URANTIAN COMMUNITIES NORTHWEST
Spring 2019 Newsletter
 
Dear Friends of UCNOW:
  
As an organization, UCNOW’s goal is to strengthen our human and divine relationships through local and regional gatherings as well as facilitate study opportunities, social meet-ups and service projects. 

To that end, we are delighted to bring you our Spring 2019 Newsletter featuring links to a new video, photos and a list of upcoming Pacific Northwest events. 

Growing Relationships | Human + Divine  
This wonderful video captures the spirit of the second regional gathering of the UCNOW in September, 2018.  Over 90 Urantia Book students and friends came together at Wallowa Lake in Joseph, Oregon to celebrate and participate in the theme of Growing Relationships | Human + Divine.  Special thanks go to Derek Samaras and Jeremy Daigle for their skillful capturing of the Spirit we experienced at this gathering. See the video here. 
 
Also, great photos from the Gathering can be seen here.
 
Upcoming 2019 Events in the Pacific Northwest

For more information and complete details for all of these events visit our Events Page.

April 12-15 – “Sisters in Spirit Gathering” on Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada.  Join in this uplifting and light-hearted gathering devoted to the motherhood of God and the sisterhood of women.  

May 10-12 - “A Spiritual Family Reunion” in Boise, Idaho.  Reunite, commune and celebrate our unity in the spirit and share our various service projects. 
 
August 26-30 – “Biannual Urantia Campout” at Miracle Beach, north of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.  Camping, potlucks, Remembrance Supper and more. 

TBA in August – “Personal Spiritual Growth: Connecting Deeper with God” at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, WA

If you have an event or know of one you would like posted to the UCNOW Events page, please contact us now atcommunications@ucnow.net 

We invite you to join our FaceBook page, UCNOW.  It’s the quickest way to stay in touch with what is happening in the UCNOW.   You can easily share your news on that page.

We also invite you to write to us and share your talents and ideas. Learn about what’s happening in the UCNOW organization, suggest service projects and join our ongoing outreach efforts as we share the good news of our Revelation to our communities. 

Jesus taught that service to one’s fellows is the highest concept of the brotherhood of spirit believers. (188.4.9) 

 In loving service,
The Communications Committee
communications@ucnow.net
 

A message from: Verne Joseph Finucane-Urantia A PERSONAL COMMENTARY ON LIVING LIFE. AND SUGGESTIONS ON POSSIBLE CHANGES TO IMPROVE AMERICA. First, always tell the truth, try to say what you mean and mean what you say. Try and say what you’re going to do, then do what you say and if you can't for whatever legitimate reason, let the other affected parties know. Try never to leave others hanging. Always try to speak from the heart and learn from your errors, grow and evolve. We are experiential creatures, we learn, grow and evolve by doing, making daily decisions, by seeking the truth and taking effective action. Think logically and not emotionally.

Try and see the whole picture. Example, excerpt from The Urantia Book:

" In the mind’s eye conjure up a picture of one of your primitive ancestors of cave-dwelling times — a short, misshapen filthy, snarling hulk of a man standing, legs spread, club upraised, breathing hate and animosity as he looks fiercely just ahead. Such a picture hardly depicts the divine dignity of man. But allow us to enlarge the picture. In front of this animated human crouches a saber-toothed tiger. Behind him, a woman and two children. Immediately you recognize that such a picture stands for the beginnings of much that is fine and noble in humans, but the man is the same in both pictures. Only, in the second sketch, you are favored with a widened horizon. You therein discern the motivation of this evolving mortal. His attitude becomes praiseworthy because you understand him. If you could only fathom the motives of your associates, how much better you would understand them. If you could only know your fellows, you would eventually fall in love with them. *   100:4.5 (1098.2) http://www.urantia.org

You cannot truly love your fellows by a mere act of the will. Love is only born of thoroughgoing understanding of your neighbor’s motives and sentiments. It is not so important to love all men today as it is that each day you learn to love one more human being. If each day or each week you achieve an understanding of one more of your fellows, and if this is the limit of your ability, then you are certainly socializing and truly spiritualizing your personality. Love is infectious, and when human devotion is intelligent and wise, love is more catching than hate. But only genuine and unselfish love is truly contagious. If each mortal could only become a focus of dynamic affection, this benign virus of love would soon pervade the sentimental emotion-stream of humanity to such an extent that all civilization would be encompassed by love, and that would be the realization of the brotherhood of man."  100:4.6 (1098.3)

PERSONAL COMMENTARY CONT'D Somethings are out of our direct control or you may have to think outside the box to surmount them. Sometimes we suffer the consequences of other people's actions. Spiritual Growth is the most important. Doing God's will, need not be complicated.

