Monday, October 29, 2012

Cooking Lessons & Life Lessons in Haiti






 CREATE IN ME A NEW HEART, Renew a right spirit within me. - psalm 51:10


Walking through the center I was introduced to the Haitian workers. This is "Big Eyes", BigEyes? Did I hear that correctly? Yep, they call him Big Eyes. This is Pierre, Margerie, and dozens more. I realized right a way that they were not seen as staff, but as family, and the love they poured into this place, made the Womens programs feel like home. I stepped into the first room and walked directly into a cooking class. Margerie greeted me with "Bonjour, you are most welcome" Again, "welcome" and I felt it too. The Haitian women lined the wall with their white cooking hats perched on their heads. Some of the hats cocked just slightly to the left. Some too small for their braided hairstyles. Dressed in bright and rich Haitain colors and prints, each girl had a white apron tied around their waste, that matched their hats and made them looked like fledgling young chefs in training school like the Cordon Bleu, Haiti style. 

The master chef, told us they were learning how to make brownies. I got several blank stares when I greeted them. I tried to say 'Bounjour' in a way that didn't sound like I hadn't spoken french since 6th grade. I know in time, they would see that I am only here to encourage them, love them. Unlike Uganda though where it's easy to communicate because most know English, the women mainly speak Creole and a bit of French. This is going to be a challenge being in Haiti for sure. But actions speak louder than words, and I want to be here to love every day in action. Because Love.Does. 

I stared with wonder at these dark skinned beautiful women with their backs against colorful walls, dressed up in chef outfits. What an image! Just Beautiful, just stunning girls who have suffered through hardship, pain and suffering and now are united with other women. They are LEARNING, absorbing, listening, and my favorite CREATING.  These women are seen as capable, and they are empowered every time they create something new. To me this cooking class is the perfect example of their lives. They are standing in front of a bowl, given a tool in their hand, and have to have faith that these mixed ingredients will make something better when combined together. These women when I walked in were in the process of learning how to make brownies -- the mixture has to have butter, the salt of the earth, flour as a base, unsweetened chocolate for the bitter and vanilla for the sweet moments, and an egg that holds the ingredients together. A row of  powerful women stand at the counter, stirring their bowl of messy and different ingredients, and don't know what their final product will be. They stir their sorrow and happiness, hard times and good times together, and hope that the result will bring them comfort. They are learning how to create a better story. After putting the mixed bowl of emotions, faith and fear into a pan - these women then delicately place their pans into the oven and they WAIT. They wait in hope. They wait in faith. They wait for strength, and to see if their work was in vein. But in the oven, with time, In the REFINERS FIRE, these ingredients change. This batter surrendered by hands of vulnerable women, takes shape. The miry clay of brownie batter is formed and the sweet aroma of brownies fills the kitchen. Joy begins and the women smell their sweet success!! 

These women who once saw themselves as discarded, broken ingredients now can CREATE. They can bring NEW into the world. Their new hopeful futures, evidence of the Love they labor in. These women, just like their ability to bake brownies from scratch are true examples of love and provide comfort for their families and community. 

These young Haitian women have been through abuse, neglect, and pain that has scarred their bodies, but sometimes those scars, even for some of them the brutal evil of rape, can produce a beautiful healthy baby. And when these women, see themselves as beautiful, that they are the ones who are creating something beautiful and new, whether a plate of brownies after cooking lessons, or a glowing baby boy after hard life lessons - the beauty that these women now hold, remains with them forever. Their identities are sealed, they can LOVE without fear and know they have a valuable part to play their child's survival. The women are learning to be mothers, to be sisters, to be friends - nurturing, caring and gentle. They are learning to be the mothers of the world; of Haiti. These resilient and redeemed women are  lifting their children or future children out of poverty, every time they raise their babies above their heads smiling and kissing their bellies saying, "I love you", "You are mine", "You are precious", "You are Loved by me", "You are safe". Those are the moments when you realize, if we don't have love, we are nothing, only resounding clanging cymbal. But this kind of Love, provides music and provides healing. 

These women are a new generation of Mothers, of Sisters, of Daughters, that are loving themselves, their country, their neighbors, their children, and letting that love heal the broken places in their lives. The love they are pouring out for others, is changing the story of Maternal Health and respect of women in Haiti. 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Run for Life Haiti





Friends, I want you to join me in this story that made me instantly fly to Haiti when I heard it. It was that powerful. 

