These past two months I have re-adjusted to life in the states. There was no culture shock really- after last year I knew what to expect. I didn't experience any jet lag either(thank you Jesus!). As of now I still hope to return to Uganda with Awe Star/Extreme Team International's(XTI) 2010 team but I am waiting to hear from God.

Please continue praying for the Karamojong people. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their hearts in our absence. Pray against the spirit of drunkenness that holds them captive.


In August I was presented with an opportunity to begin being trained for cross-cultural ministry. Larry and Terry Singletary (founders of XTI) have a discipleship/training program in San Antonio. Their goal is to help bridge the gap between "the call" and actually going. After much prayer and a visit to San Antonio to check it out I feel like this is the next step God has for me.
So what will I be doing in San Antonio? :) Well, I will be living with 4 other girls in the XTI training program and we'll have a "class" with Larry and Terry once a week (I think). I'll also have to work 30-40 hours a week, which will be a huge step for me so be praying for me! :) Our ministry will be building relationships with the refugees nearby. I will also, at some point, begin working towards getting a bachelors degree(hopefully in music so pray for scholarships!!).
That is just a brief overview. When I learn more I will be happy to share it with you!
These next few months will be spent preparing for this move so please pray that everything will fall into place!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I couldn't do this without you!

Joyfully!

Marissa Watkins

Pictures

Team 1 and our friend Rev. Dismas:

Me with my two friends Irene and Lucy:


Sunrise on the Nile during our stay in Jinja:


My African mother and hut-mate, Nichole:


My dear African brothers Simon and Losike!


Our Lorray(village):


My hut decor:


Fun loving kids!


Bethany telling a story through a translator:


Darling little kid:


Me with my two friends Makolet and Keeru:


Me and those playful kids!


Kenya in the background!


A hut we spent the night in:

Uganda 2009(overview)

Hey folks!

I am safely returned from an incredible adventure with God in Uganda! Our time there has changed me forever and I am so excited to be the one to tell you what God is doing in the Karamojong people!!!

For starters I want to give you a brief timeline of our trip then a short description of our time there. We had 4 days of pre-field training in Oklahoma City at the home of our leaders Tye and Christy Brown, 4 days of training in the city of Kampala, Uganda, 9 days in Moroto (unexpected 7-day delay because of a car radiator), 5 weeks on the mountain, and 3 days of rest and debrief in Jinja before we flew home. Our time on the mountain was spent hiking out in small groups (2-3) to various villages storytelling(telling various Bible stories through a translator) with the people and building relationships with them. We would hike out each day and spend the morning with the people. Afternoons were spent in the Word, studying language, debriefing from the morning, and various other things such as washing clothes, bathing, or just hanging out with the team(who I love!). Evenings were times of teaching and corporate worship.



The goal of this trip was to give us a taste of what frontier missions is all about as well as to begin the process of reaching the Tepez people. Much was accomplished on both of these fronts. We learned much about the process and logistics of frontier missions-- lessons that will continue to challenge and assist us throughout our lives whether we go into long-term missions or not. In addition a great foundation for the gospel was laid in the Tepez people. Many of the villages were very receptive to the message of the gospel and some even promised to continue to spread the Word even after we left. We are excited to see what will happen with future teams!

Frontier missions is basically the process of reaching a people group that has never heard the gospel. This includes everything from the first mention of the Word to the first gathering of the new saints to the people reaching out to their own tribes. One of the things I learned about frontier missions is that knowing the people and their culture is absolutely key to effectively reaching them with the gospel. Knowing a people can affect how the Bible stories are told, which stories are told at what times, and can even affect where stories are told. The familiarity you have with the culture of a people will dictate how ministry works and how long it will take. Other things I learned were how important little comforts of home (like food and music) became, how refreshing calls home can be, and how very necessary it is to have people at home praying for you. I also learned that doing logistical things such as set up, take down, and other daily tasks that may seem mundane are just as much part of ministry as going out into the villages every day. These support tasks are completely necessary and without them, the village ministry could not happen. When I realized that, they became less of a drudgery.

