The Stirn Family will be leaving to serve in Uganda with Show Mercy International on August 17th.  They will be helping us to facilitate our programs in Gganda and Kalite Village.  We wanted to share some of their story and journey of how they decided to move overseas.  We will be sending another post introducing our next family that will be moving over by October. We will be taking applications for upcoming opportunities in Uganda.  If you are interested, please email us!

The Journey Begins

Although the bus was rocking side to side, creaking and groaning loudly under the strain of navigating the heavily rutted dirt road, we could clearly hear the excited screams of the kids from Hope Children’s Home, welcoming us.  This was our first trip to Uganda (June 2007) and our first chance to see for ourselves the work that Mike and Lori Salley had begun.  (We have been involved with Show Mercy since 2004.)  As we stepped off the bus, we were immediately surrounded by over one hundred bright-eyed African children, most no taller than your waist, each grabbing for a hand to hold.  In some cases, just a single finger would satisfy them, allowing us to walk with 10 kids at once, one on each finger.  We couldn’t help but fall in love with the gentle-spirited kids at Hope.

We (Danny and Heather) were blessed not only to experience this ourselves, but to also have our 3 kids (Keith-12, Wesley-10, and Jeremiah-7) with us to share this together as a family.  We had been doing lots of travelling over the past couple of years, due to Danny’s work.  We’d been to Singapore for 4 months and were now living in Ireland (for a total of 8 months) and although we didn’t fully realize it at the time, God was using these long-term business trips as preparation for our family. 

After returning to the US in Sep 2007, God began pulling our hearts back to Uganda.  During the summer of 2008, it became clear to us that at some point we would be returning to Uganda for an extended stay and by November of that year, we felt that we were clearly called to take that leap of faith.  We received approval from the Show Mercy board in January 2009 and began preparations to return to Uganda for 1 year.  Miraculously, our house was sold within 26 days in the worst housing market since the great depression.  Today, we’re living in a rental house, making final preparations for our trip, which will begin August 17^th. 

We are so incredibly excited to be part of what God is doing through Show Mercy.  We’re looking forward to loving to the kids at Hope and the surrounding villages.  We’re excited about the kick-off of the Field of Dreams project, which will not only provide more  loving homes for kids with no hope, but will become a base from which Show Mercy will be able to launch out into the surrounding communities bringing hope to this entire region.  We’re excited to be a part of the amazing vision that Show Mercy has for this area.

Just Say Yes
God can use everyday ordinary people, like us, and do extraordinary things in us and through us for others.  We are not loved or favored more by God than anyone else.  He needs people like you and I to say “yes.”  Yes, I will go where you want me to go. Yes, I will do what you want me to do.  Yes, I will say what you want me to say.  And yes, I will give of myself so others can know and receive his love and goodness.  You are that person.  You have something to give.  Say yes and see what will happen!

Answering the Cry of Injustice Together,

Danny and Heather Stirn
Show Mercy Uganda
www.showmercy.org