I'm leaving in 3 days for DC then on Saturday, my team takes off for Uganda. I thought I would post what we will be doing each day, so that you all know how to pray for my team and I.

July 22- We arrive in Entebbe, Uganda and will be staying at a hotel in the area.
July 23- We will be working with the ministry My Father's House and the Royal Hope Academy. We will be spending the day just hanging out with the kids.
July 24- We drive 5 hours to Kerith's Children's House. We will be staying here with the children until the morning of the 26th. We will be having a field day with the kids. We will also feed and cook for the staff and children.
July 26- We leave Kerith's Children's Home in the afternoon and drive to Jinja to stay at the Haven. This is our day of rest.
July 27- We will have breakfast at Kerith and then split up into two teams. One team will go to Amani Baby Cottage and the second group will go to a special needs orphanage. And then later in the day, head over to  Sangaala Baby Orphanage. That night we arrive at Canaan Children's Compound. We will be here July 28th and the 29th. We will have worship, food, and a field day with the kids. At night, we will cook the kids something special.
July 30- We switch teams from July 27th and do the opposite of what we did that day.
July 31- We head to the airport to head home.

I'm not sure of internet conditions, so I'll post when I can. Thanks for all the love and support! God is at work!

5 days!

I leave for Uganda in 5 days!! I can't believe it is here! Although, I still feel like I still have a ton to do. Just letting everyone know, I am not 100% on the wifi situations, but I know my team leader will definitely be putting up updates, so if I haven't posted, go to her blog at   http://autumn-seasonsofautumn.blogspot.com/ . 


And, as always thanks for the prayers!

Speropulos Crazies

I can't believe it has been a year since my family, The Speropulos', journeyed on our first cruise together to the Bahamas, St Maarten, and St Thomas. It was quite the experience. Anyone who has ever been around our family would know that we talk a lot, are super loud, there is always atleast 10 things going on at once, constant laughter, never a dull moment, typical debate going on, and more than likely where we are, there is food. One, because we're greek and two, because we like to eat. haha Recently, I made a photo book for my family from the trip. I couldn't help but to laugh the whole time because I was reminiscing on all the funny moments. I found myself writing this post one, so I can remember these stories, and two, they are HILARIOUS. And, who doesn't like a good laugh? And, if you know our family, I think you will find these thoroughly enjoyable. 

Here we go.... some "fam favorites" as I like to call them:

- So pretty much, we're always dancing. It's awesome.

- When we made our first stop in the Bahamas, we "punked" my mom. She had to go back on the ship and get something, and while she did we all kinda disappeared so she wouldn't know where we were. She figured it out fast and we jumped out and yelled "got ya!"...It was probably the worst punk ever. 

- Our first night on the ship, Abigail, Nic, and I found this really neat room where no one else was, so we were dancing and just being goofy. We kept telling Nic he was a good dancer. So, Nic decided to enter a dance contest later that night....needless to say, he came in second. Pretty impressive. But, the only quirk was...it was out of two people. We're still very proud. ;)

- Our family plays a lot of games. Usually, card games like Rook, Hand and Foot, or Spoons, but we threw in some different ones this time. We played Mafia. Which is where you have two killers, and everyone else tries to figure out who the murderers are while they are killing off different people. That was fun. But, my favorite was Assassins. We started playing one night and how it works is everyone draws a name out of a hat. The purpose is to be the last man standing. Whosever name you draw you have to kill them. Now, in order to kill them you have to be alone with that person with noone else in the family around and you make eye contact with them and wink. When you do that, they are dead. We did have safe zones. Anytime you are in one of our rooms, you are safe. 

So, some funny stories from this game:

*I had John's name. I went and knocked on his door in the morning before breakfast and asked if he was ready to go to breakfast. I was actually kinda stupid because he caught on right away. He would not leave his room until Abigail came out too. So, we three walked to the elevator to go to breakfast. As the elevator stopped at a floor, I shoved Abigail out of the door. In doing this, John immediately got me in a head lock and we wrestled pretty much the whole elevator ride and then preceded to run out and chase each other to the family table. The funny part is there were people in the elevator just staring at us. They probably thought we were insane. Needless to say, I did not kill him bc at that point on, he knew I was his killer and would not be anywhere with me alone.

* Yaya had Jess' name and was very sneaky about it. She saw Jess go get breakfast so she got up and went and tricked Jess into helping her and then winked at her. Clever Yaya...using your grandmother smarts. 

*FAVORITE WINK: It came down to the bottom two as Abigail and John. Abigail went to go get some ice cream while we were playing cards on the deck. John gets up a few minutes later. Abigail soon realizes what is happening and takes off running. John then chases her around the lido deck screaming "STOP THAT GIRL! SHE STOLE MY WALLET!" We were all laughing and crying for alteast ten minutes. It was so funny!

- When we stopped in St. Thomas, we decided to go this beach all day and hang out. We went kayaking, scuba diving, splashed a lot, dunked a lot, had chicken fights, etc. It was such a great day of being together. 

