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.

I’ve been growing accustomed to a journey filled with bends in the road that I can’t see beyond.  It’s been a faith walk the past few years into things unimagined and unforseen even.  And most days I’d tell you I’m not so sure where I’m going so much as just learning to follow the rabbit trails that point me the direction that God is calling.  I’m not so much of a super planner anyways, but the more I learn to walk curiously, the more I find myself in placed I’d never even considered going at all.

But in this road I’m traveling, I see easily how rabbit trails can turn into a rat race.  How we think we see what could be beyond, so we veer off course and instead of following God, we begin to pursue a seen end.

I tend to think though that the rat race is really just a mouse trap.

I tend to avoid political discussion here in this space.  I refrain from becoming self-indulgent to engage in social commentary.  It’s not that I shy away from it, so much as don’t feel called into the arguing or the point proving.  That to me feels like a veering off track for me personally, but I have had a thought over the past few weeks that I think God is calling me into that is a part of this journey of curious faith.  It’s the thought that…

“Sometimes I will make seemingly bad business decisions to make good Kingdom ones.”

That’s not to say that I will be foolish, but it is to say that if God is behind anything that I’m doing…if I’m following something that I believe He has asked me to walk into, then it’s really as simple as either I trust Him or I don’t.

If I trust God, and trust that I’m walking hard after Him, then I don’t need to worry about how sometimes I might make a decision that seems upside down to the world.  It’s what my friend Ann Voskamp calls the Upside Down Kingdom.  It’s putting the Lord and the things of His heart first and not striving.

Ecclesiastes 4:4 says,  “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

I don’t want to get caught in the winds of envy of others that blow me off course.  I don’t want to get sucked into a rat race that traps me.  I just want to follow Jesus wherever that takes me…and if that means that sometimes I’ll seem foolish to this world, then so be it.

 

Once when I was a kid, the children’s ministry at my church performed the musical, “Fat Fat Jehoshaphat.”

My dear friend Laura Parker always got the leads in the plays because she could sing like a nightingale. I on the other hand….well….couldn’t.  So in “Fat Fat Jehoshaphat,” I was cast as the scribe.  Apparently discontented with being just a scribe, I decided to jazz things up a bit.  So… in my announcement of Fat Fat Jehoshaphat entering the room during the performance…in true-to-Biblical-time fashion…I shouted my “Here Ye, Here Ye” line with a decidedly 8 year old version of a Brittish accent.

And so, I made my stage debut….

I have no idea what Ann Voskamp and I were giddy over in this picture from Allume this past fall, but it really looks to me like I’m announcing her with a Brittish “Here Ye, Here Ye.”

And since there’s something worth announcing…in the very best way that I know how, I say to you….

Here Ye, Here Ye!

Allume tickets go on sale tomorrow at midnight!

 We will be having a Twitter party beginning tomorrow (Friday 2/28) at 11pm and will run right up until tickets go on sale!  At 11:50 pm during the Twitter party, we’ll even be giving away a FREE Conference Ticket!   The first 50 tickets sold get a special Early Bird price of $265 (regular price is $299) and the pass includes access to all general sessions, breakout sessions, parties, as well as including all meals from Thursday dinner through Saturday dinner!  Go HERE to get your pass, and join us tomorrow night as we give away tons of prizes between 11pm and midnight under the #Allume hashtag!

Hope you’ll join us tomorrow night as well as at the conference this October 23-25th in Greenville, SC!  And in case you haven’t seen, make sure you check out our new website!  We freshened things up a bit on the ol world wide web slice that Allume.com occupies, and we’re pretty pleased with the way it turned out!  Really…we think it deserves a “Here Ye, Here Ye” for sure!

For several months now, I’ve heard the Lord whispering “Africa.”  I’ve never been, but it has been popping up in my social media streams and then into my life enough that a few months ago, I began asking the Lord if I was supposed to go… if this whisper of Africa might be meant for me.

But why would I go?  What would take me there?  And once there, what would I do?  I didn’t know…but I kept hearing it almost like a breeze through the trees….

“Africa.”

