a is for adventure.

since i returned from my 6 month DTS adventure with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), my heart has wanted to pursue missions and photography. but for a 19-year-old missionary with no money, it's kind of hard. however, i have been learning to be content in all things and rest in God's will. maybe i'm not supposed to live overseas and be a foreign missionary permanently, but short term. but over the past 4 months, i have prayed and prayed for another opportunity to use my photography skills in foreign missions.

in October, God laid Africa on my heart. shortly afterwards, i saw a Facebook post from a friend asking if anyone was interested in getting a team together for a missions trip to Africa (Uganda). heart pounding, i immediately replied YES. she said the school/orphanage needs photos of the children to help get them sponsored/adopted. UMM, YES!

i asked for confirmation from the Lord.
in the following three days, i asked to hear "UGANDA" without any prompting from me. the next day, i got a call from a lady and we started talking about missions. she casually mentioned Uganda and i knew.

Africa is calling me and everything has sort of fallen into place over the past few weeks.

our small team will be spending two weeks (July 29th-ish through August 12th-ish) at Boanerges Deaf Initiative, (BDI is a school/orphanage for deaf children) near Kampala, Uganda. i will use my photography skills to photograph the people and places, bringing back a piece of Uganda for the people in America. i will also improve my ASL skills (which are pretty bad right now...but hey, i have about 7 months to learn), and serve wherever i am needed. i'm also hoping for our team to put together some skits and fun things for the children.

i am so so SO excited for this opportunity to serve in missions with my photography.

GUYS. i'm going to UGANDA. and i need YOUR help! :)

being that i have just returned from the missions field, other than odd jobs (babysitting, working on the farm, etc), i haven't had the opportunity to earn much money. i need about $3,000 for this. and about $2,000 (for my plane ticket) will need to be raised as soon as possible (preferably by March).

SO. do you feel called to support me?
do you:
need a babysitter? i love kids and i need to raise money for a missions trip. BAM.
need family photos? i do that too. :)
need your house cleaned? i was trained at and worked at a Bed & Breakfast for 3 years. i can clean. :)
need a room/house/fence/whatever painted? i'm pretty handy with a paintbrush.
need your flower garden weeded and your yard mowed in the summer? i'm not afraid of a little dirt. :)

whatever you need done, i am willing to do it in exchange for a donation towards my trip. however, if you are overcome with a spirit of generosity and just want to donate, i have a Paypal account (send gifts to photobyvalerie@gmail.com) and will accept donations of ANY amount! if every single one of my facebook friends donated $6.00, i would have just under the $3,000 that i need.

well, are you guys as excited as i am? maybe not, but i would love it if you could keep me and my fundraising in your prayers. i feel (very strongly) that i am supposed to go on this trip, and your prayers and support are what will make it possible!

PS. a few fundraisers are in the works, so stay tuned! i don't think you'll want to miss out on them. :D

the adventure continues...

206-ish days until Uganda (dates have not been finalized.)
$3,000 to raise.

God will provide. :)