I’m really excited to have a guest post today from my friend Claire Diaz-Ortiz.  I met Claire a couple of years ago at Allume and am excited to have her here today to share a piece of her story.  See, Claire and I have some things in common…a love for people, a love for Africa, and an inexplicable arresting of our souls by the God who’s plans are so much different, and so much better than we’d ever dare to dream.

“It’s about what it means to live in the now when the world is falling down around you. It’s about what it means to hope for the things you cannot see. Most of all, it’s about how God can change your life in the blink of an eye.”

With words like that to describe her book, I’m sure you can understand why I couldn’t wait to have her here to share it with you.  Yes…to it all….hope in the God who changes lives in the blink of an eye.

So, meet Claire:

Africa does something to your soul.

You step off the plane, feeling the thick air on hot skin, and you know that you will be different.

This is how it happened for me.

In 2006, I went back. She had been calling me, ever since the first trip. The trip where I sky-dived out of a plane and saw a yellow lion and held the hand of a tiny, smiling girl.

On my second trip, though, things would be different. Because this time, Africa would never leave me.

I go back to climb a mountain. Mt. Kenya, a big one, ready for the tattered running shoes I’ve already used to get to the Base Camp of Mt. Everest. I’ve been traveling for a year, you see. Taking trains through Siberia, bumping on rickety buses in rural Asia, reading hundreds of books on deserted beaches the world over.

Little luggage, little money. Lots of heart.

When someone recommends a guest house near the base of the mountain, I jump. It’s cheap, they say. It’s for me, I say.

The guest house is owned by an orphanage, they say. Oh, I say, not caring. It’s a place to sleep.

It is when I arrive at that guest house, and that orphanage, that something changes. That I feel, in a way I never have before and never have since, that my life is about to change. And so I ask God to open my eyes so that I can see.

I never do climb the mountain.

After a few days in the guest house, I decide to live in the orphanage for a year.

I start a small nonprofit organization called Hope Runs, and I spend a year running in the red dirt with tiny children and lanky teens alike. And when the year is over, Africa is not done with me.

image by J. Carrier

Because there is a boy. A boy I fell in love with on that first day, and a boy I fell deeper in love with as the course of that year progressed. And now, we have found a way to bring him home. Home to the United States, to a new family with me, and to a different world.

Hope Runs: An American Tourist, A Kenyan Boy, a Journey of Redemption is the story of this journey. A story of a young woman, a younger boy, and two lives that were turned on their heads in one afternoon under the bright sky of wide Africa.

This is our story. A story of meeting, and a story of living, and a story of everything that has happened since.

This is a story of hope. We all have stories, and this is mine.

Do You Know Your Story? What is it?

In honor of the launch of Hope Runs, I’m giving away a free ebook, entitled, Share Your Story. Download it here.

Win one of 3 Copies of Hope Runs:

To win a copy of Hope Runs, do one or more of the following things. Leave 1 comment on this post for every item you do.

• Like this blog post on Facebook.
• Tweet this blog post.
• Post this blog post on Pinterest.

Remember, for each thing you do, leave one comment. (So, if you post on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, that would be three comments.)

(Or, buy a copy of Hope Runs and get $150 in freebies.)

About Hope Runs:

Sammy Ikua Gachagua had lost his father to illness, his mother to abandonment, and his home to poverty. By age ten, he was living in a shack with seven other children and very little food. He entered an orphanage seeing it as a miracle with three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and clothes on his back.

When Claire Diaz-Ortiz arrived in Kenya at the end of an around-the-world journey, she decided to stay the night, climb Mt. Kenya, then head back home. She entered an orphanage seeing it as little more than a free place to spend the night before her mountain trek. God had other plans.

Hope Runs is the emotional story of an American tourist, a Kenyan orphan, and the day that would change the course of both of their lives forever. It’s about what it means to live in the now when the world is falling down around you. It’s about what it means to hope for the things you cannot see. Most of all, it’s about how God can change your life in the blink of an eye.

About Claire Diaz-Ortiz:

Claire Diaz-Ortiz (@claire) is an author, speaker and Silicon Valley innovator who was an early employee at Twitter. Named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, she holds an MBA and other degrees from Stanford and Oxford and has been featured widely in print and broadcast media. She writes a popular blog at ClaireDiazOrtiz.com and is the author of the new book, Hope Runs: An American Tourist, a Kenyan Boy, a Journey of Redemption.

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
 who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
 who publishes salvation,
 who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” – Is 52:7

My entire body is trembling as I write.  Shaking.  Tingling.  Nearly numb.

I have to write now.  You have to know now. For the past 3 hours, I have been holding screaming children in a jigger removal clinic and my heart is shattered into a million pieces.  Children the same ages as my own… whose feet were full of these wretched sand fleas and their egg sacs buried deep beneath the skin.