• 1: Simply Love our Father, the First Source and Center of all creation, The Grand Creator of all the grand universe material and spiritual, the Infinite Upholder of all that is, was and ever will be. Love him not out of fear of going to hell or being punished as some would have you believe, this is a false kind of love. Love him for giving you your life, free will and the possibility of the grand adventure of eternal life.
• 2: Strive to live by the Golden Rule taught by Jesus. " Do onto others as you would have done to you". Love your fellow man.

Try to help others whenever possible but do so within your means. Get involved in your community. Know what’s going on around you Locally, Nationally and in the world. Check the facts, do your own research, don't take things at face value. Seek the truth and the truth will set you free. What we fail to learn in this short life we will be taught in the next. We are in God's Kindergarten when it comes to knowledge and experience on a universal cosmic and spiritual levels. The wonders of the universe are ours to seek and be shown to the God Seeking, God Loving Mortals of time and space.

We are at but the beginning of God's eternal plan, Act 1, what an adventure he has planned for his children. And armed with this knowledge and having faith this can give man now a kind of eternal peace of mind. Give him the strength and courage to endure, adapt and to overcome any obstacles that he may face in this eternal journey.

Never stop learning, Anthony Robbins the Motivational coach teaches the Theory of C.A.N.I. Can I. Constant and Never-ending Improvement. Learn something new each day and if something doesn't work for you, forget it and let the negative flow downstream. Stagnation is death. Life is fluid, moving and changing. I recently created this formula as an example to live by T+V+FT=K K+TEA=SUCCESS add this to an accurate knowledge of our living God, then have peace of mind.

Read (Suggested reading paper 130 of the Urantia Book, ON THE WAY TO ROME, section 6 THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS AFRAID pages 1437,1438 @ http://www.urantia.org)

Breaking down the formula: T=Trust you have to trust your fellow man. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Living cynical is no way to live. However you need to V=Verify. You must verify that this person you allow in your circle of life, your sphere of influence, be it personal or business is who he says he is and does what he says he will do. An example you hire a person to be your CFO of your Company. It would be in your best interest to occasionally, to go check the books after all it's your company your responsible for how it runs. Just like it’s your life and you are responsible for how you run it or do allow life to run you? You allow people into your sphere of influence you just need to make sure they are a positive influence. Next is FT=Follow Through. Always follow through with what you say you’re going to do and If you can't let the affected parties know. If you fail to follow through or to notify the affected parties of the change you lose credibility. If you do all this that equals K. K=Knowledge. You have to be aware of your surroundings. Now Knowledge is great however you must then go to the next step TEA=Take Effective Action.

You can have all the Knowledge in the world but if you don't use it in an effective way what good is it. Don't Be Selfish Pass the Knowledge on. Start a new project or set new Goals. If you find someone in your direct sphere of influence who is negatively affecting you try to turn him around if that fails then you must cut him loose. Don't let other problems become yours unless you’re able to help. So many times, we allow the problems of others to become ours and we are not in a solid position to help and all that happens is the other people problems weight us down, hinder us from obtaining our goals and they eventually go down anyway.

Once you are in a solid position then you can offer assistance with no negative consequences on yourself or family or friends. (Story by VJF): let's say we are on a cruise ship heading to the Virgin Islands. With us is us are family and friends. Where in the middle of the Atlantic and suddenly there is a disaster at sea? The ship is going to sink, and the Captain orders abandon ship. So, you, of course, gather your family and friends and head to the lifeboats. You are all put in one boat, lowered down. You push off and start to row. Just over the horizon, there is an Island and safety. You start for the island however you notice a small hole in your lifeboat and water is coming in. But it's not a big problem. You assign some people to bail out the water as others row. Everyone is working together to get to safety. Suddenly you hear a cry for help there is another passenger from the ship alone in the water. You do the Christian thing and row over and pull him into to boat You give him food and water. Now this person is able-bodied. You ask this person to help row or bail, but this person continues to sit there, he is not helping row or bail or doing anything helpful. But he is eating and drinking from your supplies. Now you may choose to let this go on for a time that's up to you and the group. But now this person pulls out a gun and proceeds to shoot several more holes in your boat. Now, what do you do?