- Our ship had this water slide that we all went and did one day. We all gethered around and cracked up at each other screaming and making expressions coming out of the slide.

-They had trivia some days on deck. Our family played the movie trivia game and won. We received a trophy which we refer to as the "family trophy" and later presented it to Yaya and Papoo. On the cruise news, they talked about that greek, loud family that is having lots of fun. Yep, thats us.

- Papoo and John thought it would be funny to get tattoos....well, henna tats that is. But, Papoo got a lion on his back. Aslan? The picture does all the explaining. 

- We all got matching t shirts on our final night to take pictures in. I couldn't help but to laugh inside because I had always thought those families with the matching t shirts were ridiculous... o well we joined the club.

- Yaya might kill me for this one.....but we all got a good laugh when Papoo told us this story. Yaya went out on the her balcony once naked to see what it would feel like to be in the open naked in the middle of the ocean. Although noone saw, we later noticed a camera at the top of the ceiling. oops. yaya you blessed someone ;) just kidding. But, still Yaya was just embracing her nakedness while she could. haha

This trip was so much fun. You know your family is awesome when you would rather hang with them over anyone else. 

 -Hannah accidently stole a bracelet. Don't worry, it was returned.

 -Yaya's wheelchair always make for an enjoyable time.

 -Room servive at one in the morning. Nothing like being able to just make a phone call and request for a pb&j and cookies and milk.

Truly Blessed.

Just a little insight to us. 

Provision

God is good. I could say this over and over again, and it never be enough. As I look back on my life, everything fits so perfectly together. One thing leads to another. How can I question whether God is in control when my life thus far has been such a beautiful story? A love story of me discovering Him and slowly giving my life to him completely. It's so funny to me that along the way I scream and rebel because I don't want to follow His will. I am blessed that my parents have been faithful to God all my life. Where He has called my dad as a minister, he has gone. No one likes to move. And, for my case, I especially haven't liked the five times we have moved in my lifetime. But, God knows better than I do. Each place we have lived, we have experienced something that we otherwise would not have. As I got older, I began to realize this. The hardest move on me was when we moved from Martin, TN to Memphis. I was going into seventh grade and had finally felt really comfortable in Martin. I had my friends, my church, cheerleading. I was set to go. But, then my dad picked us up and moved us. I can remember telling my parents that I would not go with them. I was such a mess. But, boy am I glad we moved. I went to an amazing school that I truly love. I learned so much during the years I went there. I made some wonderful friends there. High school is a time for figuring out who you are and who you want to be. And I am so glad God had me where I was when I discovered ME. And then God moved me to Johnson City. And, I am so happy. How can I question God's power when it has been so evident to me?

Once again, I am overwhelmed by God. He started preparing my heart for missions in Africa when I was in 8th grade. And, now in exactly a month, I will be in Uganda for ten days working with orphans. I am so grateful to say I am fully funded. When I signed up for this mission trip, I was really nervous because I knew I couldn't afford it, and I was scared I wouldn't be able to raise all that money. Once again, I questioned God. I've been learning a lot about faith for this past year, and I've realized that I lack it so much. I like to have control and if I see a situation where I will not, I freak out. Typical, huh? But, He once again proved me wrong. So many things have happened to show me that God has me on this team for this trip at such a time as this. I don't know what He is going to do while I'm there, but I know that it will be something incredible. It has been amazing getting to know my team. There is something awesome about interacting with people who have the same passion as I do. God has perfectly put our team together.

Thank you to everyone who are praying for me and are making it possible for me to pursue my dreams of mission work. I know this is only the beginning of a great journey of following the voice of God wherever He takes me. To be continued.....

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" and I said "Here am I! Send me!"

It is well

I decided to change the title of my blog. I was trying to figure out what would sum me up and be short and sweet. Anyone who really knows me would know that I love hymns. Not necessarily the sound of them but the words. I have always loved the phrase...it is well. As I was brainstorming, this came to mind. Through my life, things are always up and down. People disappoint. Circumstances change. And life is most certainly not easy. But through it all, and despite all the mess, I have this hope from the Lord that makes me eager and excited for the future.

It is well with my soul. Every day is well. Every face is well. Every burden is well. This life is well.

Letters to Mayi

Meet Mayi (Esther)!! The beautiful 4 year old!

