are street orphans who are rounded up by police and dumped there - and hence the reason children as young as one year old are there. One. One year old. In a prison. With bars.

About a year ago, one single woman who is part of a ministry called Sixty Feet, stumbled upon one of these institutions....and the rest, as they say, is history. If only these places were history.

Our mission team will be the very first outside team (meaning outside of the actual Sixty Feet people) to minister in these prisons. After the team conference call where we learned about Sixty Feet, I went to their website and was immediately sucked in by the desperation and overwhelming situation these children are in.

Remember when I first started hearing God calling me to this trip, way back in October? I wrote this post about Kari's blog (our team leader) that God used to trigger something in my heart. In that post I said:

I ran across this post today over at My Crazy Adoption, and I felt like I'd fallen into a breach in the space-time continuum, where time stood still and I sat frozen to my chair, unable to breathe or move or speak. I sat there for what seemed like hours, reading all of her mission trip posts, following links to the blogs of people who've been on her teams in the past, looking at pictures, reading testimonials.

That's exactly what happened to me with the Sixty Feet Website. I cannot even begin to find the words to describe how wrecked....destroyed....torn apart my heart was as I read story after story, looked at one horrifying picture after another, and watched the devastating videos. It was the exact same feeling I had reading Kari's blog that first day. I stayed up until 1:00 in the morning reading their blog posts over and over again. Gaping in astonishment at the photos. Whispering, "Jesus. Jesus. Oh, Jesus." over and over and over.

And in less than a month I will be there. I don't even know what to say about that. "I was in prison and you came to visit me." (Matt. 25:36)

I would love it so much if you, my bloggy friends, would be willing to pray for me and my team - both now and throughout our trip. We need so very much to have unity in our team, to be surrendered to the Holy Spirit, and to have our hearts broken for the things that break God's heart. If God brings me/us to your mind over the next 5 1/2 weeks, would you stop even for just 10 seconds and pray for us? Here are some specific things you can join us in praying for:

• Safety/protection while traveling and while in-country.


• Peace in the country of Uganda itself.


• Unity amongst all our team members.


• That all our luggage would make it there with us. All our luggage will be filled with donations and gifts for the ministries.


• No problems with passports, visas, or other travel/immunization documentation.


• Wisdom for our team leaders.


• Health, safety, peace for our families back home.


• For each of our hearts to be completely surrendered to God and molded in the ways He has planned.


• That I/we would be conformed to the image of Jesus and allow Him to use us as His hands and feet in ministering to these beautiful kids.


• That our lives will be forever changed.


• Oh yeah, and have I mentioned that I don't like to fly?