I wish...

What an incredible trip. This has been tough to unpack in my head and verbalize much on this blog. I have seen much and experienced much. I am sitting here wishing....

I wish you could see the kids smiles at the orphanage.

I wish you could meet the community elders who came today to thank us for the work we are doing here.

I wish you could hear Julie's sarcasm (classic).

I wish you could sing songs with the kids.

I wish you could see Adrienne getting her hair braided.

I wish you could meet Daniel and his family (incredible).

I wish you could see the faith these people have.

I wish you could have seen me & Doug get scolded by the Nigerian police.

I wish you could have seen Larry teach the kids in Sunday School this morning.

I wish you could see Kay playing with the kids during clinic.

I wish you could have seen Renee receive good news about her adoption after the visit from the commissioner.

I wish you could experience their culture - beautiful.

I wish you could see the cow being loaded in the back of the car.

I wish you could see Paul light up around the kids.

I wish you could have seen that judge with the funny, old school wig on.

I wish you could see the kids hanging on Matt.

I wish you could have seen the ruckus we caused at market.

I wish you could see the gas stations we fill up at.

I wish you could experience church this morning.

I wish you could see Adam loving on the kids.

I wish you could taste the good food we have eaten.

I wish you could ride like sardines in these little cars they cram us in.

I wish you could see Eric being such a great brother to Hassan.

I wish you could see the patience Ken shows in every situation.

I wish you could see Kyla tie-dying shirts like a machine.

I wish you could have seen the children's programs Cibolo did (totally rocked).

I wish you could see them laugh at our attempts at Igala.

I wish you could see....a lot.

I saw this qoute the other day and it would be appropriate now...

"Now I have seen, I am responsible."

Side note for Dev - I love you and Asa and baby b SO much it hurts. It makes me cry thinking about how much I miss you. Lucky for me the sweat is covering for me. See you very soon.

Nothing but love, stu

Christ Calls

(Nigerian Flag)

Well, it's 11:30pm and I am wide awake with my mind racing. On Friday, we leave for Nigeria and although my mind is racing about all the things left to be done, I am surprisingly content. I would expect to be a little nervous about such a big trip...but I'm not. What our team will be doing in Nigeria is so blatantly biblical and I think this is what calms my nerves. Christ calls us to go us to go make disciples. Christ calls us to care for the poor and the needy. Christ calls us to love kids. I pray God's name is glorified through this trip.

Recently, I was directed to a blog that highlights 10 pre-departure thoughts prior to going on a mission trip to Haiti. Most of the thoughts resonated with me and I have slightly modified them for you...

1. I am going to miss my family. Asa is learning more and more everyday and the thought that I will miss something kills me (He now says Donut or "No Nut"). Also, I hate leaving Dev for overnight trips. I love her company.
2. I am anxious (not nervous). I've never been on a trip like this. The unknown is coming quick.
3. I will be heartbroken. I’m going to come across some devastation and grief. I’m going to witness the ramifications of injustice, poverty and trauma. I am going to meet orphans. That alone will kill me.
4. I am going to get frustrated. I anticipate at times feeling like my hands are tied behind my back at what I will see and experience. I will want to help but will be very limited.
5. I will fall in love. I’m going to meet some wonderful and humble people. I’m a sucker for those who struggle and don’t or can’t hide it. I will fall in love with people remarkably free of much of our baggage.
6. I will see the depravity of my own life. This usually happens to people who come from more affluent societies. My complaints will fade in comparison to theirs, and my self-centeredness will become painfully obvious to me.
7. I will meet some amazing people. The underlying unity of the human race will impress itself upon me, and I will be driven deeper into my love for the world-wide community.
8. I will be changed. I feel like I’m going into surgery. It is not elective, but urgent. I have this gut-wrenching sense that something remarkable is going to happen to me that will transform me forever.
9. I will receive more than I give. I don’t feel at all like I am coming with something to offer. I guarantee the stories of faith I have been told about the kids in Otutulu that I now get to witness will fill me up.
10. I will be inspired. Not sure how yet but I know it will happen.

I will attempt to continue to update this blog and twitter while there. However, nothing is guaranteed.

