Life

Things here have been....well, slightly stressful.
I love making lists and I love crossing things off that list.
Unfortunately for me I've been adding more then I've been crossing off.
And for my little OCD mind that's just too much to handle.
The power has been off in the house more then it's been on in the last week.
I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do when I get home.
Which just so happens to be in 76 days. Not a whole lot of time folks.
Trying to write those stories for ya'll but not actually wanting to write.
Working on website content that is proving more difficult.
(Because of that whole not wanting to write thing.)
Waiting waiting for Kenya leather to finally makes it's glorious appearance.
Praying praying for some glorious being to come along and be stressed with me.
(At this point they would be like my unicorn.
And I don't know about you, but I've always wanted a unicorn.)
Speaking of mythical things, I'm also searching for a money tree. No luck so far.
Not being able to eat my girl scout cookies because I gave up sweets for lent.
Not knowing what the heck this whole Harlem Shake business is all about.
Having no new pictures to instagram.
Never seeing an episode of Duck Dynasty.
Nick and Jess are still not together.
Life is pretty rough at the moment.
But life is also pretty wonderful all the time.
I get to wake up every day and live a life filled with.........
passion......
dreams......
faith..... 
belief......
love......
laughter.....
adventure......
courage......
purpose.......
I think that makes all those other little things that aren't so pleasant worth waking up for.
Don't you?

Currently

Copying my roommates.... 

Drinking water, because I'm boring like that.

Feeling ready.

Appreciating how small this world really is.

Reading Soul Detox by Craig Groeschel, When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (give me a break).

Craving Barbeque. Sometimes I’ll smell it when riding the bus. It’s really cruel.

Watching the New Girl episode “Cooler” on repeat.  

Going on runs again.

Laughing because it’s my favorite.

Eating cold apples and bananas. And singing the song while I do it.

Dreaming of future adventures.

Waiting on leather from Kenya.

Planning our roommate trip.

Praying big.

Sleeping terribly. Don’t know what’s up with that.

Missing those people that I call family.

Wearing what’s comfortable…and then wearing it again the next day.

Considering a whole lot of somethings.

Working on being open. Still. It’s a workout for my personality. Chuck Norris level people. Pray for me.

Getting pumped for some interns to come help a sista out.  

Loving all the new worship music I snagged from Tara.

Acknowledging that things are going to be changing soon.

Enjoying the beauty that a thousand hills brings to the table.

Thankful for those roommates I decided to copy. 

Surrender, pray, and watch God do miracles

On Monday I had to shell out some serious cash 

that in the end left me with very little and no cushion.

 To say my heart stopped and I suddenly felt nauseous is a bit of an understatement governor. 

So I did the only logical thing after experiencing such lovely feelings;

I laced up my shoes, put my headphones in, and went for a run.

Once I was moving I started trying to figure out how to fix the problem 

that was basically the size of Everest when I'm basically the size of an ant.

 And that's when God tripped me. Figuratively of course, I'm super graceful, and super sarcastic.

God is bigger then any problems that I have, am, or will face. 

In that moment I handed control back over to God.

I told myself I was not going to worry anymore,

but instead I would trust and wait for God to show His power, 

and continue providing for our needs. 

I surrendered complete control

and as a result felt a wave of peace wash over me.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.

 Phil 4:19

My computer was opened when I got back from my run and I noticed I had received an email.

It was a short, sweet, simple, knock me over, clearly delivered by God, kind of email.

One of those emails that causes your mouth to drop, tears to fall, 

that cause you to look up to the heavens, speechless at God's power kind of emails.

Specifically it was an email from my church telling me I had been approved 

a certain amount of money to continue my work in Rwanda. 

You had better believe I did a little dance, praising God

and am still in absolute awe of His power and continued provision.

I serve an awesome God. 

The Mabula Cause

His Imbaraga is slowly but surely coming along. We have had some roadblocks recently like getting kicked out of our house and no longer having leather in Rwanda but you know, ain't nobody got time for that, so we're plowing through those roadblocks like a boss.We now have a new cheaper house and will be getting our leather from Kenya. We also are in the process of creating a website where you will actually be able to buy things! Say wha? And you want to know the best part of purchasing from His Imbaraga? With each product you purchase you are investing in a life. In the next couple of weeks I will be telling you some stories about the these people and why His Imbaraga has chosen to support them. By the end I am hoping you feel just as passionate about making a difference and purchasing with a purpose. 

Mabula. 

This sweet boys story goes all the way back to July. He was dirty, poorly clothed, with a huge belly, a few blocks from his house, being watched over by strangers. His mother, single with two other children, did not allow Mabula to sleep in the house. The words, "I don't want him" escaped her mouth and broke my heart. 

At this point I was still at the orphanage volunteering, essentially feeling useless and a bit lost. Desperately wanting to make a difference, I took Mabula home with me. I gave him a bath, clothed him, and feed him. He watched the Lion King, slept in a real bed, and got plenty of hugs and kisses. 

The next day I had to take him back to his mother. His mother, the woman that had raised him for the last 5 years, that claimed that she didn't want him, was who the focus turned to. It was her responsibility and privilege to care for and love her son. So 6 of us crammed into their small house and talked. We came to an agreement that we would bringing her food and soap with the expectation that she would care for her children. Every time that I've gone to visit he has been washed and sleeping in the house. 

A few months later His Imbaraga started. The only thing I was sure about was wanting to first help Mabula and his village. As we have grown so have the ideas for how exactly we could do this. Right now our plan looks a little like this: With each crossbody sold you will be feeding a person at our program. Once a week we will go into Gisenyi feed, worship, and play together. The program will look very similar to that of Amazima. 

Business is not my passion. Loving the least of these is, and that is exactly what His Imbaraga is all about.  We celebrate that fact that we have the resources and opportunity to give back and we thank you coming along side of us and making it possible. 

P.S. If you haven't liked us on facebook yet we would really appreciate it if you took 5 seconds to do so. We only have 160 likes ya'll, and that's pretty sad.