2011 East Africa Mission Support

Pray. Listen to what God would have you do, and respond by making a donation today. Your donations are tax deductible, directed to Mercy Uganda, and specifically designated for my ministry work. Take a look at some details about giving and at lots of ideas about how you can support the ministry. Join me in prayer about hearing God and having the faith to respond. Then, become an obscenely generous giver.

What should I do now?

• Make a tax-deductible donation using PayPal or your credit card at http://www.lesliemosher.blogspot.com/
• Make a tax-deductible donation by writing a check to Mercy Uganda and mailing it to me (contact me for my street address, it seems unwise to include that in a blog).
• Read the rest of this list to find other ways you can support the ministry work.

How do I give a financial gift?

• Commit to a monthly donation of a specific amount ($100, $50, $25, $10).
• Make a special donation in the amount of your choice.
• Set aside a percentage of a Christmas bonus or tax return designated for this mission.
• Arrange a matching gift with your employer, even if they don’t have a stated plan.
• Suggest “Mercy Uganda: Leslie Mosher” as the recipient of corporate giving plans.
• Challenge your friends to match your gift, you might be surprised.

How do I give a non-financial gift?

• Purchase a flight for my travel using your frequent flier miles.
• Watch for Facebook posts about specific donations needed for the ministry.
• Cell phones that use SIM cards.
• Portable black and white printer and ink/toner
• Clothing for school-age children.
• Arrange a speaking engagement at your church or business about ministry in East Africa.
• Tell your friends, share Facebook or blog posts, and invite me to your small group gathering.

What can I pray for?

• That we would not under expect the generosity of God.
• For the presence of the Holy Spirit to be manifested in remarkable ways.
• For radical transformation of everyone and everything the ministry comes in contact with.
• For my personal health and safety.

Are my donations tax deductible?

• Yes. Your financial donations are made to Mercy Uganda, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and designated to my ministry-related expenses. Your financial gifts are tax deductible.
• Your non-financial gifts may be tax deductible, but you should check with your tax advisor.

How do I get the donation to you?

• Donate via one of two PayPal buttons at www.lesliemosher.blogspot.com. These donations are made to Mercy Uganda and are automatically designated for my ministry work.
• Write a check or money order made out to Mercy Uganda. Designate the donation as being for Leslie Mosher on the memo line. Mail your check me (contact me for that address).

Thank you. Thank you for your support of the work God would have me do in East Africa.

East Africa Missions 2011

I'm excited to finally share my 2011 plans with you. In 2011, I will join Mercy Uganda and Biblical Life Ministries in half-time, on-site ministry in East Africa. Almost 2 months in Africa during 2010 gave me an opportunity to see just how God prepared me for this moment. A moment where this eclectic confusion called my life – life experiences, strengths and weaknesses, passions, education, and work experience – blends together to form something uniquely useful to the people in that country.

Ministry Stories

One highlight from my last visit was the time I spent with a group of 50 widows. Here’s one story:

My name is Apolot Florence. I am a widow with 10 children. I was forced to leave Asalatap village in Amuria District after my 4 daughters were raped by men in the Lord's Resistance Army. Being a new resident in Kinawataka, life was next to impossible and I quickly resorted to beating stones in the quarry and prostitution at night in order to earn a living. It was during those ugly moments that I met David who introduced me to Konoweka Orphans and Widows Hut. I am now learning with other widows how to make purses and hand bags.

Your gifts allowed me to worship alongside them, study the Bible and teach about entering the presence of God, and provide supplies for their handcrafts. These women were so grateful to know that we care about them that word spread and women from other villages are now asking to join their weekly fellowship.

Another highlight was visiting one of Mercy Uganda’s sponsored children. Olivia is pictured in the center-right with the demure look. Even though tuition is paid for sponsored children, many of them simply don’t have emotional and intellectual support systems needed to achieve very basic learning. Her sponsor’s gift of healthy snack foods, girly fiction books, and the game of Twister helped ensure that Olivia is ready to learn. When I return, I’ll provide regular academic tutoring and advocacy for these children to equip them to become independent and thriving learners. This means that sponsors are not only giving their child an education, but they’re also giving their child hope.

I could tell stories all day, but one last highlight comes from participating in the graduation of 26 Kenyan pastors from Biblical Life School of Ministries. The support of many donors made participating in the Bible school possible. These pastors live in remote villages and would otherwise not have access to sound theological teaching. These pastors were so excited! When I return, I’ll coordinate a short-term team in meeting some of the needs these pastors have identified in their churches. This means we’re investing in long-term relationships that reach beyond these pastors and into their communities.

Ministry Support

Like I said, this eclectic confusion that is my life was perfectly prepared for this moment. With God’s help, I’ll use my education and business expertise to minister to these people so they can lift themselves out of poverty. To fulfill God’s call, I need your help. I’ve prepared a budget projection for the six months during 2011 that I will be in East Africa and find that I will need $20,000. This amount will allow me to travel between countries and to minister alongside Mercy Uganda and Biblical Life Ministries. I’ll continue working while I’m in the U.S. to do my part in contributing to the overall support needed to make half-time ministry possible.