• 1: Allow him to continue shooting more holes eventually causing the boat to sink and you, your family and friends all go to the bottom and drown.
• 2: You attack and kill him. Throwing the body overboard.
• 3: You Capture Him. Tell him you gave him a chance and he did nothing to contribute to the safety of the boat or wellbeing of the group, that he willfully refused to become a helpful contributing member of the group and then with malice and forethought he rejected that help and tried to kill or cause injury to innocent people. So, you give him a life vest, a little food, and water and place him back in the ocean and tell him to fend for himself. Now, this able-bodied man is what my father called a leach on society.

They of their own volition choose not to be a productive member of society however for some unknown reason be it ego or mental illness they believe and expect society to take care of them. Get a free ride with all the trimmings. They do nothing to try to contribute to the betterment of the group. They take and take. Now I ask you why a society would choose to take care of such people to their own detriment and demise. Now I am not talking about people who are disabled and can't work. Or the person who has lost their job. There are good reasons for the Government to provide welfare and food stamps to its citizens in need. However, it should be a temporary solution to the able-bodied and sound of mind. It should not become a way of life.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:

Personally, I think this country should develop and enforce a two-year commitment from its youth of mandatory community service. Starting at age 18, a choice of two years in the Military Branch of their choice, two years of Community Service In a conversation Corp. The Conservation Corp would be designed to teach members about the Environment and the interaction with human progress and development i.e.: planting trees, aquaculture etc. or two years of service in a Trade Corp. The Trade Corp would be formed to teach the members a useful trade in the construction type industry. It's formation and chief goal rebuilding America's infrastructure, road, bridges, electrical grid, gas, and water, waste management. Both community service programs would be coed and run in a paramilitary fashion. After successful completion for their community service, they then are granted full citizenship rights. I.e.: The right to Vote. (Of course, this would require an amendment to Constitution changing the voting age to 20) Personally I believe that to be a good idea from what I see of America youth of today, they are I'll-informed on current events, accurate American history, Civic duty, they know more about the Kardashians, The size of Kim's Ass and Catlin Jenner than they do How our country works, the challenges we face both foreign and domestic These community service programs should include focus on teamwork, patriotism, working for the greater good of our people, country and the world. Courses should include the reason and importance of Duty, Honor, Country.

Special significance should be focused on the Declaration of Independence. The US Constitution and the rights it affords, the responsibility of every citizen to live by and protect those rights. And the importance of each citizen to vote and do their due diligence on the individuals running for public office. And if I had my way, I would mandate term limits on Congressional Office. State and Federal. 2 six-year terms for the Senate total 12years, 3 four-year terms for The House of Representatives total 12 years. I would make it illegal for corporations to donate to anyone running for public office. The Founding fathers never intended that political office be a lifetime job.

It was supposed to be an honorable way for citizens to do public service with the sole goal of working for the betterment of the people and the country. You go to Washington do some good for a couple of terms than get out to make way for others to perform public service. It was never meant to become a permanent job or a way of life. And it certainly was never meant as a position to help the corporation's profit. I would also make corporate lobbying as it currently is illegal. I would make Breach of the Public Trust a Felony carrying with it the death sentence and life in prison. Anyone in public office would be subject to this law. Any public official found to be breaking the laws of the United States, taking bribes, doing special favors for any type of compensation, treason, subversion, misappropriation or misuse of public or government assets, abuse of power, violating the Constitution committing any high crimes or misdemeanor.

All those holding public office via election or by appointment will be held accountable to the public. Lastly for those who deemed by a jury of their peers to be totally unwilling to work within the bounds of societal Laws, who have failed all attempts at rehabilitation. Those who are deemed morally and spiritually bankrupt? As opposed to being imprisoned for life burdening the taxpayers with the high cost of housing and feeding them for life instead should be stripped of their civil rights and banished from the United States. They should be taken and dropped in the heart of the African desert and left to fend for themselves.

