We have a jam-packed schedule, and we will minister to hundreds and hundreds of women. We will visit at least four crisis pregnancy centers. We’ll lead five villages outreach events and visit two orphanages. And we will host two missionary encouragement dinners. The villages are very excited for us to come. I heard today that one village is expecting close to 300 women and another is expecting 500! I’m assuming not all of those women will be pregnant, but many of them will be. We will be busy. As for the missionaries, they are VERY excited we are hosting another dinner to honor them. I’ve had many already RSVP and invite their friends.
.jpg)
With the expectant mothers we will share prenatal care, delivery, and breastfeeding information. We’ll talk about nutrition and diet. We’ll teach them some of the basics of prenatal and infant massage. We’ll do very basic exams on the women that need it. And most importantly we will share the love of Jesus with them and pray for them and their children.
Last week, my mama kit supplier contacted me. She said that they were running low on mama kits and she did not know when they would be getting more. She knew that I was going to need a lot for my trip. She wanted to hold all of the kits that they had for me, and she would go ahead and deliver them so no one would be tempted to take them. Early last week, 1500 mama kits arrived in my friends’ garage.
Each kit represents a mama. I get teary-eyed just thinking about this work and the impact. Each week I get contacted by people that are passing out the kits and they tell me what a blessing they are to the women. I know to us it seems too simple, but to them this is hope. This week, I even heard about one missionary that had a baby named after her after she gave the mama a kit. I love it.
I teach a children’s mission class at our church. This week we watched a video about a former homeless man who now pastors an inner city church in Los Angeles. This man says his whole life turned around when one little girl came up to the dirty, smelly, scary-looking homeless man and said, “Jesus loves you.” I’ve been thinking about that for days. I’m sure that little girl has no idea the impact she had on him. Her three simple and sincere words made a huge difference. God used her to soften this man’s heart.
A mama kit can have the same effect as those little girl’s words. Yes, mama kits do help save lives. Yes, they do help prevent infection and they do encourage women to seek medical attention. But in a simple way, they also give hope. They let a woman who has been through unspeakable trials know that someone cares about her and her baby. They soften hearts to hear about the love of Jesus.
Friends, I need your help. I need to raise more money for mama kits. We need to pay the balance for the kits we just received. We will easily pass out all 1500 of those during our trip. I already have requests for mama kits as soon as my supplier gets more. I hate the idea of having to tell people that I cannot get them more kits, especially when I know they are being used for great ministry.
Just today, I heard from a woman working on a remote island that is 4-5 hours away from the city. She heard about our work and desperately wants some kits to use for her new birthing clinic.
We also need help paying for some of the ministry projects we will be doing on the trip. This includes providing lunch for the ladies and children during our outreach clinics and also paying the Ugandan nurses who will help with our teaching.
We also would love a new-to-us laptop to take to the man who runs things for us in Uganda. A good condition used laptop would be wonderful if you happen to have an extra one around.
I know I’ve often asked you for donations, but I feel passionate about this cause. I see and hear about the need constantly. I promise you that every donation goes directly toward helping these women. I feel strongly that we are called to help women and orphans. I can’t think of a better way to help than through orphan prevention.
Donations for mama kits can be made directly to The Hope Venture (link on the top right). If you are interested in helping with our ministry projects or if you have a laptop donation please feel free to email me at info@mercyformamas.com, and we can talk about the best way to do that.
It’s also not too late to give Mercy for Mamas this Mother’s Day. Check out our “SHOP” tab at the top of the page. All jewelry money will go directly toward buying mama kits. Order before Wednesday and you should get it in time for Sunday. Or make a donation in honor of someone and I’ll email you a special card for you give to her explaining your gift. It’s that easy.