Uncle

It's been busy. When I was last writing about "stuff" even I didn't know the amount of stuff that has pinned me down. Like a two ton wrestler on top of the 95 pound weakling taunting, "say uncle."

Since I last updated, we've had two estate sales (four full days worth), posted and sold numerous items on ebay, and held a wonderful benefit for the children of Uganda called FrosTEA...which was an opportunity for my 200 snowman to find good homes.

We've filled bag after bag with clothing and shoes, assorted dishes and glassware that have been dropped at the likes of Salvation Army and the Kidney Foundation. We have begged our kids to take whatever items they've enjoyed and appreciated through the years because this is it...treat this as kind of a death really...there won't be another time that we'll have "things" to pass on to them.

The night before the FrosTEA event, a bunch of us went over to our church to set up. My daughters and I had lovingly tagged, tissued and boxed every single snowperson in the weeks leading up to the event. It took several vehicles just to deliver all the jolly fellas, and nearly 20 tables to display them all!

As I looked around the room at the end of that evening before the event, a number of things crossed my mind. First, what wonderful friends and daughters I have who so selflessly gave so much of their time and talent to put this event together (and how much I would miss them!)

And, second...my conscience was terribly troubled. I was remembering tiny village after tiny village that we drove through in Uganda full of impoverished people. I'm coveting 200 snowmen and ticking off the plans in my head for how much food should be served the next day, and in my head are the faces of little naked kids with bobbing bellies chasing after any vehicle that drove across their pitted, dirt roads asking for food or money. I know that what I'm looking at in this room is worth more money than whole villages earn in a year.

The tea was an amazing event. We were embraced by people that really wanted to know what was going on in Uganda, and why. We saw friends we hadn't seen in a long time...and every single snowman found a new home. $6000 was raised, and so was some awareness about the plight of the children in Uganda.

I stopped beating myself up about the ridiculous number of snowmen I'd collected over the years. I started to wonder if God had this amazing sense of humor, or a really big mean streak...having someone like me who collects and saves everything, be moved to let go of it all. Neither, I guess. I think He's pretty serious about His children in Africa. I think His heart is broken when He looks at them; starving, naked, sick, alone, dying, orphaned.

I don't think that Jesus is going to actually physically show up in Africa to pass out clothing to the children, or feed the starving, or hold the sick, or nurture the orphaned. No, I think we all know what's going to happen the next time Jesus visits us here. But that doesn't take us off the hook, does it? Each of us are part of the answer to our hurting brothers and sisters 8000 miles away.

As we continued packing up our home, we hit some really hard places. Passing on the snowmen; simple. Passing on heirlooms to our kids; easy.Going through baby books and photos to pass on to the kids; a little harder. Going through boxes of Christmas ornaments, remembering the stories that go along with each one and realizing our family Christmas traditions as we've known them are over; even harder. Helping Mandy and AJ and their adorable baby kitties move into their own place, knowing something we've taken for granted for years has ended...which was seeing them every single day; harder still. Packing Teddy up to move him to a new home after five years of being under my feet, and always on my last nerve; really sad. Standing in the driveway waving goodbye to my oldest, Jenny, not knowing exactly when we'd see each other again...even I cried wet tears! Knowing that my front row seat (when I could make it) to watching proudly as Jesse spoke right to peoples hearts at every event she put together; heartbreaking.

Hardest of all, though, was going through every teeny thing left in Sean's room. While we all knew each and every single item in there by heart, actually dismantling it was excruciating. And I know that if God wasn't moving us to Africa, I'd never have emptied his room. It's so final. And our home immediately took on a different feeling than that of being our home. This has definitely been a way to "clean house" so to speak. And this was all in a weeks time.

But it's done. I said "uncle" to God a long time ago.

Now we're excited to get there. We'll be in a culture that we don't quite understand yet. We don't presume to know their every need, or exactly what God will have us do. But we will walk slowly through and listen for His promptings ready to serve the beautiful people of Uganda. And as always, we thank you for being on this journey with us!

Big thank you's to:
Dan Weisberg for the great FrosTEA photos; Jesse for the original plan, wonderfully creative ideas and lots of work; Jenny and Mandy for working so hard and stretching so much out of your comfort zones; Donna, Brenda, Tara, Michelle, Michael, Curtis, Char, Lisa, Linda Loopie, Mary Nell, Al and Kathy, PQ, Trish, Heather...this couldn't have been accomplished without your constant help...AJ, for your patience working with us on another video and for an awesome job! All the folks who donated items for the auction; Michael and Michelle Licea, Brenda and Gordan, Trish, Loriann, Cheryl Schuette, Edie Eggert, Curtis Lawrence, Dan Weisberg ~ and of course all of those who attended and so generously contributed to One City Ministries!