Of course, this country would and desperately needs to tighten and enforce border security. Only those born in this country or who go through the legal immigration process sworn an oath to live by, defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States and laws of this land and while encouraged to keep a love for their native land and heritage do hereby swear and affirm to assimilate and adopt and abide by the customs of their host country. Only those meeting these requirements earned the rights afforded by this country all others are in violation of US Law and shall not be afforded any rights or entitled to apply for any form of federal or local government assistance.

Any company found to be employing illegal or undocumented worker shall be fined $50,000 per Violation and the owner or officers of said company or corporation shall be charged with a 3rd degree Felony punishable by 5 years in federal prison. Any person found to giving aid or assistance to illegal or undocumented worker shall be found in violation of federal law subject to $1000 fine and or 1 year in prison It's time to put America first, rebuilding our infrastructure, our Military or industrial complex, become energy self-sufficient, invest in our farmland and agriculture being able to provide food for every American. Only, the surplus to be traded. Invest in proper education, focusing on Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Science, Computer Engineering,

Real American History, Language arts, communication skills, human motivation, economics, American Government, The Declaration of Independence, loyalty, ethics, evolution, and creative design. Trade skills The need for society to have and focus on having and keeping a stable traditional family base. Then from a strong home base, you can go out and help others. If your house and your neighbor’s house are on fire it would be foolish of you to drop your hoses and run over to put your neighbor’s house fire out while your house with all your belongs and family in it burn to the ground.

First, you put your house fire out and ensure your family is safe. Ladies and Gentlemen America's house is on fire an unresponsive Congress to the needs of the people. A Congress that is more concerned with others than their own people. Loss of our industrial base, the reliance of imports, Foreign oil, Uncontrolled debt, giving foreign aid to other countries, many of whom dislike or hate us or have no economic or strategic value. All of this while American Infrastructure declines to third world status. Our roads and bridges are in horrible shape some out & out dangerous. Our commitment to space exploration virtually non- existent during the Obama presidency. We were paying Russia 70,000,000 to ferry our astronauts to the space station.

Radical Islam is attempting to dominate the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YpJjRzQDIM&feature=youtu.be

Anyone who has done independent historical and current events research knows the truth about Islam and Mohammed and the planned takeover by first peaceful immigration, then population growth refusing to assimilate to their host nation laws, mores, customs or traditions. Forcing the host country to accept Sharia Law etc. One just must research what’s happening in the countries in Europe. What we need is awareness and to try to solve our problems with both fatherly and brotherly love. However, we must also be ready to accept that love may not resolve the problems with the real goals of Islam as stated in the Quran. If they are unwilling to accept reason and peacefully coexistence than we must be ready and willing to defend the faith and the civilized world.

 Excerpt from the Urania Book133 For days they talked about this problem of manifesting mercy and administering justice. And Ganid, at least to some extent, understood why Jesus would not engage in personal combat. But Ganid asked one last question, to which he never received a fully satisfactory answer; and that question was: “But, Teacher, if a stronger and ill-tempered creature should attack you and threaten to destroy you, what would you do? Would you make no effort to defend yourself?” Although Jesus could not fully and satisfactorily answer the lad’s question, inasmuch as he was not willing to disclose to him that he (Jesus) was living on earth as the exemplification of the Paradise Father’s love to an on looking universe, he did say this much: 133:1.4 (1469.3) “Ganid, I can well understand how some of these problems perplex you, and I will endeavor to answer your question. First, in all attacks which might be made upon my person, I would determine whether or not the aggressor was a son of God — my brother in the flesh — and if I thought such a creature did not possess moral judgment and spiritual reason, I would unhesitatingly defend myself to the full capacity of my powers of resistance, regardless of consequences to the attacker. Excerpt from the Urania Book133:1.3 (1469.2) https://www.urantia.org 

Our itinerary changed quite a bit upon arrival but God is good! We had a blast on the mission trip in 2019. We were able to visit each widow and plant many fruit trees on the new land. We did sightseeing in Jinja, Uganda at the Nile River and Lake Victoria. I wouldn't trade it for the world. That trip was once in a lifetime and one I'll never forget. 