 I clung tightly to precious children who screamed in a way that brought my stomach into my throat.  I watched chunks of flesh detach as the painful jiggers were removed.  Child after child clenching teeth at the beginning and then begging to be held by those of us around.  What starts out as accepting a gentle back scratch, turns into a furious grasping for comfort wherever they can find it.  A desperate cry to be free of the pain of these despicable insects.

 I am absolutely wrecked and emotionally spent.  My heart is still beating fast as my stomach threatens to expel all the contents at any given moment.  And not only from watching the gruesome process of removal, but from the way my heart is throbbing with the pain I just experienced alongside of them.

At one point 5 of us held 4 year-old  Abu who had jiggers in his feet and hands as he screamed out “Mommy!!! Mommy!!” and clung tightly to my arms.  His face buried in my own as his tears mingled with mine and fell all over his outstretched legs.   I held him tight and kissed his dirty, tear-stained face as a nurse removed jigger after jigger after jigger.  His toes were so swollen that they looked to be spread wide from the infection ravaging every part of his foot.

I watched my sweet new friend lose an entire toenail because of the mass amount of eggs buried underneath and infection encompassing every part of his tiny toes.  Infection spewed from every open wound in his toes as he writhed in excruciating pain. My heart is cracked wide open and my eyes feel constantly wet from the welling tears that won’t leave.

All they need to prevent this from happening is medical care, education, and a pair of shoes. All they need is a pair of shoes.

A pair of shoes.

And as I sat there broken-hearted, sobbing with these babes, all I could think was “How can anyone not agree to just cut up their old jeans to prevent this?” All it takes is my leftovers…a little bit of my time… and a piece of my heart to love beyond what I can see from the comfort of my own beautiful American home.

I don’t think I can ever view my old jeans the same.  I won’t ever view my mass collection of shoes the same.  I can’t not do something when I have SO MUCH to give. We have SO MUCH to give.  And it’s such a small amount to give to make a difference too. After what I experienced today, I’m not beyond begging you.  From the pit in my stomach and the fullness of my heart, I honestly beg you not stand by and do nothing.  I beg you to gather people around you…to order a shoe kit and to bring hope to these children.

It’s not just giving shoes….it’s providing medical care… antibiotics, ointments, testing for HIV, Typhoid, Malaria, and other diseases.  It’s holding tearful faces and kissing cheeks that don’t have proper care.  It’s creating jobs for the shoemakers who for the first time can provide for even their own families.  Some of the Sole Hope workers have begun taking in other street children and paying for their school as well.  The hearts of all involved with this organization swell with Jesus and want to love their own people with the love that has been shown to them.

With everything that I am, I stand behind what Sole Hope is doing here in Uganda. They breathe love, and Jesus, hope, and new life.  They give children back a childhood where they can run and play without pain.  They open doors and create life-giving opportunities for workers and staff.

I cannot say enough good about what I have seen here.  My words fall short.

So often from where we sit in America, it can feel like we are asked to give money…and more money and more money.  And the truth is that we actually do have so much money that we can give.  But there is something so special about becoming a bigger part of the story.  About seeing a pair of my own jeans cut up with friends and family and then made into a pair of shoes.  About holding the children as they cry, about loving on them, about seeing them educated, sharing the love of Jesus with them, and giving shoes made from items in my own home.

The children here are wearing pieces of your blessing… wearing bits of your generosity.  They are given back childhood because of your cut up pants.

It’s a no-brainer.

If they were your children, wouldn’t you want someone who has piles of extra pants at home to cut up a few pairs to help your kids?

Please.  Please.  It’s just so simple… and so totally life-giving.

 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. – Ps 116:8–9

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” – Rev 21:3-5

Mo | Wynne | Cara | Melissa | Erika | Carey

If you’d like to help provide extended recovery for some of these children, please join with me, Allume,  Sole Hope, and Pure Charity as we partner together to make the Sole Hope Outreach House Project a reality!

Want to host your own shoe cutting party?  It’s easy, fun, and will change lives.  I promise..I see it. Go HERE to order a shoe cutting kit!

Be sure to follow all the other amazing gals on our trip by clicking this link: ‪#‎bloghope‬

**Photos by Cara Coleman

I woke up at 4am on the floor of a sweet friend’s house who made a home for me in the midst of the chaos of the past few hours …wondering, praying, and feeling hopeful that maybe I could still go to Uganda. As I lay awake and praying, I kept hearing the Lord say “wait.”

So I opened my Bible on my phone and started searching “wait on the Lord”… and ya’ll. Look what I came across over and over and over.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the Lord! – Ps 31:24

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord! – Ps 27:14

Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land – Ps 37:34

But for you, O Lord, do I wait;
    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.- Ps 38:15

He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint. – Is 40:29-31

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we await for it with patience- Rom 8:24-25

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord 
in the land of the living! 
Wait for the Lord; 
be strong, and let your heart take courage; 
wait for the Lord! – Ps 27:13-14

Be strong, be courageous…inherit the land…run and not be weary…be strong, take courage…wait for the Lord.

