A Day in My Shoes

I feel like I've had a blog in me trying to get out for a few days now, but I'm still not sure what it will be.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about "a day in my shoes". The demands and requests on all of us are pretty high, I'm sure. Sometimes, I am completely shocked by the requests I receive from adoptive families. Though I desire to make sure that everyone gets the answers they need, I can't promise that they will get all the answers they want. I truly think that if they could just glimpse into the window of my day, they would not ask some of the things they ask.

Let's start with Thursday this week in which I was in a trial for a contested domestic adoption until 10:45PM. I arrived home about 11:30PM but did not fall asleep until after 1PM. I was at the office the next day by 8:30AM. Fortunately, an intern had offered to pick up the snack for Friday's staff meeting. I quickly finalized my staff meeting agenda, printed copies of health insurance information, our monthly applications chart, the prayer list, etc. We had a short devotion, prayed for the needs of our agency and the waiting orphans, thanked God for every good thing, and then dove right in. We completed the staff meeting about 11AM. I moved on to about 40 e-mails waiting in my inbox which had been waiting since the afternoon before when I had gone to court. I began answering questions from waiting adoptive families. I manage the following programs (Hong Kong, Nicaragua, Panama, and Uganda). Of those programs, I had at least three families who I had promised would hear from me by Friday. In addition, I had e-mails from inquiring families for these programs as well. I received a pop up message that it was time to send out my monthly domestic adoption update to waiting families, and I also received notice from our Uganda baby home that they were in desparate need of funds which have not yet been raised. I e-mailed our attorney in Nicaragua for answers for the first family, e-mailed Uganda for answers for the 2nd family, and answered questions on e-mail related to advertising, an upcoming adoption workshop, and received additional HR information that I must disseminate to my staff. At 12:30PM, I took a short lunch break. After scarfing down my food, I returned to my desk to return 3 phone calls that had been waiting since the day before. I still have 2 phone calls I was not able to return that had to be pushed back to next week. Each phone call took about 20 minutes. I also had an urgent situation that arose with a family who had previously adopted from Uganda. I played phone tag with one party and then spent about 30 minutes on the phone with another party. In the midst of these e-mails and phone calls, I intermittently answered questions from staff who would enter my office, said goodbye to an intern who's last day was Friday, and gave direction to the new intern regarding our upcoming golf marathon. At 2PM, I received a phone call from a family in our Nicaragua program whom I had scheduled a conference call with because they had some things they wanted to share with me. This conference call lasted about 30 minutes. I then sent another e-mail to our attorney in Nicaragua and answered more e-mails and questions. At 3PM, I called one family that had been waiting for news regarding their child in Uganda only to tell them that I did not have any news as I had hoped. Even though I had no update for this family, they asked many questions that I could not answer (because I have no news from Uganda) and the phone call lasted about 15 minutes. I spoke with my board chairman regarding an upset relative of the court trial from the previous day and then sent them an e-mail. I mediated a dispute between my staff over a file cabinet. I planned a trip to DC and NYC (checked flights, looked at hotels, spoke with NCFA staff) for myself and the China program director to meet up with the CCCWA delegation so we can rub elbows and build relationships with important powerful people running this adoption program. At 4PM, I began to crash since I had worked until 10:45PM the night before and had slept little. I decided to leave work early. On my way home from work, I received text messages from our domestic worker regarding a birth mother in labor. I responded to her when I arrived home and also received the e-mail I had been waiting on from Nicaragua. I sent both Nicaraguan families e-mails with the answers they had been waiting for. While I was at it, I responded to the other e-mails I had received since leaving the office and finally put the work down at 5:45PM. One question I received during the midst of this day was a simple one, but often I am asked questions that are low on my priority list given the days duties. In the midst of all that I had to do on this day (Answering an e-mail from a relative from the trial the night before, answering a family adopting from Nicaragua about their attorney's meeting with officials the day before, discussing with one family the fact that the child they have been matched with may not be eligible for adoption after all, resolving a crisis with a family who has disrupted their placement, answering questions from staff, inquiries from new clients, and I forgot to mention that I am also working on an application to get licensed in another country), this question is just a slap in the face. Why? Because the questions that families ask when they are "checking up" to see if we are doing our jobs, is like a slap in the face. No one is sitting on their hands doing nothing. We are ALL working hard to do everything we can to complete every single adoption and see that every child comes home as smoothly as possible. Sometimes, I welcome questions from families. The families that I don't hear from often or who do not expect an updated on every single step in the process, these families can get lost in the shuffle. When I get a question from these families, it is often accompanied by "I really hate to bother you, but." To these families I say, "Please bother me!" I have told families that with all that I have on my plate, I can allow a lot more time to pass without realizing it because I am focusing on so many programs, duties, and questions from the "squeaky wheel" families, that their adoption is not high on my radar. I tell these families, please e-mail me once a week to make sure that I know how much time has passed, and I do not forget to check on your case. These are the families though that seem to understand the demands I am under every day. To all adoptive families I say this, "I promise to do my very best to be kind, patient, and effective in my work with you. I promise that I care about your little one who is waiting in another country for you in an orphanage. I care so much about orphans, that I got into this business of adoption because I want to see children in forever families. I work hard to find trustworthy staff in the countries we work in, and I contact them about important steps in the case as often as possible. For the little things though, I have to trust them to do the job they have been hired to do. Why? Because I cannot micromanage them even if I wanted to. I don't have time. Please hear me when I say that I rejoice with you when a step is completed that brings you closer to your child. I cry with you when you hear bad news or God forbid are not able to move forward with an adoption altogether. I and my staff pray over the decisions we make, the matches we make, and the families we serve." I am not writing all of this to complain but simply because as I said I sometimes think that if our clients could only see a glimpse into our day, they would re-evaluate their expectations. They would have more patience and more understanding for the work that we do. I'm sure that to our clients, it feels that we should understand better where they are coming from as well. Do we really know how it feels to have your child in a country far away, have no idea how soon you will be united, and know all the while that they are growing older in an instituion? No, for most of us we do not have that personal experience. We do try to understand as best we can. Its not easy seeing things from someone else's perspective, but I promise to try harder if you will too.

