God is Faithful

God is faithful!

That's kind of been a theme as of late. Well really, there have been quite a few themes in my life recently. Some personal. Others have a usual Christian undertone, like "God enjoys making much of little." (Which is a good one, I'll tell you more about sometime!) But what God is showing me, overall, is that He is faithful!

It is officially 29 days until I leave for training camp on January 13th! It is so crazy to think that it is so close! In a month's time, I, and my team, will be in Uganda! With everything coming together and my departure approaching, I can't help but stop to think about what this journey has been like so far. Remember that faithful theme? Well let me put it into perspective for you.

2 months and 10 days ago I got the call that I was going to Uganda!
1 month and a few days ago I sent my first fundraising letter.
Today, I have raised over $4,000 to pay for my travel expenses, program cost, and vaccinations.
Today, I only need $900 more in my account by December 29th in order to be fully funded.
Today, I am blown away by God's faithfulness.

Did you catch that? In a less than two months time, God has provided over $4000.00, of money that I definitely couldn't have come up with on my own, to get me to the country He has prepared me for service to. In His word I find so many examples of God showing himself faithful to those who believe. In Acts, He provided for the entire church during its formation by allowing Christians to sell everything they owned and put it into the church. By doing so, He showed Himself faithful by ensuring that all of their needs were met. Think about it...They sold everything. And yet, their needs were met. Why? Because we serve a God who is faithful and willing and able to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory. And just like the early church, that story is my story. It was His provision that gave everything to them. They didn't do it on their own. God has placed just the right people in my way to make this trip possible. According to His wisdom, He put a woman in my life to help me with my biggest fundraiser even before I knew it. According to His plan, He put me in a team of people with the same passions, the same hunger for more of Christ, and who also desire to work in the country of Uganda. Yup...faithful!!!

I ask for your continued prayers as my family and I prepare for my departure. Also, for my team as they do the same. If you would still like to make a financial donation, e-mail me at somer.allen@hotmail.com.

Joyfully humbled,

Somer

A Little Update

So it has been a great day, and on great days I tend to get in the mood to write! Lucky you!! In all seriousness, I thought now would be a great time to update you all on how my preparations for Uganda are coming along. Most of my prep is spent in fundraising. Tomorrow, I will be getting my vaccinations (yippee!). Packing will come at a later date. But the majority of my time is spent doing what is absolutely necessary and not all-together easy, and that is fundraising! So that is the update that I want to share with you today.

From the day that I was accepted to the program to today, I have to deal with the reality that spending four months in a foreign country, volunteering my time in ministry, requires a great deal of money. And in that time, many people have asked me "Well, what if you don't raise the required amount? What happens then?" And I have begun to answer them in this way: I have two answers for that question. I have a realistic answer, and I have my answer. I'll start with the realistic one. Due to the nature of the type of organization that AIM (Adventures in Missions) is, they can not return my money to me, or to those who donated if I am unable to raise the funds. On the plus side, they will apply the money I have raised to my going on another trip at a later date. Sounds pretty good right?

Well, here is my real answer. And this is not an answer to show how faithful I am (because the money is still a daunting task, and I'd be lying if I said I had not worried at all about it), but instead it is an answer to show how faithful God is! The answer: I fully believe that if it remains God's will, I will be in Uganda in January! That leaves no room for the question of whether or not I'll raise the money. I am simply trusting God to provide for my needs. Those of you who know me personally, know that $5200.00 is simply more than I could hope to afford. And it is you all who know me, who I am most excited to see me go to Uganda in January, because you all will BEST understand that it is not by my ability, but only by the power and will of God that I will get to minister to the people of Lira! God has confirmed with me over and over that I will be in Uganda for the first third of the year 2012, and who would I be to question that confirmation by questioning if raising the money is possible?

**Lira, by the way, is the town that my team and I will be ministering out of. As I learn more about that area and what we will be doing, I will fill you all in with another blog post!**

Back to fundraising! Thank you to all of you who have donated so far. To those of you who are reading this blog because of the letters that I have sent out, thank you for visiting! I hope you'll check back often. To those who are praying and still trying to decide how best to support this ministry, I encourage you to continue praying and to be open to whatever God asks of you. It is my hope that He will choose to provide His provision through you! Thank you to those who attended my Fazoli's fundraiser, and thank you to those who are helping me prepare for my next big event.

Upcoming opportunity to give:
December 4th: 6:00pm, Everyone's invited!
     Ugandan Dinner and Silent Auction
     Jonesboro Worship Center
     1507 East Matthews
     Jonesboro, AR 72401
     *I'll post more about items that will be auctioned and the menu at a later date!

I am also working on a way to have people donate to me online. When I get that up and running, there will be a link to that on my blog and facebook page. Until then, if you would like to give please e-mail me at somer.allen@hotmail.com and I will get you the necessary information!

Thanks for taking the time to keep up with my journey! I pray God blesses you and your family this holiday season!

