The OUTFLOW Ministry

 

 

 See how the OUTFLOW ministry began in this short clip. Join us as we reach out to three cities in three days this Christmas. Our goal is to reach over 1,000 children and make impact on lives of those that we interact with. We want to see Christ's name known everywhere we go. Our immediate goal is to hand out food and share the gospel message. In the future out hope is to one day open up a youth center where people can come get resources, learn the arts, and grow in their walk with the Lord. Please consider donating to The OUTFLOW ministry for Christmas this year.

 

Christmas On the Streets

Christmas On the Streets 2015

When you think of Christmas what do you think of? Many of us think about the gifts, food, a warm fireplace, Christmas plays, and just getting together with family. We have a whole season dedicated to buying things for the ones we love and celebrating the birth of Christ with those around us. It’s a season that most everyone knows and loves.

In Uganda…

• Over 10,000+ children are living the streets and that number is growing every day.
• There are children living on the streets of all over Uganda: Kampala ,Kisenyi, Jinja, Mbale, Arua. It’s a case that has spread country wide and it needs to be addressed.
• Many of the children are mistreated by the adults and community around them and are subject to all forms of physical and sexual abuse.
• A few of the street kids have had a chance to get help from NGO’S  but many children still move and stay on the streets without food and proper care.

 

It all starts with YOU!

 

This year we want to take Christmas to the streets. Our hope is to feed 1,000 children.  Create awareness and show the love of Jesus to these children who may not have access to all of the things that we are so privileged to experience year after year.

Christmas On the Streets 2015

 

Who, What, When and Where you ask?

 

•       Theme: Christmas on the Streets

•       Date:17^th - 19^th Three days Christmas experience

•       A team of 100-200 volunteers will storm the streets and ghettos all dressed in Christmas attires

•       Kids and their families will be given the basic needs to take them through Christmas season i.e.Clothes,food,soap, drinks

•       Organized groups will be invited to join and participate in the cause

•       Kampala, Kisenyi and Jinja are the towns to be stormed

 

 

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

 

 

1)      BY BUYING A T-SHIRT FOR $25 WHICH WILL GO TOWARDS  BUYING MATERIALS AND BLESSING THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN AFFECTED

2)      BY DONATING A ONE-TIME GIFT

3)      BY PRAYING FOR US

4)      SPREADING THE WORD AND/ OR JOINING US IN UGANDA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing Pains

How do you step out in faith and make the right decision for the next season in your life? What are the series of events that lead to a closing of a chapter and a start of something fresh or different? These last couple of months away from this place that I have called home has been such an eye opening experience the Lord has used people from so many countries to encourage and challenge my faith and the way that I live my life that I am overwhelmed by the love and support that I have been given. I want my faith to be lived out loud.

Spring is such a great season because everything is new and fresh. All the life that was dried up and squeezed out of everything is being reborn and made new. It has endured through the cold and treacherous winter and is now having the opportunity to see the sun again and have a chance to grow. I want to grow this season, do you?

During these last three month I have been a terrible blogger because I had so much I wanted to say but at the same time there was so much instability that I wasn’t sure what I could say to give you all the pieces that I wanted to give you. I was presented with making a decision and I didn’t know how to process it all. For your sake and mine I just became quiet. I wanted to have such a clear direction of where the Lord was sending me and I wasn’t getting a sense of that in the slightest. In all honesty I don’t think I will for some time either. I am in a refining period where the Lord is surrendering me to the fire and the flame to test my endurance and faithfulness. Where will I put my hope and my strength?  Where will I find my sense of belonging and purpose in life? All of these seem like such deep and theological questions that are way out of my comfort zone and all a little bit too wordy.

Let me just give you a little recap….

January I got to spend at home with all of my home town family and friends and just be a part of the ministry that God is doing in Port Orchard. I was blessed with a great job that gave me the flexibility to have mornings with my momma and dinner with my family that same day. Also, I got to spend a lot of time at church and jumping into the ministry that God was working on in my family’s life. I don’t mean to toot my dad’s horn. But I am so excited to be following the leadership of a man that I get to call dad. I am so blessed by his message every Sunday and I am so thankful that I get to keep up with what he is preaching even here in Uganda. And that somehow it almost directly correlates with something that is going on here. It really seriously blows my mind how much I can get out of one sermon of his.

