Safe?

I don’t know about you, but in my day-to-day life, I feel very safe most of the time.  In the back of my mind, I realize that there is hunger, violence, and despair going on at every moment.  However, if all I did was think about these things, I would be extremely depressed, so I try not to think of them too often.  However, with my increasing appetite for world news, and PBS’s Al Jazeera, all of the troubles around  the world are brought into my living room every night when I tune into PBS.  From bloody uprisings in Syria, to East Africa famines, the world can be a pretty sad place.  

But as I said, I have always been able to separate the bad things that happen to other people, with those that occur in my own life.  That is, until about a month ago...

My wife Erica and were heading home from a packed Friday night.  It was late, about 1:30.  We were about half a mile from home, approaching a stop sign, when I heard firecrackers.  I looked around, and my eyes focused on a bombardment of flashes of light being exchanged between two cars, about 50 feet away from us.  It immediately registered.  The two cars were shooting at each other.

Before I had time to say anything, one of the vehicles slammed on the accelerator, and came barreling into our lane, on target for a head-on collision.  I’ll remember those headlights for as long as I live.  Upon impact, our two month old Volkswagen Tiguan was pushed back - about 15 feet or so, into 4 parallel parked cars on the street.  At this point, men and women 

start getting out of the minivan that was shooting, and screaming.  

“Oh my gosh.  We are going to die.”  I thought.

The story goes on, but in order to keep this at an acceptable length, I’ll summarize by saying that my wife and I are finally nearing 100% health, which I thank God for.  

There it was.  The violence that I heard about on the news was now infiltrating my life.

In the three weeks since the incident, I have repeatedly thought about how quickly life can change.  Before, I figured that I would never have to deal with a situation that could end up costing me my life in an instant.  However, this experience hammered home the fact that we are truly at God’s mercy.  

Whether it is an event that you experience, or something God has placed in your life on a daily basis, it is all God’s plan.  Some of us are born with above average intelligence, athletic skill, artistic ability.  Some of us are born into ghastly poverty, which is often accompanied by hunger, minimal education, and a life filled with third world disease.

The thing I love about Awake & Alive, is that their entire mission is dedicated to dealing with one of the biggest shortcomings of our world...lack of education for the poor.  In all of history, the thing that has driven prosperity, is knowledge and education.  In a few hundred years, our standard of living has increased an overwhelming amount, all because of the power of knowledge, which is obtained through education.

On good days, I believe that God specifically wants to use me to fight this education epidemic.  On days when I feel down, I have a little harder time accepting this truth.  Despite my skepticism on those days, deep down I believe that it is of the utmost importance for one’s self to feel connected to something bigger than themselves.   It goes beyond spirituality though, it actually makes us happier!  Throughout the years I have repeatedly read (I am a science magazine junky) that being connected to something beyond yourself, makes you a happier person.  It is actually one of the most important factors in happiness.

So, in summary,  life is short.  You are at the mercy of God.  Do extraordinary things for Him, like getting involved with Awake & Alive.  Whether it is through giving financially, or participating in my online Christian bookstore’s fundraising program that gives Awake & Alive 5% cash back whenever you shop.  To participate in the latter, just use the fundraiser code “AwakeandAlive” when prompted at checkout.

Go beyond wishing.  To quote a wise man, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

-Justin

Exhausted

Lately we have been keeping you up to date on the cold hard facts about what is going on with Awake and Alive. We have been talking a lot about the great new stuff that is going on and the thermometer that keeps going up!! Thank you!! All of that is really GREAT stuff, but I (Jolene) want to let you all in on some of the emotions behind the passion.

I have really been burdened lately.

I toss and turn and lose sleep these days. I am thinking about the widowed mothers who as I type have to make the horrible decision to leave their children at home so they can go make money to provide food for their little ones! It is their reality and it is impossible for me not to put myself in their shoes! I think about my 3 Ethiopian babies and how if I were to try to leave them to go pick up sticks they would follow me as far as they could …the whole time they would be following me with tears in their eyes, possibly screaming at me to stop and come back…or yelling, “momma, hold me, hold me!” But I would know that I could not stop or they would starve to death. And so, I press on with my 3 crying children behind me, trying my hardest not to burst into tears myself, they would be giving it all they had to follow me for miles until their little legs just got so tired that they stopped and turned around to go home. And so I press on knowing that I HAVE TO FEED THEM!

This haunts me.

I lie in bed and can not sleep. Lately God has been putting this at the for-front of my mind and I had to share it with all of you.

