YL UGANDA TRIP 2008: December 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

From Ginja, Uganda - YL Training Camp

Sunday, December 28^th- 10:30pm

We arrive in Entebbe a tired and ragged bunch, but praise God that He delivered us safely to Uganda! We are here and have found our new home at the Rugada Student Center along with 45 Young Life leaders from all over Uganda. They have all come to be a part of a 3-day conference we will be leading. We are not sure how frequently we will have internet access, but we hope to provide you with as many updates as possible. You will hopefully be hearing sentiments and reflections from each of us at some point during the trip so please stay tuned for some further musings as we go. Again, we thank you all for your love and continued support and prayers. Keep it up!

Monday, December 29, 2008-

The end of the first day and we are all adjusting fairly well. Aside from one lost luggage bag and an upset stomach everyone seems to be in high spirits. It’s been a glorious day and God has already shown up in some wonderful ways. The following is a reflection from our time so far… I am now sitting in a jagged metal chair with just three legs, as sweat drips down my head even while I am typing. I am asking myself where I am and when I got here. The time leading up to the trip was swift and empty for me. I want to say that I should have thought about the trip to come for longer and prepared more, but I think the way in which I came to sit here was just the way God wanted it. God is working through my uncertainty. On the flight over and in the little time alone with God I have found here I feel as though simplicity is the reason I am here. Each fascinating and moving story I hear somehow leads back to simplicity. I am not saying I completely understand it or am ready to fully embrace it, but wow the beauty of the freedom to come. “… The simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3) can be seen in every heart I meet. Oh how I have loved seeing the same Young Life from America lead youth to Christ here. The leaders and their devotion are changing my heart as I type. Christ is ALIVE and He is so present in this world. The growth of Young Life over here has been a visual testament to His power. Let us all petition to the Lord for a heart of simplicity that is so sincere that it can easily transverse an ocean into a different culture upon our return. If this is day one, Great things are to come!

In Him,

Wilson

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Matthew 4:19

To Mills Snell and the entire Uganda 2008 Team:

May the Lord Bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you peace.

Love DAD!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Friends,

As I sit here tonight on the eve of our departure I am filled with many emotions. Sitting comfortably surrounded by my most treasured loved ones I find myself straddling two worlds. I think I speak for the entire group when I say tomorrow will mark the beginning of an incredible, life-changing journey. God has blessed each of us with the opportunity to be a part of this great work He has already set in motion. There is such an incredible air surrounding this trip with such a strong group of 14 set to go. Please keep praying. Keep lifting this trip up to the Holy One whose name and love we seek to share with others. Thank you to our friends and families both near and far for all of your support and encouragement in our preparations. The time is come. May our Lord Jesus be blessed! Amen.

**please join the blog so you can be included in our updates from Uganda!**

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ~ Romans 10:14-15

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Hey gang. Here is a sermon by Andy Stanley, the pastor at North Point Church in Atlanta. I'm a huge fan and listen to a lot of his stuff online. I'm really drawn to his ministry because you never walk away from his sermons feeling like he's preached at you, but rather he's had a conversation with you. Prayer has been a huge part of this gathering and will remain a huge part of this trip. Make time to listen to this one sermon by him. I heard it back in January of this year and it has made a profound impact on my life. The link below will take you to his sermon page. Scroll over until you find the series titled Q3. Click on the link to "Asking Big" from 1/1/07. Watch it if you can. I think you'll find his words inspiring. Hope you all had a great weekend. TWO MORE WEEKS!!! Can't wait!

http://www.northpoint.org/messages

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Responding to His Call

"To become neighbors is to BRIDGE THE GAP between people. As long as there is distance between us we cannot look into one another's eyes. We forget that they love as we love, care for their children as we care for ours, become sick and die as we do. We forget they are our BROTHERS and SISTERS." - HENRI NOUWEN

