Does the waiting get easier?

It seems we have all been dealing with waiting lately. Waiting goes against our very nature as "westerners" we have a "microwave mentality" we want what we want and we want it now.

I am not the exception to this - if anything I am the rule. We should be encouraged to know that even some of the GIANTS of the faith are just like us. Remember how Abraham created his own plan to help God along in the process of completing his promise. We know that ended up with Ishmael and big division in Abraham's family.

I consider myself a proactive creative doer. I have a strong tendency to run ahead of God in particular and start doing things "my" way. The whole time God is saying, "Vince, stay back, hold my hand, walk with me, don't run ahead" - if you have kids I am confident you have said those very words before.

I say back in my excited voice, "but God, we need to hurry, we need to get there, we are missing out on all of the fun!" (or the blessing, or the joy -- insert your word)

God says, "trust me...if you go at MY pace, I will get you there and I will get you there in one piece with the least amount of potential damage. Hold my hand - don't run ahead of me."

When we do it God's way, often we don't even remember how long the wait was. Once you get to the toy store, Disney World, your vacation, your mission trip, your referral. The pain of the wait dissipates in the joy of the realization of God's promise.

I was so thankful to find out last night from Brandi that our friends Le and Lindsey Andrews go their referrals from Ethiopia. This was a long process but so worth the wait for them and I could not be happier. We have a few other friends that are still waiting and we pray that they will receive their referrals soon.

I think it is ok to have anticipation and even to ask God to hurry. But, we have to allow Him to do His work in us and prepare our hearts for whatever the promise is. We have to be patient and not let ourselves run ahead of Him.

God is a good God and He loves us and knows what's best. If we can grab ahold of that, then there may be a way to actually find pleasure in the wait knowing that He is in control bringing about His purpose and His will in our hearts and our lives.

My prayer for those of you out there waiting on Him is that you would find pleasure and joy in the wait. I pray that He would allow you to be content and thankful wherever you are and that you would abide in the complete and total trust that He loves you and that He is the giver of all good and perfect gifts.

Peace,

Vince

Bosco's Leg

**reposted from Brandi's blog**

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.

A Run for HOPE

I ran a half-marathon this weekend. It was the longest distance I had ever run and I am still feeling sore from the race. I had only about 9 weeks to train and I had to deal with the altitude and the hills of Colorado Springs while I was training (in the long run that was probably a very good thing for my stamina and time).

As I traveled home today, I was thinking about why I ran the race. I have been saying that Brandi motivated me to train and run and it is true that she was a major motivator and kept me training when I didn't want to. She also made the tutu that I ran in.

But the truth is that I ran for HOPE! A concept created by some awesome DC area ladies Karen Preston and Megan Clarke. They decided to raise money for HopeChest and somehow Brandi got wind of it through Twitter.

I got several comments about my tutu -- surprisingly most of them very positive and I even had a couple of runners flirt with me (woooohoooo! :-)).

We decided to use the money we raise to fund teachers salaries at a place called Otuboi in Uganda. It is a school of amazing young men and a few young women that are about high school age. The school's students have been impacted by the LRA (they abduct young men and force them to commit atrocities). Their conditions are horrible - but they have joy in the midst of their suffering. It is humbling.

I was there in September and I got a chance to speak to them and play football with them. They are incredible young men who have ALL odds stacked against them in life. I am honored to play a very small part in providing resources to help these young men and women have a chance at life and success.

Unlike most of us, many of them are very happy with the little that they have. Many of them have one set of clothes and they can pack everything they own in one Wal-Mart or Target shopping bag. Yet they have HOPE. They have HOPE for a future and we get to play a small role in their hopes becoming a reality.

I ran for HOPE. I ran to help those young men have a future after a life-time of rejection and pain. I ran to teach my children that the little sacrifices that we can make are nothing in the light of helping those who are unable to help themselves. I ran because I have to be willing to live what I say I believe.

The minimal discomfort I faced in training and in wearing a tutu is eclipsed by the fact that God chose me to play a role in the lives of His defenseless children.

I ran for HOPE because if I don't - if YOU don't; who will?

Many people who we were able to talk to about why we were running in tutus said how great it was that we were running for that cause. But, what will they do with that? Will they act? Will you act?

I can't sit back anymore. I have to run and keep running...I have to run this race with excellence and perseverance and HOPE. God has chosen us to be His HOPE, His hands, His feet to those who would otherwise never know.

I run for my children and for their spiritual legacy that they will understand the value of sacrifice for others.

I am privileged to have run for HOPE and for Otuboi - young men who have endured more than my children and I ever will.

I thank God that He chooses to use us - will YOU run for HOPE?

