only 79 days til i am on a plane bound for uganda!
i can't even believe it. i almost have as much time left to get to uganda as i will be there this summer. and everything is coming together so quickly: getting immunizations, cyber meeting my fellow interns, learning about my assignment for this summer, and most importantly, raising prayer and monetary support. i sent out my support letters just today but i am so human and the most forgetful so i wanted to cover my bases. if you talked to me and i forgot to send you a letter, i am SO sorry. my worst excuse is that this semester has been crazy. if you didn't ask for my letter but came upon this anyway, i want you to know that i am asking of you too. i am coveting everyone's prayers for me and my fellow interns and for this trip. it is VITAL that this trip is covered in prayer.. and the finances to get there. if you are reading this and you don't even know me and you just found this on google or the fancy "next blog" tab, then WELCOME! pleaseee consider supporting me so i can go to uganda this summer. i believe that god uses the craziest things to bring him honor and glory and what crazier thing than a stranger praying for a trip of a fellow believer in christ. or even sending money! i don't know what god has up his sleeve but i wouldn't put it past him to use people that i have never met. anyways.. that being typed here is my support letter! feel free to share!
Dear Friends and Family:
I hope this letter finds you well! As always, life is busy as I am sure it is for you. I am now a junior at Anderson University majoring in Kinesiology with a concentration in Pre-Physical Therapy. This means that I am finally getting into my major classes and I am loving it! I am in the middle of a clinical rotation at the local hospital and I know this is what God created me to do: to serve and show people Jesus through medicine.
That being said, I have a really exciting opportunity this summer; I have been accepted into the internship program at Good Shepherd’s Fold Orphanage (GSF) in Buundo, Uganda! From June to August, I will be living on site at the orphanage and working as an intern in their medical clinic. I will have a wide range of responsibilities including working alongside of an occupational therapist in the clinic, assisting during therapy with their special needs children, attending daily staff meetings, and teaching a Sunday school class on weekends. There are a lot of unknowns about this trip, one being that I have never been to Africa! But I believe 100% that God will provide everything I need for this trip.
That is where you come in! I absolutely cannot go without your support: in prayer and finances. I learned this past summer while at camp that we can plan all we want but if we aren’t walking in the Lord and surrounding our decisions in prayer then we won’t succeed. More than ever before, I need my family and friends to come alongside of me and pray for my journey this summer. Here are some specific prayer requests:
1. For GSF’s ministry: I am so quick to think about my trip as me going to Africa and changing the world. I so easily forget that GSF has been there changing lives way before I got there and they will still be there after I leave. I am just there to aid the process and learn about how they live. Right now, they are home to more than 90 children and they sponsor over 200 children to go to school, participate in a feeding ministry for the locals, and have a medical clinic on site. God is doing big things through them! For more information, visit their website at www.goodshepherdsfold.org.
2. For the intern team as we prepare to go: GSF has built a team of 4 college aged students to serve as interns for the entire summer. This is a huge step of faith and we all need to prepare for this trip in different ways. Be praying that we will find community as we meet and begin to work together, especially as we are coming from different places and backgrounds.
3. For me to see ways that the Lord will provide for this trip: When people ask me if I am worried about paying for my trip, I can answer 100% with confidence. No. I am not at all worried that God will provide everything I need for this trip: money and resources. I am worried, though, that I will miss how He works. I am a hurried and busy person, so quite often, God will give me an opportunity and I will just miss it because I wasn’t paying attention. Pray that I will have my eyes open and my heart accepting to His ways!
Part of the way I have already seen God provide is in my finances! I am starting to raise support and already He has been so faithful to provide. For this summer, I have to raise almost $4000. If you can be a part of my support team, a gift of any amount would be a great help. Just a gift of $40.00 from 100 people would cover all that I need. If you would like to give, you can send your gift to Global Outreach Attn: Carolyn Roye PO Box 1 Tupelo, MS 38802 with “Alfrey 06/14” in the memo line.
Most importantly, please pray for me and the team as we prepare. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. I look forward to sharing with you some of what I have learned and experienced when I get back.
Love to you all,
Hannah Beth
If you want to follow my journey while I am in Africa, feel free to find me on social media and my personal blog.thanks for reading all the way down here! each and everyone of you mean so much to me and it means so much to me that you would pray for me and be so sacrificial so that i can finally see my ugandan dream become reality. so much love for you all!
Facebook: HannahBeth Alfrey; Twitter: @hannahbetha; Instagram: @hannahbetha; Blog: www.livingaflame.blogspot.com
i mean they are so cute. why am i not already on a plane to get to them? can 79 days go faster?
