Meet the 2012 College Haiti Mission Team!

Church, thank you so much for stepping up on Sunday. On Sunday the 2012 College Haiti Mission Team sold pizza lunches to raise money for their upcoming trip. They raised over $800 for the trip all because you are a generous Church.

Thank you for giving so freely. We know that many of you donated well beyond your pizza's worth.

Here is the 2012 College Haiti Mission Team. In case you do not know them by name, they are (in order) Chris, Nick, Holly, Ashley, Meredith, Lorelei, Erika, Sarina, and Caleb

Please be praying for them as they prepare to go out. They are going as an extension of You, Church. Let them know how thankful you are for them. Bless them and be lifting them up!

There will be another opportunity to give to this team and to Wings of Refuge by eating pizza on Sunday, February 26th and the "Espwa pou Haiti (Hope for Haiti)" shirts will be sold now through the 26th! Grab one today and wear it on Haiti T-Shirt day on the 26th!

Get all the details here: http://www.williamsburgclc.com/events/haiti-t-shirt-day/view/2012-01-29

Thank you, Church.

Carrie-Anne Haufler, Uganda, 2012 | Blog #1.

It's ridiculous to think that we've only been in Uganda for 9 days. It feels like we've been here for at least a month. I have upwards of fifty different things/stories I could blog about! Ah...no pressure.

I absolutely love it here. I expected to really enjoy it, but I'm blown away. The people are so beautiful and welcoming. Pastor Johnson from Victory Outreach Ministries is an incredible man... I could sit and listen to him talk all day. He knows Jesus intimately and is overflowing with wisdom. He has seen more hardship and struggle than most of us will never even scratch the surface of in our lifetime, but I have never heard anyone speak so frequently of God's goodness and faithfulness.

I may be repeating a lot of what everyone else has already said, but here's a brief rundown of most of what we've done/experienced so far:

- My first plane ride was very, very long but I LOVED it. Had a window seat for both flights. Nothing like flying over the Alps on a clear day...and seeing sunrises and sunsets...
- The place we stay is amazing. We actually have real showers that are sometimes warm! Unexpected, for sure. Everyone there is beyond sweet and welcoming. Loving all the food so far: Scuumaweeky? (green leafy veggie), lots and lots of pineapple and watermelon, jackfruit (weirdest fruit ever: texture of a pepper but tastes like a mixture of cantelope, papaya, pineapple, banana and mango. Try to imagine that...haha), chicken (straight out of the yard) and many forms of potatoes. Not to mention the most delicious beans and rice I've ever had.
- Fit 13 people in a 4 passenger car and drove over potholed dirt roads. No explanation needed.
- Joined the praise and worship team. No one can see these people worship and pray and think they aren't sincere. Very rarely do they just stand there and listen to one person pray...everyone joins in. They are fully engaged and passionate...oh, and they seriously know how to dance.
- Watched a chicken get...killed? decapitated? slaughtered? It was a way slower process than anticipated and the chicken's body continued to move for at least five minutes after it's decapitation. Might work up the guts to do it myself before these 4 months are over.
- Prayed for salvation with a man named Peter who wandered into the church one day while we were practicing some songs. He was just admitted into the hospital for being HIV and TB positive, but had left and walked all the way to the church because he felt God telling him he needed to go there. We're going to visit him in the hospital soon.
- Went to a men's prison after Sunday service. When we walked in, they were already dancing around and singing, 50+ in one small room. We shared a short message with them and heard their tesimonies and stories. Many of them were there unjustly, and had heartbreaking stories. Their eyes yearned for hope. I get the feeling that these were exactly the people Jesus would have chosen to be around.
- We got to interview a man named Nelson who had escaped from the LRA (look it up if you don't know what it is) after being a child soldier for almost 3 years. I hope to share more of his story later.
- Visited a hospital that same day to talk and pray with people. I cannot describe the overwhelming needs there. I may write more about it later. When you ask God to break you, just be prepared for Him to do it.
- Did dishes the Ugandan way.
- Attempted to help with the laundry. I probably made it take longer.
- Went for a 5 hour walk in Lira...which was supposed to be more like a two hour walk. Nothing like getting lost in Africa in the blazing sun when few people around you speak english. Thank you Jesus for sunscreen, water, George and Fred who helped us home, and for Darby and Sarah who kept Aly and I staying positive. It will definitely be a great memory...
- Ate bananas for the first time in years.
- Helped write a budget register thing for the microfinance department...not sure it that's my life calling. Ha.
- Taught 20+ kids we met on our long walk a few songs (they loved O-lay-lay...have no clue how to spell that)...they hijacked my camera and took some of the best pictures I've gotten to far. Haha! Ridiculous fun.
- Had some fun/interesting hammock moments, one being teaching a little girl 50+ words in english because she mimicked everything I said. I wish I knew all the words to Waka Waka because all the kids here seem to know it.
- I could say so much about all of the wonderful times our team has spent together fellowshiping, worshiping, talking about serious subjects,and goofing off. Every single one of them is genuinely amazing. I couldn't ask to be part of a better group of people as we work out what it means to follow Jesus and live in community in Uganda. Inside jokes already abound...
- You can buy some of the coolest stuff for super cheap here. But other things that seem so simple in the states are really expensive.
- While spending some time with Jesus on the roof (the roof is flat and perfect for alone time or stargazing). A group of kids spotted me from the ground hundreds of feet away and started waving frantically. (white people are like celebrities to all the kids here) I stood up and waved back and they all started screaming and ran to get closer. We then proceeded to have a roof-to-ground dance party...they copied every single move I made. After about 15 minutes I ran out of interesting things to do and started acting crazy. As if dancing on the roof wasn't crazy enough. They yelled up to me "Muzungu! (white person/visitor) We want to be your friend! What is your name?' (they have the best accents ever) So stinkin' cute.

