And we're off!

In preparation for my Uganda voyage, I have been reading a Randy Alcorn book that was given to me for graduation. This book, entitled Lord Foulgrin's Letters, deals with the complicated and somewhat frightening topic of spiritual warfare. There are two perspectives throughout the story: that of the main character, Jordan Fletcher, who discovers God and tries to follow him; and that of a higher ranking demon writing letters to his accomplice on how to corrupt Fletcher and turn him away from God. In regards to missions, the demon writes:

"I'm alarmed that Fletcher and his wife have been targeted to go on one of those despicable missions trips. Make sure the don't consider it seriously. It's not what Fletcher could do for Chinese Christians that worries me. It's what they could do to him.

We hate missions because we hate the forbidden message. The Book claims only one matter is 'of first importance.' What? 'That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day.'

Because that message is of first importance to the Enemy, stopping its spread is of first importance to us. While the Enemy calls them to the ends of the earth, we must do what we can to keep them home. Wrap them up in their jobs and houses and activities. In the forbidden squadron, keep their eyes on themselves, their programs, their buildings, never on the poor and needy and those who haven't heard the forbidden message. Keep their eyes on minivans and bank accounts and off the ends of the earth."

Thus stated, it is so important for Teri and I to remain in the Lord on this trip and keep our eyes glued to the cross. There will be so many times when we are surrounded by spiritual warfare. It is in those times that we are more susceptible to the demons wishes: keeping our "eyes on themselves, their programs, their buildings, never on the poor and needy and those who haven't heard the forbidden message." We ask for your prayers to be steadfast in prayer, reading the scripture, and being a mission-oriented community with our fellow team members. It is only through the grace of God that we are able to work in these kids' lives.

It is appropriate that we have been recently reading the many accounts of Jesus' death and resurrection throughout the four gospels. It is an awesome reminder that we must never forget, nor take lightly the amazing gift that our heavenly Father has given us. Moreover, it reinforces the desire we have to share this mighty word with "the least of these" and not take lightly the spiritual warfare that is going to deceive us into getting caught up in worldly distractions.

Furthermore, we go in with open hearts, knowing that the Lord will work in us too: growing us spiritually, humbling us physically and emotionally, and forcing us to completely surrender our lives to Him who gives life. It is our prayer that God works mightily in us and that we will be moldable, compliant, and obedient to His will.

We cannot thank you enough for your constant prayer support and words of encouragement that you lend to us so freely. It truly makes the body of Christ come alive! I pray that this passion that we have for sharing the gospel is not just a "mission trip high" but that it will continue to flourish in us and in you upon our return and in every aspect of our daily lives. We live in a world where we are constantly in a mission field; never cease praying and diving deep into the Word! It is through God's unchanging character and unfathomable characteristics that we are able to sustain this "life" here on earth, awaiting a day when He will either take us Home or make His triumphant return!

Please continue to check our blog as our crazy adventure comes to fruition! We love you all and can't wait to share what God has done in our lives and in the children's lives we will be serving!

PS: Our reading during the trip is listed below:

Jul 17: Acts 1-3
Jul 18: Acts 4-6
Jul 19: Acts 7-8
Jul 20: Acts 9-10
Jul 21: Acts 11-12
Jul 22: Acts 13-14
Jul 23: James
Jul 24: Acts 15-16
Jul 25: Gal 1-3
Jul 26: Gal 4-6
Jul 27: Acts 17-18:18
Jul 28: 1/2Thess
Jul 29: Acts 18:19-19:41
Jul 30: 1Cor 1-4
Jul 31: 1Cor 5-8
Aug 1: 1Cor 9-11
Aug 2: 1Cor 12-14

Thank you for the support

Sam and I were just commissioned by The Annex! Thank you all SO much for your support of our trip. Whitney, you helped us to remember that we are soldiers of God. Whatever happens in Iganga is in His will. We are placing our lives in His hands wholly and completely, and go across the world inspired to be His hands and feet. "Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly." Ephesians 1:15-16.

Uganda Bombing Update

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Obama administration officials strongly condemned terror attacks in Uganda July 11 that targeted spectators who had gathered in Kampala at a restaurant and a rugby sports center to watch the final game of the World Cup, hosted by South Africa.

In a July 12 statement, Clinton offered condolences to family and friends of the victims and expressed support for Ugandan authorities.

“At this tragic moment, the United States stands with Uganda. We have a long-standing, close friendship with the people and government of Uganda and will work with them to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” Clinton said.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said July 12 that the United States has no reason to doubt the Somali terror group al-Shabab’s claim of responsibility for the attacks.

“Unfortunately, we see this contrast between the vision and the hope that South Africa inspired … through this past weeks and how that contrasts with the cowardice and destruction espoused by al-Shabab, which used the celebration of the World Cup in Kampala to commit cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians,” Crowley said.

According to press reports, the three bombs killed at least 74 people. Crowley said that one American was killed and five others were hospitalized.

In March 2008, the State Department designated al-Shabab, a Somalia-based extremist group with known ties to al-Qaida, as a foreign terrorist organization. Crowley said the group had threatened Uganda because of its participation in the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, visited the rugby center and said through reporters July 12 in Kampala: “If you want to fight, why don’t you attack soldiers or military installations instead of fighting innocent people watching football?”

President Obama and other U.S. officials have spoken with Museveni in the aftermath of the attacks. Crowley said the Ugandan leader remains committed to his country’s participation in the Somali peacekeeping mission. “If this was somehow aimed at punishing or weakening Uganda’s resolve, we think that this has backfired,” Crowley said.

Crowley said “the strongest retort to al-Shabab” is that “we are going to continue to support those who want to responsibly govern in Somalia, and we’ll resist those who have a narrow, brutal … violent vision of the future in that country.”