Trust

Do you ever wonder why God does what he does? I do all the time. Whether I am thinking from a micro perspective or a macro perspective, I am curious about the "whys" of God.

From a macro perspective, things like creating evil (See Isaiah 45:7 and if you are reading an NIV the word translated "darkness" is the Hebrew word for evil) and the major global issues that were either directly or indirectly "caused" or "allowed" by God are perplexing.

For the record, I should state that I am not a "Sovereignty Theist" I am a "Free-will Theist" so I definitely believe we play a large role in some of the calamities that happen in our own lives and in the world today. We make choices and those choices have consequences.

From a micro perspective, I am often questioning God about why I am in this circumstance or that. Why did He allow this particular thing to happen and that thing not to happen? As I go through some very specific contemplation that is happening in my own life right now, I am left with little else other than trust. Yep - trust.

I am in a cycle of "God, this really doesn't make sense to me." I want to commit myself to Him in every little compartment of my soul. I don't want little boxes of darkness or hidden things - let's face it we can't ever really hide anything from God we can only choose not to allow Him access (sorry sovereignty theists I know that may cause you heart-burn). When I fall into the cycle I am in now, I have a tendency to want to recoil from Him and reason things out and come to some sort of rationale conclusion -- but that doesn't work - partially because my ways are not His ways and He knows my own heart better than I ever could.

So, here is where I am on this - He is teaching me about His character. He is incredibly loving and gentle as I go through this process. Even when I get angry and frustrated with Him (like I have a right to do that!), He is patient.

I am clear that He has promised me something very special - a prize - and He will cause that to happen. Yet, as I go through the waiting it is very difficult. I want things to make sense. I don't want to have a taste for something or a desire for something that He placed in me but at the same time He says to me - not yet my child. Why God? Why not yet? What are you doing in me that makes me not ready?

He says, "I love you with an everlasting love. I am your source. I want you to know I have good things in store for you but you must be willing to find your satisfaction in Me or my prize will be destructive to you. I know the best timing and I am a good Father who will give you only good gifts - trust me."

Wow - how do I neglect that? I am just like my own children though. I hear His words and His promise and I believe and I know He has never let me down and never will - BUT (there's a but) I want it NOW. I would love to believe I have matured but apparently I am just a larger version of my seven year old who wants what he wants and wants it NOW.

Fortunately, though I am like a child, God is not like me. He is patient, kind and gentle with me. He reassures me that if I will keep my eyes on Him - He will grant His promise, He will meet me in the pain of waiting and it will be far better than I can even imagine.

Give me patience, peace and trust oh Lord. I am gonna need it :-).

Micro-giving through HopeMongers launches today

Hopemongers.org is about to change the face of giving. With their launch today, you are now able to give to causes all over the world and make a lasting difference. Sam Henry and his wife Wendi have poured their heart and soul into a solution to help eradicate world poverty - Hopemongers.org is the realization of that dream.

The site allows you to direct giving based on the things you are passionate about - so, if you want to give to water projects - then you can give to water projects. If you want to give to education projects - then you can direct your giving to education projects. There are economic development projects, health & hygiene projects, technology access projects and more. All the money donated through Hopemongers goes directly to the organization you are funding. Plus, they will provide you with an on-going giving analysis to help you monitor where your giving is going on a percentage basis.

Log on to Hopemongers today and start a new journey of giving.

AND while your at it - I will be running in a half marathon November 14 - you may have heard I am running in a tutu (a pink one) - Bob Mudd and Russ Weir will also be running with me. (This was Brandi McElheny's brilliant idea.) If you donate money to the cause, all proceeds will go to fund teachers salaries in Africa - you can donate here or at the HopeChest website. If you don't like the idea of a guy running in a tutu and just want to donate to this great cause go to Hopemongers and donate!

See you soon!

Vince

When will YOU act?

I have spent time in many countries and seen horrible living conditions and extreme poverty. As I spent time in Uganda last week, I was confronted with the reality of poverty and need again. I genuinely believe it is hard to truly understand extreme poverty without having experienced it. We can have an intellectual knowledge but not truly understand. I would equate it to reading a book about marriage versus actually being married - there is just no comparison.

This creates a dilemma when trying to convey the severity of the living circumstances to those who may be able to make a difference by providing support and prayer. How can we bring home the message and the experiences so that people who have never been there are compelled to act?

I want people to act - not to just hear - but to hear and do.

Here is my best effort...

