Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday

As you prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday, we wanted to be sure you have the opportunity to join with Surprised by Hope in serving the Lord with our Christmas giving too. 

Each year Surprised by Hope makes 100 adorable dollies to give to children in East Africa as a free gift for Christmas, just like being saved by faith is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). These precious handmade dollies are a gift of love born by a beautiful woman called Mom, but she isn't the only dolly maker this year. Another beautiful woman named Kathy took on the project with her Bible study group. And now, Shakira (a Ugandan widow) is also making dollies for us. Each Christmas a dolly is delivered to an East African child, who lives in the community of the beneficiary church, along with an age-appropriate Nativity story.

      

Your sponsorship of these dollies is also designed to make a lasting impact on the church. This year we’ve selected Victory Christian Center and Pr Patrick Opio as the beneficiary church. Pr Opio’s church is located in Barrio, Lira, Uganda. The former church structure was eaten by termites and church members are working hard to build a permanent brick structure. You can join together with Victory Christian Center and Surprised by Hope before December 20 by sponsoring a dolly for a child in Barrio thereby adding walls to the foundation church members have already started.

           

After Christmas, we will send you the picture of the dollies you sponsored being cradled by his or her new mommies or daddies, and we’ll update you on building progress at Victory Christian Center on the Surprised by Hope Facebook Page. There are many great ways to give a sponsorship gift:

• Give a meaningful gift on behalf of someone you love and respect.
• Teach your family about generous giving.
• Learn about different countries and cultures.
• Honor and remember someone you loved and lost.
• Pay it forward.

                

Click here to make a one-time donation using your credit card; you do not need a PayPal account to donate. Simply indicate which dollies you want to sponsor in the notes field or send us an email message and we will reserve those dollies just for you.

You can also send a check, but be sure to let us know early which dollies you want sponsored:
Surprised by Hope
464 Adaway SE
Ada, MI 49301

Thank you for joining together with all the other dolly sponsors to make this Christmas bright for children in Barrio, Lira and for Victory Christian Center. We couldn’t do this without you! 

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Sensible Shoes in Awasi

On November 22, the 7th anniversary of my husband’s sudden death, I am humbled to share what you have done to bless 140 children, 44 pastors, and me in Awasi, Zombo, Uganda. The very depth of meaning the Sensible Shoes ministry brings to my memory of Rick and how I cope with each anniversary is beyond measure (read the back story). Before I shared the Ephesians 5:1-2 message about walking in the way of love with the children gathered outside the church, we prayed for an outpouring of the Spirit on these pastors. Each pastor was given three pair of shoes and charged with allowing the Holy Spirit to show them the three children over which to pray.

The day following the Sensible Shoes ministry, Pastors eagerly reported that they felt so blessed by the opportunity to give shoes to the children of Awasi and to pray over them.

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November 2015 Newsletter

Big Dreams and Big Plans

Twice each year we invite you to join together with us financially in accomplishing God’s plan for Surprised by Hope and the people of East Africa. We are in awe of all that God has inspired us to do and, as a result, we have some big projects that need your support.

Sensible Shoes in November. Walking in the way of love is a reminder we all need from time to time; but there are places in Uganda where just one generation ago war and strife overwhelmed the people. Surprised by Hope wants to inspire hearts of love in the children while they are young with the prayer that as they grow they are less likely to revisit the tension and conflict of their forefathers. Stand with us as we serve the children of Zombo, Uganda (bordering Congo) by washing their life-worn feet, fitting them with a pair of Sensible Shoes, and ministering to their spirits and minds about walking in the way of love (Ephesians 5:1). As a daily reminder of that love, we would like to provide 100 pair of Sensible Shoes to 100 children there. Just $10 per pair before November 15 will allow us to walk in the way of love together.

     

100 Christmas Dollies in December. Each year we make 100 beautiful dollies to give to children in East Africa as a free gift for Christmas, just like being saved by faith is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). Your sponsorship of these beauties is designed to make a lasting impact on the church. This year we’ve selected Victory Christian Center and Pr Patrick Opio as the gift recipient. Pr Opio’s church was eaten by termites and his members are working hard to build a more permanent structure. You can join together with Pr Opio and Surprised by Hope before December 20 by sponsoring a dolly for a child thereby adding to what church members have already started.

     

Entrepreneurship Conference in April. Last year you helped us host a Financial Management conference for pastors and church leaders in Watamu, Kenya. We’ve been invited to return and host our second annual conference as we launch our revised Entrepreneurship Series curriculum. The four-day conference will be held in April and, like last year, focus on strengthening pastors and church leaders in that coastal area. If you understand, like we do, that enriching the biblically based business knowledge of pastors will have the greatest impact on the community then please join us. Please consider giving toward our $3,000 budget to be sure the conference is available to as many pastors as possible.