Here is a video - Enjoy! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wb6XaW0a1w&t=85s 

WELCOME! It seems like it has been a long time since we have been working with Ronald and the children at the Lords Mercy Foundation. Some of you were with us from the beginning, in 2017, when Ronald had literally nothing for the children except the clothes on their backs, and was barely able to provide them with food. We have come a long way since that point, thanks to the generosity of givers like you. Now, we have purchased new land in order that an orphanage may be built, and the children will have a permanent home. When they grow up and age out of that home, then new children will come in and take their places. The Lords Mercy Foundation will always be a safe home for orphaned children in Uganda, who have gone through the desperation of losing their parents, and oftentimes other family members as well. 

MY STORY:

As many of you know, I went to Uganda on a mission trip in 2017 with my church. I did not meet Ronald and the children during that trip, but rather met him shortly after I got back to America. Uganda changed my life so completely that I fell in love with it and didn't want to return to the states. I cried on the way to the airport, I cried on the plane ride home, and I cried once I returned, for weeks. The only reason I wanted to come back was because of my daughter. I wanted to scoop her up and take her back to move to Africa with me, but I know her home is here. A part of me was really left in Uganda, and when you get there and experience it, you will see for yourself as well. I was in such a state of sadness being back here that I began searching for something that would bring me happiness, which was only looking at things from Africa. My heart had always been geared towards orphans, ever since I had a rough upbringing as a child. Therefore, I decided I would look for an orphanage in Africa to connect with, in order to fill a hole in my own life. It was then that I met Ronald, and the story begins from there. 

ITINERARY:

THE DATES FOR OUR TRIP WILL BE JULY 26 THROUGH AUGUST 4TH. Depending on what part of the United States or world you are in, your flight will be different than the others. 

This is a rough draft of our itinerary for your early reference. We have included some sightseeing and other tourist attractions while we are there. After all, you only get to go to Africa once in a lifetime! (usually) :) Some things may be edited later on, some things may be affected by weather, etc., but below is the basic schedule that we will be using for the 2019 mission trip: 

1. Arrival in Entebbe, Uganda on July 27th. Since we have volunteers flying in from all over the world, people may want to stay in certain other countries for their connecting flights. For example, if you have family in England or Canada, you may want to book a connecting flight through there, so you can stay with them overnight and return to the airport the next day. Therefore, the best thing would be for each person to book their own flight (with whichever connecting flights they like) and then just plan to arrive in Entebbe, Uganda on the 27th. We will all plan to stay in a hotel in Entebbe that night, as flights will be arriving at different times during the day. (Entebbe is an international hub, for politicians and such, so they have many hotels and restaurants; it is more of a small city.) Then, once the whole group arrives, we can get a good night's sleep in Entebbe, then all head out together in the morning on the 28th in our rented bus with Ronald. It will take 4 to 5 hours to get to the orphanage in Kamuli from Entebbe. 

2. Visit and Build in Kamuli, Uganda on July 28th. THIS IS THE DAY WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!! Our babies will be waiting for us. After all the time you spent seeing the pictures of our children on Facebook, now you will finally get to see them in real life. Imagine the hugs, jumping and excitement that will be covered over you! We will spend the day with the children. The women will visit with some of the widows. The men will head over to see the new land. Any medical professionals will perform checkups on the children and the widows this day. Any volunteers who are farmers will assist the widows with farming techniques, as they grow food for the children to eat. We will enjoy the day, learning about the orphanage and the wonderful individuals there, and building relationships. We will stay at a hotel in Kamuli this evening. 

3. Building/Construction on July 29th. The men will head into town to buy the bricks, cement, and other materials needed for construction. Ronald will select workers and hire them to do the main construction of the orphanage, and we will help along side them, doing what they direct us to do. (See the homework assignment for details on this.) There will be 1 pink building for the girls dormitory and 1 blue building for the boys dormitory. I would like for the women to visit with the rest of the widows this day if we could not before. We will also be meeting with the teachers of the children's school and the pastor of their church (Kiwungu Christian Church). Volunteers that are teachers will be able to meet with the local teachers and discuss helpful teaching strategies, and share helpful resources you may use. We will find out what the needs are for the school and the church so we can better assist the community. We will stay in our hotel in Kamuli this night. 