Pray. Listen to what God would have you do, and respond by making a donation via the PayPal link today. Your donations are tax deductible, directed to Mercy Uganda, and specifically designated for my ministry work. Join me in prayer about hearing God and having the faith to respond. Then, become an obscenely generous giver.

Trusting Him,

Leslie Mosher

Child Sponsorship Updates

Part of the business-related work covered during the June trip included developing a child sponsorship form to help collect information that would be useful in whole-child care as well as to gain an understanding the family life and needs. Lauren and I met with three of the sponsored children yesterday to collect the information. A few surprises might interest you.

Frank gives his pocket money (given by sponsors for children to have food in addition to the twice-daily maize porridge and beans) to his mother who has been told she has cancer of the blood and whose father died a few years ago.

Yunus is supposed to have his own bed at the boarding school but doesn’t. In no uncertain terms I instructed the Matron to get a mattress for him that day and that I would be checking back in the morning to ensure he had his own bed. The Matron said okay and that she would just move the second boy to another child’s bed. Very loud, very big internal sigh!

Godfrey was sent home from school because his shoes weren’t good enough. He’ll be back tomorrow regardless of whether he has any shoes at all. Would you like to purchase some shoes for him? The ones I just picked up for Frank and Yunus cost about $20 (including the white tax).

Olivia gave me her letter to her sponsor, my friend. Included was this poem. I asked her if the poem was created by her and she said yes but I’m not perfectly confident that she understood me. I can’t find any of the lines of this poem in Google so I’m inclined to think it really is her own creation. Get out your tissues and read the Olivia’s Poem blog post…the life of a child…oh!

Coolest of all, every child professed Jesus as his or her Savior!

Women's Crafts

Following the Bible study, the women sought my business advice about how to improve their crafts and how to better market them. In addition to the traditional bead jewelry, a few women showed designs that were of a higher caliber. The woman shown with this necklace added a stone to the center of her design along with some plastic beads, giving this necklace a very formal design look.

I also complimented the women who offered a variety of ways to use the beads beyond just jewelry – for example as a purse. I did a double take when I realized the beads on the purse were handmade. The purse was also lined, which added a quality feel. I explained that these attributes would set their work apart from that of others and thus improve demand for their products. The challenge now is to find the best place to market their products.

While I’m not sure I helped a whole lot, I enjoyed learning how they made their jewelry and spending more time with them on a personal level. If you are interested in purchasing any of the jewelry or crafts shown here or in a previous post, there’s still time. Just let me know and I’ll get word to the ladies. They use the money to pay for school for their children and to put food in their bellies.

Food/Business Sponsorship

I met with Agnes, Pastor Phillip’s wife, to ask how best the people in these remote Karamajong villages could be helped. Agnes is an educated and very wise woman and her request was simple, “We need some way to earn money for food.”

The idea was a simple one and one I presumed some people were already doing. They simply lacked start-up capital to follow through. The problem is that most food is bought in gigantic bags that probably weigh nearly 100 pounds or more each. Yet most Karamajong cannot afford to purchase an entire bag, but instead have only a few shillings on rare occasions.

The suggestion…purchase a giant bag of food (rice, beans, sugar cane, matoke, etc.) and resell that food in smaller portions for a profit. Agnes thought the idea was perfect and asked how many women could create an income this way. We talked about how competition for any one food might affect sales and we talked about the practicality of getting to market for reselling. We also talked about managing the food so as not to consume it before it is sold. Finally, we talked about the viability of even beginning the process without funding.

Here’s where you come in. If you would like to sponsor a gigantic bag of food to help at least one family gain a small, self-sustaining income, please press the “donate” button and contribute $100. If you would like to help with a half bag of food for $50, I will match your gift with someone else’s gift to make up that full bag.

I’ll purchase all the necessary supplies (smaller bags) and transportation of these bags to the village where Agnes lives. I’ll make some recommendations to Agnes about how to manage the food supplies for the women and how to maximize profit on a single bag of food. The hope is that your gift will create a self-sustaining income. Can you help?

Fondue Pots and Puzzles

No garage sale would be complete without a fondue pot, and I’ve got just the one. It’s a beautiful avocado green and comes with all the pokey utensils. Puzzles are another prerequisite for garage sales, and I have four. Their images range from flowers, to trees, to stately mansions. I really don’t know if all the pieces are there.

I also have a lot of vintage items – old metal Faygo and 7 up signs, old catcher’s masks, old Maxwell House Coffee tins, and more. Let’s face it, vintage is not great in garage sales if you want to get their market value. Those dishes I bought when I was 15 – those really expensive Mary Hadley ones from Carl Forslunds – those are in the sale too. Again, probably not garage sale material but why not try.

Framed photography from various national park vacations and 8x8 tiles painted at the Mud Room draw kind comments from almost every visitor but no buyers. Probably the wrong venue again. Well, I am emptying out my house as originally compelled and some things are just a bit nicer than garage sale quality. I praise God for that. In the mean time, I’ve raised $395 so far and need to reach $1,300 to be properly funded according to Mercy Uganda request.