In February I got to go visit the Blair Family and see beautiful Italy. I spent one of the evenings I was there speaking to their Awana group on base and got to share the joy of living and pursuing Christ in Uganda. They were amazed at the place I got to live and had all sorts of questions for me but, in all honesty I wanted to sit at their feet and ask them all about living in Italy and getting to make childhood memories in such an incredible place. One of the families that lived on base ended up being from Everett which was pretty fun. It was such a great reminder that this world that we live in is not all that big. That the Lord provides the right encouragement at the right time to reveal himself to us. How great is that? We serve THAT God. The Blair family was so hospitable and introduced me to true Italian pizza, olive oil, and showed me around some of the sites. I had a delicious breakfast of a cappuccino and pastries in front of a beautiful cathedral. And of course bubbly water. Oh Europe.

 

Next stop was Scotland to see my roommate from Uganda. I met Laura at the Glasgow airport and I had to actually pinch myself because I felt like I was dreaming. But I wasn’t. I was actually in the flesh. In Scotland. I walked through the city with my head tilted back looking up at all the beautiful architecture and realized how boring we actually are in the states. Everything there had so much beauty and architecture. That evening we stayed in the train station hotel that had a very harry potter esque look to it and I was awestruck. We spent the next couple of days enduring sunshine and snow and touring around Edinburgh and staying in the cutest little snug on the top floor of a red door apartment. I had such an incredible time of just being able to relax and reconnect with someone who had lived in Uganda with me. I was so blessed with the time we spent there and I cannot wait to go again.

Valentine’s day I hopped on a train and said goodbye and made my way down to Northern England- The Lake District to be a bit more exact. Porsche and her mum met me at the station with flowers. I love flowers. As we drove home I could smell the ripe smell of sheep. The next 6 weeks were spent in ministry with Porsches pastor and family. Travelling to different Primary and secondary schools and sharing about Uganda. Every Wednesday night they had a group of teenagers come to their home to share a meal and have time fellowshipping together. Similar to youth group but in someone’s home so it felt way more personal. We spent the mornings going to prayer meetings or home visits and just sharing what God was doing in our lives. Every time I opened my mouth someone would comment on my accent. It was so fun to be in a place where I had the cool accent.

 

Porsche and I travelled to London and walked around all of the beautiful sites. We got to meet up with an amazing group of Ugandan women who are living, working, or studying in England. We spent a whole night praying and worshipping together to see the Lord bring revival back to England. We travelled to Oxford to see another friend from Uganda and spent two nights in her flat within the gorgeous old town. We walked past the doorway and lamppost that is meant to have given CS Lewis his inspiration for Narnia. We attended church in a beautiful old cathedral. And again spent time in prayer. Caragh was an incredible host and we got to worship again with her the same way that we had in the little backyard all the way in Uganda. Again, it is so overwhelming to see how the Lord brings people into your life to encourage you and see you grow. I would have never met people like Caragh and Laura and Porsche if I had not followed the Lords calling to Uganda in my life. Then it was off to Hungary for Porsche and I. We got to spend the better half of a week in Budapest with yet another friend that we had made in Uganda. It was such a beautiful place. To be honest I do not think it would have ever been a place on my radar to visit if I had not met this friend of ours. Again these architects must be doing something right because EVERYTHING is absolutely breathtaking. All the detail that goes into one building. Even if just the molding around the top of the building had so much detail. Your brain does not even know where to focus. Now one thing I will say throughout my travels I learned so much about prayer and the importance of it and that it is always necessary at every moment of every day. When we landed we got out of the terminal and the first thing we did was stop and thanked the Lord. That is so how I want to be known and how I want to live my life. There was one fellowship that we got to attend that was an 8 hour worship session in Hungarian. At first it was a bit overwhelming and I didn’t know if I would be able to be sustained for the whole fellowship. But the Lord was so present and so faithful. Porsche and I recognized a few of the songs that we sang and sang the English version alongside the Hungarian version. We got to see all denominations come together just for the sake of surrendering all to the Lord and giving Him all the praise he deserves

That is just a little recap of what the last few months have held.

As I got on a plane to come back to Uganda I really had to seek the Lord and ask for strength and direction. It is so easy for us to lead with our hearts. I wanted to listen for the groanings of the Holy Spirit.

The elections in Uganda were a lot smoother than they had anticipated and thankfully there wasn’t too much disruption in the country. All of your prayers were and are so greatly appreciated. Uganda is such a beautiful place filled with some amazing people that I get to call family. There is something so rich about this country. Rich in life and love and joy. Something that we could use a lot more of. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be serving back in this place that is so full of Gods face. The sunshine has been ridiculously bright lately and therefore has been a lot more humid than I remember. It’s a full house being back and we have volunteers from Ireland, Australia, America, and England! It is so fun to have such a diverse group here.

My first week back I went to find some chocolate cake.  As many of you have probably already heard I got into a little tussle with some gravel and a boda (motorbike). I got my knee scraped up pretty good but I am very okay. We are in the healing process still and it is beginning to itch so much. I am constantly finding myself sitting in meetings or at projects just itching my kneecap. It’s the left one in case you want to add it to your prayer list.  

