Hazy, Hot, and Holy!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Really, I haven't!
But I have been super-busy.


From my last post, you may remember that God miraculously provided for my daughter's mission trip to Uganda. Well, since then, we've been in a flurry of activity getting both her and my son ready for their trips.


AJ is leading a large group of middle-schoolers to Eleuthera, Bahamas. Lauren is leading a small group of high school/college students to Kampala and Gulu, Uganda. More on that later.

They left for 3 day leadership training last Wednesday, June 30th. Then, on Friday night, my husband and I joined a small army of volunteers for Touch the World's 5 day training camp. Tony did grounds crew, while I taught the teens how to teach Bible stories to children on the mission field. It was grueling. Getting up at 5 am, working all day in over 100 degree weather, serving in the dining hall. Yet at the end of the 4th day, we felt as if we had been on a retreat!


The worship and teaching were awesome, ushering us right into the throne room. But beyond that, there was a sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves. These young people are the future of the church. To see them sacrifice weeks of summer fun to minister to needy people in the U.S. and across the globe was inspiring.




I’ll be sharing some testimonies in the days and weeks to come. But for now, I’m requesting prayer for these youth out on the mission field. Many got quickly and violently sick on the last night just before they left for the airports. A few teams stayed back until all recovered. Some traveled while sick. At this point, most are at their destinations or soon will be.


Please pray for their swift healing. Pray that God is glorified in the lives of these teens and their leaders. Pray that the teams are unified in Him, that they accomplish much for the kingdom, that they will be effective in their mission. And please pray for the staff at Touch the World. They work tirelessly, especially when the youth are out on the mission field.


As for my two-


Lauren is in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, for the beginning of her trip. TTW has a permanent ministry there, and Lauren and her team will be leading VBS for over 300 children who live in an orphanage there. The second half of her trip will be 6 hours to the north in Gulu where her team will minister to the residents of the displaced persons camp and help with construction of a Dream Center, which will provide a sustainable farm and vocational training to the residents, many of whom were child soldiers abducted into the former rebel army. Check out the ministry at http://www.ttwuganda.com/.


AJ is in the Bahamas, but far from a resort experience! In the early morning (before the temps hit 110 degrees), he and his team will be doing construction at Camp Bahamas, a Christian camp for inner city kids. Then in the afternoons, they’ll provide a sports camp and VBS for the local children. AJ’s team is comprised of 5 leaders and 18 junior high students, so he’ll be ministering to the youth on his team as well.
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Thank you in advance for your prayer support. The teams will return on July 18th, 25th and 29th.