We received a letter from Susan Tabia of IWASSRU requesting additional funding in order to make sure their school fees, food fees, as well as electricity and water are paid and their needs are met.  Due to rising costs in the marketplace, the orphanage has had to purchase food on credit, leading to difficulty in meeting the needs of the day-to-day operations.

IWASSRU is asking for $600 to pay the outstanding bank loans for food, school fees, electricity, and water, which will directly go to creditors, allowing Amazing Grace and Kampala House to continue operation as well as foster a trusting relationship with the business community. We’d like to go above and beyond their request and provide a grant of $800.

If you would like to donate to this special cause, please visit the Donate page of the Lahash website, and under the Special Projects drop down, select “IWASSRU – Special Project for Orphans.”

The next nine months are spent with a Lahash partnership in Tanzania, Uganda, or South Sudan. It is a time to both serve with and learn from our African partners and leaders; to share the joys, struggles, and daily life of the region’s most vulnerable children.

The final month is spent back in Portland, debriefing from the year and exploring what God has planned for you next.

As Lahash launches the new Servant Team program, our hope is that this experience will be deeply transformational, for both the travelers and the children they serve.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating on a Servant Team, let us know! Start praying about and planning for the year ahead.

Lahash is currently accepting applications for Servant Teams.  The deadline for applications is June 15,  2012. The program starts in September, 2012.

Visit the Servant Team Page for more information and to fill out an application.

I think that simple and powerful answer sums up a great deal about our recent trip with Lahash to Grace and Healing Ministries in Dodoma, Tanzania. There wasn’t a huge service project on the schedule––we weren’t building new homes or a school or helping to plant or harvest crops. We were “just” visiting. But the power and importance of us travelers going over to spend time with the children and families, to absorb the realities of their day-to-day lives, to simply get to know the people there made all the difference. It was profound and equalizing–we weren’t swooping in to alleviate all their problems or barraging them with what we thought they needed to do to have better lives. We wanted to be there with them. Sure, we taught some classes and gave some talks and presentations, but much of our focus was on “being with,” not “doing for.”

The first few days we were there was the Lahash East Africa Conference. Many people spoke and shared, pouring out ideas of hope and love and partnership. But one of the main themes was one of having the patience and humility to ask the people there how we can help. What it is they need, not necessarily what it is we decide we need to give them. To come up beside them as they utilize the skills, talents, and resources they already have; not to jump in front of them and start driving. To listen more than talk. To ask more than answer. To visit and get to know.

God works in the spaces where we’re quiet and listening–listening both to Him, and to those around us. It was a powerful experience to watch God move through the spirits and lives of these wonderful people in East Africa, those whom we have the privilege of coming along beside. His joy is evident, and His power is obvious. We were immensely blessed by our trip, and we can’t thank all of you enough for the thoughts and prayers and support of our journey. We can’t wait to continue to share more photos, videos, and stories of God moving through His people!

To read more about the impact we saw from Rice & Beans month, and to see some more photos, visit the Rice & Beans blog!

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household…with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit.” – Ephesians 2:19-20,22

“Habari yako…Jambo…Shikamo…Mambo!” There are many ways to say it, but “Greetings!” The Lahash team has made it to Dodoma, Tanzania and Grace & Healing Ministry (GHMD). Old relationships are being rekindled by those that have traveled before, and new friendships are being created by those traveling for the first time.

Energized by a fantastic retreat last week, the team has been able to spend time with the children and staff of GHMD, a well as tackle the sometimes challenging, but incredibly rewarding, adventure of two different overnight home stays–first with church members, and then with the families of kids from the Lahash sponsorship program.

The team has been so blessed by the amazing outpouring of hospitality and love from everyone here, and we are looking forward to spending more time with the incredible staff, and, of course, the amazing children of Grace & Healing Ministry.

Our Lord God is evident in every smile, every song, every dance, and every child we’ve have the honor of spending time with, and we will cherish every new moment of it until we head home. The Lord is building something truly incredible, and we are humbled for the opportunity to be used by Him. We thank each and every one of you for your prayers and support, and we look forward to sharing more photos and stories from the trip.

Greetings from Dodoma, Tanzania!

All of the Lahash staff and partners are gathered together here at the 3rd Lahash East Africa Conference. After a day of praying and fasting together, the conference has been focused on sharing knowledge, learning from one another, and eating (rice and beans) together. We have even enjoyed a few games of volleyball!

Our sessions have ranged from holistic care to sustainable agriculture and from storytelling to financial accountability.

And the group keeps getting bigger.

The second half of the Lahash team just arrived from Oregon and were warmly greeted by everyone here. Here is a picture of everyone all together at last.

These are the staff, partners, volunteers, and travelers of Lahash at Dodoma, Tanzania for the 3rd East Africa conference.

Jim And Dave head out from Portland on Valentine's Day

It’s a full season of travel for the Lahash team right now. Yesterday I spent a couple hours at the Portland airport saying goodbye to Jim Anderson and Dave – both heading to Dodoma, Tanzania. They’ll be serving our partners for two weeks by teaching computer hardware and software lessons, learning about the pathway of HIV drugs from the international community to those needing the drugs on the ground in East Africa, and spending time with the kids and staff at our partnership. You can follow Jim’s blog for more details.

A couple weeks ago we said goodbye to Will Campbell. Will is our first Servant Team member and is living and serving in Uganda, South Sudan, and Tanzania during 2012. Will is a talented photographer and uploaded his first set of images recently from Kampala.

Will Campbell is surrounded by friends at the Portland airport as he begins his year of service in East Africa

In just over one month, two more groups of travelers will be heading out from Portland. I and Casey Schilperoort will travel initially on March 19th, and then an additional group (Katie, Clark, Todd, Sarah, and Brett) will come on the 24th of March. We’ll be rendezvousing in Dodoma, Tanzania for the 3rd East Africa conference. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. To donate to any of the travelers this spring, head over to our donation page and select the traveler you’d like to share your dollars/euros/shillings with.

Every year our community joins together in a unique event called Rice & Beans Month. This month focuses on the following three ideas:

1. Solidarity – standing with brothers and sisters in East Africa with limited resources and inadequate nutrition
2. Simplicity – simplifying our diets and forgoing wasteful consumption
3. Sharing – giving away the savings from a month of simple meals to kids and families who need nutritional support in East Africa

Our team is about to make available our brand new devotional companion book for the month and a brand new website. The book is called A Common Meal: Reflections and Recipes for Rice & Beans Month. For now, you can head over to our facebook page to “friend” the month and you can sign up for our Rice & Beans email list.

We’ll share some cool updates about the month in the upcoming days.

For those in the Portland area – mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 21st. We’ll be hosting a book release party and a potluck rice and beans feast for participants in the city of Portland.

What would you need to cross off your list if you were leaving your home for a year? Will plans to spend these final weeks seeing movies in theaters, visiting Portland restaurants he’s been wanting to try out, and spending as much time as possible hanging out with friends.

As the first traveler in the new Lahash Servant Teams program, the training process has been influential for Will. Books as When Helping Hurts and Divine Conspiracy have been especially inspiring. “I’ve been thinking and praying a lot about fully embracing my time when I’m there,” Will says. “I want to actually be there, and not focus on being back home around familiarity.”

Will’s first two months will be spent visiting partners in Uganda and South Sudan. In March he’ll fly to Dodoma, Tanzania where he’ll spend the next few months. You can visit Will’s photo gallery here.

The Lahash team gathered near our office tree to wish you a happy Christmas!

Thanks to all of you for partnering with us in our advocacy and care for our brothers and sisters in East Africa this past year. We hope you and your friends and family have a very Merry Christmas!