I have dove head first into going to projects with the rest of the team and just pouring into the ministry side of things. Last week we planted grass. Yes. Grass. Barefoot in the hot sun with some music and a hoe and got six blisters. Blisters that I am oh so thankful for. I have found a new love for manual labor. For those of you have come to Uganda you can totally vouch that it has not been a strong suit of mine. But how the Lord has made something new in this girl of his.

Let me just brag on the amazing team that we have on ground right now. It seems that is in every moment of everyday we are always challenging each other on things that God is working on in our lives and I have been absolutely and completely challenged by each one of them. It is so fun to have some of our core group still the same: Lindy, Porsche, Anna, and Kelsey. Reuniting with them has been pure bliss to be able to look forward to what God is going to do in this new season. I also have a sweet roommate from Australia that is such a gem. But unexpectedly have had the blessing to meet another pastors daughter. It’s funny how when you meet someone like that there is just an immediate bond and a connection of “you totally know what it’s like to grow up as a PK” its unspoken but there is a connection there for sure. We have had several spontaneous worship and devotion nights and have been able to really allow the spirit to work in ways that are so beautiful to be a part of.

 

I have read several books since I have been back and I totally want to share them with you. If you are looking for something that will challenge your faith and make you want to step out of your comfort zone and make yourself aware of what God wants to do in your life than these are the books for you:

 

The first one is called Scary Close and Ican honestly say that it may very well be one of my most favorite books ever written. Written by Donald Miller it is a book all about relationships and getting off of the stage of life and be you. That people want to love you for who you are and love without boundaries. Stop hiding behind the hurt and the guilt and love relentlessly like Christ has called us to. Its all about finding real and true intimacy in all of our relationships.

 

 

The second one that has really stood out to me it called Lets All Be Brave by Annie Downs a book about living life to the fullest and really being brave in whatever the Lord has called you to. Whether it is to move across the street or around the globe. Be brave in what he is convicting you of. To stand up and stand out for your faith and where your heart on your sleeve and see the name of the Lord be preached in all areas of the earth.

Both books are incredible and have been so challenging in my walk as I have come back to Uganda. I am so expectant to see what is in store for these next couple months before I come home for Megan’s wedding. It has been so fun to wedding plan from a distance and I cannot wait to spend a couple weeks with her before she says I do to the man of her dreams.

 

To all of those who are still with me on this post as you can tell there is so much going on and so many new and exciting things that God is doing in my life. What tomorrow looks like, I do not know. But I DO know that I am HERE today and that I am going to serve the Lord with my whole heart and stand firm in every conviction that the Lord has given to me. I want to see his name praised. I want to encourage. Mentor. Teach. Learn. Seek Him more. See Him more.

And I want to grow.

Home Assignment

 

 

Often times since being home people ask me the same handful of questions. Probably for lack of knowing where the conversation should go. What do you ask a long term missionary that visits home?  

Q: When did you get home? How long are you around THIS time? When do you go back? Will it be safe? When will you get to come back “home” again? Do you like it over there?

Isn’t it true that we are always jumping to what comes next? Though, I have a question for myself… something that I am waking up every day and asking since arriving in Port Orchard:

What am I doing while I am here? What is MY home assignment?

How am I being used and letting God use me for His glory in this unplanned endeavor? How can I continue to serve and be a missionary even while I am on “furlough”? My job and my mission don’t stop and doesn’t depend on which side of the globe I am currently on. Truth of the matter is I have been just as called to Port Orchard as I have to Uganda. What makes this any different? Culture? People? Weather? Well if we are being honest the answer to those are a loud yes. But my call to be used for the Lords glory and to further the kingdom is just as strong here.

First of all we need to address the elephant in the room: Why am I home?

Currently Uganda is holding presidential elections and as a safety precaution Empower a Child had asked us to leave the country until elections are over (Lord willing in the beginning of March). In the past there have been riots, street mobs, tear gas, abuses of internationals, and they just want to be over prepared. This also gives all the volunteers a break and a chance to see their families. It is proving to be a lot less stressful than I had imagined. I was really battling with whether or not to come home and the night before I got on an airplane I had no peace about coming back to the states. I knew that the Lord would lead but just felt like there was not going to be anything for me here. I struggled to pack up all of my things on the other side of the world and fly all the way home after I had just been here in October. I was looking forward to spending time with my family over the holidays but I wondered if I would find a good fit while I was home. If I would be able to pick up a normal lifestyle without feeling completely lost. Would I be able to voice my opinions and be heard? Would the cultural differences scream at me?  Would the worship services at home differ from Uganda? Would I be able to adjust again? Would I find myself being THAT girl that goes on and on about Uganda and people would avoid spending time with me?  Even though I have travelled home so many times each time I come there are a different set of challenges.