One man is using his loss to bring gain. Barry McDonald is running 315 miles across Haiti in January to raise funds for a new maternity center in Port au Prince, Haiti. This is the FIRST maternity center in Haiti, and it is no wonder that the maternal mortality rate is 1/87 here. This breaks my heart. This doesn't have to be the story.

We can make a difference and dramatically change maternal health for the world by coming together for this cause. The land has already been purchased for the maternity center, I have walked on it and seen visions of beautiful women holding their healthy babies in their arms. The maternity center will be a refuge for women in Haiti, it will provide vocational training, education, and most of all a safe place for babies to be born.

 To me this story is something of rebirth for Haiti. A new way we can see light, instead of darkness, and hope instead of hurting. We can help Haiti HEAL by providing good health to the mothers who sow love in this place. 

Let us help, let us give. I hope that you will be generous with me. I've given up my normal life and found an adventure that reminds me of what we're capable of, when we LOVE others.

 I flew to Haiti and for a month or more will be working here trying to raise funds and awareness about maternal health in Haiti. It is a blessing, but I need your support!! :) 


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Respire, Haiti



To the little ones, the girls and orphans in Haiti who never get to see themselves or don't have parents that call them beautiful - I am glad I can be here to help reveal their beauty, and watch their smiles grow. ♥   

Photo taken on an amazing visit to Respire Christian School in Grassier, Haiti 

longer blog post to come. There is Hope in the Haitian children's hearts and minds. 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Surrender.



SURRENDER. This has been a word that has appeared several times this year. 2012 has been a whirl-wind of an adventure from spending the summer in Uganda listening to former child soldiers dreams, designing and being a part of the incredible Global Citizen Festival in New York City for a month that raised 1.3 Billion dollars for the worlds poor, and now a new adventure -- Haiti. I get to do what I love and in the mean time, have to learn to surrender myself for the causes I believe in. Surrender and deny myself realizing it's not about me at all. My designs are not mine alone, my stories are a part of a bigger picture, my life is built to serve God and his people and to do that I have to constantly surrender. Surrender my plans, surrender my stories, surrender my love for this.

It's a hard balance, being a storyteller and wanting to share stories in this day and age when we vie for attention and desperately want to get noticed for the photos and statuses we post, I know that I can get easily get lost in what really matters. This is why I love traveling and finding myself when I'm surrounded by nothing that's familiar. I have been so surprised by how much bright clarity comes when you are focused on serving, loving and pouring into broken people. You realize how broken you are for thinking you can actually complain about your life. We are blessed. We are loved. We have a home and a roof above our heads. We don't have to worry about contracting diseases every time we drink water, we don't have to fear the storms of starvation and famine. And yet, even amidst all of the pain that comes from poverty, there is a rich inheritance of JOY that I haven't found anywhere else. There are children that run to you with this palpable joy and faith in their hopeful eyes that leave me in tears every time. These are the stories I want to share and I want to tell. Not about me, but THEIR STORIES. What is this joy and how do I find it? How can I surrender my life, my plans and live like these children do?

This is my mission and my heart to know how to surrender each day to God's will and his love. To trust him in the details and the larger story that he is weaving together. My plans fail, my words fail, but God's love never fails. He leads me beside still waters and restores my soul. (psalm 23) He also leads me to adventures and places I would never have planned. And as of this week he has lead me to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

I am steadying my head and my heart to do God's will and love his beautiful broken people in Haiti. Ready to find and learn more of my own brokenness and how can I be the hands and feet of selflessness to the meek that inherit the earth.

I will be sharing many stories of hope, redemption and strength in the coming weeks. I just fill with excitement knowing there are people just aching and waiting to share their stories with us, and that I get to be a part of that.

For the next month I will be focused on raising awareness for maternal health in Haiti. The country has the highest maternal mortality rate, 1 in every 90 women. To me, this doesn't have to be the story. We have medicine, knowledge and tools to help improve women's lives. With a team of people, we are going to really focus and get creative to raise over 800,000 for a new maternity center. I will tell more about our creative plans in the coming days, but for now I will leave you with a number. 315 Miles - the length of Haiti.

315 miles and generous people stand in the gateway of improving maternal health worldwide forever.
Now this is a story I can't wait to be a part of. It is my hope and prayer that my will is surrendered towards this cause and towards loving these women who have been hurting for so long and that I can be a light amidst the places of darkness in Port-au-Prince.