As far as the village ministry goes—I LOVED it! I loved sitting on the ground shelling beans with the ladies. I loved playing games and teaching dances to the kids. I loved telling the stories. I even loved (and really miss) hiking to the villages! I didn’t mind having to live in a primitive hut with few of my comforts of home to do that ministry. The Lord gave me a grace to live and love that kind of life. I can definitely see myself going back and perhaps even long-term. As of now, I plan to go back there next year(of course, it’s all in the Lord’s hands). If you would like to stay in touch with what the Lord is doing with the Karamojong, you can give me your e-mail address and I will add you to my monthly e-newsletter that I’m getting started. This newsletter will include trip preparation info, how you can be praying for the Karamojong, other stories from my trip and things the Lord taught me, as well as links to various missions resources. Don’t miss out on God’s work in Karamoja!!

Thanks everybody for your prayers! Don’t stop praying for these people! They need Jesus and God has given us the task of bringing that message to them. It’s up to you!

In His Grace,
Missy

Uganda Update # 12

This past Friday we got a short update from Awe Star that Ty and Christy were on the way home and to expect a detailed update when they were able to get to a computer. Well today it came. What a thrill, we got a personal message from Marissa. In fact there is a personal message from each team member. Click here to go to the Awe Star page to see all the messages. They are very interesting to read.

Here is Missy's message:

Howdy Folks!
Greetings and blessings from deep in the bush of Africa! ? What an amazing and adventurous trip this has been so far! There have been some delightful times and some discouraging times but I have felt the hand of the Lord on us constantly. He has taught me so much! One thing He really impressed upon me is the power of singing to Him. One night a few weeks ago the team felt the need to pray and pierce the darkness deep into the night. My hut mates and I were called upon to sing worship songs while the guys prayed. We sang until we were hoarse and I have never felt the power of worship songs like I felt it that night. Starting from that night the words of many songs have become so much more sincere and genuine for me. The truth and power of worshipping Him has never been so real to me. Singing to Him has become the weapon with which I fight the powers of darkness here. I love singing late into the night with my teammates and I look forward to seeing how God uses this newfound weapon and renewed passion in the States.

To my awesome family: I love yall and miss ya! Could you bring a set of clean clothes(jeans would be great) to me at debrief? Homemade chocolate cookies would be amazing also. ? Tell Sonny, Favorite, Dixie, Ezekiel II, and Jake hi for me. ? Looking forward to pizza and Blue Bell!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see she misses her animals and other comforts of home. There time is short. Continue to pray! By the end of this week they should be coming off the mountain to begin their journey home.

I would like to thank all of you who have joined our family on this journey with Missy. It has been a great comfort to us know there is a wonderful group of people out there praying! You have taken part in a powerful mission for the Lord! God is good!!!

Blessings

Jack

Uganda Update # 11

Exciting news from Uganda. It rained twice this week. A very important answered prayer. For all of the details go to the Awe Star site for the new update.

Missy called again this morning. The whole team had piled into their vehicle, some on the top, and came into Moroto to celebrate the 4th. She still is excited to be there and sounds strong. She is learning about spiritual warfare. There is a lot of oppression there. She finds herself singing praise songs, doing warfare in the heavens. The enemy has a lot of strongholds over the people in that area, and it takes much prayer before there are any breakthroughs. So keep praying that strongholds will come down.

"2Co 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

On their hike further up the mountain she said they came to a point where they had a beautiful view into Kenya. She stood in awe of the beauty.

The physical demands have not been as hard on her as I thought. I asked her if she wanted to run with me when she gets back. She said, "No way. I hate running, but I'll walk twenty miles with you!" Well she's got me beat there. She is getting in tremendous shape. They are living at an elevation of around 6000'.

The weather is nice there. It gets cold at night. The food is.......well, they have enough, but don't offer her rice for any meal when she gets back. They eat it along with some kind of mush three times a day. She relishes her power bars she took with her, so she is conserving them. How blessed we are here in the US with our variety and endless supply of food.