“It is a response to a CALL... A Call from HIM who has no voice, and yet Who speaks in everything that is, and Who, most of all, speaks in the depths of our own being… For we ourselves are words of His. But we are words that are meant to respond to Him, to answer to Him, to echo Him, and even in some way to contain Him and signify Him…”
- THOMAS MERTON

“If we want HUMILITY, we should condescend to all the weaknesses and infirmities of your fellow-creatures, cover their frailties, love their excellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants, rejoice in their prosperities, compassionate their distress, receive their friendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice, be a servant of servants, and condescend to do the lowest offices to the lowest of mankind.” - "CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE"

My PRAYER for each of us tonight, is that He would continue to strip us of anything & everything which is about us, so that our lives would be a direct reflection of Him, would continue to respond out of selfless obedience to His Call... as it continues to lead us…choosing to hear HIS voice, rather than to live as slaves to the voice of the world....walking by Faith, & not ruled any longer by fear.... that He would continue to work out His will in our lives, one day at a time…maturing in our hearts, a Divine Wisdom like that of King Solomon, Absolute Trust unconditional of circumstance like Joseph, a Faith as we step forward & out into the unknown like Abraham, a Passion & Commitment to share God’s Word like Paul…and ultimately, a HEART after God’s own heart, like King David....

WE NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS US...

PRAY BIG...!

in HIM,

Drew

Silent Night, Holy Night

So nothing profound or prophetic today, mainly because I left my list of verses I wanted to use at home. But then again I'm a firm believer that God loves to use the ebb and flow of our daily lives, even our forgetfulness, to open the window to something greater than we had planned. There is a Caedman's Call song called "Table for Two" with a particular few lines (actually the whole song is amazing) that I love..."Well this day's been crazy but everything's happened on schedule, from the rain and the cold to the drink that I spilled on my shirt. 'Cause You knew how You'd save me before I fell dead in the garden, and You knew this day long before You made me out of dirt." I love how intentional our God is. How He knows each of us and loves on each of us daily. He shows up in the truly divine AND in a simple whisper. I pray during this busy season- that seems to have moved so far beyond its true meaning--you find yourself in a place where peace and love surround you. I pray that you open yourself to the Wonder that is your daily life. Please, during the busyness allow yourself time to be still and be moved, even in the smallest of ways. If you consider the title of this blog- not the first time I'm sure- you may very well be reminded of what I mentioned earlier about the true telling of this Holy event we celebrate this time of year. That it includes a hint of something silent and wonderful- something so uncanny and overpowering that we can't help but find ourselves entranced with the miracle of Christ's birth. May you continue to invite the unexpected and celebrate the seemingly insignificant in the coming weeks. May God bless and keep each of you as we prepare to take this journey together.

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exhalted among the nations, I will be exhalted among the earth." ~Psalm 46:10

Lord Jesus, we pray for quiet wonder and simple joy today. We ask that as we celebrate Your unobtrusive entrance into our world, we would be reminded of the sacrifice You made through your life and death. Prepare us, Holy One, to venture forth in grace that we may share Your wonderous story with those in darkness. Quiet us, that we may take notice of Your all too often silent presence in our hearts and be open to the ways You are leading us. Amen

I am eager!

I am eagerly awaiting our trip to Uganda. Drew sent an email out to our group today and it said, "God is Love, & He is so faithful. He's absolutely who He says He is. Jesus is alive. The Spirit is moving. His Kingdom is coming. Pamoja Pamoja." I am eagerly awaiting His kingdom to come in my heart and change my life. I prayed for the trip this morning, and I prayed for the people we encounter, but also for my heart to be changed. I want the praises of God to be on my lips and I want my greedy eyes to be washed clean. I need a new and fresh taste of who the Lord is; I am so sick of the mediocrity in my life, and I am waiting for the spirit of God to stir my heart and affections for Jesus. Uganda is something I have prayed about for a long time.

I was reading in 1 Corinthians 1 about God being faithful and about the Church being unified. I think these verses apply to us about to embark on this journey to Africa:

"He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His son Jesus, is FAITHFUL. I appeal to you that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in one mind and thought."

