Uganda Mission Trip
Donation protected
Dear Family and Friends,
We have some AMAZING news! Sherrie has answered the call to lead a mission trip to Uganda and I have decided to take a leap of faith and join her. This will be our second trip together serving in the poverty stricken community of East Africa and we will make the journey with six others from our church, Matthews United Methodist. Please keep our team in prayer over the coming months as we prepare, lead, travel and serve. We would specifically ask for prayers for the safety and emotional and physical health of our team and our families leading up to our trip through our time of returning home to see the life we live with awakened souls. This time can often be quite challenging. We also ask for you to pray for God to use us for His purpose to shine our lights brightly and to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this place of desperate need!
We will be spending much of our time helping to nourish the many orphaned babies who live in Kidron Valley Children’s Home. Please take a minute and try to imagine our own children being dumped and abandoned, never being held or hugged by their mother or father; starving for basic needs of food, water, love, and attention. In our homes, our children have a much different life. We tuck in our children each night and tell them we love them, we pray over them and give them a big hug and a kiss. We make sure they have a blanket to keep them warm and make sure they feel safe. And just to be sure, we check on them a couple of more times before we go to bed. We are sure your stories and routines are much the same. It is often unimaginable to think of babies and children being left; orphaned. We have a deep passion for helping children in many different capacities. Kidron Valley Children’s Home holds a huge place in our hearts so it is no surprise to anyone who knows us that God has placed an undeniable desire to share His love with these babies, children, and villagers this summer.
We will be working in the Kidron Valley Primary School and the Kidron Valley Healthcare Clinic as well. We will be going out into the community to serve and spend time with the people of Pastor John’s church. We plan to help with some agricultural needs, as one of our team member’s grew up peanut farming and we hope for this to be a tremendous blessing for the community. We will work with many of the community women through the Women’s Empowerment Program Pastor John has begun to give women more responsibility to live independently or help their families. We will be serving in many capacities, but most of all, through sharing our hearts and accepting the love the people in this community will surely offer us!
When we answered the call to go to Uganda in 2014, our hearts expanded immediately upon arrival. We left behind a beautiful group of children and villagers who we absolutely fell in love with and cannot wait to see again. Many of the villagers are agonizingly poor and hungry, sick and terrified. Despite these misfortunes, they are also precious and loving and kind and starving for God’s love and support and we can offer them a small piece of Him through our commitment to traveling to be with them. They do not just need money. They need people. They need us. They need relationship. Just as they did before, they will embrace us and ask us questions, desire hugs from us and ask us to pray over them. Many will teach us a faith deeper than we understand and others will learn from us the way to the heart of Jesus. In 2014, we were able to do so much in the short amount of time we were blessed to be there. We painted the orphanage bright colors and added beautiful decals to the rooms. We poured cement in the school so that the children would be able to continue to attend classes. The chiggers (which are tiny mites that infest human skin) were so bad in the school house floors that it was causing the children severe pain and keeping them from their classes. The cement floors now make school a safer and more comfortable environment for the children to learn. We built a fence around the Children’s Home in an attempt to keep the orphaned girls and boys safe. We helped in the medical center where we saw deathly ill people of all ages. We prayed over a lady as she took her last breath and we looked into her eyes with an overwhelming sense of knowing that WE ARE ALL ONE BODY. We built relationships that have impacted us forever. We have been longing to return for the past several years and NOW is the time.
Cathy’s daughter, Emma Grace, has grown so much this year. She has many fears and anxieties at times, but has flourished into such an inspiring young lady throughout her first year of middle school. She just performed a solo at church and her Odyssey of the Mind group is going to National finals. Her Aunt Sherrie has encouraged her over the last few years to always remember it only takes 20 seconds of GOD-sized COURAGE to step into any FEAR. Sherrie teaches her boys and Emma Grace and Benjamin the “10 fingers” verse! Just hold up your “10 fingers” to say one word for each finger. Philippians 4:13 “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME”! And we have to model this as well! Emma Grace has pushed Cathy to take this leap despite her “mama worries”. She is the one who keeps saying, “I get to be loved by you every day of my life. Those people need you to go love them and give them the same hugs and love you give me and Benjamin, even if for only 2 weeks. It is God’s plan. God comes first. Go.” From the words of a child comes peace and love that surpasses all understanding. So we shall GO! And we will be broken all over again for the LOVE of these people and their LOVE for us.
As we prepare for this mission, we would love to have your support in prayers. Our mission team will feel your prayers as we find peace and comfort in stepping out of the conveniences and safety of home, and letting God use us for His purpose. If you feel led to make a monetary donation, we would be more than grateful. The orphanage children will be so grateful. They have the biggest smiles and the warmest hugs. They are so happy and appreciative to see loving faces who believe in them and want to help them. We will be serving for you as much as for ourselves. And don’t forget that monetary donations are tax deductible.
We will promise to make a difference in your honor and spend tireless hours planting Godly seeds in hearts all around the villages. As teachers by trade, we are very passionate about reaching, teaching, and serving, which is also the mission of our church, Matthews United Methodist Church.
We are overjoyed to represent our church, our donors, and most importantly our GOD on this mission. Thank you in advance for your support and especially your PRAYERS! Love and hugs to you all! We would love to see each of you and talk to you about this experience. In fact, we would love to shout it from the rooftop to anyone who will listen!!!