They will be leaving the area they are in now, around the 17th and going to another area. Then they will make their way back to Kampala and leave the 21st. They arrive in Dallas on the 22nd for debriefing and then she can come home on the 24th. So we probably will not hear from her for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for your support and prayers!

Jack

Uganda Update # 10

We received a call from Marissa Sunday morning. We were pleasantly surprised. She was in Moroto, and they had come down off the mountain to get some supplies. She did not have much time left on her calling card and the time ran out while I was speaking to her.

She sounded great and was still very excited about being there. It has been over 30 days in country for the team. Sometime this week she is going deeper into the mountains with a smaller team. They will be trying to make contact with some tribes that have not had much contact with the outside world. So please pray that God will open the door for the Gospel to be shared with these lost tribes. It is a very difficult hike, high in the mountains, so pray for strength, stamina and health. Continue to pray for Christy Brown as she and her husband make the decision when to head home and have the baby.

There is an update from Awe Star out today. Also, remember the Peru team that Kelsey and Kaleb Abbrat are on.

June 30th, 2009

The Awe Star Office has received a text message from Tye and Christy. The report is that ministry is going well. They continue to ask everyone to pray for rain. It is one of the keys to seeing God move among the villagers. As they are entering the homestretch of the work in Uganda they are asking that your prayers be focused not only upon the ministry to the Karamajongs but you would also pray that the team will finish the race unified, focus and healthy. Many times we are asked what is the hardest part of working on foreign soil and the answer is …the last thirty minutes. As you get near the finish line it is easy to begin to transfer you thoughts to back home, getting a hot shower, eating a home cooked meal, seeing family and friends. Pray for the team that their best ministry will happen in the last…thirty minutes.

Blessings to all,

Jack

Uganda Update # 9

Got another update from Awe Star. It is good to hear things are going well. Prayer warriors keep praying. I believe this trip will be a pivotal experience for a lot of the team members. Not only are they ministering to unreached tribal groups, God is doing a work in these young people, preparing them for their future.

I am excited, curious, maybe a little apprehensive on how this trip is going to affect Marissa. She has the heart to serve her Saviour where ever He leads.

Here is the update:

June 26th, 2009

Team Uganda has sent us word that ministry is going well. They are currently focusing on two villages. One village is full of the blind, deaf and lame. This team understands the ministry to the “least of them.” Pray that their love for these outcasts would open door for the love of God. In the other village God is letting the team lay down the basic frame work for the gospel. The are excited that they are now living in huts and become like the Apostle Paul said, “becoming all things to all people so that a few will know.” To continue to pray for their health, safety and ministry. Pray for the RAINS to fall! That the Karamajong will know that our God has sent this team.

Also, there is another Awe Star team in Peru, in fact there are several Awe Star teams across the globe. A good friend of Marissa's, Kelsey and her brother Kaleb Abbrat are in Peru. Check out their update here.

Thanks,

Jack

Uganda Prayer Request!

I got a message from Terry Singletary tonight. There are several members of the team who are sick, including Christy who with her husband are team leaders with Larry. She is pregnant.

Since several of them are sick it could be a stomach problem because of bad water. Terry suggested it could be failing water filters. So please pray for healing and health for all the team members and a good clean source of water.

BTW, Missy's message to me yesterday said she was healthy. Her prayer request was for continued good health!

Thanks,

Jack

Uganda Update # 8

We got a more detailed update from Awe Star today. See it below. Sounds like a tremendous time for Missy and her team. Wow! Praise the Lord!


Team Uganda got to move into huts prepared for them by the Tepez people. Hut living brings with it, interesting challenges…like how to hang the mosquito nets to prevent the maximum number of mosquitos (and friends) from participating in their experience.

Training has given way to real life in the mountains of Karamoja. The teams head out each day to visit neighboring villages, and are working hard at building relationships with them. They are seeing first hand the difficulties of tribal living, where malnourishment (not the team themselves) is prevalent due to famine. This is all the more reason that they would love to see the rain come whenever possible.

The team is broken over the lack of basic provisions the Karamojong people have. Their way of life is very hard.

God is doing and incredible work!