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" — John Keith Falconer



Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Lira, Uganda_ poem



The joy of children afflicted by war in Uganda. Praising with palm branches.



July 4 - 4:30 am - The Restorative Rain in Uganda

The rain in Uganda sounds like its never going to end, the drops are drenching the verdant land. Giant strokes of lightening illuminate the sky, my eyes get an X-ray vision even when closed the flash is so bright. Thunder rolls across the towns like a lion roaring to restore its kingdom. This rain continues to pour and pour and pour some more. There is so much pain here. Written on peoples faces even though they try to share joy first when greeting you. 

People are hungry not even just starving for food but starving for Hope and for HEALING. Starving to know that Love will rescue them from their impoverished lives. The rain continues to pour. Young single Women with their young children are forced to stand instead of sleeping in the night because they're floors are flooding. Young children hurting from aids HIV and malaria will have trouble breathing.


The rain continues to pour down. I pray it washes away the deep embedded pain in this town. I pray that the water falls and cleanses the darkness And dirt on the hearts and minds of these courageous people. I pray that the Lord will use this rain, to drain any painful memory of their dark pasts. When the LRA sought to destroy and kill, Gods plan was one of redemption and will. He gave these people, his people a story to tell about overcoming darkness and loving your enemies well. The children are standing in the rain, God sending down his manifest shekinah glory erasing their pain. Providing comfort and peace and letting all their suffering decrease. So that these children will stand under the mighty hand of God, these children will stand as peacemakers. These soldiers will put down their guns and instead start chasing the rising son. This rain will empower the voices to grow, with the loud drops falling these children will begin to shout. Their scars will start to fade and doubt will no longer invade, their hearts from seeing from hearing truth. The closer to God these children Will find rest. Drawing closer to God these soldiers will walk in peace. The rain will pour but their cries of suffering will finally cease. And every tear will be wiped from their eyes, these brave children walking with Jesus by their side.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

What is your Legacy?

"What is your legacy? Find it out, Don't Wait too Long" 




Finding a Legacy: 

So I wanted to share this little piece of my past with all of you. I think it's amazing how belief in one small idea can turn into a lifetime adventure. With a little watering, and hope that the Sunlight is shining on that little seed of an idea - a dream will grow...

This week I was digging through a drawer looking for a book and I found a journal from a few years ago. I was skimming the pages and saw random sketches, lyrics, and ideas that I had scribbled down over the year. I flipped towards the back and found the pages from the Summer of 2010 that had my initial thoughts and written out plan to go to Uganda and work with children of war doing storytelling therapy.  Excitedly I ran to show the journal to my Dad, in disbelief with tears forming in my eyes saying -- "DAD. Look at this. Two years ago, I wrote I wanted to work with former child soldiers doing art therapy and helping them find healing and in TWO WEEKS I will be in northern uganda doing just that"  My Dad simply said "It is your Destiny. Your Legacy"

Legacy was a word that defined 2010 for me.  I even wrote a song called "Legacy" with my good friend Cameron Ernst (an inspiring singer-songwriter/activist in Dallas) in order to support Invisible Children's spring campaign for child soliders that year called The Legacy.  Thankful we got to work together for this cause. 

Here are some lyrics from the song:  What is your legacy, Sing it out,  Play your song. What is your legacy, Find it out, Don't wait to long. What is your legacy. No one will stop you. So leave your legacy. So leave your Legacy. 

Well that year, that chorus replayed over and over in my mind - What is my legacy? Will I go and do something that matters? or will I just sit here wanting to do something and never doing it. Do I even know what I want to do? So many questions. So little time.



Plans and Passions: 

It was Summer 2010, summer right before my senior year at USC  and I was starting to realize what I was truly passionate about. I realized I had a lot of different interests... whole myriad of different things...  so I wrote them all down.  -- storytelling, music, justice and injustice, compassion, children, theatre, design, child soldiers, 3rd world countries, technology, advertising, acting,  film, art, singing, journalism, marketing, supporting musicians, songwriting, encouraging dreams, non-profits, drama therapy, healing, loving the broken, the Gospel, Jesus, being a servant to the poor, finding creative solutions to poverty, advocating for the voiceless...  among many other things... 

