In 2005, a Dinka girl of about nine or 10 was brought to Uganda with a family seeking refuge from the war-torn region in Southern Sudan they hailed from. The young girl, who we’ll call Hope here for the sake of security, did not come of her own accord. She was actually kidnapped by an uncle who, it seems, intended to turn her into his family’s slave. Scared, homesick and alone, Hope was desperate to find a way home to... Read more

I will praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion… Psalm 103 The Lord has been speaking a lot to my heart recently about healing, hope, and the promise of redemption. It is a lot to put into words, but I’m... Read more

2010 years ago, Jesus changed the world. I bet, if we would let Him, He would do it again today. And EVERY SINGLE DAY. I would like to invite you to go with me on a journey. Almost exactly 2 and a half years ago I stepped out of my life of comfort to go on a journey with my Savior. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what this journey was going to look like. I HAD... Read more

Disclaimer: This post was hard to write, and for some it will be hard to read. I prayed before I posted and I do believe that it is what the Lord would have me say. This is my blog, a place where I share my private thoughts and I invite you to remember before you comment that no one has forced you to read it. She was eighteen years old and she had never been in love with anyone she... Read more

Meet Franko! We did have a conversation that went like this, “If we take this monkey home, who is going to take care of it, you guys or Mommy?” To which all my children responded, “We will mom, we will!!!” Today, Franko gripped my leg or sat on my shoulder as I did everything from laundry to making dinner… hm. I do believe though, that I once had the same converation with my mother about a dog. Read more

It is dark. It is quiet. The cold rain drips through her thatched roof soaking through the thin sheet she wraps around her skeletally frail body. Grace is 80 years old, blind, and all alone. Her HIV has progressed into full blown AIDS making it impossible for her tiny body to fight off any type of infection. The merciless cough caused by tuberculosis racks her body. In despair she cries out to God, a God she has not spoken to... Read more

 Read more

For eight months, Grace loved to take a bath. Then she turned three. Whoever named the “terrible two s” very obviously had not done three yet. Three is when all my girls learn to say “no.” I don’t exactly remember when it started. One day, she just wouldn’t get in the bathtub. So I didn’t make her. Judge me if you want; she got in bed dirty that night. The fight just wasn’t worth interrupting everyone else’s bed time. But... Read more

Happy Thanksgiving! http://www.youtube.com/get_player we are overflowing with thankfulness for YOU! the outpouring of prayer and love that covers our family is incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you. * we opted NOT to tell Patricia later that the turkey she was enjoying was actually due to the fact we had cooked her friend…* Read more

We have had one of those really great days when I can’t stop praising Jesus for this life. The girls are on holiday from school (thank goodness because almost all of them have had the chicken pox!). Today I managed to clip all of their 140 fingernails and 140 toenails, file them and paint them. On a quick trip to the pharmacy I found surgical gloves almost small enough to fit my child-sized hands. During nap time I got to... Read more