I’ve put a few suggested funding projects on my blog – Gabriel’s roof and Herbert’s orphans – but I know others will arise while I’m in the country. There are also very high expenses related to my own travel, lodging, and food specific to ministry efforts. I realize some of you have all been giving generously throughout My Second Year, for which I am forever grateful, and continuing to do so for this last trip of the year would be taxing. But would you, particularly if you haven’t already, consider making a donation so that I can meet peoples’ needs in Uganda and/or to assist with some personal expenses related to ministry work? Together with others, your donation will make a difference.

I depart on Thursday, September 9 and look forward to sharing stories from Uganda once again.

Gabriel's Roof

Gabriel is one of the Ugandan men who serve Mercy Uganda. His primary area of focus is as a field manager for Karamoja, one of the remote villages I’ll be visiting in September. Gabriel was orphaned at a young age as the result of a very bizarre incident. Despite having been shuffled around quite a bit (including having lived with Kefa Sempangi for a time), Gabriel has a deep love for the Lord.

He works, when he is called, in design and construction but this is not a typical 9-5 job. Gabriel gets work only when there is work to be had. In June, I told you about the foundation he laid for his house in Kawuku. It’s pretty unusual to own property and a home, particularly without regular employment. But I believe the tenacity Gabriel developed as an orphan compelled him to begin this seemingly impossible project. With the gifts left for him following the June mission trip, Gabriel began building the walls for that small house.

“Helping the poor.” This is the answer I get from Gabriel when I ask what his typical day is like. For clarification, Gabriel said that helping the poor means he does “some little thing that needs doing.” Helping the poor…when is the last time I spent my free time helping the poor or even doing “some little thing” that needs doing?

Building a small house in Uganda is cheap by American standards; Gabriel once estimated the cost to be under $5,000. Before he can proceed, though, those new walls on his house need a roof. The roof is also the most expensive part of the construction because it’s not made from the dust of the ground as are the bricks and cement that make up the majority of the construction. About $2,500 will secure the metal roof needed to protect the family that will one day live inside this house.

As I learned from the Susan G. Komen fundraising efforts, every little bit from a lot of people in the community makes a big difference. It will take 45% of the Ugandan population 4 years to earn $2,500. Four years… Here is an opportunity for us to do “some little thing” for this man who gives so much of his time (and his money) to the community in the name of Jesus. Press the donate button to give toward Gabriel’s roof.

Front Porch Perspectives

Stepping onto the front porch of each and every house on my street, I learned two very important lessons.

First, the front porch of a home communicates a lot about the family living inside. Many front porches conveyed a warm welcome. They were decorated with chairs, signs, or mats of all sorts. The front porches were bright, tidy, and inviting. They almost called me to ring the doorbell. When I walked up to these porches, I felt like the dwellers might just invite me in for lemonade. I don’t understand, though, why those homes with welcome signs were locked.

Some front porches, though, had been taken over by all forms of life. They instilled a sense of fright and made me feel that retreat might be my best option. The air was still and the spiders webs, bird nests, and general tree or flower related debris covered the porch. And the mosquitoes…yikes. To my surprise, though, most of these homes had some very generous indwellers.

Second, I realized that after seven years of living here I know very few people. Mark, Shannon, Margaret, and Sally were all significantly influenced by breast cancer. Mark’s wife died of breast cancer just after Rick died. There may have been other unspoken loved ones impacted by breast cancer too. I even introduced myself to the wife of a boy I used to babysit for; his mother had breast cancer a way long time ago. And Paige was just so darn sweet I am sad to have not known her forever. She invited me back to tell her stories of the walk.

As a community, over the four days I walked door-to-door so far, we’ve raised $621.00 to fight breast cancer. Yea my new friends!

Knocking for Knockers

I walked through my neighborhood with my five-month-old granddaughter to raise money to help ensure she doesn’t get breast cancer…when she gets breasts. We’ve got to be methodical about it so we don’t miss houses and don’t overlap houses when I go out tomorrow. There are a lot of houses in my neighborhood.

I prepared a little business card type piece for people who may wish to donate online, and pray that they actually do it like they promise. I also prepared a letter to leave for those who aren’t home, most of which will be ignored, but you just never know.

Into the conveniently pink stroller she went, jabbering all the way. While she explained that we were “knocking for knockers,” people were in awe of this little jabberer. Most people responded favorably, although it occurred to me that the homeowners association probably has some clause about solicitation. That might fall under the “ask forgiveness later” principle, right?

One dear lady asked for prayer because she has bladder cancer. Yea Jesus, you can heal her. Another guy was kinda mad because he doesn’t have any money, and he’s been praying and why doesn’t God answer, and “no” I can’t pray for him because he’s busy in the kitchen. Guess what, I said a little prayer for him after he slammed the door in my face anyway. Several people asked about my inspiration to walk and I had the opportunity to tell them about my dear Aunts Jean and Jill.

After an hour and a quarter, about 30 houses, and three mosquito bites, I came home with $140 toward the $2,300 I have to raise. I was pretty excited. If I go door to door 16 more days I’ll have enough to participate in the walk. Question is, how much was my jabbering granddaughter a factor in their decision to donate?