I sat there staring at a list of all these unique passions particular to me, trying to find a way to combine them all and make them fit together in a neat little package. It seemed impossible. Which one am I most passionate about? How can I tell a story that represents who I am? How do I leave a legacy -- before I leave USC? What if I graduate college and don't know what I want to do. Why is the world telling me I need to find a job and one career, when I have a giant list of things I like doing and I just want to pursue all of them!! How can I do what I love and make it my career, my lifestyle and my focus? (Sound familiar?) Being overwhelmed, I remember sitting at our family's beach house in the paradise of San Diego, and I just put my head down and prayed and asked the Lord "show what you want me to do, because I need direction and have nooo idea what to do. Guide me. Be my Director" 

But like most of the time when we sit and think about the Hows, or the What Ifs - I was just procrastinating and not acting. Out of fear I wasn't moving and I was saying the impossible was impossible before actually trying it out to see if that's true. I wasn't listening for direction, I was actually fearing it. So I chose to ACT.  After all I went to college to study to be an actor and storyteller. And how was I living out my faith and trusting God's plan if I was too afraid to live out the passions I had been given personally? 

So I took the first step.


Actions:

1. First I took a few deep breaths and took leap of faith. 

2. I wrote down what I wanted. [see journal below]

3. I applied for a scholarship to work in Uganda
title: "Storytelling and Drama Therapy for Children of War"

4. I researched organizations that aligned with my passions

5. I explored options for potential jobs or careers 

6. I talked to friends and family about my true passions and asked
 them for advice of what they saw me doing. ( Accountability ) 

7. I volunteered with a non-profits and causes I believed in. 

8. I started serving friends in the different areas I was passionate about

9. I read the Bible and books to gain knowledge and wisdom about the topic

10. ...and I waited.. (Waiting is an action too!) 

Now I can see. It was worth the wait. 


But all of those actions, lead me to this EPIC journey to Uganda. 
It's going to look different for you, but all I can say is START ACTING.


I reeeally am struggling to keep this concise haha so I'm going to try to sum up the rest to explain this photo below -  




Since you probably can't read what I wrote (I barely could...) here are some of the quotes typed out:  

" I will be helping children use therapy to overcome their painful pasts and revealing the need
for rehabilitation programs. Straight from the mouths of the victims, we will hear the stories and view their Road to Recovery. My role will be to help assist, facilitate and build a platform for the children to voice their stories. " - Page 1

"I want to broadcast the development of my progress and the children's progress with art therapy. That way people can fund and tangibly support the cause even while I'm still in Uganda." - Page 1 

"This scholarship will only be a start to a larger mission of using media, our unique talent and our voices to provide encouragement and support nations in need worldwide. I am excited to break ground use my education and passion to motivate people to share their stories that matter. So it is with great hope that I present this idea to you. To use storytelling + therapy + healing a war"  - Page 2


So two years ago I decided I was going to go to Northern Uganda, work with Children of War and use art therapy as encouragement and create a platform to help tell their stories. Now in two weeks, I'm going with Exile International (a non-profit dedicated to doing just that) to work at Children of Peace Uganda and advocate for the voiceless children of war. I am just in awe. Dreams do come true! 


Encouragement:

 My legacy and YOUR LEGACY - is an in-progress story. We don't know what is in store for us, or how it's all going to work out, or why we have this or that passion, but we do know that pursuing what we love brings us joy. Makes us feel ALIVE. We do know that there are dreams inside of us that are aching to be acted out. There is purpose for our life, and if we choose to love ourselves and believe in ourselves instead of fearing we're doing life wrong, then we can enjoy our days! We can be fulfilled knowing we were honest in our pursuit of our identity. It takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. It takes one step to start a journey, you don't have to see the whole staircase, but you have to take the first step. What is preventing us from loving ourselves and pursuing what we love? Think about it and ask yourself if you're finding time to pour into your passions. Little by little we will see how it all fits together and makes us who -  we  -  are.  And that is beautiful. 

I  beg of you and encourage you to write out all your CrAzY ideas and far-fetched dreams somewhere. Write it in a notebook or in your phone or email yourself --- you never know how writing out your dreams will encourage you to start living them out. 


What is your legacy? Find it out. Don't wait too long :)
Devon


Thursday, May 17, 2012

One Month Away!!





If you want to donate to this cause, here's the link -- Donate to PayPal - Devon Feldmeth

ONE MONTH UNTIL I LEAVE FOR UGANDA!!!!!!! I cannot even begin to express how excited I am and how thankful I am for this opportunity to serve at Children of Peace Uganda. 