Please continue to pray over the ongoing need to remain healthy, the significant spiritual needs of the tribes, the ministry opportunities, for the team to continue to thrive amid a difficult way of life, and for many opportunities to Story with the people.

We praise God for keeping this group and watching over them!

Thank you for lifting this team up with your earnest prayer support.

Uganda Update # 7

I received a text message this morning at 04:53 from Missy. Larry Singletary' wife Terry got one from him Saturday, saying all is well, the huts are finished and the teams are going out. Larry had told me right before he left that the roofs were not yet on the huts. So that means the teams have a roof over their heads now.

Here's Missy's message to me this morning:

Pray constantly 4the team. Im healthy nhappy. Pray for continued health! Luv yal

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Jack

Uganda Update #6

I got a text message from Missy today. I am in recurrent flight training this week. I checked my phone just before stepping into the simulator for training this morning and found this message:

We r goin up the mtn 2moro. Doin great. Got lots of stories to tel. Larry wil b here 2moro or sat. Pray much. Luv yall! missy

I am not sure how she sent it but I do know they have a SAT phone. There is also an update on the Awe Star page. Check it out. It says pretty much the same, but it was nice for me getting a personal message.

Blessings,

Jack

Uganda Update #5

I had breakfast with Larry Singletary this past Thursday. He told me there had been a problem with the radiator on the Land Cruiser and they were waiting for a part to be bussed up from Kampala. At that time he wasn't sure how long it was going to take, and the team was not going to leave Moroto for the mountain until the Land Cruiser was repaired.

With Larry busy getting his daughter married this weekend I had not heard any updates. I did not know if they had started their hike to the mountain or still in Moroto. Well, there is an update at the Awe Star site. They are still in Moroto waiting for the part. Here is the update below, or go to the Awe Star site to read and comment. Blessings........Jack

June 6th, 2009

The team continues to adapt to the culture of the Karamojong. They were unable to leave for the mountain yet, so remain encamped near the Tepez tribe in the village of Moroto. They are building relationships, and learning what methods work best in that process. At this point, it looks like the team will remain in Moroto until Wednesday the 10th or so. The team is waiting for a small part which plays a vital role, on the Land Cruiser. Once that arrives, they will head up the mountain. They are in the process of preparing a discovery team to head up the mountain to check conditions and let the tribe know they have arrived down below, and will soon be coming. Their huts are completed except for roofs. Once the Tepez men see that the team is nearby, they should be motivated to finish the huts. Regardless, the team is equipped with tents to live in until they are ready.

We are most thankful for the health of the team and would appreciate continued prayer support for the same. The team is learning so much about the Karamojong culture, and are adapting to their way of life. A little more time in Moroto will help serve that purpose, and keep a wider array of foods available!

Stateside, Larry’s daughter Jackie is getting married today! Larry will leave for Uganda on Monday, and will make his way to Moroto to join the team. All look forward to being united as a whole team.

We praise God for this team and for your labor in prayer on their behalf!

brent

Update!

Made it Moroto!!!

June 3rd, 2009

The team has arrived in Moroto without any issues! They are doing very well. They are getting situated in a motel for the night and will pick up supplies while in the city. They plan to spend a second night in Moroto before heading up the mountain. While in the city they are to meet with a government official. If he is available as promised, then the team hopes to begin their trek up the mountain on Friday. If delays occur for any reason, there are a couple of Tepez villages of the Karamojong right close to Moroto. The team will be enjoying the local cuisine and getting familiar with many friends of the Singletary’s and Brown’s from previous trips. The culture is very different and yet such a blessing to encounter!

Please pray for continued health while they are there. Please lift up the many old and new relationships that will be forged. Please also lift up their stamina in the long hike ahead.

Kaylie(for Dad)

Uganda Update #3

Talked with Missy this morning. She was in great spirits! They leave very early Wed morning, 3:00am, which will be 7:00pm our time. It will be a long bus ride of around 300 miles. Could take 10-15 hours. Pray for safe travel. The bus rides can be quite harrowing at times.

The team is excited and ready to go. Missy loves her small team of Colin and Sarah. They get along great. A few of the team members have colds, so pray for good health.

