2am

Can you believe it, my leave date is in 4 and a half months!! Wowser, that’s scary and right now at 2am I am doing what I’ve been doing a lot of recently and what I’ve become quite good at actually….panicking!!! It’s at this time when I’m meant to be sleeping and catching up on some rest that my brain goes into freak out mode! I worry about various things…my finances, how I will fit enough extra shifts in at work, ‘how’ you even go about renting a property out, whether I’ll be good enough for the job in Uganda, the realities of being away from home for 12 months – the weddings, parties, events and friends & family that I’ll miss, how sad it will be to wave goodbye at the airport…. It’s at these times I have to keep remembering to bring it all back to Him. The one who called me for this and who is already ahead of me in that place preparing the way. As each week passes I can see how God is putting people in my path, sending encouraging sermons and bible verses, reminding me that this is all part of his plan and that it’ll all be ok.

Some positive feedback is that despite being awake frequently at 2am I am also getting to the stage where part of my night times spent laying awake I can be thankful for the many blessings I have received. I’m thankful that in the 5 months since I had my first fundraising event I have almost hit my target! I’m praising God for his faithfulness to me this far along the journey and that I am never out of His care and sight.

If you have time please join me in praying for a few specific things (you don’t have to do this at 2am, that’s just my crazy choice of time!!):

1. Money - I need to have personal finances in order before I go.

2. Time - I want to be able to ensure that I use my time left wisely. Pray for quality time with family that it is complete and full, time to work bank shifts for extra money, time to spend with God and church family in good fellowship, time to prepare my flat for renting, that my 2am time awake is spent wisely and not wasted worrying!

3. Self-belief - I need to get over the feelings of failure, weakness and inadequacy and remember that I am chosen for this task!

Philippians 4:6 “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

This Is Africa!

I am sitting writing this with a huge smile on my face as I think back to the fantastic fundraiser that was held last Saturday. Panshanger Church were the hosts to my “A Taste Of Africa” night which included a quiz, authentic African food, singing, dancing and a big African party! The atmosphere was buzzing, the hall was packed and I am still amazed at the stunning amount of money raised to support my trip. I have a wonderful friend to thank who thought of the idea months ago and helped bring it all to life and other special friends who also worked their socks off to make the night run so well!

When in Uganda I will be able to look back at brilliant photos, videos and memories of the night which will remain special to me and will be something to reflect on and make me smile whilst I am away. However, more importantly I can see that God has used the event to help me right now in preparation for my time away and to teach me more about my relationship with him. Firstly, I have learnt that I need to trust God and step out in faith a little more, trying not to control every little thing myself. The event was organized over a couple of weeks and throughout this time I felt unsure as to how the event was actually going to run, who was coming and what format the programme should take. As hard as I tried never felt that I got any of these answers fully together before the start of the evening. A group of my supporters met with me 2 days before the fundraiser and some faithful friends prayed with me and told me to trust God and leave these worries with him. This I tried to do and as the night was approaching I tried to hand all these fears to Him. God is awesome – the night was a huge success! He had it all in hand and mightily blessed the event. The fundraiser was better than anything I myself could have organized, planned, hoped for or imagined.

Secondly, I have learnt that I need to chill out and be more prepared for the African lifestyle! The event turned out to be a very laid back and fun evening and everything from selling tickets to food arriving on the night was all done without a time limitation or rigid number planning – proper African style, This Is Africa!!! A week before the event there had been about 50 tickets sold but as the week went on more and more guests were asking to attend and Karen & I were even receiving phone calls an hour before kickoff asking if there were any tickets left! In the end we were just telling folk to come along and we were trusting that the food (of which we had no idea what or how much was arriving!) would go far enough. On the night there were approximately 140 guests and tons of food  – I’m not even sure where some of it came from but it was so plentiful so that we ran out of serving space for all the dishes!! What a good position to be in!! The African nature of this fundraiser has given me a wonderful taster, lots of excitement and a little preparation of the good things in store for my year away :)  

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

God Provides

In December 2010 I spent 4 days at AIM headquarters on my orientation training. During this time I, along with a group of other short-termers was taught, advised and given the opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead and given tips and suggestions on how to cope with all that we may find ourselves in. During this time I looked at my budget set by AIM and then began to panic about how I would fundraise the suggested £8000 that I will need for my year in Africa!! I became very aware that the Fundraising challenge had begun! I launched my website at the beginning of November and with the help and support of a crew of faithful friends I put together a list of fundraising events planned for the year ahead. We are now at the beginning of March and looking back I’m humbled and amazed how the funds have already started pouring in. We have run a few events and I am already at 66% of my target!! This experience is teaching me a number of things; especially how I need to be more dependent on God and trust his faithful word that he will provide. I have 5 months till I leave for Uganda (suggested leave date the first week of August 2011) and need to continue with the hard work that is fundraising, working full time, (sometimes with a social life!) and spending time with God, the most important thing of all.  I am so thankful to God, and remember how blessed I am for all of my faithful supporters and partners who are joining me in this journey and process and giving so generously in prayer, time and financial support. It blows me away.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.”