RockTheDesert

"Bunk Beds?"

Email from Dan...23 March 2008

Easter Sunday in Rwanda is low key. The Rwandans decorate cars and a table in the church with flowers.

I visited the orphanage today that we will all visit in June. The orphanage is the most horrible yet beautiful alternative homeless street children in Kigali have. The children are clean and well clothed. Attached is a photo of the orphanage. I wish I could describe the orphanage but words cannot convey the experience.

According to Dan (he called me yesterday!), Sidney (fellow e3 campaigner, loves Rwanda) has gotten 350 pairs of shoes donated to the orphanage and they are being shipped from the USA. Sidney is an accountant at a major aeronautical company and has conducted an independent audit of the orphanage - it passed with no problem - it is run with integrity and compassion.

The Swing Of Things

My friend and fellow blogger, Dan Perkins, wrote this great article called The Swing of Things. I encourage all to read and digest this article. The following is an excerpt. Click HERE to read the rest of the article.

I've spent a good part of my morning and afternoon with my jet-lagged butt parked on the couch catching up on reading blogs about our time in Europe and our friends who traveled with Compassion International over to Uganda. Both groups, the Uganda team and Tom, Mario and I, arrived back in the US yesterday. The votes are in and consensus is we have way too much in light of real need and poverty seen in much of the world. Ironically, the spiritual and social uniquenesses of the two regions we visited are vastly contrasted but our reports created the same sense of embarrassment or humility when imagined in the abundance and comfort of our homeland. Don't get me wrong... I'm grateful, as is everyone I read this morning about their return home, to have a life in this great country. What I am saying is we are having a difficult time digesting what we experienced and returning to a life "that is" differently than a life "that was."  In other words, going about business as usual without compromising our experience's desire to change us will not be easy. But then again, it just might be too easy.   

Uganda Stories

As the stories are pouring out of Randy Elrod's real-time experience in Uganda, I'm trying to do my part in spreading the word about Compassion International and the incredible work God is accomplishing thru their ministry in Uganda and really around the world. Click HERE to be re-directed to Randy's latest entry.

Prayerfully consider sponsoring a child thru Compassion. There's not a better way to spend $32/month. Even if you think you can't possibly afford it, think about this - $1 per day is not so difficult an amount for God to provide through you. If you feel the tug on your heart telling you to go for it, just do it - and ask God to provide that extra $1 per day in whatever way would bring most glory to Him!!

While you're thinking of it, be sure to check out the other bloggers perspective on this Compassion trip to Uganda. Click HERE for a list of blogs.

Remember to PRAY, READ, and SPREAD!

Compassion + Bloggers = Hope

Randy Elrod, the person who inspired me to start a blog, has joined with 16 bloggers from across the country to take an epic, missionary journey to Uganda to see and experience and report firsthand about the need for child sponsorship in Uganda. I'm going to feature daily posts on this topic until they return from Uganda. It is their hope and dream and that they will see over 500 children sponsored as a result of their blogging and the outpouring of compassion from the readers of their blogs. Please consider sponsoring a child for only $32 / month. Here's Randy's entire post from February 10. You can follow the rest of his journey at http://randyelrod.typepad.com. Remember - PRAY, READ, SPREAD!!!

To Uganda With Compassion ...

I am heading to Uganda with 16 other bloggers in hopes of documenting and spreading the life-saving work of Compassion International there.  Compassion International is the first organization of its kind to spread its message through the blogosphere in this way and, as a result, hopefully, release hundreds of children from poverty.

We could use your help making this first-of-its-kind trip a success:

PRAY: Please pray for our technology, creativity, health, families we leave behind, for our thousands of readers and the thousands of children in the third world in need of our help.

READ: Please visit our blogs February 10-18 and leave comments on our posts, let us know you're with us. Go HERE for a complete list of participating blogs.

SPREAD: If you have a blog yourself, please link to our posts from Uganda, embed the videos we churn out, post a list of the bloggers and invite folks to read along with you.  If you don't, e-mail posts that grab you, spread the word about this trip through your network of like-minded friends.  Lastly, we've got text links and instructions for widgets you can embed on any website.  Here are links to those:

Link Text: http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=80309

To add a widget using a Typepad "Links" Typelist: Use the picture above.

Use this URL to link the picture:

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=80309

The choose "Configure" and select "Notes As Text" then select "Save".

For more information about Compassion International visit their WEBSITE.

Thank you for helping us release children from poverty in Uganda.

I am heading to Uganda with 16 other bloggers in hopes of documenting and spreading the life-saving work of Compassion International there.  Compassion International is the first organization of its kind to spread its message through the blogosphere in this way and, as a result, hopefully, release hundreds of children from poverty.

We could use your help making this first-of-its-kind trip a success:

PRAY: Please pray for our technology, creativity, health, families we leave behind, for our thousands of readers and the thousands of children in the third world in need of our help.

READ: Please visit our blogs February 10-18 and leave comments on our posts, let us know you're with us. Go HERE for a complete list of participating blogs.

SPREAD: If you have a blog yourself, please link to our posts from Uganda, embed the videos we churn out, post a list of the bloggers and invite folks to read along with you.  If you don't, e-mail posts that grab you, spread the word about this trip through your network of like-minded friends.  Lastly, we've got text links and instructions for widgets you can embed on any website.  Here are links to those:

Link Text: http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=80309

To add a widget using a Typepad "Links" Typelist: Use the picture above.

Use this URL to link the picture:

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=80309

The choose "Configure" and select "Notes As Text" then select "Save".

For more information about Compassion International visit their WEBSITE.

Thank you for helping us release children from poverty in Uganda.

Thankfest 2007

Yesterday was FNC's annual Thankfest! We ate great food catered by Boston Market. We also had a Dessert Challenge for men only. Check out these pics of the hopeful entries:

We also filled bags with canned and dry goods from home and brought them to church to donate to the Desert Foothills Food Bank. Later this week, Randy will deliver the trailer-load of food just in time for Thanksgiving.

Habitat

Tomorrow morning from 7am to noon we (Michael, Steven and I) will join a group of volunteers from FNC and from around the valley to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity. This should be an interesting experience. We've been told to wear clothes that we wouldn't mind getting tar on - tar??? I wasn't aware that homes had tar in or on them. Maybe I should dig ditches or pick weeds or something non-building related.

I recently read about a really cool and practical ministry at a church in Arkansas - evidently, sometimes the new home owners (of Habitat homes) have no idea what it takes to maintain a home and keep it in good repair and certain Habitat neighborhoods had fallen into a pretty dismal state of disrepair. So some church members decided to start a ministry designed to teach new Habitat home owners take care of their homes and their yards and neighborhoods. The church is committed to being an "irresistible influence" in their community. I think this ministry definitely falls into that category!