Kampala is a busy, crowded city, and she is ready to get out to the bush. I am sure the air will be cleaner and she loves the wide open spaces. I can only imagine the sights, sounds and smells she is experiencing. She got on her facebook and sent out some emails this morning, so I will post her email here.

Thanks to all for checking out her blog and your continued prayers. She is where she needs to be and is excited to be part of God's plan in Uganda for now.

Here is her email:

Howdy folks!! Tomorrow we leave Kampala for the mountains of Karamoja!! yay! Our time in the city has been fun but I have decided that I will NEVER move here. Too many people. :)We've had all sorts of adventures! :) Oh, and I just LOVE my team! They are awesome and their is such a great balance of personalities. We really work well together. Especially our small team (me, Sarah and Colin).

PRAY!!!!

We are entering an atmosphere of evil. Spirits and demons are common. But we know the battle is already won. Pray for us; bind the enemy that we may reap the harvest. Ephesians 6:10-20 describes our needs perfectly. Pray this over us everyday. I pray the Lord will bring our team and the people constantly to your mind. We cannot do this without your prayers. Thank you!!!

Oh yeah, pray for miracles! :) I'm expecting great things from God. He is so awesome.

Love y'all!

~MW~

Update #2

Hello Uganda prayer warriors! There is an update from Marissa's team leaders on the Awe Star web site. Click on the highlighted Awe Star and the link should take you to the update.

If not, here is the website: http://www.awestar.org/ugandatu2009/

Thanks for your prayers.

BTW. Missy's brother Jaron is with a team of 5 in the Philippines helping at an orphanage. Here is the latest update from Brooke Boriack:

This morning we went first to a nearby ministry called "Safe Refuge." They take in girls off the street that are pregnant and give them a safe place to have their babies. They had about 4 women there right now, and 4 more coming today (two of the girls coming today are 14 - raped). There were 4 babies there!!! 2 were twins - SO PRECIOUS!!!! It was very hard to leave them. Ate Red showed us around - I LOVE her! She is so precious. The boys were able to move some furniture for them. After that we went to 2 separate slum areas where we performed a skit, Ate Red gave a gospel presentation in Tagalog, and we handed out 150 washcloths, bars of soap, and toothbrushes. It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. That was the poorest, dirtiest place I've ever seen, but I loved it. The kids were precious, but some where not even half-way clothed. I took pictures.

Transportation here is an adventure - the guys love it! We've used the taxi, the train, "Jeepeys" and these motorcycles with an attaching side to ride in. It was a BLAST!

It's SO humid here! There is a constant layer of moisture on me. But I'm growing used to it.

We get stared at EVERYWHERE we go. It's slightly disturbing, but not too bad. Hannah REALLY gets stared at...and so does Jaron. He's literally twice as tall as most of the kids. In our skit, his part demanded that he "show off his cannons"....and all the kids LOVED it. A few have started to call him Goliath.

The food has been pretty good...we won't be introduced to balut until we're in Zambales... they're really into rice. :)

We went through the market.......the meat section was indescribable.

We're going to head off to Zambales in an hour or so, I think. That will be about a four-hour ride, but I think we're taking our own van.

John is currently fixing the bathroom sink. I am so glad we brought tools.

We went to church yesterday at the mall (malls are the thing here - they are everywhere), the worship was INCREDIBLE! Talented, and Spirit-filled. The preacher "preached" in English, but he regularly wove in and out of tagalog...it was so funny.

I absolutely love it here. I wish we were staying longer.

Brooke

Pray for them at the Lord's leading. They will be returning in two weeks.

Blessings,

Jack

Update #1

Missy called today from Ok City. She is there for several days getting to know her team and do some training. They leave on Thursday, the 29th.

She text me an update and when she called she gave me a prayer request. Here is her update:

"I'm here and doing well. My team is great. There are ten of us: 6 girls and 4 boys. We took a ten mile hike with our backpacks yesterday and another one today. My pack is 40lbs. Crazy.:) We leave on Thursday. Pray for strength. We have a really hard hike in Uganda.