Broken hearted I lay in bed praying for the mothers that I know have to do this…everyday. I pray for them for the strength it takes to daily break their child’s heart to be able to provide for their basic needs. I pray for this cycle to end for them! I pray for the babies who do not understand. I pray for the children, that they do not shut themselves down and become numb to love after being left and let down, in their minds, by their mother everyday. I pray that one day it will be different for all of them. Will you pray with me?

I have been praying for people here in the states who are hearing of this situation, I pray their hearts soften. I pray that their hearts open. I pray they are moved into action for these poor mothers and children. I pray they help spread the word!

Will you help spread the word?

We have the opportunity to give these mothers a safe place for their children! Not only a safe place to be but a place to THRIVE! To take the children off the streets and be fed! To learn about Love.

We have the opportunity to give mothers peace of mind!

I pray that only God’s glory is seen in this movement! I pray only for encouragement from people not praise! All praise goes to God who has given me the passion and opportunity to be the voice…

YOU can be the voice too!

You can spread the word!

They need you!

Awake and Alive needs you!

You can be the change in this cycle!

There is no "giveaway" to entice you to share this, there is no material gain,

There is only this broken momma who is asking you to be the voice for other broken mothers who are hopeless and have no platform to speak for themselves.

They can not speak up for themselves or their children, but we can!

Introducing Our Board Members

We have been blessed with a truly amazing group of diverse people who rally around Awake and Alive. We thought you might like to meet some of them!

Keith Sarber - Has over 15 years of professional experience in relationship development among corporate and non-profit accounts. Most recently is serving as Assistant Director of Community Investment at the United Way of St. Joseph County. Priorities include cultivating key relationships, funding impact, annual giving, major gifts and managing the organization’s events with staff and volunteer committees. I love to paint large murals, draw, sing, dance, swim, read (nonfiction), play with my kids, wife, and dog not necessarily in that order. I am very happy to be near completion of my Bachelors degree at Goshen College. Awake & Alive is very important to me because I believe in the mission, leadership and goals. I can be super critical of hypocritical Christians who sit around and complain, whine and condemn the current state of affairs. I think (and sometimes say), “Why don’t you do something about it, why don’t you work toward a solution.” And Awake & Alive is actively working toward the solution.

Yemi Mobolade - I'm a local missionary in Colorado Springs. Originally from Nigeria, I have both a local and global calling. I'm a co-founder and pastor of theMovement church, a new network of missional communities (simple churches) on a Christ-centered mission to bring healing, reconciliation, wholeness, and “shalom” to the people of Colorado Springs. I am working on completing my M.Div at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary while anticipating beginning my Doctorate degree in Missiology from Fuller Theological Seminary. In my spare time I am working on completing my first book: The Way of the Cross: Reimagining the Cross as a Kingdom Lifestyle. I'm excited to be a part of Awake and Alive because I acknowledge the calling and passion that God has placed in Jolene and Danielle and I'm honored to be a part of this Kingdom work on my home continent!

Meggan Armburstmacher – I live in Michigan and have been married for almost 10 years to Ryan. We have adopted 2 children from Ethiopia. Rylee is 4 and Ezzie is 22 months. I am a Hair Stylist/Salon Manager at an AVEDA salon part time and also spend time as a “31” consultant. I also am an advocate for people who don’t have a platform to speak up for themselves. I am so excited to be a part of Awake & Alive because after returning from Ethiopia on both of our trips, I hold true to the saying "I need Africa, more than Africa needs me"!!! I have been forever touched and changed by the country and its people! I can't wait to dirty my hands and get more involved as an advocate for the children of Ethiopia!

Justin Lugbill - I live in Chicago with my wife of 5 years, Erica. We are both business owners. I own an online Christian bookstore and a Marketing consultancy. Erica owns an interior design firm. Both being self-employees, we live pretty unique lifestyles. We get to spend a lot of time together with two home offices! We both love to spend time outdoors. We also have a passion for travel. In fact, our pipe dream is to live in cities around the world, for a few months out of each year. I am excited to be a part of Awake and Alive. There is such a need for what Danielle and Jolene's non profit is doing. I believe that, for the first time in history, we have a legitimate shot at alleviating the sorts of poverty and destitution we sadly see around the world. Study after study has shown that one of the most important factors in social mobility, is education... and that is what Awake and Alive is all about! I plan to help A&A with their online presence (website, social media, marketing, and PR). One unique thing that we've been able to do so far, is set up a fundraiser with my bookstore, where 6% of sales go to Awake and Alive when you use the fundraiser code AwakeandAlive at checkout. In addition, the code will activate free shipping (over $25) for you! With a price match guarantee, free shipping, and 6% of your purchase going to Awake and Alive, you'd be crazy not to at least try it out! :)

