And... we're off!

Tomorrow is the big day, we need to be at the airport at 7:45 to begin this trek across the globe.
I can honestly say that I'm ready. Today has to have been one of the most frustrating days I've had in years. If anyone here doesn't believe in spiritual warfare, you should have spent the day with us.
Four hours and several trips to both Kaiser and Walmart pharmacy we finally got all of our preventative meds done. Yes, 4 hours. Really? Was that necessary? It's two meds each, but thank goodness it's done and we have everything we need.
If I ever do this again, I now know to put out a special prayer alert for the day before.

We have some awesome news!

• Equipment - By nothing less than a miracle we have been able to talk to two people
  higher up in the airline company. As far as we know, they have worked it out so that we should have no problem with the extra size and weight of the bags. Yeah!
  
  
  
• Finances - Over the weekend we had more funding come in. I haven't heard what the final count was, but I know it was a good portion. I'll update that when we return. I still believe that this trip was on His agenda and that it will be covered.
  
  
  
• Health - Anytime we take a trip, at least one person gets sick. I believe that if nothing else, from the stress. I am thrilled to report that everyone is doing well!
  
  
• Celebration - It looks like the Rwandan government and military officials are so excited about everything going on in Cyanika that they will be attending the official opening of the soccer field and have planned a ceremony.
  
  
• Roofing - I can't remember if I've posted this or not, but enough money has been raised to put roofs on five more homes for widows.
  

We have a few prayer requests that we would love for you to lift up for us.

• Communication - I already mentioned that today was crazy, but in all reality, it was a day filled with an extreme range of emotions, mostly those with anger and tears. Why? I can't really tell you why. Most were stupid little arguments. Stepping back we can really see the warfare in all of this. We don't want to carry this with us or leave this with Alex. Please pray that God would remove all that is coming against us right now.
  
  
  
• Alex - In some ways, I know he's excited to have several weeks alone. We also know that he didn't want to go (this isn't his calling and that's totally fine), but we also don't want him to feel left out. Please pray that he has a calm few weeks (read that no problems with the house, car, dogs, health, etc.) and some good solid time with the Lord.
  
  
• Protection - Please pray against the plans of the enemy. Pray that his plans would be confused and that God's will, will be played out perfectly. Pray that God will place angels around us, our transportation, and even our luggage as we travel.
  
  
• Health - It's a huge praise that we're all healthy now, but please continue to pray that we will all stay that way.
  
  
• Final Packing - This one is for Tammy's sanity. Please pray that packing will go smoothly. That may sound lame, but (as she said) it's a mom thing.
  
  
  

Thank you all again for being a part of this. I hope you really feel like you are, because it wouldn't be happening without you.



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4 Days to go...

We're down to four days and the chaos has begun - right on schedule.
It's not really that bad, but there are always things that crop up at the last minute that we could use prayer for.

• The soccer goals are in and ready to take with us... and they are huge! We tried to save on shipping by purchasing materials in Africa. Turns out, many of the materials needed cannot be found there, even in neighboring countries. We came to the conclusion that we have to buy everything here and ship it with us. This has turned into quite the ordeal. Please pray that we can get this shipped for a good price and that the airline will work with us.
  
  
  

• I was talking to someone who has been where we are going. He told us that at night, not sure of the time - no clocks, you can hear this evil chanting outside. He said it sounds like they are coming in on you. I guess they do this when they do their rituals in the middle of the night. This was a reality check: Please cover us in prayer spiritually. We will be fighting many battles there... most unseen.
  
  
  
• Medicine - we went to pick up all of our malaria pills, etc. and the pharmacy has messed everything up. The doctor didn't call it in right (or whatever) and we could'nt get ahold of them today to get it worked out and now... it's the weekend. Lovely. Please pray that Monday everything will be straightened out (we leave Tuesday).
  
  
  
• Please continue to pray for the financial side of things. There are a few big hurdles we need to get through. God has showed up in so many amazing ways, but we need to have this taken care of before we go so that we don't come home to a large amount of debt. (Again, please don't feel obligated. We're not asking you to give, just pray. It is all in His control.)
  
  
  
  
• Last, but not least, please continue praying for our health and safety.

One last note, today was Ben's first day of school. It went really well. I don't know if it was liberating for me (Tammy) or sad. I think it was a mixture of both, but I am really excited about the new school he is attending and know that this was the right decision for our family at this time.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
We love and appreciate each one of you!