Also, we have 3 leaders and the leaders two kids on the team too. So there is 15 of us all together. Thanks."

When she called me this evening, she asked for prayer for the team. She felt like they were being spritually attacked, with some sickness and other issues - details omitted. She requested prayer for protection, safety, health and strength.

Thanks from her Dad.

Blessings,

Jack

Farewell!

Tomorrow I leave for OK City. Not sure how often I will be able to update this thing from now on. But do check often because my parents will post all updates AWESTAR sends and any other updates that get sent. There's a chance I will be able to update once or twice while in Uganda so check for those!

To God be the glory!
~MW~

Almost Ready to Go!

Oh my goodness! I'm leaving in 4 days! I can't believe how fast its come up! wow...

All my money has been in for a couple weeks but the Lord has continued to bless me with more than I needed! Which is great because there were lots of other expenses besides the required Awestar money. Like shots(crazy expensive), camera, shoes, visa money, spending money, and various other random things. So I've welcomed every penny that has come in. :)

I've started laying out stuff for packing and I'm going shopping tomorrow. I am taking only a hiking backpack, so everything has got to fit in there. :) Its really amazing(I found out last year) how little you can live on and how much you can live without.

Oh this is going to be such a great trip! I'm really excited to see how the Lord changes and molds us over there so that we can better serve Him. I'm going to learn SO MUCH!!!!!

Have I mentioned that I'm super excited about this trip? :)

Joyfully!
~MW~

“Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” - William Carey

More Info on What We'll be Doing

Here's part of an e-mail our leaders sent to the team...


We are going to Kampala first where we will spend 5 days of training in country. We will have electricity, well, most of the time or off and on, in Kampala. We can charge our phones/ ipods etc there.

Once we get the Moroto, the small town at the base of the mountain, there IS cell service, and you can pay some small store a fee and they will charge your phone for you ( funny because their power comes from a car battery!) BUT we will only be THERE for one day before heading up the mountain. Once in the village, guys this is primitive. We will carry in all of our water, we will have no electricity, we will have no cell service. We will have two way radios- walkie-talkies- to communicate with each other while on the mountain.


We will be taking the public bus from Kampala to Moroto (anywhere from 8 to 20 hours depending on the weather, driver, passengers, and animals on the road- that's Africa!) You will be carrying everything you bring- pack light. From Moroto, we will hike to the village where we are camping. We think we have found a shorter- but much harder- route. We are anticipating 6 to 8 hours, but really have no way of knowing. You will need to be prepared to carry everything you bring- pack light.



Speaking of coming out of the country, there is a super wonderful chance that you might get to raft the Nile! This is tentative, but we want to let you know NOW because if it is something you might like to do, you need an extra $100 spending money to pay for this. If you don't, well, i just wish i could take your place, because i want to but can't! :) (Tye says, be prepared it is the hardest rafting in the world!)

We will be eating beans and posho (ground corn) every day. We MIGHT have oatmeal for breakfast or ramen noodles for lunch, but FOR SURE beans and posho for 1 to 3 meals a day. You might want to pack trail mix and protein bars in every spare inch of your backpack... tuna in pouches is good too for protein...(But this is just for personal taste, don't worry, you will have food, you just might want to supplement with variety.) Once a week we will be getting veggies from Moroto to last us the next few days.


Sounds fun eh?!?!?!

I'm excited! Adevnture!

THANK YOU!!

I just wanted to say another BIG THANK YOU to all of you who are supporting me in this trip!! I have been blessed with SOO many generous friends! I can't express how grateful I am for all the help yall have been! This trip would be impossible without you. Its a team effort and support back home is absolutely ESSENTIAL! May the Lord bless you abundantly for your part in advancing the gospel!

Love yall!!!
~Missy~

Habakkuk 1:5- Look to the nations, watch and be utterly amazed for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told.

Update...

Hey folks,


Bout a month and a half till I leave!! Seems like a ways away but I know it'll pass quickly. Preperation is coming along. The funds are still coming in and I am more than 2/3s there. :) My dad ordered some hiking boots for me and they should be coming in soon. I will be doing some long hikes(5, 10, and 20 miles) to break them in and prepare for our long hikes in Uganda.