This is a huge adventure ahead and I want you all to be a part of it with me! I've been realizing more and more that it's not even about being the 'storyteller' anymore, but my role is helping equip and encourage these children to become the next generation of artists and storytellers. It starts with THEIR STORIES.  All I want to do is place the paintbrush, the megaphone, the blank canvas in their small hands and empower these children to use their voices to add some color and hope to the world. By seeing and hearing their words and their art, I know that our hearts will change. These children have overcome darkness and are teaching us how to find the light. 

 Are you ready to hear their stories? 31 days in counting....

all funds through paypal support the work of Children of Peace Uganda, supporting the rehabilitation work I'll be doing in the community!

Thank you for being my amazing support team!!!!!!!!

with Hope,
Devon



Friday, May 4, 2012

A Shot of Realization

 6 Shots for Uganda!




 Gearing up for my trip to Uganda and this week I got my vaccinations so I will be safe from the major infectious diseases. Even though these vaccinations are very costly..  > $500 - yikes! - it's worth it so I don't have to worry about getting Malaria, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Meningitis, Tetanus, and Polio.

Seriously. I am so thankful that these vaccines are so easily accessible and I can afford them so that I will be protected during my time in Uganda!  We are SOOO blessed to be able to have medical care and kind doctors, that make you laugh when getting shots, to relieve the pain.

I hope that someday soon vaccines will be available globally for all women, children and families that need them! My heart breaks over the thought of children losing their lives because they couldn't afford or receive the medical attention they need.

Think about how much poverty would decrease, if people all over the world didn't have to worry about contracting Malaria, Cholera, Polio, and other infectious diseases. This is why I am dedicating my life (mark my words) to seeing the end of Polio, the end of Malaria, and the END of extreme poverty.

---------

A Shot of Realization -- This all really hit home for me when I received my Polio shot, of how passionate I am about helping our world find ways that we can all work together to end extreme poverty. Even after spending the whole year working on a campaign for Polio, I never really took the time to imagine what it would be like if I had Polio, and I knew there was a vaccine out there that could cure me of this crippling disease.

Now having the opportunity to be safe from contracting Polio for the rest of my life, I am determined to see to it that every child has this same opportunity.


This spring I designed this info-graphic for the Global Poverty Project, an organization I am blessed to work with, that is catalyzing the movement to end extreme poverty in our generation.


Are we seeing these numbers? Polio has reduced by 99% in the last 25 years!! That is something we can celebrate!! After working on The End of Polio campaign for a year now (head of branding and design), I have seen the progress of the complete eradication of Polio and I am so excited to lend my voice to the cause.

I even wrote a book review about the History of Polio in Sept! 

"The world story of polio isn’t finished; fortunately there is just ONE percent to go to eradicate the disease. There is an opportunity for us all--celebrities, musicians, Rotarian volunteers, and the everyday man and woman--to come together and raise awareness and bring attention to the End of Polio. It all started with a dime donation and a committed group of compassionate individuals and now we have tools of technology to help this story spread."

My tool of choice is DESIGN. I love to design with graphics because I think design allows stories to be told in a way that allow us to see the possibility of what's in front of us. It acts as an encouragement to believe in - what we imagine in our minds to be "impossible".  There is always a need to simplify and concretize an idea and design takes a thought that would have been just an idea, and makes this idea tangible, visual and easier to absorb. It's been amazing to see how just a few designs I designed for The End of Polio campaign are inspiring people to donate and support the cause...

We raised 118 Million dollars = 118 million vaccines for children, with the campaign this fall! A few hours on Illustrator and Photoshop for me, means saving lives in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?! I always try to focus on the bigger purpose of the design when designing - What story am I helping tell? How can this message inspire people to serve? Am I helping motivate people to see the progress we are making to end poverty? I love my job :) 

Below are more designs and photos from the End of Polio campaign. Sign the petition if you haven't already! www.theendofpolio.com 













Design has allowed me to be a creative storyteller for Justice and I want to challenge you, YES YOU, that you have a tool, a unique gift and talent that will help the change the world if you start using it for good. Find out how to use your voice to make a difference, I promise it will be one of the most rewarding moments of your life -- it has been for me! Look for it, it's there, and it's never too late to start changing the world :D

With HOPE 
-- devon




Sunday, April 29, 2012

A New Heart



The Heart. The place where love and sorrow meet  - where the breaking of the painful past, can be restored by the rebuilding of a hopeful future. The place where brokenness can be made beautiful.