New Building Design:

4. Travel to Rwanda on July 30th. Ronald will come with us. Rwanda is the country in Africa underneath Uganda. Therefore, we will be crossing into our second country while on the road. We will rise early this day and head off to Kigali, Rwanda on our bus to view the Kigali Genocide Memorial. If you do not know about the historical genocide that occurred here in 1994, I encourage you to read about it. Here is a website with more information: https://www.kgm.rw/. I guarantee it will be an experience to stay with you for a lifetime. Kigali is a modern city, much like cities we have here. Kigali is a large modern city with many hotels and accomodations. A hotel in Kigali, Rwanda will be our stay for this night.  

5. Travel to Democratic Republic of Congo on July 31st. We will be driving a few hours over the country line between Rwanda and the DRC into our third country to arrive in the city of Goma. The city of Goma, in eastern Congo, is the best starting point for visits to Virunga. Goma is a dusty but vibrant frontier town on Lake Kivu, just across the Rwandan border. Goma is located in the Virunga National Park and is also home to the only Mountain Gorilla Orphanage in the world, which takes in baby mountain gorillas whose parents were killed by poachers. The DRC, Rwanda and Uganda are the last 3 countries in the world that host natural wildlife, such as mountain gorillas, in their natural habitat. While here, we will be staying near Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano known for it's visible bed of lava down below if you are able to climb it's 11,000 foot plus peak. (We do not plan on doing this but the option is there if you would like to.) However, even if you can't see the lava, the locals say the night sky keeps a red glow from the reflection of it in the sky. We will be staying at a small villa at the base of the mountains this night. 

6. Wildlife Safari in the Virunga National Park on August 1st. Virunga National Park stretches throughout the length of the borders of the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda. Virunga lies in the western part of the East Africa Rift system on the Albertine Rift. Here, two parts of the African Plate — the Nubian Plate to the west and the Somali Plate to the east — are separating. (To learn more about the park, see this website: https://virunga.org/) On this day, we will take a safari through the park to encounter the natural wildlife, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, gorillas, hippos, crocodiles, okapis, birds, etc. We will conclude our last night in the DRC at the same villa in Goma as the night before. 

7. Travel back to Uganda on August 2nd. We will rise early once again and head back on the road with our bus to cross the country line into Uganda and return to the orphanage in Kamuli, with sightseeing on the bus during the day. We will see the children again upon arrival, check on the progress of the building of the new orphanage and help as needed. We will stay at our same hotel in Kamuli that night. 

8. Leave Uganda and fly back home on August 3rd. We will say our goodbyes to our new family (with tears) and return back on the way to our everyday lives. This will be a time of reflection (and I'm sure exhaustion) for all of us. 

HOMEWORK:

Last but not least, the most important mental prep-work you can do before ANY mission trip is know why you are going. Of course we are going to see the children and help build the orphanage, but that's exactly it, we are going to HELP build the orphanage, we are not going to ride in as knights in shining armor and take over. We are going to work along side the workers and let them guide us as needed. Take some time this week and next week to read and reflect over the homework assignment, the book entitled "When Helping Hurts," available on Amazon, to mentally prepare you for this mission trip. 

As you read the book, here are some questions to ponder.

1. What do you think about the mzungu's interactions with the character Grace?

2. Do you see things from a different perspective now than you did before?

3. What do you think the difference will be if we were to go into Uganda planning on directing them what to do and taking over the building construction of the orphanage versus if the locals are building the orphanage and we ask them how we can help build? What if there are 5 men who need work to feed their families but cannot find any, and they had the opportunity to earn a living for their wives and children, putting food on their tables by constructing buildings, but we muzungu's came in and wanted to do the work for them, taking away their chance to earn money for their families? 

One of our goals for this trip is to visit with the teachers of the local schools and the pastor of the local church to find out directly from them what their needs are, and to ask them how we can help them meet their needs. Pastors and Teachers know the families in the local community; they live with them and interact with them all throughout the year, so they will know what the urgent needs of the local community are, and it is better for us to help through them, than to just arrive somewhere with handouts, because anybody will take handouts, whether they need the items or not. 

