Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable to you, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I just realized that there is a lot to say and so I better update everyone now.

The first thing is that God has been stretching me in matters of faith. As my last blog said I was planning on going to Kenya to renew my visa. Well it seems that the Lord closed the doors for Kenya. I also had tried to get a special pass, which would allow me to be in the country for a total of five months. Unfortunately the immigration of Uganda denied my application for a special pass and I decided to go to Rwanda to try and get my visa there. Well I was very blessed because Judy and Malia decided to come with me and we stayed in Kabale, which is in southern Uganda, and on Sunday crossed over the boarder into Rwanda the next day for about an hour then crossed back over into Uganda. Getting my new visa however didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. The person giving me my visa took advantage of the fact that I was a white person and told me that I needed to get a work permit and stop crossing the boarder. So he ended up making me pay $50 and gave me only one month. It's supposed to be $50 for three months! I was on the verge of tears as I walked out of the immigration office. I don't understand how people who have power could be so cruel. I have not had a good time with getting my new visa's I guess they frown on people who are here without a work permit.

I have been working at Our Own Home for two weeks now. I enjoy the work I do there. I get to spend a lot of time with the kids which I like but at the same time I wish there was more that I could do. I am looking forward to house sitting for Jesse and Bev when they go on furlough! :) It was such a huge blessing when Bev told me that I could house sit for them while there gone. This way I still have more time to look for a place to stay and to raise money for support.

Thank you to everyone who is a financial and prayer supporter!!! You are very much appreciated!!!

That's all for now, more to come later!

Blessings,
Rochelle

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Lord draw me closer to you everyday!!!

Hey everyone!

Some things have taken place since my last blog. First off I have been very blessed to have such amazing people in my life. Every day is an adventure and a challenge, but God has never left my side and he continues to speak through my friends and family.

Second I want to give God the glory for a certain friend stepping out in faith and pledging to give $10 a month. I know life hasn't been easy for her so I feel so very blessed that she is taking this incredible step. So I just need 99 more people.

Third I have been able to view two apartments in the last week, which in itself is a huge blessing because apartments, in nice buildings and safe environments, are hard to come by here. So this is a huge answer to prayer! Thank you Lord!

Fourth next week my visa expires and I need to go to Kenya to get a new one. Now to some of you this may appear easy but alas nothing in Uganda comes easily. I will be traveling by bus to Mombasa. There is a YWAM base there that I will be staying at for five days. Please pray for safe travels and also money for the visa's. I will need $50 for a Kenyan visa and $50 for a Ugandan visa.

Last but not least I started my new volunteer job on Wednesday and so far it is going really well. William and Holly are amazing people and I am so blessed that the Lord has brought them into my life!

May everything I do be for the glory and furtherance of God's kingdom! Amen!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Oh the Journey of it all!!!

This new opportunity has presented itself to me this week, but I'll start from the beginning.

For the past month I have been feeling like the Lord wants me to learn more about the administration side of running an organization. As i prayed about it, that desire became stronger. I didn't tell very many people because I wanted to know that this was what God wanted. If any of you know me very well, you know that sometimes I get excited about things that don't end up working out, because that's not where God wants me. I wanted to make sure that this was God's will.

Well this last week it was confirmed through a couple who has home for HIV/AIDS kids. They have 40+ kids. They have also just had a baby of their own. William has been doing all the admin stuff but is realizing that he needs help. So as he and his wife, Holly, prayed about it separately they both felt like the Lord had told them to ask me. They had, had no idea that I was even interested in anything to do with admin work. When they presented this idea to me last Saturday I almost started to cry because this was something that the Lord had been speaking to me and he spoke to them without me even knowing. I Believe that this is from the Lord and so we've decided that this is where he wants me for now.

However this is still a volunteer position and I will continue to need monthly support.

I need your continued prayers and as I try and search for a place to live. My rent will go up significantly so my expenses will as well.

Below I have posted my budget and I am praying for 100 people to come along side me and support me at $10 a month. It's only $120 a year! That's nothing! Please pray about supporting me. I have more than 100 friends on facebook so I know this is possible!!!

God Bless!!!
Rochelle

Monthly Budget

Health Insurance- $50

Rent- $325

This covers:
Electricity
Water
Fully furnished apartment

Food/Groceries- $80
A) bug repellent
B) eating out
C) malaria meds
D) food for breakfast, Lunch and dinner

Transport- $50
(a) Boda’s to and from work
(b) Going to Kampala
(c) Going to neighboring country for visa’s

Phone- $10

Visa’s/ work permit- $100. Three months/ $250 yearly.

Misc.- $40.
A) money for Moses (the little boy I'm supporting)
B) days away i.e. going to Kampala for the day or a weekend.
D) other needs

Airfare- $2200. Yearly

Savings- $250. monthly

If you are interested in supporting please e-mail me at rmbishop09@gmail.com. Thank you and God Bless you!!!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

The Beauty of the Lord astounds me!!!

Dear friends and family,

After getting Malaria and then being healed from malaria, life has gone back to "normal." I'm still not completely sure what my normal is but life has gone back to the way it was before. This last Friday I went to the hopeland base here in Jinja for the 50th celebration of YWAM. It was an exciting day full of music and updates on all the east African YWAM bases. I was able to see some of the people that went through my DTS with me. And reconnect with old friends. It was fun and also very exhausting at the same time.

On Saturday Calvary Chapel had a R.A.C.E day for the children of Jinja and surrounding villages. Race stands for Running According to Christ's Example. It was a way to tell the kids about Jesus. We had the gospel presented after each race. It was done in Luganda (the local language) and about 50 of the 300 children excepted Christ into their hearts!!! It was very exciting! We had around 40 something staff and 4 different races, Sugar sack, relay, 40 meter dash and three legged. All the children were signed up for one race each. After all the races were completed there was an award ceremony followed by juice and popcorn. All in all it was a great success!
After the Race some friends and I went to the Jinja Nile Resort and went swimming.
It a was much needed time to relax and cool off, after an extremely HOT day!!!

Sunday was a pretty emotional day because some of our friends are leaving for furlough and another was leaving for good. Also it was the day Judy was scheduled to leave for home with Malia. So Judy had planned to take Kelli and I to a guest house in town for our birthday's. Mine was last Thursday and Kelli's is tomorrow. It was so nice to be able to get away with both of them and relax, talk, swim, eat some amazing pizza and just be girls.
I, of course, got burned pretty badly, a sad result of being in the sun all day and forgetting to put on sunscreen. What was I thinking!!! Here I am 24 and I know that I have pale skin and burn supper easy and yet I always forget sunscreen! I blame it on growing up in a place that is only sunny about two months out of the year!!! :) Oh well you live and you learn! Or at least we hope we learn! :)

Life seems to be busy lately. I have been trying to research different organizations in east Africa to find out if I can get involved with one that is a NGO(non government organization) or a NPO (non profit organization) But unfortunately I have not had very much success.

Please pray for the Lord to open the doors to where he wants me and where he can use me. I want more than anything to be in his will. So that is why I am earnestly seeking him for my life, in every part.

Another letter about finances is coming within the next couple of days.

Love you all and thank you so much for all your love, prayers and support. God Bless!

In Christ,
Rochelle