Blessings,

Somer

On Fear and Purpose

So I decided that will all of the interest in the country of Uganda right now, it must be time for a blog post! Many of my family and friends have recently expressed concern for my safety because of President Obama's announcement that he is deploying 100 American soldiers to assist the Ugandan Army with the long-standing issue of the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) and their tyrannical and insane leader Joseph Kony. Read more here.

I completely understand the concern, and I very much appreciate your prayers for me and my team as we prepare to leave and while we are in country. But fear is not what has driven me to write this post. Paul tells us in the bible: 


For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:6-7 ESV)

I have believed for a long time now that God has specifically brought together my team for a purpose in Uganda. That is why I am writing today. It's all about Him. I believe He put His spirit in my and my team, and I believe that it is not a spirit of fear. Instead, His spirit is of power! love! and even, self-control! I am expecting great things to happen in the country of Uganda. I am so humbled and thankful to have the opportunity to act as the hands and feet of Jesus in that country. In one of my favorite stories in the bible, Mordecai told Esther that she was brought here "for such a time as this."


For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 ESV)

God has been revealing to me and to my team, also, that He is bringing us together purposefully to accomplish His will. I cannot say whether we will face danger or not. Or whether that danger will come from war, soldiers, villagers, witchcraft, etc. But what I can say is that I serve a God who has already won the battle, a God who loves the people of Uganda, and who loves each and every one of you who are reading this blog. I believe him when He says


I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 ESV)

I will not fear. I will trust Him. In His infinite wisdom and providence, He will meet us when and where we have need. Your prayers are always welcome, and know that I am praying for you, also.

With gladness,

Somer

I used to think that blogging was strange, something I could never get into, and then...I started blogging. And I love it! (So much that I now have two blogs!)  Haha! 


I'm so excited that you decided to check out my new blog site. I just found out that I will be going to Uganda in January, and I'm thrilled that I'll be able to keep you updated throughout my entire journey. This is something that God has been dealing with me about for a little over two years now. The whole story is just too long for one post, but I do want to give you a little background about how I got to this point. Fair warning...it's still long! ;)


Two(ish) years ago, I was introduced to the song Albertine, by Brooke Fraser. This song is about a Rwandan girl named Albertine who lived through the genocide of 1994 where 1 million people were killed in three months time. This brought me to an avid interest in Africa, and I began learning everything that I could about Rwanda and the Rwandan people. I didn't realize then that God had introduced me to that song in order to change my life. Shortly after that, I changed my major and decided that some future career that involved helping people was better for me than trying to become a N.A.S.A. astronaut.  


This big life change was soon followed by my reading the book Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. If you haven't read it, GO get a copy today! It is a remarkable book that will challenge you to develop a love that is a lot closer to God's love for people. Again, I didn't know it then, but God was opening my eyes to a new way of thinking, His way!


Several books, several prayers, and several internet searches later, I found a website for a missions program that peeked my interest. I began looking into the four month missions programs sponsored by Adventures in Missions(AIM) (for more info click here). During this time, I was also preparing for Miss Arkansas 2011 so I decided that it was best to see how everything turned out with that before I got any further involved in finding a missions program. So on to Miss Arkansas...


The whole competition week back in July was like a confirmation of what I already knew. I was meant for more. Not more than Miss Arkansas, but more than just sitting idly by and accepting that the status quo was all there was in life. The Miss Arkansas program will definitely teach you this one thing: you are more than what the world says you can be. Miss Arkansas says that any girl can become a Miss America if she's willing to work hard enough for it. And this little lesson is a lot like what I think God wanted me to know. That I am more than the world says that I am. I am God's daughter. I am beautifully and wonderfully made, and I was made for a purpose. 


I knew that whatever happened back in July, whether I became Miss Arkansas or not, that it would be according to what God had planned for me. I had placed it all in His hands, and at the end of the week I was 3rd Runner-up. I had no nerves the final night of competition. When my name was called, and I hadn't won, I had complete peace because I knew that God has worked everything out the way He intended. Kristen Glover, our Miss Arkansas, was meant to win. This was her year. As for me, well...


I had all but forgotten about the AIM program, and life as I knew it had begun again. That was until a fellow Miss Arkansas contestant, Dorothy Shepherd, introduced me to a blog by Katie Davis called Kisses from Katie (which you can access here). Katie Davis began living full-time in the country of Uganda when she was 18 years old. At 19, she began her own non-profit organization and adopted three young Ugandan orphans. Today she is my age and has 13 adopted daughters (not a typo). Reading her story from start to finish CHANGED MY LIFE! I encourage you to read it! Through this and some other God-inspired chance happenings, I was re-introduced to AIM. 


I am so excited to be going to Uganda! I can't wait to get there, but in the meantime I will be fundraising, working, and praying tons. This is a very expensive decision. Please feel no pressure at all, but if you would like to help me get to Uganda in January, you can e-mail me at somer.allen@hotmail.com to find out how you can make a donation.