Who is My Neighbor?

I have finished reading The Price of Stones by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri and I can now safely say I wholeheartedly recommend this warm and inspiring book based on the author's determination to open the first free school dedicated to HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda.

Each chapter describes the long, difficult, and rewarding road to build the school from conception, to building, to sustaining and beyond to supporting the surrounding community. Twesigye - I'm now on a first name basis with him in my head - retells the story of the faith, and doubt, that led to this amazing school.  His faith is not unlike the rest of us. While he has a deep understanding of God's love and his own calling, he worries and doubts just like everybody.  Indeed, we see him fret over every dollar. Yet, when someone asks him for help he always responds with a yes then later worries about, prays about it, and sets out to find donations, and ultimately returns with the support time after time.

Part of his ability to successfully raise the needed funds for all the various projects he commits to is his ability to inspire others. I was particularly awed by his influence beginning on page 184 where he recounts a talk he gave at a new Adventist church.

'"Who is my neighbor?" I asked.

I began with the parable of the Good Samaritan, a story from the Book of Luke about an average man who aids a stranger left beaten at the side of the road. Two thousand years ago, Jesus had used this story to challenge the religious establishment of the day. I wanted to impel others to consider their responsibility to the community through a fresh perspective.

"This is a simple and yet most profound parable, " I said, glancing at some of the orphaned children in the room before me. "It can be applied to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has claimed forty MILLION lives, turned fifteen MILLION wives into widows, and robbed fourteen MILLION children of their parents. The parable challenges us today to ask, "Who is my neighbor?" Is it only the person who lives in the house next to us? Is it only the people who attend our church? Is it only the people we know? What about the complete stranger who lives in the neighboring village? The stranger living in ANOTHER COUNTRY? The stranger living HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD? Are they not our neighbors too?....

"Too often our beliefs do not translate into action," I said. "We are the ones who turn away from those in need."....

"As Christians, there are three things we can do," I said. "We can pray. We can give. We can act. Or we can do all three."...

When Jesus ended his parable of the Good Samaritan, he asked the holy man which of the three men had been a neighbor to the fallen man. The holy man replied that it was the man who had mercy on him. Jesus responded with his most powerful message.

"Go and do likewise."'

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri did the impossible with help from many people living on different continents and ultimately with the guidance of the Lord himself. He built a school, paid teachers, supported individuals, built water systems to supply clean water to the school and the village, provided medical care, fed the hungry, and loved the people he was committed to wholeheartedly.

Our family has but one goal. To bring one child into our loving family. Our goal seems so small compared to what Twisegye accomplished; yet, to that one child it means his whole life. To us, it means completing our family. Who knows how God will call us as we progress on our journey. As The Price of Stones showed, the needs will always be there and the only way to start truly solving the orphan crisis is by Action.

If you would like to support us in bringing our little boy home you, too, can do one of three things. You can pray for us. You can donate to the adoption fund making it possible to pay the necessary expenses in this long journey. And you can act by becoming an advocate for the widow and the orphan. Or, you can do all three. I urge you start with prayer and ask God to help those in their calling and ask Him how you can serve. He will reveal to you a path beyond prayer into Action, I am sure.

I600A Time

With our home study approved, it is now time to file the I600A. Yay! This is a milestone in the adoption process. It's just a form. Easy Peasy, right?

Wrong.

This one is hard. There are a cabillion a lot of ambiguous questions. If answered correctly, we pass go. If answered incorrectly, it gets kicked back and we loose time.

Good news, though. I have lots of friends who are going through this journey and are a few steps ahead of us. I can email them and have answers almost immediately.

Since it's oh, 1:00 am and I just finished a 7 hour installation (because I am a computer genius) of my printer drive after last week's fatal hard drive death, I will be tabling the form until tomorrow night.

Wish us luck!

And thank you to all of you have supported our adoption fund by purchasing puzzle pieces. Your donations have made it possible to file this form which is approximately $900.00!

Layne's Birthday Wish

Today is Layne's birthday. Happy Birthday little girl. She has asked for the same thing for her birthday on a number of occassions in the last month. Find out what Layne wants for her birthday here:

http://littlekidsbigfaith.blogspot.com/2011/09/dear-blogger.html

"Dear Blogger,

I have been very excited this week. One day I said all I want for my birthday is a new baby brother. My mom laughed. I don't know why that was funny. I pray for him every night now.                 Layne"



My Great No Good Terrible Rotten Day

We had a horrific day filled with blessings today. It was the easiest worst day I've ever had.