This was on my heart today and my prayer for us. May the Lord unify us and continue to reveal to us how ALIVE and FAITHFUL He truly is.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Two Weeks in Africa

I sent this in a email but here again are the words from a Caedmon's Call song that I seem to have fallen victim to repeat on my ipod. The Lord is far bigger that what we comprehend this trip being. I love the line in the end that says "he doesn't need us but he lets us put our hands in." I think we so often forget power of our might God. He is going to do GREAT things on this trip and I am confident in that. (sorry my computer will only type in 'underline') Excited to be with you all. Blessings, Emily

"Two Weeks in Africa"

From Johannesburg to Cape Town, the plane had barely touched down
She was taking photos for the friends back home
This was where she had always felt her heart belonged
She was finally here, the sky was bright and clear

Two weeks
And we all can feel the calling
Two weeks
To make the world a little smaller
So a girl got on a plane for two weeks in Africa

Johannesburg to Houston she came home on a mountain
But school was starting, things kept moving on
Before you knew it seven years had gone
She found a picture of her standing smiling,
Arms around the starving kids she swore to not forget
She swore to not forget

Two weeks
And we all can feel the calling
Two weeks
To make the world a little smaller
So a girl got on a plane for two weeks in Africa

And if we follow our dear sun to where the shores are not familiar…

Faces turn to numbers, numbers fall like manna from the sky
Why, oh why, oh Father, why?

One village in Malawi now has water running pure and clean
One church alive in Kenya's full of truth and love and medicine
We put the walls up but Jesus keeps 'em standin'
He doesn't need us, but He lets us put our hands in
So we can see His love is bigger than you and me

Two weeks
And we all can feel the calling
Two weeks
To make the world a little smaller
So a girl got on a plane for two weeks in Africa

Re: YL Uganda Trip - Prayer Time 8:00am

Hey Y'all-

I'm so excited that we'll be in Africa in just 24 days....WOW! I wanted to let y'all know that I got a STEAL of a deal by getting my shots at the Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Atlanta. I am only paying $300 as opposed to $600 by having it done at their travel clinic. If anyone is interested, the number is 404.224.3600. Just wanted to pass this along in case anyone was interested. The travel clinic is only open Monday through Wednesday. Have a great day!

REH

Reagan E. Hardy
Southern Proper, LLC
www.southernproper.com
404.805.3825

From: "Drew Voyles"
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 17:59:30 -0500
To: Bailey Pouns (YL WA Leader)<jbpouns@gmail.com>; BLOG - Uganda Trip 2008<drew.voyles.uganda@blogger.com>; Elizabeth Gonda<elizabeth.gonda@gmail.com>; Emily Stone<emilychristinestone@gmail.com>; Haley Gage<haley.gage@gmail.com>; Hunter Lambeth<MHL23@juno.com>; Lauren Harper<SLaurenHarper@hotmail.com>; <Leighvail@gmail.com>; Mia Morgan (YL WA Leader)<miamorga@uga.edu>; Mills Snell<millssnell@gmail.com>; Reagan Hardy<reagan@southernproper.com>; Schroder Voyles<schroderv@gmail.com>; Simon Okiria - Uganda<simonpokiria@yahoo.com>; Stephanie Hinton<stephhinton@gmail.com>; Turner Outlaw<turneroutlaw@mac.com>; <wheelerbrx@yahoo.com>; Wilson Carroll<hcarroll3@gatech.edu>
Subject: YL Uganda Trip - Prayer Time 8:00am

Reminder that all of you are invited to meet to PRAY with us over our Trip to Uganda tomorrow at 8am, here at the YL Office. If you can't be there, take some time tomorrow morning to PRAY on your own. Our #1 priority right now is to cover this very special time the Lord has in store ahead of us, together in Uganda, with PRAYER...

PRAY BIG

"If you CLING to your life, you will LOSE it, but if you GIVE it up for me, you will FIND it..."

MATTHEW 10:39