I came to know Christ and His love on January 15th, 2007.  That night, God told me the most astonishing, life changing thing ever; "I love you more than you can ever imagine."   That was the first time I was amazed by how God knows my heart so intimately, and how He changed all my plans with a single thought.

God changes my plans for me pretty frequently.  I started writing this to-be-blog-post almost immediately after posting "What Do You Know: A Remix."  My plans were to copy and paste from Microsoft Word straight into the text box, push the 'publish' button, and be done with it.  Well, that's not going to happen.

I picked up a book I've been reading for a while now, and God showed me what my to-be-blog-post is actually going to be about.  It is generally agreed that ignoring blatant injustice is bad, and yet it is so easy to forget about the poor because...

"...we're bombarded by three thousand commercials every day showing us what we don't have.  They shout the lie that we'd be more popular, sexy, and satisfied if only we had a better outfit, cell phone, flat screen, or car.  What we really need are constant reminders of what we do have and how we can act to impact those who have far less.  Maybe then we will roll up our sleeves and actually do something about it (237-38)."

This section of the book, "The Poor Will Be Glad," talks about how turning a blind eye to the poor is a sin.  You might think that because I've signed up for this mission trip and because I'm committed to going no matter the cost that I'm not turning a blind eye, but you would be wrong.  I am guilty of turning my eye and forgetting about the people I am going to Uganda to serve.  If that sounds difficult to do, let me explain.

I keep thinking about what God is going to do for me when I go to Uganda.  What will God teach me?  What will I get to experience?  How will my heart be changed?  I am so excited for these questions to be answered, but my focus should be on what God's focus is on- What does Uganda get to learn?  What will Uganda experience?  How will God change Uganda's heart?

Today I am going to stick a post-it note on my mirror, and it is going to be a reminder of how fortunate I am, and a reminder to focus more on Uganda's benefits rather than my own.  I invite you to place a reminder somewhere in your house, and every time you see it, say a prayer for Uganda or think a nice thought for Uganda.  Your thoughts and prayers do make a difference, and I sincerely appreciate all the support and encouragement I've received.  I ask for continued support as my team and I near our departure date to Uganda- September 2nd is not as far away as it may seem!