6:00 am My daughter woke me to tell me her throat "really hurt". I took a look at her throat as soon as I could clear the gunk out of my over worn contacts. Wow! I had not seen swollen tonsils that red ever. Her throat looked like it was on fire.

6:15 am Quick morning discussion with my husband about how to handle it and we finally realized I need to call my boss, reschedule my clients and take her to the doctors. Thinking my boss would want to fire me for ruining her day so early in the morning, I texted her to tell her what was going on. She compassionately helped me through the logistics of rearranging the day.

7:15 am I took our son to school and with my daughter headed to my office to reschedule those appointments and get my lap top. Once there, I realized I didn't have the correct phone numbers for my 9:30 appointment and I wouldn't be able to call her first so she didn't head all the way to our offices. Ten more phone calls later, my boss took charge and reassigned the client to another designer and told me to go take care of my daughter.

8:30 am I headed up the road to the doctors office, when I heard a new noise coming from under the SUV. Not the same rattling I'm used to but a new very ominous sound. Stopped at a red light. Sound stopped.

Accelerated. Sound came back. No, this isn't good. My daughter then complained she was hungry as I'm trying to diagnose the engine problem by hearing alone and without any knowledge of auto mechanics. Could just be a trash bag stuck under there, I determine.

8:35 am We see the gleaming orange M for McDonald's and since she's hungry and I haven't eaten I decided to pull over, get the bag off the bottom of my car and feed her before the appointment. I think to myself, I should pull over here in this out of the way spot in the parking lot first just to check it out then I'll go through the drive through.

8:36 am I peer under the truck to discover tragedy had struck my poor 140,000 mile 2005 Chevy Trailblazer. Something is gushing out the bottom. Is it water? Maybe, but mixed with something? I don't know, I'm not an AUTO MECHANIC! Stand up to discover hood is now 'smoking?'. It wasn't doing that 5 seconds ago while I was driving but somehow managed to save itself just long enough for me to pull over.

8:38 am Call the garage, which I have on speed dial and report what appears to be happening. He says to have it towed to them. Then something strange happens. Out of nowhere comes a man clearly homeless and asks if he can help me. With his hands up he says, "I'm not going to hurt you or try to scare you. I saw you pull in and I thought I should come over to make sure you're all right. Can I look under the hood?" Now I have great Danger Radar and all I felt from this man was true compassion and honesty. He and I looked under the hood and he diagnoses the problem as a broken water pump. I'm on the phone already to my road side service to arrange for towing.

8:45 am Tow is arranged and they'll be here in 45 minutes, they said. I already knew I had nothing to offer this kind man and was feeling pretty bad about that. As we were chatting, I put my hands in the pockets of the jeans I threw on on the way out the door. I haven't worn them in 5 months since it's been an inferno here. Now that blustery 95 degree weather set in this morning, I decided to throw on a pair of jeans.  I put my hands in the pocket and felt a familiar crumple. That feel of surprise! You know what it was. That feel of washed money and it's still in your pocket feeling. I pulled out the dry crumpled wad to find a $5 bill. I asked him if he had eaten and gave him the found money as a thank you for his kindness.

8:50 am We walked the 50 yards over to McDonald's, washed our now dirty hands and ordered our food. Once the food was delivered I thought we should wait by the truck even though they said 45 minutes. As I walked out the door of McDonald's, I saw the tow truck and the operator getting ready to tow my SUV. The tow truck driver couldn't have been sweeter. He was kind to my sick daughter, knew the garage well where we were going and had me there in 10 minutes.

9:00 am We were all checked in at the garage and I settled in to wait for their driver to get back to take us to the rental car company. They said it would be about 45 minutes to an hour. I thought, ok, we'll finish our breakfast and read a little and wait. I barely heard the discussion behind the desk as I was sitting down. Then one of the garage workers came over to me and said he needed to drive up north and would take us right then if we'd like to go. Uh, sure, right now?! Yep, I'm all for not waiting!