Some ways that we at Lord's Mercy Foundation (LMF) are actively helping instead of hurting, are we bought young piglets last year for them to grow up, mate, and produce piglets for Ronald to sell for income to care for the children and meet their needs. We also purchased goats last year for the same purpose. The pigs have just reached maturity to begin reproducing and the goats are already pregnant. A third thing we did to help instead of hurt is purchase a small plot of land designated for farming. Food will be grown for consumption on our own land, so we at LMF will not be as dependent upon the local markets as we have been before. You can see examples of these projects on our website:

https://spiritualfamily.net/groups/profile/6726/lords-mercy-foundation?fbclid=IwAR0QWznYtEMZGnLmgQT6R2QW96h9MJiraMG4wW35VY9L7zktqcIGv_ZvcZk. 

It takes time for these projects to get going but you can see we are well underway. Once we have built the new orphanage, Ronald will move the pigs and goats over to the new land and we will build a chicken coop on there and begin purchasing chickens. Right now, the foundation's growth is in early stages and still needs our support for things such as school fees, clothes, shoes, medical care, etc. However, our ultimate goal is to get LMF to be able to sustain itself without help from muzungu's, all on their own, by making their own income and food. When we have accomplished that, we will be able to help others do the same. 

3 Good Reasons WHY we go on a Mission Trip: 

1. We go to encourage our missionary partners on the field (Romans 1:11-12). 
2. We go to confirm one's calling. You will gain new perspective and will have the opportunity to develop your cross-cultural abilities. 
3. We go to develop Christian character and to be stretched spiritually, culturally and relationally. 

Mission trips are: 

a) Windows through which to see the world and God's vision for it in new ways. 
b) Mirrors in which to see our church, our culture, and ourselves more clearly. 
c) Doorways through which we enter into deeper fellowship with God and our neighbors. 
d) Voices through which we may hear God's call to us. It has been said that mission team members are...
e) Bridges between those they visit and their congregation, between God's activity in one part of the world and God's activity in their own. 

Ephesians 4 says "Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism: one God and Father of all, and through all, and in you all. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into HIm who is the head - Christ - from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of the their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ. If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4 : 1 - 6, 11 - 24) 

Let us all try to identify ourselves as the latter example in the above passage instead of the former. Let us strive in our daily lives to be more like Christ, renewing our hearts and minds to think like Him, act like Him, and be like Him. In that, we will help the needy and also lead others to do the same by example. But be ready! Spiritual attacks will come whenever you try to further the kingdom of God. While you are planning this mission trip, you WILL be attacked spiritually. Bad things will happen to you, that is because the enemy does not want you furthering the kingdom of God. The enemy likes you comfortable with mediocrity, not helping others and not leading others to do the same. With you stepping out to help the less fortunate and be salt and light in this world, you will attract the enemy's attention and be subject more to his attacks. After all, you don't shoot a dead body, because it's already dead. Therefore I say to you, Be Ready! Read Ephesians chapter 6 to prepare yourself for spiritual warfare. Learn how to defend yourself against the attacks when things go wrong. 

Philippians 2 says "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind; let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And, being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in Heaven and of those on Earth, and of those under the Earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain." (Philippians 2 : 3 - 11, 13 - 16) 

So, as we prepare for meeting Ronald and the children at the orphanage, let us be mindful that as well as physical preparations, we also will be undertaking spiritual preparations to get us ready for this next step in our journey of life. PRAY alone in your quiet time with God about what your role is on this trip and ask him to help guide you along the way. Once we return from Africa, our lives will be completely changed, our minds will not be in the same places they were when we left them here, as they are now. We will have grown, and my hope for you is that when you return from Africa, you will come back as leaders yourselves, helping others to grow in the betterment of the world as we live in it; to not only return to your normal lives, but to harvest the seeds that will have been planted in you in Africa, seeds of change and of action, seeds that will grow into large trees of new people that you have not met yet being changed by your stories, and growing up to help others.

SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONAL READING: 

Wikipedia links on the 3 countries we are visiting: 

Rwanda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda 
Uganda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda 
Democratic Republic of Congo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo 

The DRC is known worldwide for its rich earth resources, as well as civil wars further in the country with many rebel groups controlling the mines in which the minerals are dug and produced for corporations in first world countries. From late 2008 forward, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) had increasingly been mandated to support FARDC operations against armed groups as a means of contributing to the protection of civilians. With around 2,000 magistrates appointed in 2013, MONUSCO has rebuilt, refurbished or equipped 57 court and prosecution facilities in the eastern DRC, and provided training on court management and record-keeping to over 1,000 judicial staff. By March 2018, United Nations efforts in support of the Congolese authorities had resulted in the prosecution of over 1,200 accused, of whom 963 were convicted. United Nations assistance has included the rehabilitation of 29 prisons. In support of the Government’s efforts to decongest prisons and make them safer, more secure and humane, MONUSCO organized training for 1,546 prison personnel, including 375 women. To read more, see here: https://monusco.unmissions.org/en/strengthening-rule-law-and-protection-civilians-democratic-republic-congo. 