You prayers will be greatly appreciated.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for quick travel recovery.
• Pray for safety.
• Pray for the Doctors going.
• Pray for energy.
• Pray for our interactions with the Fulani Tribe.
• Pray for our Boys Small Group Bible Study.
• Pray for our Children's Programs.
• Pray for our medical clinics

Nigeria

First off, thank you. Thanks for showering our team in prayer and for financially supporting me to travel to Nigeria.

We are in the final stage of preparing for our trip. There is one more team meeting on Monday and on Tuesday, we pack our luggage full of supplies to be distributed to folks in Nigeria. The time to leave is quickly approaching.

I have been told that we MAY have internet access while at the orphanage and if that is the case, there is a great chance that I will be able to update this blog. However, we will only have 3 hours of electricity in the evenings and it would need to take place in those three hours. This is assuming the generators are working.

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for safety during travel.
2. Pray for the young men's small group focusing on character.
3. Pray for the Children's Program that I will be leading.
4. Pray for a chance to safely purchase a cow or some other form of protein.

This is a video we made for Adventureland to show the kids what life is like at the Orphanage. Let me know if you have any questions.

Questionable Food

To say I am excited about traveling to Nigeria would be a gross understatement. The last couple days I have been working with videos taken by last years team in Nigeria. I am making a couple of promo videos for upcoming Adventureland events. By looking at these videos, I feel like I'm getting to take peak at a birthday present early. Working through the videos have been glorious. I wanted to share with you a quick clip from the orphanage.



On Monday, we had our first of five mission's team meetings to prepare for Nigeria. Each one of us had to answer three questions as an icebreaker. You are my supporters and think it is fair for me to answer these questions for you...

1. Why travel to Nigeria now on this trip? Maybe it is my generation or it is my stage of life, but I want to be apart of something bigger than me. While I am young and have the energy to contribute to a missions team, I want to go, do, serve, & love. The timing is right.

2. What am I most excited about? Mignon McLaughlin said "Only where children gather is there any real chance of fun." I am a big kid that loves fun. We are going to an orphanage where I've been told some of the happiest kids in the world live and "gather." The kids are what I am most excited about.

3. What is my biggest fear? The food. I have watched a lot of video of questionable food from Nigeria. It looks intimidating. At the meeting last night, they assured me we would not be eating the food I saw in the videos. I'm not sure if I believe them...

Otutulu

From June 25-July 6, I will be on a mission trip, traveling to the village of Otutulu, Nigeria. It's hard for me to describe all the thoughts and emotions running through my head. However, I will do my best to inform you (my prayer warriors and financial supporters) about the details and prayer needs of our trip.

Am I excited? Very. I will have the chance to champion kids in another country. This will be a chance to get out of my comfort zone and waive the banner of Christ.

Am I nervous? Yes & no. I am not nervous about my interactions with the people or kids of Nigeria. I am nervous about the traveling (long flights & small cars) and food (foreign with lots of question marks).

What is our purpose? Cibolo Creek Community Church has invested time, money, labor & love to ensure the kids of Otutulu are cared for and fed throughout the calendar year. Our church makes sure the kids have food by raising enough funds to provide the kids with food that will last them an entire year. Our church has paid for a roof to go on their school building. Our church has installed solar panels to provide much needed power to the office.

During the annual visit to Nigeria, the agenda of the trip depends on the team traveling to the orphanage. This year we will have two doctors and a nurse that will enable our team to set up several medical clinics in the area. I have volunteered to take the lead on providing the kids of the orphanage with a kids "camp". I use the term "camp" loosely since we are uncertain what our activities will look like.

Starting this month in our Children's Ministry, we will start a campaign call "COPPER FOR COWS". The kids will bring pennies from home each Sunday for an entire month. To help motivate kids, it will be a competition between the boys and girls. At the end of the month, we are praying to collect enough pennies to purchase a cow for the kids of Otutulu to have much needed protein while we are on the trip. The entire process will be video recorded - from the kids bringing the pennies to us searching for a nomadic rancher to the kids seeing the cow come into the orphanage. The prayer is that our kids will see the impact they made in the lives of the kids of Otutulu by bringing pennies to church.

Again, I will continue to update this blog with new information as it comes up. At the end of each post related to Nigeria, I will list several prayer requests that you can start praying over.

Thanks for your support! Nothing but love.

PRAYER REQUESTS
- Pray for my preparations for the kids "camp".
- Start praying for Dev and Asa to be safe and strong while I am gone for 12 days.
- Pray we are able to find cheap airfare to Nigeria.