First Steps

I woke up this morning and realized that today is the day. Today is when I will choose to fix my eyes on Jesus, step out of the boat, and walk on the water. You see, the Lord has been planting seeds in my heart for the millions of orphans in Africa for quite some time. My heart has been broken and overwhelmed by stories of children who are hungry, sick, and in need of simple life-giving hugs. They need the love of Jesus and the message of His Good News brought to them, and my heart is crying out to do just that! When I consider what my AMAZING Jesus poured out for me when I was lost and broken, His call to "look after orphans...in their distress" (James 1:27) seems like such a small offering for me to give - but one that He is clearly calling me to lay at His feet.


The tug at my heart has grown stronger over the last few months, but never did I think that He would ask me to go so soon. In the midst of transition and illness, I have been given the unexpected opportunity to go to Uganda and Kenya from June 26 to July 9, 2011 with my beautiful sister in Christ, Diana Perkey. She is co-leading the trip through an organization called Visiting Orphans. You can learn more about the ministry and this specific trip at http://www.visitingorphans.org/
Here is a video of Diana's first trip to Africa in March 2011:


Pure Religion: Uganda 2011 with Visiting Orphans from Jennifer Hanson on Vimeo.
Many questions have gone through my mind as Kevin and I have considered this. What will it be like for me to be away from my precious family for two weeks - especially during a time when Brody will be going to youth camp for the very first time? Will I be able to raise enough money to go in such a short amount of time? Will my health cause problems? Will my passport be ready in time? How will this affect our lives when I return? It would be easy for me to back down and say, "Not right now...maybe later," but I can't. Every part of me knows that I must step forward in blind obedience and say, "Yes, Lord! I will go. I will offer you you my five loaves and two fish to do with as you please."

As I move forward, I ask for your prayers. Please pray that I will stay healthy along with the other members of the team. Pray that hearts will be prepared to receive the love of Christ and that my heart will be prepared for what God has in store for me before, during, and after the trip. Please pray for my family. They completely see God's hand in this, but it will be difficult for me to be away for two weeks.

Also, as you can imagine, this will be a challenge for us financially. If you would like to contribute to the trip in any way, you can donate a tax-deductible gift on-line by following the steps on the top right-hand side of my blog.

If you would like to contribute but would rather not do so on-line, you can send a check (tax-deductible) to Visiting Orphans, P.O. Box 668, Nolensville, TN 37135. Please write my name and the trip date/location in the memo line.

I can't believe I'm doing this. Here we go, Lord! I'm all yours!!!

By His grace,

Stephanie