These children above, are praying for new hearts. They are invested in deep prayer and asking for their hearts of stone to melt, and that their new restored hearts, will beat again.  They are praying for forgiveness, seeking grace, and finding that they are loved in this desolate and broken place.

This photo, taken by Exile International during one of their art therapy sessions, is an example of the healing that comes when these former Children of War ask for God redeem their hearts in order to become Children of Peace. The children literally place this cut out red paper heart against their chest, and ask for a new heart.

Amazing Grace. 

My own heart weakens at the sight of this, but at the same time I motivated to LOVE. I want to listen to their stories, to hold them in my arms and tell them that they are forgiven and so loved. I want to tell these precious angels of God that they are safe and sound forevermore. I tremble with awe at the thought that I will have the opportunity to be in the presence of these Children of Peace this summer.

By His love, Jesus removes their hearts of stone and gives these children new hearts, fully alive and overflowing with dreams, passions, potential and PURPOSE. By His love, these children are healed.

and now I ask...
What brokenness can we overcome, when we read and hear the stories of these children? If they can overcome a war, what wars can we overcome in our life? How can we let their stories of redemption change us?

I know that this story, of Children of War becoming Children of Peace, challenges me to love better every day. It challenges me, in the depths of my soul to cultivate a compassion that is changing how I view the world.

These Children are the ones who are teaching me how to be a Child of Peace. I cannot wait to hold their little hands in less than two months and tell them how thankful I am, that they helped me see this new beauty in the world.

-- devon


"A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36: 26

Thursday, April 26, 2012

At a Crossroads


             
               "Crossroads" - was a piece I designed earlier this month to mimic a bullet holster 
     wrapping around Africa and crossing at the heart of Uganda, little did I know a few weeks
     later I would be on these tracks heading to Africa this summer; arriving where these roads meet...
             

I'm at a CROSSROADS. A turning point, a place, where my passion is colliding with my plan and producing an impact greater than I could have known. Reality is meeting face-to-face with dreams I had planted years ago.  I could write a book about it, I might someday but for now, I will just say - I am LIVING in Joy. I wake up every day excited and hopeful for this new adventure! I can barely express it in words, but I feel it in my heart, mind and soul that this is the right time to go to Uganda.

My heart is being prepared for a lifetime of work of dwelling in suffering along the side of people who are hurting, in order to help them find healing.  It is about recognizing we're all ONE status, we're all human, and we're all capable of forgiveness and love. I am passionate about people and my plan is to pour out my life in order to help others find their passions. You see? My passion, is my plan. Through helping people find their passions and dreams, especially these former child soldiers, war orphans and women I will be working with - I am achieving my own dream.

I want people around the world to know you can do what you love. You can marry your passion, career, dreams and the beauty of it is we don't have to worry about how all of it will come together...that's not our role. It's a journey, not a destination. Just keep pursuing what you love.... and somewhere down the road, you will be able to see why things had to happen the way they did, and it will be worth it. So so worth it. 

I'm at a crossroads. Passions, dreams, desires, career, plans, are all colliding, but I know I'm safe while I'm on this track. I'm following my heart wherever it takes me and I'm not looking back!! 

-- devon

Monday, April 23, 2012

Flight to Uganda booked!!!



MY FLIGHT IS BOOKED! Oh my goodness, sigh of relief and also a wave of COMPLETE JOY!!!!

This has been a looooong journey, but well worth the wait.
55 days until I start working in Uganda!!!

Please pray for me in this time of preparation!!
Also pray for protection over the country and thanks for being my amazing support team :]

Thankful for you all.
   - Dev

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Mission Minded


Note from my iPhone: 663 days ago  -  June 28, 2010 at 2:09 am... Isn't it crazy how our heart knows what we desire, before we do??

A prayer for the Child Soldiers

My heart aches for Africa. I want to send and ship all the love I can to the nations there. I want my eyes to be focused on God and my mind to be set on only things above. I want to leave the distractions of daily living and view the life of an impoverished child.

I want to see children fall to their knees in thankfulness and realize their broken lives will be healed. I want to view the hope that hangs in the savannah air and my words and actions to be worthy of the manner of the gospel.I don't want attention but to glorify god.  I don't want to seek the approval of others, I want to LOVE others.

I am praying for a peace that binds nations and people alike. I believe that good can overtake our world and love is capable in even  the most evil hearts. God holds the world in his hands and I know his goodness is in all.