Eyob Zeleke - God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, Melat Yilkal, and two adorable sons Lewy (4) and Lukas (18 months). I was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and came to the U.S about 12 years ago for college. We have made Goshen, IN our home. I work for Dexter Axle, a manufacturing company, as an Application Developer. I am also the prayer team coordinator for our church and help organize periodic and annual events for Ethiopian youth and students in the Midwest region. Some of my hobbies include, playing guitar and keyboard, playing basketball, but most importantly playing with my boys :) I am excited to share the burden and passion of Awake and Alive as the ministry strives to help the kids in Kechene for a better tomorrow. I hope to contribute to the growth of the ministry one way or another, including teaching Amharic :)!

Danielle Black –I live in Elkhart, Indiana with my husband of 12 years, Karl. We have four incredible children by birth and adoption: Braden (10), Kole (8), Owen (6), and Selah (3). Before kids, I was a high school English, speech, and drama teacher at both a public high school and later at an alternative school. I know how much an education matters! These days, I seem to have even less free time between mothering, working in the education field part-time, and helping run Awake and Alive, but I do enjoy rare moments reading, playing the guitar (learning to!), and connecting with others. I also really love drama—the legitimate theater kind—but haven’t had much of an outlet for that as of late! Being a part of Awake and Alive is like a kiss from God for me. I get to do what makes me feel alive—anything that involves the continent of Africa and the beautiful people from there—and I get to live out God’s heart a little better by advocating for orphans and widows.

Jolene Shrock - I live in Goshen, Indiana with my husband of 7 years, Darin. We have 3 precious children, all adopted from the beautiful country of Ethiopia. Claire is our radiant 3 year old. She is super sweet, a natural born leader and loves to dance. Benjamin is our rambunctious 2 year old. He loves banging on stuff, throwing balls, and wrestling with his daddy. Stella is our sweet and spirited 2 year old. She is very curious and passionate about everything she does. I love being a stay at home momma but also love working one day a week at the fRiNgE SaLoN. During my down time I enjoy reading, watching movies and spending precious time with Darin. Awake and Alive is an amazing channel for me to pour my God given passion into. There has been lots of learning and lots of prayers during the start up of Awake and Alive, but to be in God’s will and know that He is in control, it is the only place I want to be!

Survive...or truly live?

First of all, I have NO IDEA how it came to be that it's been a month since we blogged!! Yikes! I could tell you, our more-faithful-than-us readers that we've been TOTALLY IMMERSED into the beginning stages of planning for the mission trip September 6-16th. I could tell you that we've been making some kickin' plans with some amazing people about the cinematic future of Awake and Alive. I could tell you that it's now March and the natives are gettin' restless, and we need to be good mommies first and foremost....but the truth is:

We dropped the ball.

And as I learned in Kenya (Kiswahili), we wanted to say Pole Sana. We are very sorry. Well, we're at least sorry. But we don't want to dwell on it, because more than being sorry, we're VERY excited about the connections Awake and Alive is making and what is transpiring. Pretty incredible stuff. Okay, enough grovelling, now to the other thing I wanted to share with you:

Anybody recognize that girl? Well, that's me the very first time I went to Africa--Summer of 1995. (I recognize some of you reading this might not have been alive then.) And that's James that I'm hugging. I think Julius is beside him. I still remember their names. THAT is when Africa first started getting under my skin. And you know what? It's still there--

Stronger than ever!

This close-up to our left , I think, is when I went back to Kenya to the same location to go to Daystar University and work with the same street boys for 4 1/2 months. You might not be able to see it, but my heart is so full. While I've been a Midwest girl my whole life, it is on African soil that I truly feel home.

I could honestly go on and on about how much I love this beautiful, tragic continent, but I think it would be more powerful to end with a story told to me that first time in Africa about a little boy.

His name was Survivor.

He was six when I met him, but he had already earned such a name.

