Moving Forward :)

Jeff and I in San Diego

Oftentimes I sit around thinking, "I need to update my blog..." but I feel like SO much is happening that I never know where to even start! So here is my attempt (and probably fail) to wrap up the end of last year and the beginning of this year :)

               The year ended and then a new one began with visitors and trips galore.  The whole family was together again for Christmas, and we even had an addition this year when my friend Vernel from South Africa was able to join us for the holiday!  It was a great time...and I hope the Wagner family didn't overwhelm him too much ;)  We also had all of our Wagner cousins from Portland, Oregon come down for a visit... and they took me with them back to Oregon for about a week and a half! It was such a great time to be with my dear cousins that I hadn't seen in TOO long! I was back for one full day before my parents, Jeff, and I took off for San Diego, California for an extended weekend. I was able to see one of my dear friends from my school in Montana, Amanda Walhof :) it was SO good to catch up with her and get to meet the man in her life!  It had been two years since I had seen her!! We has such a great trip! and I don't think my parents minded too much that Jeff and I decided to crash their romantic getaway at the last minute...


(some of the) Wagner girls in Portland!



               Time away and spent with family was exactly what I needed to be able to rest and re-focus on this year and how exactly it would all work out.  After an incredible retreat with God in the mountains at the end of last year, I felt that He really gave me direction on where He would have me go... but because I always like to ask questions,  I wondered, "But how do I get there??"  and of course, God has been taking care of everything and allowing me to come along with the incredible plan and future that He has for the nation of Uganda :) 

               So as of now, I am officially on staff with Colorado Springs YWAM.  The base here has partnered together to start a business of these little solar-powered lights, about the size of a Nalgene bottle that burn four times (or more) brighter than the little kerosene lanterns that the 600 million people in the world without electricity have in their homes (that is if they are able to afford the quickly burning and toxic kerosene that many of them use).  So our goal with these lights is to provide a more cost-effective and safe way for these people to be able to live their lives a little bit later than seven o'clock when the sun goes down.  We will be doing campaigns in colleges and churches focusing on raising lights for Uganda, India, Swaziland, and many other countries that are in need of these.  In the time that I am home, I will be helping with these campaigns and really trying to push raising the lights for our village in Uganda, we'll even get to set up tables to sell the beads that our wonderful women in Uganda are making; then in April I will start teaching in the preschool at YWAM in order to work with the children, and also familiarize myself with the curriculum that I will then be able to take back to Uganda in July to train to our Nursery School teachers so that they can in turn teach it to our children in Uganda!

               Clearly once again, God has already thought of everything that I need...and has proven that He is far more than able to provide anything we've asked or even hoped for!  And even through all of this, He is teaching me a huge lesson about trust.  I recently turned down my old job at Scott's Miracle Grow, when I felt that the Lord was calling me to pursue what He had for me long term... and not just a quick fix to my question on where money was going to come from.  So I took a leap (or a small slide off the ledge) of faith, and I am really excited to see how the Lord will continue to show Himself faithful in the area of my finances.  Surprisingly... trips back and forth to Uganda, as well as basic living expenses... cost money.  And I think this will be the first time in my life I can honestly say that I have given these areas to the Lord in obedience to what he is asking me to do... even though everything in my own earthly mind is telling me it is crazy, I have come to realize that the God I know really likes to have people do crazy things in order to show Himself worthy and faithful. 

Peace teaching at Dancing Soldiers of Christ

               As far as Soldiers of Christ in Uganda, incredible things are happening there!  My friend from Colorado Springs, DJ, will be heading out tomorrow to go to the grounds in Gulu and help out with the ministry for five weeks, laying bricks, doing Bible teachings, and of course...loving on the children!  The team in Uganda is hard at work laying bricks for our THIRD brick building!! We will be able to have our Soldiers of Christ school running before we know it :) And we just had a dear friend, Peace, come over from another part of Uganda for a week to help train our kids in their singing and dancing skills!  Peace has just recently released a music CD in Uganda, so it was such a blessing and an honor to have her come over and lend a hand, using some of her expertise (I even got word that the men were having her help make bricks during the day when the children were in school!)  Way to go, Peace!!  And also in the beginning of March, we will be welcoming a DTS team to help out on the grounds for a few weeks!!  We LOVE the body of Christ all coming together!! And we are always up to have new visitors ;)


we have AWESOME helpers :)