There is boldness and courage that happen in the waiting friends.  Waiting isn’t passive…it’s an active pursuit of greater faith, deeper love, and increased strength.  It’s a steeping of onesself in thankfulness…an override of joy inexplicable…to squelch the disappointments of things gone awry with the heaps of blessings that still surround.

Waiting is growing.

Waiting is brave.

But make no mistake about it… waiting is hard.

But while I wait, I hope.

SO this morning, I woke up early and went to the passport office to stand in line and pray that I could get in.  And the kindness of the Lord hovered over every single step…over every person I encountered…and at 2pm today, my dear friend Amena is going to take me to pick up a brand new passport!!!!

I AM GOING!

I am booked on a flight leaving tomorrow night…but the travel agent suggested that I go today and try to fly standby because there are plenty of tickets on the flight tonight.  So please join me to pray that the favor of the Lord continues to go before me…that the kindness of the Lord paves the way with each of his children that I encounter today…and that I can be to Uganda just 24 hours behind the others….because friends, while I wait…I hope.

I meant to go to Uganda today.

I have a plane ticket… and I came to Atlanta to meet up with the team yesterday… and I’ve been packing and preparing my stuff and my heart for a good long time now.

But sometimes all that preparation isn’t quite enough to get you where you need to go.

The anticipation was thick as we gathered together with heaps of bags and 8 giant plastic tubs to take with us to our dear friends at Sole Hope.  The flight was leaving at 6pm.

At 4 we were checking in…I went first.

“I’m sorry ma’m.  Your passport isn’t valid.”

“Yes it is…it doesn’t expire until July.”

“Well to enter Uganda, your passport has to be valid at least 6 months past the travel dates. It’s different for different countries, but your travel agent should have told you that.”

“She didn’t.”

“Well then, I’m sorry. We cannot issue your ticket.”

Silence. Numbness coursed through my entire body.  A fist sized lump gathered in my throat and hot tears streamed down my face as I looked at my whole team in line with me.

They all heard it.  Everyone was silent.

And then they all jumped in to encourage, “It’s ok…we’re gonna figure this out…I’m sure it’s going to be fine.  We’ll just call a couple people and figure out what to do.  It’s going to be ok…we’ll just work this out right quick.”

But I knew. They were going to get in the security line 10 minutes from now, and I wasn’t.  I wasn’t going to be getting on that plane today.

My heart shattered in a million pieces and then I heard the Lord say, “Be brave.  Trust me.  Keep following me hard and know that what I have for you is good.”

Wynne started making phone calls.  I called my friend Alexis who works in the airport.  Cara, Carey, Melissa, Mo, Molly, and Erika gathered around me and prayed.  What else could we do?

I stood in line to talk to another ticketing agent to figure out next steps.  Holly from Sole Hope got on the phone with the passport office.  Alexis started talking to the travel agent…and I blew a kiss to the whole team as they walked away into the journey we’ve all been waiting for.

I hope I get to join them.  Because my heart just took off for Africa on a plane 3 hours ago with a group of women I just met and already love.

And I’m sitting here a little stunned, but still pretty hopeful.  But I’m just gonna ask you to pray with me and for me as we figure this out.

So here are the logistics of what has happened, and what I want you to know should you EVER travel internationally.  First of all…don’t ever try to go anywhere with less than 6 months before your passport expires.  I don’t know why there is an expiration date at all if basically I just got dealt with as if it were expired, but just trust me on this one…keep it SUPER current.

I have a flight that has been rebooked for Wednesday night…it wasn’t cheap to fix that, but the Lord provided a bit over my total amount needed in the first place, so it covered that.  The passport office in the airport told us that they could overnight my passport and have it back by Wednesday morning, so we were going to go with that option.  But then they ended up telling us once we were there that they couldn’t get it in afterall.  So they called and made me an appointment with the Atlanta passport office for Thursday because that was the first available option.  They said at least if I make an appointment that then the office will know I’ve made a good faith effort.  But then they and the ticketing agents told me to just show up tomorrow when they open to the passport office in Atlanta and honestly, to just pray for favor that there will be someone kind who will help me.  They can re-issue me a new one if so tomorrow and I can be on my way on Wednesday.  So it comes down to the kindness of an agent and the favor of the Lord just hovering over every step of the way.

My heart just went to Uganda…and I am still in Atlanta.

But I think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and I find myself thinking…”But EVEN IF HE DOESN’T…I will still trust God, and I know that He is still so so good.”

I’m not even sure how to describe the feeling of standing there… stunned…like I was kicked in the gut and could hardly breathe.  And watching my dear new friends walk away….fat, hot tears rolling down my numb cheeks.

Disappointment does not define the goodness of my God….no matter how great.  So I am hopeful tonight that I will still go in 48 hours, but I am trusting enough to know that even if I don’t…my God is still good.