Love and Blessings,
Cathy Purcell and Sherrie Steckel
[email redacted].nc.us
[email redacted]
Check out Kidron Valley Ministries website to get a closer look at where we will be serving.
http://kidronvalleyministries.org/
We have some AMAZING news! Sherrie has answered the call to lead a mission trip to Uganda and I have decided to take a leap of faith and join her. This will be our second trip together serving in the poverty stricken community of East Africa and we will make the journey with six others from our church, Matthews United Methodist. Please keep our team in prayer over the coming months as we prepare, lead, travel and serve. We would specifically ask for prayers for the safety and emotional and physical health of our team and our families leading up to our trip through our time of returning home to see the life we live with awakened souls. This time can often be quite challenging. We also ask for you to pray for God to use us for His purpose to shine our lights brightly and to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this place of desperate need!
We will be spending much of our time helping to nourish the many orphaned babies who live in Kidron Valley Children’s Home. Please take a minute and try to imagine our own children being dumped and abandoned, never being held or hugged by their mother or father; starving for basic needs of food, water, love, and attention. In our homes, our children have a much different life. We tuck in our children each night and tell them we love them, we pray over them and give them a big hug and a kiss. We make sure they have a blanket to keep them warm and make sure they feel safe. And just to be sure, we check on them a couple of more times before we go to bed. We are sure your stories and routines are much the same. It is often unimaginable to think of babies and children being left; orphaned. We have a deep passion for helping children in many different capacities. Kidron Valley Children’s Home holds a huge place in our hearts so it is no surprise to anyone who knows us that God has placed an undeniable desire to share His love with these babies, children, and villagers this summer.
We will be working in the Kidron Valley Primary School and the Kidron Valley Healthcare Clinic as well. We will be going out into the community to serve and spend time with the people of Pastor John’s church. We plan to help with some agricultural needs, as one of our team member’s grew up peanut farming and we hope for this to be a tremendous blessing for the community. We will work with many of the community women through the Women’s Empowerment Program Pastor John has begun to give women more responsibility to live independently or help their families. We will be serving in many capacities, but most of all, through sharing our hearts and accepting the love the people in this community will surely offer us!
When we answered the call to go to Uganda in 2014, our hearts expanded immediately upon arrival. We left behind a beautiful group of children and villagers who we absolutely fell in love with and cannot wait to see again. Many of the villagers are agonizingly poor and hungry, sick and terrified. Despite these misfortunes, they are also precious and loving and kind and starving for God’s love and support and we can offer them a small piece of Him through our commitment to traveling to be with them. They do not just need money. They need people. They need us. They need relationship. Just as they did before, they will embrace us and ask us questions, desire hugs from us and ask us to pray over them. Many will teach us a faith deeper than we understand and others will learn from us the way to the heart of Jesus. In 2014, we were able to do so much in the short amount of time we were blessed to be there. We painted the orphanage bright colors and added beautiful decals to the rooms. We poured cement in the school so that the children would be able to continue to attend classes. The chiggers (which are tiny mites that infest human skin) were so bad in the school house floors that it was causing the children severe pain and keeping them from their classes. The cement floors now make school a safer and more comfortable environment for the children to learn. We built a fence around the Children’s Home in an attempt to keep the orphaned girls and boys safe. We helped in the medical center where we saw deathly ill people of all ages. We prayed over a lady as she took her last breath and we looked into her eyes with an overwhelming sense of knowing that WE ARE ALL ONE BODY. We built relationships that have impacted us forever. We have been longing to return for the past several years and NOW is the time.
Cathy’s daughter, Emma Grace, has grown so much this year. She has many fears and anxieties at times, but has flourished into such an inspiring young lady throughout her first year of middle school. She just performed a solo at church and her Odyssey of the Mind group is going to National finals. Her Aunt Sherrie has encouraged her over the last few years to always remember it only takes 20 seconds of GOD-sized COURAGE to step into any FEAR. Sherrie teaches her boys and Emma Grace and Benjamin the “10 fingers” verse! Just hold up your “10 fingers” to say one word for each finger. Philippians 4:13 “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME”! And we have to model this as well! Emma Grace has pushed Cathy to take this leap despite her “mama worries”. She is the one who keeps saying, “I get to be loved by you every day of my life. Those people need you to go love them and give them the same hugs and love you give me and Benjamin, even if for only 2 weeks. It is God’s plan. God comes first. Go.” From the words of a child comes peace and love that surpasses all understanding. So we shall GO! And we will be broken all over again for the LOVE of these people and their LOVE for us.
As we prepare for this mission, we would love to have your support in prayers. Our mission team will feel your prayers as we find peace and comfort in stepping out of the conveniences and safety of home, and letting God use us for His purpose. If you feel led to make a monetary donation, we would be more than grateful. The orphanage children will be so grateful. They have the biggest smiles and the warmest hugs. They are so happy and appreciative to see loving faces who believe in them and want to help them. We will be serving for you as much as for ourselves. And don’t forget that monetary donations are tax deductible.
We will promise to make a difference in your honor and spend tireless hours planting Godly seeds in hearts all around the villages. As teachers by trade, we are very passionate about reaching, teaching, and serving, which is also the mission of our church, Matthews United Methodist Church.
We are overjoyed to represent our church, our donors, and most importantly our GOD on this mission. Thank you in advance for your support and especially your PRAYERS! Love and hugs to you all! We would love to see each of you and talk to you about this experience. In fact, we would love to shout it from the rooftop to anyone who will listen!!!
Love and Blessings,
Cathy Purcell and Sherrie Steckel
[email redacted].nc.us
[email redacted]
Check out Kidron Valley Ministries website to get a closer look at where we will be serving.
http://kidronvalleyministries.org/
Co-organizers (2)
Cathy Hyatt Purcell
Organizer
Matthews, NC
Sherrie Hyatt Steckel
Co-organizer