Ugandan Dirt Remains on My Feet

There is so much to tell about my most recent mission trip to Uganda, I’m not even sure where to start. Well that’s not true, I want to start by saying thank you to all of you who donated toward my trip. I was so blessed by all of you as you continue to support me in my many trips overseas. This year I led a team of 16 people and through your donations and the monies raised by the other team members, we were able to cover all costs for the trip and purchase much needed supplies when we arrived. We had a really great group this year, and we accomplished a lot.
We had a church in Nebraska that rose over $100,000 earlier this year for the building of the new baby’s home. When we arrived in Mokono, Uganda, we were amazed to see how much work had already been done.



The walls were already up!!! Our team worked on landscaping, building a deck, building a changing table, and painting. We also did a short vacation bible school at Kidron Valley, brought lots of supplies from the US, and purchased bunk beds, crib mattresses, tricycles, curtains, a table and chairs, a fan, plastic plates and cups, office chairs, etc.




Our team was made up of folks ranging in age from 19 (turned 19 while we were in Uganda) all the way up to age 68. People often wonder. Is it really cost efficient to send a mission team to do construction? Wouldn’t it be more cost efficient to just send money over to Uganda and pay the local workers to complete the projects? If the only purpose of a mission trip is to build, then it is definitely NOT cost efficient. However, there are many reasons for short term missions that go far beyond construction. The relationships built between the people who travel and the people who live in Uganda that are grown over this time are priceless. In addition, our team shares the gospel through words and actions with local widows and children through prayer, VBS, and hugs. In turn, the people of Uganda bless our hearts so much and show us what it truly means to have the joy of the Lord. I don’t think I could ever express through words the impact that these mission trips have had on my life. I encourage anyone and everyone to go on a trip with us someday. I would love for you to see what God is doing and be blessed by the people of Uganda too. Soon, AHH is hoping to take a Friendship Team to China to work with an orphanage with which we recently began a relationship. I hope to go on that trip as well, so be on the lookout for more fundraising letters. LOL



I really do not have the words to express how grateful I am to all of you for your continued prayer and financial support. If you have not already liked A Helping Hand on Facebook, please do. We send out monthly updates about what is going on in Uganda and usually link those to our Facebook page.

The Ugandan red dirt is still on my shoes, and I don’t want to wash it off. It is a reminder to me that God is the Lord of all nations. When I am in Uganda, my heart is full and my spirit feels God’s presence even more fully than at home. When I enter the worship service in Uganda, tears come freely. Although I have experienced God just as close here at home, I look forward to going to Uganda because I know that God presence will overwhelm me. If you want to be overwhelmed by God, I pray you will join us on our next trip.



As always, if you wish to donate to any of my mission trips or to the ministries of AHH in Uganda, China, Guatemala, or elsewhere, please send checks to:
A Helping Hand Adoption Agency
1510 Newtown Pike Ste 152
Lexington, KY 40511
Or give on line at
http://ahelpinghandadoption.org/donate/

Uganda Awaits

I thought I should write and give everyone an update. Things have been so busy, I think I forgot to send a thank you and praise out on my blog. My trip to Uganda this year is fully funded! PTL! Thank you to everyone who supported me through sending funds, prayer, and helping with the garage sale. We raised $900 in just one day! This year we are taking a team of 16 people. The folks in Uganda have already begun the work on the new babies home. With the added support of our team, it looks like we may be able to get the babies moved into the new baby's home by August. That would be so great! Below is a message I received from Ken a few weeks ago and some photos of the progress so far. I will update everyone again when I return.



Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," I Peter 2:7



Dear friends,
This morning I was frustrated with an issue; as I walked around the site watching what the masons were doing,the Holy Spirit reminded me of the portion in scripture that talks about Jesus. The corner stone that the builders rejected.
Friends every thing in our lives is saturated with the Lord; may you be encouraged just as I was this morning.
Blessings,
Kenneth Nganda

Still Kickin'

Well, some weeks are better than others right? This week, I was amazed by all the folks who have stepped up to support my mission trip after my last post. My church in SC (even though I moved to Lexington over 1 1/2 years ago now, I still call WOL my church) has made a large donation to my mission trip, and I have had some friends step up to help with the upcoming yard sale. Thank you to all of you for your support. This morning I received word that the baby's home caught on fire. Praise the Lord no one was hurt. The fire started in the ceiling in the laundry room and has to do with something electrical. Ken and Cathy moved every body out and were waiting for the electrician to determine when it is safe to go back in. In addition, Ken was reended this morning. Fortunately, no one was injured and the other person will have to pay for the repairs. Ken said to me, "I know the enemy doesn't like what we are doing, and whenever things like this start happening, I know God is getting ready to do something big!" Such a great attitude and very true. They have asked for prayer of course. Today, I have a test ahead. I'm not sure how its going to go as I am stepping completely out of my comfort zone and my patience will be tested. Please pray for me. In other news, Kelsie and I signed up for the Iron Horse Half Marathon on October. We are really pumped and scared all at the same time. It will be the first 1/2 Marathon for both of us. We start officially training in June. Exciting stuff.

Warning: Spiritual Retreat Needed: Post Oozes Self Pity

Sometimes the burden I feel on my soldiers from the stress from my job is overwhelming. I have staff who depend on me, I have families who depend on me, and I have children who are depending on me. Even though I know that the burden is not mine to carry and that God’s burden is light, sometimes it is difficult to really give it to Him. I want to, but I keep picking it back up again. There are days when I want to quit and run away. I remember my mom used to say the same thing when I was growing up. I know that everyone feels this way from time to time. I also feel the lies from the enemy creeping in saying, “You are not enough, you can’t do it, you’re going to fail”, or “if you had a spouse or someone to share your burdens with everything would be easier”. I know these are all lies because I do have someone to share my burdens with and He is the best support I could ever need. He is always faithful, and I cannot fail when I am relying on Him. He knows my needs before I even express them. Today has been challenging and all before 10AM. Perhaps a vacation is due. Perhaps a spiritual vacation is due!

To Uganda I Return

This year I am leading a team of 16 people to Uganda for 10 days. Thanks to a wonderful church in Nebraska, we have raised over $100,000 toward the building of the new baby’s home! We give God all the glory and praise! These funds are earmarked for the building so we are not allowed to use them to cover the team’s travel cost. Each team member is expected to raise $2,600 for the trip. So far, I have only raised $593.00. As a team leader, I have an additional $1,500 that is raised by the other team members, which leaves me with a balance of $507 to raise before we leave. I am planning to have a yard sale in April to help raise funds as well. This year, the majority of our team members are men. We have several men who are in construction because we plan to build the first building for the baby’s home. We want to be able to move the children to the site in Mokono, Uganda to avoid continuing to pay rent in Kampala. In addition, while we are in Mokono, we will be ministering to widows and other community members through prayer, donations of goods, and fellowship. We also plan to hold vacation bible school at Kidron Valley Orphanage in Jinja which ministers to over 100 children in the community. I am very excited about this trip because it will be my first time to travel to Uganda and stay outside of Kampala. Also, I’m excited because the Lord has provided the funds to really begin building. Since my trip last May, we have raised the funds to dig a well on the land. This has been such a blessing to the community to have clean water! The folks in Uganda have completed a latrine and are now working on a guard shack. In addition, we have continued to raise and support the baby’s home monthly at $4,000 per month. Each month is a struggle to meet our goal, but the Lord always provides. I’m so excited to see what the Lord has in store for our team on this year’s trip. Below are some photos of some of the work that has been done in the past. Thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support. To donate to my trip click here or please send checks to: A Helping Hand Adoption Agency 1510 Newtown Pike Ste 152 Lexington, KY 40511