9:15 am We arrive at the car rental place to find out they don't have any cars. But wait, says another worker, were driving some over from up north since were so busy. She asked if I wouldn't mind waiting 45 minutes. Sure, we got time. We go to the bathroom where I finally put on some make up and when we walk out, as she says, "Your car is here already. We're just washing it and we'll have you out of here in 5 minutes." Wow, I start to think to myself that something else is at play here during my no good horrible rotten day.

9:40 am Out the door. I needed to drive back to the garage to get my house keys. Oops! My bad. I called the doctors office for the third time and asked to reschedule her appointment. Can you com in at 10:15? "Uh, sure." So we head over there. Once we get there, we're seen immediately by the sweetest doctor that I've never met before. She is compassionate and empathetic to my daughter and helpful to me.

11:00 am We head out the door! Now I am out of money, and I know today is not going to be cheap so I call work to see if our paychecks have arrived. What do you know? Yes, they're there! So we head over to pick up my check. Drop it off at the bank and on the way home we get a call from the doctor confirming strep throat and saying she's already called in the prescription and it should be waiting for us.

11:15 am Arrive at drug store, need to wait 5 whole minutes for the prescription to be ready. Realize while I'm waiting that I haven't had my lipstick for 3 days. That is very bad. It's bad not because I look washed out and sickly without lipstick, which is true, but bad because inside my other makeup bag that I store just lipstick and blush in, I also store my SAFETY DEPOSIT KEY. Gulp, a tiny panic sets in because I haven't seen that little black bag for three days and I wonder if I'll ever see it again. But I think to myself, you know Amy, there are locksmiths in the world and it might cost $100 bones but you can get back in there. It's not the end of the world. Yep, my logic calms me down and we head out of the drug store with the prescription and one new lipstick.

12:00 pm We got home having already forgotten about the missing makeup bag aka storage for the most important key I own. I get my daughter in a warm bath, give her the medication. The garage calls to give me the news. It is a broken water pump and it will need a new thermometer and wha wha wha wha wha. I tune him out because after the first two descriptions, I really don't understand what he's saying. When he finishes talking mechanic lingo I ask for the bottom line. He responds, "697.00" Uh, well that's not the $5 dollars I found in my pocket but it could be worse. This garage allows me to make three separate payments with no interest to cover the costs. Why do I know this? I've used this service many times. Remember my truck has 140,000 miles on it.

12:30 pm I sit down finally to write about my day and remember I have a lost makeup bag aka safety deposit storage bag. I look around the house for it and don't find it. I wonder why I'm not panicked. Because if this day has taught me anything it's that everything is going to be ok today. Think. Where could it be? Not my purse, I've looked there a million times. Not the recycle bag I've been using as a briefcase. What other bag could it be in? Aha! My lunch bag. I go to look in the bag I've been using for lunch that my mother in law gave me and there it is!!!!!!!!

1:00 pm My daughter is asleep and I am reminded today that it's not all about the adoption. I have great blessings in my life right now that I am grateful for. The first being the loving hand God is playing in my life. Who else could have orchestrated such an easy terrible day? What was he trying to tell me today? Perhaps even in the chaos, he will be there? Perhaps He knew I hadn't spent time with my daughter and that I needed some time to love on her and make her feel protected and cared for? Perhaps he knew I've put so many hours and my whole heart into preparing for the adoption and he just wanted me to take some time for the children I have here. It's ok. It doesn't mean I love our new son any less or desire his presence in our family any less. I just know now more than ever that God will place the lonely in families...in His time and I'm comforted knowing that He is caring for our son right now while I care for our other children here.

Thanks for listening. I hope your next terrible day is as great as mine was today!

The Price of Stones

I'm in the middle of another great read on life in Uganda. The book is called The Price of Stones, Building a School for My Village. It was written by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri. The book retells the true story of Tweisigy Jackson Kaguri's life growing up in southwestern Uganda and his mission to open and run a school for HIV/AIDS orphans.

I am half way thu the book and already impressed by the writer's commitment to his community and his determination to help children who are orphaned by the death of one or two of their parents from HIV/AIDS.

Jackson Kaguri understood from a very young age that education was the key to escaping poverty. He supported many family and neighbors from his village after he left Uganda to pursue life and education in the United States. He was drawn to human rights issues and upon returning to Uganda for a visit he finds the AIDS crisis growing and the children who were victims to it, left to fend for themselves.


