Overlooked Heroes

the frog i found in the bathroom tonight! isn't it a weird color?
Me with the box of books sent by Ladies in Aiding! Thanks!
At Bulo, buying the green oranges...(those oranges are ripe)
Bulo from a distance
Scenery!
Working on english vocabulary with the nursery class!
Teacher Diana with the Baby Nursery Class!


“Wherever you are, be all there.” -Elizabeth Elliot (I think)

When I first felt the calling to missions in Africa my senior year of high school, I was ALL about it. After taking my first trip there volunteering at orphanages and loving on people, I came back changed. I was changed in the sense that Africa became everything to me, it was always in my thoughts and always on my lips. I would hear people saying (quite misconcieved)“Hannah, you're such a good person for going to Africa and helping orphans. You are so dedicated to doing the Lord's work.” Because I spent THREE WEEKS in Africa working in some orphanages somehow meant that I became dedicated to the Lord's work, when I had spent SEVENTEEN YEARS prior and the year afterward ignoring His great commission while in America.

I say all of that to tell you this: The most overlooked heroes are the Americans passionately dedicated to the Lord's work IN America. I know that I'm so quick to make people who do foreign mission work my heroes, but often times I forget the ones at home doing the same thing. If you were to have an informational session on a mission trip to Uganda and then an informational session on going door to door in your hometown building relationships and preaching the gospel, I dare to say there would be more people at the Uganda informational meeting. Why is that? Why are we more likely to spend $3500 to speak about the Lord in a foreign country for a couple of weeks when we could do it in the US for FREE?

After my second trip to Uganda, the Lord really convicted me of that sin in my life. He said to me,”Hannah, you go halfway across the world to do my work and yet when you come back to the US it's like I don't exist.” I knew at that point my heart had to change. I could no longer view the little I did in Africa as “enough”. I had to realize that I was saved by GRACE and not by my WORKS, and that regardless of where I was, I needed to be ALL there.

That's when I met two overlooked heroes.

Student Venture, the high school version of Campus Crusade for Christ, has a major hub in Chattanooga. There are about 8-10 high schools in our city with some sort of Student Venture (SV) presence, whether it be volunteers or staff. My bestie Ruth and I got involved with “Urban aka Inner City Student Venture” at Howard and Brainerd High School. And that's how we got introduced to the two overlooked heroes.

Jack Noonan, the SV staff member at Brainerd, and Aubrey Fritz, the SV staff member at Howard, may have two of the most bejeweled crowns in Heaven waiting for them. They, along with their families, are committed to full time ministry with the Urban SV ministry. They have committed to following Christ even if it means working with students who can sometimes be very difficult to work with. They are following Christ into the schools and the neighborhoods known for shootings, gang violence, and drugs and are trusting Him the whole way. They are awesome. And they are two true heroes to me because of their dedication to Christ's work even though it is TOUGH. Christ is making disciples through them in areas of Chatt. most people wouldn't dare step foot in. All Praise be to God for these two souls.

Pray for those doing the Lord's work everywhere. Whether it be down the street or halfway across the world, these people are sacrificing themselves for the sake of the Gospel. Pray as Student Venture has its summer Getaway conference this week, that all of the students attending will come to grow in their faith or for some commit their lives to Christ. Pray for Jack and Aubrey and all of the other Chattanooga SV staff and volunteers, that they will be ready in season and out of season for these students and any questions they may have.

Allrighty, now to completely change the subject and start talking about what's been going on with me the past week. I met with the two people helping with the project proposal for the Nutritional Rehabilitation Center last Sunday and we will be meeting again this weekend to talk in more details of the plans for it. The doctor who is helping write it is pouring so many awesome ideas into this Center that I had never thought of. She is going to be such an awesome asset, especially when it comes to planning out specifics on how to help with prevention of malnutrition in these areas.

Last weekend my Afr. Cousin David and I started watching the first season of Heroes and it has become my guilty pleasure. I have spent WAY too much time watching that series! Haha.

Coming back from Kampala last weekend, the car bringing us back to Rapha hit a dog. Today on the way home, we almost hit 3 goats. These animals must have suicidal issues or something stepping in front of fast cars like they do!

Nothing really interesting happened the past week at the hospital or the school. I've started working with the nursery class students at school and they are so precious. Because these children's mother tongue is luganda and they NEVER speak English at home, they are really struggling when it comes to learning English but they are trying so hard so they can talk to me. It's really precious!

Oh yea...my african parents went to the US for a wedding on Tuesday. It's so weird that I'm here in Africa and they're in the US haha. Be praying for them, that they will have a safe and relaxing trip! My mom should be coming back in about two weeks, but my dad may be there until August or so!

On Wednesday, Jalia and I walked to Bulo about 3 kilometers from Rapha for market day there, and I bought a pineapple and some oranges! Oranges here aren't even orange, though, it kind of has me confused!

I went back to Kampala on Friday to pick up the books Ladies In Aiding sent for the school! Thank you all so much for all the books you sent, they will be such a blessing for these kids!!! I will be posting a pic of the students with them whenever I take them to the school!

On Saturday, I ate sausage that was not thoroughly cooked which caused some serious upset stomach issues as David and I were walking from home to Kampala. I don't think yall wanna know any more details, but let me just tell yall that bathrooms are hard to come by especially when you really need one, but Praise the Lord we found one haha.

That's seriously all the news I have. I'll try to come up with more interesting stuff for the next blog!