The last two weeks have been amazing. I had the honor of serving as camp director for the Chicago Hope Academy girls camp. The boys camp was the week of August 8th and the girls camp was the week of August 15th. Their first day of school is tomorrow. CHA is an incredible school in Chicago that is really giving hope to students: http://chicagohopeacademy.org

The camp's focus was exercise and spiritual focus. We had devotions and chapels based on being a woman of virtue: discussion of purity, being a princess of the King, as well as faith, hope and love discussions held in small groups. There was also time for the lake, free time, crafts and nightly team building games. The campfire at the end of the week was heartbreaking AND rewarding. Stories of broken hearts were shared and we all walked away loving each other more with the knowledge that we are all the same: all needing Jesus.

Chicago Hope Academy is a school that Heal Ministries partners with on an ongoing basis. We hope to send teams every summer. Not because CHA needs us but because we learn and live out what the Bible teaches us: to love our neighbors, to show mercy and compassion and to offer HOPE.

The CHA students bonded with each other and with the faculty. Even though many of the CHA students have disadvantaged family backgrounds, they will start the school year at a HUGE advantage over most high school students. They have made friends, laughed, cried, prayed, accomplished goals, realized who they are in Christ AND they have built relationships based on the true HOPE that matters!

The last 17 days in Africa have been amazing. It is hard to conclude the trip because it will take months to process, maybe years for some team members. And yet, we will always have the images in our heads and hearts. some of the pics posted reveal what was seen through the camera and often give a perspective of Jesus' view. We have seen Jesus in the eyes of people and we have heard Jesus through the laughter, music and songs of the people. The touch of a child's hand, the hugs from a child in an orphanage, the hope in a child's eyes as we handed a plate of food, the smiles from moms afar as they watched their children at VBS having fun, the smiles of Pastor Young in Cape Town and Pastor Isaac in Uganda, all reflect the heart of Jesus. Did we go and make a difference or did we go to learn the true meaning of Hope through Jesus Christ? It is truly hard to say: we pray that we made a difference just by serving and building relationships but the truth is: we came back changed. We came back with HOPE for Africa. We came back with HOPE for our own lives because of what we learned there. We came back knowing more than ever that we serve a God that loves us more than we deserve and we learned that HOPE is the same universally. We learned that there is not much difference in the two continents when it comes to people and we learned that their JOY is contagious and will carry in our hearts forever. We will see our brothers and sisters from Africa again and we will pray for them always.

Africa is beautiful: the people, the landscape, the sunsets, the feet, the hands, the music, the laughter, the songs, the dance and the hearts of the people that have taught us more about our Creator and made the trip worthwhile.

Our last day in Uganda was very rewarding. We visited Katie Davis's feeding program on Saturday and had the priviledge and opportunity to help serve over 300 kids. We also assisted in the Amazima feeding program by helping to sort beans, rice and flour that the children take home to their families. This program is remarkable and it is quite impressive how patient the children are, how well run the program is and how Katie had the insight to have the Ugandan people run the program.

One of the sweetest moments of the last two days was being entertained by the children. First, Katie's 14 girls (that's right, I said 14!) sang and danced for us in their home and then we were entertained by the children at Canaan Children's Home for the last night's program. A song the children sang said "Reach our your hands and help our wounded hearts" and it was all we could do to listen. These children in this wonderful village near Jinja have had a hard life. They have had lives with trials that most of us will never encounter. And yet, the joy of their hearts reveal that the only hope is truly in Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the ambassadors of Christ that we have met here. All the leaders of the Amani Baby Cottage, Canaan Children's Home and Katie Davis. They are truly Jesus in the skin to a broken village that is being restored and redeemed before our very eyes.