It seemed all too much. The better option in my mind upon receiving this news was to rent a small room in the middle of a village in Uganda and hide out from all the crowds for a couple months. That would have seemed to be the most logical option in my mind at that time.

But away I went and found myself on Christmas Eve- standing on the stage of my home church. In front of all of the people that have invested into my life and who have encouraged me in every stage of my life. What an overwhelming rush of thankfulness that covered me that night. I look back to every stage of my life and see different faces of people who challenged me to be who the Lord has created me to be. It is so beyond me to be able to be here and look at what the Lord has for me.

While I am home I have been given the awesome opportunity to work part time as a nanny for a sweet family that has two kiddos. I am blessed to spend three days a week getting out and earning a little money to be able to move around a bit. Because I am only working a handful of days a week it has opened up some time to spend with family and friends and catch up with the people who I love over here. The only challenge I am facing is that I am really bad at sitting still and being idle. So I am finding myself constantly standing in front of my calendar and filling every hole. My calendar is right on the wall next to the family calendar and we are constantly cross referencing our programs (Or schedules as you say in America) during the week.

I have also had the privilege to help Megs and Gates do a little wedding planning.  A special time that I did not think I was going to get. Last week Megan and I got together with one of our childhood best friends to plan for the bridal shower and other wedding details at the Victorian tea room, for those of you that know the spot, know it’s a place that we have visited every year on our birthday since we were toddlers. It was so strange and sentimental to sit in the building that we have sat in for years and now we are planning her wedding. I walked through an all too familiar and favorite department store- Target with Gates and Megan! As we walked through they pointed out different things that they hoped would one day be in their forever home. It’s the moments like this that I realize I miss so much of when I am in Uganda. Getting to spend this month at home has given me the chance to watch Megs grow up so much and I have such a pride for the woman that she is growing into. She turned 20 years old this week and we are Irish twins which means from January 11^th to January 26^th we get to be the same age. How cool is that? How could God create two completely different people and have them be the same age in the same family for two weeks out of their lives. Okay. That was a bit dramatic. But seriously? How cool? So cool. K I am done.

What’s the plan you ask?

I will be here in Port Orchard until February 7^th and then I will fly to England for a month to hang out with my best friend Porsche and her family. On my way there I am going to take a pit stop in Italy to see the Blair family. We are gonna run around the country wreaking havoc on the country. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for our time together.

Havoc: To inflict or execute, especially in vengeance or passion; to hurl or drive; as, to wreak vengeance on an enemy; to wreak havoc. I had to Google the definition because it sounded super cool in my head but I wanted to be sure that I was getting the right thoughts out on this blog without getting too crazy or out of hand. I read a quote earlier this morning, “A friend who guards her words is a gift. May we thank God for that kind of gift, and may we BE that kind of gift.” Lysa TerKeurst, Author. This is the kind of friend that Porsche is. Even when we are thousands of miles apart and our what’s app call is cutting in and out. She challenges me to be this kind of friend on a regular basis! Can you say that you are this kind of friend to someone?

You can also be keeping her in your prayers as it would be so awesome for her to be able to make her way over to our neck of the woods so she can meet all of you at Megs’ wedding!

We are planning on returning to Uganda on February 29^th (Yay for a leap year) and continue in ministry. 2016 is going to be a big year with lots of big changes and I am so excited to be a part of it. Thankful the lord has been gracious enough to allow me to have another day to serve Him. To bring him glory in a way that I could not have yesterday and I will not be able to tomorrow. I am looking forward to letting the Lord lead and just follow in the direction that he has for me. 2015 was a year all about seeking the Lord first. Pausing amidst any trial that I faced and seeking His face. As we enter 2016 the theme for this year is all about being genuine. To really pour into people. Can you say that you have genuine relationships with the people that you interact with on a regular basis?

So as I close out this blog and as I sit here in the Port Orchard Coffee Oasis I want to challenge you to be bold in your faith. Be a missionary right where God has called you! Ask me hard questions. Grow deeper rooted relationships with those people that you interact with on a regular basis and be a leader among your peers and in your community. Share Gods love with that person sitting next to you. We need to stop the church from becoming dead. God has called us to something so much higher than ourselves. If there is an area of service that he has convicted your heart towards- go for it! Serve and set the example for those that are looking up to you. Meet with fellow believers and challenge each other to have real authentic faith.

We all have a Home Assignment. What is your Home Assignment?