Needless to say, I'm losing myself in Uganda in the best possible way. I haven't even touched on half of it and this is already way too long. I feel like this place is giving more to me than I could ever give to it. I can't wait to share more with all of you and delve into more of what Jesus has in store for us.

Support Timothy Meadors in Norway!

Timothy became a part of Christian Life Center while going to college at William & Mary. After graduating in 2011, he left to serve the Church in Hungary and has since moved to Oslo, Norway and is serving with the Jesus Revolution (read more about it at http://jesusrevolution.com/).

We want to support Timothy, pray for Timothy, and come behind him as a Church. Follow him on his blog at http://thehungarystep.tumblr.com/.

Send him an email at timeadors@gmail.com.

Pray for him.

A few things you can be praying for:

- Visa. Pray that he would be approved for another Visa.

- Tour. Timothy and his team is about to go on tour taking everything they have learned in Oslo to the nations - teaching and equipping local youth groups with evangelism tools and generating excitement for God! While Timothy will be touring in Norway, other teams will be in Poland and Italy.

- Street meetings while on Tour. Many opportunities to share the gospel with people. That they would see healings, salvations, fruit, people equipped, empowered, and released.

- Safe travel.

- Personal direction. Praying about whether to serve Jesus Revolution another year or not.

Carrie-Anne Haufler | Uganda, 2012.

Please be praying for Carrie-Anne Haufler and her team while they are serving in Uganda through May, 2012. Here are a few points to be praying for:

- Pray for the church our team will be serving with- Victory Outreach Ministries- that we would be able to support and encourage them as we are involved in their various ministries. 

- Pray for the spiritual and physical health of the city of Lira, Uganda, as it is made up of many refugees fleeing from civil wars in surrounding nations. 

- Pray for our team- that we would continually be encouraged and unified as we are away from the comfort and convenience of home. 

- Pray that we would be effective in sharing the gospel through word and action in everything we do. 

- Pray that Jesus would be glorified to a greater measure both in us and in the people of Lira, Uganda.

Doing something now means praying now. Become engaged in what Jesus is doing in the World! He is building His Church and we get to be a part of it.

You can also follow Carrie and her team on their blog: uganda.adventures.org

Haiti, December 2011-January 2012 | Blog 5.

Here we are at the end of two weeks already! When I first arrived, I felt like I might suffocate at the thought of being away from my family for two weeks; now I feel the same way about leaving the children with no definite plans for returning.

All the children are so wonderful; so different; so special. I will miss them terribly. It has been a great opportunity getting to know them, the pastors and the team here. It is inspiring to be in the midst of what they are doing. They see a need and are doing what they can to meet that need.

I was able to read a great book on faith while I was here. One of the chapters was on faith that moves. That, to me, describes the team here. They are moving in faith on the path that the Lord has called them to.

I pray that the same could be said of my life. That I would find myself doing everything possible to reach out to those in need; being more and more like Jesus every day.

I thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for us and our families while we were on this awesome adventure!

See you Sunday!
Courtney Scott

Haiti, December 2011-January 2012 | Blog 4.

I got to walk the furthest I have walked in Haiti the other day. It was so exhilarating. Since coming to Haiti, I have wanted to simply walk around, meet people, and watch life happen up-close. Unfortunately, that has not been an option as it is not very safe and we maintain a pretty busy schedule.

The other day, though, Mommy Pas (the Pastor’s wife - picture of her and I, above) was going to pray for the nephew of a woman in her Church who is very sick. I asked (almost, begged) to come along and then, off we were venturing the streets of Petion-Ville.

Though the walk was exciting, what took place after our walk was far more wonderful. Along the way we met up with four other women who would pray with us. Mommy Pas is a leader who knows how to raise up others and not do things alone. She is incredible.

We got to the home and the nephew was not there - he had gone to the doctor’s. While the ladies chatted, I tried to make friends with the few kids in the home. Not understanding much Creole can make having a conversation in Creole rather difficult, but kids don’t seem to see the language barrier. Then, all of a sudden as if on cue, they all got down on their knees and began to pray. Here they were, 5 women, crying out for a boy that they have never met. It was beautiful. It was not out of obligation or to check it off a list. It was sincere and powerful. We prayed for about an hour - non-stop crying out, for the boy and worshipping the Lord with song.

If I did not believe that God answered prayer before Saturday, I would have watching these woman pray. How they prayed made it obvious that they believed that God could and would move on their behalf. I hope that people would say the same of me - by watching me pray, by watching me worship, by watching me give, God must be real. I think this might be what it means to live a life that gives God glory. It could actually be just as much about our response as it is about His.

Loving this Country more everyday and Jesus just keeps becoming more and more incredible to me.

Love you, Church!
Holly Aman