How Did We Get Here?

“Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho. It’s off to work we go!” 

If you have talked to us anytime in the past year, you know that we have felt like we were in a season of rest. I am sure it’s annoying to keep hearing, but when it’s your time and God lets you lie down in green pastures, leads you by still waters, and restores your soul, you’re gonna talk about it. 

In the back of my mind, however, I kept thinking that after a season comes a season of great work. Not great, like super, great like a lot of work or even hard work. And so, here we are flying somewhere over the Atlantic, off to work. 

I feel like a Chick-fil-a employee because it’s really “My Pleasure” to be going across the sea to serve in Uganda. I’m so glad we did not know back in January that we were going, it would have been a long 11 months of waiting. Instead, we didn’t have a clue, so it wasn’t such a long wait. 

Some people have asked how we decided to go. I mentioned before in a post that it was a story that began a long time ago and we were just now let in on the secret. 

One of the things that kept happening was over this past year, both of us have had different people ask us separately at different times if Brent had ever considered doing missions. 

Brent and I have participated in missions ever since we were kids. We both grew up in churches that took us on stateside mission trips or mission camps every summer. In college, we did the same. Brent spent the summer in Houston on year and took trips to Venezuela, Brazil, and to Mexico when he was in Seminary.  I went to Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. 

We got married and it was our turn to take our youth groups on mission trips! 

We took them to Texas, Vermont, and Mexico. Fast forward a lot of years, 3 kids, and 4 churches later, we found ourselves waiting for the next thing. 

As you know, Brent is on the Board for the House of Hope and I have heard all about the House of Hope (HOH) from my parents, from Brent, and from all the people I know who have been there. I have seen all the pictures and heard all the stories. I heard the Segar's speak twice about HOH. The second time Michael was just speaking to church who wants to be involved with HOH. So Brent, myself, and the kids went at church Michael was speaking at in Tuscaloosa for support. Before he spoke, a video that Zac made from the trip Brent took in March was shown to the church. I kept thinking how those faces are just faces in a crowd to some, but it's different when you know their names and have heard their laughter. 

On the third Friday of August, we took a quick trip to Oxford, Mississippi.. We went for a funeral - and if you can say this about a funeral, it was one of the best funerals I have ever been to in my life. On the way home we stopped and had lunch with Michael Segar who was in the country for a few weeks. Even through all the stories and speaking engagements, I had never been able to sit down and  listened to Michael talk about HOH. I mean really talk. There's only so much you can say in front of a crowd. Halfway thru the meal, I thought, "hmm...maybe we could go over there for 6 months and help out." It was very plain to see that they really need an extra set of hands or eight there to help further and expand the vision of HOH.  

As we were walking out of the restaurant Michael said, "you know y'all could come over for 6 months and help out." Well, I am actually not sure what the last part of the sentence was because my brain stopped at the"come over for 6 months" part. I mean so the timeline was the same. Coincidence? Maybe? Maybe not?

P.S. - three months seemed too short and year seemed too long to start with for us, six was in the middle so that's where I came up with six months. 

I mentioned it to Brent on the way home. But he really didn't want to move the kids again. That also made sense, they have moved a lot in their little lifetimes. The same weekend, a local church messaged Brent about doing the youth ministry with them. So I stayed quiet, but Uganda stayed in the back of my mind. In the third blog, you read that two weeks later, the church offered Brent the youth position. He politely declined. There were no red flags, but there was no "get up and go" either. On the way home, Brent and I finally talked about moving to Uganda, For. Real.

We talked to our kids and parents and that’s where the ball started rolling.  Everything kept lining up. Our original plan has been tweaked some, but there has never been an inkling that we should stop. God has kept us going forward. 

That’s our little story in a small nutshell. It’s a relief for the day to finally be here.  We are so grateful for the love and support from you. I feel like all of you are coming with us! 
Well it’s time to board! We will see you on the other side!