Children are alone and hungry - innocent children just like yours that you read too and tuck in every night. When you pull up in a vehicle to greet them, they run to you just for a hug or a touch...they are scared, they have nothing, their hair is turning from its natural color from a lack of nutrition in their diets. In good situations, they may get one meal a day. They die from very preventable diseases. They have no toys, no parents, no education and no hope apart from you. You actually have the ability to make a tangible difference. I know you have seen those late night "sponsor a child" commercials and flipped the channel when they get too hard to watch - BUT they are true and you CAN make a real difference in a child's life. Are you willing to confront the reality that children are starving physically, spiritually and emotionally and YOU can make a difference and if you are reading this you are supposed to make a difference?

There are widows. Women who are forced to try to survive in a cultural system that is not designed for them to "make" it. They epitomize the challenge of the single mother. Many of them do not have transportation, education, a means of income or other basic resources they need to survive. YOU can make a difference for a widow. You can provide the support necessary for them to make ends meet.

I would like to challenge you to complete these sentences for your own life...

My neighbor is _____________________

I display pure and undefiled religion by ________________________

I want you to read this post as a challenge. I want it to haunt you. I pray that when you lay your head on your pillow every night that you think of starving children until you are compelled to act.

My God give you the grace to act on behalf of the "least of these."

Uganda

I have just spent the last several days in Uganda. It is incredibly difficult to process the things I have seen while visiting the various locations that I traveled to. As I type this, I have a confession to make - I am actually NOT a big fan of blogs. When I begin to think about why that is, I reasoned that I am a verbal processor. I like to "talk things out." I want to be able to discuss what I am feeling in "real time." With that being said, I will try to put some thoughts here and I am hopeful that they will be beneficial to you as I work through my feelings.

The poverty in Africa in incomprehensible. Men, women and children are starving -- not the starving that you and I experience when we say "I'm starving" but TRULY starving - dying of starvation. The basic things that we take for granted in America like clean water, medicines, access to education are not only luxuries here in Africa but they are barely attainable to most. We have all seen the commercials late at night with Sally Struthers and other aid organizations asking for $35 per month to help save a child's life but I can tell you that until you have held one of those children it is impossible to understand. My goal is not to make you feel guilty or shame you into sending money but I just want you to understand that many of the people that are suffering are helpless widows and orphans.

I would like to introduce you to a few of them...

First, there is Mary Ieda from Ngariam. Ngariam is an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in the TESO region of Uganda that is suffering through extreme poverty. They had no working water wells when we arrived and close to 600 orphan children. The camp houses over 4000 families. As Dan Smoker, Ben Savage, Jamie Wallace and I began to walk through the village, we came across the dead body of woman, At least I thought she was dead. Then, I saw her head lift. I could not believe it - she was alive. She was laying face down in the dirt and looked as though she was on the very edge of death. The guys I was with were in shock. It was as if the image before us was a statue or mirage. We quickly changed directions and began to walk away completely unsure what to do. We realized that we had to do something. So, to protect her dignity we went and got two of the women on our team Sarah Smoker and Amy Savage, to care for Mary. They were able to provide some basic medical care and also to love and pray for her. It was a powerful display of love on the part of both of these women as they nursed Mary. For me, it was a shock to my senses and emotions. I cannot say what Mary's fate will be. I only hope that she was able to experience the love of God through two amazing women. Before we left the camp, we were able to fix one of their broken wells to provide water for the camp.

I met Florence in Kapelebyong. Florence is a 3 year-old orphan. When I met her, she was in a line of children receiving "posho" (ground corn meal). This is part of the food we distributed to orphans in the community. Florence is a beautiful young girl with all the potential for a bright future but very little hope. Without the support of people like you, young girls like Florence will end up as statistics in Africa.

Kapelebyong and Ngariam are communities that have suffered greatly at the hands of the Karamajung. Imagine gang violence magnified by a factor of 10. Women are raped, men are murdered and young boys and girls are abducted and forced to do unspeakable things.

At the Kaperamaido HIV clinic, I met Godfrey. It is hard for me to keep composed as I type this. Godfrey is a precious 8-month old boy. He is extremely cute and there are no outward signs that he is sick. Inside of his sweet little body is the deadly HIV virus. As I held him to shoot a video segment, he looked into my eyes and smiled and he squeezed my finger tightly just as my children did when they were his size. My heart was broken and I felt helpless. I still do in many ways.

I have often wondered how such things can happen to little children - and I still don't know. All I can do is pray that God continues to provide hope, love and comfort to the least of these.

A couple of nights ago while at Joseph Elotu's home in Uganda I met John the former child soldier. He was abducted from the Kapelebyong area at age 14 and forced to commit atrocities on behalf of the LRA. Having been involved in Invisible Children, it was ubelievable to meet a child who had been abducted. He is getting better but to stare into his eyes was like looking into an empty soul. I only hope that Joseph can continue to develop him and help him to heal both physically and emotionally.

There is so much more to share about Uganda but for now I am still working through thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Thanks,

Vince