I guess thats it for now. :)
~MW~

"It will not do to say that you have no special call to China. With these facts before you and the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home." - H. Taylor

Ethno Musicology

Hello!!

Ok, I have a little more information on what I'll be doing in Uganda. Since we are not allowed to go over there as "missionaries" we will go in as researchers in different areas. Examples would be communication pattern, medical, linguistics, etc... I was thrilled to find out that I will be on the ethno musicology research team. Ethno musicology is the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance. We will be asking the natives questions about their music so as to find out what their TRUE music is. We will record and document what we find so that follow up teams can take up where we leave off. This will be our "way in" to the tribes. Lord willing, once we have been accepted and established relationships we will be able to begin sharing the gospel.
Needless to say, I am THRILLED!!!!!

Trip preparation is coming along! The Lord is bringing in the funds. Please continue to pray for that. I am planning a few fundraisers and will post information on them as the details get worked out.
Physical prep is coming along as well. I am doing daily exercises and plan to be in the best shape I've ever been in by May. :) I'm actually finally starting to enjoy it. At first it was more of a chore and now I like it! :) Keep praying for health and strength for the whole team.
I'd like to ask also that yall be in prayer especially for one of our leaders, Mrs. Brown. She will be almost 7 months pregnant when we get to Uganda. Be praying for health, energy, strength, etc for both her and the baby. I've never met this woman but I've heard wonderful things about her- That she is completely sold out for God and super hard-core. :) I can't wait to meet her and spend a summer under her leadership.

Thats it for now! Thank you all for your prayers and support! This would be impossible without yall!

Marissa
“I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward.” -- David Livingstone

Uganda!

This past year has been an exciting year of learning more about the Lord and his heart for the nations. My eyes have been opened, and continue to be opened, to the global picture. The Lord has placed a growing desire in me to serve Him by ministering with a global perspective. Whether this means going around the world ministering, or encouraging others to do so, I must do my part in spreading the Word to ALL NATIONS. I want the Lord's passion for the world to BURN within me so that I can do, think, breathe, nothing else. I am forever ruined for the ordinary. Only serving our Glorious Lord will ever satisfy me. As I began to experience these changes, I wondered where the Lord would take me next...
This past December I was introduced, through some missionary friends of ours, the Singletarys, to a missions organization called Awe Star Ministries(awestar.org). Awe Star is an organization with a passion for God's glory and His plan for the nations. Mr. Singletary is leading a two month Awe Star trip to Uganda this year. When he and Mrs. Singletary told me about the trip I fell in love with it. I could think of nothing else. I prayed about it for a couple weeks and I felt like this was where the Lord was leading next. So I signed up!
A little about the trip: From talking with Mr. Singletary I gathered that this will be a difficult trip full of challenges. The website describes it as “a great training trip for those whom God calls to be career missionaries to unreached third world nations.” We will be put in many of the same situations that a missionary going to live overseas would go through. It will be physically intense and it is imperitive that the team be in top shape. One of the things we will be doing is hiking out to remote tribes and ministering to them. It will be demanding both physically and spiritually. I’m thrilled about it because I know the Lord has a great deal He wants to teach me on this venture.
So I will be leaving May 25th for the adventure of a lifetime! (Of course, anything with God is the adventure of a lifetime!) In the meantime, I have a lot of preparation to do. Please be praying for me as I prepare both physically and spiritually. In order to go I need to raise nearly $6000. If you feel led to help me with this, you can make checks payable to Awe Star Ministries. My name should NOT appear anywhere on the check if you want the tax deduction.
Thank you SO much for your prayers! A couple things in particular the team could use pray for are:

*Prayer against spiritual attacks. I have already felt Satan trying to weaken me in certain areas.
*Pray for all of the team as we all endeavor to get in the best shape we've ever been in. :)
*HEALTH! For now as we prepare, and ESPECIALLY while we are in Africa. The devil loves to try and bring people down by getting them sick.

Well, thats all for now!!
~Missy~
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't." -- John Piper