CONCLUSION:

If you are interested in joining us on this once in a lifetime opportunity, please contact Wantanda Ronald at the Lord's Mercy Foundation for more information on how to become involved. 

Sincerely, 

Marissa Bodden 

Lord's Mercy Foundation 

Hello,

My name is Daniel Izzy. It's been over 7 years now since I started growing in the field of Art. I started by making realistic portraits in pencil, pen and coloured pencils for friends, family plus people around me. As the desire for Art grew in me, I went on with making commissions for people to target market and a few people came and saw it that i could get something out of my work and I realized that nothing exists without Art; and that if the world needs Art, the people in it will need me.

My profession explores visual arts in both the tradition and modern arts of drawings, painting and African crafty art works.The type of visual arts and media we use has carved out a creative niche in drawing realistic and hyper realistic works in painting both abstract and realistic art work, with making crafty work which makes it unique with the techniques we use, good at using media like ink especially with ball point pens, oil based and acrylics on canvas, water colour, charcoal pencils found objects like buttons and bottle caps when doing the modern art  clothes or traditional materials to execute our work.

We have created this store, Art Nest, to showcase the many talents of local artists in Uganda. We will select high quality artwork from shops in many markets and many towns in Uganda, to provide the artists a chance to sell their work to the public, who otherwise would not have an opportunity to visit their shop in Uganda. Much artwork is on display every day that no one else in the world can see. At Art Nest, we strive to showcase the work and provide it to you for purchase. If you should purchase an item, all shipping costs will be included in the price. Shipping can take 2 to 6 weeks, depending on where you are in the world. 

View Art Nest Items for Sale

View Art Nest Supplies for Sale

View Custom Pen & Pencil Art Templates

The world needs art because Art could be competitive in nature and essential to society. In life, people need innovative and creative ideas to express our feelings to approach others with much understanding and I want to use Art just like music, to make life extremely joyful to bring about effect on our mood through the expression of my feelings with others that it begins. 

View Our Facebook Page

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to help talented artists make a living and display genuine artwork made by hand in your home. We offer paintings, drawings, jewelry, and even do custom orders. If you have a photograph you would like sketched, I can do that for you. Please help us in creating a self-sustainable living in Uganda.

From our home to yours,

Daniel

Located in Jinja, Uganda 

Questions? Contact me via email at izzydanielz8@gmail.com. 

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We need $3,314 to all the school supplies and fees for all our children.
Any donations $1, $5, $10, $50, $100, $500 or more is highly welcome!

Please help in this urgent need.
God bless you!

I am the Managing Director of Hope Home School of Orphans Bugiri Uganda and Hope Children's Orphanage Bugiri Uganda. We are taking care of 71 orphans who don't have any of there two parents and we are located in Eastern Uganda in Bugiri district and basing our mission on Christianity as our religion. Hope Home Organization is non-government organization and registered organization too by our local district officials in Bugiri Uganda. We do call up everyone's support and prayers to the beautiful work we are doing here to care for and support these children and everyone is welcome to join us. God bless you all.

An Urgent Message

Hello all friends ,
This is hope home children center taking care of orphans and running non profitable school which does educate orphans and needy children in all communities here in Uganda.

We do appeal for support to get the school needs and children school supplies to enable them get access to education service's as any other children do,and the school is in need to be re-registered by the government of Uganda and we do need funds.

What the little you can give will help if we do it together to secure the school and it carries up its work for educating hopeless children over here and the needed funds is $3,500.00 US.

If each of you reading this urgent message can be giving $10.00 ,$20.00 ,$30.00 ,$40.00 or ,$50.00 and above we can reach this goal to help the children and secure the school too. God bless you in Jesus name as you give from your hearts thank you.

See our children here  See our Constitution here  See our Website here  See our Facebook Group here  Make a donation here  Thank you for your consideration of Hope Home.