Jackson Kaguri says on page 50, "'There are almost two million orphans in Uganda.' For a country no larger than the state of Oregon, it was a mind-numbing figure. If a tragedy of this proportion happened in America, people would demonstrate in the streets. But here amid the peaceful rolling hills and quiet farms, death crept silently from house to house, taking a mother here and a father there. No news crew splashed the story across the television.' This is a profound and alarming statement and it made me stop to take stock in how I look at the world.

What would happen if the media around the would focus on the desperation of people living with and dying of HIV/AIDS around the world? What if the first thing we saw on the news everyday was a count of the dead from AIDS and how many children were orphaned that day? We would take more notice?

Jackson Kaguri did what most people don't. He had a vision to open a school and he answered the call. He acted. He gave up his life in America. He and his wife gave up the dream of owning their own home and pursuing the American dream because their hearts ached for these children. Both of them did not listen as people tried to persuade them from moving forward with building the school. And the incredible happened after they answered the call; God provided each step of the way.

The Price of Stones is a wonderful story of faith and giving and I am eager to see how Jackson Kaguri builds his school to help the orphans that he cares so deeply about. I anticipate the book will reveal miracle after miracle. Stay tuned for the rest of the story....

If you've read a book about Uganda and life in this beautiful country, please let me know. I'm eager to read more!

Give Away!!!!!

Our Project Puzzle fundraiser is going great. I want to thank everyone who has generously donated to the fundraiser. So far we've raised $1335.00 !  Your contributions will directly help us bring our son home! He is currently at an orphanage in Uganda which has loving and caring house mothers but he is one of many children there. He deserves a warm bed and a mother and father dedicated to his well being and a family who will surround him with the love he needs to reach his true potential.

We are currently waiting on background investigations to be completed at the orphanage and we should hear very soon who this little one is that God has chosen for our family! It is our hope that when we get the call, or email, to accept his referral that we will be half way to our fundraising goal!

So without further ado....we have an awesome Give Away to offer. I attended a Noonday Collection trunk show a few weeks ago and fell in love with this little necklace!



All of Noonday Collection jewelery and gifts create opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers. Noonday has traveled the world in search of wonderful artisans working to better the lives of their families and have dedicated themselves to the ten standards of the World Fair Trade Organization.  

Here's how the give away will work.

• For every Project Puzzle piece that is purchased, one raffle ticket will be entered to win. (For those of you who have already donated, I have you covered, you've already been entered!)
• Buy one piece, you  get one chance to win. Buy three pieces and you get three chances to win! How simple is that!
• The drawing will be held on October 1st or when we sell the last piece of the puzzle!

Click here to be directed to our Pay Pal account

Good luck and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the kinds words, prayers, and donations. We are humbled to have so many surround us with their support!

I was given the heads up that this is not a raffle. It is a give away. Legal departments on overdrive!

Little Kids Big Faith

In case you're just joining us you may not know that our kids are writing their own blog. The link is way over there on the side under See What the Kids Are Saying tab....See it now?

They have very important things to say about this new little one who will join our family so I thought they should get their very own blog.

They are working hard in between soccer, tball, school, doing choirs, piano lessons and taking time out to sleep once in a while to write for their blog.  Check out how stinking cute they are here.

The Facts

Please share this link http://www.jeffreyfamilyblessings.blogspot.com/

with your friends, family and co-workers. The orphan crisis is overwhelming in our world but you can help. Become a follower of our blog, donate to our adoption fund, and watch in the coming weeks as we launch a campaign to raise support for the babies home where our son is.

With your help, we can make a difference.

A Distant Grief

The more I know and learn of Uganda, the more I respect her people who are resilient and faithful. I want to learn everything I can about this beautiful country and the heartbreaking history that has turned the survivors into heroes. I want to understand all that I can of the history and culture of Uganda so that I can offer our new son more than just a life in the US. He is coming from a beautiful country and a wonderful heritage and he shouldn't have to leave all that behind to join our family.

One of the first books I've read is A Distant Grief by F. Kefa Sempangi. A Distant Grief recounts the story of the harrowing days, months, and years of the reign of terror of Idi Amin. The book is beautifully written with pearls of inspiration, wisdom and faithfulness on every page . The subject matter of Amin's brutel atrocities is heavy and burdensome. However, A Distant Grief has left me awestruck of the the true spirituality and evangelicalism that converted murderers and sustained Christians in the face of human rights atrocities.