     

Congo Mission in July. Two years ago Surprised by Hope made its first venture into eastern Congo at the invitation of long-time friend, Pr Kizombo Kalambula. The conference included several speakers and teachers, and was a great success. Unable to return last year, this year we’ve been invited once again specifically to serve the pastors enrolled in bi-vocational training with the Entrepreneurship Series. You’ve heard us speak of long journeys and deep villages before, but this journey is the master of all (review this post as a reminder) and that means the costs are extraordinary too. Please consider giving toward our $3,000 mission trip to see that pastors in Kitindi receive balanced training both as pastors, as business people, and as skilled laborers.

     

Short Term Team in August. A beautiful group of individual women from random parts of my life have joined together in planning for a short term trip to coastal Kenya. Women of the World, as we are calling ourselves, want to invite you to join us. Let us know if you are interested and we will add you to the Facebook Group we started to help us in communicating and planning for that trip. We need to solidify our plans soon and want to be sure all of the women to whom God has spoken are invited…that means you!

Surprised by Hope Giving. We need your help in preparing to see God’s plans for Surprised by Hope and the people of East Africa become a reality. We know that everyone has different passions for the way they invest in global ministry and so we’ve presented a few opportunities. 

• Sensible Shoes due November 15.
• 100 Christmas Dollies due December 20.
• Entrepreneurship Conference due March 15, 2016.
• Congo Mission due June 1, 2016.

Please pray for us as we undertake these many ministry opportunities. Pray that we would continue hearing the voice of the Lord as he speaks through many wise counselors. Pray that our faith would be strengthened as we step into his plans for us. Pray about how he would have you join with us.

Please consider sponsoring Sensible Shoes or a Christmas Dolly right now. And as you pray about the Entrepreneurship Conference and Congo Mission, consider making a regular monthly gift for the next few months so that as the deadline approaches we have all the resources needed. Thank you for being obedient to the Lord and for joining together with us to see that so many East Africans are developed spiritually and economically.

Your tax deductible gift can be given using PayPal, though you do not need a PayPal account to give. You can also mail your gift to:

Surprised by Hope
464 Adaway SE
Ada, MI 49301 

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Dreams and Visions

These past three weeks have been a time of real, tangible supernatural gifts from the Lord. This is not to say that he has not blessed me at other times, but this season has been something all together different. He has showered me with visions that have such significant meaning for me. You see, this past three years I have been in the middle of a big BIG spiritual battle. I decided to do that thing we’re not supposed to speak about (fasting and praying), but I’m breaking the sacred silence because I want you to know about the amazing experience that comes from pressing into the Lord this way.

I never shared the first vision with you mostly because the first never gets as much attention until it’s counted among many. That vision was of me sitting with a friend, but the emphasis of the message was that I could trust this person. In a cultural environment and a wartime situation, trust is hard to come by and the Lord knew exactly what I needed: A very specific person to know that I could trust. What I found interesting about this vision compared to the others is that it required me to have faith that what the Lord showed me was true. I had to act on it; I had to do something to demonstrate that faith by showing trust in this person.

The second vision was a nighttime setting where angels dressed in white were standing shoulder to shoulder in a tight rectangle around my home. I could see their wings, as they were facing outward. A dim light emanated from them and every night since the first, they have been there. This vision was more visual and less sensing or feeling, but it brought me great comfort in the nighttime hours when power goes out, blackness descends, and minds become creative.

The third vision was of a white platform with silver sparkles in it. Half circle steps of the same colors led to the top. In the center was a big chair and on it sat who I can only assume was Jesus. I could not see his face or shoulders but what I did was to sit at his feet. I hung my arm over his knee and rested my head on his lap. He spoke soothingly as he tucked my hair behind my ear. This vision brought me peace and comfort in the midst of this war. Truly he is with me.

The fourth vision was more a visual illustration and thereby a deeper revelation – the kind that brings a whole new level of understanding – of what it means to be living life as a Christian, to be on task and living for him and not for ourselves. I saw a football field and on that field team members were all working together to score a goal. Usually only one player is in immediate control of the ball, but that doesn’t mean the remaining players go off to get a soda or stop to look at the newspaper. No. They are all focusing on the player with the ball and helping him get to the goal. Sometimes one member is more in the spotlight, sometimes another. But whatever happens, they are all in the same game working toward the same goal.

Three years is a long time to be in spiritual warfare and well, I’m pretty normal (I think) when I ask God what on earth is going on and when it will all end. I can’t begin to describe the fullness and satisfaction this revelation brought to my spirit. The Lord simply used the football game to show me that my plays are part of a bigger goal. He encouraged me through this vision that the game may be long, I may not always have control of the ball, but I am working with many other players to accomplish his purposes. And they will be done!

All I can say is, more Lord!

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