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One week to go...

Here we are - one week to lift off and the stress has kicked in.

I think most of it is the stress of the unknown. As I've said before, none of us have ever been out of the country and with all the travel requirements in place, we're struggling with what we can and can't take; should or shouldn't take; etc.

Everything else is going well.
The lock-in last weekend was a huge success! We had a lot of kids and tons of fun!
The numbers aren't in yet, so we're still not sure what we raised, but I'm estimating $400 for Africa.

Thank you all so much for your prayers through this adventure. The kids, adults, and leaders of the village in Cyanika will be unbelievably blessed because of your commitment and support.
We are humbled by your love and continued encouragement through this time.

Prayer Requests and Updates

• Health - I can't ask for this enough and those of you who have known us for any amount of time know why. Please pray that the Lord would put us in a protective bubble right now and keep us there until we return.
  
  
• Details & Stress - As I mentioned above, it seems like the small details are just piling up on us. No matter how we've prepared, we can't help but be overwhelmed. Like many families, the higher the stress level the more irritable we are. Unfortunately, we've been taking some of it out on each other. We know it will be easier when it's done and we're on our way, but we don't want this last week to be an episode of Survivor either.
  

• Finances - The shots came to a lot more than we had planned on spending. I will be talking to a few people about support and joining us on this journey. Please pray that God would lead us to the right people that would like to be a part of this adventure.

• Through the business one thing in particular has been difficult to find time to do... our time with God. Please pray that He will reveal to us time to take breaks and be with Him. Above all, we know that this mission trip as well as everything else in our lives is nothing without Him. God has made that very clear to me lately through the book of Ecclesiastes.
  

Through praying, we know that sometimes God will reveal something to you - either with a word, or through a picture. If you experience that, we would love to hear about it. Please feel free to share it with us.

You can email us in one of two ways:
mhaney@vinelife.com
Score4africa@gmail.com

As always, if you have prayer requests, we would love to be praying for you as well.

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19 Days and Counting...

The trip is coming up quickly and there's so much going on.

There are bins at Vinelife overflowing with equipment that have been donated for the kiddos in Cyanika. The response has been amazing.

Honestly, I would be lying if I said we aren't overwhelmed. I don't think we've ever had so much to do in our lives than we do during the next two and a half weeks.
I seriously don't know what we would do without awesome people like you to pray for us.
Not only are we in crunch time, but there a million little details to complete before heading out.

I'm going to go ahead and list the prayer requests as they are weighing heavy on my heart.
Even if you can't pray for all of them specifically, just ask the Lord to cover all the details.
We truly trust in His hand and guidance.

Prayer Requests:

• Health
  Brandon has picked up a cough and Tammy has a horrendous head cold that she would love to get rid of before we go.
  Our health is probably the most important prayer request we have... to get and stay healthy. As most of you know, this can be quite a challenge for our family. Please pray for all of us (Matthew, Tammy, Brandon, Alex and Ben) to have complete and total healing in our bodies and that God would sustain that.
  
  
• This Friday (August 14)
  Matthew will be talking with the Denver Rapids (pro soccer team) about their possible involvement with SCORE.
  

• Walk-a-thon
  There is a fundraiser for the Village Makeover this Saturday. Some of the funds raised will help to cover some of the expenses for the soccer field materials.
  
  
• Africa Fundraiser
  August 21&22 we will be having a lock-in to raise money for this trip.
  
  
• Finances
  We still have about $800 to raise for the trip. We haven't been able to do much to promote it as it's been an extremely busy month. (Again, this is not a call to ask you to send money, we're just asking you to please pray to our Father about making the funds available. He's done some amazing things and I know will continue to do more.)
  
  
• Praise Report and Update! We did find a school for Ben and they are not only letting him take the time off to go to Africa, they are very excited about his involvement.
  This new adventure does bring a prayer request with it. This will be Ben's first year of traditional schooling and being gone the first two weeks of it really stinks, but we know it's all part of God's plan. He will be taking his school work with him. Please pray that he will do well with it and be able to focus on a crowded plane - as that's probably the only time he'll have to work on it.
  
  
• Praise Report and Update! Brandon just got a permanent job today. We are so happy for him and he's very excited.
  
  

Thank you all so much again. God has us all on an amazing adventure and we feel so blessed that you are on it with us.


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