I was struck, probably naively, when Sempangi describes in Chapter 8, "On February 13, 1972 Idi Amin made a short trip to Libya....In Libya, Amin convinced Colonel Qaddafi and other Arab leaders that Uganda was a Muslim nation....Libya alone contributed over 30 million dollars 'to eliminate the few remaining Christians and turn Uganda into a Muslim state."  page 81

I was 3 years old when this happened. There are countless people living in Uganda today who witnessed Amin's atrocities first hand. Adults who were orphaned 40 years ago when one or both of their parents were tortured and murdered in front of them. Sempangi isn't describing history that happened hundred's of years ago, he's is describing the lives of people who endured the unimaginable and who are living in Kampala and throughout Uganda today.

What became of these children? For a time Sempangi took them in in the orphanage he founded called Kijomanyi Foundation Children's Home of Kampala. However, the orphan crises grew and for every child they took in, ,more were turned away. What became of those who were turned away? 

He tells of the atrocities because without describing the horrific scenes that played out day after day, how would we understand? The US and the rest of the world, at the time, claimed Amin was merely, "an international buffoon whose strange exploits bemused the civilized world." page 136

Yet, that is not the message of Sempangi's book. The message is clear and on almost every page of the 189 page book, that Jesus suffered for our sins and in that suffering offered each person eternal life...not here on earth but in Heaven.

These people were brave. They were steadfast in their faith despite the conditions they were living. Still, among the tortured, thousands upon thousands of people gave their lives to Jesus after hearing the word of God from Sempangi and the church he helped form church call the Redeemed Church in Kampala. One night while running from the Nubian Army, and elder in the church, Kiwanuka, said "We are persecuted for the hope that lives in us. Our hope is the Resurrection. We have nothing to worry about, Christ will fulfill our claims." page 149

Sempangi himself was once held at gunpoint and told by those who held him hostage that they would kill him. They told him that if he needed to say something before he died, he should do it quickly. He responded by saying, "I do not need to plead my own cause. I am a dead man already. My life is dead and hidden in Christ. It is your lives that are in danger, you are dead in your sins. I will pray to God that after you have killed me, He will spare you from eternal destruction." page 119

His testimony and faith shocked his one of the mercenaries who asked, "I saw widows and orphans in your congregation. I saw them singing and giving praise. Why are they happy when death is so near?"  page 121 Sempangi responded, "Because they are loved by God. He has given them life, and will give life to those they loved, because they died in Him." This killer of 1,000's would go on to repent his sins and live in the word of God.

A Distant Grief is a remarkable testament to the word of God and redemption.  The book is as engaging and inspiring today as it was when Sempangi wrote it in 1979.

Puzzle Update

We are excited by the response to our first adoption fundraiser...the Puzzle Project. We wanted to share the amazing news that so far, we've raised.....

$1,135.00



We've had a few families lovingly support us by donating a piece for every member of their family...so stinkin cute!  Thank you to those of you who did. We are so appreciative.

So we still have well over 600 pieces left for claiming! Hurry and purchase your piece(s) so you can make sure you're part of this adorable treasure that will go in our son's room when it's finished.

We are going to be filing our I600A form this week and your donations helped us achieve the necessary funds, plus some, in order to do that. The I600A form is completed before an orphan is located or has been identified for an adoption. This form must be completed as it is the United States government reviewing fingerprints, home study, birth certificates, etc. and either approving or denying of our right to adopt internationally. The form and the necessary fingerprinting for each of us will cost $890.00!

So, again, we want to THANK everybody who made it possible to file the I600A without us having to go into debt to do it. We love you all.

The next major hurdle is going to be our adoption attorney in Uganda. We will need to be prepared to pay her just about $5000.00. (Gulp) This next step is coming up ridiculously fast. I'm a little nervous about it because it's so much money and I'm not sure how all that is going to appear in our laps. We believe God put the desire to adopt in our hearts and that he will find a way for it to happen if we'll just show some faith.

If you would like to be part of this cute project and support our family in the adoption, please click on the Pay Pal button to the right side. If you would like to write a check instead of Pay Pal, I'm all for making it easier on you. Email address for instructions!

Lastly, if you know anyone who has a heart for orphans and would like to help bring our family together, please feel free to share our story and our blog.