(He's on the right (in red) up in the tree with me and his buddy Charles.) You see, in the capital city of Nairobi, Kenya when I went in 1995, there were thousands upon thousands of children living on the street, many of them orphans. In fact, according to the US State Department, in 1999 (2 years after I was there the second time) it was reported that "there were over 50,000 street children in Nairobi, and the government estimated that their numbers grew at 10 % per year." It made for a very unsafe environment because these kids were hungry and often sick without adults to care for and protect them. And it definitely didn't make the government look good. So, when a major political event happened a year (or a couple of years?) beforehand, the government came through and "swept the streets." Instead of taking these tens of thousands of children somewhere where they would be well-cared for, they put them in prison. Yes. In prison. Survivor was one of these kids.

But he made it through and ended up at this boys' home created because Youth for Christ Kenya saw the need, and acted. It was a place where there was hope and care and love. Perhaps, over time, Survivor learned that he didn't just have to survive anymore. There was more to life than what he had experienced. I hope this wonderful place was the beginning of a new chapter in his life, but I really don't know. I know there aren't always happy endings. Nonetheless,

Hope is real.

Thank you for being a tangible gift of hope...and faith...and love to children and families in Kechene, the latest chapter in my personal story and some of yours, we hope, as well. May all the "Survivors" in the world--both here and thousands of miles away--know someplace deep in their souls that there is more than what they're currently experiencing and living for. And may we all learn what it means to Truly live.

Because of YOU, we're thankful!

So, we've been talking (Jolene and Danielle, that is), and we realized something. We've been SO focused on our goal of raising enough money to start this school, that we haven't stopped enough to say thank you. This epiphany shocked and horrified us. We NEVER wanted that! We're the first to say we have so much to be thankful for...and then we didn't live that gratitude by expressing it to those of you who have done so much to help. So, in the vein of better late than never, please accept our most heartfelt gratitude for this past year:

THANK YOU to anyone who came to an event that helped raise money for the Bright Future Academy.

THANK YOU to those of you who have offered us an encouraging word....or lots of 'em!

THANK YOU to anyone who has prayed for us, Awake and Alive, our families, or the people of Kechene.

THANK YOU to those who have offered their services in any way.

THANK YOU for the much-needed advice in all things non-profit.

THANK YOU to those who sent money in any increment at all.

THANK YOU to those of you who have successful blogs and allowed us to be guest bloggers.

THANK YOU to those who have liked us on facebook.

THANK YOU to those who have encouraged others to like us on facebook.

THANK YOU to those who have watched our videos.

THANK YOU to those who are thinking and praying about going on our mission trip.

THANK YOU to those who have done fundraising for us.

THANK YOU to those who have bought our t-shirts and wear them as conversation starters

(or just wear them because they're pretty stinkin' cool!)

THANK YOU to those who have watched our children so that we can get stuff done

(including our amazing, stupendous, marvelous husbands)

THANK YOU for believing in us and that He who started a good work, has even more in store!!!

You fill our hearts with gratitude as we sit and reflect on all that has transpired this year and all who have come alongside us to make this dream in our hearts a reality. When we count our blessings, You are them.

School Updates

We were able to Skype with our in country contact this last week.
He told us that we will know the children by name in July!
This of course made my heart burst with excitement,
as we will then have specific children to begin praying for
BY NAME!
I love it!
We also now know that we will be renting a 3 room building in Kechene for the children. Ethiopian law requires us to have one room for the children's class,
one room for an office, and one room for storage.
The building will be structurally sound for the children but our in country contact would love if our team would take some time to paint and decorate the classrooms for the children!
He had mentioned something about a mural and painting the English Alphabet and numbers on the walls. I (Jolene) am not talented in that way, what so ever, so hopefully one of you who are feeling pulled to come with us is.
There is also an opportunity for us to put on a bible school for the children
and share the love of Jesus with them through
songs, crafts and stories!

While we are there we will be spending a lot of time with the children and families that the school will be benefiting. This time will be spent getting to know each one of the children in the school so that we can set up a sponsorship program for them, in hopes that we can get each child in the school sponsored so that we can send MORE children to school next year! This is vital for the continuation of growth in the school.

Will you please continue to pray for Danielle and I, the staff that will be hired and the children that will be attending the Bright Future Academy! Thank You!

I love this quote. Because, you know what? It's so true. Does it mean that if we give all we have to the materially poor that we won't become materially poor? No, that's not what it means at all. To me, it means that generosity produces more riches than we could ever imagine. And that's how I want to live my life. Hands open--to God and to others. When we hoard at any level, it doesn't make us more alive or free, but more uncaring, more unfeeling, and more afraid.