As Allume began to draw near this fall, I kept hearing it more… “Africa.”  And I couldn’t help but notice that there was a fair amount of Africa coming directly in my path.  Partners like FH who had taken friends of mine to Africa (and me to Bangladesh one year ago), introductions to Pearl Ministries and Ornaments 4 Orphans who are doing amazing work in Uganda, and my new friends at Sole Hope too.  It suddenly began to feel like Africa was all around me.

About 6 weeks or so before Allume I got a really funny email from Dru Collie, who along with his wife Asher, founded Sole Hope.

“I think we went to elementary school together,” it said.

Dru Collie….Dru Collie…Dru Collie…..hmmm…sounds kinda familiar, but not sure.  I thought and thought and didn’t remember.  So I emailed him back and said ” You went to Oakwood too?!”

Nope…Viewmont.  But turns out that we did go to middle school together!  Grandview Eagles ya’ll!  And then I remembered him! Back then I was the cheerleader that had incisors that grew in above my gumline, and tall, lanky Drü who now spells his name with a fancy umlaut, was called plain ol “Andrew.”

And here we are a few years later, a couple of kids from Hickory, NC who are partnering our organizations to make a difference in the world.  Even crazier too is that my dear old friend, Laura Parker, co-founder of the Exodus Road, was also a Grandview eagle.  Funny how God decides to use a few random kids from Hickory, NC to accomplish his purposes all over the world.

Anyhow, as I got to know Asher better at Allume, I just fell more in love with not just the Collies, but the work they are doing in Africa.   My kids became interested in it.  It was something they could begin to wrap their arms around.  And it was so simple to get involved.  Beyond just sending money, Sole Hope builds a road to take something small here and make it count big there.

Take a pair of jeans that you’re not really wearing anymore (and let’s be honest, anyone who has ever had a baby or eaten too much Thanksgiving dinner has at least 1 or 11 pairs that would qualify), invite some friends over to bring their ill-fitting pants with them too, gather around a table and cut them up using shoe patterns provided by a Sole Hope shoe cutting kit.  Send the cut out jeans back to Sole Hope’s office in the US, and they ship them to Uganda.  Once in Uganda, your old pants become life-giving for thousands of people there.  The patterns are made into shoes that provide a fair wage for workers and use recycled tires for the soles.  They pave the way for foot washing clinics to remove terrible, debilitating jiggers from children’s feet, and each child gets a new pair of shoes.  Sole Hope ministers to the people of Uganda through education, medical care, and literal foot washing to eliminate the problem of jiggers amongst children there.

Watch this quick video to see what I’m talking about.  Be aware that the images are difficult to see, but even my own children have watched it and the Lord continues to break their young hearts for his beloved there in Africa.

My 4 year old had an ingrown toenail recently.  As we worked to pull it out from the skin growing in around it, he looked at me and told me how badly it hurt, and then said “I bet it hurts even more with those kids in Uganda.  Maybe we can send them some of my shoes Mommy so that their feet don’t hurt.”

They get it friends.  Even our children can understand pain and want to give hope to the hopeless.  And despite the fact that I will be away from my own children from March 9-20th on a trip to Uganda with Sole Hope, they are excited to be a part of the story that gives hope to others.

I’m excited to go.  I’m also nervous because I know that the most work I’ll do there will probably be on my own heart.  But I’m honored to be a part of the hope story in Uganda.  The Lord whispered “Africa” to me and is allowing me to shout it loud for others to hear now too.

We had a shoe cutting party for Sole Hope at Allume this fall, and our creative director, Carey Bailey, and I have the unbelievable honor of following some of those cut out shoes to actually place them on the feet of precious children while we are there.  We are joining a team of women who will be using our online spaces to make the story of hope tangible for those longing to be a part of it.  I hope you’ll follow along as I write from Uganda between March 9-20, and make the Sole Hope story a part of your hope story as well.

If you’d like to donate to our trip, that’d be super awesome.  We all need to raise support to be able to go, and I’d be honored if you would partner with me in this way to make it happen. The goal is to raise $2800 each and I’m part of the way there, but am asking for your help now too to bring this piece of my story fully to life. You can go HERE to make a “One Time Donation” and in the notes part, write “Logan Wolfram – March trip.”

And whether you donate or not, I’d love to have you follow along and join the story that God is allowing me to be a part of telling.