So, about two weeks ago, God laid it on my heart to sponser one of the children from Canaan's Children's Home in Jinja, Uganda. I was really excited about this, because one, I have always wanted to give some of my money away to help a child in need, and two, what better way to do it then to sponser a child that I will actually get to meet this summer and hang out with. After much prayer, I went to the website and chose to sponser Mayi, a four year old little girl. Mayi's father died when she was little from a serious sickness. When he passed away, Mayi's mother was left with four small children to tend to. She was helpless and under very poor conditions. Because of this, Mayi lived a very unhappy life and was sought after by Canaan. To my surprise, a girl named Lauren who goes to UT went to Africa over Christmas break on a mission trip. She vistied Canaan and met Mayi. She has been able to tell me a little bit about her. The people at Canaan call Mayi, Esther. Such a great name. Lauren and I are hoping to get together sometime before the semester ends to talk about Canaan and all the great things there are to look forward to. God, bless Mayi and the sweet times we will share together. Continue to bless Canaan's ministry and all the wonderful children there! And thank you for allowing me the priviledge to go, learn from them, serve them, and show your love to them. If you would like to learn more information about Canaan's Children's Home, you can visit their website at http://www.canaanchildrenshome.org/ . Thank you all for the continuous prayers! 

My first letter to Mayi!

Rid Me of Myself

Complacency: feeling of quiet pleasure or security.

I am complacent. And, I hate it. I long for more. I believe I was created for more than I am living. I believe that God looked ahead and created me. Placed me here on this earth April 7, 1993 to be His. I believe I was destined for greatness. For a higher greatness than I could ever imagine myself. But, how do I get there? I don't want to simply live. I want to live umcomfortably and insecure depending solely on my Savior. Sometimes I think....how much more my heart would be filled if ALL I had was Jesus. If everyday I woke up and looked around me and saw emptiness. But then looked up and saw the sun shining bright and felt the love of my Father. I have been reading Kisses from Katie which is about a girl who gave up everything to move to Uganda. She talks a lot in her book about how people there have nothing but still worship God faithfully everyday. They're happy and filled with joy. As I write this I long for emptiness. Sometimes I feel like the "things" I have in my life too often separate me from Jesus. Why is this the case? I think it is because I forget where my blessings come from. I forget to acknowledge that everything I am and have is from Him who graciously placed me where I am. I have multiple idols in my life. I have my phone, my friends, my clothes. And, I so often think I NEED them. I cannot live my life WITHOUT them. But, right now, in this moment, I am begging God to let me see through the eyes of one with nothing. One who is like a sparrow and has to depend on God to bring it food. I look at our country, and I see it pushing God out. That scares me tremendously. I believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that we live in wealth here. We are not dying of hunger or living without water. We have doctors and cures for disease. Do we really need God? I look at this and want to run. I want to run to where all there is is God. I am so easily distracted by materialism. It's a struggle everyday that I can no longer deny. Everyday I have a battle between my possessions and God. So, now humbly I come and ask God to show me what it is like to love Him whole heartedly not because of what He has given me, but because I have nothing.

I am excited to see and experience this this summer in Uganda. I will travel to a place I have never been without my cell phone. Without my parents. Without my life here. I will make decisions on my own, and I will see things I have never seen before. I will look at children who are without shoes, whose parents have run or died, who can't afford school, and they will be smiling. We will laugh together, and I will hug them close. We will dance and sing. And I will love them. I seriously cannot wait. I cannot wait to be separated from the distractions of the life I have here in my comfortable bed in my secure home. I want to be adventurous and daring. I want to walk somewhere where I have no idea where it will lead me. I want to try new things. I want to follow behind the feet of those who have nothing. And I want to serve them. I want to for ten days give everything inside me to love on those I encounter. I want to do away with complacency. Lord, shake my life. Open my eyes to what it is like to only truly have you. Allow me to share my heart with everyone around me. And most of all help me to remember that with you ALL things are possible.

When I think about my time in Uganda, I feel two emotions. One, scared out of my mind. And two, excited beyond belief. Both of these are because of the same reason. I am scared because I am afraid I am going to go there and never want to return to my home. I fear that I will want to call Uganda home, and that the call that has been poking at me for years will become my reality. That I will no longer have an excuse. BUT, I am also very excited about this. I know how extremely awesome my God is, and I cannot wait to see where he places me in life. I choose to go where He leads because He has shown me that He is good. He makes things that are broken beautiful.

I am a beautiful mess. I am His. He called me, and I answered. But, everyday I struggle to pick up my cross and follow Him. And everyday, I fail. I pick up my cell phone instead. Or, I depend on a friend for security. I lose sight of Him. I am amazed that even though I walk away, He still continues to call my name and hold out His hand to me. He picks me up as I continue to fall, and He reminds me that He loves me. I was reading in John 1 the other day where it says, "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." (John 1:10-11) I struggle with why He wanted to save that which rejected Him. I've thought about this so much and part of me can't even wrap my head around it. But, I am no longer blind, and God helps me to understand. It is because WE ARE HIS. If I lost something that I loved, I would do everything in my power to get it back. I would seek it out until I couldn't anymore. That is what God does with me every day. This blows my mind. My heart is so thankful.

Do you live a complacent life? Do you depend on things you can see and touch everyday? I do too often. I am an on going mess who just can't seem to get myself together. But, the great thing is I can't fix me, and I never will be able to. Rid me of myself, dear Lord.

"I was forever ruined for comfort, convenience, and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something I believed in." -Katie Davis