The United States “stands shoulder to shoulder with Uganda in the fight against terrorism,” Crowley said, both in Somalia and in Uganda’s efforts against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

He said President Obama has sent a three-person team from the FBI to Kampala to help authorities collect evidence, and they are being joined July 12 by two members of the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

“We have an additional FBI team standing by in the United States, ready to assist if needed. But we will continue to do everything in our power to assist Uganda in bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice,” Crowley said.

The American who was killed was identified by his employer, the charity Invisible Children, as Nate Henn, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina. Invisible Children works with Ugandan children who have been abducted by rebel groups like the LRA and forced to become child soldiers or into sex slavery.

The organization’s website paid tribute to Henn’s dedication to Uganda’s children in a July 11 blog post.

“From traveling the United States without pay advocating for the freedom of abducted child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s war, to raising thousands of dollars to put war-affected Ugandan students in school, Nate lived a life that demanded explanation,” Invisible Children said.

“He was not serving some idea of downtrodden Africa. He was serving Innocent, Tony, Boni, Ronald, Papito, Sunday and Lilian. These are some of our Ugandan students who fell in love with Nate’s wit, strength, character and steadfast friendship. They gave him the Acholi name Oteka, which means ‘The Strong One.’ Some of them were with him at the time of the attack,” the blog post says.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)

God is good, all the time.

REMAIN in Me

John 15:5 ~ "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."


At The Annex, CU's campus church, we are studying this passage in John throughout the duration of the summer months. Tonight, Whitney, our summer intern, spoke on this specific verse (cf Romans 8:28; John 15:9-11) and it really struck a chord with me, what with all the preparation for our Uganda trip. She really focused on the 2nd sentence in this verse starting with the reminder to


"REMAIN in Me."


This, followed by the difficult truth


"apart from me you can do NOTHING."


Those are hard statements to act upon and to believe: it is a call of surrender, a call of submission. And in today's society, where individuality and independence are highly sought after, surrendering is and extremely hard thing to do. But at the same time, it should be so simple. After all, Jesus is asking so little of us. He's not commanding us to go on missions trips, or to spend every day at the homeless shelter, or even to tell 10 friends about Christ's love everyday... All He's asking is for us to remain in Him.


He states previously that: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (John 15:1-2). In this way, we are to be pruned by THE Gardener, our Father in heaven. He's not wanting us to be the crazy vine that's trying to grow to a farther trellis and push as hard as we can to pop out a piece of fruit. Instead, He's asking us to "remain in Him," being pruned as the Father deems fit, so that through Him, we may bear MORE fruit.


In all that we do, we must REMAIN in Him. Remain in Him in the workplace. Remain in Him in school. Remain in Him in the lonely times. Remain in Him in the extremely chaotic and busy times. Remain in Him in the peacefulness. And remain in Him when disaster strikes.


We have been crazy busy trying to get everything worked out and straightened out for our Uganda trip. It has been difficult trying to figure out how all the finances are going to work out, how we are going to get everything ready in time, how all the little details are going to be figured out, etc, etc, etc... In reality, we just need to Remain in Him and trust that He will work everything out. This will definitely help in the spiritual preparation for the trip and will make remaining in Him during the trip possible. For if we do not remain in Him now, how then is it possible to remain in Him during the trip? And if we are not able to remain in Him during the trip, it will not be possible to bear fruit...


Please pray for us during this stressful time of preparation, that we will have peace in remaining in Him so that we may bear much fruit during our trip. We thank you for your continued support and love you all deeply!

Bracelets!

Hey Everyone!

So Sam and I have a fundraiser going on right now (it will continue after we get back since we haven't met our fundraising goal yet). We are selling bracelets and would love it if you want to participate!

Basically, there are two options for bracelets. They are as follows:

OPTION A: $10

You select three (3) colors for your bracelet. We make the bracelet and bring it with us to Uganda to give to a child. When we get back, we send you a picture of the child with your bracelet along with a thank-you note.

OPTION B: $15

You select three (3) colors for your bracelet and for a second bracelet. We make both bracelets and give one to a child when we go to Uganda. We mail the second to you along with a photo and note of the child who we gave your first bracelet to.

These are hand-made bracelets (we'll be making them as we fly across the world) that are beautiful and clean. They will let the children know that people are caring for and praying for them.

If you can't afford $10, we would greatly appreciate any kind of donation you think you could afford.

Simply print and complete the order form and mail it to the address on the form along with a payment of cash or check made out to Teri Andony or Sam Wright. Since I don't want to post my mailing address all over the web, if you are interested you can simply e-mail us here at siyahamba8611@gmail.com and we'll hook ya up!

Thank you so much again for everything and we look forward to making these bracelets! 11 days!

Love,

Teri and Sam

Packing

We are now under 15 days till our departure and are fully immunized, starting to pack, making hundreds (or so it seems) of bracelets, and reading scripture! We are so excited for this trip and know that, with your prayer support and God's sovereignty, it will be an awesome experience!!


Here's the reading through our day of departure:


July 1: Matt 19; Mark 10
July 2: Matt 20-21
July 3: Luke 18:15-19:48
July 4: Mark 11; John 12
July 5: Matt 22; Mark 12
July 6: Matt 23; Luke 20-21
July 7: Mark 13
July 8: Matt 24
July 9: Matt 25
July 10: Matt 26; Mark 14
July 11: Luke 22; John 13
July 12: John 14-17
July 13: Matt 27; Mark 15
July 14: Luke 23; John 18-19
July 15: Matt 28; Mark 16
July 16: Luke 24; John 20-21


"Therefore, go and make disciple of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"


Matthew 28:19